Elvita Quinones

Lavin is the best!

While I found swimlanes to be easier to create and comprehend, I think that ERDs would be more useful for my major. I am a double major in International Business with a concentration in marketing and French. ERDs could be very useful in IB because they would offer professionals the chance to look carefully at various stakeholders involved in the business. A key component of international marketing that I keep learning time and time again is to really understand and study your markets. You could create a detailed ERD for just one market and use it to implement or improve business in a new market. Ane because ERDs are easily accessible, and quickly available, it would be great for global businesses who may not meet in real-time. By giving attributes to the different external and internal stakeholders, you could also start to analyze the relationships they have with other entities such as resources, long-term assets, and modes of communication. On the other hand, for someone studying international supply chain, I can see why it would be useful to use a swimlane rather than an ERD.

I find that a swimlane diagram would be a better option for my field of work(banking), because this option would provide a more detailed roadmap of our procedures for opening/closing the branch, job titles and roles, other departments, etc. I work with many other departments throughout the course of my day, and it would be convenient for my employees and I to be able to reference this pictorial if need be to keep on track with everything. I would also say from a management prospective this option would be a great tool for emergency situations too, such as if there was a fire which exits are closest and safest to use. There are many more detailed ways to use this diagram, and a lot of helpful situations it could be used for which is why I would choose the Swimlane diagram for my field of work.

As a Human Resource Management major, I believe swimlane diagrams would be more useful in my career. We are able to use swimlane diagrams to determine the process of how employees will receive their paychecks. Swimlane diagrams are also used to track Wellness points and can also be used to help track personal development hours. In Human Resources, many of the everyday tasks that are completed, are completed by more than one person. That is why swimlane diagrams are so helpful, because they are a visually representation of who does what in order to complete a task.

I work in the Finance Department and I think the Swimlanes would be the best method of analyzing the processes in my department. We have several units in our department that are responsible for different functions, and some functions do cross. The Swimlane diagram would show where the process starts, and the steps that are involved in completing the process. It could also point out that some processes are redundant and should be streamlined.

In my business the ERD would be used more often. I have many customers and products to keep track of. I have information on customers like their name, address, phone number, email, credit cards used in the past, items rented in the past and how much they spent on said item. As for my products, I have the item, the size, the weight, the RIO by year, month, the number of times it has been rented, all maintenance logs, all inspection and of course the registration numbers. My system does save more than just what I have listed and I am sure it can be broken up much more. However, I am still learning the ERD construction.

Michelle Martiuk

In my place of work, a Swim lane Diagram would be the most useful. We have many SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) that out line various and tasks to ensure consistencies and cross training. What sometimes is lost in an SOP is what happens when it flows to another department. For example, I work for a catering company and when a customer places a special order it touches a few departments before eventually the client picks it up. We have multiple SOPs for each department from taking the order, to processing the order, and preparing it in the kitchen. A swim lane diagram would be helpful to show how all of these tasks flow from one department to the other.

Since I am a HRM major, I can definitely see the usefulness of a Swim lane diagram within this field. For example a swim lane diagram can be used to explain and show the process of communication for employees within the HR department. As well as you can use it to display for example a swim lane diagram of how to file a complaint, and how it gets processed. Basically it can be used to not only direct information towards employees, however, also explain the processes within. I think this is very useful, because it is direct, and to the point.

As a MIS major, I believe both ERD and Swim lane diagrams are useful. However, I think the ERD diagram may be more suitable since working in IS field requires to use and process a lot of data and ERD helps to show clearly the relationships of entity sets stored in a database and illustrates the logical structure of databases

As a Marketing Manager I find both swim lanes and ERDs could be a useful tool but I can see more value in an ERD. In a marketing role, our goal is to sell our product or service to the customer through communication and highlighting the true value of what we are selling. In order to successfully do this, we must understand our market and who we are selling to. We must understand their needs and wants and help them identify. An ERD can help us better understand through the collection of data and leads in a database. We can easily reach our entity’s, their attributes and better understand the relationships between them through this tool.

As a Business Management major, both ERDs and swimlane diagrams are great resources. In my Pharmaceutical line of work, an ERD would be a better resource. We have many different types of people on out team and each have a different role. It is hard to always remember which team member is in charge. An ERD would create an easier tool to know which team member is in charge of which process in pharmaceuticals. This helps us stay on track and we would be able to know which person to go to in order to proceed to the next step in validating the drug.

