Assignment 1: Companies

(What was I thinking? I forgot to put this post in my blog. I hope it's not too late.)

Here are the organizations/companies that I have searched in the internet and some of the organizations/companies that I will identify here are the ones I saw personally.

LBC

ATM Bilis Padala

One of LBC's IT practices is their ATM Bilis Padala, it is the first and the fastest money delivery by LBC. ATM Bilis Padala can be used to withdraw from over 7000 ATM's all over the country and can be used as retail outlets nationwide such as SM, Makro etc. By using ATM Bilis Padala, money is directly transmitted to the recipient's ATM card, allowing them to withdraw remitted funds in just 15 seconds from the time it was sent. LBC has integrate new technology in their line of business. What used to take a long time to process in delivering money to other persons in far places now takes 15 seconds. The set-up takes about one to three days. The pin number will be mailed to the sender within one to three days if the application is accepted online. If application is done at the branch, pin number will be given at the branch on the same day when application was recieved. Another practice of LBC which is simillar to ATM Bilis Padala is their Instant Peso Padala, where you can send money to your loved ones to any place in the Philippines.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT)

Online Recruitment and Service Application
PLDT also widen their assets by hiring and accepting future manpower assets through their website. Through this, the company can widen its scope in finding interested applicants to apply in their company without using a lot of company resources. This strategy is practical because it does not only provide applicants quick access in applying to the company it also gives applicants the luxury of applying for a position without even going the company in person. Also, interested customers can also process an application for the services that PLDT provides which is also convenient to interested customers.

PLDT Telepresence (Virtual Meetings Made Real)

PLDT has made a solution for a face to face, in person conferencing experience by developing a collaborative high definition video and audio communication. PLDT Telepresence is a collaborative high-definition video and audio communication and immersive room solution for a face to face, in person conferencing experience that offers enhanced business productivity and enables quick-to-market opportunities, with rapid decision making and reduced travel cost. Unlike collaboration thru travel, video conferencing and other conference solutions, it brings a life-like conferencing without the pains and costs of conventional business travel.

BIR

Online Service Appliaction

The Bureau of Internal Revenue have expanded their walls in their business to optimize transactions in their respective business. Now, companies and other organizations are able to access and download forms from the BIR which was originally only acquired by going to their office. This provides people with easy access to documents instead of acquiring it by going to office. You could also submit records of documents like anual inventory list to their website and email and you could also remit through their website. Recently they have developed a program that is integrated with IT in which records are stored and saved properly through a database. Companies nowadays would send their records in the AlphaList file type which were usually saved in an excel file. This could provide security to the records of the companies and organizations that the BIR has transactions with.



Sources:

Bureau of Internal Revenue Website: http://www.bir.gov.ph
PLDT: http://www.mypad.net/jobsdb_classified.aspx

Assignment 9: Information Environment Essay

When I read the assignment in Sir RSG’s forum I actually thought that I was going to compose an essay about environment, environmental issues and the like. I was really confused and decided not to compose anything yet. So before I wrote anything I took time to ask other people about the assignment and thanks to them I was enlightened. The assignment was to write an essay about an information environment, and then the thing that popped out of my mind is a place where people could acquire and share information. There were two things that I thought about when I thought about information environment it was the school where I spend most of my time aside being home and the World Wide Web. These two environments are both environments where people could acquire and share information with other people who are also in these environments.

SCHOOL

Let’s talk about the first environment that I thought about which is the school. Almost all people like me acquire information and learning from school. The school is a place that is conducive to learning. It the second home of a child one he or she gets out of his/her house. Education is very important especially in a person’s growth, without it a man is empty. Although the school is not only place where we can learn but it is the most basic next to our home.

WORLD WIDE WEB

The World Wide Web is the network of all networks. Here you can find various and lots of information that you want to find. Almost all people have already encountered the World Wide Web especially those people who are constantly in touch with social networking web sites such as face book, friendster, twitter and the like. The internet is one of the strong medium for sharing and acquiring information and it is widely used as of today by people who want to share information or acquire information. School and the World Wide Web, the two environments are the two things that popped in mind but what really is an information environment?

INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

What is an information environment? An information environment is a physical environment in general like a school. It can also mean or specifically mean our natural resources like lakes, streams, land and the like. There are also environment that contribute or has specific purpose such as a sports complex or a gym where you can do stuffs such as playing. An environment may also political aside from being physical or is not a physical environment. However in this case, the kind of environment that is being pointed out in this topic is the kind of environment that is both physical and political at the same time. It is an environment where ‘we’ the people in this environment can learn through acquiring information and the information that we get greatly impacts our lives.

I also got to get information about information environment from someone in school. An anonymous tipster told me that an information environment is an environment or an area where people like us or should I say IT professionals use and apply managements system and technology in a certain organization. An information environment represents an entire environment in which information systems are employed.

When I heard the definition of information environment I was really curious about it. Although I know in my mind that one day I will be able to be in an environment such as an information environment. To be honest this is the first time that I heard the term “Information Environment” and I am curious about it because I did not know that this kind of environment exists in an organization. If it really does then I want to see it.

As an Information Technology (IT) student the things that I could get involved at that are related to my course is being a programmer in a company, I could be a web administrator or a database administrator, a web developer, etc. all of these things come into my mind when I think about graduating and having a job, although I am currently influenced by music and I have to say that I am very, sophisticatedly and undoubtedly into it, I know someday I will still be able to utilize and make use of my knowledge in information technology. I have many interests pertaining to my course and there many possibilities that are available if I focus and get to it (hard and fast.)

My role in this environment is (I think) crucial because I hold or have the capacity to shift and make the information right or wrong or use it for good or bad. Although there is nothing to worry because I am a good hearted person and I would certainly use my knowledge for good and not use it to cause trouble or destroy anything. Information is important especially to those who would need it. I think my role or should “our” role because I am not the only information technology student being talked about here, is very important as to give the right information. Not just give the right information but also real information. The reason why I think that my role in this kind of environment is important is because I give or share the wrong information then the people who will acquire the information that I shared will surely get the wrong information. Would it be good if the people get the wrong information? I’m sure it is not.

