Other Information and Ideas
At the Intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Business: Addressing Global Issues (2013)
This paper was prepared for delivery at the March 12 Conversations with the Faculty at Maritime College.
This short paper puts forward the hypothesis that a source of sustainable competitive advantage for a state (i.e., nation) is its ability to execute the STEB (science, technology, engineering, business) cycle faster than other states (i.e., the competition).
At the Intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Business: Addressing Global Issues (pdf, 683K)
System Design and Control within the Context of Supply Chain Management Certificate (2011)
This note is a composition of of four other notes and positions the System Design and Control course, part of trhe Supply Chain Management Certificate, in the context of two other courses, Supply Chain I and Supply Chain II, thus providing guidance to the student.
System Design and Control within the Context of Supply Chain Management Certificate (pdf, 7.5M)
Norwich University Research Papers (2009-2011)
I wrote six research papers during my course of study leading to a MA in Diplomacy from Norwich. Links to the six are below with the seminar in which they were written and in the sequence in which the seminars were taken.
International Relations: Chinese and United States Trade Policy: September 2009
International Economics: Complexity in International Economics and Finance
International Law: Complexity in the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen
International Commerce: Standards and Principles Project
Note: The research paper for this seminar took the form of a voice-over PowerPoint presentation. The document provided here comprises the slides and script for the presentation.
Cross-Cultural Management: The Affect of Cross Cultural Management Factors on the Design of Global Business Systems
Global Corporate Diplomacy: Corporate Conversations with the State
Thinking About a Career (2010)
I am asked by students from time to time to “find them a job” or “help them find a job.” What is generally missing from this request is information that helps me help them. Here, I lay out that information – role, responsibilities, risks, rewards – that students need to provide to me or anyone else for that matter from whom they are requesting help.
Thinking About a Career (pdf, 151 KB)
Preparatory Note for the Tenth Annual Symposium on Communications and Communications-Intensive Instruction (2010)
The Tenth Annual Symposium meets April 30, 2010. I have again been favord by the Bernard L. Schwartz Institute at Baruch College and will act as a facilitator. It has been my practice since the 2006 symposium to prepare a document to held me get my mind around trhe issues to be discussed. Below you will find a link to the paper for this symposium. Caution, it is but a brief sketch and warrants more thought than I have been able to provide over the last few weeks.
Preparatory Note for the Tenth Annual Symposium on Communications and Communications-Intensive Instruction (pdf, 1.1 MB)
Notes from the IT Frontline Post 2003 Addendum (2009)
I served as guest lecturer for three sections of CS 100 Introduction to Business Computing. The attached presentation was the basis for my remarks. The original presentation, Notes from the IT Frontline October 1, 2003, can be found here.
Notes from the IT Frontline Post 2003 Addendum (pdf, 620KB, screen shots no narrative)
DL ala Drogan (2009)
In response to a request from a student:
"I have registered for the subject class and is the first time I take an online course.
I was wondering if you could walk me thru it... since I have no clue as to what do you need for me..."
I wrote "DL ala Drogan."
DL ala Drogan (pdf, 1988 KB, contains screen shots)
The Intersection of Global Awareness and Technology Literacy (2009)
I have from time to time become involved in the assessment of undergraduate and graduate courses of instruction. Recently I was asked to assess two graduate courses for the students’ grasp of issues related to global awareness and technology literacy. While these were at the same institution and at the graduate level, they were two independent efforts.
However, I am left wondering about the relationship between these two issues.
The Intersection of Global Awareness and Technology Literacy (pdf, 78KB)
Some Comments on Academic Assessment (2009)
I’ve been involved in this process for the last year at two four year colleges granting undergraduate and graduate business degrees. By academic assessment I mean that work done by the college to satisfy state educational departments, accreditation bureaus, or other institutions to which the college is responsible. This is a brief paper that emerged from these recent experiences.
Some Comments on Academic Assessment (pdf, 49KB)
A Center for Learning (2007)
In the nearly four years I have been at Maritime College and my increased use of the Westport Public Library over the last six years I have developed a deeper appreciation of the value of library in the communities of which I am part. This paper discussed the future development of the library.
