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In reference to Assignment nos. 2 and 3, this post is centered on How the University can help achieve what i want in the future.

Since goals are what students hope to accomplish, and outcomes represent what  actually is achieved, current trends toward measurement of educational outcomes  (assessment) foster attempts to connect goals and outcomes at the course and  program level.
In this case, the course, the offered programs is a vital contributing factor to achieve ones long term goals or the future dream.

As I have mentioned I envisioned myself to become an IT Manager.  Basically, I want to be an IT Manager having a business organization that needs to be captured, manage and store knowledge from materials and resources accumulated by information technology. Since , this goal is muc related to the course I am taking right now, therefore  my school plays  a vital role in  molding up myself to be  an effective and efficient  IT  MAnager someday. There are lot of factors to consider on how USeP can help me to cope with necessary requirements with the job I preferred.

First thing to help, is the QUALIFIED FACULTY. USeP has all the qualified faculty no doubt that the university towered over some other schools not only in the region. Effeciency of the faculty is a very big help to students, for they cater the required knowledge to the students based on the structure of the programs. The teaching strategy is subjective, the discussion don't solely relt on a specific textbook, in this manner of teaching they provide a wide range of learning which can be considered a competitive advantage to us, students.

Another contributing factor is the integration of the E-LEARNING. Since, the school's ultimate goal is to provide technological advancement when it comes to the learning, USeP has been integrating the e-learning environment. In this way, Information Technology involvement of the students will boost. Thus, it will contribute to manage, use and implemet resources accumulated by Information Technology for learning purposes. One way of integrating this kind of environment is through discussions or forums over the internet.

Another thing is the FACILITIES. It can't be denied that the university is experiencing problems in the usage of the facilities especially in computer laboratories. There's a problem on catering the students access to the facility in reference to the number of students. In the other hand, though might rise some discripancies, but then one should take into consideration that this thing is not a hindrance to acquire the necessary knowledge. There are still options where you can acquire knowledge in a different way.

I know that these two contributing factors I have identified will be a great help to achieve my long term goal. Especially, that some of the subjects I am taking rigth this time are of big help to manage information in an effective way. It cannot be denied that there are struggles encountered along the way but then I should realize that those challenges are meant for me to change or be more active in dealing things making it worthwhile. At the end of the day the future still lies at our hands, regardless of the acquired knowledge, it still depends on the disposition of an individual. Indeed, Living life is a matter of preference.

This assignment is with reference to the visited local organization in assignment 1. With this, it is not the Best IT/IS practices but the risks associated with business and IS/IT change.

Same company we visited for assignment 2 which was the Hubport Group Interactive, located at the 3rd Floor Conpinco Building, along J.P Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City. The same person we interviewed regarding this assignment and it was Mr. Paulo Saravia, the Operations Officer at Hubport Interactive Inc. Also, he is a Web Designer, Project Manager and under training in Operations Management for Information Technology / Management and Business Process Outsourcing. Besides, he is specializing in IT business process development, IT product branding, human resource acquisition, project management, client negotiations, web design, application process design, interactive flash development and many more.

According to Mr. Saravia, Hubport started with only 6 (six) developers and 2 (two) designers; as to their facilities they started with the basic software, of course basic hardwareincludes computer units. Since it is not easy to invest with competitive systems, the company was not able to acquire it until late 2006-2007 marked the breakthrough of the company when it comes to the systems used, from basic software to high level ones, from basic hardware to the upgraded ones  For this time, what we have known are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change.  In this section “risks” is being centered.

By the way, what is risk??

By definition, RISK is a concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities. Technically, the notion of risk is independent from the notion of values and, as such, eventualities may have both beneficial and adverse consequences. However, in general usage the convention is to focus only on potential negative impact to some characteristic of value that may arise from a future event. Risk can be defined as “the threat or probability that an action or event will adversely or beneficially affect an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives”. In simple terms risks is ‘Uncertainty of Outcome’, either from pursuing a future positive opportunity, or an existing negative threat in trying to achieve a current objective.   In this case, the event is the change in the field of Information Technology/Information System and the change in Business Environment. With new technology as one of the key drivers in maintaining competitive advantage and continuity success in the business sector, change is one of the few constants within the said sector. Any change, especially fast-paced change creates risk – on a technical as well as operational level. Risk needs to be recognized, evaluated and managed if the organization and their customers are to benefit, rather than suffer, from change.

