The Fruit of Sweet Success

No matter how hard it is to climb the tallest mountain, nothing could really compare to that overwhelming feeling after getting on top of the world.

True. After all the knee scratches and back-bending, bone-breaking, muscle-aching grips of the wild rocks along the way, you can still taste the sweetness of success when you reach the top of your destination. In the end you will not mind the wounds that you earned but treat it as just spices of your journey.

Not all people think that getting on to their destination involves much sacrifice and pains. That is why they easily quit when the biggest trials come. Some would not mind anything at all and could even give up anything and everything for just a simple ideal. Nevertheless, whatever the reasons and the corresponding consequences are, one thing is for sure - sacrifices have their rewards. And vice versa.

These last few weeks I have been very preoccupied by some sorts of business (which I refuse to tell you in here..) and that every single thing about it just gives me the headaches and the emotional tantrums. Nevertheless, I could sense the smell of victory when I was able to foresee things are going in their appropriate track. The lesson I want to impart here is being optimistic.

Thinking positive is not my way of treating serious things in my everyday life. But that had helped me face my fears and I could say I was able to triumph over my weakness. Although it is sad to say that in the end I am not the real victor but I have my consolation - I never quit so I am not the loser.

If then it so happened that I did got carried away by my emotions when the worse experiences of life came to me. But thank God I was able to deliberate on it and let time take its healing touch than making rush decisions that could further complicate situations in the end. I was able to turn those unwanted things to something positive in purpose and challenged myself to go back to where the mistakes started and vowed to have a real change in strategy. The failure pushed me to try again but not to do the same errors but to change according to the lessons I have learned. The positive side I have been convincing to myself became a solid mindset which guided my actions and decision-making skills.

Moreover, the best thing that happened was, I never get into rush decisions and suffer unwanted consequences in the end. Perseverance in getting things in order than just staying in a corner lamenting over your failures and ending up wasting your time doing nothing remarkable at all really helped a lot. The result? A sweeter fruit of your labors. :-)

An IT Professional 10 Years From Now

(Note: This is a reply to Mr. G.'s thread in USeP-IC Web Forum - Assignment 1: Think about yourself worthy to be called as IT professional, how do you see yourself 10 years from now, what are your strategies to get there?)

"Ten years from now...I will be leading the team in automating business and non-business transactions in the city's local government units..."

A dream. An aspiration. But knowing the possibilities of time, that is not far from getting true. Who knows?

When our professor met our class for an orientation of the subject Management Information System 2, he asked the same question. Most of us were inaudible as to what we really imagined our lives to be in the next decade. Some were called to stand and verbalize their thoughts. But none of us I guess, satisfied our instructor. It was the same as answering the question 'what would you want to be when you grow up?' during the end of elementary and high school years.

As I was deliberating my thoughts of how to answer the question, I also asked myself what would really be me in the next few years after I finish my studies? Should I be one of those fresh graduates who venture into freelance jobs or apply to other colleges and universities for part-time teaching and enrolling in masteral degrees at the same time? Nevertheless, I discard the idea though I am not so sure of how my future would look like.

When one of our classmates cited that he wanted to go and work abroad (peace, Franz!) and our instructor moaned a disagreeing tone discouraging everyone to go abroad immediately just a few years after graduation, it helped me organize my ideas in a clearer view. What our instructor wants is for us to realize that we are scholars of our localities and the nation expects us to serve our very own than the other foreign nations. Furthermore he said that developed countries are not anymore hiring IT professionals for they are now into outsourcing.

The first point stated by our instructor led me to one thing I have been thinking some time ago. What most of the people nowadays wanted is to go abroad and land into jobs there where they could earn a relatively higher rate than what our local employers could give. Practicality, that is what they said. With the economic crisis gradually tightening our belt stiffly, I would not be surprised that more and more Filipinos are applying jobs outside leaving their lovedd ones behind just to provide the financial needs of the family. Maybe that is the common reason why most college students took courses in demand in the foreign countries. But me? I have the slightest idea of the global demand status of my course. I thought that if ever opportunity comes, maybe I could grab it. But I never thought of aspiring to work outside though, it never crossed my mind that I will be pressuring myself to finish my studies and be eager to work abroad. I choose to work here.

My professor was right. We have been lucky to be studying in a state university. It is then worthy for the government and the country to be served by us, who have been given the chance to have college education. I think it would not be detrimental if we just have to spend even a few years to work here before venturing to greener pasture if we have plans to do it. Not only we could gain experience in working here but we will be able to pay back what our country have given to us by sharing our knowledge and skills for the benefit of our own. It should end that way, shouldn't it? How could we let the other countries get the benefit of our services when our own nation lacks assistance and needs help? It is just the same as 'why are we suffering financial budget just to import goods we consume while we are exporting world-class raw materials for the products that we buy?' Silly, isn't it? That is what we hear from the news and current affairs regarding the economy of our society.

As an Information Technology student, I have learned the value of how important and critical even just a single bit of data or a simple detail of information is for an organization. With the computerized system we have nowadays, the rise of economy in developed countries relies much on the software and hardware aspects of technology. And we, people have big roles in leading our nation from scratch to riches. We may not have the technology other big countries have but I believe we have enough resources and skillful people to start small. Enough to survive on our own. Only these resources are not utilized to their real functions that is why it is not performing well according to its purpose. I think the authorities failed to invest more on developing and maximizing the resources we have to its full worth.

