Morgan Parker

Now that some time has passed since my experience with the Accenture Challenge, I would like to take some time to reflex on what I have learned. I think the challenge was a unique experience that I'm glad I did, but would not want to do again. I believe it will be very useful when it comes to working in groups in my career as well as being able to work under pressure. To be quite honest, I must say I though the judges were going to be a little more harsh(watch video link with discretion due to some foul language) when it came to the Q & A part of the presentation. I think this is because we spend most of the time worrying about being told our idea is stupid or that it won't work. In reality, if you are prepared for the questions and can keep your composure, it's not all that bad. One particular member of my group did especially well when it came to handling pressure.

As far as the group work goes, I'm happy with the group I was placed in. I thought we did a good job with researching our topic and finding a solution that best fit the requirements. At times, especially late into Thursday night, we found it easier and easier to get distracted. I think this is because it was a long night for all of us and our brains needed a break from RFID. Overall, I was happy with the work my group did and I believe we all walked away from the project having learned something.

To the group that won, CONGRATULATIONS! I thought your presentation was very well done and deserving of the winning prize. To those who didn't win, including my group, it's not about winning the competition, but instead being able to say that you have better your skills after doing it. So with that in mind, congratulations to everyone, together we made it through alive.

Posted by Morgan E Parker at 02:43 PM | Permalink

The Information Renaissance is a term used to describe the increase of available information in the late 20th century continuing into the 21st century. The main catalyst of this increase of information exchange has been the computer, or more importantly, the Internet. The internet has made it possible for people to communicate and exchange information easier than ever before. When used correctly, having access to this information can be a wonderful tool, however, people need to share information with caution.

The exchange of information from person to person has never been easier than it is today. The Internet has made it possible to find nearly any answer to any question that could be asked. Search engines such as Google have made it so users can search for very specific information and be able to find it with minimal struggle. Websites such as Wikipedia have made it possible for people to post and edit information under one site regarding nearly any subject. If, for example, you are reading information about a topic and you feel you can ADD VALUE, then you can edit the information and add what you believe is relevant.

So we know that the Internet has made it easier for people to find reference information, but recent Web 2.0 applications have made easier to share personal information as well. Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, have made it where anyone can have access to a personal profile about you. This can be helpful for finding a job, finding friends, or just trying to make yourself known. Use caution when using any of these social networking sites. Giving out too much information can be dangerous or detrimental to your reputation. There is just some information that you should keep to yourself.

Now that people can exchange all kinds of personal information, many of these social networking sites have integrated Instant Messaging (IM). No matter where you are in the world, as long as you have Internet access you can chat with instantly with someone anywhere on the planet. Recently Google has created an application called GoogleWave where users can chat, email, blog, and upload a profile, all through one interface. This is going to change the we that information is exchanged. No longer to users have to use different sites for all of these different applications.

The information renaissance of the 20th and 21st centuries has made the exchange of information the easiest it has ever been. Most of this is very beneficial as long as it is used correctly. People should be careful about putting personal information out there for anyone to see. Being able to find information on any topic has no only made people more knowledgeable, but also has helped inspire people to come up with more creative ideas. I believe the information renaissance is going to continue to be a good thing as long as we are cautious of the information we put out there.

Posted by Morgan E Parker at 01:57 PM | Permalink

Theories on how to manage a successful, sustaining business change over time. Some changes are very dramatic and others are quite small. Most changes occur because of shifting economies, developing cultures, and innovations in technology. The books In search of excellence by Thomas Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. and Good to great by Jim Collins explain management theories from different eras. Many of the theories are relevant to both periods of time but have slightly changed over the years. No matter what the change, successful companies both past and present have practiced a few basic concepts of management.

Looking to the past, one theory that has been common in successful management is the need to be innovative. In the chapter titled Bias for action, Peters and Waterman describe how the company that is always developing will stay on top. One way to continue developing is to never stop testing. Testing helps spark new ideas, find problems, and develop convenience. Once a product has been sufficiently tested it will be ready for production. However, to truly be innovative, once a product is made managers must still search for ways to improve it. Just as every product can use improvement, the same holds true for a theory.

