I.T and Society!

 For those of you that don’t know, information technology is the study and use of systems for storing, retrieving, and sending information. This can include software, hardware, applications, and so much more. Much of what people use in the 21st century was created with help from information technology. For those who are not familiar with the function of the businesses that are involved in the information technology sector, it is a branch of engineering which mainly concentrates on the use of telecommunications and computers to retrieve, store, and then transmit data and information, making it a major player in the computer world.

Here are some of the things that Information Technology has great importance to Society:

The Importance of Information Technology in Business

With the introduction of computers, the business world was changed forever. Using computers and software, businesses use information technology to ensure that their departments run smoothly. They use information technology in a number of different departments including human resources, finance, manufacturing, and security. They use computing applications or processing applications to make businesses progress and customer relations much more easier. It has been known that an IT system is able to equip the business sector through the core services that it provides – making it easier for these establishments to execute their respective functions. Among these is the automation of the business process, providing data, connecting with the customers, as well as offering them with productivity tools.

The Importance of Information Technology in Healthcare

Improvements in information technology have allowed for great reform in healthcare. Most medical offices can now send and receive digital medical information from doctors you’ve had in the past. Changes like this allow costs to be lowered and increase the amount of time doctors can spend on patients compared to paperwork.

The Importance of Information Technology in Security

With so many transactions done online and so much information available online, it’s important to keep all of that safe. Information technology makes it possible for your online data to stay secure until accessed by the proper channels. Using passwords and encryption, information technology hides your personal digital data away, and the only way it can be accessed is by companies who have permission from you.

As result of the use of IT we can have cost effectiveness, globalization, communication and new jobs creation. Despite all the advantages the IT faces the disadvantages. Nonetheless, “like education technology can improve the traditional way of teaching but cannot replace the human touch.”- Richard Ewelle

Responsibility of your click

Do you have a twitter account? What’s your facebook account? Can you like my instagram posts? These are few of the questions that are tantamount to asking what your name is or may I have your number. Basically, these questions nowadays are what we always hear because hey, who doesn’t have a social media account?

But anyways, have tried asking yourself why are you even using social media? Just because others are using?

If that’s the case, don’t follow the crowd. In this digital world, everything has a reason. So using social media is also a reason. First, understand the reason then start using it for your business because when you know the reason you can use it effectively.

Suppose, You know how to drive the car. So you are driving it because others also do or you can commute by it easily? Obviously, it is the easiest way to commute that’s why you drive daily.

Social media has been criticized a lot due to the effect it has on the way we produce and retain information. Some parents are of the opinion that social media can be very distracting and harmful for students. On the contrary, social media offers plenty of opportunities for learning and interaction. It is rather simple to see how students benefit from social media. By using technology in classrooms, the young generation is paving a new way of education and learning. Students are getting to explore and experience the world not only by books and assignments; but also by adapting a new form of communication. In a world where your networks and connections are important, it is imperative to fully comprehend the aid it gives us

Let’s get your eyes rolling:

Multinational Connectivity and Networks

Social media connections are designed to increase your networks, form communities and interact easily. Today we are accessing Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other such social networking sites to connect and share information with those around them. One of the most fascinating things about social media is the way the users can interact and engage with each other through a mere web presence without having to meet someone in person.

Web rendezvous

We share personal information, links to other sites or comment on someone’s post. By doing this, we get engaged with each other instantly. The use of social media has made it easier and faster to interact with peers or teachers about class-related topics. In a world where online engagements are important for businesses, these people are already experts at developing an online presence. We are also experts in interacting with others on the internet. We know how to use basic as well as complex functions on various social media sites.

Sharing Information

We are continuously connected to the internet through their mobiles, tablets, etc. and hence rapidly transmit information to friends, family and other connections. This information is a lot more than just hilarious videos or vacation snapshots. People share views, opinions, tips, projects, study material and other such useful stuff with each other. They exchange helpful information for classes and examinations. Their ability to access, evaluate, maintain and share information is fantastic without even being aware that they are actually developing such skills day by day. The older generations need to understand the magnitude of this new style of communication.

