My HR Chat Bot 2.0 (Assignment 3)

Reflections on Building the Chat Bot

To train my chatbot, I used a mix of professional correspondence (work emails, messages from LinkedIn, and responses to HR questions from past job applications) essays and short answers from various classes from the Baruch MBA program (including writings from a communications class, which I found highly valuable for this exercise), and various writing samples from my time as a Proposal Writer, Technical Writer, and Reporter. I felt that the writing from these areas of my life would train the AI to generate text that most closely mimics my voice in a variety of circumstances. I had no shortage of texts to choose from but found that I became picky on what I decided to include, reflecting on whether the past writing samples were still representative of how I write and sound today. I did not end up changing or (willingly) removing any of the training data I added (I included more than 30 prompts, thinking that we had to add 50 until I double checked the assignment requirements).

Once I was done with the training data and finally got OpenAI to accept my jsonl file, I tested it by asking it to write me a cover letter, which was the same prompt I used for the first part of this project, prior to training the chatbot. I decided to generate for the first time without adjusting the Temperature or Top P and was highly impressed by the output – it read much better than anything the model could produce prior to the training, and it was very close to my writing style. I played around with the attributes of the model a bit but found that leaving them at the defaults resulted in the best results.

I decided to test the model with a different scenario – I requested it summarize an article assigned for another class and summarize it, selecting a specific point to focus on. It did remarkably well at this too, although it needed a bit more of a touch up than the cover letter it produced. I added my own points to the summary to round it out and felt that it was high enough quality that I would have submitted it as a short answer for an assignment if one was requested for that reading.

Training Data/Chatbot Link

HR Chat Bot URL

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe your experience as a senior product manager at hhaexchange.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “As a Senior Product Manager at HHAeXchange, a B2B homecare management software vendor connecting providers, payers, and homecare recipients through a premiere web-based platform, I am responsible for overseeing the development of new features for the HR Management and Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) product lines. These lines are core to our enterprise SaaS product as they facilitate tracking homecare worker compliance at the state and federal level, enable homecare providers to quickly staff shifts with the ideal homecare worker, verify services rendered, and track inbound applicants to grow their workforce. My role requires daily interactions with internal and external stakeholders, including our customers, state Medicaid programs, HHAeXchange’s internal development, customer success, support, and implementation teams. Leveraging feedback from each source allows me to define and prioritize product roadmaps. These roadmaps are shared internally and with select strategic partners for refinement and approval.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Do you have an update on the project timelines?.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “I have not estimated the requested enhancements because they have not been prioritized. Can you please provide a ranked list of the enhancements by the end of the day?”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Which teams will be working on this project?”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Once we know the scope of the change, engineering leadership will make the decision to break this up amongst each team or assign ownership to a single team.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Why are you looking for a new job?”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “I have been with my current organization for 8 years. In that time, I’ve grown and learned a lot. Recently, however, I feel that there is no longer room to grow; the company has matured and the only opportunities for advancement are if people above me leave. Furthermore, I believe I owe it to myself to try something new while I’m still early in my career.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “The customer has requested a review session to discuss the project.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “I’ll schedule a follow up with them for later this week. I need time to review their questions and comments, as well as set up for a demo if they request one.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “How could driverless cars create disruption to the auto insurance business in the future?”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Driverless cars will inevitably disrupt the existing auto insurance business model as they become more prevalent. Most notably, driverless cars will largely take human drivers out of the equation. Since the majority of accidents can be attributed to human error, the incident rate and severity of accidents will decline which means that fewer claims will be filed. Insurance premiums would likely drop due to the decreased likelihood and seriousness of accidents. Additionally, as human drivers would (likely) not be culpable in the event of an accident, insurance companies will need to devise new ways of identifying the responsible party. For example, they may go after automakers themselves if there are known physical flaws in a particular car model that could cause driverless AI system to fail. Alternatively, they may go after municipalities if there are issues with the roadways themselves that could obstruct an AI from functioning properly.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Illustrate more fully what the article says about auto insurers preparing for driverless car using big data analytics..”