My First Job.doc

My First JobTwo noted Americans explain why Its not what you earn-its what you learnCompiled by Daniel LevineThe Auto Prepper (Jay Leno) I acquired a very strong work ethic from my parents, both of whom lived through the Great Depression. They couldnt understand people who didnt work regularly. I once told my mom that Sylvester was getting $12 million for ten weeks of work. “Whats he going to do the rest of the year?” She asked. I took my parents work ethic into my first job at Wilmington Ford near my hometown of Andover, Mass, when I was 16. I worked until five or six oclock on school days and put in 12-hour days during the summer as a prepper. This meant washing and polishing the new cars, and making sure the paper floor mats were in place. Another responsibility was taking off the hubcaps at night, so they wouldnt get stolen and replacing them the next day. This was hard work because we had about seven acres of cars. One day, carrying an armful of hubcaps around a corner, I almost bumped into our new general manager. Startled, I dropped them all. He fired me on the spot. I was too ashamed to tell my parents. Every day for bout two weeks, I stayed busy until evening. Then I would go home and say I had a great day at work. Desperate, I wrote a letter to Henry Ford II and told him what happened. I said that we were a loyal Ford family and that when I was old enough, I was going to buy a Mustang. Eventually the owner of the dealership called. “I dont know who you know in Detroit,” he said, “but if you want your job back, you got it.” Later, during college, I wanted to work at a Rolls-Royce dealership, but the owner said there were no openings. So I started washing cars there anyway. When the owner noticed me, I said I was working until he hired me. He did. It takes persistence to succeed. Attitude also matter. I have never thought I was better than anyone else, but I have always believed I couldnt be outworked.The Cashier (Jill E. Barad) I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the register in her Manhattan pharmacy. Before long, she let me sit there by myself. I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you”. At first I was paid in candy. Later I received 50 cents an hour. I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought. Grandma, a tough taskmaster, never gave me favorable treatment. She watched me like a hawk yet allowed me to handle high-pressure situations such as working during the lunch rush. Her trust taught me how to handle responsibility. By the time I was 12, she thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as “What color do you think I should wear?” I took a genuine interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup ideas. I ended up selling a record amount of cosmetics. The job taught me a valuable lesson, that to be a successful salesperson, you didnt need to be a rocket scientist-you needed to be a great listener. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers. Except they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.Future of Net EconomyBy Pete Dowden As we have entered the new century, human society is beginning its move from the industrial economy into the knowledge-based economy. In more specific terms, the application of information to the economy is best used in the networking of communication, or the so-called Net economy. This Net refers to the computer network of satellites, optic fibers, and telephone lines that connect the whole world. With the click of a mouse, information from the other end of the globe will be transported to you computer screen at the extremely fast speed of the Net. One is the times around the earth per second. Generally, there are two aspects of the Net. One is the networking between business and their customers. The other is the networking between individual businesses, or the regional and even global networking between industrial production and scientific research. Internet shopping belongs to the first aspect. From a long-term perspective, Internet shopping is but a low-level aspect of the Net, and it is not very likely to become the most important trend. After all, most commodities are unsuitable for Internet shopping. Besides, if everyone shops on the Net, what will happen to the hundreds and thousands of shopping malls? Therefore, the second aspect of the Net will be more important. Its significance goes beyond that of connecting businesses. There have been reports of immediate consultation of doctors from all over the world on the Internet. These are early examples of high-level networking. It is estimated that the new interaction between computers and Net technology will have significant influence on the industry of the future. The huge power, of electronic commerce (e-commerce) will change the face of trade dramatically. Sporting goods company Puma was on the verge of bankruptcy back in 1992. From 1993, Puma began to scatter its production, logistics was transformed from a common company into a magnificent one. The reason for this transformation is that intra and inter-business electronic links greatly increase the efficiency of production, planning, the collecting of information and data exchange. As the business is rapidly being rationalized, production figures go up while costs come down. The development of e-commerce may well bring the world into a brand new era of “electronic currency”. With the emergence of an electronic currency, everyone of us would be affected. At the moment, developed areas in Europe, the United States and Asia have already started studying the possibility of an electronic currency. Electronic currency is not only about currency. It refers to an entire finance system on the Net. It includes a virtual numeric currency an electronic system of withdrawals, transfers and loans, and Smartcards (electronic purses) of all shapes and sizes. The appearance of an electronic currency system implies the emergence of “virtual banks” and “virtual enterprises”. Actually, the original beginning of a virtual bank appeared in the US in 1995 as the Security First Network Bank, the worlds first Internet Bank. Although it is a small and insignificant bank, it represents the trend of the future. In time to come, we may even have to abandon the familiar paper currency. As the Net pushes the economy ahead rapidly, the economy is also bringing the Net market forward, resulting in the Internet itself becoming the worlds largest emerging market.