Introduction to Business computing

1. Introduction to Business computing Last session : conclusions 21 january 2003 AC 2003

2. Official topics • Master the Microsoft Office suite • Word • Excel • PowerPoint • Access • An a bit of Internet AC 2003

3. The larger view • To study tools for treating information • and to communicate • That involves • the office suite tools • Internet • Information systems • E-commerce • CRM (Customer relationship mgt), SCM (Supply chain mgt) • And the history of all this AC 2003

4. Why study the history of information treatment and communication ? • The purpose of studying history, in general, is to be better prepared to understand the future • The XXIst century is likely to be everything but uneventful ! AC 2003

5. Let ’s look at the NTIC • New Technologies in Information and Communication • As future managers you will deal a lot with Information and Communication • These are tools to create wealth • (To create wealth is one of the central purposes of running businesses) AC 2003

6. Let ’s look at the NTIC (2) • Communication has tremendous new tools at its disposal : • Internet • e-mail • Newsgroups (= forums) • ICQ (= I seek you) • Mobile phones AC 2003

7. Communication • In terms of tools it has a long history • Not to go farther in the past we can mention • The telephone • Edison’s electric telegraph • The Post office (mid XIXth century) • Pigeons • Chappe’s Telegraph (1800, by Claude Chappe, in Paris there is a subway station called Télégraphe, because a télégraphe was installed there) • Indian ’s smoke fires • The Gaulois also used fires to communicate, to gather for Gergovie, and to call for reinforcements at Alesia • The Marathon runner AC 2003

8. The XIXth century : the century of electricity • All along the XIXth century scientists worked to understand electricity (from Volta, Ampère, Faraday to Maxwell) • Then engineers were able to replace many mechanical devices by electrical devices : • Steam engine -> electric motor • Mechanical/optical telegraph -> electrical telegraph • Invention of the telephone • The understanding of the electromagnetic waves lead to the invention of the radio (télégraphie sans fil, in French) • Internet is the grand child of all these researches and inventions AC 2003

9. The technical XXth century : • The XXth century capitalized on and developped many inventions of the XIXth century : • Electricity • Railways • Cars • Vaccination • It added some new breakthroughs, among them : • Aeronautics • Medical breakthroughs (penicillin,…) • Nuclear power • The XXIst century is already fascinating… AC 2003

10. Communication (2) • More to come AC 2003

11. Information • Information media also have a long history • the invention of History about -3000 BC • the invention of the press by Gutenberg (the first metal caracters in the West ; there were some in Korea before http://130.238.50.3/ilmh/Ren/bokt-chartier-china.htm) • Which date ? The Google reflex : 1447 • Newspapers (T. Renaudot) : 1631 (or 16something) • more here : http://www.lian.com/TANAKA/comhosei/NPinEB.htm • Photography (Niepce 1826 http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/wfp/) • (improved by Daguerre, Eatsman, the Lumière brothers, etc.) • Cinema : Les frères Lumière 1895 • Radio (in the 20 ’s) • TV (in the 30 ’s) • Internet AC 2003

12. Technology • As we see Information and Communication have been using more and more sophisticated technologies • It is unlikely that it will stop (right now we are witnessing the end of the argent-based cameras, more than half the cameras sold nowadays are digital ; we can buy a 3.3 million pixel camera for 670€ rue du marché notre dame, and send pictures of Poitiers to Beijing in seconds) AC 2003

13. New • As we see there have been many steps in developping information media and communication techniques before the present day tools • The Office suite softwares are a very small part of the history of new information and communication tools AC 2003

14. When using Word, Excel, PPT, or Access... • … it is important that we realise we use information and communication tools • These have been created with a goal • Word : to make nice looking but first of all efficient business letters, etc. • Excel : to calculate and present productively, for instance accounting and budgeting data (Visicalc 1978) • Access : same kind of comment AC 2003

15. Back to Communication • The tools have undergone tremendous technological leaps… • … but the people are the same as before • Therefore the rules of communicating haven ’t changed much • Know who we talk to • Respect • etc. AC 2003

16. NTIC and palaver • When discussing, for instance, daily fees for an intervention with some interlocutor… • … and the discussion goes on and on. • It would be a tremendous mistake to curtail it by saying : • « well my fees are this, and that ’s it », • or by saying right away « OK I accept your conditions » AC 2003

17. NTIC and palaver (2) • It would be a tremendous mistake to curtail it by saying : • « well my fees are this, and that ’s it », • or by saying right away « OK I accept your conditions » • Why ? • Because the real subject is not « my fees » but « who I ’m and who are you ? » • That is a palaver. AC 2003

18. NTIC and palaver (3) • The real subject is not « my fees » but « who I ’m and who are you ? » • That ’s a palaver. • The purpose of a palaver is to get to know each other and see whether we can and want to work together • For instance : • « Is he rigid/stuck up ? Or flexible ? » • « Is he too weak ? Or able to assert what he wants ? » AC 2003

19. Communication • Communication tools nowadays are flabbergasting • Yet we communicate usually with one of the following goals : • convince people to take such and such action • to sign a contract AC 2003

20. Communication • In both cases we need to master the psychological aspect of the communication • who are we talking to • what do they perceive of me • how to convince them • do I want to sign a contract with them • do they want to sign a contract with me • etc. AC 2003

