A Holistic Transformation

The evolution of information technology has brought about major changes in our everyday ways of living, impacting all aspects of life and even forward plans of individuals and/or companies.

Through out the semester, as an individual who has a very limited knowledge on the actual depth of the study of information technology i must say that i have really take in and learned a lot. Realizing that information technology nowadays is already as important as the economy and its impact is overwhelming.

While IT is a known fact, its real scope is not a common knowledge to everyone. As managers specially in a corporate perspective, the use of information technology is essential in determining the success of the firm, it is part of the decision making and overall strategy for sustainable growth. I have now a better understanding of how important IT is and how significant that it should be taken into account.

As an individual, i may not be aware of it, but IT has already been a part of my daily routine since then, as a part of the generation Y, my life had been a replica of constant change and adaptation and IT has been a great part in my coping mechanism, it made me understand things far better than any tool.

When the advantages outweighs the Consequences.

Nowadays, social media has proven its existence to be relevant in almost all aspects of life. From the mundane tasks that we do on a daily basis and even up to the most life changing decisions in our lives, social media has become a witness.  It is considered to be a powerful variable in leveraging life but could also be devastating if not properly utilized.

There are various social media sites nowadays that offer its users the opportunity to showcase themselves. Social media is an advantageous tool for the ff. reasons:

1.  Source of relevant information and news update – social medias more than just a tool of entertainment is also a source of information, many relevant sites have grown to using Facebook for example in educations its target niche.
2.  Social Media as a source of connection- connections are powerful, aside from skills, strategies and knowledge, connections are important practical tools in business practices, it is part of establishing a stronger relationship and building a productive network.
3.  What we see in social media challenges us to become the best version of ourselves by seeing the front stage of others, by witnessing the inspiring stories of success and having enough grasp of what is happening in the outside world.

My Personal Commitment Statements:

1. I will use social media only in relevant matters like communicating with the people that matters and not use it to harm others.
2. I will keep my life private as much as possible and will respect other’s privacy as well by not snooping on others profiles for false intentions.
3. I will be mindful in my usage of social media, and will not abuse it by having a more controlled usage frequency.

 

Software Piracy at its Zenith

Software piracy in the Philippines is considered to be rampant, almost any commodity are being pirated from wardrobe to medicines to gadgets, the list continues and software is not an exemption . Considering that it is yet a developing country software licenses in the Philippines is considered costly for an average Filipino wage earner. But given the advancement in technology, the procurement of software is essential pertaining to any prior application in almost any devices where the use of it is applicable.

While it is but illegal. we can’t solely blame someone for using using a pirated software, given a minimum wage earner Filipino, its purchasing power to procure a genuine copy is very costly, in reality it is a question of practicality, and also a question of “why buy a genuine copy, when i can readily have a copy at a much lower price, and everybody’s doing it?”.

To address this issue, software companies could offer a package with much lesser costs to its consumers, by then, consumers would have wider options as to whether they will continue to buy pirated licenses or buy the genuine one since the price is almost at par.  Second suggestion is instead of punitive measures, it could offer a reward system for users of genuine programs, by offering rewards it will promote product loyalty and increased customer service level. Another is adding a perceived value to the genuine copies and putting in extreme measure of security to avoid piracy. For sure, software companies have been employing security measures to protect its interests, however this measure may not be secure enough considering the continued issue of piracy. Lastly, software companies should increase its campaign efforts on the negative impact of using pirated software to the industry by educating its target market and increasing awareness.

 

Knowledge is Everything!

“ Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes. – Peter Drucker “. In every organization knowledge is a thing to behold; it invokes an array of responsibilities because it’s crucial towards growth, improvement and lifelong sustainability.

Organizational knowledge management therefore is essential and beneficial for every organization, by managing the inflow and outflow of knowledge, organizations can take control of its “assets” wherein knowledge is considered to be one of the most important contributors. Through knowledge management, big ideas within the organizations will have a chance to be developed and nurtured and could eventually turn into a successful innovation.

Just like all great things, knowledge management has its fair share of barriers that may hinder the successful utilization of which. One barrier to almost any innovation and change is the concept of change resistance, wherein employees in an organization are apprehensive of the possible change, this may arise from the limited knowledge of proper utilization of the tool, KM when used could be an opportunity turned into success but it could also be a liability for those who refuses to acknowledge the benefit that lies with maximizing knowledge management.

Another barrier is clarity of vision or unclear orientation of the possible benefit on the process, if the benefits are not clear to the employees within the organization, it may become a question of adherence or compliance. Benefit drives motivation, therefore educating the employees with its benefits is essential in gaining there confidence and cooperation in the knowledge management process.

“Knowledge is power, but knowledge sharing is empowerment”. This is a very striking statement considering the present scenario where knowledge is already considered a commodity. In deed knowledge is power if properly managed, developed and utilized, and it gives power to those who’s able to identify the opportunities it entails and use it at their advantage.

A Tool of Intelligence

Data is considered to be a powerful tool in almost if not all aspect of life, in a corporate context it could make or break a person or an organization. For the same reason data is being sold and the strategic use of it has become a major tool in leveraging organizational strategy in general.