Social Media Marketing

We are all aware of social media marketing. The ‘new media’ has led professionals to build a social media strategy to publicize their product and service. Social media marketing is seen upon as a skill which is an emerging career option. Social media prepares young workers to become successful marketers. It has become essential for all types of businesses to incorporate social media marketing in their organizations. Students are extensively carrying out social media strategies for several companies all over the world. The benefits of social media for students are many. The above are just a few to begin with.

In my very own perspective, social media is definitely a milestone of this generation. For once, it has become a part and even a culture itself. But with it being so diverse and vulnerable to all negativity, it is always in the disposition of the users. As part of my commitment, I always remember three things in using all my social media account,

1. Decide if it’s a “post worthy” post
2. If yes, type and check for grammar (spelling and punctuations)
3. Do not use it to shame other people (as what they say, “do unto others what you want them to do unto you”)

Ultimately, take responsibility for your own safety and never join a group just because it is contemporary or all your friends are doing it. Again I would like to say “Do not follow the mass”.

So it’s best to be on the side of caution and protect your privacy. Be careful with what you post and treat others as if you were in a face-to-face situation.

A thief or not a thief?

Upon streaming the internet, I came across with a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTybKL1pM4

The video by Nina Paley says:

“Copying is not theft.
Stealing a thing leaves one less left.
Copying it makes one thing more,
that’s what copying’s for.

Copying is not theft.
If I copy yours you have it too,
one for me and one for you
that’s what copies can do.

If I steal your bicycle you have to take the bus.
But if if I just copy it, there’s one for each of us.
Making more of a thing, that is what we call copying.
Sharing ideas with everyone, that’s why copying is fun!”

Is copying really fun? In the context of reproduction, copying is technically a way for people to easily access and maximize the utility of a product. It is a form of making a certain product available to all, for instance a bicycle in the said video. That was definitely one way of copying.

It’s not simple or clear cut – sharing is not always ‘moral’. Just as it’s not always moral for your personal information is being shared to make a profit. Who would want that?

Everyone’s has been speaking against software piracy for too many years already, but there really hasn’t been any concrete and ultimate solution to it. I mean there are raids going on here in the country, but how much can that really help if not everybody is personally affected by the said losses and  statistics?

You see, people, in general, like the easiest way in all situation. I mean are you willing to spend much for something that you can copy? Or would you want to pay for something that you can absolutely get for free? You basically need it, the risks as an individual or even as a small business if you practice enough caution aren’t really that scary, and it’s just there in front of you, waiting to make your daily operations a whole lot easier. Going forward, it’s much more of individual’s perception. Some may feel it’s okay to copy unless they use the file to make money. They may be right. It’s not a ten commandments situation “Thou shall not DL Warez, N00b” wasn’t on the tablets.

Using illegally downloaded software may be wrong, but does that mean they should be punished for using it? Unless of course they have already amassed a great fortune from using the software, then I guess that would be the perfect time to encourage them to buy it instead.

According to studies, about 41% of software worldwide is pirated and it remains to be on the rise. Business Software Alliance (BSA) survey revealed that in 2012 over half of the world’s computer users — 57% — admit they pirate software .

Consequences can be critical: they not only include economic losses, such as tax revenues, organizational profits, or lost jobs but they also bring health and safety risks because pirated software can be unreliable and unsafe.

Furthermore, a common view of software piracy portrays piracy as downloading commercial programs without payment, possibly from sketchy websites filled with viruses. In fact, illegal downloads cover only one angle of piracy. Buying duplicated copies of a program or sharing a program with a friend can count as piracy, as installing a program on multiple computers simultaneously often violates the program’s license agreement.

Legal Risks

Using pirated software carries high penalties under copyright law for users caught in the act. In other countries, copyright infringement can lead to up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine. The owner of the software’s copyright can also sue for damages, which can run as high as $150,000 per copy. Although the idea of software piracy might evoke an image of an a home computer user, piracy often occurs in businesses, putting entire companies at legal risk. Even the U.S. Army was caught in 2013 for using over $180 million in pirated software, costing it a $50 million settlement.

Security Risks

Pirated software can carry viruses and other types of malware that infect computers. According to studies, 24 percent of pirated copies of Windows were either infected or has  malware as soon as they connected to the Internet. Even if a piece of pirated software isn’t infected itself, it can pose a security risk through a lack of updates: Some copies of pirated software can’t update properly, leading users to continue using old versions with security holes.

