Tag Archives: students

“Launch Lots of Airplanes”

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Knowledge at Wharton recently published, “Why the Job Search is Like ‘Throwing Paper Airplanes into the Galaxy‘.”  I love this imagery.  It clearly describes a process that, while not broken, could be much improved.  For example, apps such as  Startwire offer a supply-side solution where students pool information on search progress.

The bottom line is that interviewing requires:

  1. Patience
  2. Persistence 
  3. Confidence

in no circumstance should a student infer that the lack of a response means anything more than, just that.  I strongly encourage students to get contact information at the interview for two reasons. The first is to be polite and send a thank you email. The second is to have a followup person should you find yourself in the “quiet zone.”

Letter to a new US Marine Recruit

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normal_Stadium_Night_1.jpgHello, Fred,

    Greetings from central Pennsylvania.  So far a mild Fall, though we have dropped a few degrees just this week.  Leaves are changing and the grass grows much slower and soon not at all.  The good news is that PSU football seems to be back.  The students and fans are, of course, having a great time.  You might even hear the cheering all the way down there at Marine Corp Recruit Depot, Parris Island.
    I must tell you, Fred, that I was delighted to learn from your mother that you have decided to join the Marines and have begun this important journey.  I just wanted to write a bit and let you know how proud we are of you.  
    You are attempting to become a member of one of the greatest organizations in the history of mankind.  I know that the Marine Corp is older than the US, and has served in every major US war and Naval action.  The image of the brave Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most recognizable photographs ever recorded.  Behind the image is an even more impressive story of fierce Marine bravery:  almost seven thousand  Americans died at Iwo Jima, and all but one thousand of them were Marines.
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I am not sure what your original motivation was to enlist as a recruit, but these are the ranks to which you aspire.  I suspect some of the motivation was the pride that you have recognized in the other Marines that you have known.  You are to be commended for this observation.  As you continue, though, I believe you will discover more reasons that can only be understood by those that have completed recruit training.  That’s the way life is – only so much can be observed, the rest has to be lived.
    I also know that you have been and will continue to be tested.  I suspect that you might even have occasion to have self-doubt.  This is to be expected.  What I find more important, and more revealing, is how great people such as the US Marines find a way to work through any and every obstacle, especially those self imposed. And Fred, whether you realize it or not, setting your sites on membership in the US Marines is setting them extremely high – but at the same time, well within your reach!
    Please remember, Fred, that those of us who know you, and have seen what you have already accomplished, have no doubt – no doubt whatsoever – that you will be tested and find yourself ready!
    God be with you and your unit, Fred.  Work together to find that greatness that you will need to reach this goal, and that is inside each of you.

Sincerely, Ed Glantz

Photo Credits

Top:  2008 PSU “White Out” vs. Illinois (Penn State Department of Public Information)
Bottom:  Iwo Jima Memorial, Washington DC (www.senate.gov/visiting/common/image/Iwo-Jima.htm)

Smeal Junior Stephanie Goldberg in Businessweek

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Businessweek features Stephanie Goldberg in a September 15, 2008 Careers article titled “The New Corporate  Fast Track for Young Talent.”

Stephanie was picked from over 1,000 students to attend a three-day seminar at the Miami University of Ohio by Ernst & Young. 

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I am absolutely not surprised that Stephanie stood out.  I first blogged about Stephanie last year (click here).  She is currently a junior at Smeal majoring in accounting.  She is also completing the Information Systems Management minor offered by Smeal’s Supply Chain & Information Systems department. 

Stephanie has a wonderful personality and eagerness to learn.  Already she has completed two summer internships in the Corporate Finance for IT section at Morgan Stanley, New York City! 

Student Spotlight: Andrew Morris and SAP

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Andrew Morris is currently a senior Supply Chain & Information Systems student with an Information Systems Management minor.  I was his MIS 390 professor last spring, and asked him to write about his summer internship at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Plainsboro, New Jersey where he was able to put into practice some of the course concepts.

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 Andrew worked in the Global Product Planners department that is responsible for planning the inventory for the company’s products.  Andrew worked with the enterprise resource planning software SAP.  He found this to be most interesting after hearing so much about it.  He primarily dealt with the Bill of Materials and how it is costed.  Andrew’s key responsibility was tracing the manufacturing cycle of key internally manufactured and actively managed products

 Andrew also used Microsoft’s Excel and Access daily.  He says he “got to meet a lot of great people and I learned a lot and I definitely think I will benefit from this in the future.”  

Student Spotlight: Congratulations, Leslie Hubbard!

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Congratulations to Leslie Hubbard on her Fall 2007 graduation from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.  Leslie graduated with a BS in Supply Chain and Information Systems with honors in Supply Chain and Information Systems, and a Minor in Economics.  Her thesis was titled “Gauging the Preparedness of Recent Supply Chain Graduates with Respect to Job Skills.”  As Leslie’s Thesis Advisor, I was very proud to attend her Fall 2007 graduation along with her parents, Ruth and Phil (photo below).