21. Communication • Mastering the tools without mastering the psychology of communication... • ...is useless AC 2003

22. Information (cont ’d) • Besides Internet there are many other recent tools • CRM customer relationship management : it treats customer information to make the sales dept much more efficient • SCM supply chain management : it makes plants/factories much more efficient in getting their supplies (Raw materials) • Manufacturing Information systems : to make plants more productive • E-commerce : commerce using Internet ; the commerce part hasn ’t changed (and in fact there are examples in the past of distribution channels with no client/product contact and no client/salespeople contact : mail order sales !) • E-learning : using to NTIC to make teaching and learning more efficient AC 2003

23. What ’s the purpose of learning ? • (not get a diploma : that ’s only the proof that we learned, that ’s not the goal) • Get a great job • To be well trained, well prepared • to open minded • Prepare for a good future (for ourselves and for what we will have in charge) • Improve our knowledge • To have informed opininons • To be autonomous and creative and not just a « mold-copy » • To be useful • To be accomplished, TO BE RESPONSIBLE AC 2003

24. Learning (cont ’d) • So we need to get information • mastery of techniques and facts • Understand facts • Think • We need to know quite a bit of History • Why ? To foresee a little bit the Future AC 2003

25. Learning (cont ’d) • We need to know quite a bit of History • Why ? To foresee a little bit the Future • The XXth century was rather hectic (cf for instance the US interest rates in the 19th and 20th centuries http://www.forecasts.org/data/index.htm) • What will the XXIst be ? AC 2003

26. US interest rate AC 2003

27. Will there be major conflicts ? • Conflicts of the XXth century : • WWI • Armenia • WWII • Middle-East wars (1956, 1967, 1973, 1991, Intifadas) • Korea • Vietnam • Algeria • Many wars in Africa : Boers, Tutsis and Hutus • How to reduce their number in the XXIst century ? AC 2003

28. Will there be major conflicts ? (2) • How to reduce their number in the XXIst century ? • Let ’s understand better how they arise • -> let ’s study History • Internet is a great provider of information (neither more nor less reliable than in books), but much faster to get ! • Then let ’s understand and think. AC 2003

29. Will there be major changes in the World order ? • What happened in the past ? Leading countries per period : • 200 AD : Roman empire, Han empire • 1200 : Cheng Ji Sihan (Genghis Khan) • 1500 : Spain • 1700 : France • 1850 : British empire • 1950 : America • 2030 - 2050 ? • Possibly China (if you work hard at ESCEM ; here we teach mostly techniques and also some facts…) AC 2003

30. Will there be major changes in the World order ? (2) • 2030 - 2050 ? • Possibly China (if you work hard at ESCEM ; here we learn mostly techniques and also some facts…) • We need to develop a business and historical culture • Read the newspaper at least once a week • Take part in discussions • Have an opinion on all important societal topics (but an informed one) • Not only will this land you great jobs… • … but it will make you great managers and people responsible for the Future AC 2003

31. Techniques, Facts and Opinions • Techniques : ESCEM teachings • Facts : your questions, read the newspaper at least once a week, Internet • example : today is the 40th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty. What is the Elysée Treaty ? • 1963 French-German cooperation treaty • Opinions (informed ones ; uninformed opinions are useless, weak and dangerous) AC 2003

32. What were the Evian accords ? AC 2003

33. Techniques, Facts and Opinions (2) • An example of question : • related to Turkey • « should it become a member of the European community ? » • Have an opinion ! (an informed one) • Defend the Pros, then the Cons. AC 2003

34. Techniques, Facts and Opinions (3) • An example of question : • related to South America • « should the IMF lend more money to Argentina or not ? » • Have an opinion ! (an informed one) AC 2003

35. International legal system • It is likely that the XXIst century will witness the emergence of an international right to intervene into domestic affairs of countries • But it will have to be codified • Argentina is one of the next candidates for such an intervention AC 2003

36. Techniques, Facts and Opinions (4) • An example of question : • related to Africa • « what ’s going on these days in Marcoussis ? » • There is a peace conference concerning Ivory Coast • Know the fact ! • Have an opinion ! (an informed one) AC 2003

37. Techniques, Facts and Opinions (5) • An example of more business oriented question : • related to America • « what is the US trade deficit in 2001 ? (the difference between their exports and their imports) » • http://www.uaw.org/publications/jobs_pay/01/0901/jpe06.html • Know the fact ! • Have an opinion ! (an informed one) AC 2003

38. Good sources of Information • General : • Search engines : Google, Altavista, Fast, Voilà, etc. • Newsgroups : Google Newsgroups (ex-déjà News) • On line newspapers : • NYT, LeMonde, WSJ, Washington Post, etc. • Specialised sites : • for instance Hoover ’s on line for financial data • A page of tools : http://lapasserelle.com/sm/web_tools.html AC 2003

39. Good sources of Information • A page of tools : http://lapasserelle.com/sm/web_tools.html • Use it to find Amazon sales revenues for the quarter ending Sept 2002 : ….. ? • In three days will be published the figures for the next quarter. • Those persons working at Amazon, that already know the figures are forbidden to buy or sell Amazon stocks on the Nasdaq • Why ? (After all they have the information…) • Because it would be using « Insider information » AC 2003

40. Using Hoover ’s on line... • Who are Amazon ’s main competitors ? • Which ones are profitable ? • What is Microsoft last quarter data • Revenue 7.7 billion dollars • and Profit 2.7 billion dollars • What is IBM last quarter data • Revenue 19.8 billion dollars • and Profit 1.3 billion dollars AC 2003