Business intelligence tools for that matter plays a significant role in attaining a competitive advantage nowadays where technology is a major catalyst of innovation. However, though it is considered to be significant not all organizations are readily willing to adapt to the changes, some employees are apprehensive of the unknown and anxious of the possible complications on the usage of such.

Employing a rewards program in successfully utilizing the tool for the company’s advantage could be an influential tool to motivate employees in using BI application. With the same level of importance is reprimanding employees that does not adhere with the organizational direction of using BI application.

In a human resource perspective, appraisals are effective motivational tool, thus offering special incentives or pay raises in employees that uses BI applications will also make them adaptive to change, having something to look forward to will lessen their resistance to change and will encourage them to try something new and be comfortable with it. This is also a process of embracing productive changes and opportunities for growth.

When there’s too many choices.

Internet shopping is a growing trend to which organizations need to adapt to survive. Most organizations with the aim of better customer service apparently is doing its best to strategically attack this market niche. Having said that, below are few of the products that may and may not affect my buying preferences:

3 Products that i would have no hesitation buying online:

1. Clothing – Garment sold online are less risky to buy and options for replacement are  available for this category.
2. Beauty products – Just like clothing, beauty products sold online has almost value as to those sold in the physical stores.
3. Plane ticket – Plane tickets are convenient to buy online.

3 Products that i would consider buying but will think about it before doing so:

1. Gadget – Some gadgets might be defective specially online since flaws might be hidden in the pictures.
2. Tour Package – Tour packages might have hidden charges and sugar coated services specially if seen in n unknown sites.
3. Pets – Pets are something personal because they are living creatures, buying it online will bring apprehensions to the potential breeders.

3 Products that i would never buy online:

1. Lot – Lot is an important asset that needs assessment prior to purchase. It should be bought with a broker and have it checked face to face.
2. Car – Cars are expensive tools for transportation, with it comes safety and convenience, therefore it is something that should be personally bought.
3. Medicine – Medicine needs a pharmacist guidance prior to procurement, it should be bought only on a registered pharmacy or drug store.

Customer service is an opportunity and a responsibility to both customers and sellers. And as a part of a satisfactory experience, online sellers are challenged to better serve its customers despite the limitations of a virtual store.

Internet shopping is a growing trend to which organizations need to adapt to survive. Most organizations with the aim of better customer service apparently is doing its best to strategically attack this market niche. Having said that, below are few of the products that may and may not affect my buying preferences.

3 Products that i would have no hesitation buying online:

1. Clothing – Garment sold online are less risky to buy and options for replacement are  available for this category.
2. Beauty products – Just like clothing, beauty products sold online has almost value as to those sold in the physical stores.
3. Plane ticket – Plane tickets are convenient to buy online.

3 Products that i would consider buying but will think about it before doing so:

1. Gadget – Some gadgets might be defective specially online since flaws might be hidden in the pictures.
2. Tour Package – Tour packages might have hidden charges and sugar coated services specially if seen in n unknown sites.
3. Pets – Pets are something personal because they are living creatures, buying it online will bring apprehensions to the potential breeders.

3 Products that i would never buy online:

1. Lot – Lot is an important asset that needs assessment prior to purchase. It should be bought with a broker and have it checked face to face.
2. Car – Cars are expensive tools for transportation, with it comes safety and convenience, therefore it is something that should be personally bought.
3. Medicine – Medicine needs a pharmacist guidance prior to procurement, it should be bought only on a registered pharmacy or drug store.

Customer service is an opportunity and a responsibility to both customers and sellers. And as a part of a satisfactory experience, online sellers are challenged to better serve its customers despite the limitations of a virtual store.

 

A Wireless Unlimited Network of Opportunity .

With great opportunity comes great responsibility, or so they say. Wireless network offers a vast array of unlimited opportunities popping from almost everywhere exceeding human expectations and redefining the concept of advancement.  Organizations may or may not adapt however, depending on the need but in this competitive environment, resisting changing and technology is not an option if you want growth and improvement.

Organizations could actually utilize wireless technology at their advantage, by adapting to change and using wireless access to fast tract jobs to be done, improvise planning and of course a more cohesive monitoring. Unlike before when everything is plugged in and the use of wireless network is limited, organizations invests on plugged in mechanism to facilitate operations, but nowadays given the improvements and immergence of the so called wireless network, organizations could actually lessen its operational costs through the proper use of wireless technology. It has its advantages given its ease of use, accessibility, and convenience. You can have any information that you need at your fingertips anywhere and anytime.

Free flowing of data and accessibility has its downside, leak of information is one example of which and could be very deadly for organizations especially those handling highly classified information.  To facilitate safe usage of wireless, organizations could utilize a limited access rule, filtering the information given online. A security system should also be used to prevent leak of important data.

IT SECURITY.YES?NO?WHY?