In Good to great, Collins also stresses how innovation is a key element in maintaining a successful business. How the theory has changed from past to present is based around one pivotal issue, first does not equal best. In the chapter entitled The flywheel and the doom loop, Collins explains that waiting to fully develop an idea specific to your main objective is more important than being the first to act. Being innovative does not just mean being the first, but also being original. Waiting and finding one element that your company can be the best at producing, will put you above the rest and in the direction for sustainability. Just because a theory has developed does not make the old theory irrelevant. Many managerial elements mentioned by Peters and Waterman are the same concepts discussed by Collins.

Besides innovation two other theories practiced by successful companies past and present are devotion to customer satisfaction and having the right people in the right places. The customer should be every company’s top priority. If a company is too concerned about profits and self-improvement, they will never develop customer loyalty. The best way to make sure a company will practice the right theories is by having the right people in the right places. Having self-motivated people in positions that they are the best at and truly passionate about has been present in every successfully business past and present. Knowing what has worked in the past and how to work in the present is necessary for running a successful business in the future.

Posted by Morgan E Parker at 09:13 PM | Permalink

A Leader’s Legacy by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner explains to readers how to leave a lasting impression, not only with their employees, but with everyone around them. The book highlights four main topics including; Significance, Relationships, Aspirations, and Courage. Unlike many instructional leadership books that use too many examples and long drawn out chapters, Kouzes and Posner get right to the point. Each chapter is informative and detailed without going so in depth that reader is overwhelmed.

Although I found the entire book to be very interesting and informative my favorite section dealt with relationships. Too often have I run across managers that distance themselves from their employees and place themselves on a pedestal too high above the rest. I believe that Kouzes and Posner hit it right on the button explaining how managers need to not only get to know their employees on a personal level, but also to allow the employees to know the manager personally. Why work for someone if you don’t know what their core values are or what they stand for? Establishing a more personal relationship in the workplace will create a sense of unity and familiarity among colleagues. Be sure not get so personal that the manager/employee hierarchy is lost, but don’t be a stranger to your employees.

I think the lessons in this book can be beneficial to any person wanting to be a leader. It is full of useful information that is easy to understand and easy to read. Following and applying the four steps will not only help you develop as a manager, but also as a leader in any given situation. Everyone has potential to be a leader, A Leaders Legacy can help you apply your leadership skills and leave a lasting impression on those around you.

Posted by Morgan E Parker at 09:09 PM | Permalink

According to an article published on The Chronicle of Higher Education in March of 2009, plagiarism is often looked over in scientific journals and articles. Often times someone will publish the same article in multiple journals, which brings up the problem of self-plagiarism. What is self-plagiarism? This is when a person publishes the same exact article in multiple sources. This can cause a problem, for example with medical journals. If an older article is republished to a different journal at a later date, it may seem as though the article is more recent than it really is. This can give a false impression that the article is the most update about a given topic.

In a study done by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, thousand of articles published on Medline were found to have great similarities to other articles and no reference to a cited source. Now, some may think this could just be coincidence, but it’s hard to believe that so many articles could be that similar without having taken information from one another. Having so many articles available on the Internet it would be easy to take information from an article and never give proper reference or citation.

To plagiarize is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “to steal or pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own”. Of course, it is never a good or honest thing to steal work from someone else, however, what seems to be happening more often today is paraphrasing. Paraphrase is defined as “a restatement of a text, passage or working giving the meaning in another form”. This also seems to happen quite often in science journals and articles.

I think the reason for the increase in paraphrasing and plagiarism is due to; the increase of available information via the internet (it’s easy to steal information) and since you can find an answer for just about anything on the internet it’s hard to come up with an original idea. Why spend all the time trying to develop your own idea when you can easily steal from someone else? I’m not in anyway condoning plagiarism, I’m just saying that with all this free information available to everyone it is expected to see in increase in plagiarism.

Posted by Morgan E Parker at 03:31 PM | Permalink