We, the people who are responsible for giving the right information should be able organize information for the community. There should also be tools designed to support the organization or the community of knowledge. Providing a network which will facilitate an efficient access of information and documents is also one of the things that we must do. Knowledge really needs to be organized for a certain organization or else there will be chaos. Just imagine people who will be needing information for their task happen to get the wrong information or the inappropriate one I am sure there will be trouble. False and misleading information pose great threat to a company.

In coming up with this task we would surely encounter problems and challenges along the way. Challenges and problems are the axiom in performing a task. Challenges like maintaining the integrity of the information so that the information that will be shared is reliable and true. Another thing is the confidentiality of information. These challenges need to be addressed. As a person bearing the responsibility to address these challenges I will begin with my self. I will discipline my self to keep the information true and keep it confidential whenever it is needed. Starting from one’s self can be a determining act that could make a change. There will always be people who will try to mess up things and there will always be people who would do everything to fix it. This post will be cut short, this topic is really new to me and there are still a lot of things to be learned. I will update this post in the near future if I find something interesting and related to this topic.

First and foremost, if I were invited by the Dean of the Institute of Computing to attend a seminar – workshop on information systems planning together with some of the faculty of the Institute of Computing I would consider it as a big privilege and I would do my best to give my evaluation regarding the current information system of the school which was once outsourced and now shifted to in-house.

(Before I start I would like to define the terms involved in this post so that the ones who do not know may also know)

IN-SOURCE OR IN-SOURCING

From what I’ve posted in my personal blog in-house or in-sourcing refers to the business practice of using a company’s or organization’s own personnel, staff, funds and resources to produce a commodity or service for the company or the organization. This is in contrast to the production being outsourced or contracted out to another company. Organizations involved in production usually opt for in-sourcing in order to cut down the cost of labor and taxes because they would not to hire workers or outside service providers. This trend has increased since the year two thousand six (2006). Some organizations that shift or employ in-source are usually those who have been to outsource and was not satisfied with it. Some also think that through in-source they can have better people support and better control over the work outsourced by in-sourcing their work rather than outsourcing it.

OUTSOURCE OR OUTSOURCING

Outsourcing on the other hand is the agreement between two companies in which one company would provide its services to the other company that has usually provided in-house. Outsourcing has become a trend that is common in Information Technology and other industries wherein in some cases the entire information management of a company is outsourced. Organizations that choose outsourcing think that they could acquire a lot of advantages from it. Some organizations choose outsourcing because they get high reliability, less costs and high-quality services.

(Going on to my stand, by the way I choose In-sourcing for the university.)

Looking at the present situation of the information system of the school which has been shifted from outsource to in-source it would imply that the school was not contented of the outsourced system or the outsourced information system did not meet the needs of the school or maybe the outsourced information system was too expensive to maintain. Anyway, after reflecting about the current issue and after the sessions and sharing we had during our previous meetings in Management Information System 1 subject, I will take the position of in-sourcing. I have posted something about in-sourcing and outsourcing in my personal blog and I remember writing there that the decision of school to shift to in-sourced information system was not a good decision because they decided to shift abruptly. However, this time I would take my stand in in-sourcing the information system of the University of Southeastern Philippines. Why? Because this time we have time to evaluate the current information system of the university and since the current trend of the school is in-source. My decision to choose the side of in-sourcing is not solely because the current trend of the university but because this is a time to rethink. What if this is the first time that the school would acquire an information system, would it be in-sourced or outsourced?

I choose the side of in-sourcing considering the current situation of the school plus it gives a lot advantages like confidentiality of data, less cost, etc. However, I would like to imply that information systems planning takes time and I mean a long time to conjure something complex like an information system considering that there are steps or procedures that needs to be taken into account to be able to come up with an effective information system.
Why in-source? Let us first take into account the current situation of the university (University of Southeastern Philippines). The university lacks the budget to maintain funding an outsourced information system which was the trend of the university before. The university also has in-house staff, capable in-house staff that can be tapped to plan and create the information system of the school. Plus they already know the school’s system which makes them more adept. In-source or outsource has advantages and disadvantages and it matters on the situation of the organization or the company.

ADVANTAGES OF INSOURCING

I have identified advantages of in-sourcing, some of it came from me and some were searched through the internet.

Lessen Cost

I think that one of the big reasons why the university shifted to in-source is to be able to lessen the cost. Lessen the cost of hiring new personnel to administer the new information system. If the information system is in-sourced the people that would administer the information system are those who made the system. Plus the university would need to hire people who will train the personnel who will be in touch with the information system or the ones who will be using the information system because the staff that will create the system is already acquainted with it and he/she can also be utilized to train the other personnel without involving a big deal of money. Compared to outsourcing an information system you will need to hire a resource person who will train your personnel if ever the information system that you will be outsourcing is new to them, meaning they are not yet acquainted with the system. If it was in the case of a company or organization that is involved in producing certain products, in-sourcing will be a great advantage because these kind of business needs a big workforce and if they have the workforce they wouldn’t need to hire laborers from other companies and the like.

Better People Support and Control

In-house staff could train the personnel to be acquainted with the information system so there would be no need to hire a resource person who will be training the personnel in the university. On the time that the system will be implemented and deployed there will be times that the personnel using the information system will encounter problems that have not been encountered before. In this case in-house staff can quickly look into the information system to find out what is wrong and can also possibly fix it pronto. By this there will less time that the information system will be in idle state if ever it encounters problems compared to relying on the support from outsource companies which may not have a twenty-four hour available support for their information system if it encounters problems. Again this could also lessen cost of hiring someone who will check and maintain the functionality of the system and lessen the cost of maintenance. Control is one of the advantages of in-sourcing an information system because the ones who created the system will know how fix any problem that will be encountered in the information system. It is very important because without the ability to control, a lot of things will be affected including the performance and work of the personnel in the university. In the case of a business oriented organization or company the inability to control their own information system will greatly affect their business considering that their business relies on their system. If it so happened that they will encounter problems in their information system they would not know how to remedy it leaving the company idle and thus affecting their income too.