I will tell you an evident thing why I was able to say that. Just look at our government and private transactions. While the foreign countries are mechanizing their industries, we still use the old manual (and convenient) way of processing our documents. Convenient for those who have been used to it and refuse to give in to the new flow of modernity. We, students are studying the what's and how's of the trends and applications of technology yet we could not find it anywhere being used WIDELY especially in mission-critical or even private business organizations locally. Only some. Just a few I guess, contrary to others who are using it almost in all establishments and institutions. I knew we all know of the advantages of computerized systems and that it is not that easy to switch immediately to automation. I am happy that some organizations are considering helping private institutions improve their manual systems by introducing applications of IT into business. I guess that should where we should fall into the picture. We have big roles in helping the organizations use the information technology to the benefit of the business.

Say for example, my mom works in the local government unit (e.g. barangay) in our place. I could not exactly recall when or what year she has been staying for soooo long in the office until late in the evening just to finish all these sorts of paper works. I could still remember, she called me in asking me to help her with some computations and listings and everything that she could not do alone without getting late for the deadline. The works are just easy-to-average but kind of pain in the head. Imagine a sort of numbers and forms to be filled up, copied, referenced, computed, updated, and reprinted again. If in any case the numbers and budgets are not in tally the job has to be redone. If entries are not on the right track, reviews should be made and you will find yourself getting back to scratch over and over again. Hassle, isn’t it? The only system computerized in their office, I guess, is the encoding of data and printing of all kinds of papers and forms to be submitted and signed by the officials. I could not find a single system where it is not just used for printing and encoding ONLY but something else. Hopefully they had. But unfortunately, even the higher office which requires them to process their documents are also doing almost the same thing – manual processing of data. I am not surprised to see bulks of papers in the tables in the offices where you can only see heads of the people working on it because they are all covered with piles of documents. And what makes it annoying is that if the higher office finds some erroneous parts on the documents, the recent ones you are working in the present would be affected. So the result, you will be reviewing the stuff from the past months or years and stop the current document you are working now. Not mentioning that as the time goes by, your job to be done is also piling up in queue and the budget your office is allocating for current projects will be delayed due to chain effects of the process. Whew! Just imagine the stress that manual processing could do. I guess it would just be okay if what you are processing are only just some sorts of simple things. But it is complicated.

Thinking about these made me wonder if the local government already has or starting to have (or just planning to have!) a convenient way of gradually changing these manual system of processing documents in the local barangays into computerized and centralized way. I could really imagine other employees too with almost the same duties as my mom has. They are doing jobs overtime with no extra pay (sometimes, depending on what institution you are working with) but just concerned of beating the deadline so to get things done.

This is just a simple scenario where we could apply the basic advantages of an automated system. That is, to reduce difficulties caused by manual data processing. Regarding data storage, an office could house thousands of papers if manual system will be pursued up to now. There will be problems in finding just a single sheet of form if needed because it will take time to sort files and folders and cabinets and drawers and before you realize, you spent two hours delaying your other tasks just to find a single important document where in fact you could search the archives of your database in the computer if and then these things are stored in the computer. Regarding data security, you will have lots of cabinets and drawers with various files and folders to be protected from fire, water, insects, and interested third parties who might want to grab your data. Plus, much of these are taking space in your office not mentioning the eyesore it gives for failure to maintain orderliness in your workplace. Human errors which may happen every now and then will reduce the accuracy of data and that would eventually lead to unreliability of information. How I wish every business and non-business transactions in the local government units and private organizations will be as easy and convenient as a computerized and automated system of data processing.

As an IT professional in the very near future, I am very positive that I will be of help to my nation by sharing my knowledge and skills and applying what I have learned to the benefit of my community. I know there may be lots of IT graduates and professionals out there who are more skillful than me but I am saying to myself that I could also give a part of me to my country. A good start is to lend a hand in planning a good way of easing the complexity of works in the manual system.

By helping and visiting some time in my mom’s office, I was able to observe the flow of what they were working. This gave me the idea of identifying some points from which possible problems would arise. Most of the time I would not touch any of my mother’s work for fear that I might mess up with her things or take her out of her concentration. So I would choose to explore the office computers to find interesting things whatever that would catch my attention. And oftentimes when I do not find any games or sort of recreations, I would content myself with searching the archives of word and spreadsheet documents saved in the computers. Boring, isn’t it? But inspecting these files makes me realize that we are really lacking in the appropriate skills even in just organizing files and folders of our office. With this, how can the government consider making its way to full automation of processing documents? Not all employees and staff working in the government units have basic knowledge in computers.

I think the government is also considering the fact that it would take much time and effort on the end-user part that will be undergoing training when the automation of manual data processing will be pursued. That is why, maybe, the human resources that are working in the present and are conveniently working their tasks according to what and how they have been used to do it are just enduring the system.

But what about the next generation that will replace the staff in the long run? Won’t they think of an easier, more convenient way of working? Of course, they are not the only ones who will benefit this. I am sure the government is gradually making steps in doing away with the old data processing and shift to electronic automation.

