Homework 10

Despite being part of the tech savvy generation, I was surprised by how much I learned in the MIS Course. There are so many different components and strategies involved with Management Information Systems, and the technologies that business create to improve how efficient businesses operate are changing at a rapid pace. In order to remain competitive in such a globalized economy, companies need to stay at the cutting edge of technologies to keep up with the competition and remain current. Just as companies need to be ate the forefront of technology, the employees who work within these organizations also need to remain up to date and knowledgeable about how this technology systems operate.

One of the most interesting topics that we covered in the class was the idea of cloud computing. Cloud computing is a technology not only used by business people but in the everyday lives of the consumer, through consumer products like the Amazon Cloud Drive, Apple Cloud systems, and Cloud systems utilized by many e-readers. "In cloud computing, tasks are performed by computers physically removed from the user and accessed over a network, in particular the Internet." (Rainer, 426). Remote server farms store the data remotely, and this information is then accessible over the internet. Adequate firewalls are in place to prevent malicious behavior and hacking into the system, and cloud computing is associated with much lower infrastructure costs. Cloud Computing would be especially useful in my career in Accounting as it allows you to access large quantities of information anywhere you have an internet connection. This would be especially useful when performing auditing functions remotely on site. Cloud computing software would enable auditing teams to access previous data about financial statements and past auditing opinions with great ease.

Cloud Computing technology is a rapidly growing technology, and there are a number of start-ups in the Boston area are based on developing cloud computing systems for businesses. A recent article in the Boston Business Journal profiled 6 of the "cloudiest" start-ups in the Boston area: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2011/12/boston-cloud-startups-cloud-city.html Because they do not have to hire an IT department on site, cloud computing is a very tempting option for small business that do not have the necessary expenditures to hire a IT department to run their information systems. Cloud computing is the wave of the future, and is poised for tremendous amounts of growth in the near future and beyond.

Information I Will Use to Succeed After College

At the beginning of MIS this semester, I began to believe that the subject area covered in this course was not going to be very beneficial to my future plans for after college. This belief I had stayed constant until I began to realize to true meaning of what MIS is to a company. MIS in my own perspective is the heart of a company. I believe that in order for many companies to be organized and ahead of their competitors, they must have implied a very successful information system to their very own company. The information systems allow for a company to be able to be organized, efficient, and effective when it comes to competing in their given markets.

Throughout the semester, there have been two topics that meant more to me than the others. These two topics were the RFID chips, as well as the use of database planning. For me, I hope to one day own and operate my own bar and restaurant. For me to do this I need to be able to set my company apart from the competitors by not just the levels of food, but also by how I will be able to best suit my customers. I want to be able to better incorporate the concept of providing discounts and benefits to my repeat customers, but want to employ these tactics in a way that sets me apart from my competitors. With the use of RFID chips, it allows for the deletion of needing to send rapid emails each week about the specials I will offer. Instead of sending emails and having coupons on paper, I can simply issue an RFID chip embedded in a card, bracelet, or shirt to my loyal customers, so that each and every time they enter my restaurant, my staff could simply scan the product with the chip in it, and then apply the discounts instantly. A very good example of this is how to the Tampa Bay Lightning have included this to their very own season ticket holders.

The second topic that was important to me was the use of database planning. I currently work at a restaurant, where we have loyalty reward cards that are used for each individual person. When these cards are swiped into our machines, the customers personal information that they have given to us appears on the screen, in order for us to recognize if there is a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion that we can congratulate them on. I feel as though with the useful knowledge that I learned about database planning, I will be able to take this knowledge and employ it into my restaurant that I hope to one day have in the future. The use of the databases will allow me to be able to create a cliental list that I can use in order to provide catering services, as well as my future rewards programs myself.

Overall, I feel as though MIS has had a positive effect on the way I look at business today. When I first came into this class, I did not understand or appreciate the respect that was needed for a business to run with a correct MIS in place. With the knowledge I learned in this class, I hope to be able to one day use it in my own company, in order to be successful.

My Final Thoughts

Upon entering this class, I was really skeptical as to how important this class would be to my future as I enter the job market upon graduation. The one thing I learned from this class is truly how important the concept of management information systems are to the success of a company. While many managers and businesses may overlook the true need for them, the one thing that I learned is that in order to be successful and ahead of the competition, the need for MIS is a must.

