DISCUSSION SKILLS WITHIN AN IT CONTEXT

TASK 1

Background: Megabux is a company currently located in the city centre of Teetown on the ground floor of a block of flats built in the 1960s. Megabux is rapidly growing and, therefore, it needs to move to a bigger facility in a newly built business centre, Intelligate, by the railway station. The management team of Megabux is meeting with a team of IT specialists to discuss about the setting up of a Local Area Network in the new facility.

Roles Megabux management team (CEO, Sales Manager, Marketing manager) IT specialists  

Preparation  As a group you can choose what kind of company Megabux is. It can be an advertising agency or a catering company or something else. The type of the company defines what kind of network is needed. You also have to think about the current set up and how the company is growing. The Megabux management team need to think about the company’s needs. The IT specialists need to think about how they can meet the requirements of Megabux, how solutions are going to be implemented. They also need to remember that the Management team may not be so familiar with the technical terms and that they need to use “plain” English to explain their solutions.

TASK 2

Now that you have completed the first task or at least have become familiar with how the first task works, can you think of similar problems/scenarios in your field that would generate discussion and that would require the participants to take on different or contrasting roles? What kind of tasks could complement this activity and encourage crosscurricular collaboration?