Confidentiality of Data

Because in-house staffs will be tapped to make the information system of the university there is a great reliability that the information or the data that will be used or involved in the system are kept within the school and maintained confidential. There may be a risk on the confidentiality of the data when you choose to outsource a certain information system because you may need to hand the data to them so they can transfer the data into the system that you or an organization purchased from the outsourcing company. In the case of a business oriented company or organization the confidentiality of data is a very important factor. Their data is considered as a vital element in their information system and if it falls in the wrong hands it could be the downfall of their company.

Promotes Direct Management

Most organizations would prefer direct management because they want to have hands-on control over their development in all aspects on their business. It is important because you compared to any other person or company is the one who really understands the business and flows within you company. It is much better compared to relinquishing or I may say hand over the control to an outsourcing company or firm who does not fully understand your business. In-sourcing allows you or the company to direct themselves and let their knowledge and direction guide the company to a more effective impact development process.

Timeliness

If you’re working on a tight schedule and you want you work to be done, you could just call your staff and have meeting regarding an urgent matter, a project perhaps. Then you could discuss timelines and because they are your employees they will surely abide the timeline. Plus you have an overview or update on the task that is being done and you will know what is happening, what is lacking and what is needed to be done. There are many scenarios where timeliness is involved.

There are many advantages and disadvantages in in-sourcing and even in outsourcing. My stand is based on the current situation of the university. This issue of in-sourcing and outsourcing has become a hot topic is forums and blogs. There had been many debates about this issue though it has been said that the choice between in-source and outsource depends on the current situation of a company or organization. I have a post similar to this one in my personal blog. The link to my personal blog can be found below. This post is open for criticism and I’m looking forward to add more information in this post.



Mus' Box: http://mus08.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-house-or-outsource-which-is-better.html

Assignment 7: ICT Related Ares In PGMA's SONA 2009

I did not actually saw or heard President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address last July 27, 2009 so I downloaded the full text of the SONA in the internet. When I read the text I found some areas related to ICT. There were many parts of the President’s SONA that were somehow related to ICT. However, these were the ones that caught me: The Creation of Department of ICT, Telecommunications issues, Best Fit Educational System, Technologies to Anticipate Natural Calamities, and the Fully Automated Elections.

Creation of ICT Department

This one caught me because I have been wondering if our country has a department which focuses on the issues related to Information Technology and the like. I remember reading “Let us have a Department of ICT” in the text of the Presidents SONA, it really caught my eye and made me read the full text. Part of this area was the BPO or the Business Process Outsourcing which enables our people to acquire work here in the Philippines and in abroad. BPO is a form of outsourcing that involves contracting of operations and responsibilities to a third party service provider. We cannot deny that our country, as I may say, has been left behind in terms of technological advancements (I don’t mean to demean my own country) but it’s what I have noticed. Compared to other countries that are in the first world, we should not be contented to be in this state, we should push through advancements to be in league with the first world countries. Our people are competent but I think we cannot acquire our edge without the aid of technology. I’m glad that our country is embracing technology and that we do not limit ourselves with what we have now. I know that some people are still resilient in resisting technology and honestly I don’t see the real reason why. I can just think of one thing, some people are just afraid to embrace technology because they don’t know how it’s done and how to use it and with an ICT department we can remedy it.

Telecommunications

Under this area was the issue of the telecommunications, especially the expiry of loads and the controversial loss of load even the expiring date has not yet occurred. I think this is related to ICT because of the fact that almost all of the people in the world have a cellular phone and cell phone devices has now become a necessity which was once considered as luxury (I think) we cannot deny that electronic devices such as phones which we use to communicate with whom we want to communicate with are important and essential. If we are in the business, we need these devices to communicate with our business partners or customers. If we are just normal people we need these devices to communicate with our loved ones. Whatever we are, rich or poor, communication devices are pretty much important to us. Now the issue at hand is the loss of load, this issue greatly affects the people, especially the customers of the telecommunications network that use their services. I do not know if the ones responsible for the loss of load are the telecommunications provider, it may be because of those spam messages and promos which we do not need but I have personally experienced losing my load even when I haven’t used all of it and I know that I’m not the only one who has experienced it. I’m also glad that the government has decided to take the matter in their hands and made an appropriate action for it. Now, the expiry dates have been extended but there are still cases of load loss, but I’m still glad the government made and action.


Best Fit Educational System

“Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be in offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way” this line sure caught me because I want the people in the Philippines to be globally competitive and ready for the upcoming challenges. People should not always stick with traditions and should also consider innovations. In the past years I have heard news that our educational system is degrading and frankly I have witnessed students who are studying in schools but the amount of knowledge that they acquire is infantismal. We should have a best fit educational system for the new era of people to be properly equipped with the proper knowledge to be able to be competitive not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.

Technologies to Anticipate Natural Calamities

The Philippines is one the countries who is frequently visited by typhoons, storms and the like and these natural calamities have brought trouble in country not only in our economy but also in the lives of the Filipino people. It is good to know that our country is doing its best to acquire technologies that can help our lives and in this case, technologies that can help us anticipate incoming calamities and make us ready for it, considering the current state which is climate change. We really need technologies that could help us track typhoons and storms. I hope in the future we will be able to come up with devices that could all kinds of calamites like tsunamis and earthquakes because the people, especially those who live in calamity prone areas, can greatly benefit from these kinds of devices.

Automated Election

Many people fear the idea of automated elections. Just a day ago, I heard news related to this issue which was, the country could face great trouble if the first automated election would go awry. They say if the if the automation goes awry the country would not have a new set of leaders and there will be failure of elections. The companies that are going to administer the automated elections are not new to automated elections because they have already done this before and thus, they have already tested and proven it effective. I understand that the people are afraid of this idea because it is NEW and they fear the possible negative effects. Is it really the people? Or just the people who are in position? I think we should consider the automation to be in the benefit of the people of the Philippines. I think the companies involved in this automation would not decide to push through automated election if they think it is not effective. I mean, they wouldn’t just make a machine that will count all the votes. They must have tested and run simulations with it. These companies are not dumb to be trekking into something that is not fathomable. Automation can greatly ease the work of the people in terms of voting and in terms of counting the votes. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier and quicker if the one who will be counting the votes is a machine? Plus it could lessen the possibility of cheating.

