*needs help with some coursework*

[StoneR]

For all you guys who've covered business etc take a look at this:

• Explain why smaller organisations might use Distributed Processing, rather than Centralised processing.
• Explain the processing of customer accounts data is likely to differ between a small company such as Craig Dhu Beer, and a large organisation.

I'm a bit stuck as I wasn't in this lecture and my lecturer refuses to help me!
(Craig Dhu Beer is just a random made up company we're using)

TIA :D

[Afty]

What is "processing" of customer accounts?

Questions like that are the ones that make me think "business" qualifications are like chocolate teapots.

[UberMonkey]

I think this is ICT :P

[pen]

Ask someone in your class that was there at the lecture to borrow notes?

Stop smoking so much weed and go to your lectures!

[LiQuiD_PyTHoN]

Questions like that are the ones that make me think "business" qualifications are like chocolate teapots.

but arnt all qualifications from uni are lik that though. useless and waste of time :/

[Nalan]

Apart from the logical answers we can give you I think the lecturer is gonna be looking for certain words and terms that he taught during the lecture, therefore you're better off getting the notes from someone who was in the lecture (if there was anyone there :p ).

[Nalan]

but arnt all qualifications from uni are lik that though. useless and waste of time :/

Useless not necessarily and waste of time...yes...

[TheDon]

but arnt all qualifications from uni are lik that though. useless and waste of time :/

Most, not all :p Medicine, law, and some random science ones are useful.

[UberMonkey]

need SOMETHING to do while you enjoy living on campus for 3 years...

they dont really let you stay there if you're not studying :)

and the experience seems worth the debt.. a degree is a bonus

[KBB]

but arnt all qualifications from uni are lik that though. useless and waste of time :/

What a load of ********! There are a huge number of stupid degrees out there, I'll give you that, but the experience of uni and having a good degree on your CV can't put you in a much better place for starting a career!

[LiQuiD_PyTHoN]

I'll give you that, but the experience of uni and having a good degree on your CV can't put you in a much better place for starting a career!

You still start near to the bottom due to no real experiance :/

[bright_]

KBB-Apprenticeships generally put you in a much better position starting off a "job" with a company, as you've already been in the job for 3 or 4 years effectively.
They gain a pre-trained new starter who has all the technical skills and qualifications necessary. You also don't get in £15k of debt with an apprenticeship unless you cock up your finances somewhere down the line :)

I'd like to point out i'm biased as I am an apprentice, but my brother and his friends having just come out of uni, are going to be earning much less than i will when i hit their age. All depends on what your going to do!

[KBB]

But Uni gives you a lot of opportunity to get experience - just look at how long the summer breaks are - summer placements aren't hard to come by if you start looking early!

Yes you start near the bottom, but you then also have a much easier ride moving up the chain - if you join a grad scheme then you are likely to do something like 2 years of training to get you up to speed, and then you are sorted :)

[KBB]

brightside - I'm certainly not dissing apprenticeships, they are certainly a fantastic way to enter the workforce! Everyone has their own path - I'm just pointing out that a good degree isn't a total waste of time! :)

[Afty]

the experience of uni and having a good degree on your CV can't put you in a much better place for starting a career!Only at extreme large companies that have HR departments instead of people who know what they're hiring and why.

Of course there are many useful uni courses, but they are primarily the technical ones - a large number of the courses have little to no value beyond the piece of paper they're printed on and certainly don't prepare people for the "real world".

People talk all the time about the contacts made at uni being worth it etc. - but try working hard and well for a couple of different firms over 3-4 years and you'll not only have skills and experience but also a much better and more useful network of contacts.


The questions posted by the OP are utterly useless - and sound like, as another poster has indicated, they will require answering by rote repetition of the concepts and keywords that have been taugh - and I can tell you now there may be serious misconceptions at work.

I've seen companies with 4 employees handle customer relationships more professionally than companies with 4000 - and vice versa. Size of business, due to the ubiquity of cheap IT hardware and software, is far less relevant for data-intensive tasks than it was a couple of decades ago.

In fact, it's hard to say without more detail but it sounds like this guy is being taught UNTRUTHS, all in the name of paying a wage to a lecturer and a dean. Universities are, in many ways, like any other industries - setup to make as much profit as possible from their customers - the students.

[Dr_Dunce]

From past experience of looking for a job I've found that the better the qualifications the easier it is to get a job. Also the number of (and wages of) 'entry level' jobs requiring degrees and diploma's is rather sickening.

The fact I had 'A' levels helped me alot in getting a job, employer's I had interviewing me didn't seem to mind what I had an 'A' level in, but more of the case I was able to apply myself to a certain level in order to get things done. Presumably the same would apply to university qualifications, obviously to a higher level, imo University isn't a waste of time - Assuming you don't waste the oppurtunities presented to you (i.e. get drunk every night, flunk out, and waste thousands of pounds and months of your life)

[Quietus]

Universities are, in many ways, like any other industries - setup to make as much profit as possible from their customers - the students.

