The Information Age

What will happen to you today if you do not know how to read and write? The same thing may happen to you in the next ten years if you do not know how to use a computer or a smart phone. People who do not understand this or do not know the impact of information technology will be at a disadvantage just like people who do not know how to read and write today. 

Skilled Work, Without the Worker

DRACHTEN, the Netherlands — At the Philips Electronics factory on the coast of China, hundreds of workers use their hands and specialized tools to assemble electric shavers. That is the old way. 

At a sister factory here in the Dutch countryside, 128 robot arms do the same work with yoga-like flexibility. Video cameras guide them through feats(kỳ công) well beyond the capability of the most dexterous(khéo léo)human.

The need for IT workers

Microsoft suggests that the U.S government let companies, including itself, pay higher fees to bring more foreign workers to the U.S. and government can use the proceeds to educate more U.S engineers to solve the country’s technology workers shortage. The company says the plan could produce $500 million annually to help fund U.S. education in science, technology, education and math (STEM), while helping technology companies by letting them bring in more IT workers from overseas.

From Information Management to Knowledge Management: Are You Prepared?

Dr David J. Skyrme

The following is the full text of a paper that was delivered at OnLine '97 (9-11 December 1997). Reproduced with the permission of Learned Information Europe Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1865 388000. Fax: +44 (0)1865 736354. A follow-on paper Information Managers: Do We Need Them? was presented at Online Information 2004.

---

This paper reviews the role of the Internet in the current 'knowledge revolution'. Knowledge has emerged as a current 'hot topic' for many organisations. Many see knowledge management as the next source of competitive advantage.

The paper starts by exploring the momentum in the knowledge agenda and reviews the current state of theory and practice, based on an international study of best practice. It then considers the role of information systems, and especially how the evolution of the Internet and Intranets can contribute to effective knowledge management. These themes are together in frameworks that shape the role of the technological infrastructure in knowledge work. It is concluded that collaborative technologies and information management both have significant contributions to make, but that many organisations have yet to adopt them both systematically and strategically. Implications are developed for online service providers and information professionals in how they might achieve their full potential in moving forward the strategic knowledge agenda.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program is a software product designed to help businesses focuses on the relationships with its customers. CRM software tracks contact with customers, collect sales information, product support data and other issues. All data are analyzed, categorized, and organized into reports to management.

Getting work experience

Today many companies are looking for recent software graduates with some experiences to fill entry-level jobs. Most require at least two years of experience. A company owner explains: “We hired many graduates in the past, since they did not have the skills that we need, we had to train them. After a year or so, they all left for better positions or higher salaries in another companies. Since so many of them keep switching jobs, we do not want to hire recent graduates and train them anymore but prefer workers with at least one or two years of experience because they are trained by somebody else. It is strictly a business decision.” Other industry representative comments: “The frequent switching of job among software workers has left many companies bitter about newly graduates. A trained worker that leaves a company is very costly, especially if it happens within a year or so. It is the workers fault.”

Although the industry blames software workers but I think the main issue is the gap between what school teaches and what the industry needs. According to several reports, many recent graduates do not have the right skills and must be retrained because what they know is not what the industry needs. Unless this gap can be closed, this situation will get worst. Today software companies want their new hires to have both technical skills and soft-skills such as teamwork, problem solving, communication and critical thinking etc.

With this attitude from companies, what should college students do? The solution is to start career planning when you first enter college. You must select schools that have the most up to date curriculum to get the technical skills that the industry wants. You must continue to read more about industry trends to prepare yourself for the future. You must develop the skills that will help you to get into the career that you want. You may need to work in the summer to get some experiences even it may not pay much. In this working place, you will learn about what the company needs, what skills are important as well as develop your soft-skills. A summer job allows you to develop these valuable skills and this is your investment in your future. In this highly competitive world, only the well-prepared will succeed.

----------------------------------------

Prof. Vu

Carnegie Mellon University

source: http://www.segvn.org/forum/mvnforum/viewthread_thread,1937

Are You Involved in Every Decision at Your Company?

By JOSH PATRICK

Does every problem still come across your desk? Are you spending too much time in the weeds and not enough thinking about the big picture? Are you feeling burned out? For many business owners I know, the answers to these questions are a resounding “yes.”

One of the best ways I know to create value in a business is for the owner to become operationally irrelevant. That doesn’t mean leaving the business. It means changing your relationship to your business. Instead of being involved in every decision, you build a team and find a way to trust your senior employees to take care of their individual areas of responsibility.