In my current career, I work for a residential management company. I believe the swim lane diagram would be very useful for different tasks that need to be completed that go through various departments. A great example is how to process a security deposit refund. This is a frequent task that starts with the resident and goes through the property site bookkeeper, property manager, the regional property manager, the corporate security analyst, and back out to the resident. I feel the swim lane is a great visual tool to use so that everyone is aware of who oversees what tasks. If something went wrong or was delayed, it would be very easy to see who was accountable for that. It is also a great tool for a new employee to have a better understanding of the process for those different tasks.

I believe that as an HRM major, swimlane diagrams would be a more useful tool within my field. What I have in mind as an example to support this claim is the multi-faceted process that is recruiting. I believe an HR process, such as recruiting, that involves decisions from two or more people (i.e. a Hiring Manager, Upper Management, and an HR Assistant) would lend itself well to being laid out in a swimlane diagram. Communication is key in the field of Human Resources, and I believe that a swimlane diagram would be the most effective tool to clearly communicate information to all employees within the company.

In my current career, we use SAP and other programs, which I wished communicated better but I use ERD programs. I need to know all my customers information at a glance, inventories, purchasing cycles, order histories, accounting data, etc. I need to place orders at real time or my customers can also order online on their accounts. I need to access data to look up their history to help them reorder items or offer ideas for alternative items. ERDs help me with my job on a daily basis and without this system; it would be hours of looking up old, out dated data.

I am a business administration accounting major. So in my specific major I feel like a swim lane diagram would be just as useful as an ERD program. The ERD would let me know specifically in the real world when I get a job in accounting specific qualities and relationships of one client, and even similar clients. I could Take an ERD and create it for clients and have within that field for clients their addresses, names, cities, states and phone number. Then I could create another field called say Financial stability. Based off the accounting information I am filing for each client I then would be able to attach in this field a list of assets, liabilities, and other sources of equity. This is just a basic example but I could continue effectively creating a database of my clients linking them through specific relationships, and in each field have specific qualities. As for the swim lane diagram I feel like that would be useful in any career or major. Certainly being able to express the logical process of decisions and who all is involved in the process would be a good tool to use. I feel like more companies should capitalize on using swim lane diagrams to weed out redundancy.

Swim lane diagram’s more applicable for my field of working to analyze processes. I currently work as a Quality Control Inspector at my workplace, and I work with closely with several departments to update and resolve quality issues. I use a document that we call “Inventory checklist” per shipment to get the information for the list of the SKUs and the amount we supposed to receive by unloading a container. I also use an inspection sheet per SKU to evaluate product qualities based on our quality standard. I analyze quality issues and share it internally with our product managers, designers, and inventory controllers depends on the type of the quality issue we have. I notify quality issues to the vendors if the quality issue to advise them just for improvement on future productions or to request replacement shipment for serious quality issues. I keep tracking PO#s and vendor invoice #s to check the inventory status both in SAP and physically in warehouse to figure out the volume of items that have quality issues. I need to improve our current quality control process and the standard for the different types of product to maximize efficiency and get rid of unnecessary steps. Getting ideas on improving process and standards can’t be done by ERD because it’s more suitable to get information on what falls into which category. Swim lane diagram will help me fully understand the logic of process and get some ideas to improve process itself or quality control standards.

Considering I am taking accounting for information systems this semester, I have learned that Swimlane diagrams are very beneficial in being able to look at a particular system and find ways to cut costs. As an accountant this seems invaluable as the role of accountants have somewhat changed. Since much of the accounting process has been streamlined thanks to technology, accountants can put a greater focus on the actual numbers they report, and make informed decisions to aid in the decision making process. I think this change is welcomed. It makes the position more interesting and allows the accountant to become an even greater asset.

My major is Business management and I feel that both swim lanes and ERD’s can be very beneficial but it truly depends on the business. In my current field of aviation, I feel that swim lanes is the most helpful. Swim lanes can facilitate which direction to go for trouble shooting or maintenance based on what the current variable is. Swim lanes can also help facilitate the ordering of parts or any other needed paperwork for the company/FAA.