Assignment 5: Barriers In Implementing IS/IT

In every organization, company or business it always aims to grow and improve the operation of their business or trade by means of optimization or requiring the aid of technology like computers. Now, in every innovation or improvement there is always what we call “barriers”. Barriers by definition is something that obstructs or separates, in the business or rather corporate world, barriers are the hindrance to their business growth.

I did not actually go to my adopted company, Concentrix, and interviewed them about the barriers that they went through in implementing their information systems and the barriers that they are currently going through. I recalled what I posted about the risks associated with business and IS/IT change and started thinking about the barriers. If I was the one to say about barriers in a company I think it would be the money or budget, the people in the business (the personnel and staff), the processes and the management, and awareness.

When it comes to business innovation or improvement the issue of money or budget will always come to play. It is one of the very important factors to settle with. Take the example of our school, the University of Southeastern Philippines, it is evident that the school lacks the budget to fund the improvement on the infrastructure, technology, etc. because every transaction involves money. Also, in a company, when someone proposes to implement something that could improve their operations like an information system, it would be hard to implement something like that if the company or organization lacks the budget to fund it and because it would surely cost a lot of money to be able to implement it.

There are many factors that should be taken into account when it comes to implementing and innovation in a company. For instance, the creation of the system, if they want to tap in-house personnel to make their system, or turning to outsource if they want to purchase a system that is already running and tested (creation means money). Not only that, they would need to consider the installation, maintenance, repair, training of staff and simulation to check for anomalies and these factors really involves a lot of money to be able to come up with a system. Looking at my adopted company which is Concentrix, I think that they are stable enough to be able to implement there IS/IT because they have been in the business for a long time and considering that they do have networks and other companies that are linked into their company, Synnex for instance.

When it comes to implementing IS/IT, the people who are going to use it are the personnel and staff of the company or organization. To make them knowledgeable and accustomed to the system they need to be trained. Now the one of the barriers in the implementation of the IS/IT are the inept skills or inexperienced personnel and staff of the company, maybe because they lack the training and seminars. Training and seminars are needed to keep the knowledge of the staff updated. We all know that technology advances are so fast that we need to keep ourselves updated in order not to be left behind.

Inexperienced personnel and staff usually are not acquainted to the existing softwares and development process and sometimes they do not understand it at all. They should be made aware or given the necessary skill and given a thorough understanding of the process to be able to perform well because personnel and staff are the workforce of the company thus, they are the ones who are always working with the system.
Without these trainings and seminars the successful implementation of the new system could not be achieved because of the inexperienced staff of the company which becomes one of the barriers in the implementation process.

Trainings and seminars should be given importance and should be made part of the policy whenever there are new employees to be hired or there are seminars and trainings regarding new innovations. In my adopted company, Concentrix, they regularly train their staff and it is part of their hiring process to give trainings before they hire employees. They make sure that they have experienced personnel and staffs to make sure that their business are run by capable and not inept staff. Concentrix is known to give their customers the best customer support which also suggests that they do have experienced staff to do their business.

Another barrier or hindrance in the implementation is lack of awareness of the management about IS/IT programs. How could the management think or provide the best solution to the needs of the company if they do not know anything about IS/IT? It would surely give a feeling like you’re company are being managed by unaware people or people who has not yet encountered new technology.

There should be a need to make the people, especially the management to be aware of the IS/IT programs in order to fully understand IS/IT and to be able to provide the best fit solutions to the needs and problems that the company are facing. IS/IT implementation is the process of adopting new organizational practices to address the problems of the company and the fact that IS/IT is an expensive and long term approach in addressing problem in the company and it usually takes a long time to realize the benefits of it.

It would not be healthy to the company if the management is not aware of IS/IT because of the fact that the management are the ones who are in charge of giving the decisions or final verdicts regarding implementations. Another barrier that could be identified if the management is not aware of IS/IT is the lack of support of the management in the implementation of IS/IT. Because they are not aware of IS/IT, the effect is that the management would most likely undermine or neglect initiatives or proposals regarding IS/IT. They would rather think that it is expensive and would give that proposal a low priority and eventually replace that proposal with something that is not even good enough rather than looking at the other side of things which is the benefit or benefits of IS/IT. Come to think of it, if you are going to propose for an innovation and you know that the management in your company is not aware of IS/IT, there would be an infantismal chance that your proposal would be approved.

Unaware management would most likely resist change in an organization, especially in the field of technology (we tackled about this ‘resistance’ during one of our sharing in the subject) because they think that they are already not capable of learning and that they are accustomed to their traditional ways. Resistance can be considered as a barrier in the implementation of IS/IT. Not to be offensive but most people in the management that most likely resist technology are those management composed of old people, but take note that not all old people are like this, just most old people (I’m not being rude). People who resist change feel threatened about change because they feel that they are considered obsolete and they would be replaced by machines, they do not know that change in technology or adopting the aid of machines does not mean neglecting the capabilities of a human being.

Another issue linking to the issue of resistance which could also be considered as a barrier in the implementation of IS/IT is the divisions in the company. Divisions, meaning organizations, groups, peers, people with the same insights, etc. it does not simply imply divisions like accounting division, etc. Groups are usually composed of people having the same values, goals, insights and interests. Some people call it unions in a company. When there are divisions and eventually there are conflicts between these divisions, the effect would be that these divisions would most likely resist each other’s proposal to change because their ideas contradict each other. It is just like the saying “What is moral to you may not be moral to me” the ideas and goals of the other group may not fit into the ideas and goals of the other groups, this issue can be labeled, in my opinion, organizational politics.

In my adopted company I do not know if there are divisions or unions in their company but I think that their management is fully aware about IS/IT because their business is made up of it. I certainly would not think that their management is not aware and does not understand IS/IT to be thinking that their company is one of the top call centers and customer support company.

Lack of time, this is also example of a barrier in the implementation of IS/IT. Lack of time or in other words, time pressure, is the process of meeting projects, demands on time and getting something that would not exceed the allotted budget. If a company does not consider financing as a problem then they certainly would have encountered time problems. There are projects that do not meet the given deadline for it because of unforeseen circumstances or for instance, other barriers. Happenings do not always come as how you planned it, there will always be anomalies. That is why a company must have a good plan as to the pre implementation process because it is a vital part of the implementation process. There should be ample time for the staff to work on a project, time which is workable and that is humanly possible and that before establishing time frames it should be agreed by the management and the people working on the project. Another way of avoiding time pressures is providing correct and optimized procedures so that the one working on the project will have a basis or a guide on finishing the project.

