Learning Team A Reflection Essay

Throughout this course, we established a foundation in understanding Business Information Systems. This week’s objectives were to describe how wireless technologies are used in the workplace and how to use spreadsheets in business situations. While some members of Team A were well versed in Microsoft tools, others had their first lesson on Microsoft’s Excel and Access fundamentals. Team A’s members range from a project manager who attained their Associate Degree in Computer Programming, a logistics specialists for Amazon.com, a employee in the Hilton Hotel industry, and a wine educator working in hospitality—all very different fields with varying levels of information systems background. While for some it was a review, Team A can all agree that each and every one of us gained a better understanding on how and why information systems accomplish business objectives. Cheryl knew the degree in which wireless technologies kept users plugged into the World Wide Web. She was aware that smartphones and their many accessories allowed users to access their emails, schedules, mobile banking and participate in e-commerce as well as make online payments—she learned that M-commerce another growing trend. Due to telemedicine, modern technology has allowed the medical world to provide assistance via videoconferencing. In addition, she learned that setting up and using access points to create meshed networks called a Wide Area Network (WAN) (Rainer & Cegielski, 2011). Xavier learned the relevance of wireless technology in everyday life. More specifically, he learned of the different functions of varying satellite types to communicate information. Kelly learned about the two basic operations of data mining. According to Rainer and Cegielski (2011), data mining functions in  Ã¢â‚¬Å"predicting trends and behaviors and identifying previously unknown patterns† (chap. 11). Angeliza discovered that Wi-Fi was abbreviated for Wireless Fidelity as well as the synchronization of using Microsoft Excel with Access. With the objectives of Week 3 in mind, Team A members have found varying ways in which we can apply what we have learned in the classroom into our professional or personal lives. As a project manager, Cheryl can utilize Excel to track cost of goods (COGS) inventory. As a logistic specialist, Xavier can use spreadsheets in generating employee lists and creating reports to reflect the volume of freight used on a daily basis. As a team member in hospitality, Kelly can use data mining to track hotel guests’ sign up and preferences. In customer service, Angeliza can use the point of sale system to analyze the day’s sales and returns (Rainer & Cegielski, 2011). The learning activities and readings have left each member of Team A with a little more knowledge than we had previously. Cheryl knows that Microsoft Excel and Access are a perfect duo: Excel creates the tables that can be exported to Access where the data is analyzed. Xavier learned how to more effectively incorporate spreadsheet into his daily work routine. Kelly understands the role of wireless information systems in the creation of invoices for clients and making it easier to calculate daily cash sales. Angeliza learned that she doesn’t need to be an IT specialist to analyze data from Excel with Access. Despite our different backgrounds, Team A members can agree that we all gained a better understanding on how Information Systems plays into effectively and more efficiently completely business goals. Week 3’s lesson on spreadsheets and wireless technologies makes us more proficient in the language of information systems in the workplace and in our daily lives. Reference Rainer, R. K., & Cegielski, C. G. (2011). Introduction to Information Systems (3rd ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database