A friend and I started a blog together over a year ago, and currently have one contributor that writes a blog post every month, and other miscellaneous guest bloggers that write a one-time blog post.
I recently created a document to explain the process of publishing a blog post: the writer and I come up with a topic, the writer writes their post, I proof it and give my feedback, the writer makes the edits, if the writer has questions about the edits he/she asks me, we brainstorm and agree on a title for the post, the writer submits it for review, my friend or I proof it one last time and add an image. After the post is published, my friend or I add it to our master list of posts and post it to the blog’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts using a Bitly (shortened) link.
All of this could be shown and explained in a simpler and straight-forward way if we used a Swimlane diagram. While creating a Swimlane diagram in class, I realized how helpful it could be in explaining the process to guest bloggers.

In my current position, I think a swimlane diagram would be more helpful. I’ve worked in several positions at my company, from retail compliance to AP to billing. We also have a number of subsidiary companies that I work within. A swimlane would help visualize what is done by who, which makes it easier for management to know who to ask, as well as make it easier to cross-train personnel (I’ve personally helped train at least half a dozen people on various tasks) and help new employees better know who would be able to answer their questions. These detailed diagrams would help make the day-to-day operations go more smoothly at the corporate level. The different companies and departments get even the management team confused at times.

In my current position as a receptionist, I think that a swimlane diagram is the way to go. I recently had a problem with the management and I wanted the issue resolved ASAP. I went to my boss, who then went to his boss with my request, who then had to go to her boss, who finally told me that I should’ve went to her directly in the first place. If I would’ve known the proper channels to go through initially, then I don’t think my request would’ve been as much of a hassle as it turned out to be. Our company isn’t really that large, so knowing who to go through for what is a process that should definitely be put into place so that issues like this don’t arise in the future!

In my current position as in insurance sales representative, I think a swimlane diagram could be helpful. In selling insurance products that are many procedures and government regulations a rep must follow. This can be dozens of pages which is wordy and long-winded; if that could be condensed into a swinlane diagram that could make the process and training far easier. Presenting the different scenarios that can arise in a typical policy sale into one succinct diagram could save a lot of time, prevent some mistakes, and save a company money on training.

My current career is sales and I sell B2B outbound teleservices (telemarketing solutions). I actually use flow charts (similar to Swimlanes) to help sell my solutions. So when we started learning about them last week I was already familiar with the concepts and the flow of a swimlane. Flowcharts/Swimlanes literally help me “paint a picture” for my prospects and clients. Showing them specifically how our process works and how the flow of a call will go. This absolutely helps my prospects buy into what we are selling so that we can help grow their business.

As a business management major, I feel that both swim line diagrams and ERDs are extremely useful in the business world. Depending on what field you are in would determine which diagram would be more appropriate or useful. With my experience with small businesses, I think in this atmosphere ERDs would be more useful. There are generally not many employees in a small business so tasks are frequently switched back and forth making a swim line diagrams change frequently. ERDs would make it easier for keep track of data, inventory, and orders.

As a risk major, I believe that swim lane diagrams would be more useful, as they are very effective at showing each department’s responsibility in accomplishing the business task. These diagrams show the steps of the task at hand and the resources involved, and also are helpful in showing where a mistake occurs. In the insurance world for instance, when an auto or medical claim is filed by an insured, many steps take place in order to process that claim. Swim lanes could help display and coordinate this process by showing each department, such as claims, underwriting, legal, sales, and more.

I am currently a marketing major. In the marketing area, I believe ERDs would be most useful. This is because I think they show the most data and relations to each product/entities. Marketing requires a lot of data in order to fully understand how a product can sell to a specific audience and what that audience reacts best too. I think the swim lane diagrams would be more useful for supply-chain management or finance/banking positions because they are more straight-forward and help to see where everything flows to and from efficiently.

Currently I work in the Apple store, but I’m going toward a career in marketing. In either setting, ERDs seem like they could be used more often. On the SmartDraw Software site, I found ERD layouts for inputting marketing data. Marketing requires massive amounts of data to be collected, analyzed, and sorted. ERD systems for marketing can be used for a large range of projects in order to make the data easy to navigate and understand. ERDs would help with internal systems and employee information and marketing events and results. At the Apple store we use tons of systems, some of which are derived from other or merged together in order to make a process more efficient. I can only imagine how they implement and use them in the corporate sector.

