The Issue of Citation

Well when I first read this question I think how hard is it to simply cite an author? To paraphrase an author without citation is to take away credit from not only the author, but respect for yourself in being able to share your thoughts and show off your intelligence. Why would it be necessary to bend the rules, maybe I'm not thinking outside of the box or a way that I can make life easier, but when it comes to school work I am a perfectionist and to bend the rules just in order to save time I would not take credit without citation.

Does the question come down to ethics? Those who are willing to bend the rules in order to have a great grade would then be willing to bend the rules on something else in my opinion, but I understand that this question is being addressed to and not the other people. When it comes down to it I would not put the paragraph at all because then I would be winning both ways. I would not have to deal with the guilt of not citing the author and I would not be paraphrasing so that I would have to cite. If it were possible to create a paragraph of my own thoughts and opinion I would so rather than paraphrasing.

I do not believe if there was not enough time to even simply cite an author then I would not have time to do the paper as a whole. It truly is a tough question though because it comes down to a great grade or the ability to say that you have not stolen the words from another writer. To get the good grade sounds wonderful, but I would simply read enough information to come up with an opinion for then I would not be taking any one person's ideas and opinion.

Say I were to use the author's idea without citation would it even be beneficial? Technically I would not even be benefiting myself because I would be proving to the teacher that I would not prepared to distribute my time in order to cite the author which would then become a habit being carried into college. Time should not be an issue and I understand that within the question it is, but I think that the time it takes to cite the author would take less time than writing your name on the paper along with its introduction. In result then, it is possible to cite the author.

The answer I therefore have for this question, as mentioned previously is no, it is not valid to paraphrase an author without citation in order to get a good grade on the key project of my class. It would take away the validity of my paper and the amount of time and thought I put into it. Now, I'm not saying I have not accidentally done this, but I would never purposely plan to not cite an author specifically when the words I used were completely out of my league and the idea was that in which I thought differently thst would just set myself up to have no opinion on the idea of the paper.

Nordstrom's Customer Service

What businesses serve their customers best? Why is their service superior?


The business that I believe serve their customers best is the department store Nordstrom. Nordstrom has a reputation that is a one of a kind, one that other large businesses along with department stores wish they had. To me, customer service is the key idea to a successful business and the turning point for a business to bring more and more customers back to spend money.

Let's be honest, no one and I repeat no one, is going to buy a product from a salesperson who has no clue what they are selling, where to find it, and is completely rude to you! I always go back to Nordstrom because they are hospitable, they care about a product, and they show interest in my interest. I love when I am able to walk into Nordstrom and be able to ask whether or not the store has a specific item I am looking for, and if they don't they make sure to check the surrounding stores until the product I want is found. This fact proves great customer service.

Customer service within Nordstrom is based upon the customer, not the employee and I believe that is the key to the company. I am not sure if Nordstrom trains their employees to be solely about the customer, or if the employee automatically respects the company for they know the reputation it holds, but whatever the case the customer service is exactly what it is called, service for the customer. Compared to Wal-Mart Nordstrom has a very reputable status for its employees and the way they treat their customers. Many customers at Wal-Mart will not get even close to the same service as they will receive at Nordstrom.

"Since 1901, customers have come to Nordstrom for exceptional fashion, knowledgeable salespeople and lots of inspiration. That's why the people who work here are so important. They delight our customers each day with their expertise and creativity and they drive our success in ways we never imagined possible. Ours is a company that will support you as you strive to do what you do best. This is a place that puts people first."

It is only evident within Nordstrom's slogan up above that the business truly founded upon the customer and why shouldn't it be? The customer is always right and the customer should always get what they are looking for. What is the key to a successful business then? The salespeople. Salespeople within a business are the key for more business. Once you deal with a true and knowledgeable salesperson at Nordstrom you will always want to come back and deal with that person again. It is an interesting cycle, one that benefits everyone within it. The cycle and relationship between customer and salesperson represents the kind of inspiration that should be within every business in order to create a long lasting, true success.

Nordstrom has superior service, unlike any other department store. In comparison it even beats its competitors (which are just a bit over the prices of Nordstrom)Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and Saks Fifth Avenue. "From the beginning, John's business philosophy was based on exceptional service, selection, quality and value. The company built a devoted customer base; and in 1923, the partners added their second store." Nordstrom is a company devoted to its customers and with the rate that it is reaching ou to its customers there is only room for it to be successful for many years to come. "The company's philosophy has remained unchanged for more than 100 years since its establishment by John W. Nordstrom in 1901: offer the customer the best possible service, selection, quality and value."

