My first genre is a tri-fold poster board that has the 3 prepared food businesses on each one of the panels. Each panel contains a picture of an example of each type of business. They also contain the pros and cons of each. Some of these pros and cons are accompanied by a picture that matches the pro or con. At the bottom of each panel, there is a final thought explaining why i believe the fast-casual businesses are exceeding their fast food and casual dining counterparts.
...
Wendy’s Inc. Workplace Evaluation
Location: ***** ****
Cleanliness: Because of the constant movement and the need to fulfill food orders, work stations are only cleaned and sanitized every thirty minutes on average. The same incident occurs with the floor too. The kitchen floor is only swept when a “rush” is over with. This can give customers a negative outlook at the stores cleanliness because the store’s kitchen is usually visible from the front counter. Fast food restaurant cleanliness is already looked down upon by the general public. Small things like a dirty floor or work station can hurt our image as a decent fast food restaurant.
Quality: The food is only good if it is sold within its allotted hold time. With so many foods that “expire” after an allotted amount of time, the employees are having problems keeping fresh, good quality food readily available. Fries seem to be the food that is constantly being criticized. Customers often bring the fries back up to the counter asking for fresh fries.
Speed: The employees are able to take the order, make the order, and serve the order at a quick and effective pace. While the food is not made 100% fresh, this allows the customer to get their food quick. This is also a factor when the prices are determined. While the quality of the food is still quite fair, the lack of 100% freshness is made up for by the price.
Overall: The restaurant is certainly nowhere close to being a sit down restaurant, but the store is for the most part clean and functional. The food is of average quality and is quickly and effectively made and given to the customer, which is the ultimate goal of a fast food restaurant.
Panera Bread Workplace Evaluation
Location: ********
Cleanliness: The work zones are cleaned after each preparation of a sandwich, bread, soup, etc. The kitchen cannot be seen from the front counter so the appearance of the kitchen is not extremely important, though the kitchen is still kept fairly clean. Eating utensils and trays are cleaned after each use. Since we use silverware and not plastic utensils, the dishes are not limited to just cooking pots and pans. It is important to maintain clean utensils because customers will not accept dirty ones.
Quality: All of the food is made fresh. The bread for sandwiches and sides is made hourly and no bread is kept longer than a couple hours. Soups are made as needed and are heated not to cook but to keep fresh.
Speed: Because all of our food is made fresh, it takes a few minutes to prepare it. The customers are given indicators that inform them when their food is ready. This is very affective and allows customers to get their drinks and a seat to eat before their food is ready.
Overall: The store is very popular and provides good quality food at a reasonable pace. Speed can always be improved upon, but the quality and freshness of the food always comes first. Customers choose Panera Bread over the others because they prefer and enjoy or fresh food. This store is a fine example of our goal.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Very Short Essay Assignment
I am choosing to stay with my research topic of why fast-casual restaurants seem to be out selling their fast food and casual dining counterparts. My research will useful to those interested i the subject and the people who work in any of the restaurant businesses.
Possible genres:
1. Recipe
2. Advertisement
3. Poster
4. Magazine feature
5. News article
Possible genres:
1. Recipe
2. Advertisement
3. Poster
4. Magazine feature
5. News article
Monday, February 25, 2008
Interview Reflection
My interviewee was my general manger at Wendy's. She was able to give me a great overview of how the store is run at different times of the day and her responsibilities as a store manager. Many on my questions gave me a look into what she has to do everyday. A lot of this was repetitive for me since i am an insider in this community. However, i was able to see things through a managers eyes rather than through an employees or researchers eyes.
A manger not only has to work as if they are an employee, but at the same time must think ahead and plan accordingly. Food that takes a while to cook must start cooking early enough to be ready for when a rush hits. They must also deal with unsatisfied customers and try to fix whatever problem they have.
She also pointed out the importance of keeping the customer happy. When a customer comes in with a complaint, she always tries her hardest to make them leave happy. While the problem is being taken care of she apologizes to the customer and talks to them, trying to make them more comfortable with her. When this doesn't work, she pulls out some manager techniques like giving refunds and coupons for future orders.
My manger is 100% an insider in this community. She runs the store with confidence and is able to fix many problems within the store. Her techniques used to run the store make her a great leader and she gives the store stability.
A manger not only has to work as if they are an employee, but at the same time must think ahead and plan accordingly. Food that takes a while to cook must start cooking early enough to be ready for when a rush hits. They must also deal with unsatisfied customers and try to fix whatever problem they have.
She also pointed out the importance of keeping the customer happy. When a customer comes in with a complaint, she always tries her hardest to make them leave happy. While the problem is being taken care of she apologizes to the customer and talks to them, trying to make them more comfortable with her. When this doesn't work, she pulls out some manager techniques like giving refunds and coupons for future orders.
My manger is 100% an insider in this community. She runs the store with confidence and is able to fix many problems within the store. Her techniques used to run the store make her a great leader and she gives the store stability.