There many factors in the business that can be considered as barriers which I am not yet aware of. Maybe attitudes of the personnel and staff can also be taken into account. I would update this post if I would find something that can be added to this.

Think Green Go Green

These are some the URL’s that I browsed that talk about “Green Campus Computing”

http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/news/campus-computing-comes-up-green-1.345643

This site talks about Center works to safety disposal of e-waste. E-wastes or Electronic wastes are those discarded, surplus, obsolete, broken, electrical or electronic devices. These waste cause great health and pollution problem because of the fact that these machines contain serious contaminants that could harm a persons health. In this site, it talks about how a certain organization can address this issue or situation. Andrew Reich, an IT architect was the one who explained the solution to this problem and said that the solutions are simple. In the bigger view, the solution is to have a group or a committee in an organization that will evaluate and check the sustainability of the electronic products in your organization, this way they can evaluate if a certain electronic devices that can still be salvaged and resold and the wastes shall be handled by guaranteed recycle experts so that the wastes can be managed properly, this design is called “Cradle-to-Cradle”. Our university can also adopt this design. The school could come up with a group or committee that would regularly check and evaluate the electronic devices of the school especially in the laboratories. If the devices in the laboratories can still meet the needs of the students then it does not need to be changed and if ever it needs to be replaced or upgraded then the group would know if the old machines can be resold or considered as e-wastes.

http://greencampus.winserve.org/greencampus/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=40

PUTTING YOUR COMPUTER TO SLEEP

Saving energy is one way of helping save the ecosystem and one way of saving energy is putting your computer to sleep when you’re not using your computer at the moment but you still working on something. This way the computer consumes less energy because it is in low power mode. When a computer is in low power mode the computer takes less time to wake up when you need to use it again compared to starting up from the “off” state. I believe this practice not hard to implement especially in laboratories in the university. In some cases, classes that are held in the computer laboratories are congested. For example, a class just finished their laboratory class and another class is about to use the laboratories just few minutes after the previous class so it is much better if the students will be asked to put the computers into sleep mode rather than turning it off, this way the university could save energy and lower the light bill.

http://esi.ucsd.edu/esiportal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=228&Itemid=101

UC San Diego Campus Computing Goes Green- January 28, 2009

This sight talks about sampling of new generations of technologies that promise to help colleges make their IT departments both more efficient and more sustainable, thus, addressing the problem of soaring financial and environmental costs of information technology. One of the devices that could address this problem is called the GreenLight Instrument. This instrument will deploy sensors and software that measure energy consumption, humidity, etc.

The goal is to encourage organizations to come up with strategies that can reduce electricity consumptions. For me, the university can apply strategies without risking costly equipments. It can be done through simple things like replacing AC to DC. One other way is putting schedules that would set the computers to off state when they will not be used so that it wouldn’t consume electricity. There are many ways to address the problem of soaring financial and environment costs. It all depends on how an organization handles it to come up with a solution to the problem.

COMDDAP Expo 2009

Last July 2 – 4, 2009, The COMDDAP (Computer Manufacturers and Dealers Association of the Philippines) Expo 2009 was held at the Grand Ballroom, Apo View Hotel, Davao City where some of the big computer companies showed their latest products and provide sessions or seminars for their viewers and clients. The event is open to all interested viewers especially to those who are interested in IT. However there was a bit of a snag because of limited seats so we had to register to be able to attend the sessions, our section registered on the sessions that took place in the afternoon of July 2, the first day of the exhibit. To be honest I was not able to register to all of the sessions on the first day so I ended up writing my name on a piece of paper just to attend the sessions.

The first session that we entered was about the ERIC DMS International System. ERIC stands for Enterprise Resource Information and Control and DMS stands for Dealers Management System. This system was developed by Jupiter Systems Inc., a 24 year old enterprise company which is a company that deals with automobiles. Mr. Celmer Santos was the one who presided the session and gave us an overview of their system. ERIC DMS is a system designed by Jupiter Systems to provide end to end solution for auto dealers. The system has a process flow composed of Pre Sales Features, Vehicle Sales, and After Sales.

Some of the Pre Sales Features include Sales Lead Monitoring from Initial Inquiry to Actual Close. The system keeps track of leads, customers, from its initial inquiry until it buys a car. Sales Appointments, it is where the system keeps scheduled appointment of leads in the company, appointments include visiting the company and test driving a certain vehicle. Supervisor Review of Appointments, it is where a supervisor can retrieve or review appointments on its leads. Monitoring Sales Stages, the system also keeps data on a certain customer and the stages of its dealings and Keeping Call History. This feature of the system stores records on the call history of a certain customer.

The second part of the process flow of the system is the vehicle sales. Some features of vehicle sales include Support of Sales of new and old vehicles which means a dealer can also sell second vehicles to his customer depending on the customer’s choice. Inventory Checking so that the dealer knows if a certain vehicle, part, or equipment is in stock if ever a lead orders something from the dealer. Vehicle Agreement Processing, keeping tabs of the dealer and customer agreement on the price, add-ons, etc. The system is also capable of processing receivables and payables from banks and insurance companies, whichever the client chooses.

The third part of the process flow is the After Sales. Features from this part are Customer Appointments, Operation Maintenance, Repair Orders, and Repair Estimates. The system is indeed an end-to-end solution for dealers. The system is also capable of monitor the performance of his or her technicians where the system allots time for a certain job to be done. For example, changing the engine of the vehicle would take two hours to finish, so system keeps track of the performance of a technician by means of checking in and checking out of the technician which is called job in and job out. The session took almost an hour and I noticed that my classmates were not so interested maybe because they couldn’t relate because they are not into cars. However, I also saw some of them who were into it not only because they are into cars but they saw the capability of the system and was amazed by it.

I remember one the audience asked if they would adopt or use that kind of system, how they will transfer their data from their previous or traditional system to the new system. Will they do it manually? So Mr. Celmer said that the data would be inputted in an excel file to authenticate if the data are accurate and ready for migration and then it could now be transferred to the database. He did not explain it in detail but the questioner got his answer.

