Math/CS Senior Seminar Jeanine MeyerSpring, 2007 Entering the business world A personal reflection...
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Transcript of Math/CS Senior Seminar Jeanine MeyerSpring, 2007 Entering the business world A personal reflection...
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Entering the business world
A personal reflection on what I did not know
when I starting working
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Aside on my history…
• … I have had many different jobs/different organizations. This is and will be the norm.– programmer, systems analyst– (anti-war activist)– researcher, research manager, middle
manager, research consultant– course director, professor
• Many of my 'jobs' did not exist before my being hired.
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
New areas (for me)
• Organization
• Process
• Financial practices
Concepts and vocabulary (and jargon—which constantly changes)
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Organization
• Institutions (commercial companies, organizations, non-profits, academia, etc.) have internal organizations that are very important to understand.– They often change.
• Institutions have relationships with other institutions that are also very important. – These, also, often change.
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Typical company organization
• Corporate offices (staffs such as Legal)• Finance• Development• Research• Marketing ('customer relationship management')• Manufacturing• Human Resources• (Information Systems)
Mathematicians, meaning people who can do quantitative analysis, may be anywhere.
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Example from IBM
• Marketing (sales force) changed back and forth from– product based– customer based– mixture
• Changing company emphasis on – hardware – software – systems – 'solutions'
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Information Systems
• Centralized and/or decentralized• May be a 'CIO'• May involve matrix management• Company's Information Systems may or may not
be related to information technology products & services that are sold.
• New products always emerging and/or changing:– CIM to ERP– CRM
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Other companies/entities• Branches• Subsidiaries• Vendors• Partners
– out-sourcing agency– (required) International partner
• Distribution• Government agencies• Organizations for specific issues
– ISO, W3, plus organizations for specific technical or legal issue
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Customer? Product?
• Dog owner versus dog
• Multiple channels– disintermediation
• Beer coolers or refrigerator
• commodity versus high-value product/service
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Reasons for dot-com collapse
• Poor or non-existent business case– how to make money (revenue stream)
• Weak integration with rest of business– no integration with [other] marketing– bad 'fulfillment', back-office, 'could not
execute'
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Questions/Issues
• On what basis is someone paid? On what basis is a department/unit evaluated?– delicate issue but could be useful to
understand
• How are products & services priced?
• Who are the system owners and the system users of the IT system you are working on? How do they function?
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Questions/issues for IT• What is the purpose of … new system,
change, etc.?
• How does it relate to existing business?
• Why do something / why change?– unforeseen problem– planned enhancement– new technology
• How to measure success?
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Process
• An computer information system is made up of– hardware– software– people– procedures
• This includes 'the system' of building, maintaining, deploying, upgrading, and closing down information systems!
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Information Systems Framework
• Systems owners, systems users, systems designers, system builders– systems architect gathers requirements, makes the
plan (old term: systems analyst)
• Focus on data, processes, interfaces, geography• Systems life cycle:
– planning, analysis, design, implementation (testing & deployment), support
– Make versus buy (term 'out-source' applies at multiple levels)
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Methodologies & ToolsMany acronyms & buzz words & fads• stakeholders• Legacy systems• PIECES: need to improve
– performance, information, economics, control, efficiency, service
• Computer Aided System/software Engineering• eXtreme Programming• B2B, B2C, G2C, G2B models• ?
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Business process
• 'Need to change business processes, not just apply technology to existing (inadequate, inappropriate) practices'
• Related to so-called anthropomorphic fallacy' = doing things the way a person would do them– washing clothes
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Software engineering
• Ways to evaluate software– code reviews, comments– unit test versus system test
• Ways to evaluate process of producing & maintaining software– Stages: keep track of bug reports to
examining process to determine how bug got through the development process.
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Finances• Feasibility
– operational: will it work here?– technical: will it work / can we make it work?– schedule: is the timetable reasonable?– economic: is it cost-effective? (do we have the funds?)
• Economic: Cost-benefit analysis– Must reflect time value of money
• Assuming you can invest & earn 8%/year, you need .735 today to have $1 in 4 years.
• (less relevant in times of low inflation)– Methods
• payback analysis– calculate time when benefits exceed costs
• return on investment– (lifetime_ benefits-lifetime_costs)/lifetime_costs
• net present value– (lifetime_benefits-lifetime_costs)
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Any institution
• ….over a minimum size has organizational issues, explicit and implicit processes, and financial constraints.
• This includes:– government– 'NGO'– non-profits– academia
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
My observation
• Big corporations [often] have better / nicer practices than
Non-profits
Academia
Government
• However, you still may prefer non-profits, etc.
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Academia
"University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small."
Henry Kissinger
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Most places
• … have jargon– technical– business
– personal/local style• sports
– out in front of your defense, balk, putting game
– end game, who has the queen (hearts), hold vs fold
– Hail Mary pass
• ethnic (though not necessarily obvious)– megillah
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Hours of work• Do not assume that a 9 to 5 job is solid work.
– Much socializing, • some fun, • some essential / useful to doing the job
• Some jobs require being on call.• Some jobs allow for flexible hours, work at
home: – may turn out to be more work. – You may miss the interactions with fellow workers.– 'flex-time' can be rigid…
TAKE THE JOB! Review in 6 months.
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Business travelCan be
– Easier than you expect• Money solves many problems
– Limo for getting to/from airports– Most places easier to drive & navigate than NY
– Educational– Fun
– Too much can be … too much– Travel is more arduous now
• I always carry-on my talk (charts+thumb drive) and my presentation clothes
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Company culture• Dress
– Interview dress should be [relatively] formal
• Promptness– You are a new employee: be early for all meetings
even if others are habitually tardy!
• Correspondence– Email and written memos. Assume formality. Assume
everything is public.
• Lunch, breaks, after work: where, when, who• Social activities• Place of family
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
Getting the job• [probably] more difficult today than before• The Internet mean companies getting too many
applications• Use campus resources• Use personal networks• Re-work resume and cover letter for each job!!!• Do research on company/institution• Review your on-line presence and remove anything
potentially embarrassing….• Use purchase email
– NOT silly name on yahoo, etc.
• Your first job will not be your only job!
Math/CS Senior Seminar
Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007
IT jobs in USA
• News reports are that these exist and will even increase.– Need to show ability to integrate/apply
technology
• However….decrease of students going into computing may lead to downward spiral with respect to USA vs 'out-source'