Final Research Question Proposal
I have decided to stick with the same question i presented in my "Tentative Research Topic Proposal": What aspects of fast-casual restaurants make them more appealing to customers when compared to fast food and casual dining restaurants? Because this week is our break, i will be able to put more time into studying fast-casual restaurants and i will hopefully be able to make a CRJ for 2 different fast-casual restaurants. I understand that i must focus more on the fast casual restaurants and less on the pros and cons of the fast food and casual dining restaurants. I will still take that into consideration though when comparing them to fast-casual restaurants.
Annotated Bibliography #3
Thorn, Bret. "Good service for bad guests." Nation's Restaurant News. 42.4 (January 28 2008): 86.
This article talked about the importance of good customer service in the casual dining restaurant community. The author incorporates several interviews with restaurant workers. These restaurant workers tell their stories of how they showed good customer service to those who did not show the same respect back. Most of these stories had positive outcomes, showing the importance of good customer service.
The is a informative piece but is also an opinionated one. The author seems to be trying to show that good customer service is important. While this is arguably the view of many restaurant workers out there, i am sure there are many out there who do not believe in customer service. This article could be focused towards both restaurant owners and workers. Customer service is especially important in casual dining restaurants. For a waiter or waitress, customer service could be the difference between a 5 dollar tip and a 1 dollar tip.
The author protrays this all in a smooth, gently flowing tone. The author i believe is trying to persuade the reader that good customer service is important but is not forcing the idea upon them. I found this reading useful because it shows the level of importance customer service has in the casual dining community. The interviews give a great overview of how restaurant workers dealt with their customer issues.
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York, Emily Bryson. "Double cheeseburgers working triple time at fast feeders." Advertising Age. 79.1 (January 7 2008): 1, 25.
This article talks about the ever growing popularity of the 1 dollar double cheese burger popping up everywhere. Mcdonald's has been the head runner in the race for the best valued items. Wendy's has recently took a stab at the double cheese burger market, trying to compete with Micky D's. The author interviews franchise owners on the success of the double cheese burger and finds that the price the Wendy's burger is being sold for is less than what many believe it is worth. The franchise owner also goes on to say that the price of this burger will eventually go up to cut losses.
This article is an informative piece taking a look at the battle for the best value in the fast food market. This is directed to those who are interested in the sales of the fast food restaurants and those interested in the success of the new Wendy's product.
I did not find this as useful as i though it would be. It talks about a the fight going on between fast food restaurants for the better value in food. But my research is not studying the competition between different restaurants within the fast food business, rather it is studying the competition between different kinds of restaurants (fast food, casual dining, and fast-casual).
This article talked about the importance of good customer service in the casual dining restaurant community. The author incorporates several interviews with restaurant workers. These restaurant workers tell their stories of how they showed good customer service to those who did not show the same respect back. Most of these stories had positive outcomes, showing the importance of good customer service.
The is a informative piece but is also an opinionated one. The author seems to be trying to show that good customer service is important. While this is arguably the view of many restaurant workers out there, i am sure there are many out there who do not believe in customer service. This article could be focused towards both restaurant owners and workers. Customer service is especially important in casual dining restaurants. For a waiter or waitress, customer service could be the difference between a 5 dollar tip and a 1 dollar tip.
The author protrays this all in a smooth, gently flowing tone. The author i believe is trying to persuade the reader that good customer service is important but is not forcing the idea upon them. I found this reading useful because it shows the level of importance customer service has in the casual dining community. The interviews give a great overview of how restaurant workers dealt with their customer issues.
---
York, Emily Bryson. "Double cheeseburgers working triple time at fast feeders." Advertising Age. 79.1 (January 7 2008): 1, 25.
This article talks about the ever growing popularity of the 1 dollar double cheese burger popping up everywhere. Mcdonald's has been the head runner in the race for the best valued items. Wendy's has recently took a stab at the double cheese burger market, trying to compete with Micky D's. The author interviews franchise owners on the success of the double cheese burger and finds that the price the Wendy's burger is being sold for is less than what many believe it is worth. The franchise owner also goes on to say that the price of this burger will eventually go up to cut losses.
This article is an informative piece taking a look at the battle for the best value in the fast food market. This is directed to those who are interested in the sales of the fast food restaurants and those interested in the success of the new Wendy's product.
I did not find this as useful as i though it would be. It talks about a the fight going on between fast food restaurants for the better value in food. But my research is not studying the competition between different restaurants within the fast food business, rather it is studying the competition between different kinds of restaurants (fast food, casual dining, and fast-casual).
Sunday, February 24, 2008
CRJ #2
Overall Time: 4 pm - 6:15 pm
Left Side of Paper: Observations = "-"
Right Side of Paper: Thoughts and Questions = "*"
Location: Rio Grande - restaurant
Time: 4 pm - 5:30 pm
- we are seated in a 4 person booth. There are 4 place mats, 4 sets of silverware, condiments, and specials menu. Table is clean.
*At fast food restaurants you must grab all your own condiments from a condiment stand. Tables are not always clean.
-There is Spanish music playing. It sounds like polka music with Spanish lyrics.
*Does the music ever get to the employees? They work 6+ hour shifts and must listen to this "theme" music the whole time.
-Our waitress brings out chips and salsa. There are 2 kinds of salsa. one kind is in a red cup and the other in a white cup. The red cup holds the hotter of the two salsas.
*These chips and salsa are free, something that is not offered at fast food restaurants.
