ISM3004 Computing Portfolio Project for Jennifer Ferris
Part 1: Web Page
Hi, my name is Jennifer Ferris . I am taking ISM3004 as part of the required courses for my BA in Business Administration.
I am computer literate but I am not a techie . Like many of the people in this class, this is my first experience
with building a Web page. At first I was a little intimidated by the challenge but per my usual style, once I started
working on the project I dove right in and now find it exciting and fun. I'm looking forward to keeping a Webpage from
now on.
I currently live in St. Petersburg, FL but I grew up in the Orlando area. I'm a proud Florida native! Most of my family members live here too.
I enjoy visiting with my parents as often as I am able. During my travels to and from Tampa Bay I've seen many opportunities to get out of the car
and explore some of the local attractions.
The following links will show you how to take a break from driving next time you are traveling on the "I-4 Corridor":
Dinosaur World
Keel and Curley Winery
Fantasy of Flight Museum
I have been working in the financial industry since 1999 and have seven years prior experience working in professional environments.
My first real job was Project Designer for a fire sprinkler system design firm. This job started out as an internship offered
through the degree program at Seminole Community College and turned into a permanent position that exposed me to many facets of the small business. I gained much
of my initial business experience from my friends and co-workers at this firm and continue to use and grow upon it today. I am currently searching for an opportunity
to use my existing skills in a new and exciting way.
Please take a moment to look at my resume by clicking on this link.
Why do you think a Web presence (site) is an "essential" for businesses of all sizes?
I think a Web presence is essential for all businesses because it is another opportunity for consumers to come in contact with the brand, or store.
The Web offers a chance for small businesses to have free advertising and exposure. There are costs involved in securing a domain name but compared to
television or radio advertising, the cost is miniscule.
Large companies benefit as well. They can promote awareness about the corporation, further advertising efforts, and inform prospective investors
and job seekers without the added cost of assigning a person to do the job.
All businesses should take advantage of the commerce, advertising and informational opportunities
the Web has to offer.
Part 2: Podcast
Essay: Podcasting In The Business Environment
Podcasting is a valuable tool that can be used by any business in a variety of ways. Small business can reach their clients with ease by having the
members subscribe to the RSS feeds without wasting efforts on trying to reach customers who may not have an interest in receiving advertisements via paper
or email. Also, large companies can broadcast updates to employees with having to use the traditional methods such as voice mail or Email. Depending on
the types of updates or notifications, people can also save the podcast for future reference without having to maintain a paper trail.
I like the idea of signing up for a podcast to keep up with local sales and promotional events at stores and to keep in touch with members in my clubs or
even family. Podcasting can really change the face of how we strengthen our ties to the community. Instead of using large amounts of papers for promotional
material, recordings can be loaded so that subscribers can receive automatic updates as they refresh their libraries. And that can happen as often as they wish
all the while conserving natural resources.
It is clear to me that businesses can use this efficient and effective way of communicating with employees and clientele. Many people already have an iPod,
maybe one day we will all be required to have one in order to keep up in this hi-tech world. I know I would rather listen on the go than have to commit myself
to staying in one place for the duration of a lengthy corporate broadcast.
Click on my podcast to hear about the new releases at J-Square DVD Megastore.
Part 3: Secure Email
Essay: Secure Email
In the financial industry people often exchange personal information about their businesses. It is necessary to guard this information from being seen by others.
Sensitive information like employer identification numbers, tax filings, and income statements are traded at the beginning of the merger and acquisition process.
Trading this information among business owners and investment bankers allows the bankers to view the company’s assets and determine their net worth. Often this
information is exchanged electronically.
My experience with secure email goes back several years to the beginning of the scandals that changed Wall Street. Prior to 2002 we never used secure email and it
didn’t occur to me that someone could possibly intercept our messages and use them for their own purposes, or that they would want to do such a thing. Businesses
and banks need to protect sensitive information from outsiders because it can be used for insider trading in larger, public companies. Smaller business may not want to
share their intentions with employees in the beginning stages of an acquisition and therefore need to protect any information they choose to submit for review. The need for
protected, or encrypted, emails is valid for internal and external business purposes.
When my company first began using encryption software it was confusing to most of us. With a few more years of experience I began to understand the real reasons why we had
to encrypt certain information and eventually the process became easier to use. I find that the Thunderbird system is much easier to maneuver than the system I used to use.