In the moment I am kind of starting a simple program of storing lists of sponsored scholars I have found in the office computer into a database and retrieve it just like what we do in our school projects. I am not giving pressure to myself since nobody asked me to do that but I was thinking that I might do it part by part only by some point in time when I happen to visit the office. I was envisioning myself of making an automated system in our barangay where my mom and other barangay staff would not find hard times in searching the archives and updating the database of whatever information they want to store or retrieve. And as a consolation to myself, I was just imagining that because of the system that I might be doing, our barangay will be known and acknowledged by the city government and the other barangays and would eventually be given a reward for this wonderful innovation. Hahahaha! That is just a dream but I actually wanted to do it anyhow. Who knows, if it ever happens then the local government would make our barangay a premier in automated transactions and they would realize that they should also start doing the same to the other barangays and the central office. In that way they would consider investing budget for this simple innovation and will eventually lead to automation of all business and non-business transactions. Act begets act.

And because of that little concern I did, I will gain experience in applying the concepts I have learned to my community. Ten years from now, I will be leading the team in automating business and non-business transactions in the city’s local government units. In the next five years, I am envisioning myself as part of a group of advocates who desires for the improvement of data processing in a centralized office. I will be helping my local barangay in developing and using programs and applications that will lessen the hassles and disadvantages of the manual system. Through this, more and more tasks will be quickly and accurately done because processing time will be reduced. Eventually, more people will be served and will be happy because of the prompt response of the personnel in the offices.

Well, before we let our minds wander through the imagination of the future let us think of the present first. Of course, what I am thinking of tomorrow would not be as effortless as picking an apple in the tree. I need strategies to get to my goal. And one of these is to invest in the present.

Before I could lead the team of IT professionals I should prove myself worthy to be one. It is not as simple as showing your credentials having earned a bachelor’s degree in that field of work but attesting your skills of being a properly qualified and experienced one in the environment. So to be able to develop a system, I should have firm foundation of the knowledge about the system. Right now, I should put into mind and heart whatever things I learn in my university to be able to apply these concepts later. My exposure to the industry would greatly help. It would give me a better view of the actual happenings inside an organization. By studying the flow and structure of the information system of an organization, I will be able to point out some areas that need improvements. But of course, corresponding recommendations should be made to make the study significant especially to the role of the IS in the company and the value of the organization to the community as a whole.

Not only concepts and teachings will make me proficient, but also familiarity in actual programming or software developing (gosh…scary!). With several school projects, documentations, machine problems that I am required to do and submit in school, I am confident that all of these will make me practice my abilities and eventually learn.

I am hoping that I could learn much as I go along with my experience as an IT student.

Of course, I would not learn the full cycle of my profession without the assessments and reviews of my evaluators. If then I would not know my strengths and weaknesses. I need their opinions and suggestions on whether I need to maintain or improve my performance and to help me know if I am keeping on the right track. Furthermore, I should also know how to get along with my colleagues as well, since I will be working with them for some point in time in systems that might be used in mission-critical situations. As early as now while I am still studying in the university, I should know whom should I choose to be with in my group projects. As what one of our professors is telling us, there should not be all good programmers in one team. In a group, there should be at least a good project manager, a good analyst designer, a programmer, and a good documenter. This is very important since a major task will not be handled alone by programming only or by documenting only. There should also be fine relationship with each team member as it affects the performance of each other and to the quality of work. A certain project should be worked out by all team members collaborating and complementing each other’s respective skills and corresponding tasks.

With these simple yet effective strategies, I believe I will achieve my simple dream someday. Who knows, I might reach my goals far better than I am saying today? Only time could tell. With hard work and perseverance, a determined mind and dedicated heart could surpass any challenge. Think positive. Think clear. Aim high!

Crazier

It may be quite obvious that my (or one of my) favorite artists is Taylor Swift. Reason why? Well, I just find her music (particularly the genre) really good. The genre's country-pop, upbeat and in some way, smooth. The lyrics are realistic and easy to relate. Plus, the chords are simpler. It would be easy for musicians and beginners alike to sing their hearts out while playing with these uncomplicated chords. I've got almost of her songs and compared the patterns. And most of them belong to the same family or revolves within the same 'chord series'.

So if you're an aficionado of Taylor's music, you may want to try this one. Enjoy!

Crazier

by Taylor Swift

D A Bm G (G)

D                       A
I'd never gone with the wind
            Em
Just let it flow
       G            (A)          D
Let it take me where it wants to go
                  A                    Em
Till you open the door there's so much more
           G
I've never seen it before
      A         Bm        G
I was trying to fly but I couldn't find wings
    A          Bm          G
But you came along and you changed everything


D                        A
You lift my feet off the ground
              Bm
You spin me around
            G
You make me crazier, crazier
D                          A
Feels like I'm falling and I
                 Bm
I'm lost in your eyes
            G                (G)
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier


  D                          A
I watched from a distance as you
               Em 
Made life your own
      G           (A)          D
Every sky was your own kind of blue
                A                   Em
And I wanted to know how that would feel
        G
And you made it so real
A             Bm             G
You showed me something that I couldn't see
A             Bm           G
You opened my eyes and you made me believe


D                        A
You lift my feet off the ground
              Bm
You spin me around
            G
You make me crazier, crazier
D                          A
Feels like I'm falling and I
                 Bm
I'm lost in your eyes
            G                (G)
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier

D A G (G)

A        Bm             G
Baby you showed me what living is for
  A             Bm     G
I don't want to hide anymore


D                        A
You lift my feet off the ground
              Bm
You spin me around
            G
You make me crazier, crazier
D                          A
Feels like I'm falling and I
                 Bm
I'm lost in your eyes
            G
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier
G
Crazier, crazier 

Video courtesy of youtube. Chords tabbed by Krista (my reliable source of Taylor Swift's songs in ultimate-guitarchords.com)

My Role in My Chosen Information Environment

(Note: This is a reply to Mr. G.'s thread in USEP-IC forum - Assignment 9: Identify an information environment of your choice and write an essay to address the following questions: What should be your role within this environment? How can the principles of information organization and representation help you in performing this role? What are the challenges facing you in performing the role? How will you address these challenges?)