 Economic Risks

Pirated software takes away sales of legitimate software. Piracy in 2011 was responsible for illegally sharing $9.7 billion worth of software in the United States. Aside from the obvious effect on software development companies, piracy also harm businesses completely outside the software industry. A 2011 study by Keystone Strategy found that law-abiding companies are put at a $8.2 billion disadvantage over the course of five years, due to other companies’ willingness to pirate software to save money.

Productivity Risks

Using outdated pirated software can cause users to encounter bugs and glitches, leading to lost work, lost time and frustration.  In addition to problems with the software itself, pirated programs lack a warranty and access to customer support, making it more difficult to get help when problems occur.

Software piracy is harmful and illegal. It has brought many ethical dimensions, including not only serious effects on economies, companies profits and individual losses in terms of money, safety and health, but also those related to pricing policies and software license terms and conditions.

Ways on how to fight software piracy are numerous. To decrease a size of software piracy issue, the technology sector has been initiating creation of pressure groups working hard on increasing public awareness, most recently, by presenting collected data, reports and studies from all over the world.

The cost issue has significant influence on piracy rates, however, it is not an ethical excuse because there are other free alternative services that provide computer software that customers need. For example, there is open source computer operating system GNU/Linux as an alternative to Microsoft Windows. There are also free and shareable alternatives to other programs, such as Open Office as a free alternative to Microsoft Office.

To conclude, software piracy demotivates software creators, decreases innovation and violates contracts on all levels. It is necessary to discuss its ethical aspects and seek for solutions how to decrease it rather just to hesitate recognizing the fact that by choosing the easiest way means a death of companies and artist who devoted their time and talents in making original software.

Sources:

1. BSA (2012). BSA Global Software Piracy Study. May 2011. http://portal.bsa.org/globalpiracy2011/downloads/study_pdf/2011_BSA_Piracy_Study-Standard.pdf [cited 2013-03-10].

2. BSA. (2009). A Fifth of PC Software in United States is Pirated, Posing Challenges to High Tech Sector and Cyver Security. May 12, 2009. http://www.bsa.org [cited 2013-03-10]

3. BSA (2012). Shadow Market of Pirated Software Grows to $63 Billion. Business Software Alliance. http://portal.bsa.org/globalpiracy2011/ [cited 2013-03-12] 4

Know Knowledge Management!

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. Here is my top 5 on how Knowledge Management can benefit my own organization:

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1. Enabling better and faster decision making

By delivering relevant information at the time of need through structure, search, subscription, syndication, and support, a knowledge management environment can provide the basis for making good decisions. Collaboration brings the power of large numbers, diverse opinions, and varied experience to bear when decisions need to be made. The reuse of knowledge in repositories allows decisions to be based on actual experience, large sample sizes, and practical lessons learned.

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2. Making it easy to find relevant information and resources

When faced with a need to respond to a customer, solve a problem, analyze trends, assess markets, benchmark against peers, understand competition, create new offerings, plan strategy, and to think critically, you typically look for information and resources to support these activities. If it is easy and fast to find what you need when you need it, you can perform all of these tasks efficiently.

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3. Communicating important information widely and quickly

Almost everyone today is an information worker, either completely or partially. We all need information to do our jobs effectively, but we also suffer from information overload from an increasing variety of sources. How can we get information that is targeted, useful, and timely without drowning in a sea of email, having to visit hundreds of web sites, or reading through tons of printed material? Knowledge management helps address this problem through personalized portals, targeted subscriptions, RSS feeds, tagging, and specialized search engines.

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4. Providing methods, tools, templates, techniques, and examples

Methods, tools, templates, techniques, and examples are the building blocks supporting repeatable processes and procedures. Using these consistently streamlines work, improves quality, and ensures compatibility across the organization.

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5. Enabling the organization to leverage its size

As an organization grows, the increasing size is only a benefit if it can use the knowledge of all of its employees. Through the use of tools such as communities, expertise locators, and repositories, the full power of a large enterprise can be exploited.

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I think the barriers in implementing KM in our organization is that some people or employee are hesitant to pass on the knowledge they have gathered for years of experience to the new generation because they think of us as their competitor or a threat to their respective position so they get a feeling that they can be replaced or their position is threatened if they share the knowledge that they acquired.