From the interview we conducted to the IT officer, he gave us this following information:  

For the risk associated with IT/IS change, here are the following:

1. Rejection of the Staff.  

Unfortunately, new information technology causes a fundamental change in the workplace. Thus, organizational change is always a challenge and often causes a rejection on the part of employees and the management side. Hubport is an international-based company, the company should relate to demand that there are still branches outside the main branch of the company which requires also the fast responsiveness on the change. Therefore, the company would understand rejection of employees, instead of having many employees to attain on the needs of every branch what; will happen is that only one employee will be managing the branch and that is the manager. This is to address that in every high flexible and more effective processes there is an optimizing cost.  

2. Major Change:Data Loss 

Despite technological advances in the reliability of magnetic storage media, data loss continues to rise, making data recovery more important than ever. Because of the IT/IS change, there is a risk on data loss. Data loss may come in different form – Intentional, Unintentional, Failure and Disaster. Failure and human error are the two identified causes of data loss. The only way to recover form data loss is having a Recovery Plan probably storage in separate location.  Operating system errors account for a large percentage of data loss. Virus attacks and spyware can bring down a system and erase critical data. The operating system will not boot if located on the same drive as the compromised hard disk, as it will indicate that the operating system is not found.  In the whole interview with Mr. Saravia, he centered his discussion on the major changes in business environment.

Here are the following changes in the business enviroment:

1. Security.

“Business is secured with IS”, Mr. Saravia added, with the help of the competitive systems that they are using it tends to update them with latest enhancement projection. There is a “one-way monitoring” with IS.

2. Dissemination is clear.  

With the help of the Information System through a VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol, the company is providing a complete access on the services that the company is offering.  

Some of the questions raised during the interview were:

 What procedures are in place for controlling the development of software 
           applications and changes to those applications?

Software Development Life Cycle  

This means that the applications of the systems are “time and material based”, for without this basis there is a risk factor that customer won’t follow do necessary payments regarding the application requested by the customer. The company is actually using the “waterfall method”. A waterfall method is a sequential software development process, to which progress is seen as flowing steadily through the phases of Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification and Maintenance.  The waterfall method model maintains that one should move to a phase only when its preceding phase is completed and perfected.
 Cite some trends in global business environment that have made IS vital?
      Global Financial Crisis

Because of this Global Financial crisis the company is looking for other companies to become partners in managing the business. In order to mitigate and manage the service continuity plan of the company.  High ystem Requirements  System requirements may include License Certification. This enables to meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society. Also involves, requirement on effective and competitive systems to cope with the greater demand.  Despite all the advances of technology there appear to have risks. This is because of the changes in terms of the systems that the company is using. That is why risks should be expected at any point and should be taken into account to avoid the greatest risk on business malfunction. Data loss is considered the major change on the IT/IS change and it seems to be apparent with the rest of the companies.Also, nowadays we all move along at such a fast pace that any disruption can prove to be disastrous, especially if that problem stems from computer data loss. We depend so much on one piece of machinery that losing precious data, time, and productivity can lead to bigger concerns. There are many common issues that arise that can be the culprit and happen at any time.  

The visit…the interview…

The group with Mr. Paulo Saravia, Operations Manager, Hubport Interactive.    

Ariel Serenado at Hubport Interactive.

Source:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk

For assignment 3 in MIS, we are tasked to make a blog entry on our own thoughts regarding the 2010 Automated Election.

There are issues that need to be entertained nowadays especially that these issues greatly affect our daily living, indeed we are socially and politically affected with the current issues we are facing. There is a great necessity in keeping ourselves abreast and vigilant for we can be engulfed by these issues and eventually will ruin the future of our country. Responding to the current issue in our environment is one way of giving or lending an aide to the government as to their performance. Whether they are on the right side they don’t know, only its subordinates, the people, who knows what a good government is.

