Information Communication Technology and the Role of Social Media during Queensland Floods - Assignment Example

Reflective Learning Name Instructor’s Name Course Name and Code Date Recently, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become a significant and accepted part of our daily lives. The importance of ICT is increasing in people’s lives and there are high chances that the trend will continue to the level that ICT literacy will be a functional requirement for people’s work, personal and social lives. Globalization coupled with innovative information and communication technologies are affecting various societies in the world and are prompting organizations to re-engineer and re-think the ways they run their operations. Information and communication technology is causing a societal evolution which is based on acquisition of information and disseminating knowledge and allowing establishment of an information society that has innovative means of communicating which aid in augmenting competitiveness for an organization and individual. Diffusion of these technologies in various levels of social life and economic conditions is gradually shifting the global society to an information society and at the same time spiraling globalization where various forms of information are merging to from an electronically delivered system, which can be accessed from various parts on the globe (Ahmed, 2013, p.1). In 1990s, there was an unprecedented connection between organizational growth and development with technological information. Furthermore, as the connections between information technology and economic development became more clear, various governments in the world began to invest heavily on developing their national information system infrastructure. Subsequently, this resulted in major changes in activities and relationships of organizations and individuals in society resulting in emergence of an information society that services offered by information and communication technology represents a number of opportunities and challenges for society (Ahmed, 2013, p.1). Presently, business and socioeconomic development is served better through by a wealth of knowledge and information, which is disseminated through global networks. The ICT infrastructure helps in making easily accessible with enriched values to society that is exerting pressure on firms worldwide so that it can make use of all the alternatives as well as opportunities that presents so that it can leverage on efficiency and productivity. Increasingly, businesses are realizing the relevance of information and communication technology so that they can be more competitive with various global implications to employment, productivity and profits. To some extent, organizational operations are soon becoming unthinkable without efficient and effective use of ICT particularly in the global society since information travels fast across national territories (Ahmed, 2013, p.2). It was predicted that during this century the world will be smaller, societies would get access to novel and faster information and communication technology. Respectively, the gradual shift towards an information society will be irreversible and it will affect all the elements in the global society. Formulation of national infrastructures in countries will contribute to creation of global information society. During the last decade, the concept of national information infrastructures has increased and information became something very valuable asset. This infrastructure entails information, which is converted and collated into digital forms, the software and hardware available to user to process information, physical infrastructure that includes satellites, radio communication networks and terrestrial cables. Others include telecommunication services especially file transfer, electronic mail, interactive access to databases as well as interactive digital image transmission and application for the abovementioned levels perform processing, storage, transmission functions and the users aware of potential of ICT and condition necessary for the optimum use thereof. Information society has become a global element and important aspect of change in the general society. ICT has business and entertainment value, which people are willing to access and even pay for if they are required to; therefore, information is a product. For developing countries, information infrastructure is an element of social and economic improvement and it has a major support mechanism, which can assist in leapfrogging stages, which can help in attaining quality life and better living standards. In the present cutthroat competitive environment access to information and mobilization of information are the central elements of productivity as well as competitiveness as well as invested needed to develop information technology infrastructures prompts developments and enhances structural adjustments in numerous industries and services. PIIT has made re-evaluate my degree as well as the career path that I had planned to purse. PIIT has helped me evaluate my degree since I have analyzed a number of aspects regarding PIIT and my degree. I have attempted to find out how the two fields are related and what are their strongest points and what are there weakest point. I have also been able to find out where there should be changes in PIIT so that the course can be in tandem with the degree course. I have also re-evaluated how PIIT and my career are related. First, the two have direct relationship since PIIT is related to information technology and my career is related to information technology. After learning the course, I acquired information that has helped me to know other roles related to my career path, these are system administrator, administrator, network, IT operations, user support, programmers, testers as well as bus analysts. By understanding these roles, I have been able to broaden my scope regarding my career path and it has made me more flexible since I can comfortably switch from one IT career to another since I have mastered the basics of various fields in IT. The course has increased my passion for IT since after joining the course my interest augmented considerably. My aspirations have changed a lot since as I had mentioned earlier that the course is very flexible consequently, I have become very flexible in what I learnt and this has helped me feel flexible since I can now switch into different careers in IT-related fields, for instance, system administrator, network, IT operations, user support, programmers, testers and bus analysts. Various behaviors are essential for any ICT professional working with a team or group members from various backgrounds. Any IT professional should always be conscious that he is constantly positioning and marketing himself through the quality of output and in ones interactions. Technical excellence ought to be accompanied by interpersonal excellence. There are various interpersonal excellence that match with technical excellence, for instance, persuasive communicator this entails being succinct, warm and energetic, engaged by being present always, being motivated by going an extra yard so that you can achieve your goals and lastly the IT professional should be well