-The restaurant is nicely decorated with objects of Mexican culture. This makes the restaurant more inviting and adds a sort of fun factor to the place.
*This is another thing usually found in only sit down restaurants, for the most part. Many Macdonald's are taking on themes of their own. This is determined by the owner. Could decoration and atmosphere be a major condition customers look at when choosing a place to eat?
-There are numerous fliers hanging from the ceiling advertising different Mexican made beers.
*This type of advertisement can also be seen in many fast food restaurants.
-The food is brought out fairly quickly. The different parts of the meal are neatly placed on the plate.
*This is very different from fast food. Fast food items are individually wrapped and placed on a tray. When the food is open and presented properly it just seems more appetizing. However it took about 10 mins longer to get our food than it would at a fast food restaurant.
-Bill is brought out to us. The cost is $11.
*This amount is about double what I would pay at a fast food restaurant. I wonder if i can write off the dinner to my teacher, it was kind of like a business diner.
Location: Rio Grande - kitchen
Time: 5:30 - 6:15
-They are short staffed. There is one cook and the owner making the food.
*Why are they short staffed? Is it harder working short staffed at a fast food restaurant or at a sit down restaurant?
-As one order goes out another comes in. The owner and cook are moving fairly quickly.
*This is a lot like how a fast food restaurant works.
-There is one dish washing cleaning incoming dishes. I over hear a waitress say it is the dish washers first day working.
*This would explain why he seems to be moving so slow.
-As orders are filled, they are brought out to the customers by the waitresses.
*Fast food requires that you wait while your food is put onto a tray and then the customer carries their own food out and finds a table.
-The owner is losing her temper from the stress of the moment. She yells at the cook and throws lettuce at him.
*There is also a lot of stress in the sit down restaurant business. Its time for me to cut my observations short.
Left Side of Paper: Observations = "-"
Right Side of Paper: Thoughts and Questions = "*"
Location: Rio Grande - restaurant
Time: 4 pm - 5:30 pm
- we are seated in a 4 person booth. There are 4 place mats, 4 sets of silverware, condiments, and specials menu. Table is clean.
*At fast food restaurants you must grab all your own condiments from a condiment stand. Tables are not always clean.
-There is Spanish music playing. It sounds like polka music with Spanish lyrics.
*Does the music ever get to the employees? They work 6+ hour shifts and must listen to this "theme" music the whole time.
-Our waitress brings out chips and salsa. There are 2 kinds of salsa. one kind is in a red cup and the other in a white cup. The red cup holds the hotter of the two salsas.
*These chips and salsa are free, something that is not offered at fast food restaurants.
-The restaurant is nicely decorated with objects of Mexican culture. This makes the restaurant more inviting and adds a sort of fun factor to the place.
*This is another thing usually found in only sit down restaurants, for the most part. Many Macdonald's are taking on themes of their own. This is determined by the owner. Could decoration and atmosphere be a major condition customers look at when choosing a place to eat?
-There are numerous fliers hanging from the ceiling advertising different Mexican made beers.
*This type of advertisement can also be seen in many fast food restaurants.
-The food is brought out fairly quickly. The different parts of the meal are neatly placed on the plate.
*This is very different from fast food. Fast food items are individually wrapped and placed on a tray. When the food is open and presented properly it just seems more appetizing. However it took about 10 mins longer to get our food than it would at a fast food restaurant.
-Bill is brought out to us. The cost is $11.
*This amount is about double what I would pay at a fast food restaurant. I wonder if i can write off the dinner to my teacher, it was kind of like a business diner.
Location: Rio Grande - kitchen
Time: 5:30 - 6:15
-They are short staffed. There is one cook and the owner making the food.
*Why are they short staffed? Is it harder working short staffed at a fast food restaurant or at a sit down restaurant?
-As one order goes out another comes in. The owner and cook are moving fairly quickly.
*This is a lot like how a fast food restaurant works.
-There is one dish washing cleaning incoming dishes. I over hear a waitress say it is the dish washers first day working.
*This would explain why he seems to be moving so slow.
-As orders are filled, they are brought out to the customers by the waitresses.
*Fast food requires that you wait while your food is put onto a tray and then the customer carries their own food out and finds a table.
-The owner is losing her temper from the stress of the moment. She yells at the cook and throws lettuce at him.
*There is also a lot of stress in the sit down restaurant business. Its time for me to cut my observations short.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Tentative Research Topic Proposal
As my research narrows towards one topic, my research elements seem to keep on growing. After reading the two articles that i recently annotated, I came up with a few questions that led me to my main question: What aspects of fast-casual restaurants make them more appealing to customers when compared to fast food and casual dining restaurants? Statistics have shown that the growth of some casual dining restaurants and all the fast food restaurants have been declining over the past few years. In contrast to this, many fast-casual restaurants are booming and new locations are popping up everywhere.
I was initially going to compare fast food restaurants and casual dining restaurants and compare the pros and cons of each. When researching them, the first fast-casual restaurant i came across was Chipotle. This opened up a whole new view on the prepared food industry. By adding this 3rd aspect to the research, i will have to do double time and research a fast-casual restaurant such as Panera Bread. Good thing i love food.
