At first glance, the topics that were given seemed somewhat mundane and lackluster. I enjoy using tools like Excel, but writing about these tools seems rather dull. Seinfeld said once that there is nothing more boring than analyzing a joke. Because of this, I chose to research knowledge management. It looked like the least technical of all the choices. What is fascinating is that once I began reading and conducting the actual research on the topic, the technical aspects seemed to become the most intriguing. How does one quantify knowledge? How does one use IS to transfer this knowledge to other people?
The quantification of everyday life is what has drawn me into the field of accounting. Accounting has become extremely reliant on tools like Excel. There is no better way to visualize the quantification of everyday life than through Excel. In this way, accounting is extremely reliant on MIS. I spoke to a recent graduate from Penn State who said that MIS is one of the most fundamental resources she uses in her job every day. IS have allowed humans to grow exponentially and institutions have learned how to harness IS resources to take advantage of the individual human capital that each person has.
This assignment is probably one of my favorite assignments of the semester so far. It is hard to believe this semester is almost over. I love diving into the exploration of new material and trying to connect it to something I already know. LionSearch is an utterly fascinating tool. Using the skills learned at the beginning of the class allowed me to utilize LionSearch entirely. While conducting my initial research to determine which books I would be using for this paper; I was able to find some excellent books for my personal reading. I feel that one has the choice of either continually growing or becoming stagnant. I choose the later. What is interesting is that the research I conducted from this paper will be transferrable to a paper I am writing for a scholarship which is due at the end of April. Honestly, the hardest part is stopping at four pages. I can easily see expanding on this idea for a thesis later in life. At this point, I have written the entire paper, but now I must edit it down to meet the 3-4 page requirement. My brain feels very worn out from all the writing I have done for this class as well as all the other writing intensive classes I have, but I enjoy it. It’s like going to the gym and working out external muscles. To be able to see the transformation is a slow gratifying feeling. After many years of hard work, I am finally able to articulate the thoughts in my head.