Throughout the semester there were a couple of topics that truly opened up my eyes when it comes to the sense of realization. These topics were the idea of the Ten Flatteners, as well as the entire idea of Globalization 1, 2, & 3. While the Ten Flatteners covers a wide range of concepts, the two most important flatteners that hit me were the idea of offshoring and "steroids". When it comes to the idea of offshoring, I believe that this has the greatest effect on me, as well as all the other students who are going to be seeking a job following graduation. While Friedman argues that the internal relocation of a company's manufacturing or other processes to a foreign land allows those companies to to be able to take advantage of less costly operations, and begins to even the playing field when everyone else begins to do it. The idea of outsourcing I believe is an idea that is good for business, but bad for a person who is seeking a job. This flattener is able to level the playing field for all companies, but I believe that it in the end ruins the job market in America, due to the depletion of jobs that were here at one point prior to the outsourcing. The following is a video of Dr. Patrick Dixon, a famous author who specializes in the idea of futuristic economies.

The second flattener that really struck me was the idea of "steroids" and how we are relied on them to live our lives. Friedman's idea of "steroids" consists of the technologies such as wireless, file sharing, personal digital devices, ipods, phones, and instant messaging. Friedman believes that with all of these advances in these technologies, it has sort of created an even playing field amongst all competitors, due to the fact that everyone is able to access high powered and fast services to complete many, everyday tasks. The other issue with "steroids" is that it has come to the point were people are beginning to become so dependent on the use of these types of technologies, that when they are not accessible, the people have a sense of feeling useless and nonproductive. This is very true in the sense on a personal level, I would be truly lost without the use of technology at my finger tips to complete my simple every day tasks that I am use to completing.

I believe that with the knowledge of the Ten Flatteners that are current in the world today, this will allow me to try and stay ahead of the path of falling into one of these traps. I one day hope to own and operate my own business, and while doing this I hope to be able to run it successfully, while keeping in mind the concept of staying away from Friedman's Ten Flatteners to allow it to operate at its fullest level possible.

The Post to End All Posts

By far, the most interesting thing that I learned was ten flatteners. “The World is flat,” is something that I never really thought about or gave consideration to. After learning about the ten flatteners it really made me think about what I just had read. They provoke a new and more complex way to view the world around us. They are simple and otherwise arbitrary events that, for the most part, we all know about, but they are all put together it really shows how much “flatter.” The world seems. Along with this, the three parts to the globalization of the world really capture the essence of the flatteners. The three steps are an intriguing way to view our past and how it is similar yet, different to the world today.

Insourcing is listed as one of the ten flatteners and is a prime example of how the world is flat. It is when a company performs services on behalf of another company. UPS is a leader in the insourcing realm. This artice http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/ford-to-insource-work-to-rawsonville-plant-retain-750-jobs/ is describing that Ford is insourcing some of their production from the Rawsonville plant, and in doing so, they are creating 750 more jobs.

This knowledge may not help me in my professional life but it did give me a different way to view the world; a more insightful way. Which I presume in turn does affect the way I will think upon entrance in the professional world. It helps me see the big picture. These events all contribute to the way we operate as a society today. Things are becoming quicker, and closer without really changing the physical characteristics of things. This deeper undertstanding and thinking can really benefit me when I get a job and have to deal with tough tasks.

Overall, my learning increased in this class and am very fortunate to have learned the things that were illustrated to me.

MIS

The main objective of this course was to learn about management information systems. I have learned many things that I would have never thought about if the topics were never brought up in class. Management information systems are the backbone to all businesses. Without any programs a company would never be able to hold up in this type of economy.

The programs that companies use are the meet and potatoes of operating. The systems make it so that inventory and transactions are automatically followed and you will be alerted if anything goes wrong. Also on top of that they are used in just about every aspect of a business. Companies need to use different operating systems to communicate and interact with their suppliers and customers. This also makes it easier to get to know their customers and have a feel of everything they are buying in order to be able to market better to them. This will also make your connections stronger with your customers because they will like you having whatever they are looking for.

