Mr. Cool

Future Technology Movie Reviews

2011-03-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Surrogates

The film is set in a futuristic world where people lives and interacts with society through remote-controlled humanoid robots, surrogates – fit, good-looking and a physically perfect mechanical representation of themselves. A surrogate operator is protected from harm and does not feel any pain when their surrogate is damaged. Because people are safe all the time, rarely leaving the safety and comfort of their homes, it is a peaceful world free from fear, crime and pain. This technology is so advanced that everything the robot experiences are felt by the human being controlling it.

But all of a sudden, something went wrong when humans are murdered when their surrogates are destroyed, which is something that is not supposed to happen, since it is assured that a surrogate operator is safe from any damage done to his/her surrogate. Looking a decade back, robots are made and used to be just for fun and toys. But then Man never stop thinking of innovative ways to engineer and use robots where it can assist those people with physical disabilities, perform calculations, carry heavy loads, and reduce work and labor in manufacturing, production and distribution of goods. It became even more advanced as it is even more used in industrial, professional and military applications. But whatever technological advancements and breakthroughs may be made on these robots, there are some other things- much more critical things - that only humans alone can do.

Eagle Eye

The movie was so unpredictable that I missed the part that the actor will end up shooting in front of convention. On the other hand, this movie can happen today but I doubt if a computer as powerful that exist now. It is true that super computers nowadays can have enough processing sped to almost do anything in unison but no computer today has the power to decide on their own. If you come to think of it, the computer even controlled cameras and other things that are electronic even though there is no way for it to access them. This is very creepy especially if we think that the computer controlled a vehicle in the part where they are chased by the police. Although this movie can be possible there are some things that will make you think about its possibility to happen in real world. First, the computer is so cool. Nothing can be compared to it now and even for the next years to come. Second, you can see that the bomb used was a crystal that can explode in a certain tone which is something tat is too good to be true. That would be the best bomb if that is true. This technology may be possible but it will be in the form of a mechanical bomb that will explode given a certain pitch or any kind of signal. Lastly, I am also wondering why it is in present setting. It is quite awkward with such advancements in computer and bomb technology that other forms of technology are untouched. Even their cellular phones are just the normal ones. It should be better if some wonderful technologies were also introduced.

I, Robot

Robots are human-made. They are not created to change the law, the way people lived. The movie was helpful indeed especially to those people who relies more in technology. Sooner or later, robots have the potential to ruin and to take over world if this scenario happens.

Wall-E

The movie presented robotic technology that was created to clean the earth which during that time was over-run by garbage after hundred years in the future. In the movie, robots emphasized the awareness to make the earth clean and unpolluted. It shows that using the robotic technology, man can use robots to become a cleaning instrument and give it instructions for only to follow. The movie also presented a robot, Wall – E, that somehow possess human feelings and emotions therefore make him have the feelings of care and love which he showed to the plant and to another robot, EVE. Robots have artificial intelligence that can give mankind an easy way to give orders since they can be able to comprehend. However, it can also give problems wherein robots can become stubborn to follow a modified order from his primary order because he was created to do a certain order. That somehow can be a weakness when using robotic technology in doing human jobs. Another weak point of the movie is that humans became fat and lazy and they depend too much on robots to do the things a man usually do such as getting a drink or walking. Too much reliance on robots as seen on the movie can also cause a bad result to the humans’ health and attitude.

Silicon Valley

This is an excellent movie talking about great names in the history of personal computers; Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. The movie evolve on the building of two great companies the Microsoft and the Apple. The story develops on the ventures of going to yonder of horizons and perspectives one who is firmly focus to its craft while the other started in a happy go lucky situation and turned his dreams to reality and reality becomes honor and prestige and yonder to go even to the extent of getting minds into minds, brilliance into brilliance and power into power. The story pointed so many things on technology into three important matters. The first matter is that technology is influx and it goes to wildest streams to a vast matter of ocean, as it is seen in the movie knowledge, creation and building up can be seen in technology where things can be done in its wildest scope and space. The second matter is that technology could be a blurting business where power is taken and knowledge is acquired, as it is seen in the movie we see people goes beyond of betrayal and pirating in order to gain more and to access big. The third matter would be technology can be a great source of moving forward in the computer industry and later can a source for renewing values and style of life.

Why do we need to study technology?

2010-12-10T15:28:00.001-08:00

We need to exert more effort, finances, and time on how to give care and love on our environment. The food we eat, the water we drink, the fresh air we breathe, the things we touch and see came from seas, mountains, farms, watershed that we need to preserve and grow now. Again we will not be here in more than two thousand years without technology. That's why I'll go for technology in a good way especially for environment.

We need to study technology

2010-12-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

We need to study technology in order to improve the quality of lives of many people particularly in basic needs in food, clothing, shelter and education. With the study of technology we can make inventions but with these, there are problems arise that's why continuing effort to improve inventions makes the the study of tecnology inevitable in human life. There are many studies about technology out there like in communication, medicine, transportation and more more but for me the most important study is in environment because mother earth is our only home to live for us, human.

We need to exert more effort, finances, and time on how to give care and love on our environment. The food we eat, the water we drink, the fresh air we breathe, the things we touch and see came from seas, mountains, farms, water shed that we need preserve and grow. Again we will not be here in more than two thousand years without technology. That's why I'll go for technology in a good way specially for environment.

MIS 2 - Assignment 9

2010-06-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

Information technology (IT) is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware", according to the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.

Today, the term information has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems. Information technology is starting to spread farther than the conventional personal computer and network technology, and more into integrations of other technologies such as the use of cell phones, televisions, automobiles, and more, which is increasing the demand for such jobs.
When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or "infotech". Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information.

In recent days ABET and the ACM have collaborated to form accreditation and curriculum standards[2] for degrees in Information Technology as a distinct field of study separate from both Computer Science and Information Systems. SIGITE is the ACM working group for defining these standards. Information technology (IT) changes rapidly, seriously challenging IT management. In response, many organizations create a formal group of IT professionals to evaluate emerging IT so they can better cope with its change. A survey based on structured interviews was mailed to a nationwide sample of 1,000 IT organizations. Two hundred forty-six respondents provided data to identify categories of coping mechanisms to handle changing IT. Five categories emerged: Education and Training, Internal Procedures, Vendor Support, Consultant Support, and Endurance. Organizations apply Education and Training more extensively than the others. Thus the research contributes to understanding the means by which organizations cope with rapid IT change. The research also found that organizations with a group dedicated to investigating emerging IT cope more extensively, but not more successfully, than do those without one. Thus the research contributes not only by providing an understanding of how organizations cope with rapid IT change, but also by suggesting the need to achieve more from the group charged with emerging IT.

A stream of research has been done on the individual use of information technologies (IT). Their purpose was to find out how technology was received and utilized by the users. The researchers knew that information technologies could add significant value to an organization in terms of productivity increases and performance improvements, but technologies were constantly evolving over time, and as a result, adoption behaviors of individuals were changing with them. Traditionally, the earlier models of innovation adoption represented marketplace deterministically and proposed improvements based on assumptions of certainty. They claimed that although more recent adoption models integrate some dynamic effects (i.e., learning and risk), the basic recommendations had not changed much for decision-making. In fact, the only distinction came from the fact that the later models improved the traditional models by elaborating on them and by providing understanding of additional variables. We think that the traditional models underestimate the forces of changes and uncertainty that dominate today's innovative markets, which are full of continuous processes of technology development, improvement, and application.