The next session that we had was the introduction of the Hp Thin Client which was introduced by Mr. Leonard Zapa. I know many of the viewers liked this session because of the fact that freebies will given to those who can answer his questions. The first time I saw an Hp Thin Client I really thought it was a miniaturized central processing unit which is more powerful and compact. It was in this session that I realized that an Hp Thin Client is a computing device without a hard disk and cooling fan. I was pretty amazed by it.

I was more amazed when the thin client features were shown to us. Hp thin client are reliable and easier to manage. They provide solutions to problems like loss of data, virus and malicious attacks that cripple the computer system and threat brought by natural disasters. These machines are reliable because it can used with a server or used like a desktop computer and when it is used with a server, it makes it more reliable because the machine acts as a front end for the end users but the programs a run from the server so if there would be natural threats like blackouts, your data will still be in tact because the data are in the server. It also provides many advantages which make it more interesting to use for corporate and non corporate people. Aside from its lockdown feature which makes it invulnerable to viruses is because when you reboot the system the changes that you made will be discarded and so does the viruses. It is also eco friendly and has low initial cost compared to desktop computers and not only that, it also has longer life expectancy than desktop computers. It only consumes 11 to 20 watts which is really low compared to desktops so it lowers the cost of paying the light bill. Thin clients are ideal for task based workers that only use two or more applications at a time. Basically the Thin Client poses many advantages for its users which make it ideal for business.

After the discussion comes the most awaited part of the session, the question and answer portion. The questions were easy, if you listened, and all of the students who got the freebies came from USeP. I really didn’t thought that I was going to go out of that room with a freebie but I was lucky enough to be able to answer the last question which got me to given the 8gig USB. My listening and jotting notes really paid off.

Here are pictures that I had during and after the event.

Voting Automation

Election is a procedure that allows members of an organization or community to choose representatives who will hold positions of authority within it. Elections select local, state and national government leaders, this is a chance or an opportunity for the public to decide who will govern at these levels. To others, voting is a right but for me it is a privilege. This is a chance for the people to make choices about the policies, programs, and future directions of government action and at the same time, elections promote accountability although in our country, accountability has been an issue during elections.

Automation is a system of manufacturing designed to extend performance on certain tasks that is usually done by humans, and to control sequences of operations without human intervention. Automation is also used to describe nonmanufacturing systems in which programmed or automatic devices can operate independently or nearly independently of human control. An example of nonmanufacturing automation is in the field of aviation where autopilots and automatic guidance systems are used to perform various operations much faster and better than humans, but still, machines can’t replace humans.

Currently, in the Philippines, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) came up with an idea to automate the voting procedure of the 2010 elections to promote accountability and accuracy since accountability has been always the issue during elections. The Commission on election sought to seek the aid of automated systems so that the counting of the ballots will be done faster and more accurate than the usual and it could lessen the risk of cheating during the elections (at least they said so)

In order to achieve this goal, the Commission on Elections granted Smartmatic and its Philippine partner Total Information Management Inc. (TIM), the winning vote in their bid, to provide 80,000 vote counting machines at a cost of $152 Million. The group made a reasonable bid to be able to lease ample number of counting machines that would allow the Commission on Elections to finish the tally process in two days instead of the manual process which usually take weeks to finish. If the automation of the country’s national election pushes through, it would be the first in the Philippines and COMELEC officials hope it could promote reliability and eliminate cheating.

The automation of the election will be a big step for the Philippines to embrace IT or embrace contemporary ways of doing things by means of using technology instead of doing it in its usual manner. I personally have a positive outlook or point of view in this automation, not just because I am an IT student but because I want what’s best for my country. The Filipino people have been looking forward to a peaceful and honest election and I think that the automation could make that happen. This could be a turning point in the Philippine elections.

I personally support COMELEC’s campaign for automation because it poses many advantages. In the previous elections, voters write the names of their chosen candidates in a piece of paper and they are counted manually which is a system that is prone to cheating and often disfigured by violence. Even though after the counting of ballots have been done, winners were not known even a week after the balloting but in the new system the counting of ballots will be a lot quicker and more accurate.

However, critics/skeptics think that the automation might greatly degrade the accountability of the elections for the fact that it is a machine and it has an imbedded program so it is much easier to cheat by just tinkering the program of the machine. I think it is absurd to call such judgment because of the fact that calling such judgment greatly impacts the manufacturer of the machines and I think that no one can possibly tamper the program of the machines especially on the Election Day or prior to the election. The machines that will be used in the election is controlled by the manufacturer and COMELEC and that the only people that have access to the machines are those who are within their organizational scope or if they would have a specialist who will administer the machines. Thus, saying that if ever that the machines will be tampered those are the only people who will take the blame. I think that these people who initiated this campaign will not be the one who will break their code of ethics and try to tinker the machines for cheating. Also, this is not the first time of Smartmatic in terms of automation or electronic voting. Smartmatic has experienced administering electronic voting in other countries and 80 percent of the tally results were already available within or after six to five hours after the polls have been closed.

Smartmatic also has plans or emergency procedures in case of unwanted events. The company will be providing 40,000 technical staff nationwide that will help in administering the machines and they will be providing additional 2,200 machines to replace any of those machines in case any of the machines will be damaged or will have breakdowns. The machines will also be equipped with emergency power supply units in case there would be blackouts.

Recently, there was news about the automation being put to jeopardy because the Total Information Management Inc. which is the local partner of Smartmatic in the Philippines suddenly cut its ties with Smartmatic which gave the Filipino people and impression that the election will be done traditionally or it would be that we will go back to manual voting. There had been speculations that the government was behind the sudden withdrawal of TIM however, TIM denied this speculations and claimed that it was because of money issues. Now, TIM has reestablished their connections with Smartmatic and said that the automation of the 2010 elections will push through. Upon hearing the news about the withdrawal of TIM from Smartmatic it gave me an impression that the Filipino people would be denied of a chance to embrace the future and graze to the new era. I thought that those people who judge the automation badly are those people who have been swallowed by traditional ways and wish to stay traditional. I know that not all Filipino people are afraid to venture into the unknown and I know the people have been eager to evolve and grow and not linger into the past. Looking at the level or where the other countries are, we need to look at ourselves and think if we want to be left behind. I hope that the automation will push through and that there will be no problems that will stop it.