This project demonstrated to me that there are ways for everyday people to exchange sensitive information without it being intercepted and becoming public knowledge.
Part 4: Collaborative Computing
Essay: Collaborative Computing
Collaborative computing in the business environment is a useful tool for geographically dispersed employees. It allows people in different places to get together online and work
on a project. This tool can create efficiency in communication for companies that have locations throughout the world. For example, if a group in a foreign country has experience
working in a specific business sector and another group in the U.S. is about to launch a new venture into the same sector they can collaborate online with the experienced team for
advice and insight on completing the launch. No one will have to attend face-to-face meetings to exchange resourceful information.
Within this type of forum communication is open to users and the information can be updated as needed. Meetings can be scheduled and conducted over the Internet. This flexibility
in use allows people on opposite sides of the globe to share knowledge without taking the time to travel. Additionally, collaborative computing can be conducted from the office, home
or abroad. All the members need is access to the Internet.
The cost savings produced by collaborative computing is significant. With collaborative computing a team can be built of all the top professionals in an area of business and
they can work from any location in the world as often as needed without the expense of traveling to an on-site meeting. For many business people time is the most precious commodity
and any second saved is appreciated. Once a company implements a system to use for collaborative computing and trains its employees they can expect to see significant savings and
increased productivity.
Some of the downfalls of collaborative computing are group participation and asynchronous communication. As the groups are divided among time zones, work may not get updated as often
as needed and there is a potential to miss deadlines if all the members of a team do not participate regularly. It is imperative to have checkpoints and deadlines to stay on track.
As group members add their input, they need to be certain they are communicating effectively because going back to confirm what someone was thinking can slow down the progress of the whole group.
Punctuality and communication skills have to be reinforced among team members in order to have a successful final product.
Overall, collaborative computing is an effective business tool and with proper training can be used to boost productivity as well as assist in getting employees closer to a desired work-life balance.
To see the product of my team's collaborative computing efforts click on Gator Video for our flyer.
Part 5: Excel Project-DVD Rental Data Analysis
Excel 2003/2007 Skills
In this portion of the Computer Portfolio Project we had to manipulate the data provided in a workbook. The manipulation consisted of extracting data from specified fields, creating a pivot table,
and using the “Goal Seek” function. Extracting data from existing fields by using the replace and find functions is useful when the field contains various pieces of information and only certain
pieces of that information are needed, or all information is needed singularly in its own field. A pivot table allows a user to see certain information in a formatted table that summarizes the most
pertinent information. The goal seek function is useful in determining quotas for items such as total revenue, unit price, and units sold or produced.
I learned how to change the information contained in a worksheet without having to retype the required portions. In the past I have worked on spread sheets that contained address information that
was downloaded from another source. The information I obtained was very often not in the form that I needed it for my final work product. I would spend hours retyping the data to get the city,
state and zip code fields separated. If I had only known back then that these functions existed I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort.
Select this workbook link to see the data that comprises the pivot table seen in this section.
Part 6: Database - DVD Rental
Microsoft Access Skills
Microsoft Access is a handy tool for keeping track of information. In this lesson we learned how to take existing data in an Excel worksheet and transform it into tables, queries, and reports. Businesses
have to be able to rely on something to keep track of the information that runs through them, linked databases are the answer.
I learned how to create tables so I can keep track of customer information that I sorted by company name and contact information. My product was DVDs and I recorded the corresponding information such as
movie title, MPA Rating, and customer usage. The relationships I created through the two types of tables were combined to make up sales information for my company. The final step in the database was to
create a report based on my tables and queries. Setting up the foundation for the reports was the hardest part. Once my foundation was laid out the way I wanted it I was able to create a report based on
specific criteria contained within my tables and queries. The report shows a readable display of criteria that I chose to report on. In this case it is PG videos by outlet.
For a business to run smoothly all the bases have to be covered so each unit of the company can communicate as efficiently as possible with the next. For example, if there is an administrative unit keeping
track of sales contacts and a sales unit keeping track of products, it would be most efficient to link the two units together by a shared criteria, or relationship. As a company grows so does the
information it gathers. A database, like the one I created in Access, is dynamic. As the products and customers change the database grows and in turn remains efficient and keeps a user in touch
with all aspects of the business.
Select this database link for a complete view of my work saved in Access 2007.