IT security is essential in in an organization’s productivity and growth. Technology as we all know is an inevitable change that every company should adapt to, the question lingers as to whether IS security should be procured or developed in house considering the different factors aligned to it

In house development of data base for IT security could be very costly in an organization , with it of course is the consistent maintenance and updating of the system, this step could be very costly for the company. Having said those, outsourcing of IT is very practical for organizations to minimize cost and manpower as well as the hassle of creating an in house IT security system.

However, employing a third party IT security system has its own downsides. Some of which are the ff:

• Confidentiality of information. Since security will be outsourced, company’s are expected to supply the data needed, in effect confidentiality issues will arise in the long run because highly classified data will be shared between partners.
• Control of data and confusion in terms of scope. Control of data could be an issue as the business goes along. There are organizational cultures that may become a barrier in terms of data sharing and scope especially if the role was not clearly defined on set of the partnership.  There might be a question as to “who” controls “what”.
• Compliance Risk. The risk in compliance of the regulations and rules could be an issue, again if the culture and vision of the third party IT security provider is not aligned with the  organizations directions.

As managers, weighing the pros and cons of whether to outsource IT security lies on the concept of whether the pros outweighs the cons. In this case, should the company decide to outsource its IT security which is more practical than developing its own, it may avoid or minimize future issues that may arise through the ff:

• Filter the data provided and transferred. Organizations should be keen on what data to provide and transfer. Strictness on complying and sharing only what needs to be is essential in minimizing risks.
• Evaluate.Reevaluate. It means that, part of hiring a third party IT security is the monitoring of it. Monitoring may be in a form of occasional site visits, random evaluations and alignment.
• Analyze. Always analyze and review whether you have the right partner suited to the needs of your organization.  Review is very important in making sure that you and your service provider is still on the same page as agreed in your initial business transaction.
• Contingency Planning. Organizations should always have a contingency plan if worse comes to worse. If all else fails, what is our next step?. This is a question that organizations should be able to answer all the time. Immediate recovery is important in long term survival which implies that contingency planning is as significant.

In sum, IT security outsourcing, whether it is a yes or no, should always be question of why. Evaluation of the firms current and future needs is important prior to decision making because the need will dictate what needs to be addressed.

 

“Making good decisions is a crucial skill at every level” – Peter Drucker

Decision making in almost if not all aspect of life is tough, it could make or break your reality in a finger snap. It’s a gradual process of analyzing the pros and cons of a particular situation and choosing the best alternative suited to the current need.  The same is true in information system, as managers there are important considerations that we need to take into account prior to decision making. On top of it, there are important skills that we need to adapt for us managers to become effective decision makers and problem solvers.  Reflected below are some of the important skills needed by managers in order for them to participate effectively in IS decisions.

1. Adaptation to change and innovation.

Managers to be effective and productive in IS decisions should be adaptive and not resistant to change.  Innovation are just around the corner waiting to be recognized, as a manager, we should be able to identify the opportunities hinge to it and be willing to learn and be taught so we could use it at our advantage.

2. Open Mindedness to calculated risks.

Open mindedness is as challenging as adaptation, risk management and openness to possibility of failure in contrast to the success of any project is difficult to grasp, that is why there is this concept called calculated risk. Managers to be able to be effective should learn to be open minded in executing projects and apprehension of information system, to be as operational in decision making. Risk in any organization can make or break, that is why it should be thoroughly planned and calculated. Only then can a organization be able to wholeheartedly embrace that endless opportunities offered by information system and technology.

2. Critical Thinking ( Thinking outside of the box)

Cliche as it may sound considering the jargon of both life and the corporate world,but yes critical thinking would always be the bottom line in untangling difficult situations, creating successful innovations and productive decisions.  Thinking outside of the box is challenging but worthwhile, it will push you to the edge of your full potential. Critical thinking will enable managers to participate effectively in the IS decisions performed by its organization. Not will it only enable managers to participate effectively but it also allows them to predict outcomes and improve processes.

Mentioned above are just few of the important skills that managers need to have to be able to perform efficiently in all areas including IS decision making.

IT was Me and You all along. (IT and Me)

“Our intuition about the future is linear. But the reality of information technology is exponential, and that makes a profound difference. If i take 30 steps linearly, I get to 30. If I take 30 steps exponentially, I get to a billion. ” – Ray Kurzweil. The emerging and unstoppable change that information technology has brought has proven itself to be boundless by creating an impact to almost if not all aspects of life and the concept of living it everyday.

We are all recipients of the innovation in IT, it all depends on you on how do you use it at your advantage because IT could either be a positive or negative externality.

It was like walking on a narrow path with the unknown right in front of you, like a tunnel with endless possibilities waiting to be unfolded.

On a personal note, IT has been so significant in cultivating my life, my character, my perspective and my career, its like a tool i can’t afford to go a day without using, and i’ll bet it’s the same thing with everyone else. IT work’s it’s magic in all aspect of life- the possibility is limitless.  Currently it has impacted our lives in the ways far more than we could have ever imagined, just like economics it somehow dictate our quality of living and decision making from the simplest of task to the most complex life changing decisions. Having said those, i must say that information technology has been me and you all along.