Risks Associated With Business and IT/IS Change

To start with, honestly I wasn’t part of the group who made an ambush interview on Concentrix for our first assignment in this subject. Fortunately I was able to find my way into the group because one of my group mates was one of those who had the ambush interview and I asked and referred to his reflection or rather his assignment number one.

The adopted company, Concentrix, formerly Link2Support, is a call center operation in Davao which is a US – based Company located at Damosa I.T Park, Lanang, Davao City. Concentrix provides technical and customer support to clients. Their work force delivers knowledge based services that have one measure of success resulting in customer satisfaction. And from Concentrix.com, Concentrix maximizes the long-term value of our clients' customers with solutions that support the entire customer life cycle and provide a high return on investment. And, by delivering from our locations in Asia, Latin America, and the United States in 12 major languages, we give our clients the global reach essential for business success. Our results: satisfied clients, some with relationships of 12 years or more. My group mate told me that when they visited the company they only gave one questionnaire.

Moving on, when I referred to his blog, one of their question is “What is MIS in your company?” the interviewee told them that their MIS is the core of their company. It is the core because their business focuses or makes use of computers and their MIS is responsible for repairing, installing and troubleshooting their computers. Their MIS personnel are also skilled in networking and not only that, their MIS is also responsible for making their systems which does not only record data it also records voice. The next question would be the main topic for the assignment, “What do you think are the best practices in your department that you think contribute a lot to the success in the company?” I was not really expecting that the answer would be teamwork. I was rather expecting the answer would be their latest software or their method of doing the business. So the interviewee said that teamwork, constantly evolving, and the like are their best IT practices.

Teamwork, from the definition in Wikipedia, is a joint action by two or more people, in which each person contributes his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals. Teamwork is one of the key to achieve success not just in business but in all fields such as sports and academics. Without teamwork it would be like playing basket ball five against one and it would be very hard to get the work done especially if that work needs to be done in a certain deadline. In Concentrix, their teamwork not only runs in their MIS department but throughout the whole system which makes them a company that has a system for success. I mean if there would be teamwork or if the people in the company work as a team, as one, then there would also be harmony in work and the tasks would be lighter compared to doing the task alone. The most successful or effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal. In the case of Concentrix, they all work for a certain goal and that is to deliver knowledge based services that have one measure of success resulting in customer satisfaction.

On to the second assignment which is “Based on the organization that you visited, what do you think are the risk associated with business and IT/IS change? (1000 words)” I think that if there would be a change or if a certain company like Concetrix would decide to make a change in their business and IT/IS, there would be good and bad effects of that change and considering the fact that they would be encountering a handful of risks in pursuing that change. An example of a change in is migrating from the current software to another one which is better or the latest software in the market. Many risks would arise in pursuing such change such as delaying the work of the personnel because of the reason that the personnel working in the company have already been accustomed to the current system or the current software and it would take time for the personnel to learn or adjust to the new software that they will be going to implement. Of course the new software that they are going to use is better than their current software so it would mean that the new software would have new features and commands that are not common to the personnel.

Also, the company would risk providing or investing resource for the training of the personnel to use the new software and they would have to pay other experts to train their personnel. It would cost the company money and it will also take time considering that they would have to migrate their data from the old software to the new one. They would also run tests and run error checking to their personnel’s performance before they could assure that their personnel have already adjusted to the new software. And if it would take time there would be a possible risk of losing profit but it all depends on how the company prepares for that change.
However, change in the business or IT/IS of a company does not only trigger risks and bad effects in the process it also has good effects. A certain company would not risk pursuing a change if they think that their system is perfect or stable. A company would always aim for the best and provide the best services that they could give to their clients. A change in a company and its effects would depend on the company on how they plan, manage and control it and if they really want that change.

http://concentrix.com/about.html
http://jmanlangit.blogspot.com

IS Leadership Roles

IS Leadership Roles

Computer Science Corporation suggested six IS leadership roles which are required to execute IS's future agenda: chief architect, change leader, product developer, technology provocateur, coach and chief operating strategist.

Chief Architect

The chief architect designs future possibilities for the business.The chief architect's primary role is to design IT infrastructure to expand future possibilities for the business but they do not define the specific outcome. They design infrastructures that do not just provide todays technical services such as networking and databases but they also design the business components or objects.

Change Leader

The change leader is somewhat similar to the role of the resource allocator. They both allocate organizational resources but the difference between the two is that the change leader allocates or orchestrates the resources to be able to initiate and execute the change in the organization or the company. By its title itself 'change' its role is to initiate a change program that will be for the benefit of the organization for the future. Their roles include providing new IT tools and most importantly the change team who redefines or redesigns the roles, jobs, and workflow of the people to be able to bring about positive perception to its subordinates.

Product Developer

The product developer is the source of new ideas that could bring the organization closer to commercial success in emerging digital markets. A product developer recognizes the potential for performing key business processes. A product developer also acts as a negotiator, he/she must 'sell' the idea to a business partner and set up and evaluate business experiments together.

Technology Provocateur

The technology provocateur is the one who embeds IT into organizations business strategey. The technology provocateur works with the organizations business executives to bring IT and realities of the IT marketplace to bear on the formation of strategy for the business. A technology provocateur understands both business and IT to be able to integrate the two and they also understand at a fundamental level the capabilities of IT and how it impacts the business.

Coach

The coach serves as the teacher to acquire the skillset they will need for the future. The basic responsibilities of a coach is teaching people how to learn, so that they can become self-sufficient, and providing team leaders with staff able to do the IT-related work of the business. Coaches are solid practitioners of competence and they are responsible for the growth and development of the organization's subordinates

Chief Operating Strategist

the chief operating strategist is the top IS executive in the organization who is focused on the future agenda of the the IS of the organization. They have parallel responsibilities related to helping the business design the future and then delivering it.

Mintzberg's Managerial Roles

Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles

Mintzberg’s thesis on nature of managerial roles involved observing and analyzing the activities of CEO’s of five private and semi public organizations. Mintzberg identified ten separate roles in managerial work and separated these roles into three subcategories: Interpersonal contact, Information processing and Decision making. The roles that fall into the category of interpersonal contact are the figurehead, leader and the liaison.