 

LeslieH.JPGLeslie’s activities at Penn State included independent study as a MIS 204 Teaching Intern, Thon Rules and Regulations Committee, a tutor at the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student Athletes, a Smeal Building Ambassador and Smeal Representative to Undergraduate Student Government (USG).  She completed two internships, a co-op, as well as one summer studying at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.  Her Awards and Honors include the R. Gene Richter Scholar, Dean’s List (every semester), and Honor Society Memberships in Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Eta Sigma.

Leslie now begins her career as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting, LLP in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Student Spotlight: Phuree “Will” Smittinet – Finance Grad

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Will Smittinet recently graduated from Smeal with degrees in Finance and Economics, with a Minor in International Business.  Will is currently completing an executive internship in the oil, gas, and petrochemical business in his native Thailand.  He will complete this internship in a few months, after which he will return to the U.S. to complete an M.S./ Ph.D. at a top school.

I first met Will as an MIS 204 student, and came to know him much better when he returned to complete independent study as a Teaching Intern.  I would describe Will as very unique. He is quite gracious, and able to carry a tremendous intellect without a trace of pretension.  Below are his thoughts on “MIS 204 in Practice.”

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Our company encompasses the entire petrochemical value chain from upstream (oil research and drilling) to downstream (retail sales and service).  As such, all information – from the price and quantity of raw materials to the final products – play a crucial role in our short and long-term investments.  This is true whether it is gasoline, polypropylene, or even the type of plastic we plan to make today. We use IS to support our use of both physical goods and also financial derivatives to maximize profits and minimize effects from oil and gas price fluctuations.

Management Information Systems (MIS) plays a crucial role as a supportive system for information processing and management roles. As I travel around the world, I rely heavily on speed, accuracy and up-to-date information from our MIS and IT departments. The bottom-line of my company investment portfolio, as well as my short and long-term strategies, always depends on access to quality information.

In the oil, natural gas, and petrochemical business, the margins along the value chain are quite slim, highly competitive and regulated.  As a result, the profit and loss on middle to downstream processes are less than a point of a percentage basis.  Even upstream projects only yield a relatively modest margin, despite requiring massive amounts of research, cutting edge technology and investment.  As a result, access to information can yield modest, but important, upstream gains that can be used to offset middle or downstream losses.

Increasingly, we rely on IT, MIS and more recently Knowledge Management (KM).  KM enables the instant transfer of knowledge between experienced employees and executives, even after some have left or retired.  KM guarantees that our company will not suffer a shortage of either technical or personal expertise, allowing us to maintain a good relationship with our partners, suppliers and customers.

MIS 204 offers a wide and critical perspective on how to use and even request additional services.  These services could support split-second investment decisions. In fact, I believe that our trading team (who purchase a billion barrels of crude oil and gas daily) requires even more IS support today.

Thanks, Will S.

Student Spotlight: Stephanie Goldberg – First Year Student Interns at Morgan Stanley

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Picture 1.pngMy internship was in the Corporate Finance for IT section of Morgan Stanley in New York City. I was primarily dealing with maintaining and enhancing the reports and their related systems used by the financial controllers. The Morgan Stanley corporate Data Warehouse used to store this information is called WISE (Warehouse and Integrated Services for the Enterprise).

Employees at Morgan constantly refer to terms learned in MIS 204 such as metadata, legacy systems, and middleware to discuss problems and explain how the system works.  This internship helped me to see the real world application of the concepts learned in class.  Programs such as Microsoft Excel, Access, Word, and PowerPoint were highly used and knowledge of the programs is expected of all employees.   

Overall, taking MIS 204 helped me greatly by giving me the insight into the IT world to be able to effectively understand and exceed the knowledge expectations of how information systems worked.

Even though I am an accounting major, the knowledge that I gained through the internship as well as in MIS 204 will be of extreme value in the future.  More and more professions require knowledge of IT and MIS.   

As a message to MIS 204 students, I would like to stress that the information in the class is used in the business world in all fields.  You do not need to be an MIS or IT major to be expected to know and understand these terms.  In the Accounting field, for example, new departments called IT Audit require knowledge of information systems as well as knowledge of accounting.  The world is becoming more diverse and an understanding of information systems and MIS concepts will give you a competitive advantage in the business world.   

 I just want to thank you for thoroughly explaining the complexities of information systems and MIS concepts because it has greatly increased my knowledge and was extremely beneficial in my performance as an intern at Morgan Stanley.  Please let me know if you would like me to further explain anything I mentioned.   

 Thank you,

 Stephanie Goldberg