Also companies are benefit from management information systems that help protect him or herself from phishing or fraud. If they do not have this company can get into some serious trouble. They may be held responsible if any customer information is exposed. Companies like to have themselves safe against any others that compete with them. This is an economy and everyone wants to be number one and make as much money as they can. This may cause other competitors to do this that are sly or even illegal to gain a competitive edge over your in the market.

You can also use different programs to teach or train employees to do their jobs better. You may want to have people run a course to better themselves in your work place. This is good for a business to do to make sure that their staff is full prepared for anything.

Privacy

One of the topics that really caught my attention this semesters MIS class was the discussion on modern day privacy and how it is always evolving and how more and more websites are constantly updating their privacy rules and agreements. I also learned how easy people get hacked or how easy companies get confidential information exposed to the general public.

Privacy is one of most important features to have in today’s society. About 99% of all electronics are hooked up to the internet where anything can be published. Also we risk of being hacked and the world being able to see the inside of our computers and our lives. We risk the chance to have our identity wiped away right under our feet in today world. This is why so many people are being more cautious over the internet now a day because of privacy and identity protection.

I have learned how to better protect myself and sensitive information about myself better. I have learned how fragile databases can be ad how easy it is to get hacked and the world can see what is on that database. I learned how one hacker can steal my identity and I can never get that back as he can use my bank and credit cards, use my social security and forge my name on just about anything.

This topic will better help in the future and in my professional life by making sure I have the best firewalls on my computer to secure every file and to upload the files to more than one location. I learned that I need to be smarter online and not shop too much as my credit card numbers can be easily accessed on a company website such as Amazon.com. I also learned to be smart when writing posts on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google +. As people can hack into my accounts even though social media sites have strict privacy rules and firewalls. I also need to make sure I have smart and good passwords for my email accounts, since I pass important and sensitive message for my job.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1775777/how-facebooks-upcoming-privacy-upgrades-stack-up-against-google

We discussed many topics throughout the semester in MIS. One of the most interesting topics for me was Thomas Friedman's take on the different globalization's. His book entitled "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" analyzes globalization, primarily in the 21st century. According to Friedman, globalization has changed core economic concepts.

He walks the reader through three phases of American history. The first he calls "Globalization 1.0, which lasted from 1492 to 1800. Globalization 1.0 was characterized by the amount of horsepower, wind-power, steam-power or muscle that a country could deploy.

Globalization 2.0 was an expansion of global intergration through increased trade and opening markets, thanks to steamship, trains, and the wiring of the world through phone lines and computers. This was the era that the global economy began to appear in. Multinational companies led the way.

We are living in the era of Globalization 3.0, which began in 2000. The world went from small to tiny. Individuals are empowered pushed by software and global fiber-optic networks. It has leveled he market between international business and emerging market nations.

This link shows Friedman talking about the different globalization : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp4znWHvsjU

The different globalization eras show how the world has grown and how technological advances have impacted the world, now in 3.0 more than ever. Now days, one's competitor, customer, or employee may come from anywhere in the world. Globalization gives the consumer many more choices of goods and service or may lower prices. It allows us to trade with other countries. This allows for communication across the world. It was one of the most important topics we learned in class because it shows how much the world has grown, and will continue to grow.

HW #10

One thing I had learned this year that really had caught my eye is the importance of software to a company. Without software today, almost all companies would not be able to survive. Software can hold vital information for the company that makes the processes within the company run more efficiently. An example of a product like this is Arigo, it handles retail information that allows the supply chain to run smoothly. One system in particular that I found most interesting is the enterprise resource planning system.

The enterprise resource planning system collects sources and information from the company and helps plan and manage them better. Software such as this organizes all the company's information into the most effecient way possible. Benefits to this can be organization flexibility, which allows the company to choose between which tasks they want to complete, this can make the planning process much easier. Another benefit is the quality and efficiency it brings to the company, it makes the products better because it allows the company to take it's time producing a quality product in an organized timely manner.

The importance of this software is unlimited, and in this generation software is only improving rapidly. Looking into the future companies will be able to work in the most efficient manner possible creating a higher sucess rate for companies. Technology is unlimited making posibilities endless in the near future for companies.