FIGURE HEAD

The figurehead, from the definition in Encarta, is somebody who appears to be the head of an organization or institution but has no real responsibility or authority. The role of the figurehead is the one who performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as head of the organization. The figurehead also performs social and legal duties which involve greeting visitors, signing legal documents, attending ribbon cutting ceremonies, hosting seminars, etc. (My perception) the role of the figurehead is crucial or important in an organization because he/she acts as a symbol of the organization which means that whatever the figurehead ‘possess’ reflects the image the organization.

LEADER

The leader is somebody whom people follow, somebody who guides or directs others by showing them the way or telling them how to behave. Its role is to foster a proper work atmosphere and motivate and develop its subordinates. The leader is also the one who chooses or selects employees that are to be trained. He/ she possess great respect from his/her subordinates which is the factor why people follow his/her lead.

LIAISON

The liaison, other may call them as coordinators, somebody who is responsible for maintaining communication between one group or office and another. A liaison develops and maintains a network of external contact to gather information which includes activities such as participating in meetings with representatives of other divisions or organizations. He/she acts as a channel of communication so that a certain organization maintains its relationship with other external organizations.

The other roles which fall into the information processing subcategory are the monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson. First in this category is the monitor.

MONITOR

The monitor is the one who gathers internal and external information relevant to the organization. He/she reads and scans trade presses, periodicals and reports. It also involves attending trainings and seminars and maintaining personal contact.

DISSEMINATOR

The disseminator, or in other cases ‘The P.I.O’, is the one who relays or transmits factual and value based information to subordinates of the organization. It somehow acts as an internal liaison which maintains communication with its subordinates. He/she reports to subordinates on the current events and issues in the organization. This role also includes sending memos and reports, informing its staff and subordinates of the decisions implemented by higher ranking officials.

SPOKESPERSON

The spokesperson is the one responsible for communicating to the outside world on performance policies, communicating and transmitting information to others. By saying others, we mean other organizations or companies. The spokesperson serves as a representative of the organization. They pass on memos, reports and information materials, participate in conferences/meetings and report progress. And on other occasions, spokespersons are usually the one who faces the media and answers all the questions according to their organizations decisions.

ENTREPRENEUR

The entrepreneur or an entrepreneur in an organization is someone who sets up and finances new commercial enterprises to make profit. They identify, design and initiate changes in the organization. They are usually the ones who have creative imagination which are also in touch with reality. They can identify new ideas and initiate improvement projects. Entrepreneurs are the ones who implement innovations in an organization for it to prosper in the future.

DISTURBANCE HANDLER

The disturbance handler (I call it error handlers of an organization) they are the ones who deal with unexpected events and operational breakdowns. They primarily deal with the disputes or problems and the ones who take corrective actions to compensate it. Their roles involve settling conflicts between subordinates and choose alternatives to counterbalance it and overcome crisis situations.

RESOURCE ALLOCATOR

The resource allocator is similar to a treasurer only they do not hold the money but instead they are the ones who control and authorize the use of organizational resources. Resources may include organizational fund, products, etc. They are usually the ones who decide on where to apply their resources. Their responsibilities involve drafting, approving plans, schedules, budgets and they set priorities.

NEGOTIATOR

The negotiator in an organization are literally negotiators, they participate in negotiation activities with other organization or individuals. Negotiators are excellent talkers because the nature of their responsibility is important that they should be able to convince their clients or other negotiators to accept their terms and place the status quo in their organizations side.

Sources:
http://www.provenmodels.com/88/ten-managerial-roles/mintzberg
http://management.atwork-network.com

First Day Funk (MIS: Learnings)

Well, the first day turned out fun (as always). Sir Randy always has that attitude to make you smile even if hes not up to it. I didn't know that my other classmates would attend the 10:00 - 11:30 schedule instead of the 1:00 - 2:30 schedule. So I didn't have any choice but to attend the original schedule. At the start of the class I knew it would be fun not just because of the learning but also the bloopers and the sing and dance numbers of the late comers (and the virgins as well.)

First, we tackled what is M.I.S which our current subject. Sir Randy then asked us to define what is management, many answers was given by our classmates. He then said that management implies that someone or something needs to be managed, he/she or it is not capable of being independent. Management involves planning, directing, organizing and controlling. But he also stressed that people can not be managed properly because of the reason that we have feelings and we are not robots. One concrete example he gave to us was, if a parent tries suppress his/her child's emotions or feelings, the tendency is that his/her child would go against him/her. He then said that only things, processes, procedures, etc. can be managed, people are not managed but led, thus leading us to the next question "What is I.S?" I.S is the combination of IT (Information Technology) and People Ware. After defining M.I.S, he then strike a followup question "Why is it called M.I.S? Who manages the people ware?"

When I was enrolled in H.R.M, I heard some of my classmates (who were also enrolled in M.I.S) arguing about something. It turned out that they were arguing about their subject which was M.I.S so I listened. They said that M.I.S should not be the subject name instead it should be L.M.I.S which is defined as Leadership Management Information System. The equation of M.I.S is 'Hardware + Software + People ware', if people could not be managed properly why was it called Management Information System? Then recently I heard from one my classmates that it was called M.I.S because "Walay subject na ing-ana ingon ang CHED."

In my own opinion it was called M.I.S because the word 'management' in the subject name did not literally mean managing or controlling the people. M.I.S systems provide many advantages in an organization. These information technology tools can assist executes and the general workforce in performing their tasks. These systems are useful in data processing, strategy support and production of reports which can be effectively used in decision making. So M.I.S does not directly mean managing the people ware instead it gives people important, factual and usual information which could help them performing their tasks. Well that is my opinion (whats yours?)

Overall, I enjoyed the first day of our class. I hope and certainly do expect that there would be a lot of these in the next meetings to come. Before I end this, I would like to apologize to Sir Randy for not being updated on your current position in your organization. Honestly, last time I heard Sir Randy was the president of the IT educators in Mindanao. It was only at that moment I realized that Sir Randy was already the president of the IT educators in the Philippines (sorry sir) -End