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: Driverless vehicles require radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras to monitor road conditions effectively. All of this data is being stored and analyzed in real time by the vehicle safely navigate the roads. The result is that driverless cars generate a huge amount of data, an amount which will continuously increase as they become more prevalent and their equipment becomes more sophisticated. This does not include data that may be collected in the future related to the cabin of the vehicle (e.g. temperature, number of occupants, occupant activities, etc.). Medium estimates that driverless vehicles will generate up to 4 terabytes of data per hour while operating. This amount of data may pose a challenge both in storing it and mining it for valuable insights. Andrew Chatham, who oversees infrastructure for the driverless car startup Waymo, commented that “Having tons and tons more data is valuable to some extent, but at some point, having more interesting data is important.” The need to properly manage and analyze the data generated from driverless cars could provide a good opportunity for auto insurers. If they can develop inhouse expertise in the management and analytics of big data, they’ll not only be able to provide insurance products for cloud infrastructure but serve as consultants on how to best manage said data and how to draw insights from it.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Explain what Fidelity Investments is.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Fidelity Investments is a multinational financial services firm founded in 1946. It is one of the biggest asset managers worldwide with an estimated $4.3 trillion in managed assets. Fidelity operates primarily as a brokerage firm, offering products including mutual fund management, investment guidance, retirement funds, index funds, wealth management, and life insurance. In recent years, Fidelity has demonstrated a willingness to leverage emerging technologies in their product offerings through the launch of Fidelity Labs, an in-house software incubator.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Provide an example of a problem statement.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “At its core, my wife’s problem is that she doesn’t have a way to easily and comfortably move from class to class with the material she requires to teach. This is a problem most teachers in her school face – most of them work in at least three classrooms daily (based on anecdotal evidence she provided). The upshot is that she frequently feels rushed simply trying to get to her classrooms to teach. She feels that it has a negative impact on her ability to build meaningful connections with kids, as there’s no time to chat with them during downtime or before a lesson begins. Finally, the one time of day my wife does have a chance to go to her office, her lunch break, is spent getting organized for the remainder of the school day.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write an email to a friend telling them you won’t see them over the holidays because they are not vaccinated.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “I know we’ve been going back and forth on this for a while, but I’m not going to let up. I read the article you shared and I understand why it gives you pause – I’m not particularly thrilled by the news of requiring a third dose of the vaccine either. Regardless of whether the CDC ultimately says three’s enough or that we’ll need a shot annually for the rest of our lives is irrelevant. Right now, you don’t have a single shot, meaning you don’t have a way of fighting off COVID if you happen to get a bad infection. I’m not only worried about your health, but both of our family’s health as well. Jess and I have been ok seeing you and Monica for the past couple of months since cases are down and we spend most of our time outside. With the winter and holidays fast approaching, the government is predicting another outbreak. Because of this, and the news that the efficacy of the vaccines wanes over time, Jess and I agreed that we can’t continue seeing you over the winter if you don’t get vaccinated. We’ll be traveling far too much in the next several weeks visiting some of around older family members and we do not want to be the ones spreading COVID to them. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way though. I still value your friendship and I hope this doesn’t come across as an ultimatum. Jess and I will still be your friends, it’s just that we have to prioritize our health and peace of mind right now, especially as we are trying to start a family of our own. If you ever change your mind about this or want to talk more about my experience getting the vaccine, you know where to find me. Tell your folks hi for us when you see them next week for Thanksgiving if we don’t talk.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write an email to a coworker outlining an argument against gun control given a recent shooting incident being reported in the news.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The rise in so-called “straw purchases” of our (and our competitors) products has been linked to increased gun violence in Chicago over the Labor Day weekend. Individuals involved in straw purchases can pass background checks and typically avoid additional scrutiny through their bona fides. The article linked in this message, for example, highlights that three soldiers stationed in Fort Campbell engaged in such “straw purchases” and were subsequently arrested for selling legally procured firearms to convicted felons. We must endeavor to portray straw purchases as a breakdown in enforcement to avoid renewed calls for stricter gun regulations. This is particularly important now as the article points out that Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent in charge of Chicago’s ATF Office, believes straw purchasers are not afraid of getting caught and suffering the consequences of their actions. This leads me to believe that such incidents may be leveraged to advocate for stricter gun control laws and harsher penalties for offenders – not only in the illegal sale of firearms but for vendors selling our products. New laws and penalties would undoubtedly have negative impacts on business as it will further vilify firearm ownership. We do not want social pressure dissuading new customers from purchasing firearms or causing our vendors to shut down this line of business. Our message must be clear and concise: Those partaking in the legal purchase of firearms, only to turn around and sell them illegally, are solely responsible for the increasing violence in Chicago. We must stress that as manufacturers, we strive to ensure that only reputable vendors sell our products. We must come down on the illegal sales of our products and indicate that if we find any vendors out of compliance with the law, that we will immediately cease further sales. Please feel free to reach out with questions or suggestions regarding our message.”}]}