My Economic Goals

The way in which I plan to achieve my economic goals is by applying integrity, honesty, and dedication within life. My very lifestyle will influence the way in which I will reach my economic goals and whether or not I will reach them in a manner I may be proud of. I plan to achieve that which I long for in life and that is happiness, with the ability to say that I am happy, and my family is happy. My economic goals include being able to take vacation trips that my family will enjoy, having decent cars, and providing an education along with a lifestyle that my children are able to grow the most out of and remember for the rest of their lives.

I believe every person or family has a set economic goal they would like to reach and every person wants to achieve an ultimate happiness whether it be having the most expensive car ever made, living in a 5-story house, travelling across the world, camping in the woods, or just hanging out at home every weekend. Life is all about a give and take, an idea that one can not have every single thing they see or want. I do not beleive it is completely necessary to have a huge house that everyone walks into and wishes they have, no, I much rather have a house that is perfect for the size of my family and is simple that way I may be able to go on vacations to Hawaii, or spend a week at the Disneyland hotel. I relate this lifestyle much to the one I live now. My parents have taught me that family quality time is much more important than being having to push it and stress over a house bill.

I plan on reaching my economic goals through hard work and dedication. Of course economic goals are reached through an occupation, and it takes a good job along with hard work to do exactly what I want to do within my life. In order to go on vacations, and pay the bills I must put time and dedication into my job and the people that surround me in the work area. Success within life is about applying oneself in a manner that is looked upon with admiration and I plan on being a person who matches this definition.

Leadership is a quality in which I plan to apply in order to achieve my economic goal. The leader of a company knows what must happen to create true success. ”Integrity is the first step to true greatness." Success must be able to be seen and evaluated through honesty, integrity, and equality. These qualities of leadership are those which I plan to apply to life and the occupational world for then I will truly be successful and be able to provide for my family and myself in a manner that will create happiness for those that involve my everday life.

I plan to reach my economic goals through the application of integrity, honesty, and dedication within all realms of life, from my family to my job. Being that I am interested in going into the medical field to become a doctor I know that with hard work and dedication I will most likely earn quite a bit of money. With this money I will be able to utilize the give and take with items that are within the economic world. Economic goals are related to the successful rate of a business, with honesty, integrity, and applied ethics, a lifestyle that is healthy and happy will be the result and those around me will be effected as well.

Which is more important, ethics or success? Why?


”Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.” --Mary Kay Ash



To answer this question I believe in order to have true success with no interuptions there takes a bit of ethics while handling a firm. Success should be counted on how one got to a point, not the end result or how they got there in one instant. Usually the team that plays the fair game and plays efficiently is the team that is going to win, but I believe it to be an issue within our society that there is always a secret passage, or an "in" so to speak. Someone may know someone to get them a postition or they may benefit from certain details. In the end though success rests upon the ethics that were involved.

Ethics within a business are not always played out and it is common within the business world that a leader within a business simply wants to get ahead and beat out the competitor, the way they beat the competitor does not matter as long as they get the business and profits. It is evident within our everyday world that there are thousands of companies in competition with one another and they all look for ways to beat the competitior, do they establish ethics within their drive to succeed? Some do, but others could care less. What is more efficient to find success, ethics or no ethics?

The glue that holds a true successful business together is ethics. Without it there is no trust between employee and boss, there is no ground of true customer service, and there is no room for there to be success for the business is being ran in a corrupt manner that is not beneficial to the company as a whole.
"Developing a code of business ethics will not stop unethical behavior but it will give people something to think about, a measurement against which to assess their behavior." Jaqueline Dunkal, author of Good Ethics, Good Business: Your Plan for Success states, "Ethical standards promote trust between a company and its customers as well as its employees, tells how to develop a code of ethics, and discusses the implementation and maintenance of an ethics program."

Leadership within a company must hold the value of ethics very high in order to have success."A wise business man will not seek advantage to the point where he generates dangerous hostility among employees, competitors, customers, government, or the public at large. But the decisions in this area are, in the final test, decisions of strategy and not of ethics" (Walton 18). The leader of a company knows what must happen to create true success. ”Integrity is the first step to true greatness." Success must be able to be seen and evaluated through honesty, integrity, and equality.

"The purpose of ethics in business is to direct business men and women to abide by a code of conduct that facilitates, if not encourages, public confidence in their products and services." It is evident that within the world of successful businesses its leader is the key establishment for ethics and its success. The leader of a company, in order to truly obtain success, must establish honesty, integrity, equality, knowledge, and many other ethical characteristics into his/her business and employees. Success is about the ethics in which are held within the business, it should not be about one or the other, but rather when both are utilized,. Only then can true success be reached.



Dunkan, Jaqueline.Good Ethics, Good Business: Your Plan for Success. Self-Counsel Press Inc. 1989

Walton, Clarence. Education, Leadership and Business Ethics: Essays on the Work of Clarence Walton. Springer:1998