presented by dressing for the role that he wants to progress to. There are a number of ways that I contributed to sound team performance first of all I helped in ensuring that there if fair distribution of responsibilities in the team since fair distribution of responsibility will help in motivating team members and none would feel he is being overworked or he is benefiting at the expense of someone’s else. I also contributed to sound team performance by ensuring that I undertake my responsibilities religiously so that each member in the can also be motivated to perform this prompted other members of the group to work better. To help the team work better I was involved in team coaching. Team coaching is very fundamental since it helps individuals understand how they can work better with other team members. I used team coaching so that I could reduce conflicts and at the same time improve working relationships in the team. Through this strategy the focused on its work and attained its objectives. For the team to work effectively, I focused on interpersonal skills instead of individual development. The manner in which teammates relate and communicate with each other is very important for effective team performance. It is worth noting that one can have individuals who can perform well in a team but still have performance issues. It is for this reason that people ought to learn to do work together and understand how they relate with one another. I also helped in better team performance by understanding dynamics of the team. I started team coaching by understanding team dynamics. This entailed determining how members of the team relate to each other. It is evident that almost everyone has a different way of communicating and working, the moment we meet someone who has a style that is different from what he is used to the person becomes frustrated, and one does not recognize the unique strengths in the person. For greater team performance, I established behavior expectations. Understanding people’s perspectives is an approach that can be used to improve relationships among various members of the team. Nonetheless, teams are supposed to follow the laid down rules so that they can attain their goals. For instance, one may know that Brian does not like having conflicts with team members; nonetheless, one cannot accept that Brian does not like having conflicts when you expect the same Brian to offer expert opinion, which is not likely to be in tandem with the required consensus. I could have my teamwork better by evaluating the reward system. Often, individuals have competing values, these can become a key obstacle to efficiency and unity of the team. For instance, it is not unusual for any organization to encourage teamwork, and still reward individuals who have performed exemplary in the team. In case this happens, one can expect problems with members of the team who consider personal reward better than team performance. When one has cross-functional teams, loyalties will get effective teamwork. When members of the team have personal goals, which are in tandem with team goals they result in hidden behavior among team members. As a team leader, I think I could have improved the team’s performance by establishing where competing values originate from and how they can be solved. I would also have improved teams performance by supporting individual development. As mentioned before, teams have different members with different capabilities and talents. Consequently, team members should learn from each other how to go about various issues in the team and this will help in easy and faster sharing of information between various team members. Additionally, when one acquires something new from a team member he is likely to master it faster compared to when he acquired the skill from somewhere else. I can improve performance of the team by being sensitive to the differences and get resources that can aid each individual’s development goals. The performance of the team can be improved by finding ways so that people can be coached. Regularly give feedback, develop individual performance objectives, make a follow-up with the training opportunities as well as develop great team behaviors. Two questions There are a number of roles in the modern day ICT professional they include testers, IT operations, bus analysts, user support, programmers, network, system admin and admin. In future, these roles will improve since the ICT sector is improving on a daily basis. I did not judge my profession since I never knew that it dealt with a wide range of issues. Furthermore, considering that the sector is ever changing contributed to me not judging the ICT sector therefore it was reasonable for me to be in the system first before I can make any judgment. PART B This paper seeks to critique the role of social media during Queensland floods. Social media especially Facebook and Twitter was used during the 2010-2011 floods that rocked the Queensland (Australia). Social media was also used after the Queensland floods. The social media has been very instrumental in the past when there were such crises that faced the community. Disaster management agencies, particularly the Queensland Police Services (QPS) used social media to disseminate important information when there was the flood and even after the floods. Local communities in Australia considerably relied on the information from social media so that they could get flood information as well as to get in touch with family members and friends. Before beginning the course, I thought that social media could not be used in providing information to the families affected by the disaster. However, after the presentation on social media during Queensland it became apparent that social media could be very instrumental when calamities have affected a particular community. Initially, I thought that social media such as Twitter and Facebook were mainly used for communication between individuals but could not be used when a disaster has affected a community. It was after this presentation that my perception of Facebook and Twitter among other social media changed completely. After the presentation I felt it would be prudent if social media would have different sections, for instance, sections that one could update information regarding disasters, what is on your mind, technological developments. When there are different sections in the social media it will help in quick response to disasters that strike the society. For instance, disaster agencies will be able to respond promptly, this will increase the chances of survival compared to when there is slow response by the disaster agencies. Having different sections or a section that is dedicated to disasters will also help in provision of relief by various members of the public. As a result of the presentation, I gained a lot of knowledge regarding social media and response to disasters. Comment on Professionalism article According to the Australian Council of Professions, they consider profession to be disciplined individuals who adhere to the ethical standards and hold themselves out are accepted by the general public as having special skills and knowledge in a recognized body of learning. The recognized learning is derived from education, research, high