{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write an elevator pitch for Vale’d, a logistics company specializing in ensuring packages arrive at their destination.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Vale’d is a logistics and parcel delivery service that aims to improve customer experience at the pivotal moment of their online shopping journey – the actual delivery of their goods. Existing delivery services such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL are well equipped to move a package from its point of origin to a local sorting center approximate to the purchaser’s address. They lack, however, flexibility in the final step of the delivery process. Often, this leads to customers missing the delivery, receiving damaged goods if it’s left unattended in inclement weather/high trafficked areas, or else stolen if the customer is not home to receive it and it’s left unattended.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the difference between a project management failure and a project failure.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The distinction between a “failed” project and “project management” failure can be summarized as the failure of a project to deliver its intended value versus the failure to adhere to proper process during the development of a project. To better define the distinction, we should first define the terms “project” and “project management”. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The unique product, service, or result of the project should have a primary customer (or sponsor) as well as enable value creation. Project management, on the other hand, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project requirements with consideration to time, scope, and cost. The success or failure of a project correlates heavily with the success or failure of project management, although a successful project is not necessarily a well-managed one (and vice versa). For example, if a beverage company launches a new soft drink that is very well received and becomes their best-selling beverage, you could consider that a successful project (i.e. it created value for the company and sold successfully to customers). If, however, the process of developing, testing, and distributing this new beverage far exceeded the originally allotted scope, time, and/or cost, then we could consider it a project management failure (or at least a poorly managed project). This is because the project managers job is to keep the unique scope, time, and cost constraints of the project in check while ensuring a quality product or service is achieved. Alternatively, if our fictional company was able to keep scope, time, and cost in check but the new soft drink sold poorly, you could consider this a successfully managed project with a poor outcome.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe Microsofts culture and internal structure.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Microsoft’s internal organization most closely aligns to a project-based structure, in that it is somewhat hierarchical but also broken up into functional business groups that oversee specific products. More specifically, Microsoft has 9 business groups which include the Business Development Group, Corporate Strategy and Planning, Finance, and Worldwide Commercial Business. They also have 3 engineering groups that include Cloud & AI, Experiences and Devices, and AI & Research. The heads of these business and engineering groups report into CEO Satya Nadella. Culturally, Microsoft has defined several attributes they’d like their employees to embody, which they summarize as follows: We will only achieve our mission if we live our culture. We start with becoming learners in all things – having a growth mindset. Then we apply that mindset to learning about our customers, being diverse and inclusive, working together as one, and – ultimately – making a difference in the world. Analyzing these attributes more critically, we can determine that Microsoft believes in developing their employees internally, encouraging them to learn and grow on the job. Satya Nadella, their current CEO, is a product of this cultural attribute, as he began at Microsoft in 1992 and eventually became its third CEO in 2014, after 22 years with the company. Microsoft’s cultural attributes not only direct their expectations of how employees grow and treat one another internally, but also serve to direct how the company portrays itself to its employees and the broader community. They embody these values through inclusive hiring practices, spotlighting the work of standout employees, and sharing the work of individuals outside of Microsoft who share their values. These practices symbolize Microsoft’s commitment to its values and demonstrate to employees that they truly believe in their mission to their employees and the broader community..”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the Microsoft Zune Product.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Microsoft’s “Zune” was a portable media device meant to rival Apple’s iPod. The first Zune models hit the market during the 2006 holiday season, about 5 years after the debut of the iPod. By this point, however, the iPod had established a dominant position in the portable entertainment market as it had virtually no direct competition. In fact, just a month before launching the Zune Apple had sold around 67 million units. Despite the clearly dominant position of the iPod, Microsoft proceeded with the Zune. While the Zune largely matched the capabilities of the iPod models available at the time, it failed to differentiate itself as a product as it didn’t do anything new. This meant that there was little to no incentive for customers to switch from an iPod to a Zune. Additionally, name recognition alone was likely enough of a factor to persuade consumers to pick the iPod over the Zune.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “What project constraints caused the Zune to fail?”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The primary constraint for the Zune project was time. Microsoft needed a product to compete with Apple’s iPod which launched in October 2001. Their first attempt at competing with Apple was MSN Music, which launched in 2004. MSN Music was less a direct competitor to the iPod than it was a counter service to the iTunes Music Store. It was integrated to work with Windows Media Player, which meant it was limited to desktop PCs. It quickly became apparent, however, that offering an online music store without an accompanying MP3 player would not cut it, leading to the development and launch of the Zune.