Thus, it is the objective of this paper to provide a conceptual framework for discussion of how technologies get diffused through their acceptance by the users and to understand the characteristics of technologies, users, and organizations in the face of changes and uncertainty. Our paper draws on various branches of previous research. From the marketing perspective, we look at several researchers who have discussed the models of and/or issues of innovation adoption. We begin with Kamien and Schwartz and Reinganum] who present models of firm adoption of innovations, examining the factors affecting a firm to adopt a certain innovation. Gatignon and Robertson describe the implications of organization adoption decisions in a competitive environment. Bass develops a mathematical model to examine the timing of adoption of new products and applies it by empirically testing demand growth for consumer products. This model later becomes widely adopted, extended, and applied in empirical research. Mahajan et al. review extensively the deterministic models for diffusion of innovations. Whereas Kalish and Sen discuss how the marketing mix variables impact diffusion, Eliashberg and Chatterjee provide thorough review of the stochastic models for innovation diffusion. From a strategy viewpoint using the diffusion of innovation theory, a stream of researchers has contributed to the subject matter.

They have examined various factors, generally regarded as determinants of IT adoption and usage, in their studies. Examples of these factors include individual user characteristics, innovation characteristics, and environment characteristics. Similarly, Information Systems (IS) researchers have addressed the issues of acceptance and diffusion of IT by providing varying answers to what are the factors determining IT usage by individuals, and discussing the relevance of different IT usage models. For example, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) developed by Fishbein and Ajze] helps to predict and understand human behavior in making adoption decisions. In their review, Igbaria et al. incorporate the concern for the determinants of behavior and relations among beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms, intentions, and behaviors. Determining how the relevant factors affect each other to lead to a decision-making is the primary focus of the TRA model. Ajzen also introduces the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model as an extension of an earlier TRA to consider the situations where individuals do not have complete control over their behavior. TPB was designed to predict individual adoption behavior across different settings and can be applied to IS use as well. Davis et al.’s well- known technology acceptance model (TAM) is an improvement of the generic TRA model. TAM adapted certain components of the generic TRA model and applied them to the particular domain of computer technology, and more broadly, to the information technology.

The difference between the two models is that in place of the TRA’s attitudinal determinants, TAM introduces two key variables, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, as having central relevance for predicting computerbased technologies user acceptance behaviors. Although previous models of IT acceptance provide useful insights, more research is needed to determine the key factors affecting or motivating individuals to use computer-based information technologies for various purposes. In light of this need for more research, our paper tries to extend previous research by examining the major determinants of IT adoption and diffusion based on what other researchers have done and by proposing an additional determinant of IT adoption that is of important relevance. As such, the purpose of this research is to seek better and valid measures for predicting and explaining IT use by individuals in network computing environment. Our research differs from other previous studies in that we try to move away from the old ways of thinking and pursue new ideas. Recognizing that the computing environment has changed due to the development of innovative technologies and the growth of the Internet, we scrutinize carefully the changes which have occurred and propose an enhanced IT acceptance (usage) model which can help to explain the new phenomenon of technology adoption in today’s distributed network computing environment.

Thus, we present an extended and improved model of IT usage by reexamining the key determinants of IT usage, taking account of the changes in user needs and computing environment. We believe that only by understanding various factors affecting the IT adoption and diffusion can we truly understand how and when individuals use information technologies. The paper proceeds as follows: In section , we discuss the relevant prior literature and the motivation for the study. The core of our study is contained in section. The model of IT usage (acceptance) and theoretical rationales are presented in this section. Section discusses the contribution of the model of IT usage in IT adoption research. Future research directions and issues not covered in this paper are outlined in section. We conclude in section . The topics of interest which are relevant in the study of user acceptance model of IT (IT adoption) are network externality, complementarity, diffusion of IT, user acceptance of IT, etc. We review the relevant literature on each of the topics to provide background information and theoretical support for our research, and especially to set the stage for a constructive discussion of our IT usage model. We try to integrate the ideas derived from the different disciplines to contribute a new body of knowledge to the area of IT adoption and diffusion research.

We argue that until now, research on IT has primarily focused on the problems and issues of IT use in the context of individual computing environment. In particular, the field of economics has studied the diffusion of externality-related products such as telephone, focusing on the positive externality. These studies introduce positive externality but they rarely mention negative externality. An example of negative externality is illustrated in the following example. When we have many people using the World Wide Web (WWW) or collaborating in some other ways, people get easily overwhelmed by the volume of information they come in contact with. As a result, it becomes difficult for them to get organized and seek out the information they need in a timely manner. Thus, we have an information glut. As seen, there are definitely both positive externalities (i.e., characteristics of network environment, especially the Internet) and negative externalities, as in blocking in phone lines. We now look at the topics that are relevant to the study of IT adoption and diffusion in greater details.

These are the three changes likely to have substantial impact on USEP's services in the next three years:

Online Voting of Election in Clubs, Organizations, Local Councils of different colleges and Campus Student Council

This change in school services is based on the System Analysis and Design and Software Engineering project proposal which is the Project E-Vote. I think this project is feasible in the next three years. Based on the Project E-Vote description, it offers features such as simultaneous online elections as it aims to cater more than one election at a time. Project E-Vote features a customizable election page where the administrator may choose to generate a different election page depending on the demand of the organization. Project E-Vote also features an automated storage system that is more efficient in terms of capacity and data security. Project E-Vote marks an automated counting of votes thus consumes less time during canvassing. The development of Project E-Vote is a move that tries to solve the problems faced during elections conducted within the university such as the large cost of manual elections and election fraud. If well develop this application may be an inspiration to other organizations that conducts elections. The first part is the manual system, which involves accepting of candidacy. The second part is the automated system, which involves online casting of votes, automated counting of votes, data storage and also a part of data process.

Based on the developers’ project proposal document, the application provides the following benefits:

• It minimizes the cost of an election.
• It minimizes the time needed for canvassing the vote’s cast.
• Election procedure is automated thus eliminates or minimizes election fraud and cheating.
• It could cater to any election within the University.
• It can be integrated with other existing systems and databases.
• It has a concept of green computing as it minimizes the use of paper materials.
• It may be developed further to cater future problems concerning elections.

Online Passbook/Gradesheet

This is another application that will change in the next three years. This is also based on the System Analysis and Design and Software Engineering project. The Online Passbook is comparable to the manual passbook system used by the university. However, the online passbook avoids the students to actually go to each of their respective subject instructors. This could ease the process of retrieving the grades of the students since it can be viewed online. The online passbook has its owns restrictions in which only instructors designated to the subject is authorize to personally put the respective grades of the students and will only retrieve the grades when it’s done. The students, on the same manner, are only allowed to view his grades in which he is enrolled in that semester.

The objectives of this application are to discontinue the use of manual passbook system of the students, to cease manual retrieval and passing of grades of the teachers in the registrar, and to provide an easy and efficient way of retrieving the grades of the students. In accessing the online passbook, the registered student of the university is subjected to a password of his own for security and for him to view his own grade. The online passbook would also give an evaluation of grades of the students instantly. On the other hand, for the instructor, this could also avoid manual distribution of grades to the students of each of the subject they handle. The instructor will have a security password in accessing the system. The instructor will be able to put the grades of his students into the system and it will automatically distribute the subject grades to the corresponding students. It will then also automatically submit the respective subject grades to the registrar.