A Center for Learning.pdf (144KB)
The Relevance of Data, Information, and Knowledge (2007)
A recent essay in my TMGT 7200 Management Information Systems for Transportation online graduate class for Spring 2007 provoked me to write this note exploring the meaning of relevance of data, information, and knowledge.
About the Inbound (2007)
I have mused about skills in multi-sensory communications and offered the hypothesis that “Inbound communication skills must be as strong (stronger?) than outbound communications skills.”
This paper expands upon this hypothesis and offers some suggestions as to how to deal with the issue.
About the Inbound.pdf 148KB
The Role of Visualization in Communication (2007)
I made a post in cac.ophony.org the resulted in an additional inquiry as to what I meant by "pattern matching." I deemed my response to long to be placed in cac.ophony.org and have posted it here.
Keeping Current (2006)
This is a short paper I wrote for my students describing how I keep current in subjects in which I need (part of my job) and want (personal interest) .
Here is the link to the paper.
Keeping Current.pdf 155KB
Channels, Audience Needs, and Communications: The Rise of a Idea (2007)
After this year's Schwartz Symposium, where I once again served as a moderator, I decided to publish a short paper describing the results of the table discussion in which I participated. Described is the evolution of an idea and the research needs it suggests.
The link to the paper is below.
Channels, Audience Needs, and Communications - The Rise of a New Idea.pdf 102K
Preparatory Notes for the Seventh Annual Bernard L. Schwartz Symposium on Communications and Communication Intensive Instruction (2007)
A few days ago I served as a moderator at the Seventh Annual Bernard L. Schwartz Communications Institute Symposium on Communication and Communication Intensive Instruction.
The theme was:
"New Rules: Convention and Change in Communication."
Below is a link to my preparatory notes.
Schwartz Symposium Seven.pdf 153 KB
Closing Words - CUNY Conference on Academic Integrity (2007)
On March 9 I was asked to be the closing speaker at this conference. The edited transcript of my remarks can be found in the following link.
Closing Words - CUNY Conference on Academic Integrity.pdf 50K
A QuickTime video of the conference can be found here.
Another Look at Communication Effectiveness (2006)
The Sixth Annual Bernard L. Schwartz Communications Institute Symposium on Communication and Communication Intensive Instruction prompted some additional thinking on my part.
Below is a link to this muttering and musing.
Preparatory Notes for the Sixth Annual Bernard L. Schwartz Symposium on Communications and Communication Intensive Instruction (2006)
Earlier this year I served as a moderator at the Sixth Annual Bernard L. Schwartz Communications Institute Symposium on Communication and Communication Intensive Instruction.
The theme was:
"What is 'Effective?': Assessing Communication in Education and Business"Below is a link to my preparatory notes.
Connect, Communicate, Learn (2005)
Connect, Communicate, Learn is a paper that examines the experiences gained during 2004-2005 using SLN and CourseSpace in three undergraduate and eight graduate courses with 220 students at Maritime College. Two courses were distance learning, nine were hybrid.
These experiences are described in terms of outcomes, observed strengths and weaknesses, and potential opportunities and threats. Feedback from the students is provided.
At the heart of this paper is the hypothesis that the integration of pedagogy and technology provides for a very rich learning environment and experience, but that it is not for every teacher and every student. Hence, careful vetting of the participants is critical to success.
The Computer as an Aid to Teaching Critical Thinking (2005)
Recent conversations with Kognito Solutions have, amongst other things, been about the use of the computer as an aid in teaching critical thinking skills. In particular, the specific situation under discussion was the application of fact‑based, hypothesis‑driven reasoning to case studies. This note is an elaboration of that idea.
The Computer as an Aid to Teaching Critical Thinking.pdf 181K
Some Ideas on the Application of Information Technology to the Freight Railway (2004)
This item is a tune-up of a briefing I did some years ago. The ideas seem to me to continue to be relevant.
Some Ideas on the Application of Information Technology to the Freight Railway.pdf 462K
How to Use Computers and the Internet in Daily Transactions (2003)
This is a presentation I was invited to give to Prof. Karl Lang's Introduction to Information Systems and Technologies course on the subject of Transactions and Technology, Baruch College, November 2003.
How to Use Computers and the Internet in Daily Transactions (2003)
Next Generation Railway Operating Systems (2001)
This discussion document examines the reach, range, behavior, and business value of Next Generation Railway Operating Systems (NGROS), postulates the shape of NGROS, deals with matters regarding its acceptance and implementation, and recommends next steps.