CRJ #1
Overall Time: 7 pm - 10 pm
Left side of paper: Observations = "-"
Right side of paper: Thought and questions = "*"
Location: Dining Room
Time: 7 pm - 830 pm
-Dinner rush is starting up
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight.
-People come in the doors, mostly the north door. They look cold, blowing into their hands trying to recover from the cold winter night. They scan the menu looking for something to eat.
*These are the lazy people who either can't cook or don't want to cook.
-They stomp their feet on the tile floor rather then on the floor mats in the vestibules.
*Assholes, an employee will have to clean that up later. This makes closing the store take longer.
-People order food and the cashier takes their money, then gets their food together on the tray. A little girl yells "mommy i want this one!" as she points to a toy in the display case.
*The mom is looking kinda edgy, that kid better cool it.
-People in the dining room talk. laugh, and eat.
*I'll just observe and try not to eavesdrop.
-After completing their meals, the groups throw away their trash.
*These are good people, some people believe it is the employees job to take care of their trash.
-Some hooligans throw away their trash... along with the trays.
*I should go chase them down... i could take um.
-A man walks in to use the bathroom. He then leaves without ordering anything.
*Moocher...
Location: Kitchen/ Back room
Time: 8:30 pm - 10 pm
-Things seem to be slowing down. The sandwich maker is restocking his station.
*Making sandwiches, the one thing i never really do.
-Grill operator is cleaning the meat staging area. He is getting ready to "cook to order".
*He's late, i would have done that a half hour ago.
-Same process is repeated: person takes order over head set, customer pulls up to 1st window, employee takes money, people in the kitchen make the food as the customer is ordering it making it to the customers specifications.
*Wow, i need a new job...
-Food is handed out the window. The whole process takes and average of 100 secs.
*It better be an average of 100 secs, otherwise the manger will wig out.
-Cashier working up front moves out into the dining room to start cleaning it. This is so the dining room is ready to be closed at 10 pm.
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight, otherwise i would be the one out there cleaning the dining room.
-Cashier turns off lights in dinning room, the manger goes outside to lock the doors into the dining room.
*The employees only have 2 hours left until they get to close the whole store!!!
Left side of paper: Observations = "-"
Right side of paper: Thought and questions = "*"
Location: Dining Room
Time: 7 pm - 830 pm
-Dinner rush is starting up
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight.
-People come in the doors, mostly the north door. They look cold, blowing into their hands trying to recover from the cold winter night. They scan the menu looking for something to eat.
*These are the lazy people who either can't cook or don't want to cook.
-They stomp their feet on the tile floor rather then on the floor mats in the vestibules.
*Assholes, an employee will have to clean that up later. This makes closing the store take longer.
-People order food and the cashier takes their money, then gets their food together on the tray. A little girl yells "mommy i want this one!" as she points to a toy in the display case.
*The mom is looking kinda edgy, that kid better cool it.
-People in the dining room talk. laugh, and eat.
*I'll just observe and try not to eavesdrop.
-After completing their meals, the groups throw away their trash.
*These are good people, some people believe it is the employees job to take care of their trash.
-Some hooligans throw away their trash... along with the trays.
*I should go chase them down... i could take um.
-A man walks in to use the bathroom. He then leaves without ordering anything.
*Moocher...
Location: Kitchen/ Back room
Time: 8:30 pm - 10 pm
-Things seem to be slowing down. The sandwich maker is restocking his station.
*Making sandwiches, the one thing i never really do.
-Grill operator is cleaning the meat staging area. He is getting ready to "cook to order".
*He's late, i would have done that a half hour ago.
-Same process is repeated: person takes order over head set, customer pulls up to 1st window, employee takes money, people in the kitchen make the food as the customer is ordering it making it to the customers specifications.
*Wow, i need a new job...
-Food is handed out the window. The whole process takes and average of 100 secs.
*It better be an average of 100 secs, otherwise the manger will wig out.
-Cashier working up front moves out into the dining room to start cleaning it. This is so the dining room is ready to be closed at 10 pm.
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight, otherwise i would be the one out there cleaning the dining room.
-Cashier turns off lights in dinning room, the manger goes outside to lock the doors into the dining room.
*The employees only have 2 hours left until they get to close the whole store!!!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Annotated Bibilography #2
Ruggless, Ron, "Mexican dinnerhouses lose heat as fast-casual segment's sales sizzle." Nation's Restaurant News. 37.33 (Aug 18 2003): 3, 110.
This article discussed the battle for sales between casual dining and fast-casual Mexican food restaurants. The sales of these fast-casual restaurants are steadily growing along with the growth of the companies. Restaurants such as Chipotle and Baja Fresh are thriving and and the number of new locations is rapidly increasing. Cozymel's Coastal Grill, a casual dining restaurant owned by Brinker International Inc., was speculated to prosper as a upscale Mexican food restaurant. By the end of 2003, there were only 16 Cozymel's in existence and they showed no sign of rapid or even moderate growth.
This article is meant to be informative to the reader showing the increase in demand for fast-casual Mexican food restaurants and a decrease in the growth of the casual dining restaurants. The audience being targeted are those who are interested in the growth of these different types of food chains and those who are involved in the prepared Mexican food business.