Almost beyond comprehension how our world has changed with the evolution of the internet. Information sharing is what it is all about. Success is no longer about the fact you have knowledge, it is about what you do with that knowledge that makes you stand out and be different. Historically if you had knowledge, people were willing to pay you in order for you to share that knowledge. These days if you are not sharing your knowledge, people will happily go to your competitor who is sharing knowledge for free and end up paying your competitor for helping them to use that knowledge in the right way.

 

Enterprises are awash in data about their customers, prospects, internal business processes, suppliers, partners and competitors. Often, they can’t leverage this flood of data and convert it to actionable information for growing revenue, increasing profitability and efficiently operating the business. Business intelligence (BI) tools are the technology that enables business people to transform data into information that will help their business.

Improve Customer Satisfaction: Whether your organization manufactures complex equipment or delivers food, keeping customers happy is always a top priority. With BI tools, organizations can set specific key performance indicators (KPI) that determine how well its employees are performing in those areas. So, if a restaurant decides that delivering food in a more timely manner will improve customer satisfaction, the restaurant manager can set delivery time as a KPI in its BI tool, and monitor each delivery driver’s performance, thus encouraging improved delivery times.

 

Generate Reports: Setting KPIs are certainly a valuable benefit of BI tools, but what would KPIs be without the ability to quickly and automatically generate a performance report? Even in 2013, many organizations are still manually developing reports, eating up time and potentially delivering inaccurate information. BI tools give organizations the benefit of reducing the amount of time and headaches typically associated with manually crunching numbers and inputting them into spreadsheets.

Plan for the Future: Since BI tools house all information relevant to an organization, it is much simpler to plan for next year, five years from now or even further into the future. Managers will be able to predict whether or not the organization will meet its current goals, what can be done to improve performance and even future spending behavior of its customers.

A motivated workforce can be a significant factor in organizational success. When employees are motivated to work at higher levels of productivity, the organization as a whole runs more efficiently and is more effective at reaching its goals. This is in contrast to an unmotivated workforce, who can negatively disrupt an organization and distract employees from their work. For this reason, it is imperative that managers understand the power of reward systems and how they are used to influence employee behavior.

A punitive program is appropriate to make employees in line and making sure that they obey to company rules and regulations it is essential so that employees can learn if they have made mistakes or to discipline them regarding their actions or wrongdoings.

Job performance pay raises is also appropriate for employees who uses BI application since they should learn or adapt to the new technology brought about be business intelligence tools they can also enhance their knowledge and encourage the employees to master or thoroughly learn about BI applications wherein their job performances are required so that they can get higher raises.

One click away!

You want to buy a dress to a party but your too busy. You wanted to wear a matching shoes for your outfit but don’t have the time to look around. Well, there’s always  solution to that – Online Shopping.

In 1979 it all began when Michael Aldrich “invented” online shopping . Using videotex, a two way message service, it revolutionized business, E-commerce as we know today. Today’s shoppers combine online shopping with real life shopping, using access to WiFi and the show rooming trend. They often make purchases in a retail stores at the same time as using mobile devices to buy something online.  In fact, this Forbes report tells us that 74% of people use their mobile phone to help them while shopping, with 79% making a purchase as a result.

Here are few of the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping:

Better Prices

The vast majority of online stores offer prices that are much lower than what you will find at a physical store. There are a few reasons for this. The first is because many people use the Internet to find cheaper items. Online business owners understand this. They will usually reduce their profit margin to get more customers.

Another reason is because you can easily browse through dozens of different websites to find the best price. You can do the same at a mall, but it would take about an hour or longer. You also may not be taxed because most e-commerce stores won’t tax you unless they are stationed in your state.

Convenience

Shopping online is convenient. You don’t need to get dressed and drive to your favorite store. You can easily visit their website, find the product you want and buy it without getting out of your pajamas. It’s also convenient because you don’t need to wait for the store to open.

If you work irregular hours or are very busy, then you probably don’t have the time to visit the store. Shopping online allows you to buy things without hurting your schedule.

Variety

Most physical stores have a limited array of products. They can only hold so many items, and there are often many policies affecting the availability of products. For example, there might be a certain item that is only available to those versions of the business that exist in the mall.