A lot of university money actually comes in from the research being done there, so they are a bit of an odd balance.

[Strych]

but arnt all qualifications from uni are lik that though. useless and waste of time :/
"But aren't all qualifications from uni like that though?"
Obviously my tutition fees have paid off.

[RocketKnight]

The questions posted by the OP are utterly useless - and sound like, as another poster has indicated, they will require answering by rote repetition of the concepts and keywords that have been taugh
Indeed. The only good "real life" answer to business exam questions is "more information required". It's not what the exam boards want though. Used to piss me off, I much preferred questions where you were given a 20 page case study before hand and were required to research the industry. Then when they ask you a vague question, you're required to apply it to something more specific and not waffle in vague generalities hoping to pick up marks for buzzwords. That's just a memory test.

[Neon]

University isn't about education. It's about learning life skills, such as self discipline and time keeping.

[pen]

University isn't about education.

Quoted for prosperity

[Thrud]

I can see both sides of this as a graduate who never got a job in the related industry to my degree!

Looking at employers they will often want both, a degree and experience.

Therefore, in retrospect, skipping Uni and getting a job in an industry you want to work in is a good idea.

If you were wondering... my degree... Geology, and yes it is a good degree, if you want to work as a Geologist! My career... I organise Stag and Hen weekends...go figure!

Mind you, this doesn't, any of it, help the OP with his coursework!

So here's a hint, and something I only realised a few years after completing my degree and having to spend a bit of time back in the lecture theatre. Lecturers are oppinionated, they DO NOT know it all and are sometimes found in lecture theatres because they failed in the real world. Therefore, go to your lecturer, tell him that you want a copy of the lecture notes and handouts or you will be taking the matter further. (Provided you can bluff a good excuse)

[Qdos]

University isn't about education. It's about learning life skills, such as self discipline and time keeping.

Which are much better learnt outside of university.
Being late at Uni - get notes of mates, perhaps a gentle ticking off from your tutor at worst.
Being late at work - you'll get fired.

The real world offers much greater motivations and opportunities to learn life skills. And apart from vocational degrees, very little of what you learn at University will ever be taken into the real world.

[KBB]

Only at extreme large companies that have HR departments instead of people who know what they're hiring and why.


At graduate level HR departments generally do the initial screening of applications, but after that its likely that you will be interviewed by a manager (who you'd hope have a fairly good idea of what they are looking for).

I've just done the whole "interview process" to death at graduate level, and I agree with what what Dr Dunce is saying - my degree simply got me to the interview - the interviewer had almost no questions about my degree - they wanted to know about what other skills I've got, what activities I'm involved in and what kind of person I was. In some interviews its been made explicit: "Give me an example off ..... from outside your degree".

Of course uni doesn't give you ALL the life skills, and yes there is a massive gap between the acedemic world and the "real world", but if you actually put real effort into a good degree course it can be really worthwhile.

[Ryvita]

There are a number of professions out there where a degree is still, for better or worse, a prerequisite.

Medicine (Nods at Strych), Engineering (Nods at... himself), Lawyers (Anyone want to admit being one? :p)

Until such time as people who been brought through the system without a degree are the ones taking interviews and offering jobs this will remain the case.

Ryv

[Crea]

And for other's its basically a waste of time and money... <sigh>

[her0n]

Who says the OP is at university? It could be college.

[gabes]

Only at extreme large companies that have HR departments instead of people who know what they're hiring and why.




What the **** are you talking about?
Do you have any clue what Human Resources does?









I'm annoyed because I'm studying for a Masters in Human Resource and Knowledge Management and with your usual flair for complete ignorance you are making comments about things you know nothing about.

[Devvy]

He speaks from experience and I rather agree with him.

[bacardibatman]

Do it yourself :p

Bloody lazy student :D

[Afty]

I'm annoyed because I'm studying for a Masters in Human Resource and Knowledge Management and with your usual flair for complete ignorance you are making comments about things you know nothing about.You're studying for your degree, and you're attempting to lecture me, someone who binned university and went straight into industry many years ago, about HR departments and their role in companies - companies in which I have been working for most of the last decade, and you have been reading about for how long? And for how many hours per week? And how many weeks per year?

I almost didn't reply because you do such a good job of making yourself look so foolish with a comment like "Im doing a degree in X, so I know more about it than someone with years of experience" - but then I figured you might not have realised that yourself.

[Strych]

Afty, don't be so goddamn arrogant.
You may have experience of industry, but unless you've got years of experience as an HR person, then you DON'T know more about it than Gabe. He is studying at a postgrad level where he is benefitting from the compiled and condensed experience of people who know a damn sight more than you do.

And, if you're going on "you can't lecture me about X because you have no experience of it" then you, as someone who has never been a graduate, cannot lecture anyone about what graduate employment and recruitment is all about.