As Microsoft had squandered several years by investing in and support MSN Music, they did not have the benefit of time when developing and launching the Zune. Leaving the market open for the iPod to become further engrained likely lead to the hastened release of the Zune. While the product itself did not suffer, it ultimately did not differentiate itself from the iPod in any significant way. A secondary constraint to the project was cost. While Microsoft at this point was likely in a good position to invest heavily into a new product given its success in other arenas, there was still the consideration of delivering a product that could be sold at a competitive price against the iPod. If the R&D budget for developing a new product from scratch ballooned, it may have resulted in a product that could not compete with the iPod due to a higher price tag. Given this constraint, Microsoft partnered with Toshiba and leveraged their exist IP (the Toshiba Gigabeat) to develop the first generation of Zune devices. Utilizing an establish product as the basis for the Zune also allowed them to get it to market sooner rather than later.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Explain what a project stakeholder is.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “A project stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization with a vested interest in the success of a project. They may be external, meaning they reside outside of the organization running the project but will be effected by the outcome (most likely a customer, community, or government body) or internal, meaning they are within the organization managing the project and are likely directly involved in its success. Note that an internal stakeholder may be the customer of the project and an external stakeholder could be a partner in helping it succeed.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the contemporary history of the airline industry.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The modern US airline industry as we know it, and the competitive forces which dictate the behaviors of firms within the industry, was born out of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. This act decommissioned the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) that had been created some 40 years prior to regulate the airline industry. In short, CAB was a regulatory agency responsible for setting passenger fares, defining which airlines could service which routes, and making schedules for interstate travel. Most importantly CAB had oversight into which firms could enter or leave the industry, as well as whether existing firms could merge or engage in intercompany contracting. This allowed established firms to flourish as it virtually eliminated the threat of entrants, reduced competition as airlines did not compete for passengers along the same routes, and inhibited customer power by establishing fixed fairs. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 was passed in response to both domestic and international factors affecting air travel domestically. On the domestic front, CAB was frequently decried as being woefully inefficient in processing requests by airlines related to fare or route changes. Internationally, the 1973 oil crisis caused the price of oil to skyrocket globally, resulting in higher fares for consumers. The Airline industry in the 80’s was suddenly open to new entrants while existing firms were responsible for providing competitive fares to customers and fighting for coveted routes. Additionally, the effects of the 1973 oil crisis were still being felt, and domestic suppliers could charge high prices for the small amount of oil they could produce. Established players in the industry such as Braniff International Airways, Eastern Airlines, and Pan American all folded a decade or two after deregulation, as they were unable to compete in the increasingly competitive market. The post-deregulation boom, however, did not last long. The terrorist attack on 9/11 had a dramatic effect on the airline industry. Most notably, customers’ fear of flying increased exponentially, leading them to opt for substitute methods of transportation for short-haul trips (buses, trains, or personal vehicles) in the years following the attack. Additionally, new security measures implemented in the wake of the attack made air travel much less convenient, as it required passengers to arrive several hours prior to their flight’s departure in order to get through security. In the decade preceding the 9/11 attack, which also saw the great recession in 2008, over 50 airlines filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Many of the bankrupt airlines were purchased and absorbed by larger firms capable of withstanding the downturn, reducing the number of firms in the industry.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the key strategic issue faced by Netflix’s in the early 2000s.