The issue is on the AUTOMATED ELECTION, which is primarily proposed by the COMMISSION ON ELECTION. There are people who are in favor with this proposal however there is also countless number of people who are against to this proponent and continue to address their will and their thoughts . This issue has brought into debates, series of arguments and even disagreements between parties involved in the issue.

As for my own opinion, before a decision turned into a verdict let us first consider things in a more specific way. Let’s not limit our thinking with the things that makes us going. Technology has great participation on the breakthrough of the plan for automated election. This thing must be taken into account, considering its advantages. Technology has been a part of our daily living, and basically we already know how the impact relates to the basic needs of the people.

Automated Election…My thoughts…my views…

“The Comelec claims that we will finally have clean and honest elections because the 2010 elections will be fully automated.”

Quite late, the Philippines finally had its taste on making the 2010 election fully automated, after earned a lot of speculations and issues on the older way of poll system which brought to war between opponents because of the issue on cheating fraud. That is what the COMELEC is currently pursuing, to make the 2010 POLL fully automated.

Will this plan prosper?

I stand for Automated Election.

Why go for automated election??

There is no other way of having a quick and reliable elections than having it fully automated. Though it requires big budgetary requirements but the benefits of it are essential to the government. The Automated Election System (AES) uses appropriate technology which has been demonstrated in the voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmission of election results, and other electoral process. Since the system makes use of ballots, and also considering the fact that it is already familiar to most members of the electorate, this system was recommended as the most suitable for the Philippine setting. With the use of centralized counting centers, a ballot counter could be assigned to count the ballots from several precincts, or even from a whole municipality, depending on the number of registered voters. In an automated system, counting will no longer be done by the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI). In an OMR system, the paper ballots will be brought to a central counting center where they will be fed into a counting machine and print out election returns. In a DRE system, the voting machines will count the votes stored in its internal memory and print out election returns. See? how effecient is the proposal of the automation, everyone is relatind to it and having their good comments regarding the auotmation process. However, I have my own sentiments regarding the late response of the authorities regarding the older system of elections.

For me, it is a late response in the side of the COMELEC to realize the current demand of the public which is to provide structured and peaceful elections. The country has been addressing the thousands of problems regarding the WHOLE electoral process of the country.

The addressed problem regarding the Manual system of election highlighted the disadvantages of a manual system of election; from the process of casting of votes to canvassing of the results of the elections. The nation braced itself as it witnessed one of the slowest canvassing of the results made in May 2004 elections. It was readily apparent that the nation would stand to benefit from an Automated Election System. Sectors considered this system of election an end to end solution with the ordinary way of election system, however some body find it as cheating paraphernalia. Whatever it is, as far as I know the proposal seeks to provide the flexibility on execution of the automated election system, as it consider the budgetary requirements, manpower requirements, peace and order situation and other concerns. The end desired of the proposal is to assure the credibility and transparency of the whole electoral activities of the country.

Many people said that transparency in the automated election was gone; for as people feed the machine with their votes it automatically secure a printed election return without knowing that it is properly counted by the machine. Unlike with the older system, the transparency was there; public reading of votes in front of watchers and citizens, tallying and manual preparation of election returns was that it was visible. However, as claimed by the COMELEC that the machine will be opened for source codes inspection, for the people to understand that the machine is not capable for any cheating fraud. When we say fraud it includes crime, civil law violation or deceptive conduct designed to manipulate another person to give something of value. Therefore that it has been assured that it will not cause any discrepancies in the future.

Issues came out lately, that SMARTMATIC withdrawn in partnership with TIM or Total Information and Management Incorporation. According to Commission on Elections there were just differences between the two companies that need to be settled. Recently, it seems that Total Information Management (TIM) and foreign company SMARTMATIC have settled their differences and will proceed to the planned 2010 automated election. As of the moment, facilities are already realized and introduced to the public. Therefore, the plan for making the 2010 poll fully automated is now final.