Come on Russ, you can do better than that.

[kandy]

Its quite true actually, especially in IT related companies.

I've seen people chuck CV's with degrees and no experience straight in the bin before, and I've always beaten people with degrees in interviews as I skipped Uni and went straight to work.

Heck, I didn't even do college so when you have 6 years experience under your belt at 22 it is worth more than any degree.

I have personally shortlisted candidates for roles under my supervision before and a degree is almost as bad as having a CCNA/MCSE and no experience.

[MONK]

The comment about experienced people are better is complete rubbish! Yes they can be better and I am sitting here typing this near some very impressive people who didn't do the whole degree route. However I have also worked with people with 10 years experience who really don't know anything.

Degrees can be very important and it'll probably give you a job as it shows at one point in time you were able to learn the material asked of you. It also shows you should be able to go on and continue learning new technologies, systems and management abilities.

To say either route is worthless is wrong beyond belief, simple fact is that with a degree it is easier to get a good job to start with. It is also much easier to get a high level job with a degree call is snobbery if you wish but it is true. Personally I do not see either route as exclusive I personally have been working down both routes.

It will also help if you want to get a profession qualification that can lead to chartered engineer status etc.....

p.s.

If we are all at i30 we could continue this over a nice pint :D

So if this post made no sense then you know why! ;p

[QBlank]

I left college travelled a bit then went to work at Peugeot, I was 20 with a few shoddy GCSE's and 2 mediocre A-Levels. Call it luck but at 22 I was rather high up in a marketing department earning way above average for my age with lots of nice perks (company car, fuel, medical) blah.
At 24 I realised I just wasnt ready for a career so packed it all in and came to Uni in sunny Birmingham, I want the experience of a student life; to meet new people from all over the world and until I start a business truly be my own boss.

My point here is from my experience ANYONE can get ANY job if they want it badly enough and have a little bit of luck (people leaving higher up just after you join etc) Its not about experience, its not about qualifications, if you get an interview that is your 10 minutes or so to nail the job and you dont need any piece of paper with experience or BA/Bsc etc to make it happen. If you dont get the interview first time keep trying.

(sorry Stoner, no help at all!)

[kalleth]

I've seen both sides of the coin - i'm actually starting uni in Sept. after putting it off (read: wasn't intending to go) and getting a job in an industry i like for a couple of years, then running my own business for the last (and next) 6 months.

A degree, for better or worse, does significantly improve your chances of getting higher paid contract work, no question - agencies thrive on CV throwing at larger organisations so they tend to pounce on people with degrees and it WILL improve your starting salary in temporary employment.

For permanent positions if you have relevant experience, and the key word here is relevant, then you're just as likely to be considered for the job as someone with a degree and no experience.

But you'll still lose out to someone with a degree and experience - i.e. someone who did a sandwich degree or summer work in the industry etc.

And your start money WILL be better as a graduate, no question.

End of the story is:

1) A degree SHOULDN'T be an automatic "Better Employability" tool.
2) Unfortunately, a degree is just that.
3) Temporary/Contract employability and rates are a hell of a lot better as a graduate.

Note: I'm talking about technical degrees (computing, engineering, systems development, management etc) here, a degree in Media Studies may not have quite the same effect ;)

[Moose]

Its quite true actually, especially in IT related companies.

I've seen people chuck CV's with degrees and no experience straight in the bin before, and I've always beaten people with degrees in interviews as I skipped Uni and went straight to work.

Heck, I didn't even do college so when you have 6 years experience under your belt at 22 it is worth more than any degree.

I have personally shortlisted candidates for roles under my supervision before and a degree is almost as bad as having a CCNA/MCSE and no experience.Well good for you Kandy, but you were given a chance by someone when you didn't have any experience. So are you now not passing on the favour?

The term 'experience' is as wooly as a degree in media studies (sorry media people but you're an easy metaphore). What kind of experience has a person had? If thier only formal training is by seeing what other poeple do and using the system then they could have serious gaps or complete misunderstandings.

Take SQL for an example, it's so easy to write a statement that even the business IT students can manage it. However if you don't understand what the computer is doing with each part of the statement, you can write very inefficient code. This would be a major problem for large systems and things like relational algebra will help prevent that. I can't see many work places taking time to explain, universiity or college is the only place where you can learn that.

Kalleth, given your level of ability I believe you will bored out of your mind at university (probably for the first two years) but this will give you plenty of time for the social scene :D Just remember two things, 1) you're paying for this course so don't put up with substandard lecturers and 2) go for stupidly high scores on easy units, it does wonders for the average mark.

[Steadders]

I think before more people swan in posting views, people should take another good read of MONK's post. (http://forums.multiplay.co.uk/showpost.php?p=622335&postcount=34)

However, I am interested in seeing Afty's reply to Strych...