Week 8

Lecture/Seminar reflections.

During the lectures, we learnt about the business models in the digital world. Among other things, we also were taught about the processes and routines, the impact of information systems on businesses, and even Mintzberg's 5 types of Organizational Structures. It was also interesting to learn about the different systems and techs in the different levels within an organization (i.e.: managerial level, executive levels, etc). It could be instrumental in the future as it prepares me now on what kind of functions are carried out at the different levels, and how to carry out the functions and tasks. This then would make it easier for me once I start working in a firm.

During the seminar, we were tasked to make Pivot Tables on Excel. We were given a handout with the exercise on it, and we needed to figure out how to make a pivot table that was organized and neat. We even learnt functions on Excel to put in "designs" onto the table to make it look more presentable, and less plain. This is useful as there are plenty of workplaces that require creating reports, and they usually consist of a lot of writing, as well as numbers and tables for data. A pivot table is an ideal way to present information in a report format, so with the knowledge and skills acquired from the seminar, I can now create data tables for a report more efficiently and immaculately.

Group Work.

This week during our meeting, some members were absent so we could not get all of the solutions. The few members who came handed me their solutions, and I read through all of them to see if it were appropriate to put in the assignment or not. I selected a few and told the members to search for a couple more solutions, to find anything more suitable. I brought 3 solutions myself, 1 for each problem. The few solutions we agreed were suitable were then put into our slides.

Week 7

Lecture/Seminar Reflections.

During the lecture, we were taught about the do's and don'ts of presentations. We given explanations on the different fonts to use, the importance of background colors, the programs to use for presentations other than PowerPoint, and how animations within the presentation plays a role. There was a lot of information that I could use in the future, such as using Verdana, or Ariel as font since it is easy for people to read, making sure the color combination is not eye-straining, and ensuring that there are no distracting or inconsistent animations in the presentation.

We were tasked to continue with Excel exercise during our seminar. We learnt the basics of how to create a Scenario Manager. We were given an example by the teacher and was guided throughout the whole process. Then the teacher gave us an Excel exercise that we had to complete by ourselves. It involved copying down a student budget table onto Excel, and then making Scenario Managers for it. This is extremely helpful as it could help in work but also in personal life. If I run into a problem with my budget in the future, such as needing to plan to save money better, I could do it more efficiently now that I have learnt about Scenario Managers.

Group Work.

This week, the team came together and discussed what our next step was. I had just settled the interview earlier this week, and had managed to get some of Lebara's main problems. The three problems we chose were Contact Center Efficiencies, Quality of Front-line Interaction, and Customer Loyalty. We then split the task of researching for solutions for each of the problems; three solutions each. We agreed to bring some solutions next week for our next meeting.

Week 6

Lecture/Seminar reflections.

The subject for this week's lecture was revolved around cloud computing. We learnt that there are web-services models for supporting and managing Information System needs. They use AAS as a concept (which stands for Associate of Applied Science). This was interesting because it was predicted that in the future years, we would not run out of space to store information. There would be no use storing pictures or data onto our phones or computers anymore, we will not even have any use for USB's. We would store everything to the cloud services provided. We also were told about several reliable database management systems. One of the main ones we focused on was Microsoft Access, where we could create a database sheet accurately, as well as query.

In the seminars, we were taught about the VLOOKUP function on Excel. This were given sheets of papers with tutorials on how to carry out the the VLOOKUP function, and after that was done we needed to download the VLOOKUP exercise and complete it on our own. It was beneficial to learn this because it was quite complicated, and it would have been stress inducing if I came into a work environment without knowing this function. I struggled here and there when inputting the different formulas as they were quite long. But once I did a few exercises, I managed to get the hang of it and finished the whole task with minimal problems.

These are a couple of the exercises we did:

Group Work.

This week, we arranged another meeting. This time it was to delegate duties to each member of the group. We also came together to discuss and make a list of questions that I should ask when the interview with Lebara is conducted. Once we had roughly 5 questions, we were satisfied with the list and now prepared for the interview.