Online Tutorial of Different Languages

This service change in the University is based on the office of Institute of Languages. Institute of Languages offers language tutorial different languages like French, Arabic, German, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Nihongo, Bahasa Indonesia, and Philippine Dialects. The International Languages tutorial is a web-based step by step lesson covering basics, pronunciation, but also grammar, vocabulary. It offers audio support for better oral comprehension, a table of contents and an index for faster searches. It offers audio support for better oral comprehension, a table of contents and an index for faster searches. The online tutorial support is well structured and organized. The tutor employs strategies to encourage dialogue amongst students online. The tutor is prompt in responding to my questions or insights. The student expect s a response online within one day.The student would benefit from more interaction online. The student would benefit from more training to communicate online. The benefits of online different languages courses reach far and wide. With the difficulty of the language posing numerous stumbling blocks even for those with the different native language tongue, strong instruction that works is essential. Whether you are taking English as a second language or you need to increase your communication skills in other languges to be a better professional, online courses offer you a great freedom as well as a good opportunity.

Reference:
http://usep-ic.forumsmotions.com
http://wikipedia.org

MIS 2 - Assignment 8

2010-06-10T04:32:00.000-07:00

I was hired and have been tasked to develop a strategic information systems plan for a company. These are the questions I would ask the officers of the company:

1. What are the natures of the present IS planning process the organization has?

In this question, I can come up new strategic awareness for the organization. This strategic awareness involves determining key planning issues, defining planning objectives, organizing the planning team, and obtaining top management commitment.

2. What is the current business and working environment the company has?

In this question, I can form a situational analysis. Situational analysis must include analyzing current business systems, analyzing current organizational systems, analyzing current information systems, analyzing the current external business environment, and analyzing the current external information technology (IT) environment.

3. How does the organization conceive present strategy alternatives?

In this question, I can construct new strategy conception. The idea of this strategy conception evolves on identifying major IT objectives, identifying opportunities for improvement, and evaluating opportunities for improvement, and identifying high-level IT strategies.

4. How extensive the present Selecting Strategy is implemented?

With this question, I can make a fresh strategy formulation. This strategy formulation identifies new business processes, new IT architectures, specific new projects, priorities for new projects.

5. What are the impacts of current strategy implementation to the organization?

With this question, I can produce strategy implementation planning. This new strategy implementation planning defines change management approach, defines action plan, evaluates action plan, and defines follow-up and control procedure.

6. What is the current alignment of top management regarding on information strategic information systems plan?

I can formulate new ideas regarding this question. These ideas consists of understanding the strategic priorities of top management, aligning information systems (IS) strategies with the strategic plan of the organization, adapting the goals/objectives of IS to changing goals/objectives of the organization, maintaining a mutual understanding with top management on the role of IS in supporting strategy, identifying information technology (IT)-related opportunities to support the strategic direction of the firm, educating top management on the importance of IT, adapting technology to strategic change, and assessing the strategic importance of emerging technologies.

7. How the analysis phase is done in the previous information systems planning of the organization?

This is the question that needs the knowledge in understanding the information needs of organizational subunits, identifying opportunities for internal improvement in business processes through IT, improving understanding of how the organization actually operates, developing a “blueprint” that structures organizational processes, monitoring internal business needs and the capability of IS to meet those needs, maintaining an understanding of changing organizational processes and procedures, generating new ideas to reengineer business processes through IT, and understanding the dispersion of data, applications, and other technologies throughout the firm.

8. In terms of cooperation, how the systems developers of the organization interact with each other in developing an information system?

In this question, I can come up new strategic cooperation process for the organization. This strategic cooperation process involves avoiding the overlapping development of major systems, achieving a general level of agreement regarding risks/tradeoffs among system projects, establishing a uniform basis for prioritizing projects, maintaining open lines of communication with other departments, coordinating the development efforts of various organizational subunits, identifying and resolving potential sources of resistance to IS plans, developing clear guidelines of managerial responsibility for plan implementation.

9. What are capabilities of current system developers in order to measure and make an assessment to have new plan?

The idea of this capability plan evolves on ability to identify key problem areas, ability to identify new business opportunities, ability to align IS strategy with organizational strategy, ability to anticipate surprises and crises, ability to understand the business and its information needs, flexibility to adapt to unanticipated changes, and ability to gain cooperation among user groups for IS plans.

Reference:
www.wikipedia.org

MIS 2 - Assignment 7

2010-06-10T04:31:00.001-07:00

Google

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Search is how Google began, and it's at the heart of what Google do today. Google devotes more engineering time to search than to any other product at Google, because it believes that search can always be improved. It is constantly working to provide you with more relevant results so that you find what you're looking for faster. To that end, it has added services such as personalized search, which tailors results for their clients if the clients are signed in to Google account.

As a business, Google generates the majority of its revenue by offering advertisers measurable, cost-effective and highly relevant advertising, so that the ads are useful to the people who see them as well as to the advertisers who run them. Hundreds of thousands of advertisers worldwide use Google AdWords program to promote their products and services on the web. Advertisers bid in an open and competitive auction to have their ads appear alongside the search results for particular keywords. They can specify the geographic location and time of day for their ads to appear. As a result, people see ads that are so useful and relevant that they become a valuable form of information in their own right. Since we believe you should know when someone has paid to put a message in front of you, we distinguish ads from search results or other content on a page by labeling them as "sponsored links" or "Ads by Google". Google doesn't sell ad placement in search results, nor does Google allow people to pay for a higher ranking there.

Google builds web applications, or "apps", to make it simpler for people to share information and get things done together. Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs help people communicate and collaborate more easily, whether planning a wedding or building a business itinerary. The information is stored securely online, accessible from any device with a web connection. And because it lives online, it's easy to share with a group of collaborators. Everyone in the group can work on the same material at the same time, even if they're working in different buildings, countries or continents.

Google’s clients should be able to access all of Google's services wherever they are – even if they don't have a computer nearby. Google makes it easy for them to use their favorite Google products, from Google Maps to YouTube, right from your phone. As mobile devices become increasingly central to people's lives, Google works hard to find new and better ways to help clients get the information they need when they are on the go. A lot has changed since the first Google search engine appeared. Google has grown and expanded its offerings from a single service to dozens, often in as many languages. Google now has thousands of employees and offices around the world. But some things haven't changed: its dedication to its users and its belief in the possibilities of the Internet itself. The 3 big competitors of Google are America Online(AOL), MSN, and Yahoo! Inc.

Google nowadays Google is the most used search engine engine in the world with more than 60% of the world requests made on search engines. Google is also a company providing a large range of services(exactly 149), his more recent ones(the web browser: Chrome) make it now compete with firms such as Microsoft. Some example of Google services: mails, blogs, videos hosting, companies ads, maps, pictures hosting, websites analytics During the last 4 semesters Google generated nearly 20 billions dollars of revenue with a net profit of 4,85 billions. As a comparison for the same period Microsoft(created 33 years ago) got 60 billions dollars and a net profit of 17,6 billions. The value of Google is nowadays estimated to 142 billions of dollars. In the High- Tech sector only three companies have a better quotation: Microsoft, IBM (created 97 years ago) and Apple (32 years ago). Google is physically present in 33 countries around the world with 68 offices: To understand how this company could have been so successful internationally let's study his internationalization steps during the last decade.

