IT has not been my playing field, even since I was little, as a teenager, even up to now, unfortunately. So when there was an elective of IT Management, I embraced the opportunity to get to know more of the field. In my mind, in my roles further down the line, I have to at least have an understanding of how IT could be beneficial to support the organization.
So it was announced that the Professor, Yan Li, needed us to finish an IT book before the course started. I was pessimistic that I would enjoy the book, until I saw the book when I dragged myself to the Learning Center:
Ok, as a comic fan, I was kind of intrigued by the cover; at least it looked inviting to read. And then I started to read – and hey, it was not bad at all! It was designed as a story instead of the usual course book, telling of a person with no IT background who had to suddenly be a CIO. While the book was very informative and presented the IT management dilemmas and problems in a case situated way, the book was – how should I say it – very “user friendly” for those with no IT background. The course itself was also enriching. We discussed the problems from the book and once did a role play of the board of directors.
It was also interesting for me to understand at least the surface of IT development and systems and the strategic uses that could be perused further. We touched on Big Data, very important these days, and used Microsoft SQL to do the data analysis firsthand; discussed mobile and online shopping opportunities and trends; and the virus and social media threats vs. opportunities. I’m glad I took this course. I’m no IT expert now, but hey, I guess if I ever were faced with the same situation of suddenly being appointed a CIO (which, of course, having a probability of 0.01 – hopefully), I could live and give it a try. IT management is about management.
Cool, Reita! I bet you have the potential to succeed in the adventure if you were appointed as a CIO one day:)
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