Math/CS Senior Seminar Jeanine MeyerSpring, 2007 Entering the business world A personal reflection on what I did not know when I starting working

Math/CS Senior Seminar

Jeanine Meyer Spring, 2007

Entering the business world

A personal reflection on what I did not know

when I starting working



Aside on my history…

• … I have had many different jobs/different organizations. This is and will be the norm.– programmer, systems analyst– (anti-war activist)– researcher, research manager, middle

manager, research consultant– course director, professor

• Many of my 'jobs' did not exist before my being hired.



New areas (for me)

• Organization

• Process

• Financial practices

Concepts and vocabulary (and jargon—which constantly changes)



Organization

• Institutions (commercial companies, organizations, non-profits, academia, etc.) have internal organizations that are very important to understand.– They often change.

• Institutions have relationships with other institutions that are also very important. – These, also, often change.



Typical company organization

• Corporate offices (staffs such as Legal)• Finance• Development• Research• Marketing ('customer relationship management')• Manufacturing• Human Resources• (Information Systems)

Mathematicians, meaning people who can do quantitative analysis, may be anywhere.



Example from IBM

• Marketing (sales force) changed back and forth from– product based– customer based– mixture

• Changing company emphasis on – hardware – software – systems – 'solutions'



Information Systems

• Centralized and/or decentralized• May be a 'CIO'• May involve matrix management• Company's Information Systems may or may not

be related to information technology products & services that are sold.

• New products always emerging and/or changing:– CIM to ERP– CRM



Other companies/entities• Branches• Subsidiaries• Vendors• Partners

– out-sourcing agency– (required) International partner

• Distribution• Government agencies• Organizations for specific issues

– ISO, W3, plus organizations for specific technical or legal issue



Customer? Product?

• Dog owner versus dog

• Multiple channels– disintermediation

• Beer coolers or refrigerator

• commodity versus high-value product/service



Reasons for dot-com collapse

• Poor or non-existent business case– how to make money (revenue stream)

• Weak integration with rest of business– no integration with [other] marketing– bad 'fulfillment', back-office, 'could not

execute'



Questions/Issues

• On what basis is someone paid? On what basis is a department/unit evaluated?– delicate issue but could be useful to

understand

• How are products & services priced?

• Who are the system owners and the system users of the IT system you are working on? How do they function?



Questions/issues for IT• What is the purpose of … new system,

change, etc.?

• How does it relate to existing business?

• Why do something / why change?– unforeseen problem– planned enhancement– new technology

• How to measure success?



Process

• An computer information system is made up of– hardware– software– people– procedures

• This includes 'the system' of building, maintaining, deploying, upgrading, and closing down information systems!



Information Systems Framework

• Systems owners, systems users, systems designers, system builders– systems architect gathers requirements, makes the

plan (old term: systems analyst)

• Focus on data, processes, interfaces, geography• Systems life cycle:

– planning, analysis, design, implementation (testing & deployment), support

– Make versus buy (term 'out-source' applies at multiple levels)



Methodologies & ToolsMany acronyms & buzz words & fads• stakeholders• Legacy systems• PIECES: need to improve

– performance, information, economics, control, efficiency, service

• Computer Aided System/software Engineering• eXtreme Programming• B2B, B2C, G2C, G2B models• ?



Business process

• 'Need to change business processes, not just apply technology to existing (inadequate, inappropriate) practices'

• Related to so-called anthropomorphic fallacy' = doing things the way a person would do them– washing clothes



Software engineering

• Ways to evaluate software– code reviews, comments– unit test versus system test

• Ways to evaluate process of producing & maintaining software– Stages: keep track of bug reports to

examining process to determine how bug got through the development process.



Finances• Feasibility

– operational: will it work here?– technical: will it work / can we make it work?– schedule: is the timetable reasonable?– economic: is it cost-effective? (do we have the funds?)

• Economic: Cost-benefit analysis– Must reflect time value of money

• Assuming you can invest & earn 8%/year, you need .735 today to have $1 in 4 years.

• (less relevant in times of low inflation)– Methods

• payback analysis– calculate time when benefits exceed costs

• return on investment– (lifetime_ benefits-lifetime_costs)/lifetime_costs

• net present value– (lifetime_benefits-lifetime_costs)



Any institution

• ….over a minimum size has organizational issues, explicit and implicit processes, and financial constraints.

• This includes:– government– 'NGO'– non-profits– academia



My observation

• Big corporations [often] have better / nicer practices than

Non-profits

Academia

Government

• However, you still may prefer non-profits, etc.



Academia

"University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small."

Henry Kissinger



Most places

• … have jargon– technical– business

– personal/local style• sports

– out in front of your defense, balk, putting game

– end game, who has the queen (hearts), hold vs fold

– Hail Mary pass

• ethnic (though not necessarily obvious)– megillah



Hours of work• Do not assume that a 9 to 5 job is solid work.

– Much socializing, • some fun, • some essential / useful to doing the job

• Some jobs require being on call.• Some jobs allow for flexible hours, work at

home: – may turn out to be more work. – You may miss the interactions with fellow workers.– 'flex-time' can be rigid…

TAKE THE JOB! Review in 6 months.



Business travelCan be

– Easier than you expect• Money solves many problems

– Limo for getting to/from airports– Most places easier to drive & navigate than NY

– Educational– Fun

– Too much can be … too much– Travel is more arduous now

• I always carry-on my talk (charts+thumb drive) and my presentation clothes



Company culture• Dress

– Interview dress should be [relatively] formal

• Promptness– You are a new employee: be early for all meetings

even if others are habitually tardy!

• Correspondence– Email and written memos. Assume formality. Assume

everything is public.

• Lunch, breaks, after work: where, when, who• Social activities• Place of family



Getting the job• [probably] more difficult today than before• The Internet mean companies getting too many

applications• Use campus resources• Use personal networks• Re-work resume and cover letter for each job!!!• Do research on company/institution• Review your on-line presence and remove anything

potentially embarrassing….• Use purchase email

– NOT silly name on yahoo, etc.

• Your first job will not be your only job!



IT jobs in USA

• News reports are that these exist and will even increase.– Need to show ability to integrate/apply

technology

• However….decrease of students going into computing may lead to downward spiral with respect to USA vs 'out-source'



Conclusion

• Questions or comments?

• Always ask questions and always listen. – May or may not pay to bluff: be careful.– Asking and listening can set you apart in a

positive way!

Documents

Math/CS Senior Seminar Jeanine MeyerSpring, 2007 Entering the business world A personal reflection on what I did not know when I starting working