Google is now available in 72 languages, partnership with AOL and first office in Australia in Sidney. Several national acquisitions to extend Google services which at the end extend as well the world services abroad of Google, for example the blog services “Blogger”. Dublin became the first location for Google's regional operations outside the U.S. More than 100 Google domain names are available. Google opens new engineering offices in Bangalore and Hyderabad in India. R&D center opened in Tokyo. The famous Google Maps application is release for Europe. New R&D center opens this time in China. First offices in Mexico and Argentina. Several other acquisitions to extend their services with for each of them translation in several languages. Partnership with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile Telecommunication carrier, to provide mobile and Internet search services in China. Sign partnerships to give free access to Google Apps for Education to 70,000 university students in Kenya and Rwanda. Series of acquisitions and translations of other Google services. As we just saw in ten years Google developed a lot of International marketing structures from simple representation offices to R&D centers to complex partnerships. I did not mentioned it but Google acquired several companies(more than 50). The purpose of these acquisitions was to extend their range of services which are then translated in order to be internationally exportable. I however did not find until now an acquisition of another search engine. Google seems to prefer the partnership(the company keep her brand but use Google, the best example is AOL).

An IT expert would qualify Google as a Geocentric company(the same service for all the world). There are however some slight modifications made to their service which could make think that Google is acting as well as a Regiocentric company, at least on some marketing aspects. The reason which drove me to this conclusion is that Google managers are recruited from all over the world and the power is centralized in the United States. As said in Google's presentation they opened in 2003 in Dublin a location for regional operations outside the U.S. It has been designed to serve Google customers across multiple time zones and languages spanning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Taking in account that Europe has a very strong addiction to Google I may think that Google has in fact two center of decisions(one for America and one for the rest of the world) However Google has a so huge amount of offices in the United States which make me think that the final decision are taking in the United States which include a hierarchy among those centers of decisions.

Google has latest services, and these are:

Reaching new customers:
• AdWords. Advertising business on Google
• Local Business Center. Making business searchable on maps
• Base: Product Search and more. Posting all kinds of content to Google
• Webmaster Central. Improving website's visibility

Enhancing website:
• AdSense. Earning revenue from website
• Analytics. Analyzing website traffic
• Checkout. Selling online
• Google Ad Manager. Managing ad inventory
• Website Optimizer. Building effective websites
• Google Site Search. Adding site search to website
• Google Friend Connect. Growing viral traffic to site

Increasing productivity
• Google enterprise search solutions. Searching company information
• Google Apps. Communicating and collaborating
• Postini services. Securing email
• Google Geospatial Solutions. Visualizing, analyzing and sharing

Reference:
Google.com

MIS 2 - Assignment 6

2010-06-10T04:29:00.001-07:00

Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are defined as being ‘the limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization.’ They are the few key areas where ‘things must go right’ for the business to flourish. As a result, the CSFs are areas of activity that should receive constant and careful attention from management. The current status of performance in each area should be continually measured, and that information should be made widely available.

CSFs are the few key areas where ‘things must go right’ for the business to flourish. It is very important to identify them when aiming to obtain a profound understanding of the business. The very act of determining CSFs may help to crystallize objectives and strategies, and certainly to emphasize priority activities.

Every firm in an industry may have some common CSFs such as access to raw materials or timely delivery, due to pressures on or in the industry. The overall organization, which could have units in many industries, will have CSFs relative to its objectives of diversification, return on investment and portfolio mix. The key area for determining CSFs as part of IS strategy development is the business unit, since this is the practical level to determine strategy. The agreement of the business unit managers as to what these CSFs are is important in obtaining consensus on the major IS/IT investments. There will also tend to be a structured, cascading relationship in a large organization between objectives and CSFs.

Critical Success Factor (CSF) analysis has been the most commonly-used tool in the IS strategies toolkit and its value is increased if used in conjunction with the Balanced Scorecard. The establishment of a set of CSFs against a set of business objectives and measures, within a Balanced Scorecard framework, requires consolidation into a matrix of objectives and relevant CSFs. This is reasonably straightforward, provided there are not too many of either! The priority for dealing with the CSFs is not determined by the CSF (‘critical’ implies that no priority can be set), but by the priority of the objective that caused the success factor to be identified and by the number of objectives that will be affected by its satisfactory achievement. The next stage in the process is not, however, as straightforward. Interpreting CSFs in terms of information and information systems cannot easily be done without reference to the activities of the business and its organizational structure.

Critical Success Factors in Strategic Information Systems:

A second aspect of the analyses of our research base identifies some of the key factors that seem to recur frequently and underpin success. Few strategic information systems show all of the factors, but many show a number. Again, these factors are often at odds with traditional IS/IT approaches and show more commonality with business innovation.

1. External, not internal, focus: looking at customers, competitors, suppliers, even other industries and the business’s relationships and similarities with the outside business world. Traditionally IS/IT was focused on internal processes and issues. Toshiba is using wireless technology for remote monitoring of photocopiers, so that technicians can be dispatched as soon as there are signs of a problem. This reduces servicing costs and, since machines are out of action less often, increases usage and revenue.

2. Adding value, not cost reduction: although cost reductions may accrue due to business expansion at reduced marginal costs, ‘doing it better, not cheaper’ seems to be the maxim. This is consistent with the requirements of companies to differentiate themselves from competitors—better products, better services—to succeed. Historically, IS/IT was seen as a way of increasing efficiency—doing it cheaper—and, while this is obviously important in any business environment, it is not the only way to succeed. At Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, a Swedish pulp and paper company, foremen use a wireless system to send instructions to loggers in the field, specifying which trees to cut and in what order. This enables the company to coordinate harvesting decisions with inventory and transport requirements and match those decisions to market needs.

3. Sharing the benefits: within the organization, with suppliers, customers, consumers and even competitors on occasion! In many cases in the past, systems benefits have not been shared even within an organization, but used instead to give departments or functions leverage over each other. This reduces the benefits and does not allow them to be sustained. Sharing benefits implies a ‘buy in’, a commitment to success, a switching cost. Almost all of the examples involve sharing the benefits, with suppliers, customers, consumers and competitors, to provide barriers of entry to the industry. For instance, the introduction of debit cards to replace cheque books depended for its success on banks sharing some of the reduced processing costs with the retailers and consumers, since the benefits that the bank could gain depended on the commitment of retailers and consumers. Some would argue that this was achieved by increasing the cost of the alternative (i.e. cheques!).

4. Understanding customers and what they do with the product or service: how they obtain value from it, and the problems they may encounter in gaining that value. In the 1980s, McKesson, the pharmaceutical wholesaler, followed this principle very closely in providing a range of information-based services to drugstores, starting from a simple problem of stock control, solved by delivering products in shelf-sized batches. Black and Decker, a low-cost producer, supplied a value-added service to retailers to enable them to ‘swap’ goods they had over or understocked for the season. They did not want returns, but the retailer could not be expected to predict precisely how many lawnmowers, for instance, would be sold. It helped to solve a customer’s problem. Federal Express has built on its original customer-service system, which tracks every movement of every package, and extended access direct to customers.

5. Business-driven innovation, not technology-driven: the pressures of the marketplace drove developments in most cases. This tends to cast doubt on the idea of competitive advantage from IT, but, in practice, it means that new or existing IT provides or enables a business opportunity or idea to be converted into reality. The lead or the driving force is from the business, not necessarily a traditional route to using IS/IT, which has often been driven by technology, pushed by the IT suppliers and professionals, not pulled through by the users. It is only relatively recently that the latest technology has become of interest to business managers. But the business issue does not change: why take two risks at the same time—that is, a new business process based on new technology? It is a recipe for failure! Keen56 summed it up well by saying, ‘Major failures in using IT are often based on much better technology and bad business vision. Successes come from good enough technology and a clear understanding of the customer.’ An early prediction of the demise of many dot.com ventures?

