Discussion Assignment

The discussion assignment provides a forum for discussing relevant topics for this module based on the course competencies covered.

For this assignment, make sure you post your initial response to the Discussion Area by due date assigned.

To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use outside sources. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the module as possible. Respond to at least two of your classmates. Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion. Complete your participation for this assignment through the end of the module.

Mentoring

Using the Argosy University online library resources or the Internet, research and read about mentoring. Based on your reading, post your responses to the following topics of discussion:

• What are the benefits and drawbacks of entering into a mentoring relationship?

• Brainstorm and create a list of potential people who you might add to your network. Identify the relationship of each person to you. Highlight which ones you think have the most potential to be valuable to your network and why. Then, for the remainder of the module, help at least two other students identify potential valuable networking contacts and refine your own list. By the end of the module, post a list of at least three people who you will include as permanent networking contacts.

• Either using your networking contacts or others not on that list, identify one or two potential mentors.

• Using information from other students and the articles you read, define how you could go about establishing a mentor or mentee relationship with this person. Who is responsible to establish the mentoring relationship?

• Discuss what qualities you think will be most important in a potential mentor. Who can serve as a mentor? Are IT mentors different than mentors in other fields? Why?