I did a shorter reaction about this topic before, and admittedly, the previous stand is dissimilar from what I am stating now. When ‘information environment’ first came to mind, I thought it would be like a spot where information is at its height. Or merely just a place where ‘information exchange’ happens – so I thought of more general environments like schools, government and the like. I am not saying these are incorrect, but the threads of previous posts (in other forum discussions) made me think the other way around. It made me think of other more specific spot where I should focus my discussion on – so I’m changing my stand. (^_^)

An information environment could be anywhere. As long as it is a place or set of networks and services that support publishing and use of information and learning resources. There are lots of ‘information environments’ we can find nowadays especially that development of innovations are moving fast brought by modern technology. People who are using and manipulating information also seemed to be in a hurry to communicate. And so to keep pace of the fast evolving changes we have in the world today, I chose to be in part of an atmosphere where I can have the opportunity to communicate and spread the information with the use of technology.

I know my field is related to information technology. And as a student I am aware that learning is a lifelong process. That is why information is abounding – never stops and never ends. As an IT student, I’ve had panoramas of several companies’ information systems. I have learned how information could be very crucial in a workplace and even at home. And I have also seen localities and circumstances where there is scarcity or outdated information. I know many of us are relying heavily on basic information exchange and getting just a bit of it at a time is not enough in this rapid competent world.

Having the idea how the fast-evolving technology affects our day-to-day process of communication and way of life, I choose to be someone who logs in to the internet and various network resources, surf what’s new and what’s the latest, research the millions of alternative ideas and means of many things, and bring the latest trend of information to everyone. So I choose to be a content writer or an online researcher of an organization’s IS department or learning resource center.

The information system is the heart of the company. It is where all the data are being processed and can be used for the successful implementations of the vital functions of the company business. The information system is an essential element in a company in the sense that it holds documents and raw files that needs to be handled and managed. And since technology (hardware and software) components could bring information to everyone in the most convenient way as it could be, an information system would never exist without the critical resources of the organization – the human resources. Certainly, the workforce is the engine of the IS. An IT personnel could either make or unmake a company. Much of the processes would rely on the operator side since the manipulation and the instructions are done on the part of the peopleware.

Another thing which triggered me of identifying my real function within an information environment is the recent calamity brought by typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines (http://www.typhoonondoy.org/). It was really pitiful to see many people, young and old, women and children, lost their homes and properties because of the long hours of downpour causing flood to rise on a very high level drowning almost all parts of the National Capital Region. One could see the worries and pains of every faces that even not in the area of tragedy, is being reflected brought by alarming news in all news broadcasts. I have only happened to be informed of the situation in school several moments after the event actually began – or I do not even know what and how it exactly started. As we all know the weather is unpredictable. If there were any forecasts of strong typhoon and heavy downpour I was not able to hear it during the last few days because of so many preoccupations in school projects. I only knew it was raining in Luzon, but the weather’s been fair and friendly here in Davao. But mind you, I thought it was just any other normal typhoon news airing in televisions and radio stations. But when I happened to see video coverage and saw the effects brought by the calamity I can only say that I missed so much of the news.

I wondered how it came to be that horrible – the effect of the strong typhoon. What I mean is that, it seemed to me that thousands of people weren’t able to prepare – in physical, emotional, financial aspects. Or was I not so sure that the water level really raised that high in just a couple of hours. Now I could think of how the unpredictability of the weather could barely affect the rate of information communication of warning to the people and areas that may be affected.

I also believed that timely information could do much to any circumstance. It is said that prevention is better than cure. In the typhoon Ondoy’s case, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) has so much to play in that its role is to be the primary unit of government tasked to provide protection to life and property against natural hazards through various applications of meteorology, geophysics and space sciences (http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/). They are the leading institute to observe weather forecasts and check to see if incoming tropical storms are coming to our country’s area of responsibility.

I could barely think of an efficient way to prevent further damage of weather changes except reliable and up to date information being brought out to every other division in the community especially to the probable areas that may be affected. I might not be able to give a good assessment about it but I believe that the PAG-ASA’s information system (hardware, software, peopleware) plays a very big part on this. During this time of disaster I realized the importance of timely and accurate information and the reliability of resources. Now I feel that I wanted to be a part of the weather bureau (like Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), which specializes in monitoring, analyzes, forecasting and warning of tropical weather systems such as typhoons, monsoons, Intertropical Convergence Zones (ITCZ). My field is not related to seismology or meteorology but I believe that with my learning in information technology could be a help in the information system inside the center.

There are several ways in which I could think of ways of how I should play my role in the weather bureau. Perhaps I could be of help to the research and documentation group having some skills in organizing files and keeping records. THAT is a part of my vision of being a part of the agency in the future. Right now, as a citizen of the country and a recipient also of the information being imparted by the agency, my role should be a responsible resident of my country abiding to the rules and regulations of the bureau and the government as well. And as a citizen I have to pay attention to the weather forecasts, analysis and warnings of the bureau because they are tasked to do that for the good of everyone including me. But if given the chance to be a part of the weather agency (as in, I will have the opportunity to work there), I may use my knowledge in IT to help in the consulting functions of the agency. I will be able to help in analyzing and suggesting some ideas in planning for the implementations of the information system and some improvements in IS components. Regarding as to my role as a researcher or information keeper, I may keep track of data and generate reports necessary for the essential information on weather forecasts, warnings, and analysis. Just for example, in typhoons, updates in tropical cyclones (e.g. location of center, strength, coordinates, movement, positions or outlooks) so to yield advisories that will be delivered to all people and areas to be affected through media communications.