Currently I work for a Casino as a server/bartender. I find that swimlanes are much easier to understand, but I do think that ERDs would be more useful. They ERDs could be split up into sections for the types of alcohol we use, the sections we have, the different bars and restaurants within the establishment, and etc. However, swimlanes could be used to show the process of ordering drinks, reporting them to the bartender, the bartender making the drinks, then the sever delivering the drinks. This could improve that process and possibly sort out any kinks or disruptions that may occur.

The swim lane diagram is a little easier to follow and would be my preference. However, as an accounting major, I believe that an ERD would be a more appropriate approach to diagramming the details in accounting. It would be a better visual for all the parts of the processes. Yet, for a big picture flow of cash a swim lane would be a great go to tool.

Swim lane diagrams seem to connect with me as a future entrepreneur. They break down easier and would be a great tool to help organize the business flow. They can be created quickly and would help understand where departments belong and how they will interact with each other on a daily basis. Keeping things organized and simple help with cash flow and order. Swim lanes will be a better addition to the way I would like to conduct business.

As an audit and account reconciler a swim lane diagram would be most helpful. Throughout the day I work with several other departments to fully complete a task. If the account isn’t able to reconcile at the end it is my job to research the history to see where it went out of balance. A swim lane would be helpful as a visual tool to quickly identify which department signed off on item as well as the next procedure when a task is or isn’t completed correctly. In turn, the item would not create a timely exception because it was tracked more efficiently.

In my current place of work, a swimlane diagram would probably work best because of their effectiveness. They show a step by step process of the task and are able to clearly show where mistakes occur, if they occur.

In my internship in insurance, I would think Swimlanes as a method of analyzing processes and using visuals to tell a story would be more beneficial for the employee benefits sector. I think this would be more effective due to the many department communications and projects that end up overlapping multiple roles and operations. With a visual to tell the story of how one task is completed could help newly acquired or transitioned employees in a respective department – great for new employees to understand at a high level.

I thought the most interesting fact was that we have four generations of people working side by side, because this has never happened before. I am amazed that there is so many different age groups in the workforce, and did not realize that our workforce was this diverse. I think to be successful in this economy, you need to be able to adapt to the fast paced environment, and be up to date on the changing technology. Everything is going computerized, and it is important for our business leaders to have a strong knowledge of new and improving technology.

I have seen this video before. I had watched this video in another class of mine while I was attending Cape Fear Community College. I found the statement at the end of the video when it said, “by the time a freshman becomes a junior half of the information they have learned about technology has become irrelevant and outdated,” incredibly fascinating. It is hard to believe that technology is advancing so rapidly that the turn over rate for new devices concepts and technology is so rapid. I grew up on desktops, and the pre smart phone cell phones, as well as systems like the Nintendo 64. So to be in a time where there is a new audio system, or a new game system, or new advances in cars, etc every few months floors me. To come from something so basic to an era where a computer can fit in your pocket is rather remarkable. This video definitely makes you take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I definitely think staying adapt to current technology is key to success for future or current business leaders. If you fall behind the times in regards to technology your appeal to a business will also decline because it is that new technology that will reach the market and the customers.

I found many things from the video to be interesting. However, the thing that I really found to be outstanding is that by the year 2020 there will be 10 million self-driving cars on the road. That is only three years from now! Skills that I think are essential for success in the digital economy, is quick learning, high adaptivity, and being able to multitask. Those are three things that I feel will be crucial as technology keeps rapidly growing.

There were quite a few facts in the video that I found astounding. China’s honor students totaling more than our population, four generations working together, and how quickly information becomes obsolete. When the video ended, I was left thinking about what the $1000 computer would “look like” in 2049 and would it be something that is integrated with humans. The idea of artificial intelligence (AI) becoming a reality is something that fascinates and frightens me at the same time. Movies like Ex Machina (If you haven’t seen it you should!) display mostly a grim outlook on our future with the rise of AI’s, but technology is already so ingrained into our everyday lives that AI concepts are not as far out as they may seem.

One of the most interesting facts I found is that 1 in 5 divorces are blamed on Facebook. I have never heard of it before. It seems like Facebook has become an essential part of each person’s life and now millions of people are using Facebook everyday. Technology in general has developed and communicated people more effectively than ever before. Skills that I believe are essential for success in the digital economy are coding, organizational skills and innovative thinking.

