Decision Making

The task to decide the fate of our grades seemed relatively simple, but the different opinions and self-interests played a major role in the decision making. In my case, I was jumping from one method to another. Initially, I was using the accommodation method, because I thought that this was an opportunity for those who didn't do well in the test to have a chance to improve their grades. As a student, I understand that sometimes, regardless of how much you study for an exam, you still get a low grade. This happens to me once in a while, and it's not because of lack of studying since it's unacceptable for me to take a test without being prepared.
One of our fellow classmate was eager to win and to make her case regarding the option of rewriting the essay and to gain the points back. I understand she did well in her essay and it was important for her that others won't have a second chance to gain back the points, I only lost 2 points in my essay and I didn't agree with her, but I didn't say anything because people who got a low grade in their essays didn't speak up either. So, at this point, I was moving to the "avoidance method" because the whole discussion seemed pointless since only one person's opinion was valid to lower the extra credit points and to rewrite the essay. I was already satisfied with the curve, it was all I wanted.
If I had the knowledge I have now, I would chosen the "collaborating method" where the class would be divided in smaller groups, and each group will come out with suggestions and each group will granted 1 vote for each suggestion. This method would have been better because it would give us more time to come up with new ideas and more time to negotiate. In addition, everyone will have a chance to speak, because most people tend not to speak in large groups and prefer to express their opinions in smaller groups.
I think that overall, despite the conflicts to achieve our goal, we were successful in this task.

Weak Currency

Global outsourcing is good for several reasons, companies can acquired products from around the world with a more competitive price and sell them locally. A large number of goods and products sold in the USA are made in China. Some companies open factories in China and others have contracts with chinese factores to manufacture their products.
Products made in China have a lower cost for companies, because the chinese currency (yuan) is weaker than the US dollar. Is this good or bad? It maybe good for companies, because they pay less for the products and sell them with a high profit. The US government have critized the weak yuan and want the Chinese government to increase the currency rate in order to protect the US trade and workers. Is it really true or is it more a political issue? No doubt job migration could have a negative impact in the local economy, but some may argue that new jobs will be created to replace those lost to job migration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7035009.stm

Sunny Side up Egg

The objective was to ensure that the egg will be kept intact with the limited resources we had. Our plan was to suspend the egg with the 8 straws and the tape, and the egg will fall into the ground with a distance of 2 inches. A thick tape was attached to the bottom o the egg, in order to avoid to break the egg when it touches the ground.
From the very beginning we draw our design based on the idea of having the egg suspended by a cord. We made a few modifications, such as changing the length of the cord. The initial idea was to use the straws as a cord and the tape was only used to attach the egg, but we decided that we it would be better to use some of the tape as part of the cord ( a combination of the 8 straws and half of the tape). After our final drawing, we started to put our ideas into action. When we finished our prototype, we tested it in order to ensure that it will work according to our plans, before we presented it to the rest of the class and the professor. The test showed us that we needed to add more tape on the bottom of the egg, so we did it. Later, it proved to be a successful plan, because the egg did not break.
This exercised helped us to use our creativity and to work as a team, because without the contribution and ideas of each member, we wouldn't be able to make it successful.