So how can the principles of information organization and representation help me in performing my role?

I have read about some statements made by Dagobert Soergel in his Information Organization of Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction July 2004 (http://www.dsoergel.com/NewPublications/HCIEncyclopediaInfoOrg8For670.pdf) and found some principles applied in library and information sciences. Using his example of data on foods, he introduced the entity-relationship approach as the basis for all information organization; database organization; templates for the internal organization of documents; cataloging and metadata; and knowledge organization systems.

The entity-relationship (E-R) approach is familiar to me because we discuss it in our course subjects. Having the idea of it made it easier for me to evaluate its effect on information organization. Since information organization depends on object characteristics, entities are connected through relationships. An E-R could present a conceptual schema for data gathered in the weather bureau which is the basis for several approach to storing and presenting data and for organizing a database for access and processing. I have tried making some E-R diagrams and I could see it offered help in information organization.

Database organization is also a big help. In organizing data inside the weather center, the storage and retrieval of data (especially the digital ones) would be more convenient if database organization is present.

Templates for internal organization of documents, perhaps is one important application to the operations of the weather agency. As we all took notice of, the weather forecasts and warnings consists of satellite coverage, snapshots, etc and it would be difficult if those data do not follow a standard format or outline in information representation.

Weather forecasts and climate warnings should be kept in archives for future references. Thus there is a great need for cataloging and metadata for information organization. As we all know, histories of weather and climate changes are being recalled even if there were years of interval in between. These data are crucial for monitoring and analysis that may be useful in the future.

Knowledge organization systems (KOS) will aid the record keepers and database administrators in arranging data which requires classifications. As we all know, the PAG-ASA consists of several divisions or branches specializing on various activities covered by the bureau’s area of responsibility.

And just like any other things, challenges and consequences are to be faced especially in performing this role. So as the ways on how to address them.***

The first thing I think would be lack of up-to-date knowledge about new technologies and applications that will be used in performing the crucial tasks of the bureau. If we may have all the skills and the workforce, there would be less performance satisfaction if the appropriate hardware and software components are not in their better routines. This is very vital in the sense that the PAG-ASA has to use every bit of technology they could get since they are dealing with unpredictable subjects like climate, tropical storms, winds, etc. and we all know that these entities are random variables from which humans have no control of. That is the hardest part of it. We simply can not stop any weather and we have no power over these things. We could only do some prevention strategies to lessen or alleviate the further effects of natural hazards on lives and properties. But these forecasts rely much on the kind of technology we have today. Other countries have hi-tech gadgets that are developed to detect the slightest movement of an incoming typhoon for example and from the probability and statistics, monitor and analyze its capacity and damages.

A centralized communication is second on my list. Since I will be working as in the information system, it is therefore very essential for me that I send and receive information from my command center. It is important to have a centralized information center so to direct the communication and have an organized, one set of instructions for all sectors and co-divisions of the government. In times of natural calamities, the agencies involved are not just PAG-ASA but also groups concerning on highway clearings, social welfare, relief goods, communications, health, rescue units, and many more.

It is also essential that proper management inside the information system be implemented and carried out especially in critical times (e.g. actual times of calamities). Since the chain of command is crucial during these moments, it is therefore advisable for the human resources involved in the agency to have good if not better interactive relationships both with leader and subordinates. Information processing would not be possible if there is no good communication between the ones operating the databases.

Security and reliability of data is also a major concern. It should be bore in mind that all transactions and processes made inside the bureau are to be in its most consistent and safe status since these data that are processed into information will then be disseminated to another branches and divisions of the government and not only that, to other private sectors that need to be informed of the latest updates. Accurateness of data affects the efficiency of the information.

Financial concerns. Tsk. This aspect is something to keep in mind too. All of these challenges would not be addressed without exerting resources such as time, effort, and above all, money. I could say that in our status in the country, we may have those not so high tech gadgets that will be used in further weather forecasts and monitoring systems but we just have what we necessary devices and tools.

090909

Hello guys.. Well, here I am again in this memorable day in history. Let me greet you a happy day and I wish all of us the best in this day and onwards...!

September 9, 2009

[ 090909 ]

This is a day in which the number combinations of the date (month, day, year) are all the same. And this only happens once in every 1000 years! Whew. I just think today is a significant day. Hehehe


To all whose birthday falls on to this day, I wish you a happy birthday. And to all who celebrates their anniversaries and other special events on this day, i wish you all the best.

In-house vs. Outsource: Which is Better for the University?

(Note: This is a reply to Mr. G.'s thread in USEP-IC forum - Assignment 8: As a student, you were invited by the Dean of the Institute of Computing to attend a seminar-workshop on information systems planning with some of the faculty members. In one of the sessions, a discussion of outsourcing came up. You have been asked to present your evaluation about outsourcing the information systems functions of the school. Required: You are to take a position- outsource or in-source and justify your position.)