6. Incremental development, not the total application vision turned into reality. Many examples show a stepped approach—doing one thing and building on and extending the success by a further development. To some extent, this is developing applications by experimentation but also not stopping when a success is achieved but considering what could be done next. This, again, is against the traditional notion of clarifying all requirements, defining all boundaries and agreeing the total deliverables of the system before embarking on the expensive, structured process of design and construction, freezing the requirements at each stage. Prototyping of systems obviously has a key role to play here.

7. Using the information gained from the systems to develop the business. Many mail order and retailing firms have segmented their customers according to the purchasing patterns shown by transactions and then providing different, focused catalogues or special offers. Product and market analyses plus external market research information can be merged and then recut in any number of ways to identify more appropriate marketing segmentation and product mix. This aspect has been exploited particularly well by the ‘direct’ insurers, who are able to target the lower risk, more profitable customers very accurately. Through using the information gleaned from customer transactions, the Britannia Building Society in the UK has developed a sophisticated segmentation strategy based on creating customer propensity models, which have helped the Society increase the average number of products per customer from 1.3 to over 2.0.57 Before Safeway introduced its loyalty card scheme, they knew virtually nothing about customers. They didn’t know who they were, what they bought or even if they were the same customers who shopped at the store the previous week. By introducing a loyalty card scheme, it persuaded customers to tell them what they bought, and yielded significant information such as: most customers aren’t profitable; average shopping range is 250 lines; women are 50% impulsive, men 90%; customers shop for concepts not commodities (e.g. Sunday lunch, kids treat, Italian meal); Feta cheese is the 298th most popular cheese on units sold, but leaps to 25th in terms of basket size.

As discussed above, these factors, in general, imply different attitudes to the use of IS/IT than have prevailed in the past, implying that we need new ways of thinking about IS/IT techniques to uncover such opportunities, and then new approaches to managing these applications to ensure success. Another general observation can be made from these examples, by considering what actually produces the success—information technology, information systems or information. Technology itself is the ‘enabler’, which provides short-term advantage and the opportunity to develop new systems and to capture and use potentially valuable information. But, normally, competitors will be able to purchase the same technology, and any advantages could soon be negated. However, the new information systems that developed, utilizing the technology, could provide advantages that may be less vulnerable to erosion by competitive copying. The potential gain will depend on how conclusively and exclusively the systems alter business processes and relationships.

In time, however, the existing competition or new entrants enticed into the profitable parts of industry could redefine the relationships by introducing alternative information systems. If the firm wishes to sustain its competitive advantage, it must use the information gleaned from its systems to improve its products or services—to match the requirements of the marketplace or influence its development.

Reference:
Strategic Planning for Information Systems, Third Edition
By: John Ward and Joe Peppard
Copyright © 2002 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

MIS 2 - Assignment 5

2010-06-10T04:26:00.000-07:00

In the spectrum of organizational change, which is the most radical type of change: automation, rationalization of procedures, business reengineering, or paradigm shifts?

Change is an absolutely critical part of business. And yes, organization does need to change—preferably now and not later, when organization has no other choice. The problem is that people hate it when their bosses announce a “transformation initiative.” They run back to their cubicles and start frantically e-mailing one another, complaining that the changes are going to ruin everything. People love familiarity and patterns. They cling to them. The phenomenon is so entrenched it can only be chalked up to human nature. But while managing change can sometimes feel like moving a mountain, it can also be incredibly rewarding, particularly when organization starts seeing results.

Typically, the concept of organizational change is in regard to organization-wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring operations (e.g., restructuring to self-managed teams, layoffs, etc.), new technologies, mergers, major collaborations, "rightsizing", new programs such as Total Quality Management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational transformation. Often this term designates a fundamental and radical reorientation in the way the organization operates.

Change should not be done for the sake of change -- it's a strategy to accomplish some overall goal. Usually organizational change is provoked by some major outside driving force, e.g., substantial cuts in funding, address major new markets/clients, need for dramatic increases in productivity/services, etc. Typically, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, e.g., going from a highly reactive, entreprenueral organization to more stable and planned development. Transition to a new chief executive can provoke organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality pervades the entire organization.

Organization-wide change is difficult to accomplish. Typically there are strong resistances to change. People are afraid of the unknown. Many people think things are already just fine and don't understand the need for change. Many are inherently cynical about change, particularly from reading about the notion of "change" as if it's a mantra. Many doubt there are effective means to accomplish major organizational change. Often there are conflicting goals in the organization, e.g., to increase resources to accomplish the change yet concurrently cut costs to remain viable. Organization-wide change often goes against the very values held dear by members in the organization, that is, the change may go against how members believe things should be done. That's why much of organizational-change literature discusses needed changes in the culture of the organization, including changes in members' values and beliefs and in the way they enact these values and beliefs.

Organization-wide change can be successful. Successful change must involve top management, including the board and chief executive. Usually there's a champion who initially instigates the change by being visionary, persuasive and consistent. A change agent role is usually responsible to translate the vision to a realistic plan and carry out the plan. Change is usually best carried out as a team-wide effort. Communications about the change should be frequent and with all organization members. To sustain change, the structures of the organization itself should be modified, including strategic plans, policies and procedures. This change in the structures of the organization typically involves an unfreezing, change and re-freezing process.

The best approaches to address resistances is through increased and sustained communications and education. For example, the leader should meet with all managers and staff to explain reasons for the change, how it generally will be carried out and where others can go for additional information. A plan should be developed and communicated. Plans do change. That's fine, but communicate that the plan has changed and why. Forums should be held for organization members to express their ideas for the plan. They should be able to express their concerns and frustrations as well.

If you belong to an organization, there are some guidelines in order to achieve a successful organization-wide change for you to do. And these are;
1. Consider using a consultant. Ensure the consultant is highly experienced in organization-wide change. Ask to see references and check the references.
2. Widely communicate the potential need for change. Communicate what you're doing about it. Communicate what was done and how it worked out.
3. Get as much feedback as practical from employees, including what they think are the problems and what should be done to resolve them. If possible, work with a team of employees to manage the change.
4. Don't get wrapped up in doing change for the sake of change. Know why you're making the change. What goal(s) do you hope to accomplish?
6. Plan the change. How do you plan to reach the goals, what will you need to reach the goals, how long might it take and how will you know when you've reached the goals or not? Focus on the coordination of the departments/programs in the organization, not on each part by itself. Have someone in charge of the plan.
7. End up having every employee ultimately reporting to one person, if possible, and they should know who that person is. Job descriptions are often complained about, but they are useful in specifying who reports to whom.
8. Delegate decisions to employees as much as possible. This includes granting them the authority and responsibility to get the job done. As much as possible, let them decide how to do the project.
9. The process won't be an "aha!" It will take longer than you think.
10. Keep perspective. Keep focused on meeting the needs of the customer or clients.
11. Take care of yourself first. Organization-wide change can be highly stressful.
12. Don't seek to control change, but rather to expect it, understand it and manage it.
13. Include closure in the plan. Acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments.
14. Read some resources about organizational change, including new forms and structures.

