1995-96 Administrative Forum Series
September 18, Managing Change
Margaret Ann Gray, MIT's Training and Development Coordinator, presented a workshop on managing change. The goal of the program was to explore key principles to leading change and transition and how they can be used in implementing most changes in the workplace.
October 11, Reengineering 1995: What's New?
Professor James D. Bruce and members of the reengineering teams outlined what is new in the reengineering effort. The forum covered topics such as electronic purchasing via the Electronic Catalogue, Information Technology Help - MIT's new "help desk"; reengineering MIT's mail, custodial services and maintenance; and Management Reporting and Financial Operations, with an emphasis on SAP.
November 7, Access and Disability
Barbara Roberts, MIT's Coordinator of Disability Services, was introduced to the Administrative Officer Community. The goal of the forum was to provide an understanding of disability issues as they pertain to administrative responsibilities, as well as to demystify such terms such as: reasonable accommodation, essential function, path of travel, direct threat, and self disclosure. The session covered personnel, hiring, recruiting, legal, and other ADA issues, as they relate both to employees and students.
March 7, SAP: A Sneak Preview, Room 9-150
The Management Reporting/Financial Operations Reengineering Team presented an overview of the SAP "R/3" System and an update on the progress of their projects, including plans for training users on the new system. The forum included topics such as information on the basic structure of SAP as an integrated, "real-time" system, demonstration of several business processes using SAP, an overview of how to navigate through SAP modules, and discussion of training formats begin designed to support new SAP users.
April 4, Changes in the Research Environment
Patricia Greer, Philip Keohan, Julie Norris, Chuck Shaw, and Ronald Suduiko discussed the current pressures on various federal agencies and how these pressures impact the current and future research environment at MIT. The forum covered regulatory and legislative changes MIT is likely to see in the near future, potential interfaces between the Sponsored Program Management System and SAP, among other topics.
April 26, Expectations of the Future at MIT
President Charles Vest, Provost Joel Moses, Senior Vice President William R. Dickson, and Vice President Glenn Strehle presented a state of the Institute report, discussing current issues facing MIT and impacts on the future.
May 21, May 24, May 31, ECAT: It's Appearing Soon at an Office Near You,
Members of the Electronic Catalog Implementation Team presented a workshop featuring ECAT, MIT's web-based purchasing and payment system of preferred partners. The session included an overview of ECAT, including a demo, an update on progress thus far, use of the Corporate Purchasing Card, and training plans.
June 6, The Spotlight's on You
Margaret Ann Gray, MIT's Training and Development Coordinator, conducted a workshop on presentation skills. Topics included overcoming nervousness and building confidence, how to put pizzazz in a presentation, and the necessary steps to organize one's thoughts and deliver a successful presentation.