This is similar to what we call as the ‘hottest’ topic every time we have sessions in our Management Information System module reporting. “…in the case of our university’s information systems, should we outsource?” This brought varying reactions from several individuals who expressed their thoughts about the matter. Before we mark our final word, we shall first weigh the factors involved.

So, what is really ‘outsourcing’? What is its difference from ‘in-house’ or ‘in-sourcing’? What are the factors involved regarding this matter? Let us first discuss these few explanations based on what I have researched.

In-housing or in-sourcing, is actually the administration of ancillary activity within a company. It is managing by using the resources within a company. Outsourcing on the other hand, is subcontracting. It is the purchase by a company of labor or parts from a source outside the company rather than using the company’s staff or plant.

Why is there a need to outsource, instead of keeping in in-sourcing? Let us take the example of making a website. Once a certain organization decides to make a company website, it will need the necessary manpower to keep in charge of it. In other words, it will need to decide who will undertake the project and maintain the web site over time. There are various skills required to carry out this project and these skills may be found in some existing staff working for the company. But there are also cases when the management has to decide whether to hire somebody who may have possessed those certain skills to be work part-time or full-time, or to contract services from an outside source. In this case, when the company decides to hire staff and/or services outside their company, outsourcing happens.

In-housing versus Outsourcing

If you opt to start a critical project, you have to weigh your current in-house capacity first. Will your staff be able to address the needs? Will your resources allow you to do the task(s) completely? If you think your skills and budget allow you to deal with the task without aid from outside source then you have to take advantage of your potential - use your own resources within the company. On the other hand, if you think that you will be working out with more than you could ever handle, then I guess you should consider the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing.

When you choose in-house to hire in-house staff you can have these several benefits:

- Managerial control and ease of communication

Of course when you choose to have your own company staff working for your tasks, you can easily manage to look after them and how they do the job. It would be best for you if you will keep in touch with the updates of your projects being carried out by personnel working within your reach. In case of some sudden changes and modifications, you can easily tap them since they are your company’s workforce.

- Timeliness

If you have a task to be done, you can immediately call your staff’s attention for the urgent matter. The great thing here is you have greater control over your personnel on when your task has to be done or updated. For example, in a company’s website scenario, if you need a few changes for your site, your staff can immediately do it for you even in a few minutes compared to the vendor or outsourced personnel who may happen to have another client aside from you (tendency is you will be putting yourself in a queue especially if there are other customers being served by your outsourced provider).

- Quality of Results

Since you have greater control over your projects and resources, you have more chances of achieving desirable results. It is because you are there to guide them when the personnel are working on the projects along the way.

- New funding opportunities

If you have really skilled personnel, you could invest in developing your in-house capacity to do certain jobs. This will generate extra income for the company or to your staff, and perhaps you could even sell new products and services.

- Financial predictability

When we speak of costs, it is easier to estimate how much will you spend in your projects if workforce time is included in your resource budget.

- Security and confidentiality issues

Definitely, you have fewer worries about your company’s assets and information especially on matters of privacy.

Those are on the in-housing staff side. Now let us talk about more on outsourcing. I should say this is quite a broader topic to talk about. As business organizations grow larger across the years, there are pressures on business and companies to be more and more competitive in their fields. Thus, there is a need to increase their productivity. Some felt that in order to gain more efficiency, outsourcing the resources of the company is an easy way out. Well, does it really address the needs?

Some of the key reasons why an organization should consider outsourcing are: competitive response, loss of key staff, cost overruns and project time, new product designs don’t work, and problem with quality and yield.

(See also Wikipedia’s Reasons for Outsourcing…)

Now let us discuss some benefits regarding outsourcing:

One major advantage of outsourcing is less capital expenditure. Outsourcing is an effective way to extend your budget. In terms of personnel budget alone, you can save costs for wages and additional employee benefits (which may include trainings, tax payments, etc). When you outsource information technology requirements, you don’t have to pay for the expensive hardware and software needed.

Less management headache, in the sense that the management has less control on the personnel working for a particular project or task. Thus, time spent by the management on personnel will be lesser. For example, in IT maintenance, the company doesn’t have to take time hiring and/or training staff since you probably will have valuable technical expertise by your outsource vendor.

Focus on core competencies. When you outsource IT activities to outside companies, this will provide you greater time concentrating on your core activities and strengths of the company. This will also give way to increased production time. Since your outsource company will be focusing on a specific project rather than the numerous company business activities, actual production time will speed up giving your business a competitive advantage.

Outsourcing also gives company the flexibility to change third-party vendors. In other words, they are easy to fire. When you are not satisfied with the results of your projects and you are not happy with the services provided by your vendor, it is easier to change to a new outsource provider than it is to fire poorly-performing company staff. This is because outsource vendors and your company agree that services will be provided to a legally binding contract with financial penalties.

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So now that you have read about the advantages of outsourcing, you probably think that this is a best way to your company’s business. But we still have to think things over because the disadvantages are not yet specified. Before deciding to outsource your company’s business process, let discuss some drawbacks of outsourcing:

One major disadvantage is less managerial control. As I have stated in the above statements, this can be a benefit. But what makes it a weakness is that you actually are losing control over your outsourced project (or at least a part of it) since the vendor will take charge of the job. It may be harder to manage your outsourcing provider than it is to manage your staff especially that service providers usually stress their control over the projects they’re working out.