The explanatory note made by Senator Gordon should be taken into account, that the country should now adapt the modernization of the whole electoral activities of the country by way of making the election automated.

Things are on its right track. Peace, sanctity, and orderliness are the primary objective way of reforming the Philippines’ older system. This impact relate to the current demand of the country making the nation at its stable economic status which starts from a holistic 2010 elections. The long wait of reform is over for the Filipinos, but still the success depend on the people; whether it will prosper or not we really don’t know, for as long as the people will stick to its desire for a brighter future all things will just come on its way.

sources:

http://www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/30942287!.pdf
http://business.inquirer.net/money/columns/view/20090706-214009/Automated-election-fraud
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:kXM5WcKM_1kJ:www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/25771950!.pdf+definition+of+automated+election&cd=19&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ph
http://themindanaocurrent.blogspot.com/2008/08/automated-election-system.html

For this assignment, we are tasked to find 3 URL’s that talks on “Green Campus Computing”.

As I search the net, I have come to find the following URL’s:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=join_change_the_world.showPledgeDriverDetails&cpd_id=17345

From this URL, a program is being proposed by a non profit organization. The program is: The Green Campus Program, is a nonprofit organization working toward campus sustainability through encouraging energy preservation, energy efficient student practices and lowering institutional energy costs. The Alliance to Save Energy created the Green Campus Program that is student. The program is dedicated to strive towards maximum energy efficiency throughout campus.

My Suggestion:

In order for the school to adapt it in an efficient way, the project should be a college-based program. So that, form time to time college/departments head will be reminding the students. Because in my own opinion it’s quite difficult to handle such program if its handled by school heads especially that there are activities that divert the attention of students.

http://www.environment.uwaterloo.ca/computing/greenit/on_campus.html

In this URL, a school is involved. Green Initiatives insides the campus is very rampant. Designated departments are having their own will and initiatives on pursuing their program on Green Campus Computing.

Departments and their Green Initiatives:

Plant Operations

o Creating and implementing sustainability initiatives around campus through: o Energy Conservation
o Water Conservation
o Waste Management
o Air Quality
o Environmental Projects
o Turf Management
o Transportation

Procurement Services

o Promoting greenpurchasing
o Offers a list of green suppliers to purchase from
o Highlighting the importance of being aware of the impact UW has on the environment

UCIST - University Committee for Information, Systems, and Technology

o Committed to creating a campus-wide Green Computing policy
o To date have formed a subcommittee for Green Computing implementation

My Suggestion:

Better if these programs are integrated in some curricular activities, for the students to integrate environmental awareness to their academic activities.

http://www.greencampuscpp.org/takeaction.htm

Online Job Services_____________________________________

For Assignment 3 in HRM, is to identify  5(five) online services with corresponding description.

To start, let us first evaluate what online service means.

ONLINE SERVICE(definition)...

A business that provides its subscribers with a wide variety of datatelecommunications lines. Online services provide an infrastructure in which subscribers can communicate with one another, either by exchanging e-mail messages or by participating in online conferences (forums). In addition, the service can connect users with an almost unlimited number of third-party information providers. Subscribers can get up-to-date stock quotes, news stories hot off the wire, articles from many magazines and journals, in fact, almost any information that has been put in electronic form. Of course, accessing all this data carries a price.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/O/online_service.html

ONLINE JOB SERVICES...

1. Medical Transcription Services

The medical transcription field may well be the greatest beneficiary of outsourced transcription services. It is the service most often provided by transcription service providers across the world.

Medical transcriptionists listen to dictation recordings by doctors and healthcare practitioners, and convert them into medical reports, medical correspondence, discharge papers, autopsy reports, etc. A medical transcriptionist, unlike a general transcriptionist, must understand medical terminology and be able to decipher medical abbreviations. There are as many medical transcription services as there are medical specialties and medical documents: radiology transcription, microbiology transcription, pathology transcription, cardiology transcription, medical review transcription, H&P reports transcription, surgery notes transcription, lab reports transcription, etc.

               http://www.capitaltyping.com/medical-transcription

2. Data Entry Services

Well-managed data can be used in an endless number of ways to better plan and manage the undertakings of any business. Data entry is basic to data management and more and more organizations are outsourcing their data entry needs to better manage their company database. Online data entry refers to entering data from a variety of sources, ranging from printed hardcopy to Web-based information, into an online database.