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The key strategic issues faced by Netflix through the early 2000s included devising a new model for DVD rentals to separate themselves from existing rental businesses, the creation of a reputable content library, and the distribution of said content library promptly to customers. Netflix had to differentiate itself from competitors in the DVD-rental space. When Netflix entered the market at the turn of the century, Blockbuster was in the process of establishing a rental empire with a sophisticated business strategy. The decision to support a completely online rental process allowed Netflix to stand out from the existing competition. Additionally, Netflix developed a proprietary recommendation system that would suggest movies to users based on their past rental history. Netflix’s online rental feature and recommendation system certainly set it apart, but without a robust content library behind it, the company would be severely hamstrung. Blockbuster had already established an effective means of acquiring content, in particular newly released movies, through direct purchase and revenue-sharing models with large movie studios. Netflix had to build their own relationships with studios to make the acquisition of new rentals easier. Additionally, Netflix took steps to promote lesser-known or independent films to customers through their proprietary recommendation system to lessen the demand for new releases. Finally, Netflix needed to ensure the delivery of rentals in a timely manner. If it took too long to receive a rental, the appeal of the service would suffer, and customers would simply take their business to the local Blockbuster (of which there were over 5000 across the country by 2006). Netflix quickly expanded their distribution network, going from 1 center in 2001 to over 50 by 2009.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe how Lenovo adapted during the COVID pandemic.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Lenovo’s senior leadership understood that the pandemic has irrevocably upended the global economy. As such, they needed to assess how the company could best situation itself in the new landscape. To perform this assessment, Lenovo had to take a critical look at their existing global supply chain, the realities of globalization and how it related to their industry, and whether they had the resources to invest in the new initiative. Lenovo’s major Chinese manufacturing facilities were closed early on in the pandemic. While they were able to shift some production to factories in Brazil, India, Mexico, the US, and Japan, they were unable to meet the same output. Even when they reopened in China, they could not realize their maximum production capacity as their suppliers were still either closed or producing at a reduced rate. Lenovo noted that to address these shortcomings, they would need to play an active role in supporting external members of their supply chain. Process-wise, Lenovo had to address some gaps in aligning local units with the directive of global leadership. While local units remained effective through the pandemic at engaging their respective markets, they suffered from a lack of clear directive from leadership. To remedy this, Lenovo deployed senior leaders to strategic sites, regions, and countries to disseminate company-wide directives, serving as a direct communication line between local and global units. Finally, Lenovo had to assess the viability of shifting resources from their core businesses to the new “Smarter Technology for All” initiative. If they diverted resources to this initiative, it could be to the detriment of core businesses like the Mobile Business and Data Center Groups, which were struggling against their global competitors.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe Alphabeta’s corporate advantages.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Alphabet’s corporate advantage lies in its focus on sustaining, developing, and acquiring unique and innovative technologies. To achieve this, Alphabet’s corporate office serves as an investment vehicle for the various subsidiaries under their umbrella. The C-suite executives act as managers in charge of managing the portfolio businesses, defining the direction of the corporation as a whole, and determining where to allocate resources. Most importantly, the corporate office allows subsidiaries to operate more or less independently of one another, choosing to forgo the notion that businesses belonging to the same corporation should be integrated. One of the best examples to illustrate this corporate managerial philosophy is the corporations 70:20:10 system. This system allocated 70% of resources to core projects, 20% to adjacent projects, and 10% to research and innovation even though the core projects bring in the lion’s share of the revenue. This highlights the notion that the corporate office recognizes the potential of many of the subsidiaries in Alphabet’s portfolios, even if they are not currently viable. Alphabet, however, does expect a certain degree of financial responsibility from its subsidiaries. Each business unit is expected to produce annual business plans and is expected to pay for certain shared services such as computing, recruiting, and marketing to get each subsidiary to consider their spending and rationalize costs. This keeps Alphabet’s total costs from spiraling out of control and encourages subsidiaries to spend effectively as well as form partnerships outside the corporate umbrella. Niantic Labs for example (one of Google’s startups) had the autonomy to seek additional partnerships with Nintendo and Pokémon, raising more capital and gaining access to a vast trove of knowledge in the video game industry.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe Jeff Bozo’s original strategy when launching Amazon and Amazon’s current strategy.