In addition to guidelines, there’re principles to embrace in implementing change especially in organization for you to do. The following are four practices that illustrate the organizational change:

1. Attach every change initiative to a clear purpose or goal. Change for change’s sake is stupid and enervating. Change should be a relatively orderly process, but for that to occur, people have to understand why change is necessary and how changes will affect them. This is easier, of course, when the problems are obvious—earnings are collapsing or a competitor has dropped prices 20 percent. But sometimes the need for change isn’t immediately apparent. Competitive threats seem to be emerging, but you don’t know for certain, and still, you have to respond. In those cases, relentless communication about the business rationale for change, reinforced with lots of data, is the best ammunition you have. The larger the organization, the more challenging it will be to communicate the need for change. In big companies, calls for change are often greeted noncommittally. After all, if the organization has been through enough change programs, employees will assume you’ll go away if they just wait long enough. Stick to your guns—your solid, persuasive business case. Over time, logic will win out.

2. Hire and promote only true believers and get-on-with-it types. Everyone in business claims to like change. To say otherwise would be career suicide. But by my estimate, less than 10 percent of all businesspeople are true change agents. Once the next group—about 70 to 80 percent of people working in business—is convinced that change is necessary, they’ll say, “OK already, get on with it.” The rest are resisters.To make change happen, companies must actively hire and promote only true believers and get-on-with-its. But with everyone claiming to like change, how can you tell who is for real? Luckily, change agents usually make themselves known. They’re typically brash, high-energy and more than a little paranoid about the future. They often invent change initiatives on their own or ask to lead them. Invariably, they are curious and forward-looking. These people have a certain fearlessness about the unknown. If they fail, they know they can pick themselves up, dust themselves off and move on. They’re thick-skinned about risk, which allows them to make bold decisions without a lot of data.

3. Ferret out and remove the resisters, even if their performance is satisfactory. This is the hardest of the four practices to implement. It’s tough to let anyone go, but it’s particularly difficult to fire people who are not actually screwing up and may in fact be doing quite well. But in any organization, there are people who will not accept change, no matter how sound the case is. They are so invested—emotionally, intellectually, or politically—in the status quo that they cannot see a way to improve anything. These people usually have to go.
That may sound harsh, but you’re not doing anyone a favor by keeping resisters in the organization. They foster an underground resistance and lower the morale of the people who support change. They’re wasting their own time: They’re working at a organization where they don’t agree with or share in the vision, and they should be encouraged to find one where they do.

4. Look at car wrecks. Most companies capitalize on obvious opportunities. When a competitor fails, they move in on their customers. When a new technology emerges, they invest in it and create product line extensions. But to be a real change organization, you also have to have to look at bolder, scarier, more unpredictable events, assess the opportunities they present and make the most of them. Fostering this capability takes a certain determination, but the rewards can be huge. Take the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Currency traders certainly capitalized on this awful event; they live on exploiting change. But they’re not the only ones who should do this. GE had real success buying undervalued Thai auto loans in this period. Others prospered by buying real estate at fire sale prices. Bankruptcies are another type of calamity that reveals all kinds of opportunities. Of course, they’re tragic to the employees. Jobs are lost, and pensions disappear into thin air. But jobs and futures can also be created from the cinders. With all the noise out there about change, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused. But these are the only four practices that matter. That’s it. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

The most radical type of change is paradigm shift. Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. It is in contrast to his idea of normal science.

The term paradigm shift, as a change in a fundamental model of events, has since become widely applied to many other realms of human experience as well, even though Kuhn himself restricted the use of the term to the hard sciences. According to Kuhn, "A paradigm is what members of a scientific community, and they alone, share.". Unlike a normal scientist, Kuhn held, "a student in the humanities has constantly before him a number of competing and incommensurable solutions to these problems, solutions that he must ultimately examine for himself." (The Structure of Scientific Revolutions). Once a paradigm shift is complete, a scientist cannot, for example, posit the possibility that miasma causes disease or that ether carries light. In contrast, a critic in the Humanities can choose to adopt a 19th-century theory of poetics, for instance.

The agents of organizational change are driving a new paradigm shift today. The signs are all around us. For example, the introduction of the personal computer and the internet have impacted both personal and business environments, and is a catalyst for a Paradigm Shift. We are shifting from a mechanistic, manufacturing, industrial society to an organic, service based, information centered society, and increases in technology will continue to impact globally. Change is inevitable. It's the only true constant.

Paradigm shifts tend to be most dramatic in sciences that appear to be stable and mature, as in physics at the end of the 19th century. At that time, physics seemed to be a discipline filling in the last few details of a largely worked-out system. In 1900, Lord Kelvin famously stated, "There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement." Five years later, Albert Einstein published his paper on special relativity, which challenged the very simple set of rules laid down by Newtonian mechanics, which had been used to describe force and motion for over two hundred years. In this case, the new paradigm reduces the old to a special case in the sense that Newtonian mechanics is still a good model for approximation for speeds that are slow compared to the speed of light. Philosophers and historians of science, including Kuhn himself, ultimately accepted a modified version of Kuhn's model, which synthesizes his original view with the gradualist model that preceded it. Kuhn's original model is now generally seen as too limited.

Kuhn himself did not consider the concept of paradigm as appropriate for the social sciences. He explains in his preface to "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" that he concocted the concept of paradigm precisely in order to distinguish the social from the natural sciences (p.x). He wrote this book at the Palo Alto Center for Scholars, surrounded by social scientists, when he observed that they were never in agreement on theories or concepts. He explains that he wrote this book precisely to show that there are no, nor can there be any, paradigms in the social sciences. Mattei Dogan, a French sociologist, in his article "Paradigms in the [Social Sciences]," develops Kuhn's original thesis that there are no paradigms at all in the social sciences since the concepts are polysemic, the deliberate mutual ignorance between scholars and the proliferation of schools in these disciplines. Dogan provides many examples of the non-existence of paradigms in the social sciences in his essay, particularly in sociology, political science and political anthropology. In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn wrote that "Successive transition from one paradigm to another via revolution is the usual developmental pattern of mature science."

Kuhn's idea was itself revolutionary in its time, as it caused a major change in the way that academics talk about science. Thus, it could be argued that it caused or was itself part of a "paradigm shift" in the history and sociology of science. However, Kuhn would not recognize such a paradigm shift. Being in the social sciences, people can still use earlier ideas to discuss the history of science. There is a paralysis in a paradigm. Perhaps the greatest barrier to a paradigm shift, in some cases, is the reality of paradigm paralysis: the inability or refusal to see beyond the current models of thinking. This is similar to what psychologists term Confirmation bias.

In conclusion, for millions of years we have been evolving and will continue to do so. Change is difficult. Human Beings resist change; however, the process has been set in motion long ago and we will continue to co-create our own experience. Kuhn states that "awareness is prerequisite to all acceptable changes of theory". It all begins in the mind of the person. What we perceive, whether normal or metanormal, conscious or unconscious, are subject to the limitations and distortions produced by our inherited and socially conditional nature. However, we are not restricted by this for we can change. We are moving at an accelerated rate of speed and our state of consciousness is transforming and transcending. Many are awakening as our conscious awareness expands.

References:
http://www.managementhelp.org
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home.html
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.taketheleap.com/index.htm

MIS 2 - Assignment 4

2010-06-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

I will discuss the following thoughts and steps with the university president in order to expedite the implementation of the IS Plan of the university.

While the making of strategic choices is often portrayed as the end of a planning process, it is well recognized that in modern organizations, the choices made in any planning process may not be enacted. There are many reasons for such strategy implementation failures, ranging from a lack of understanding as to who is responsible for implementation to reluctance on the part of lower level managers to truly accept the choices made in the SPIS process, perhaps because they disagree with or do not fully understand them.