This poses interesting questions that would be valuable to my research. It would be beneficial to look at why the fast-casual restaurants are able to thrive while the casual dining restaurants are on a downwards slope. By weighing the pros and cons of each style restaurant, i can determine and make an educated guess as to why these markets are performing the way they are.
---
Pethokoukis, James M. "Bye-Bye, Burgers." U.S News & World Report. 133.21 (Dec. 2 2002): 36-7.
This article also deals with the ever growing "fast-casual" food chains, but compares them to many of the popular fast food restaurants. These fast-casual restaurants are made to offer the quickness of a fast food restaurants and the food quality of a casual dining restaurants. While most all fast-casual restaurants are flourishing and growing exponentially, fast foods industry leader, McDonald's, is struggling to keep stores sales up. In 2002, Micky D's closed 175 under performing restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill however saw a 116 percent increase in sales.
The author pulls his information from different fast food and restaurant analyst companies and quotes many of these analysts. This article is an informative article that compares the decrease in fast food sales compared to the booming business of the fast-casual food chains. It gives a great overview of how this new fast-casual type of restaurant is taking over the prepared food industry. The article is towards those with interest in the prepared food business and the increased performance of the fast-casual restaurants.
This is another interesting aritcle because not only are those in the casual dining industry feeling the increasing success of the fast-casual food industry. This will allow me to think more critically of the pros can cons of the fast food restaurants as well. I can compare both fast food and casual dinning restaurants to fast-casual restaurants to see if there is a commonality as to why fast-casual is preferred over the other two.
This article discussed the battle for sales between casual dining and fast-casual Mexican food restaurants. The sales of these fast-casual restaurants are steadily growing along with the growth of the companies. Restaurants such as Chipotle and Baja Fresh are thriving and and the number of new locations is rapidly increasing. Cozymel's Coastal Grill, a casual dining restaurant owned by Brinker International Inc., was speculated to prosper as a upscale Mexican food restaurant. By the end of 2003, there were only 16 Cozymel's in existence and they showed no sign of rapid or even moderate growth.
This article is meant to be informative to the reader showing the increase in demand for fast-casual Mexican food restaurants and a decrease in the growth of the casual dining restaurants. The audience being targeted are those who are interested in the growth of these different types of food chains and those who are involved in the prepared Mexican food business.
This poses interesting questions that would be valuable to my research. It would be beneficial to look at why the fast-casual restaurants are able to thrive while the casual dining restaurants are on a downwards slope. By weighing the pros and cons of each style restaurant, i can determine and make an educated guess as to why these markets are performing the way they are.
---
Pethokoukis, James M. "Bye-Bye, Burgers." U.S News & World Report. 133.21 (Dec. 2 2002): 36-7.
This article also deals with the ever growing "fast-casual" food chains, but compares them to many of the popular fast food restaurants. These fast-casual restaurants are made to offer the quickness of a fast food restaurants and the food quality of a casual dining restaurants. While most all fast-casual restaurants are flourishing and growing exponentially, fast foods industry leader, McDonald's, is struggling to keep stores sales up. In 2002, Micky D's closed 175 under performing restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill however saw a 116 percent increase in sales.
The author pulls his information from different fast food and restaurant analyst companies and quotes many of these analysts. This article is an informative article that compares the decrease in fast food sales compared to the booming business of the fast-casual food chains. It gives a great overview of how this new fast-casual type of restaurant is taking over the prepared food industry. The article is towards those with interest in the prepared food business and the increased performance of the fast-casual restaurants.
This is another interesting aritcle because not only are those in the casual dining industry feeling the increasing success of the fast-casual food industry. This will allow me to think more critically of the pros can cons of the fast food restaurants as well. I can compare both fast food and casual dinning restaurants to fast-casual restaurants to see if there is a commonality as to why fast-casual is preferred over the other two.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Citation & CRJ
York, Emily Bryson. "Double cheeseburgers working triple time at fast feeders." Advertising Age. 79.1 (January 7 2008): 1, 25.
Ruggless, Ron. "Mexican dinnerhouses lose heat as fast-casual segment's sales sizzle." Nation's Restaurant News. 37.33 (Aug. 18 2003): 3, 110.
Due to my surgery last week, i was unable to make the observations i wanted to. I am planning on putting in 3 hrs for the the next two weeks.
Ruggless, Ron. "Mexican dinnerhouses lose heat as fast-casual segment's sales sizzle." Nation's Restaurant News. 37.33 (Aug. 18 2003): 3, 110.