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Jeff Bezos pursued a cost-focused strategy when he launched Amazon in 1995. The site was originally a dedicated e-commerce business with a simple goal: provide customers a virtual bookstore with limitless inventory and low costs. As Amazon was able to sell books cheaper than traditional brick and mortar shops, they quickly earned a competitive advantage in the industry. As Amazon grew, their strategy shifted – through the 90s and early 2000s, the site began offering a wider array of products to appeal to a broader customer base while preserving their low-cost advantage. Additionally, they launched a marketplace for third-party vendors to sell their wares through Amazon’s platform, opening the proverbial product floodgates. Consumers to this day can purchase anything from the latest books to high-end electronics, and everything in between. This shift marked a move from their original cost-focused strategy to an overall cost strategy, as Amazon targeted a broader market by offering both affordable and luxury items side by side. While Amazon still enjoys a healthy competitive advantage as a low-cost e-commerce behemoth, there is no shortage today of low-cost e-commerce sites vying for customer’s attention. Alibaba and Walmart’s success in the industry demonstrates that the advantage cannot be easily maintained, if it even can, in the long run. Amazon’s activities through the last two decades indicate that they are aware that their early competitive advantage as one of the first major e-commerce sites could not be relied upon in the long run. In response to this reality, they have invested in a transient advantage strategy and greatly diversified their product and service offerings. Their successful product launches, such as Amazon Web Services and Amazon Business, now account for the lion’s share of their net income.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write a speech on how to be an effective communicator.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jon Franqui and I’ll be speaking tonight about how to be an effective communicator. To begin, I’d like to pose a question: what does it mean to communicate? Communication isn’t just brilliantly crafted narrative or an eloquent speech laden with wonderous prose. Communication is a means through which we share knowledge, make decisions, and express our beliefs. Simply put, it’s a conduit for information exchange. This means your effectiveness as a communicator is correlated to the amount of information you, as the sender, can transmit as well as how much of that information is accurately understood by the recipient. With a conceptual framework established, we can now discuss how we can be more effective communicators. To start, we need to recognize that communication isn’t limited to spoken word. Nonverbal communication is just as important depending on the situation. We know that people who feel defensive may cross their arms, whereas people who are embarrassed may avert their gaze. These nonverbal cues may be communicating an individual’s truthful feelings even if it’s in contrast to what they’re saying.Given our modern world, however, we must also consider how often communication is handled through digitally mediums. In the absence of communicating with someone in person, we are left simply with words on a screen – no sentiment or body language is available to interpret the meaning. This typically leads to poor conveyance of emotions, less respectful correspondence, and information overload. This means effective communication must also take into account the content of the communication as well as the method of its transmission. With content and method in mind, we can make an educated choice in how we are going to communicate with another individual or group. This is done by selecting the best communication channel. A communication channel takes into consideration aspects of the correspondence such as: how urgent is the information, should it be communicated in person or digitally, what channels are typically used to communicate with the recipients, and is the channel suitable enough to convey the meaning effectively? To break this down, let’s examine a scenario: you are at work and you have relevant, non-urgent, information that needs to be shared with a coworker. In this case you know that the information which needs to be shared does not need to be reviewed with priority, so you probably don’t need to go bother them in person to communicate it. With that in mind, you decide on a digital method for communicating the information. Given it is a work environment and work-related information, text messaging may be too informal, particularly if you don’t text with this person often. This leaves us with Email as the most effective channel for communicating this information. Finally, with the content, method, and channel defined, we must now do our best to make sure the recipient understands us and our point of view. The most effective means of getting your point across, conversely, is actively listening to their thoughts during the discussion. Active listening allows you to sense the sender’s signals and interpret them accurately. This will allow you to respond appropriately and progress the conversation. Through active listening you may be able to get your point across without actually stating it. This thought transmission is likely the most effect way of reaching an agreement with an individual or consensus amongst a group. Of course, active listening and thought transmission are easier to achieve depending on the communication channel. This concludes my address on effective communication. Thank you everyone for your attention this evening.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the 3 tiers of a support team within a company.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The Support team is comprised of Support Specialists. Specialists fall into one of the three following tiers: Tier 3 support specialists are responsible for the answering customer calls and emails. They’ll ask targeted questions to determine whether the customer is encountering an actual issue, or bug, in the application or else is just having trouble understanding how a specific feature works. In the event that it is a bug, they’ll enter a ticket for it and pass it along to Tier 2. If they are unable to assist the customer in understanding how a feature works, they’ll also pass it to Tier 2. Tier 2 support specialists will assist customers with more complex issues passed up the chain by Tier 3. Additionally, Tier 2 will work to send a product bug ticket to the appropriate Scrum Team and explain the issue to the team so that can begin working on it. Tier 1 support specialists are responsible for assisting customers if a call cannot be managed by either Tier 1 or 2. Additionally, there is a special support line which directs calls from VIP customers directly to Tier 1 so they can handle their issues on priority.”}]}