This is also associated with lack of communication. Most companies find it hard to have constant communication links with their outsource providers. Problems linked with this involve misunderstanding between company customers and outsourced customer service representative, difference in language and cultural problems (in cases of outsourcing to another country), and several inherent difficulties like having conversations in varying available schedule between you and the vendor (like having different time zones of work).

Undesirable results. For example, a company hires a vendor to mass produce a product and when the finished products don’t meet with the company’s standards, chances are the manufacturing process will then be repeated probably by a different vendor. Quality risks in outsourcing are driven by several factors and cases such as the following: most vendors try to accumulate as many projects as they can (granted that they have other clients aside from you, there could be more projects that the outsource vendor will accept even if the burden is more than they could bear. This may wreck your project schedule, if not the whole project.); some vendors advertise services and even accept projects with little or no expertise in the corresponding areas (of course they wanted to gain more so they would take out your project. Lack of supplier capabilities / resources / capacity becomes a problem.); outsourcing company might go out of business (in the event that your vendor goes bankrupt or out of business, you will have to change to a new provider to continue business or you may take the process back in-house.).

Outsourcing can be very costly. It may be more expensive for the company in the sense that the company is paying twice for the same job. Not only it is a waste of time and materials but there is also possibility that the company will lose sales during the same period due to unavailability of the product. Sometimes it is cheaper to keep a business process in-house as compared to outsourcing.

Another main problem by organizations that outsource is security and confidentiality issues. There are cases when you are outsourcing business processes to a vendor such as payroll, and if so, some confidential information like salary will be known to the outsourcing provider. Before outsourcing, the company is liable for the actions of their staff. When they outsource personnel, these workers are not anymore directly employed or connected to the organization. Chances are, this may cause legal, security, and compliance issues that are to be addressed by binding contract so to avoid frauds.

Loss of jobs can be one drawback of outsourcing. Granted that the company may outsource personnel from other organizations and/or other countries to save money in wages, they will have to reduce their company’s workforce at the expense of laying off their employees.

Those are several outsourcing disadvantages to look at. Will outsourcing or keeping in-house really profit your business? Well, it depends. There are still other issues yet to consider. Both parties should pay attention to contracts. In the case of outsourcing IT, there are more development of tools and databases, so you have to be aware of which outsource services will you have to pay or not. For example, your vendor happened to develop a special tool that can be considered as their intellectual property, you can’t take it with you when their contract of service ends and you choose another vendor. Sustainability is also an essential issue. In the company website scenario, your company has to be steady in gaining income so to pay salaries for a full-time maintenance staff.

Status of the University

Let us now discuss the overview of the university’s situation. Currently, the university has recently changed to in-house after hiring some outsource company for the campus’ information system. For the past years that I have been a part of the university, we, students, could really feel the consequences of the processes that our school involves especially regarding the enrolment system. Now the university has decided to try using the services by its own IT personnel who have also expertise in the field of systems development. Our current management information system (this includes the entire enrolment process – registrar, cashier, local offices involved) is being programmed mainly by two of our faculties. Surely, we had another type of enrolment process undergone just last summer (when the new system had just recently been simulated) and this semester. Well, it feels like we are actually having a series of different type of enrolment process every year! I know the university is actually finding and testing many sorts of system and that they are looking for the perfect match that would be implemented for the campus permanently, or at least for a longer period of time.

Regarding the issue, we in our Management Information System class are debating whether the university made the right decision to change from outsourcing the IS process to in-house. And as many as the key points I have mentioned, we were also having uncertainties as to which we should stand with. In-house or outsource? Which is better for the university?

Whatever the case is, it is still better to weigh things according to the situation and those involved with it. I have heard that the primary reason the school administration decided to cut the outsourcing service is cost. So the administration tapped the IT faculties inside the campus to save long-term costs. This posed an advantage both to the university and the staff as well. As stressed out by our class instructor (I agree with him), we have local personnel who are highly-skilled in the said field, so why not use them? That is also an additional income for them, and the university budget will not go outside the institution, but to its own workforce. Furthermore, it is of pride to realize that we actually have and are using a system developed by our own university family members. This surely makes us proud of our instructors who are not only proficient in sharing their field of expertise to class discussions but are actually applying their knowledge to a system we are currently using.

But as experts would say just choosing between outsourcing staff or in-housing does not necessarily mean straight success to the organization’s business. Until now we are analyzing which feels better – the previous system or the existing implementation?

My Stand

Having thought about the scenario of our university I am coming up to a position for which I think is better for the information system functions of the university. My evaluation is guided by these factors I have gathered from my research:

Cost

- In-house (or outsource) labor costs

- In-house (or outsource) equipment costs

- In-house (or outsource) ‘other’ costs

- In-house (or outsource) annual expenditure

Features and functionality

Efficiency of operations

Quality of service provided

Security of service provided

Reputation of vendor (in outsourcing) / staff (in-house)

Current technology

Cost

I don’t really know how big or small of the university budget will be sliced out to the labor cost of developing and/or maintaining the IS of the school. But I am sure that the major part incurred is the wages paid to the system developer. In the case of outsource service provider, the university doesn’t have to pay for benefit expenses, payroll taxes, and sick/leave/vacation allowances. But granted that the ones working for the system are present university staff, I think it is quite lesser than long-term expenses paid to outside company.

In terms of equipment, well, I should say that the university is not really that streamlined when we talk of hardware components. We have some computer units to use, some good ole servers and mainframe, but I don’t think it is more than enough. Anyway, the workmen’s computers are just those which they use in other transactions, the university did not invest in equipments needed to system development. (More about this on current technology issues) I’m just wondering if they thought of looking for some software and miscellaneous materials needed for it.