While any invention these days takes jobs away, the industry could spark a host of new jobs based off of self driving cars. Anyone is the workforce today who is not willing to adapt to the changes in the world, and in business in particular, will get left behind. I think it’s all about keeping relevant skills and knowing how to apply them across multiple industries.

There were a few points that I found very interesting in this video. The thought that we are currently preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist yet blew my mind. It just goes to show how fast changing technology truly is. Another point, like Michael already stated, is how for the first time in history we have 4 generations working side by side. I happen to have a lot of baby boomers in my office and I almost have to laugh at how many times a day I hear, “It’s those millennials that think….” I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow and share this new fun fact with them. Also, the idea that if Facebook were a country, it would be the largest. Facebook, as we all know, sure has come a long way. I think back to 11 years ago when I first got Facebook because you needed a college email address to even sign up and now I have distant cousins and other family members that want to be friends. This video, and I am sure this class as well, just proves that you need to be able to adapt to change and be willing to continue to educate yourself to be efficient business leaders in this evolving technical world.

I was struck by how far the various generations of workers in the economy are spread out. My husband had commented on this within his corporation, but I had not realized the breadth of it. This fact has made me look at the next question in two different ways. Obviously the need to be willing to learn, adapt, and apply new and better technology is a key factor in being successful. If we, as businesses and people, do not strive to keep learning then we certainly cannot be competitive and eventually not even relevant. However, the other side of the issue is to not lose the ability to interact on a human level as well. Four generations in a workforce could be problematic without open-minded communication and a willingness to embrace new and sometimes old.

The most interesting information I learned in the video deals with jobs of the future. Today’s business leaders must be critical thinkers who can start to foresee jobs that don’t even exist yet. If professionals can start to do this, they can get ahead of the curve. The video says we need to start developing solutions for “problems we don’t even know are problems yet”. This is certainly one way of staying ahead.
The next bit of information was just as intriguing to me: 4 generations working side by side for the first time in history. As a business analyst intern, I worked with OLLI, a program for individuals ages 50+ who wanted to take classes with Temple University. In that scenario, communication was the most important part of doing my job working with IS. A millennial’s directions for using a system will typically be much different from those that a traditionalist or even a boomer would need to get a job done. In my opinion, the two most essential skills for success in the digital economy are 1) deeply familiarizing yourself with a system and 2) using the proper language and communication to help others adapt and understand the benefits of using those systems.

I thought the following quotes were the most interesting:

“The 25% of the population in China with the highest IQs is greater than the total population of North America… They have more honor kids than we have kids.” This is probably why people assume that all Chinese are very smart.

“10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020.” I find this hard to believe because 2020 is only 3-4 years away, and so far the tests of self-driving cars have been unsuccessful. I’m interested to see whether or not this comes true.

The map of the size of Facebook as the largest country was interesting. I’d heard that Facebook would be the largest country if it were one, but I hadn’t seen its size compared to other countries.

“1 in 5 divorces are blamed on Facebook.” This shows that something so new to our lives can have such a large impact on how we live.

“It is estimated that a week’s worth of NY Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.” This is shocking, and I think this could be part of the reason so many people are stressed and/or depressed nowadays.

In order to be successful in a digital economy, I think it’s important to stay up-to-date and flexible. Digital economies change so rapidly that people must be open to accepting the changes.

The most interesting fact for me was that 75 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020. The video shows us that over 3 billion people use the Internet now. It means that 3 billion people use the Internet via devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Therefore, to connect 75 billion device to the Internet by 2020, all every electric devices will have the Internet access capabilities. It is something definitely going to happen, and it’s something that we can’t avoid. However, the pace of the technology growth and population growth scare me sometimes. As i grew up, I’d played with LEGO or other traditional games. Nowadays, children spend their time with playing games via tablets and smartphone.

I loved this video and found it very interesting. One fact highlighted that really sticks out to me is that we have 4 generations working side by side- Traditional, Boomer, GenX and Millennials. This multigenerational workforce is very diverse. Each generation has their own values, experiences and attitudes towards the work that they do which can sometimes be challenging. I think its important to keep the lines of communication open while building a culture of respect and understanding. One of many skills I find to be to be essential for success in the digital world is creativity. This industry is ever evolving and we must be able to adapt to the constant changes that are happening around us. The more that we can “think outside the box”, the more successful we will become.