To avoid these strategic implementation failures, clear implementation plans must be developed. These plans should indicate who is responsible for the implementation of each element of the plan; they should identify specific “milestones” and schedules for the reporting of results to those who are responsible and to top management, and they should specify clear performance goals for each milestone. Such implementation plans cannot be prepared until the desired changes in the major strategic
IS/IT elements have been approved by top management, but they should be developed immediately thereafter and their development should be considered an integral part of the SPIS process.

The steps in order to expedite the implementation of the IS Plan:

1. Strategy Implementation Step – Budgets are also the “real world” of implementing IT strategy, linking the long-term goals of the organization and their short-term execution through the allocationof resources to activities. Unfortunately, research shows that the majority of organizations do not link their strategies to their budgets, which is why so many have difficulty making strategic changes . This is particularly true in IT, according to the focus group. As one manager complained, “no one knows what we’re doing in the future. Therefore, our goals change regularly and at random.” Another noted, “The lines of business pay little attention to IT resources when they’re establishing their strategic plans. They just expect IT to make it happen.” Budgets can affect IT strategy implementation in a number of ways. First, where IT dollars are spent determines the impact IT can have on corporate performance. Clearly, if 80 percent of IT expenditures is going to operations and maintenance, IT can have less strategic impact than if this proportion is 20 percent lower. Second, how discretionary IT dollars are spent is important. For example, some companies decide to invest in infrastructure while others do not; some will choose to “bet the company” on a single large IT initiative while others will choose more focused projects. In short, the outcome of how a company chooses between investment opportunities is reflected in its budgets.

Third, the budgeting process itself reflects and reinforces the ability of strategic decision making to have an impact. IT expert states that because budget processes are inherently biased toward the short term, in many organizations operational needs will systematically preempt strategic ones. In IT, the common practice of routinely allocating a fixed percentage of the IT strategic budget to individual business units, makes it almost impossible to easily reallocate resources to higher priority projects at the enterprise level or in other business units. In addition, several focus group members noted that their siloed budgeting processes make it difficult to manage the cross-business costs of strategic IT decisions. Overall, budgets are a critical element of most managerial decisions and processes and are used to accomplish a number of different purposes in IT: compliance, fiscal accountability, cost reduction, business unit and enterprise strategy implementation, internal customer service, delivery of business value, and operational excellence, to name just a few. This, in a nutshell, is the reason why IT budgeting is such a complex and challenging process.

According to some IT experts one of the major causes of SISP failure is the lack of understanding and emphasis on implementation issues. Plans are likely to remain and gather dust on the shelf unless there is an effective implementation strategy. In order to address this problem IT experts have come up with a “comprehensive and parsimonious set of factors or practices that predict implementation” and suggest that they “may help planners and researchers better understand implementation.” It is highly desirable for the plan to be read by all key stakeholders. The skill set of employees should also come under scrutiny. Implementation can fail if the organization lacks employees with the appropriate expertise. Plans must proactively be put into practice under the supervision of a project champion and any problems at the implementation stage must be sorted out to derive maximum benefit from the plans. As IT experts point out: “too often organizations fail to implement the recommendations from a SISP study.” An implementation strategy should therefore form an integral part of any strategic planning process.

2. Exploration Strategy Step - While exploitation strategy takes a structured, analytical, evaluative, and methodical approach to IS development, the nature of the beast is quite different in exploration strategy, which is about identifying opportunities for the innovative use of IT. While structured approaches can give some signposting for the innovative use of IT, they alone are not sufficient to nurture the creative talents of individuals within the organization. Exploration strategy specifically seeks to encourage and promote innovation and creativity and thereby achieve competitive or strategic advantage for the business. This will involve the use of unconventional approaches such as tinkering and improvisation to unleash the creative potential of bright sparks and visionaries in the organization. Individuals and/or teams might come up with fresh ideas and the feasibility of these ideas has to be tested by creating a prototype. Such experimentation/exploration must be encouraged, despite the possibility of its becoming costly, and may, in the majority of cases, need to be abandoned after the initial feasibility study. This should not involve harsh criticism or loss of face of individuals/ teams. Impact methodologies are part and parcel of any exploration strategy.

In summary, then, exploitation strategies, which take a methodical approach, are concerned with improving operational efficiency whereas exploration strategies, which make use of experimentation and prototyping, are meant to provide competitive/strategic advantage for the business. Both of these strategies are essential for a balanced SISP process. A great deal of work has also been done in the past couple of decades to understand the success factors of many of the strategic planning efforts. These include: organizational issues, resource issues, effectiveness of the planning methods used and the actual relevance of the plan, and, more importantly problems associated with implementing the plans themselves. Many researchers have also argued for an ongoing process of evaluation and review and the consideration of implementation as a critical issue. These calls are not always heeded and the reality is that, many IS planning decisions/documents, rather than being proactively implemented, are left to gather dust on the shelf or in many instances implemented only partially.

Another fundamental problem is that many still question the value of conducting strategic planning. For them, strategic planning is inappropriate/ineffective for responding to the modern fast-changing business world because, by the time plans are developed and implemented, business requirements will have changed (and/or technology moved on), rendering the plans obsolete. As IT expert has observed, many CIOs “have apparently responded to the forces of chaos by throwing in the towel on strategic planning.” His view resonates with that of IT experts, who point out that a lot of (Western) companies have abandoned the idea of a long-term IS planning process altogether. Also a more recent survey in the United States has shown that 39 percent of the respondents had no formal IT strategy at all. Some would go even further to suggest that the emergence of the Internet marks the death knell for strategies and strategic plans. Porter disagrees strongly: “In our quest to see how the Internet is different, we have failed to see how the Internet is the same. While a new means of conducting business has become available, the fundamentals of competition remain unchanged. The next stage of the Internet’s evolution will involve a shift in thinking from e-business to business, from e-strategy to strategy. Only by integrating the Internet into overall strategy will this powerful new technology become an equally powerful force for competitive advantage”.

IT expert sides with other and points out that the difficulty in sustaining a competitive position, because of the speed of imitation by rivals, actually strengthens rather than weakens the need for strategic planning. “As buyers become more powerful and business processes and systems more homogeneous, only the strategically astute companies will be able to rise above the competitive free-for-all.” He cites the success of Dell and Wal-Mart, which, despite the acquisition of sophisticated IT systems by competitors, are able to maintain their competitive position primarily through astute business and IT plans and strategies. IT expert believes that such chaotic times “make it more necessary than ever for the CIO to routinely take a strategic view.” IT expert agrees with another: “Strategic planning is more important today than ever before, and it is the very speed of change in today’s business climate which makes it so.” The case for conducting strategic planning is therefore well argued. The unanswered question, however, is: how should organizations go about conducting successful strategic planning? In this chapter we attempt to identify several dos and don’ts for success. More specifically, eight principles for successful strategic planning are identified from the prior literature, and case examples from organizations of contrasting size and structure that report effective IS planning efforts are described. This chapter also emphasizes the need for planning to be an ongoing activity and that IT systems that are planned and developed must be continuously repositioned and enhanced to enjoy long-term sustainable advantage. In the light of these principles is also carried out to determine whether they are valid in the real world of business.