The ‘other’ expenses are perhaps in the form of monthly office rentals, employees’ training expense on software installed, fees paid to technical experts and maintenance operators, that is, on the side of outsource service provider. In the case of our university programmers, monthly office rental is not a problem, as well as training expense (our faculty and staff have experience and potential) and fees to maintenance operators (since we also have school operators assigned in computer maintenance).

The above factors can be summed up to total expenditures that we can calculate by long-term budget. Well, in this case, I cannot give you the exact amount to compare the costs of hiring the university personnel and outsourcing the service. Only the administration knows that. Hehe.

Features and functionality

The system’s performance level should be well taken care of in the sense that the personnel should keep an eye on the maintenance procedure of the ongoing processes. In the case of university’s in-source staff, they have timely access to the IS because they are existent workers of the campus. I guess this is better than outsourcing staff because our faculty have high priority on having immediate access to our school’s system. On this matter, they could easily check the functionalities of the current system and can easily modify its features if there be any urgency to do so.

Efficiency of operations

The reliability and efficiency of the system procedures are high on the organization’s list in that it requires effective communications. Having pointed out some outsource drawbacks regarding communication on both parties, and benefits of outsourcing more on the skills side, I can say that we could still maintain a good system even by in sourcing. Regarding the capability of staff we are not that behind, and communication gaps won’t be a problem since they are within reach.

Quality and security of service provided

We don’t need superb information system, we just need an efficient one adequate for the university’s needs. Well, that is, as for the moment. As soon as we address the needs of the university’s information system functions, there’s no reason in deterring the advancement of our IS be it in the interface or functionality side. In the long run, our IS staff will be able to maintain and improve further the quality of our IS. I should say that security will not be a major issue here since there is no need for confidential information to leak out of the university premise. Since service quality is essential and security is vital, the university has more control in in-house staff rather than outsourcing these services. Our developers are our own family. I’m pretty sure they can be trusted enough in their field.

Reputation of vendor/staff

This is something to be checked out especially when we give a critical task to the one who will do the project. When we outsource, we have to check the background of the outsource service provider, their skills and capabilities, relevant case studies and success stories, and the like. In the case of our in-house staff, their reputation is well-known in the university (and vice versa!). Like I’ve said, the personnel tapped by the administration are trained and have spent years in experience in their profession. We also have some co-faculties who could recommend them.

Current technology

Here, we are talking about the IS functions of the school in general and not only in the enrolment system development. I should say that the university should make investments in equipments necessary for the university’s business procedures. I have read that the relatively low rating of current technology factors results from two broad concepts: larger institutions have established technology standards and require new applications fit their standards, rather than considering new platforms for each new application; and, smaller institutions tend to make greater use of outsourcers, and therefore delegate the definition of the enabling technologies to those outsourcers. I must admit that the university is on its way to improving the technology we are using. I guess I should share these points in evaluating in-house or outsource decisions:

- Will a modern archive system architecture be easily integrated into an existing IT system?

- Will it sufficiently scale as the business grows?

- Does the IS solution sufficiently support the business policies of the institution?

- Does the technology assure long and reliable data life?

If I am to ask, I should say that we can keep in in-housing our IS staff as evident in the key points I have mentioned above. But I think we should consider outsourcing the equipments our university is using since initial costs as well as long-term maintenance operating cost is a primary factor of the university’s decision, and we can’t say that we could provide our necessary tools and equipments as soon as we urgently need it.

Regarding the question on whether in-housing or outsourcing services will really improve our university, it depends. But I’m quite sure that we have at least capable personnel potentials (the question now is the budget support of the university for the project) so we have less need to outsource staff services, yet we are fairly deficient in terms of material resources so outsourcing can be considered. The number of years that the equipment(s) will serve the company and its depreciation value will have to be added to the operational cost annually, and these should be included in evaluation.

References and resources which supported me in making this essay:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing

http://www.ictstandards.com/Advantages_And_Disadvantages_Of_Outsourcing.htm

Sustainable Development Communications Network: In-house staff vs. outsourcing

http://www.sdcn.org/webworks/content/inhouse.htm

Medical Transcription Outsourcing Cost Benefits Louisiana:

http://www.medicaltranscriptionsservice.com/medical-transcription-outsourcing-benefits-louisiana.html

Outsourcing IT Development: Advantages and Disadvantages by Basil Tesler

http://www.webspacestation.com/it-outsourcing-news/articles/outsourcing.html

Outsourcing: The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Outsourcing

http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/outsourcing-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-outsourcing-536182.html

In-house or Outsourced Image Archive Services: Plotting Position and Course

Whitepaper by Dana Gould & Aaron McPherson October 2008

http://viewpointe.com/files/Viewpointe_ImageArchiveWhitepaper.pdf

Wikipedia.com - Outsourcing

MS Encarta Dictionaries

Updates in Major Paper 3

Interview Proper: August 27, 2009 at the NCCC Davao ICT Department

Key People Involved: ICT Manager and Staff

Interviewers: 2 groups (Querubin's group and Hilado's group)

Time: about 2:30 pm

Remarks:
ICT key personnel answered the queries in assessing the Information System department of the company guided by the set of questions being submitted prior to the scheduled date. The group was able to take some pictures (as proofs) of the interview, and gathered facts about the IS.