Due to my surgery last week, i was unable to make the observations i wanted to. I am planning on putting in 3 hrs for the the next two weeks.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Super Bowl Reading Response
I read the article on the media and the Super Bowl. Never have I seen someone that was so upset by such a beautiful thing. The Super Bowl is a one of America's greatest sporting events, an event that brings friends and family together to watch a match between the year’s arguably two greatest professional football teams. The author calls out the Super Bowl as the biggest media event of the year which is blatantly apparent. The author’s over analysis of the event is what lost me. Because of the events immense popularity, the media has taken advantage of this to hit as many potential customers as possible. As a result, the expenses the businesses must pay to be apart of this media festival are very great. The author criticizes the Super Bowl saying only a select few get to photograph the event. This is the simple principal of supply and demand. If every mediocre photographer could be there taking pictures, there would be no room for the players to play the game. Its funny to see that the less privileged are always the ones complaining. The author states that she is an outsider because of her limited view on the event and the fact that she is a woman. I find this to be unacceptable and ignorant. Though it true that there are more male football fans than female, I know many females that are die hard football fans that can not only keep up with the game but comprehend it as well. I believe that her limited knowledge of the game is what gives her a cloudy view of the event itself. Her views do raise a good point however. There are more and more people watching the Super Bowl not for the game itself, but for the ads displayed between game time. I believe the true meaning of the event has been obscured through out the years but the true fans watch it for what it really is; a game between two great football teams to determine who has had the most luck, and worked the hardest throughout the year to call themselves the Super Bowl champions.
Research Tutorial
A. 1. Cullen, Lisa Takeuchi. "When Eat Meets West." Time. 171.4 (January 28 2008): 44-6.
-I used the WilsonSelectPlus database.
2. Pettersson, Anette, and Christina Fjellström. "Original Article: Restaurants As Friends of
the Family: Functions of Restaurant Visits in Everyday Life." Journal of Foodservice. 18.6
(2007): 207-217.
-I used the FirstSearch database
B. I could look at reviews by food critics and see their notes on the food, service, and clenslyness of the different restaurants.
C. I could look in magazines on restaurants that discuss the food, service etc. Im not sure what i could look in for fast food because im am not aware of any fast food magazines.
D. I could compare the nutrition of the food from both sit down restaurants and fast food. There are numerous websites that hold these facts for different fast food places and im sure there are restaurants that post there nutrition facts. I could also look at reviews from different food critics and see what they have to say about the different restaurants.
-I used the WilsonSelectPlus database.
2. Pettersson, Anette, and Christina Fjellström. "Original Article: Restaurants As Friends of
the Family: Functions of Restaurant Visits in Everyday Life." Journal of Foodservice. 18.6
(2007): 207-217.
-I used the FirstSearch database
B. I could look at reviews by food critics and see their notes on the food, service, and clenslyness of the different restaurants.
C. I could look in magazines on restaurants that discuss the food, service etc. Im not sure what i could look in for fast food because im am not aware of any fast food magazines.
D. I could compare the nutrition of the food from both sit down restaurants and fast food. There are numerous websites that hold these facts for different fast food places and im sure there are restaurants that post there nutrition facts. I could also look at reviews from different food critics and see what they have to say about the different restaurants.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Community Purposal
After reviewing the possible communities, I have found that the most logical and accessible choice would the restaurant community, both fast and sit down. Although this was not my first choice, I decided it would be easier to go to a restaurant than go to Italy to study Italian culture. I have worked in the fast food community for the past two years and would like to find out all the similarities and differences between fast food restaurants and sit down restaurants. I would also like find out the pros and cons of working and eating at each.
One reason I chose the restaurant community is my easy access to both kinds of communities. I will be able to observe the fast food community through my own work place as well as through my friends work places. I will conduct interviews with employees, managers, and customers. I will be able to get their perspectives on the fast food community and the customers opinions on the food and service. I can get a feel for what its like to work in the morning serving breakfast opposed to working in the afternoon or at night. The managers can give me an overview of what their responsibilities are and what a typical day as a manager is like. The combined observations and interviews will give me a better view of the fast food industry as a whole.
I have a friend that is a top waitress at a sit down Mexican food restaurant and she as offered to hep me with my research. I will be able to sit down and observe the waitresses and cooks and see what it's like to work in the sit down restaurant community. I will also be able to observe the quality and time of arrival of the food.
After observing both the fast food and sit down restaurant communities, i can compare the two and find the different pros and cons of each. I am an insider in the fast food community and an outsider of the sit down restaurant. Even though i am a part of the fast food community, i the share the same views on fast food as many others. Fast food is cheap and a lot of the time quality is not a huge worry. Sit down restuarants tend to be nicer and take more pride in the food they make. The food is not only made to customers standards but it is cooked to their standards as well. I expect to observe all aspects of the two communities and put to test the stereotypes of each one.
Questions for the restuarant:
1. What are some duties as a waitress in the sit down community?
2. What are the working conditions of both?
3. Which job seems harder in the eyes of the employees, managers, and customers?
One reason I chose the restaurant community is my easy access to both kinds of communities. I will be able to observe the fast food community through my own work place as well as through my friends work places. I will conduct interviews with employees, managers, and customers. I will be able to get their perspectives on the fast food community and the customers opinions on the food and service. I can get a feel for what its like to work in the morning serving breakfast opposed to working in the afternoon or at night. The managers can give me an overview of what their responsibilities are and what a typical day as a manager is like. The combined observations and interviews will give me a better view of the fast food industry as a whole.
I have a friend that is a top waitress at a sit down Mexican food restaurant and she as offered to hep me with my research. I will be able to sit down and observe the waitresses and cooks and see what it's like to work in the sit down restaurant community. I will also be able to observe the quality and time of arrival of the food.