level training and are prepared to exercise these skill and apply the knowledge in the interest of other individuals. Usually, a code of ethics governs activities related to each profession. These codes necessitate practice and behavior beyond personal moral obligation of any individual. Code of ethics helps to define and demand high standards of behavior with respect to services offered to the general public and when handling professional colleagues. Additionally, profession implements the codes and the professions are accepted and acknowledged by the community in general. One of the questions asked during the presentation is whether ICT is a profession. There were also other questions that were asked, for instance, are computer science profession?, is information system profession? Alternatively, is software engineering profession? These are some of the questions that were asked. These questions helped in broadening my scope regarding ICT since I was able to find out that ICT has various related fields, for instance, software engineering, and information system and computer science among others. The presentation was instrumental since I conducted research to find out the finer details regarding computer science, information system and software engineering. During the presentation, I was able to get more information regarding the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which is the Australian association for Information and Communications Technology. I was able to know that ACS views ACS considers ICT as a profession. During the presentation, I learnt a lot regarding IP3 view of a professional. I learnt that IP3 checks to ensure that the ACS CP scheme is harmonious with the international standards for certification schemes. During the presentation, I was able to learn how to develop a skill framework. I learnt that a skills framework entails describing the entire range of ICT job activities, identification of various levels of responsibility that are possible for all the activities, identification of specific as well as generic attributes needed to undertake activities at a particular levels. There are several generic skills, which include influence, autonomy, business skills, and complexity. There are also several levels of responsibility which entail follow, assist, apply, enable, ensure and advise, initiate and influence, set strategy, mobilize and inspire. Critique presentation on communication This presentation helped me to understand various aspects regarding communication in our daily lives. The presentation helped me to understand my communication skills. I was also able to understand the various types of communication skills, which include, excellent and outstanding, good, ok/ average or not so good. When one understands, his type of communication skills it can help me understand what he needs to do so that he can improve on it that is if he has poor communication skills. The presentation helped me to discover if I can communicate well, for instance, one of the presenters asked if one could communicate well. In addition, there are a number of things that were raised in the paper, for instance, the asked the class members if they ever felt that sometimes they could communicate easily with others or feel like you have known someone for a long time or feel very easy and comfortable when communicating with the person. He also asked if there are times that one finds it hard to speak or feel easy and comfortable or struggle to find anything to say. Communication is equal to meaning but it relies on what is received and understood. Communication can also be considered to be one’s ideas, attitude, knowledge, integrity as well as impact. During the presentation, it was evident that communication heavily relies on the interpretation one’s mind and intentions. These two elements have joined so that communication can occur. During communication, meanings are flexible; however, they are moderated by culture, experience, and context and so on. Everyone relies on unspoken and undiscussed assumptions. Nonetheless, not everyone operates under according to the same set of assumptions. There are several types of worldview, these includes society, family, culture, self-concept, experience, attitudes, education, beliefs and values. Organizations as well as organizational issues can be understood and perceived in various different ways. Language provides the potential for meaning and its only realized when individuals communicate with each other through co-action. The career path in ICT is evolving on a daily basis and this has resulted in various career paths in the ICT sector such as programmer, system analysts, analyst programmer, business analysts, project leader, architect, team leader, development manager CIO, second level support, network administrator, systems administrator, commercial manager, business development executive, and infrastructure manager, post-sales and pre-sales Careers in ICT According to the article there are a number of graduate roles in the ICT sector; this includes testers, bus analysts, user support, programmers, IT operations, network, and admin and system admin. The article advices those individuals interested in ICT that they should be clear about their long-term destination in the ICT sector. Apparently, this is important since when one has a clear career destination he is likely to be focused on attaining the career compared to when one does not have a clear destination. When one has a clear career destination it implies that he is more focused unlike one who does not have a clear career destination. For anyone to be successful in the ICT career he should follow his passion. When one follows, his passion he will be more successful compared to when one is forced to do take a career in ICT. During interviews, the potential employees should consider various things; firstly, he should be punctual. When one is punctual during an interview it helps in portraying him well compared to when he is late. When one is early during interviews it shows, he is time conscious. This will also apply in the way the person conducts his job since he will be able to meet most of the set deadlines. On the other hand, when one is late it implies that he is lazy and cannot be trusted to meet set deadline. Furthermore, the interview can also be a form of testing how effective the employees are, for example, it is day one that one is supposed to show more seriousness regarding how he will be but if the first day he does not show seriousness then he is likely to be lazy. ICT interview test on behavior, behavior can be a guide that can be used to show whether the potential employee can be trusted. An ICT professional can build his career by mixing with people who are beyond his immediate colleagues this will help in ensuring that the ICT expert gets knowledge on wide range of issues that have an impact on the way he conducts his career. References Ahmed, S 2013 The role of social media during Queensland floods: An empirical investigation Association for Information Systems, 2 (1-22). Barry, B n.d Careers in IT Grant, D n.d Professionalism. McKay, J n.d Communication what it is, why it matters on the existence of multiple communities of practice. Pacific Asia Journal of the Read More