Online data entry services include:

    Web      research
Online      data entry (form entry) and submission
Online      research
Compilation      of relevant URL
  
We use a combination of technical and human expertise and creativity to provide our clients with a wide range of online Data Entry Services. Our accurate, confidential and cost-effective data entry and data processing services can be applied to data in almost any format, and we work with both electronic and print data. 
  
Perform the following data entry operations:
  
  Text      data entry
Alpha-numeric      data entry
Numeric      data entry
  
http://www.capitaltyping.com/online-data-entry

3.  Secretarial and  Office Administration/Editing and Writing Services
Secretarial Services and Office Administration department provides a comprehensive range of professional specialized editing and writing services for clients in all business fields and across many sectors and industries. Our services include:
  
  Resume writing, and proofreading 
Newsletter, Brochure Writing, Editing and      Proofreading 
Website Proofreading and content writing 
Book proofreading and editing 
  
Our hand-picked and experienced staff has the skill and knowledge to provide invaluable service in the writing and editing of your printed and electronic technical material as well as in HTML editing. 
  
The quality of your business documents and reports should reflect the standards of your company and the quality of the products and/or services you market. Contact Capital Typing now. As with all our services, we are committed to meet your deadlines without compromising on quality. We take pride in the quality of our billing and our pricing principles of verifiability, measurability and integrity.
http://www.capitaltyping.com/editing-and-writing-services

4.  Online Customer Support

Customer service means providing products and services that satisfy customers and ensures they will come back for more. If your business continues to satisfy its customers, the result will be increased profit margins, business expansion and enhanced in-house morale. Only good customer service can guarantee this type of success. Bad customer service, on the other hand, always results in dissatisfied customers and declining business. Customer satisfaction is at the core of any definition of customer service. Outsourcing customer support services is an option that is increasingly being adopted by businesses seeking to reduce customer transaction costs, while at the same time enhancing the quality of customer service skills leveraged to serve their clients.
An added benefit to outsourcing customer services and support is that it frees up in-house service staff, allowing them to focus on more mission-critical technical issues Online Customer Support includes the following:

Software Support Services 
Product Support Services  
Telephone Support Services 
Online Support Services 
Internet Billing Support Services
http://www.capitaltyping.com/customer-services-and-support-2

5. Language Translation Service/Editing and Proofreading

Proper proofreading and editing are essential processes that separate valuable written documents or online content from run-of-the-mill writing.
Editing
Capital Typing’s editors have extensive experience editing numerous forms of media, including website content. While editing is an in-depth document correction process that may involve major changes to structure and sentences throughout the document, our editors understand that the preservation of your voice is important and their services are tailored to meet your writing style. 
When you submit your material (books, manuscripts, business documentation, web pages, etc.) to our editing section, our editors will carefully revise the tone, content coherence, organization, style, correct terminology, syntax, and word usage of the submitted text. Our English language editors are intimately acquainted with MLA and APA styles as well as other composition standards.
 
Proofreading
Proofreading is a professional service that closely scrutinizes edited documents to fix minor errors that an editor may have overlooked. Proofreaders are trained to correct grammar, punctuation, spelling and capitalization errors.  Our proofreading services include checking of grammar, spelling and syntax errors. Proofreading does not include reviewing correct terminology or checking context for relevance, etc.
http://www.capitaltyping.com/editing-and-proofreading-services

Of the five identified ONLINE JOB SERVICES, what I like most is the first one - MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES. Aside from the reality that this job can be done at home (home based, as wished) it offers you a good income. Though there is no formal education on Medical Transcription anyone with non IT related courses can still apply, but  still big companies prefer IT graduates, that's one thing i took into account. Besides, the flexible hours that this home based job provides allows you to attend family issues as they arise. You don't have to ask permission every time you leave for I'll be the boss. Furthermore, this job requires proficiency should be acquainted with medical terms. If that is so, I am willing to undergo series of trainings if and when I can't pursue with my "most desired job", as an IT Manager, I'll be happy also with this job. One thing that makes it interesting to me is that, the nature of the job which is direct interaction with clients.

