Sustainable and Disruptive Technologies

Sustainable Technology

A sustainable technology that I use frequently is my cellular phone. This is a sustainable device because I require its services throughout the day and without it, it disrupts my means of communication. Also, it is very sustainable because it allows me to use internet, SMS messaging, and also calling other people as a means of communication.

Disruptive Technology

A disruptive technology that I used everyday was my old car. This was a disruptive technology because it would cause problems for me and thus I could not use its services on a daily basis. Having to take the car to mechanic constantly, not having it start, having it stall on you on numerous occasions are examples of the disruptive forces that were caused by this car. This can be made more sustainable by buying a newer care the is more reliable and has good consumer reports.

A Business I have taken part in

A business process that I have recently taken part in is by buying a new phone. I recently bought a brand new BlackBerry mobile device and there were business processes involved in buying the device. These business processes were:

Activity - by buying the phone itself from the provider I took part in the activity of purchasing the phone and the procedures the provider follows by inputting information into a computer and checking the the database if they even have the phone

Resources - the resources could be the people working to help you buy the phone of your choice and another resource could be the money you use to pay for the phone

Facilities - the inventory and database used to help me provide the phone I want are facilities to help me purchase the phone. Also, the factory that the phone is made is a facility and also the call centre is a facility that is used to provide help for you

Information - telling the provider that you want to buy the phone and thus making them create an invoice with your information and then having the product shipped is with information that you provide helps with these processes

My Typical IS Day

Information systems I use in a typical day are mainly my BlackBerry mobile phone and also my laptop computer.

An example of the five components for my computer are:

Hardware - the computer itself, the hard drive
Software - games I have installed on the computer, Microsoft paint,
Data - graphics that are used in the game is data, the colours I use in paint, different paint tools in the MS paint program
Procedures - taking care of the objectives in any game that I play, making a picture in the program paint, editing pictures
People - the people in this component is myself

An example of the five components for my BlackBerry phone are:

Hardware - the BlackBerry device, the Media card used to save data
Software - programs in the phone (i.e. BlackBerry Messenger, Score Mobile, games in the phone)
Data - music and the programs you have saved on the phone are data and also the data you can store on the media card such as pictures, videos, music etc.)
Procedures - storing the actual music on the phone, taking the pictures and/or videos and editing them on the device
People - the people in this component is myself

Business Leaders I Admire

Jim Balsillie

Jim Balsillie is an admirable leader because of what he has done with the Research In Motion company and particularly with the BlackBerry product. I admire the fact that Jim Balsillie received a MBA from Harvard and has translated that education into business success. Also, Jim Balsillie has been ranked as one of the top 5 richest people in the world. It is also admirable that he is also pursuing different business ventures by trying to acquire the rights to a professional sports team.

Shawn Carter AKA Jay-Z

Jay-Z is an admirable leader because of his rags to riches story. Jay-Z grew up as an african-american male in the projects in Brooklyn, New York and was never given a chance or hope to become something and is now one of the most successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. Jay-Z is a part owner of the NBA team New Jersey Nets and also started the Rocawear clothing brand. This admirable story gives hope to people and prove that anyone can make it in the world of business.

My Community Involvement

Community involvement is important not only to show that you are taking interest in the community but it shows that you are willing to help people and try bringing about some sort of a positive change even if it is on a small-scale. Some activities that I have been involved within the community are:

1. Helped organize 7 blood donor clinics for the Canadian Blood Services
2. Involved with Knights Table Soup Kitchen
3. Involved in running for breast cancer with CIBC (Breast Run) and “5 Kliks for Kids” (Peel Children’s Aid Walk)

These activities have allowed me to showcase that by helping the community you are trying to make the environment that you live in a more enjoyable one not only for yourself but the people around you. This can relate to my career goal because by making the work environment more enjoyable and showing people that you genuinely care, it helps your fellow co-workers be at ease with you and also shows that you can be approachable at anytime regarding a problem or just to give advice.

Personal Achievements that have been highlights for Paul

I am an avid sports fanatic so therefore a lot of my personal achievements have been in the field of sports and more so in the sport of soccer (aka Futbol or "the beautiful game").  I have had the good fortune to have been able to travel and play soccer and also was fortunate enough to play at a high level and be a captain of my team and represent my city and province and sometimes in international play be able to represent Canada. Some of these personal achievements included attending the 25th Dallas Cup in 2004 in Dallas, Texas where I had the opportunity to represent the province of Ontario and also display the talent of soccer in Canada by playing against a Bolivian Academy team and also a team from New Zealand. At a different juncture in time it was a highlight for me to be able to play against the professional Mexican club team Cruz Azul and represent the City of Brampton.
Being able to captain a team has allowed me to show my leadership qualities and thus I think this can also help me with my career goals. Relating this to my career goal of banking, being able to show leadership qualities to the workforce can allow people to be able to approach you and thus be able to help them. Leaders are required to lead by example and so if I fail at being to accomplish a task or job then it will be detrimental to the company. I believe that if I could be a leader on the soccer field then that experience might be able to translate in the workforce.

What is a career goal in business for Paul and how can he prepare for this career?

Currently a career goal of mine is to pursue a position in field of banking and in order to pursue this goal it is important to receive an education. To prepare for this career goal I am currently attending Sheridan College to pursue an advanced diploma in Business Administration with a specialization in finance. After pursuing this diploma, I would like to further my education and apply to university to try and attain a degree in the field of either business or economics and at the same time keep that specialization in finance. This could be a good start in preparing for this career. Another tool that could help in the preparation of this career would be to pursue part-time employment in my spare time with a bank to gain experience in the workforce and maybe be able to connect with others who can help in the advancement of this career.