I found it very interesting that the amount of technical information is doubling every two years, and that before students could complete their third year of school the information is out dated. I think one really has to stay ahead of technology it changes so quickly. Know soon as you become familiar with something here come a new platform to figure out. It does worry me if you’re not technical savvy you may no longer have a job.

I found it interesting that we are preparing today’s students for jobs that don’t yet exist. Technology depends on future generations to progress, and IS teaches us the skills we need to create the next wave of technology. Students need to be versed in ecommerce, and need to have at least a little bit of knowledge of how software works.

There are several facts I found interesting from the Did You Know? Video, such as that India & China have more children with higher IQ’s than we have kids going to school in the U.S altogether. This was interesting because about a month ago I read an article that discussed the high percentage of individuals with genius IQ’s in India, and the possible link between higher intelligence and brain development with certain foods, herbs, and their particular diet. Another fact I found interesting was that “it is estimated that a week’s worth of New York Times contains more info than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century”. With this said, I believe that as current and future business leaders we have to possess strong analytical skills, and stay up to date with the constant growth and improvement of programs that aim to improve our businesses and daily lives. However, at the same time, learn how to effectively tune out unnecessary information and technology as to not waste our time (cough cough candy crush).

I really enjoyed watching this video, and I found a few facts to be very striking. The first fact that I found to be interesting was that India and China both have more honors kids than we have people in our country. In my opinion, this fact is an indicator that Americans are at an inherent disadvantage when it comes to being successful in an increasingly digital economy because there is so much competition out there. Education will become increasingly essential if one has any hope of staying relevant in a digital world. I also found it fascinating that we are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, which again emphasizes my point that education is essential for shaping business leaders of the future. With 75 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020, and with 4 different generations in the workforce, keeping your mind open to learning new concepts and being adaptable to change are two essential skills to have in an ever-changing technological world.

I never really thought about it before watching this video is how human communication styles changed over the generations, myself included. My grandparents mailed things, My mom calls people, I email a lot and my children text. I now text more too due to my occupation with my younger technology driven customers. That was an eye opener of how technology changed our ways of doing a simple thing like daily communication. I also thought it is amazing how we are creating and preparing for things that has not been created yet…Just amazing…

I thought the most interesting fact was that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs by 38. I think that in todays day in age- directly correlating to the video, life as we know it is constantly shifting and forever changing. Expanding further- today’s learner/student will need to take in and shift careers to excel and better themselves and their families for an income and also self-fulfillment. If there is something I need to learn and work on I try to embrace that topic and get what I can to better myself like this course for example. It is crazy to think that the first iPhone was delivered to the public in 2007! Imagine what will be in store for us ten years from now.

This video was very interesting, but what really got me thinking was when they talked about how professors especially in the technology field, are teaching students to prepare them for jobs that have not even been created yet. The entire concept of preparing students for things that are not even around yet, is really blowing my mind. However, as the video states technology is constantly changing. It will never be a stagnant field which is why we need student to study technology in order to be able to create new technologies for us to use. There was also another interesting fact that said once a student is a junior in college, half of what they have learned has become outdated. It is crazy to think that we are paying for an education just to learn outdated information, but at the same time it is important knowledge because we need to understand where technology came from and how it was created, in order to create our own vision for where we can personally take technology to the next level.

For the most interesting part of the video was that we have four generations working side by side. I found it interesting on a personal note because I now see it in my current work place and never really thought about it until watching the video, my eyes have been open. Never has there been a time where technology moved so fast and it has caused so a difference in the different generations. Going forward a key skill mainly for the baby boomers thru generation Y is the need to be adaptable. This will allow those generations to remain competitive among the younger generations coming into the work force that are used to seeing things change at a rapid pace.

To me, the most interesting things in the video were how quickly things are changing and the scale to which those changes impact us. These two factors are dependent of each other in almost every way. The rapid advance of our technology as a global entity has enabled us to grow to enormous populations. Compounded with this population growth, is the ability for more research to be done- resulting in scientific breakthroughs that help us to live longer, better, and richer, than our ancestors. With how rapidly things are changing, it really shows that the current and future generations of the world must strive to adapt to an ever changing world in order to stay viable. Therefore, the ability to change will probably be the most sought after skill for business and global leaders.