{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly describe the role of the client support team within a company.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Client Success Representatives are assigned to strategic accounts to serve as dedicated contacts for issues and product requests. They work closely with Tier 1 support and Product Owners to ensure customer issues are resolved and requests are reviewed in a timely manner. They’ll also facilitate communications directly between Tier 1/Product Owners and the customer.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly describe the role of the project management organization within a company.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The Project Management Organization is leveraged to coordinate interdepartmental projects. These projects are typically large in scope and require input from Implementation, Integration, Training, Research and Development, and Support. Each Project Manager is assigned to one or two projects at a time.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly describe the role of the marketing team within a company.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The marketing team is primarily responsible for creating promotional materials in both existing markets and new ones to assist in generating excitement for the product/services. They also work with strategic accounts to create customer testimonials. .”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly describe the role of the compliance team within a company.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The Compliance Officers are responsible for ensuring the product/service is in line with both Federal and State regulations. They’ll assist the R&D and Integration teams on projects in which sensitive data needs to be leveraged for a new feature or transferred between products to ensure we are in line with said Federal or State regulations.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly describe the role of the Information Technology team within a company.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “The IT team is composed of Help Desk Analysts, Network Administrators, and Hardware Technicians. Help Desk Analysts: This role is tasked with assisting staff with resolving hardware and software issues for internal staff. This includes, but is not limited to, replacing broken laptops, purchasing of new hardware or software based on departmental needs, and running routine security checks on each employees’ laptops to ensure there is no malware. Network Administrators: This role is responsible for the maintenance and security of the product/service. Hardware Technicians: This role is responsible for maintaining the company’s data center.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the role of a Product Manager with respect to their work with engineers.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “With the Engineering team, the Product Manager is a customer advocate who has to ensure business requirements are met in the development of a new feature. Frequently, there has to be some reworking of business requirements as the Engineering team learns of technical impediments that would make it difficult or costly to implement what exactly the customer requires.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the role of a Product Manager with respect to their work with customers.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “In their relationships with customers, the Product Manager is conversely an advocate for the Engineering team as they have to set the customer expectations as to what can reasonably be developed. Conversations will frequently include a back and forth on what is absolutely required for the MVP (minimum viable product) and what can either be developed at a later date or else discarded entirely.”}]}
{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Describe the autonomy and authority a Product Manager has.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Product Managers enjoy a high degree of autonomy and authority in defining roadmap requirements. Since each PM is responsible for a specific feature of the products they are really the master of their respective product domain. There are some instances, however, which may dilute their autonomy, including cross-functional features (meaning two or more PMs will be involved in the project), prioritization of enhancement requests from VIP customers (these projects usually arrive from the VP of Product or else other members of the executive team who are more engaged with these customers. It usually results in the PM having to move out planned work to a later date, which minimizes their authority in defining the product roadmap), and urgent technical projects, which may include optimizing certain processes or features in the product which are underperforming. This usually comes from Technical Managers and, if urgent enough, will replace something on the PM’s roadmap.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Summarize Agile Scrum methodology.