'til my next post...

my FUTURE JOB_______________________________________

  

For assignment 2 in Human Resource Management 1, we are tasked to think of the future job and provide description to your desired job. I find this assignment quite interesting for it is always an inspiration of every individual to land a job immediately after graduation. But sometimes it gets frustrating when we cannot find an immediate job for ourselves as there are many points to consider and sometimes it leads to a so-called job-mismatch.

In my case, I really have that great desire to land a job as soon as I acquire my degree of preference to satisfy my needs to be an effective individual in the field of Information Technology.

I envision myself as an IT Manager with specialization in knowledge Managing. Choosing for a right job is a matter of preference with reference to your skills, your capacity to hold that certain job to boost your personality and excel in the field you are in. It doesn’t matter at all, that you acquire a degree when you are not capable to work. There appear to have instances like this. Why not divert to a job that do less in the field which you think you are not capable but do more in the things you think you are in considering that it doesn’t deviate the degree you are holding in short it is still relevant to the degree you are holding. This is just my sentiments on what is happening in the community nowadays.

Anyway, let us review what an IT Manager is. What an IT manager typically do?

Information technology (IT) managers plan, administer and review the acquisition, development, maintenance and use of computer and telecommunications systems within organizations. The IT manager is often the most senior person in the IT department and in large organizations may be called the IT Director or Chief Information Office.

Duties and Tasks…

IT managers may perform the following tasks:

work out current and future IT needs by consulting with people at all levels about the current work systems and deciding how improvements could be made
analyze the information needs of an organization and develop technological solutions to satisfy those needs
prepare or direct IT policy and plan strategy development
direct activities to select and install major IT facilities
oversee the provision of training for users and clients
direct the integration of IT operations, computer hardware, operating systems, communications, software applications and data processing
work out priorities for systems developments, maintenance and operations
control the security aspects of IT systems

http://www.myfuture.edu.au/services/default.asp?FunctionID=5050&ASCO=122411A#Duties

Specialization…

Depending on the size and complexity of an organization’s IT function, there may be an opportunity for some role specialization. In my case I want to specialize Knowledge Manager. A Knowledge Manager works to make sure that an organization’s staff is up to date with recent developments and thinking. I want to practice such specialization, for I want a work that interacts directly to the staffs, and constituents.

http://www.myfuture.edu.au/services/default.asp?FunctionID=9998&Type=Specialisation&Code=12427

Principle Responsibilities...

Among the responsibilities of the Knowledge Manager is to manage the creation and delivery of IT (and/or business) knowledge, and, to support the utilization of this accumulated information by both the internal and external end-user communities. This may include any or all of the following duties and capabilities:

Understanding the end-user’s information needs,
Coordinating who is responsible for each knowledge asset,
Where appropriate, communicating knowledge requirements to service providers,
Planning and managing the delivery of knowledge projects, communicating the availability of knowledge to the end-user community,
Monitoring the use of the knowledge assets and measuring the business value of the knowledge to the end-user community.

http://it.toolbox.com/wiki/index.php/Knowledge_Manager

Personal Requirements...

aptitude for leadership
able to influence peers, clients and suppliers
able to explain complex concepts clearly
able to work out and address clients' needs
able to accept a significant level of responsibility and accountability.

http://www.myfuture.edu.au/services/default.asp?FunctionID=5050&ASCO=122411A#Duties

In order for me to realize the job i envisioned for myself, I have to work harder to be as effective as what an IT Manager should be.

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HRM Assignment 4: my thoughts on how USeP can help my LONG TERM GOALS..

MIS Assignment 2: Risk Associated with Business and IT/IS change...

MIS Assignment 3: my thoughts on Automated Election...

MIS Assignment 4: green campus computing...

HRM Assignment 3: Online Job Services

HRM Assignment 2: Job Description

THE TIME IS...

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