HW 10

One of the more interesting things I learned about this semester was RFID tags. They are tags that generate radio frequencies to help the user track assets. RFID tags are unique because they have so many different uses. In a case study I read about how they where implemented in the 2008 Olympics. The tags where placed on tickets and eliminated ticket fraud during the games. The tags where also used to track food containers for the athlete’s. This ensured that no one got sick or deviated to much from their routine diet. One newsworthy source for RFID tags the company Teijin. They are about to implement a tag that is water resistant. They are going to market their tags for Hotel as a shelf management system. Hotel owners could place the tags on towels and guests will no longer walk out with towels as they leave. In my professional life I could see the tags being built into cell phones so people can easily swipe and use their phones as credit cards, or other types of readers.

Another area that interested me was the Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth is a short-range wireless connection between to mobile devices. Bluetooth is primarily used in cell phones, and other mobile devices such as iPhone’s and blackberry’s. One popular use for Bluetooth is hooking it up to a car stereo and having the recipients of the call talk through the speakers. One really cool function for Bluetooth is coming from a company called Bluetoothon. They are a company that specializes in proximity advertising through Bluetooth. When the users walk within range an advertiser can send them a message. This message could be coming from a nearby store reminding someone of a merchandise sale. For the future I think it will be cool to have a bluetooth server at my house. I could set it to send messages to my phone to remind me to do things when I get home, such as homework or to walk the dog.

http://www.rfidnews.org/2011/12/13/teijin-commences-launch-of-rfid-digital-shelf-management-system

http://www.bluetoothon.com/bluetooth%20advertising%20marketing%20news.html

Homework#10

There were many topics that we conversed about in
MIS class. Majority of them were cool but only a few topics caught my attention.
One topic that I liked the most was the features of a computer system; such as
all the software, outputs, inputs and the different types of chips. The reason
why I like that the most was because my uncle is a computer engineer back home
in Connecticut and he attempts to teach me about the computer system all the
time even though I am clueless. When he teaches me, he just makes it sound so
interesting. However, many topics were interesting such as how computers are
losing signals and how Wi-Fi is not the best overall. I thought Wi-Fi was the
best actually until I came to Nichols. I didn’t understand the other signals
and connections and to this day I am still confused a tad bit. We learned many facts
about mis application features about who created them and why. Honestly, without Tyler Cullins it would have
been much harder to understand M.I.S.
One point is that the society is still competing to
make the most efficient type of technology. Right now it is easy to create technology
due to the generation that is brought up and everything is getting developed
and high priced. This will change the
world because one technology change can affect the society, our kids, and etc. Another topic that we learned about earlier in
the semester was Tom Friedman and his 10 flatteners that changed the world by
technology. At first, I was so confused about this guy and what exactly he did.
Then I found it real interest how web browsers affected the world when Tyler
helped me. One flattener was the
steroids of the flatteners which is social media such as Facebook, Twitter,
Youtube and etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40tS8A-SJ6c

last blog

I had many topics that we discuss in our MIS class that were my favorites but only certain topics stuck out to me. One topic that I enjoy was the Physical features of a computer system; all the different chips, hardware, software, inputs, outputs and drives increase my technology knowledge of information systems. A lot of topics were interesting such as how computing power was very limited but it is referred in terabytes, this did not really make sense to me at first because there are generators that provide The CPU with power for computing.  We also learned many good facts about systems designs about how they are design, who design it and why.  Just the simple fact that all the information on a computer is stored in ones and zeros which is a new exciting fact that I have learned from being in this MIS class this semester.

 An interesting point to me is that mankind is still competing to make the best kind of technology this world has ever seen.   As of now we have not reached the point where we have completely mastered the art of building super computers that are portable and sizeable to carry around, I say this type of technology will not be reached for another ten years. When this is created  it will change the world way more than the smart phone era , which changed life for everybody instead of having a desk in an office your office can be in the power of your pocket without freezing up or having bad results. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4HBYzHMCXg

Another topic that we learned about earlier in the year was Tom Friedman and his 10 flatteners that changed the world by technology. I found it real interest how web browsers played a big role on changing everything and it started with a browser that is not even running at top peak any more, which is Netscape gave us the power to search the web.  Another Flattener was the steroids of the flatteners which is social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and more, these social networking sites allow people to relive events that happen the next day by uploading pictures and meeting up with friends you have not spoken to or seen in years.    