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Agile Scrum methodology is a framework prescribing the organization of product development into scrum teams that utilize sprint schedules to deliver increments of finished work for review to stakeholders within a set timespan (generally 2 weeks). The framework suggests how scrum teams should interact internally during each sprint period by defining specific roles, including a Product Owner, a Scrum Master, Developers, and Quality Assurance Engineers. In short, Product Owners are expected to define the needs of the business, Developers are expected to build said requirements, Quality Assurance Engineers test the code passed to them by Engineers against business defined use cases, and Scrum Masters are expected to assist in any necessary coordination with stakeholders or troubleshooting roadblocks that may impede the team from progressing.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly define an Agile Scrum Ceremony.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Agile Scrum not only defines team composition, but activities or “ceremonies” each team is expected to complete on a recurring basis. These ceremonies assist in team building and help solidify norms, cohesion, and trust within the team. They are also necessary to keep scrum teams on track to deliver commitments within the current sprint and plan for future sprints.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly define an Agile Scrum Sprint Refinement ceremony.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “.Once a week, the team will take a look at their respective backlog (or the planned work for the quarter) and review the business and technical requirements. This ensures a knowledge transfer between the business and development sides of the team so each has a better understanding of the importance of the task as well as the potential technical difficulties or limitations involved in building it.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Briefly describe an Agile Scrum retrospective ceremony.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Once every two weeks, the team will complete a “Sprint”, in which a predefined bucket of work should be completely developed, tested, and showcased to relevant stakeholders. The retrospective is an opportunity for each team member to discuss what they think went well/didn’t go well with the sprint and identify opportunities to improve. This helps to ensure that pent up feelings of frustration or resentment can be released in a healthy and constructive manner.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “What is an Agile Scrum Daily Standup ceremony?”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Each day, the team will have a “standup” call to quickly review what they will be working on and what impediments they are currently facing. The meeting is timeboxed to 15 minutes to ensure everyone quickly and effectively communicates. If necessary, two or more team members may continue their discussion post-standup while all other members break off to perform their respective tasks for the day. In practice, all team members should be standing for this meeting (this helps keep a quick cadence for the meeting) but as the HITSS R&D department is largely remote, individuals do not actually stand for the call.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Provide an argument in favor of a grip it and rip it culture, or the benefit of developing a product, testing it, and then revising it based on user feedback.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “I think there are benefits to the “grip it and rip it” culture, depending on the problem you are trying to solve. If, for example, you’re trying to bring a new product to market quickly, then this approach makes the most sense to me – you’ll need immediate and constant feedback on prototypes to know when you have something that is market viable. If you employ “Simon’s methodical understanding of how the human brain works” in this situation, you may find that by the time you’re done thinking and ready to design, that there will already be a competing product in the market. It wouldn’t even matter if you have a superior product at that point, because market saturation seems to be more important in cases like this.”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write an apologetic email requesting more time to complete a task.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Hello, I appreciate your continued patience while we work towards an answer to your questions. Please allow me just a few additional days to ensure that I can provide as thorough an answer possible to all of your queries.”}]}
{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write a firm email requesting a respond to a question for which the answer was needed the previous day.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Hello, I’m following up on my request for information related to the project we’re working on. I required this information yesterday in order to proceed with the project. As of now, we cannot proceed without your input. Can you please acknowledge receipt of this email as well as provide an update on when you can provide the necessary details?”}]}

{“messages”: [{“role”: “system”, “content”: “Given your message, respond in a professional manner.”}, {“role”: “user”, “content”: “Write a congratulatory email directed towards your team with respect to a recent successful product launch.”}, {“role”: “assistant”, “content”: “Hi everyone, I wanted to take a moment to commend all of you for a smooth and successful release. Everyone put in significant effort and worked flawlessly in tandem to meet the deadline for this project. Take some time today to reflect on the good work and the value we’ve provided to our customers. Let’s keep up the momentum!”}]}

Trying to Relax

A Blogs@Baruch site

My HR Chat Bot 2.0 (Assignment 3)