I know that many of you have heard these things before, but take it from a fellow student. The experiences such as the Accenture Challenge and the group projects are experiences that will train you to become a professional (regardless of the field you choose). You will look back once your time here has ended and realize that these projects were true learning and growing experiences.
As many of you probably have figured out, I am graduating here in a few weeks. I want this blog to say two things, first of which I mentioned above, but second I want to say thank you to all the individuals (both students and professors) who worked so closely with me during the past year and half. Remember that we are the face of CICS, when we go out into the workforce practice the CICS values, especially the first and last: Integrity and Results. Produce results with integrity.
There is no doubt that the Internet has revolutionized the way we use information. We can communicate with an individual a half a world away. This is liberating, no longer do we have to use information in the manner of the past (through print, snail mail, and analog phones), we have left the dark ages of information transfer behind us and have moved into a new modern and more productive way of using information.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines Renaissance in the following way:
ren•ais•sance (rěn'ĭ-säns', -zäns', rěn'ĭ-säns', -zäns', rĭ-nā'səns) Pronunciation Key
n. The period of this revival, roughly the 14th through the 16th century, marking the transition from medieval to modern times. (1)
I want to focus on the last part of that definition. Transitioning from medieval to modern times, I feel that is what the information renaissance did for us. It transitioned us from the medieval (metaphorically speaking) way of using information to a modern, much more effective way. What the renaissance of information did was not just change how we can use information, but changed our mindset as to the value of information; technology has given us an avenue to utilize this information in many new and exciting ways. It is for this reason that the future of the digital world excites me. I believe it goes way beyond the Internet, as transmission speeds expand so does our imagination. This is the fuel behind the flame of innovation and this is the key to continuing the renaissance into the future.
]]>Information has always been a valuable commodity, but until the “Information Renaissance” the value of transferring that knowledge to others was not known. This was because it was not feasible to transfer this information to the masses quickly and to do so in an affordable manner.
As mentioned, the beginning of the information renaissance began with men such as Guttenberg, when he invented the printing press. His printed bible (Gutenburg Bible) was one of the first examples of information revolutionizing the way people accessed information. The revolution began there but did not end there. The revolution spread across the world and is still expanding its reach today. One of the most obvious recent forms of the information revolution is that of the Internet. We have made information transfer easier and in doing so made it more valuable. Just like the renaissance period of the sixteen hundreds, we have liberated ourselves through the use of information. These two periods are very similar; one was based on cognitive knowledge, while the other was based on tangible information, but both changed the world.
I was watching two of my one year old cousins play on the floor during the thanksgiving break and watched as one picked up a toy of another. All the baby did whose toy was taken was give a look to the other baby. There was no noise, there was no crying, or attempt to take the toy back, yet the baby who took the toy turned and started to crawl away (with the toy in hand) as fast as she could. The look that was given communicated that she was mad and she wanted the toy back. It was an example of human communication at a very basic and most primitive level.
This may seem simple to most, but it showed me something very important in human communication and that is even babies communicate effectively, so we as adults should be able to as well, yet many times we don’t. Could it be that at times we make the communication process more difficult then it has to be? Nothing more than a look in a baby’s eye was enough to strike fear in the other baby that she may lose the toy and she tried her best to take off so she could keep it in her possession.
My point in this simple story is just to say that communication begins when we are young, as we grow we refine it and change how we do it. So even when you think that you or another individual cannot communicate effectively; when you think there has been a communication breakdown, remember that sometimes a simple look is enough to convey a very clear message. I think many times we over complicate the process. I think that many times simple direct communication is the most effective form. I think we can learn a lot about communication when we sit and just observe the world around us and watch how people (of all ages) communicate.
There are several competencies that were mentioned, but I want to focus on three of them. The first is that it must provide a service. Some good examples of websites that provide a service would be Mapquest, Yahoo Maps, and Maps.com. These sites provide us with directions (which is a service), so they share that core component of a Web 2.0 application. The second core competency that Mr. O’Reilly speaks of is that these sites must possess an “architecture of participation”. We see this clearly exemplified in sites such as Myspace and Facebook. These sites allow the user to add music, photos, and unique backgrounds to their own personal web page. These sites allow for users to communicate with other members of the site. These sites encourage participation from the users.
The third and final competency I want to talk about is the ability of these sites to harness a “collective intelligence.” A good example of this competency would be Wikipedia. This site utilizes the intelligence of all users to benefit everyone else. In other words, the collective intelligence of all is greater than the collective intelligence of one.
The reason I wanted to talk about these competencies is because there is no good definition of what Web 2.0 is, and it is hard to describe, but Mr. O’Reilly developed this concept, so what better way to understand it then to get into the mind of the man who fathered the term. I know that there is still some cloudiness as to what Web 2.0 is, but my hope is that this short blog helped to bring at least a little clarity to the issue.
1) http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
It was due to this period that printing the Bible and studying it became a obtainable desire of the mass population. This revolutionized religion and impacts us still today. There was also a great focus on improving how people lived their everyday lives and this translated into politics. (1) We see this ramification of the renaissance still very clearly today, and it is amplified every four years.
Even though these are only a few examples, I believe they show that the renaissance period did have a large impact on society. I believe the impact is still felt today. I also believe the changes in lifestyle this period ushered in were good changes and a spirit of the renaissance regardless of the time period is always beneficial to society.
