WEEK 1 Discussion Responses
By Day 5
Respond to two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
- Explore additional ways that the technology experiences of your colleagues might impact you or change your practices.
- Share with your colleague ideas for how they might adopt other technologies to enable them to further improve their effectiveness as business managers.
- Compare your colleague’s experience with your own, and share additional insights you gained.
General Guidance: Your Shared Practice Discussion responses, due by Day 5, will each typically be 1–2 paragraphs in length as a general expectation/estimate. Refer to the rubric for the Week 1 Shared Practice Discussion for grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use the rubric to assess your work.
Peer Response 1
abigail lewis
RE: Discussion 1 – Week 1
Information technology has greatly changed my personal and professional life. I can remember, in grade school, when I used a computer for the first time. Anyone else remember the huge, beige IBM computers first used in schools, with dial-up internet, tiny screens, and graphics that would make us cringe now? I can’t get the sound of a dial-up connection, “You’ve Got Mail!â€, (1998) and the visuals of The Oregon Trail computer game out of my head. Wow, have we come a long way with technology! Forward to 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, and now everything I do seems to be online, I work remotely using technology, attend school online, shop online, pay bills and order groceries and supplies online, sync calendars and appointments with my family using online calendars, and I even have apps for the oven and refrigerator! Vehicles use technology to be driverless and medical technologies have come a long way with 3D printing of body parts and robotic limbs. For example, I work in a prosthetic department and have seen how cutting-edge technology has been used to provide the ability to drive a power wheelchair using eyesight (eye gaze device). In the 1990’s when I was first becoming accustomed to technology, I had no idea that it would eventually lead to integrating itself into every single facet of my daily life.
Technology not only plays an important role in daily life but can make or break a business. I think of Amazon and how technology grew the business to be as successful as it is now. “Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994 after realizing that the Internet had grown at an astounding rate of 2,300% in the year priorâ€. (Rivet, 2017, pg 12). On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve used outdated software programs that hinder productivity and can stifle innovation. I see this variance daily as I change from cutting-edge technology programs used for school or online gaming, to outdated data management or processing programs used by my employer. The limitations caused by inadequate technology at work are not only frustrating but can be a barrier to efficiently completing tasks, gaining a competitive market edge, and promoting innovation. I mention these barriers because I see room for improvement at work with adopting and using technology. One of my goals, when I’m a future leader, is to promote technology as a smarter way of working and to glean data in which to base data-driven decisions.
However, there are technologies that helped me increase my effectiveness at work. Tried-and-true staples such as email, instant messaging, and Microsoft Office programs are used daily work duties. Email and instant messaging still provide a great means to communicate and share information with many people at once, no matter where they’re geographically located. Microsoft PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word have been beneficial because I’ve found that using visual data such as graphs, charts, word art, pictures, etc. has been a well-received way to present and understand information, especially complex information quickly. Instant messaging, including Skype or Teams, has proven to be a great way to communicate instantly, individually or with groups, hold virtual meetings (especially now with our current COVID-19 restrictions), and I enjoy the video-conferencing aspect that allows me to see the people with whom I’m communicating. Cell phones also play a large part in the technology I use every day at work. My smartphone is always close by, I use it to manage my schedule using a virtual and integrated calendar app, check emails no matter where I am, and to gain access to the internet. An example of how smartphones are being used as an innovative solution at work is our new COVID-19 screening app. This is an app that’s used to answer the COVID-19 screening questions that are mandatory to gain access to the hospital. The app has increased efficiency in screening employees because it’s cut the time it talks to complete the screening process in half. Excel has proven to be a technology that has increased my effectiveness at work. I use spreadsheets to track progress in various programs I manage. I feel that I have a good basis with making/formatting/using spreadsheets, but this is an area I feel can be fostered to increase effectiveness at work. As a business manager, I want to use technology to ‘work smarter, not harder’ (i.e. reduce non-value-added workload), and as a tool to promote collaboration and communication to foster teamwork. My current employer has many barriers to adopting technology, but I’m excited to find options that I could implement and use to reach these goals.
References
Ephron, Nora (Producer), & Ephron, Nora (Director). (1998). You’ve Got Mail [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Bros.
MECC (Publisher).(1990). The Oregon Trail. [Online Game]. https://archive.org/details/msdos_Oregon_Trail_The_1990
Rivet, Daniel J. (2017). Amazon’s Superior Innovation: A Study of Amazon’s corporate structure, CEO, and reasons behind why it has become the most innovative company in today’s market. Honors Theses and Capstones. 343. Retrieved from: https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/343
Peer Response 2
Jennifer DeWitt
RE: Discussion 1 – Week 1
Information technology has changed my life and has a big impact both professionally and personally. The first time I used a computer was in elementary, and we thought it was the coolest thing because it was big and boxy like a TV. It was so popular and unique that the teachers would use it as rewards. I remember taking computer classes in high school with dial up Internet and I believe I was a senior in high school when my family got their first computer. I’m not that old by the way.
I rely on information technology everyday both professionally and personally. In my position as the Manager of Emergency and Communication Operations I use information technology to help increase effectiveness by researching on the Internet, instant messaging, and using email. I use PowerPoint for presentations to staff, physicians, and Administrators. I also use information technology for training and education. I use Microsoft programs for different projects whether that be word or excel. We also use Microsoft teams for communication within our departments, or committees created within teams. For example, we have safety committee, command team, pandemic command team, it is set up and we can add files, calendars, and spreadsheets to collect data for our dashboard. On this system we can also have meetings, chat, and use video.
During this pandemic we have created ways for staff to work remotely by using Webex and we have used this for all meetings within the organization and outside the organization. This has made a big impact with not being able to meet in person and still having to collaborate with each other on policies and discuss what is going on in the organization. My biggest technology for emergency preparedness is software called OnSolve. This is our communication system that we use to communicate and alert all the employees in the organization during a disaster or when an incident is happening. In an emergency preparedness world, you never want communications or information systems to go down. They play a vital role in the success and sustainability of any organization. When something happens to these systems it is hard to get things done, and you do not realize how much you really rely on technology to complete daily task. Something that I had not used before called Slack, we used this to create a virtual EOC for group collaboration, file sharing, situational awareness, between different agencies within the community during COVID-19.
These technology’s and the different software programs we have used has increased efficiency, productivity, and collaboration. Personally, I rely on my smart phone to communicate with work and be readily available during any emergencies. I also enjoy Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and other available apps. In my organization leaders encourage standards of behavior, such as integrity, compassion, friendliness, teamwork and helping others in need. As a business manager I want to encourage this same behavior and encourage social responsibility. Organizations who are socially responsibly are more likely to be successful (Jin, K. & Drozdenko, R., 2010). I want to use these technologies and any future ones created to improve overall effectiveness, collaboration, communication, and performance of services, systems, products, to help the organization grow, develop, compete, promptly and efficiently. I would also need financial accounting information to be able to make decisions that would affect the organization financially. This management accounting system would help me as business manager to focus on development, competing and control of the business progressions in the organization (Knezevic et al., 2012).
References
Jin, K., & Drozdenko, R. (2010). Relationships among Perceived Organizational Core Values, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Organizational Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Information Technology Professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 92(3), 341–359. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0158-1
Knežević, S., Stanković, A., & Tepavac, R. (2012). Accounting Information System as a Platform for Business and Financial Decision-Making in the Company. Management (1820-0222), 17(65), 63–69. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.7595/management.fon.2012.0033
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