At first what struck me the most from this video was the prediction of ten million self-driving cars being on the road by 2020. Having only heard in most recent years of the testing phase of these vehicles, ten million being produced in three years seemed to be quite astonishing in my opinion. After looking into the testing of self-driving cars, it came to my attention that the first truly autonomous cars had appeared in the 1980s, at Carnegie Mellon with their project in 1984 and again in 1987 at a university in Munich. Still, having not successfully completed a full testing phase for self-driving cars, three years is a short amount of time to produce and distribute ten million.
With the times changing as quickly as they are, the most essential skill needed to keep up and be successful would be open-mindedness and the desire to learn. In order to move forward people need to accept that society is ever-changing, and they need to evolve with it or get left behind.

Almost all of these facts were extremely interesting and important to know for the future. But what the most interesting fact was, the fact that in this year, 83 million people will be born this year and they will be born into a data economy. It brought up an interesting idea as I’m sitting here, babysitting my little niece, who instead of spending time with her uncle, is staring into an ipad watching videos. I’ve noticed the dependency I have on technology like my laptop and my iphone, but for her, to see the way she reacts when an ipad is taken away from her is quite frankly disturbing. I understand it’s parenting but at the same time, I seem to think this will be the generation of more technology and less with physical communication.

But when it comes to the digital economy, this is where I feel her generation will strive. Surrounding yourself and familiarizing yourself with technology, the internet and even the basics that some don’t know, will benefit them a tremendous amount.

This was a very interesting video. I definitely was surprised by some of the information. The amount of people on Facebook is crazy! I love the degree to which technology advance but it definitely comes with a price. I can remember when you would pick up the phone and call someone that you wanted to talk to. Now much of the time conversation is through email and text messages. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly appreciate the convenience that comes with that however, I miss the human interaction sometimes. I run my own business and work from home most of the time. I have it set up that a customer can book an event completely online. Of course this was done to convenience my customers but I think great customer service is best done with human contact. Technology has made it so that many businesses today are done completely online. Sometimes I wonder if there will come a day that we are completely digital. I can’t remember the last time I have actually even been to a bank…….
I think it is very important to have advancement in technology as long as you don’t let it consume your life. It is imperative that you make time for human contact. Especially if you have a family. Our children watch everything we do even if you don’t realize it. I took my kids to the Crayola Experience the other day and was really taken back by the amount of parents that were on their phones, either face-booking, emailing, texting, or playing games. I get the kids were all playing and having a good time but as I watched and counted how many times the kids were trying to get the attention of the parents, I became sad….

This video has given more insight of how technology is advancing very rapidly. The advancement of the technology is increasing at a very rapid rate that it is getting harder to keep up with it. One of the facts that I found very interesting is that the information you study as a freshman in college will most likely be outdated by the time 3rd year gets around. It is becoming a part of an everyday life. Another thing that was shocking is that there are babies being born and trained for jobs that do not even exist yet. It is hard to believe that there are jobs that have not even been created for the growing population. My statement in the beginning holds true; its is getting harder and harder to keep up with technology at this evolving rate. I am not much of a technology person myself; I am more of an old-school type of person. I am attracted to having one-on-one contact, experiences beyond just images on Google and/or Facebook, knowledge beyond watching random TV shows, being active, etc. Even with the growing technology, I hope we don’t lose the experience of growing up while playing outside, adventures, reading and learning from actual books and much more.

This video gave more insight into how transient the world has become due to rapidly evolving technology. The most interesting point to me was that some of the information we learn in classes this year will become outdated in just a few years. Success may largely depend on the ability to adapt and continue learning new skills with technology, as learning after degrees and on the job training will be utilized more than ever in the future. The fact shown in the video that the average student today will have 10 plus different jobs by the age of 40 brings home the point that adapting to change will be key.

This is my first time viewing the video, but I’ve actually heard about it before. I felt as if the most interesting fact was also the most overlooked that’s occurring right now in the business world, having four generations side by side. I’ve actually encountered this, well I guess participated in this, during my summer internship. Additionally, but not primarily, I found it very interesting about the self driving cars as we had brought it up in lecture today and why insurance companies are nervous about the future and the reduction in need for auto insurance premiums to remain at the price they are at, as accidents will go down so will these premiums. One thing I thought I’d bring to the table, someone quoted how this advance in technology also sets back society – in a very weird way. Majority of organ donors unfortunately come from auto accidents, this advance in technology will also set back the donor inventory for organs. As a future business leader, I think it’s necessary to have a surface level understanding of everything. A diverse data set to a reasonable extent – with technology advancing in all industries for the sake of efficiency, it’s reasonable to expect business professionals to be jacks of all trades now in the digital economy.