After observing both the fast food and sit down restaurant communities, i can compare the two and find the different pros and cons of each. I am an insider in the fast food community and an outsider of the sit down restaurant. Even though i am a part of the fast food community, i the share the same views on fast food as many others. Fast food is cheap and a lot of the time quality is not a huge worry. Sit down restuarants tend to be nicer and take more pride in the food they make. The food is not only made to customers standards but it is cooked to their standards as well. I expect to observe all aspects of the two communities and put to test the stereotypes of each one.
Questions for the restuarant:
1. What are some duties as a waitress in the sit down community?
2. What are the working conditions of both?
3. Which job seems harder in the eyes of the employees, managers, and customers?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
WE2
It's weird how we can be part of something and not even know it. Community is something can include you without any effort at all. A community is a group of people with a common interest, belief, or similarity. In Rick Zollo's Friday Night at
The truckers within the trucking community must face many hardships that make their jobs harder than they are made out to be. When thinking of driving a truck as a profession, the details seem quite clear. A driver drives a truck from point A to point B, drops off the load and is done. In actuality there are many hardships in the job. When a trucker is driving, they drive for many hours non-stop. Long distance truck drivers tend to show signs of premature aging from the stress and lack of sleep. Another concern is the growing number of truck drivers that must unload their own truck. A trucker typically only gets paid for the actual transportation of the goods. The stores or warehouses where the trucks is delivering are not providing a person to unload the truck so the trucker must either unload the truck themselves while not getting paid, or they must hire someone to unload it for them and pay this person out of their own pocket. Many truckers admit that these problems are only going to get worse.
As I stated before, it is not hard to become part of a community. Any kind of interaction with the community can make you a member. I have found myself in numerous communities such as the teenage community, the sports community, the computer community, the music community, and many others. Within in these communities there can be sub-communities which can be different genres or different factions of a group. Within the sports community, I would be part of the football, and basketball sub-communities. Though I can not relate to either of the readings Dumpster Diving or Friday Night at
Reader Response 2
Rick Zollo works for the University of Iowa and reports on the trucker community. Truckers drive large loads of goods across the country for hours without rest. They are only paid for the the time they are driving. This has become a concern to many workers because many truck drivers are being forced to unload their own trucks which can take hours, hours of unpaid work. Many truckers own their own truck and consider it their most valuable possession in the profession. Others value their log books which must be "altered" to keep within the legal constraints.
The author gathers his information by spending a day at a widely used truck stop. His research is composed of numerous interviews with a diverse group of truck drivers. The author is an obvious outsider and points this out numerous times. The truck drivers are very wherry of him at first because they believe him to be a "spotter" for a trucking company or a government worker. After proving himself friendly though, the truckers are happy to give out their feelings on the industry and trucking in general. The author is neither objective or biased because his entire essay is a series of interviews. The opinions and ideas of the truckers however are very biased towards the truckers and how they are treated and the problems with the industry.
The author presents his data in a formal fashion. He talks about his experiences at the truck stop and describes his interview with the different truckers. This is the kind of essay you would see in an academic setting. This is proved by the fact that Zollo works for the University of Iowa. Zollo somewhat tells a story with his interview. He explains what he did throughout the day and how he got into his conversations and interviews. This gives us a true view of the personalities of the truck drivers and how i can be sometimes difficult to obtain information from people. It was an interesting read and showed me the life of a truck driver. I was opened to new things about truck drivers and gave me a background of their everyday lives.
The author gathers his information by spending a day at a widely used truck stop. His research is composed of numerous interviews with a diverse group of truck drivers. The author is an obvious outsider and points this out numerous times. The truck drivers are very wherry of him at first because they believe him to be a "spotter" for a trucking company or a government worker. After proving himself friendly though, the truckers are happy to give out their feelings on the industry and trucking in general. The author is neither objective or biased because his entire essay is a series of interviews. The opinions and ideas of the truckers however are very biased towards the truckers and how they are treated and the problems with the industry.
The author presents his data in a formal fashion. He talks about his experiences at the truck stop and describes his interview with the different truckers. This is the kind of essay you would see in an academic setting. This is proved by the fact that Zollo works for the University of Iowa. Zollo somewhat tells a story with his interview. He explains what he did throughout the day and how he got into his conversations and interviews. This gives us a true view of the personalities of the truck drivers and how i can be sometimes difficult to obtain information from people. It was an interesting read and showed me the life of a truck driver. I was opened to new things about truck drivers and gave me a background of their everyday lives.
Monday, January 14, 2008
WE1
I am always looking for something to do with my free time and always end up dropping what ever i pick up. The one thing I always seem to run back to is my computer. My interest in computers has led me to a career path in computer science. Computers can be used to anything and are becoming more advanced everyday. I like finding new things to do and improving what I already have. The cool thing about computers is that they fit into almost every community because almost every community uses computers. My career choice uses computers to write programs for and they are becoming more advanced.
Computers are so complicated that they are a science. The physical part of computers include all the hardware which includes the power source, motherboard, RAM, ROM, cooling fan, ports, etc. If you have a tower rather a laptop, you will also need a computer monitor to see what you are doing on the computer. These are what make the machine function and run. In addition there are many other things that are not essential to the computer but can be added on for the users enjoyment. Speakers can be added to enjoy music on your computer and here things programs are telling you or informing you of. There are also countless numbers of usb and firewire devices that can be used to enhance your computer experience.