Balancing Security and Customer Service (2003)
It seems to me that there is the letter and the spirit of the security initiatives. Firms have some leeway as to how, when, and with what force they will deal with these matters. And, of course, the firms have similar options when it comes to the mix of customer service. It's the process of trading off these decisions in search of that combination that best meets the goals of the firm that interests me.
There are a large number of articles in the trade journals and the growing body of research that focuses on security -- its mechanics and its costs. I'm finding little, however, that directly relates security and customer service.
Then there is the follow-on question. If security has a negative impact on customer service, how do you sell that idea to the customer?This short paper discusses this matter, identifies a desirable outcome, poses issues, and calls for further discussion.
Keeping Track in Issue-Based Consulting (2003)
Issue-based consulting is an extremely powerful approach to uncovering the real issues that confront our clients. It can also uncover a large number of objects that need to be woven into a compelling story for change. For example, 45 formal interviews conducted during a business alignment and application of information technology engagement at a major railway uncovered about 300 separate issues which, when analyzed, fell into 16 thematic areas.
Some method is necessary to assure that “things don’t fall through the cracks” and that as the engagement moves forward the reasoning that leads to findings, conclusions and recommendations is not lost.
This paper describes how I have used Microsoft Access as an aid in keeping track of stuff encountered during engagements
Forces (A Research Project - 2003)
The world has become a messy place.
The principal external business drivers (forces) to which organizations must respond have achieved levels of unpredictability and velocity of change that most of us would not have imagined just a few years ago. The business of business has become increasingly problematic.
This turbulence is made manifest in the share markets of the world, the ebbs and flows of the global trade network, the polarization of the distribution of wealth, and the increasingly tenuous relationships between cultures.
The world is one “permanent whitewater” and is likely to remain that way well into the early decades of this century.
Still, one must find a way to survive and thrive amidst this storm. This research is about some ideas (also forces) on getting safely to “the other side.”
Notes from the IT Frontline - 1965-2003 - From Punched Card to PDAs (2003)
This PowerPoint presentation covers some of experiences and lessons learned from career of helping companies improve their performance through the application of information technology.
I was asked to present this subject to the Information Systems for Managers class at Baruch College during the Fall 2003 term. This is an update of the same subject presented in the same course during
the Spring 2003 term.Notes from the IT Frontline - 1965-2003 - From Punched Cards to PDAs.pdf 1,533K
Optimizing the Supply Chain (2002)
At the 17 October 2002 meeting of the FINE Network a participant raised the premise that a more through application of principles and practices of mathematical optimization can improve the performance of the supply chain.
The intent of this paper is to begin a discussion of this matter to culminate at some later date in a conclusion as whether or not action should be taken to move further forward on the premise.
Notes for a Guest Lecture on Organization Culture (2002)
These notes are from a recent guest lecture at Baruch College.
Relating Information and Transportation (2002)
The transformation of organizations from lower to higher levels of performance is sometimes dependent upon the degree to which the information seen by decision makers relates, or links to reality. For example, in one case a large freight transportation carrier indicated this to be a major issue inhibiting the achievement of its goals.
This paper identifies a set of issues, hypotheses, and questions that require consideration when relating information and transportation. It then provides a set of conclusions and recommendations.
An Outsourcing Business Relationship (2002)
A study of the alignment between the Business (the users) and Technology (the Information Technology department) at The Company raised the issue of how The Company and The Provider could collaborate in a more structured and formal way to enable The Company to extract higher levels of business value from the investment in information technology.
This document investigates this issue and is written from the point of view of The Provider.
Discussion Around a Masters Program in Supply Chain Management (2001)
A University is “…considering expanding its graduate course offerings top include a specialization in Supply Chain Management.”
The purpose of this discussion paper is to put forward my views on the purpose of and approach to creating this program.
Discussion Around a Masters Program in Supply Chain Management.pdf 238K
An Innovative Business Model for the Freight Railway (2000)
The article (first published in the February 5, 2001 edition of Traffic World) lays out the case for a fundamental redefinition of what railroads are all about.
An Innovative Business Model for the Freight Railway.pdf 32K