Shopping online allows you to find many products that you wouldn’t be able to find in a physical store. You can also buy products that may not logically go together like candy canes and quilts.

Fewer Traps

Physical stores are made to lure you into buying more things. They use posters, sales messages, colors and product placement to make you buy additional items. The most popular products are typically in the back because the owner wants you to view all of his or her other products. Many people will find a few additional items by the time they reach the thing they came in for.

These tactics are not as pronounced with online stores. This means that you won’t feel the pressure to buy other things.

Discreet Shopping

Physical stores often make it difficult to buy certain items. For example, buying lingerie without getting a few awkward stares is nearly impossible. There are many instances of this, and sometimes you might feel embarrassed for no reason.

Shopping online gives you privacy because you won’t have people looking at you while you shop. Not only that, but the receipts are usually made so that no one will know what you bought.

1. Internet woes, Hidden Costs

Alright, they say online shopping comes free, right up to your doorstep, but does it? I have my doubts. Most online shopping websites are picture heavy, and you know what that means? It means consuming all the data in the world, quite literally. So all those people who have not subscribed to unlimited data or internet packages will incur heavy charges on their online shopping. Now those are sure to be much more than what will cover your travelling costs. Or maybe you’re in a mood to make your service provider richer. Great idea then. I wish I was your Internet Service Provider.

2. The Real Hidden Costs- Shipping charges

Alright so luck just went that right that you stumbled across a product on an e-commerce site that had made you make numerous trips to the mall but to no fruitful use? Great. You might as well order it online, even if it’s a brand you don’t get in your city, or country. Oh yes. You’ll get that product alright but you might end up paying more for the shipping than the product is worth. And what happens in events like these? You end up not enjoying your product as much for that pricking conscience for the shipping cost remains. Trust me, I hardly ever use my Michael Kors Tote Bag which was ordered online for the shipping and custom costs I paid made the bag worth a Louis Vuitton.

3. No bargaining

Oh yes you needn’t be a genius to read that, it ain’t no rocket science. I am well aware of the fact that a majority of products we but today are branded products with fixed prices and almost no bargains but then that quest for something extra never dies, and if you’re regular to the store you often end up reaping not just membership and loyality benefits but those due on staff favouritism too. I have ended up with a lot of free gifts with my purchases with no official schemes…So cash or like, bargaining is bargaining, and if you don’t bargain- you don’t bargain and that’s worse than not having an iphone. Trust me. Specially for a android lover.

4. Reality fades: Why aren’t you tangible?

So technology might have made it almost possible for man to intervene in the solar orbit (I hope I am not making up my own astronomy but it’s sad how touching the screen would never be the same as touching the real product per se. for gadgets I believe itsperhaps the worst thing to do for the dimensions, structure, brightness et all, whatever be the specifications are more subjective and dependent on personal preferences. But personally for me, I’d hate buying clothes- specially winter ones without feeling the texture. Would you?

5. Screen time overloaded- Partying trashed

Oh! So you’ve despised the scientist type of people all your life, more so the workaholic bunch who’d rather work than party? Not that you’d be working, but shopping online is so much like it. Its more like fulfilling a responsibility. No more surprise visits to the mall with friends and family, hanging out, spending all your money on the food and then asking dad for fund transfers. Alright, I am going far-fetched. But what exact fun would you make of shopping minus the hanging out with people who make   the most damned moments worthwhile. That’s like the only reason I love to go shopping at all.

Five Reasons to Go Wireless

Every minute counts in a small company and wireless networks are a powerful tool for boosting productivity and encouraging information sharing. With untethered access to documents, emails, applications and other network resources, employees can roam where they need to and have constant access to the tools required to do their jobs.

 

Here are some of the ways businesses are taking advantage of wireless LANs:

Increased mobility and collaboration

• Roam without losing your connection
• Work together more effectively

Employees who use your wireless LAN can roam around your office or to different floors without losing their connection. Imagine everyone in a team meeting or in small conferences having access to up-to-the minute communications, and all documents and applications on your network. Similarly, using Voice over Wireless LAN technology, they can have roaming capabilities in their voice communications.

Improved responsiveness

• Connect to the information you need when you need it
• Provide better customer service

Customers want quick response to queries and concerns. A wireless network can improve customer service by connecting staff to the information they need. For example, a doctor in a small medical office can access online patient files while moving between exam rooms, or a retail sales person can check on available inventory necessary to write up orders on the showroom floor.