Software programs are the programs that make the machine do what you want it to do. An important program is the operating system which is the platform for the rest of your programs to run from. Windows, Linux, etc would be examples of computer operating systems. Windows is a widely popular operating system (os) but what os is used is usually determined by the users own personal preferences.
Then there are your usual software programs that we use to do our everyday jobs. The program does what the code it written to do. This could be anything from adding up the amounts from your bank accounts to telling your sim to walk the dog. computers have come a long way and programs can do almost anything today.
I would consider my self an insider in the computer community. But really, everyone is a member of the computer community. Everyone in one way or another must interact with a computer and almost all households have computers these days. Even though i have been using computers for years, there are still many things i do not know about computers. The code that is used to write programs can be complicated but once it is understood, there are countless things you can do with it. My path to a career in computer science will show me how to deal with many of these thingss but it would be greta to have a background on them before entering the classes.
Computers are so complicated that they are a science. The physical part of computers include all the hardware which includes the power source, motherboard, RAM, ROM, cooling fan, ports, etc. If you have a tower rather a laptop, you will also need a computer monitor to see what you are doing on the computer. These are what make the machine function and run. In addition there are many other things that are not essential to the computer but can be added on for the users enjoyment. Speakers can be added to enjoy music on your computer and here things programs are telling you or informing you of. There are also countless numbers of usb and firewire devices that can be used to enhance your computer experience.
Software programs are the programs that make the machine do what you want it to do. An important program is the operating system which is the platform for the rest of your programs to run from. Windows, Linux, etc would be examples of computer operating systems. Windows is a widely popular operating system (os) but what os is used is usually determined by the users own personal preferences.
Then there are your usual software programs that we use to do our everyday jobs. The program does what the code it written to do. This could be anything from adding up the amounts from your bank accounts to telling your sim to walk the dog. computers have come a long way and programs can do almost anything today.
I would consider my self an insider in the computer community. But really, everyone is a member of the computer community. Everyone in one way or another must interact with a computer and almost all households have computers these days. Even though i have been using computers for years, there are still many things i do not know about computers. The code that is used to write programs can be complicated but once it is understood, there are countless things you can do with it. My path to a career in computer science will show me how to deal with many of these thingss but it would be greta to have a background on them before entering the classes.
Reader Response 1
The author talks about the homeless community. The homeless are forced to find alternate ways of finding food and income. This makes anything that has any amount of worth valued in the homeless community. Any edible food is essential to living. Also any items that can be fixed or are in good condition can be sold. For some cans are a main source of income. The author is his own source on the subject because he was once a homeless person. He uses his own experiences as examples for his work. This makes the author an insider because he was a part of the community. He has more experience on the subject then that of someone just studying the homeless. The author is quite neutral when talking about the homeless but tends to to be biased on some issues. This is a result of the authors past experiences as a homeless.
The author presents the homeless as not a lesser group, but a group that does what it needs to survive. Dumpster diving is some what of an art that a person gets better at with experience. The writing was informal because there were no interviews or formal ideas in the writing. All the experiences of the story were pulled from past memories and experiences. The writing did not have a typically researched topic. The topic of homeless people and garbage diving is not one usually found in an academic setting. The author presents the topic in a mild manner. It was more of an informative essay than a opinionated essay. This is better for the readers because it gives an overview rather then trying to persuade the reader that the dumpster diving is good or acceptable. I found it informative and it gave me a view of what homeless must do to survive without a home.
The author presents the homeless as not a lesser group, but a group that does what it needs to survive. Dumpster diving is some what of an art that a person gets better at with experience. The writing was informal because there were no interviews or formal ideas in the writing. All the experiences of the story were pulled from past memories and experiences. The writing did not have a typically researched topic. The topic of homeless people and garbage diving is not one usually found in an academic setting. The author presents the topic in a mild manner. It was more of an informative essay than a opinionated essay. This is better for the readers because it gives an overview rather then trying to persuade the reader that the dumpster diving is good or acceptable. I found it informative and it gave me a view of what homeless must do to survive without a home.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Letter Back To You
Dear Sarah Soebbing,
English has never been my forte. This is one reason why I chose computer science as my major; I hoped it was a major that required me to take a minimal amount of English classes. I was unsure of my abilities as a writer at the beginning of my first semester at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), and as a result I took English 120 to get an idea of where I stood. Though I did well in the class, I concluded that writing still wasn’t the thing for me. I am taking English 121 as a general education requirement so that I may further pursue my major. If I’m lucky it will be one of my last English classes at EMU.
While taking this class, I hope to gather a better knowledge of how to affectively conduct research and compile it into a structured and well thought out essay. When conducting research for essays I have a problem determining what information is important to the subject and what information can be left out. I’m also never sure if I have enough information to write a strong enough essay. Once I actually have the information though, I am able to affectively express my views, ideas, and back them up with my acquired information.
In English 120 I was able to pick up some valuable skills that will helped improve my writing. I hope to use what I have learned and what I will learn in English 121 to prepare me for the genres that will be laid in front of me in the real world.
Sincerely,
Adam DeVergilio
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