The Database Project was a nice little project, I used Microsoft Access to do my project since I use a PC and not a Mac. I learned so much from the project being that I have never used Microsoft Access before the project. It was real intersting to see how you could import data from an Excel file and turn it to a nice readable table. The project gave me a sense of understanding on how to create a simple report or query, it also showed me how easy it can be to organize data once the database is created for the purpose desired. The only part that I think I will have some trouble with is remembering formulas and such to make validation rules and such.
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Thinking of ways to enhance the functionality of this database, I thought that we could then export the information back to Excel to create charts and graphs to see trends. These trends could range from Profit, length of membership, what part of year are people joining or cancelling. Another thing is that we could run the report, and those that cancelled, send surveys and offer promotions to return. The survey would give the company an idea on what is going right/wrong and we could adjust accordingly. It would also offer a sense to see if we would need to hire more employees for a certain time of the year or not.
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Week 4:
This week's lesson included a lot of information, such as: Strategy & Technology, The Value Chain, and Porter's Five Forces.
Much of the information I read about this week was also linked to my previous Marketing class, I love it when material seems to flow and much of the terminology is already known to me. It also gives me a sense of pleasure that everything I take from each class is connected together and isn't alien to me.
It was clear to me that when dealing with strategy and technology, you must stay up with the times, but you can't rely solely on the technology to do all of the work for you as technology can be easily imitated and rarely offers sustainable advantage. In the business world one must also be innovative and be able to sense timing. I also had a clear understanding that competition is a good thing, as it leads to improvements in the industry such as stronger products and more benefits for the consumer. It was interesting to learn that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates once worked together!
I also learned about "Switching Costs & Data" and that the costs a consumer incurs when moving from one product to another can involve actual money spent as well as investments in time and possible data loss.
Some sources of switching costs are:
One particular piece of information that I read about and watched a video on that I really enjoyed was about
Porter's Five Forces. This bit of information helped me understand the framework considering the interplay between:
The intensity of rivalry among existing competitors.
The threat of new entrants.
The threat of substitute goods or services.
The bargaining power of buyers.
The bargaining power of suppliers.
It was amazing to learn that Michael Porter had written this framework 30 years ago, and is still successful today.
All in all this was a good week of information, I just hope it all sticks with me, not only for my exam, but also as I grow and work in my career.
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