By Alfred B. Appiah

Conor Golden

Some of my favorite topics from the semester were the Physical of a computer system; all the different chips and drives were very interesting to me. I especially liked the idea that the amount of computing power was limited to I believe the number was in the terabytes. The pathways that we learned information takes within a hard drive were cool to think about as well. The fact that all the information on a computer is in ones and zeros was not a new concept to me but the fact that even the letter H has about seven characters to it in binary code was a new fact for me.

This was interesting to me because I really thought that we had the technology to keep advancing computers for ever. It was surprising to me that we still have some inventing to do before we can make better super computers. It is something to think about, how long will it be until we have computers that fit in our hand that are as powerful as super computers are now. This could help me in the future when I work in the professional world in many ways, it will allow me to do most if not all of my computer needs on the go instead of sitting at a desk top. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4HBYzHMCXg

Another topic that we learned about earlier in the year was databases and all of the ways to create and use them effectively. We learned what types of data that most databases are used for and how helpful they can be. For example if start my own business someday I can use a database to store client information and process there orders. This task would normally be done by answering phones all day and writing things down on ten thousand sticky notes and it would be a disaster. Seeing how useful the database could be to a business is a interesting thing I learned from this class.

Homework #10

One of the topics we went over in class and pulled the most interest towards me was the ten flatteners. The ten flatteners come from Thomas Freidman's book The World is Flat. The book talks about the three globalizations 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 . Each covers a time period when technology changed. For example globalization 1.0 takes place during the 1400s to 1800s where countries and governments were in the main protagonists. Globalization 2.0 takes place during 1800 to 2000 in which multination companies led the way in driving global integration and the last one is Globalization 3.0. This takes place from 2000 to present time. This talks about a global, web - enabled platform for multiple forms of sharing knowledge and work irrespective of time, distance, and geography. These three are the back and bone of Globalization.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q - Here is a quick video that explains gloablization

This has helped be me understand technology a way i never thought about before. The way it has been changing around us for years and this all begin hundreds or even thousands of years ago some form of technology was invented or found. Technology was invented i believe to make our life that much easier and enjoyable until we finally pass (Die). Yeah technology might have bettered our life in some way but it could also ruin it as well. A whole bunch of us we stuck on campus during a freak storm in October we lost power for a couple of days and most of our electronics like TV, Laptops, Cellphones, the only source of light we had was from our background of our Cellphone. After experiencing just several days without these things it got me think what would happen to the world if we didn't have the technology we had today or even any at all? Would our perception on life change? I am grateful for the technology we have today and chapter one open my mind up more on how technology has changed the world for the better.

Homework #10 website link

http://www.squidoo.com/are-machines-taking-over

Homework #10

One of the topics I seemed to have a lot of interest in was the Three stages of globalization. These stages are from the book called The World is Flat which is written by Thomas Freidman. He states that the world is flat in the sense that the global competitive playing field is being leveled. They mention globalization 1.0 is the time era up to the 1800's which was run off horsepower. Globalization 2.0 is up to the year 2000 and was based on multinational companies. After the year 2000,globalization 3.0 is up to this present day and states that we are a web based flattened world. It also mentions Friedman's Ten Flatteners, which is a timeline of the world up to the point where "the steroids", which is new age technology, takes over.
This has helped me learn how much technology has taken over the world. The technology is being created to simply makes the lives of people easier. While it is succeeding at making people's lives easier, it is also taking numerous people out of jobs all over the world. For example, they are taking away jobs from many factory workers because they are developing newer technology that does a way better job than the average worker they are paying money to. They figure that it would be pointless to pay a person to do an average job on a task when they could save their money and get the technology to do a perfect job. While it may help my outside of work environment a lot, it will have its ups and downs with actually helping me in my professional life. It will decrease my chances of getting a job in the future because technology is taking over people's positions everyday. It could also help me in my place of work. It could make my job easier because of the newer software you can use at your job due to the updates in technology. The technology helps you stay a lot more organized and makes it so you are able to complete tasks faster and more efficiently.