Better access to information

• Connect hard-to-reach areas
• Improve your processes

Wireless LANs allow a business to bring network access to areas that would be difficult to connect to a wired network. For example, adding wireless access points to a warehouse can make it easier to check and manage inventory, providing the company with accurate inventory figures in real time.

Easier network expansion

• Add users quickly
• Grow your network cost-effectively

Companies that need to add employees or reconfigure offices frequently will immediately benefit from the flexibility wireless LANs provide. Desks can be moved and new employees can be added to the network without the effort and cost required to run cables and wires.

Enhanced guest access

• Give secure network access to customers and business partners
• Offer a value-added service

A wireless network allows your business to provide secure wireless access to the Internet for guests such as customers or business partners. Retailers, restaurants, hotels and other public-facing businesses can provide this as a unique value-added service.

Take it or leave it

 

Organizations face the challenge of meeting the ever-increasing demands of customers and the marketplace with limited resources. Many have turned to outsourcing as one of their key organisational strategies. IT outsourcing refers to the contracting out of IT services or functions, which have previously been carried out by internal staff. This paper will address some of the risks involved with outsourcing information systems to third party service provider(s). There are two driving forces when an organisation considers the option of outsourcing. One is the availability for specialists in external service providers to provide a more efficient and effective service than is possible within the organisation, and the other is the possibility of cost savings. By outsourcing non-core functions and processes, an organisation can devote more of its key resources to core business activities.

The issues involved when you turnover security to an outside organizations are:

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THINK LIKE A THIEF

 Before you give up the IT reigns, there are a few things to consider. IT-related issues should be viewed from a hacker’s perspective. This means considering what can happen if your confidential information gets into the wrong hands. Do you have digital assets worthy of abuse? What negative consequences would occur if they were abused? Is your job going to be on the line if your company makes the headlines?

WHO HAS ACCESS?

 Most outsourced IT services require someone somewhere to have full access to a portion, if not all, of your digital goods. For instance, desktop support professionals will likely need administrative rights to your workstations. This likely translates into full access to corporate data stored on local drives and, potentially, network shares. Consider what an IT auditor or security consultant may gather during the days, weeks or months onsite perusing your systems. It’s limitless and it only takes one miscreant to cause a lot of damage.

DATA CONTROL

 One thing to understand that outsourced IT service providers have access to corporate data, but it’s quite another to know what they’re actually doing with that data. Are they storing the data on their servers, laptops, CDs or USB drives? Are they printing hard copies? The answer is likely yes for both. Clients should expect to turn at least some of their information over and need to be informed of why it’s needed and how it’s going to be used.

INFORMATION PROTECTION

 You also have to consider how they’re protecting this information — if at all. What are they doing with your information? Are they sharing it with colleagues or competitors? Keeping it to sell on eBay in a few years? Even if the people you’re outsourcing your IT services to are bound by contract to protect your information, they may not have your best interests in mind, or they may be just plain sloppy. Consider what a person has to lose if he ends up leaving the company or getting out of the IT business altogether. Probably not much. The probability of sales data, source code or patient information being used for ill-gotten gains is pretty low, but it can happen.

KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL Call me a pessimist, but I’ve seen too many digital goods mishandled by careless IT experts with a general disregard for other people’s property. The root of a lot of this — which continues to amaze me — is when organizations outsource IT support, but never consider the basics such as running background checks and examining references on the people they’re placing trust in. Confidentiality agreements are being used more and more, but arguably not enough

EMPLOYEE ENLISTMENT Don’t stop there though. It’s not a matter of just having the proper security controls and paperwork in place to take the risk out of outsourcing IT services. It’s just as important to have watchful employees who can tell when something’s not right and management that’s willing to listen, support their employees and create an overall sense of security vigilance in the organization.

So, to answer the question, is outsourcing IT services worth the security risk? That depends on your organization. While I do believe it’s worth the risk, it’s not a decision that should be made lightly. If your company does decide to outsource, proceed with caution.

What it takes to be a good Manager

What is the most significant change you’ve seen in the world for the pas 10 years?