I really enjoyed this video! In my opinion, the most interesting fact is that educators in the IT world are currently preparing students for jobs that do not exist, using technologies that have not yet been invented in order to solve problems they don’t even know are problems yet. That is a mind blowing fact. This just proves how quickly technology is advancing and there will always be a future in it. As current or future business leaders one of the main skills to be successful in a digital economy is being adaptable and open to change. It is important to stay current and have a pulse on what the next digital move might be. Another skill that I think is important is balance. There must be a balance of human interaction and technology in the digital economy in order to be successful. A strong business leader would utilize technology in order to incorporate human interaction rather than hide behind a computer or mobile device.

This video has such a “wow” factor and there are so many pieces to the puzzle of the modern technological society we are in. Children are being born into a computer age, and parents like myself, have to adjust to a new dynamic of raising them so that they are prepared for the future. Yet, like the video stated, we are preparing them for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been conceived yet, for problems that we don’t know are problems. I also found it interesting that with the doubling of technological information every 2 years, the education our children receive will be outdated before they can graduate. How do we keep up with the tech times? I think as business leaders in any industry, we would have to find the balance between technology and an “old school” type of socialization. Fast paced technology is an amazing, creative tool and asset, especially when you can combined with a firm handshake.

As a side note, I found it humorous and, slightly, humiliating that the top 25% with the highest IQ’s in China outweigh the entire population of North America.

The fact that for the first time ever four generations are in the work force together was interesting. It shows that people are retiring later, which means people need to save more often and that communication between the four generations is vastly different but everyone must adjust and adapt to each other in order to accomplish things…This Silver Suffer! I know I just said it but, the ability to adjust and adapt and communicate will be three critical skills people all must learn to have in this digital economy. If you don’t adjust (or change) your technology, you’ll be left behind, if you don’t adapt to the newest trends in technology and marketing, you’ll be left behind and most importantly if we don’t communicate effectively with each other, you’ll be left hind.

The exponential growth that technology has had since the 18th century is tremendous. This reminds me of a video I watch recently of a guy doing a mock trial to argue that there needs to be a change in the educational system. His opening statement was the difference in technology, and other advancements over the past 500 years or so but our classrooms look the same. It is hard to know what will be coming in the future but it is also important to change the way we teach and educate the next generation in order to keep up. Pointing out the IQ and the amount of honors kids in the US vs. China really helps put things into perspective. Additionally, population growth increases these numbers which helps fuel technological advancements. If our college kids will soon be learning information that will soon be outdated I can only conclude that this trend will continue on to high schools, middle schools and elementary schools over time.

After watching this video I think it is so interesting how many Google searches are done monthly and how we almost replace the words “look up” or “research” with just the search engine name of Google. I think this is so interesting because students around our age at Stanford University started Google as a research project. As current or future business leaders, I believe the skills essential  for success in the digital economy are really just keeping up with new technology and the continuance of furthering our education. The video also said by the time a class of new freshmen come in the information current juniors learned is already outdated. This really proves the need of the continuance of our education and the need to stay involved with current world advances.

One of the facts that really stuck out was that half of the information we learn in our freshman year is outdated by our junior year. It only drives home the fact that we are entering an age of continuous education. I’ve already had a new edition of a textbook be outdated by the time the course began (to be fair, it was a tax course, so those regulations change at the drop of a hat). I can’t imagine that I’m going to have to re-learn things from earlier in my education by the time I get close to finishing my degree. It then comes as so surprise we’re teaching our children how to solve problems that don’t even exist yet.

I thought that the most interesting fact was that there are 1.55 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide. I think that Facebook is very unique in the fact that it can feel both very local and personal while also connect people all over the world. I went to school with many foreign exchange students so my newsfeed often has posts from South Korea and Thailand and Germany right next to a post reporting an accident that took place 5 minutes down the road. It’s staggering to think of how many people access Facebook regularly.