]]> 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Renaissance
2 . http://www.cyberessays.com/History/24.htm
Human communication may be described as the ability of an individual to communicate a message through a channel or medium. (i) Communication can be verbal involving words (not necessarily always audible) and non verbal. A good example of non verbal communication is body language.
This system adheres to the process of a sender encoding a message, sending the message, and the receiver then decoding the message. Often times, the receiver of the message will decode a meaning that is different from the intended meaning of the message sent. This is due to noise. Noise can be audible, but it can also be defined as anything that hinders the clear transmission of the meaning behind the message. For example, mental stress may hinder the receiver from decoding, and therefore could be categorized as noise.
The first step for the sender is to determine the message. What is the meaning of the message sent? The sender can choose to send a message, but many times messages are sent unintentionally. The true meaning of the message lies in the perception of the meaning by the decoder. If the perception of the decoder is a negative message, then that piece of communication was negative in his/her mind. The old adage that perception is reality holds true in this situation.
The final pieces of this puzzle are that there are responses to the message. This is made possible because the message has order. This allows for the decoder to determine what is important in the message. This is what distinguishes communication from noise (as defined above). Even if the message is not clear and concise there is often at a minimum an acknowledgement of the message. This is possible because the order of the message lends itself to an equally ordered response.
Shannon, C. (n.d.). The Shannon-Weaver Model. Retrieved September 4, 2007, from http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/introductory/sw.html
]]>It is my belief that two major factors play into why India is able to attract business in the form of BPOs or Business Outsourcing Processes. The first factor is the large labor pool. What we see in India is a large emerging economy. This means that there are many people breaking away from the traditional (low paying) jobs of the past, such as farming for example. As this occurs, there are more and more people striving to make their mark in this new economy (which is fueled by IT and various scientific fields) and separate themselves from the pack. In order for people to do this, they must have the required education, but not just any education will do in this highly competitive labor pool, they need to distinguish themselves by being the best at what they do. This equates to one thing: an outside firm has access to highly trained successful people who are willing to work at relatively lower wages than their western counterparts. This is a scenario that will put dollar signs in the eye of any CEO.
The second factor was just mentioned, and that is the economic status of the Indian economy. They are a lower wage paying country (in comparison to the United States for example). This is because of the current emergent stage at which they find their economy, but also due to the large supply of workers. Basic economics tells us that supply and demand will drive that wage down. Offshore companies are jumping on this because it saves them money.
I do think it is a good idea for a company to take advantage of this situation because it allows for them to remain as competitive as possible in the global market. The problem with this though, is that it is risky. There are issues that have to be considered, such as the differing culture and how that relates to their business. Things such as the technical infrastructure of the country also must be considered. For example, in order for a call center to setup shop in India the infrastructure to support this must be in place. A firm must compare the initial investment of this cost to the money that will be saved by lowering the labor expense, and determine if it is worth the investment. One other risk here is political instability of doing business in another country (and not just India). For example, if the political view towards foreign business changes at all, this may result in more difficulty of doing business there than a company may desire.
To conclude, outsourcing (or offshoring) in India can be beneficial, but there are risks. However, after a proper risk assessment is completed, it very well may be in the best interest of a company to move IT operations within the borders of India.
The following is an interesting resource for those interested in learning more: http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/mar/15bpo.htm
]]>In the book entitled: "The World is Flat" by: Thomas L Friedman he talks about how the world of industry and business is flattening out due to the increased development of emerging economies and their deployment of new technology. In this book, he uses India as the prime example. Friedman says that there are ten major "Flatteners" as he calls them in the new global economies which are working to make the world smaller (or flat). One of these flatteners is outsourcing.
In years past India was known as a strong socialistic economy relying heavily on agriculture as the main supportive industry, but within the last two decades technology as opened the door to India, thus allowing them to become major players in worldwide business. They are doing so mainly within the borders of their own country. This coupled with their large population surge (which leads to extreme competition in the job market) has produced very effective IT professionals. However, old political views of the past hinder the expansion of this line of work within their borders. India countered this by enacting economic reforms. This is reflected in the economic reforms of the 1990's. One of the notable reforms was the relaxation of stipulations placed on foreign investors doing business in India. This among other reforms was the spark that was needed to get the new Indian economy going, and it has worked.
To answer the question, has the Indian government helped or hindered growth? I would say they have helped it. They have done this by enacting economic reform and doing it in a way that cuts through the social norms of the past. The government has also increased its focus on education to help prepare its citizens to function in this new global economy (as pointed out in a recent Newsweek article about the education boom in India), both by teaching more English skills and by allowing more private schools to educate its population. By doing this, India is making a great effort to establish itself as global economic power and they are doing so through outsourcing and education. This combined with lower waged labor and the ability of the Indians to speak English (as opposed to China for example) has made India a prime target for offshoring and outsourcing activities. As the infrastructure supporting these activities in India becomes stronger so will the practice. In the times to come, I only see India becoming more and more of a force in the IT industry and I see this practice growing.
Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
(n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2007, from www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11571960/site/newsweek/
Rajaraman, I. (2000). Recent Economic Reforms in India. Retrieved September 24, 2007, from http://www.acdis.uiuc.edu/Research/S&Ps/1993-Sp/S&P_VII-3/india_reforms.html