Thursday, November 18, 2010
All good things come to an end...
The semester is coming to an end and it is time to look back at the ground that we have covered. We have discussed everything about IT, including governance, change management, outsourcing, strategy, hardware and software, and countless other topics. Through it all, we have seen companies go (Blockbuster) and come back from the dead (GM) and highlighted the pervasive nature of IT in our corporate and personal lives. Looking back, what stands out for you from the semester? Was it a blog, a podcast, a case, a video, or a panel? Is there a thought or moment that captures the essence of the semester? I look forward hearing your reflections!
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To me the thing that stood out the most was the outsourcing panel. I really enjoyed hearing from both sides and getting the understanding of how each side views the other and what each side views as a success.
ReplyDeleteThe most significant lesson to me appeared at the end of the semester with change management. All of the advanced technological systems become useless if the firm and its employees rebel against them. Therefor, I see change management as been just as crucial to IT than the technology itself.
ReplyDeleteFor me, analyzing the cases that we had to present, as well as those others did gave me some perspective on issues I would otherwise not consider. From the cases, I have learned things both IT and Non-It related that should help me in my career. Decision-making strategies, effect of morale, as well as other company issues were exposed over the course of the semester and I enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteBlogging gave me more time to think about topics we reviewed in the class, and I think blogs provide an open and equal field for all students to demonstrate their ideas. Panels were interesting also, where actual cases were presented by people who were directly involved in those situations.
ReplyDeleteVirtual lectures are also helpful to understand the material better. Only suggestion I have is to have a brief overview on virtual lectures each session.
Thank you,
I think the thing that stood out to me is that IT functions and those that make IT decisions are not just computer people in a back room. IT decisions are front and center for a corporation and take a lot of planning and organization to implement a proper IT strategy. Especially in this day and age when it seems today's technology is replaced within weeks with something better, a company really has to stay true to their core values and try and make the best IT decisions to further their mission and goals as a company.
ReplyDeleteI think the case studies stood out the most. The time we spent in groups thinking about real world issues really helps you to apply the class material to real world situations. It is very beneficial as students to replay historical events making our own decisions and analyzing their implications.
ReplyDeletei think the case studies were the best way for us to see how pervasive IT really is in the business world. a lot of times we had to watch and see how companies whom we would expect to have very little to do with IT became dependent upon it in order to compete in global markets (e.g. harley davidson). at the same time and reflecting upon dixon's comment above, it makes me realize that the omnipresence of IT presents a new problem as we enter the corporate world - IT is ever changing, and as part of a business, it is no longer just left to your company's "geek squad"; now it's left for the positions we want, as managers, CEOs, etc. In essence, for us to be successful in integrating tech into our businesses, to some degree we will always have to be up on the industry trends in IT.
ReplyDeleteThe case studies were by far the thing that stands out most to me. The amount of time spent on each one was staggering just to analyze what was going on in them and figure out the best way to present all of the information. Many hours were spent with group members in a cold ceba classroom taking care of details or arguing out things we thought the case was about.
ReplyDeleteLike Doug, case studies were the most important part of this class for me also. I think application of concepts learnt in the class to the real world scenarios helped us better understand the intricacies in businesses. Case studies helped us understand the benefits and pitfalls involved in IT and business decisions. It was also a great move to include refutations for the cases along with the presentations, the refutations forced us to examine all the angles of a case in refuting the recommendations. Over all I think the case studies have improved our analyzing, decision making skills and helped us prepare for any real world scenarios.
ReplyDeleteThe combination of case studies and the information on change management made the biggest difference to me. I liked the first panel that spoke about change management and how they kept a sense of urgency using performance metrics, and about how process innovations are creating radical change through IT. It's only been a few years since I finished my undergrad degree in business but it seems a world of change has taken place. I got alot more out of the class than I anticipated.
ReplyDeleteI really got a lot out of our first in-class lecture. I also felt like I got quite a bit out of Dr. Schwarz's explanations after the case presentations, and the panel discussions. I really did not like the on-line lectures. While technology provides endless utility in certain arenas, I don't think that online lectures can be as effective as a face to face lecture where students can ask questions and interact with their professor.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the stronger attributes of the class was the discussions between cases. I learned more from hearing the different perspectives of my classmates and from Dr. Schwarz. It was always interesting to hear where the company ended up. Refuting cases also make us think outside of the box, because in most cases we would agree with the presenting team but would have to persuasively prove that their recommendation was absolutely wrong.
ReplyDeleteEverything we had this semester was great - from case presentations to case refutations, to blogging to panel discussion. Video article was the best part, also it was the toughest part of all. It was completely a new experience for me and I got to learn a lot.
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