Does the question ring a bell?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is the most celebrated question nowadays. Credits to our very own representative in the recent Ms. Universe 2016 last January 30, 2017. Such question was subject to various answers and interpretation. However, I won’t be talking about my Ms. Universe worth of an answer to that question. But rather I want to answer a different one. Which would be imperative for me to be crowned as  the Ms. Universe of the corporate world. So, here it goes;

Do you have what it takes to be a good manager?

Definitely, I won’t give you a one or two sentences as an answer but rather a list of what I think would take one to becoming a good manager.

There are tons of changes that happened in a decade specifically in the world of technology. Nowadays, it is very hard to imagine a life without computers – particularly if you happen to be running a business.  Computers, on one hand, make tasks so much easier:  the filing, the sorting, the organizing, and the retrieving of paper information seems to take an age compared to pulling up a web page from your Internet browser.  On the other hand, computers can make life so much harder:  the freezing, the crashing, the viruses, and the ever-hovering threat of identity theft.

To be able to overcome these threats and use it to once advantage, managers must be equipped with the right set of skills that will help them succeed.

A good manager must possess the ability to make the right decisions.Peter Drucker once said “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”

1. Decision-Making Ability

Being decisive is a must, this includes business-related decisions, computer-related decisions, and personnel decisions. Decision-making process is a process that deals directly with uncertainty. Under decision-making scenario, decision maker needs to reduce the uncertainty in two different sources: the information about the situation under the analysis and the possible consequences of some actions as a result of decision-making process. To reduce uncertainty in both situations, decision maker needs lot information in almost of present approach. One problem creates another: decision maker needs information but the searching for that information generates the problem of processing a huge amount of information. At the first steps it is impossible to decide which information is relevant or not for decision-making, for that reason many organizations analyze and collecting a big quantity of information.

“No matter how much experience you have, how many degrees you have, or how well known you have become — there is always something new to learn. Don’t rest on your past experiences. If you do nothing to improve your skills, you won’t stay where you are.” Laura Spencer

What our teachers taught us when we were in 1st grade is not the same as what teachers teach the kids today. Everyday, new ideas are expressed, new inventions are created, and everything changes. Thus, a good manager must not only settle in the skills he already but rather one must be open to new things and learn from it. More specifically, a good manager must be able to not just familiarize but educate himself with the new and latest development in the technology. Learning and improving once computer or technical skills could give him an advantage per se.

2. Computer Skills

Although it is a basic point, it is very important that the leader of a group of technology professional have an excellent understanding of computers, especially those being used by his or her employer. Computer skills help people have a better understanding of the features and functions of computer hardware. Computer-literate people know the implications of file sizes, memory constrains and network configurations. Such people can proficiently use word processors, such as Microsoft Word, and presentation applications. The are also able to manage computer files using an operating system such as Windows 7 or Mac OS X. Computer skills also apply in a bank, where computer systems manage customer data. Studies have shown that computers increase productivity, but those gains can only be realized if employees are comfortable and experienced with the systems. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, investments in technology produce gains in productivity three to five times greater than other investments by allowing employees better access to the information they need to do their jobs. Ensuring that your employees are trained and familiar with computers will help them spend less time tracking down that information and more time utilizing it to perform vital tasks for your company.

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.” –Karl A. Menniger

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Indeed, no one has the monopoly of knowledge in the organization. A good manager is someone who knows how to listen to his subordinates. Thus, active listening skills is imperative to becoming a good manager.

3. Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. requires both deliberate efforts and a keen mind. Effective listeners appreciate flow of new ideas and information. Organizations that follow the principles of effective listening are always informed timely, updated with the changes and implementations, and are always out of crisis situation. Effective listening promotes organizational relationships, encourages product delivery and innovation, as well as helps organization to deal with the diversity in employees and customers it serves.To improve your communication skills, you must learn to listen effectively. Effective listening gives you an advantage and makes you more impressive when you speak. It also boosts your performance.

A good manager is not made overnight. It is may be a long and tedious journey. In other words successful managers do not just wake up one day and become successful. He need to earn it by learning and developing essential  abilities to be able to successfully achieve his and the organizations goal. It is imperative for managers to possess these skills especially when dealing with technology advances. By using information system as a tool to promote and develop productivity in the workplace, he will definitely succeed.

“As a General rule the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information” –Benjamin Desraeli