Technical IT Skills/Application Development/Implementation Methodology Step - Technical IT skills are the skills needed to develop IT applications. Technical IT skills include analysis, design, and programming skills, understanding of operating systems, and experience with databases and networking protocols. While these skills can be very valuable, since they are widely available to firms—through hiring employees or consultants with these skills—they are usually not rare or costly to imitate, and thus, by themselves, they are not likely to be sources of distinctive advantages. However, if a firm’s programmers and analysts develop a specialized understanding of the firm’s processes and strategies and are able to conceive unique applications to improve customer service, then such an understanding of a firm’s processes and strategies can be a source of competitive advantage. In contrast to technical skills, application development methodology refers to the higher order (managerial) processes involved in collecting requirements and organizing the development and implementation of IT applications. Carnegie Mellon University’s capability maturity model (CMM) is an example of software development methodology. CMM refers to the structured approach to developing and implementing software applications. However, while it is clear that the requirements of each CMM level are well documented, few organizations have achieved the highest level (CMM level 5) of certification. As higher levels of CMM have been associated with more reliable/predictable, higher quality, and lower cost/cycle time of development firms at higher CMM levels have a competitive advantage in developing and implementing IT applications. Similarly, implementing large IT applications has proved to be a significant challenge. Since large IT applications are more about managing organizational change than about implementing software applications, this is not surprising. Thus, if a firm has figured out the social aspects of implementing IT projects, that firm can achieve a competitive advantage with application development/implementation methodology.

3. IT Platform Step - The IT platform is the set of shared capital resources that provides the foundation on which specific IT applications are built. The primary components of the IT platform are: (1) the computing platform (hardware and operating systems), and (2) the communications network. The characteristic of the IT platform makes the speed of implementation, cost, and value of new IT applications different for different firms. This characteristic is described as “flexibility.” A flexible IT platform allows for more rapid response to emerging business needs, whereas an inflexible IT platform gets in the way of some important initiatives, limiting the freedom of the company to respond to market forces and innovate. On the other hand, less flexible platforms may allow the efficient execution of a narrow and unchanging set of IT applications in a firm. The flexibility of the IT platform is manifested in the degree to which a firm’s data and applications can be shared and accessed throughout the organization. Such flexibility enables an organization to rapidly build and implement IT applications to respond to emerging market needs. A firm’s IT platform is also flexible to the extent that the firm adopts and enforces standards for the components of its IT platform to ensure connectivity and compatibility of its technology platform and share ability of its data and applications.

A flexible IT platform is a complex set of technological resources carefully planned for and developed over time. Because of its path-dependent nature, there can be significant differences across firms in how infrastructure is constituted. Moreover, these differences can be long lasting, since disassembling one platform and erecting a new one can be both costly and time consuming. To the extent that the flexibility of the IT platform varies across firms in an industry, and to the extent that a flexible IT platform enables firms to implement IT applications to support specific processes more efficiently and effectively, the variance in platform flexibility can explain differences in customer service across firms. To the extent that one firm can implement an IT-based strategy that its competitors cannot imitate because of an inflexible IT platform, a flexible IT platform is a strategic resource that can be a source of competitive advantage. A flexible IT platform is an investment for the future that enables the organization to respond quickly to the market. Therefore, though a flexible IT platform may improve the responsiveness of the IT organization, a flexible IT platform may not have any impact on the current level of performance. By investing in a standard platform that ensures compatibility/connectivity and facilitates the shareability of data across systems and units, an organization sets itself to respond quickly to market demands. Thus, though a flexible IT platform may not improve current performance, it may be necessary for the long-term competitiveness of the organization. Also, the more dynamic a firm’s environment, the more valuable a flexible IT platform can be to its long-term survival and growth. The IT platform is thus an enabler (of IT applications), just as highways are enablers of commerce. The IT platform by itself may not provide a competitive advantage, just as highways on their own do not lead to economic growth, but they provide the backbone for commerce that allows economic growth to take place.

A flexible IT platform is more valuable when the firm’s environment is dynamic, that is, when the firm actually requires flexibility to respond to changing customer requirements and different and unpredictable competitive moves. In very stable and mature industries where customer needs and competitors’ strategies are quite predictable, flexibility may not be very valuable. Investing in a flexible IT platform in such environments may actually hurt economic performance as it will increase the firm’s cost of IT operations without any commensurate benefits from the flexibility of its IT platform.

The degree of the relevant stakeholders’ support for higher payoffs from an IT investment is an issue of IS implementation plan. Different stakeholders create different kinds of uncertainties and risks. For example, in procurement-related settings, the success of an IT implementation is often based on what IT experts have called the “missing link”: the degree of actual usage by stakeholders involved with the deployed systems. Similar arguments apply regarding usage of systems that support trade services in international banking, where systems integration capabilities make it possible to achieve highly productive transactional support for trade services and the related banking business partners. The stakeholders can be of numerous kinds, including external stakeholders such as buyers and suppliers, and other industry and technology partners. They also can include internal business partners such as financial and accounting managers, or product design and development, and manufacturing operations staff members. In all of these cases, IT implementations are subject to a variety of relational risks that come up in principal–agent relationships.

Reference:
Information System Planning
Copyright 2005
by: William R. King

MIS 2 - Assignment 3

2010-06-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

Based on our interview with the MIS Manager of SAMULCO, the two most frequently experienced causes of frustration of IS professionals and users while working on an IS plan are Resitance to Change and Budget and Financial Constraints.

Resistance To Change

Definition

Resistance to change is the action taken by individuals and groups when they perceive that a change that is occurring as a threat to them.
Key words here are 'perceive' and 'threat'. The threat need not be real or large for resistance to occur.
In its usual description it refers to change within organizations, although it also is found elsewhere in other forms. Resistance is the equivalent of objections in sales and disagreement in general discussions.
Resistance may take many forms, including active or passive, overt or covert, individual or organized, aggressive or timid.

Rationale for resistance

The rationale for resistance is often quite straightforward as people justify their actions to themselves. If you want to overcome resistance to change, you must be able to answer the following points.

Person wants to stay where he is because…
Even if you offer me a bowl of cherries, he may not be very concerned to take what you proffer if he is happy where he is now. People who have been in the same place for a long time are usually in this state. They do not need to change and will view any suggestion of change with distaste.

…His needs are already met here
Needs are basic drivers of action. If needs are not perceived as being particularly threatened and the current situation is relatively comfortable (particularly in comparison with the proposed change) then he will be happier to stay where he am. If people already have their needs met, then you will need to shake the carpet and provide some sort of threat to those needs so they are no longer sufficiently met for the person to want to stay where they are.

…I have invested heavily here
When I have invested a lot of time and energy in building up my position, both socially and organizationally, then any change may mean bad news. Social investment creates a person's sense of identity. Organizational investment gives them control. Sliding down the ladder that I have so painstakingly climbed over the year is a long way from my shopping list. Where people have invested heavily, you will either have to show them how to get to a similar position in the new organization or otherwise reduce the value of their investment (for example by moving the people over whom they have social influence).

...I am in the middle of something important
When I have committed to achieving a goal, either personal or emotional, then a part of my integrity and hence identity may be bound up in achieving the goal. When I have partly completed something, I am also affected by the need for completion, such that I will feel uncomfortable with stopping now. When people are busy, find ways for them to complete the work in the shorter term, perhaps by nudging their goals so they have less to do to complete. If possible, turn their work towards something that will be useful for the new organization.

I do not want to change because…
Even if I am not that happy where I am, I still may not be particularly interested in moving forward with the change.

…the destination looks worse than where I am now
Although I want to move, the final resting place of the change looks significantly worse for me than the current position. I feel it is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. If you want people to voluntarily move, then it must be to somewhere better than they are now. You can create this in two ways: first by making the present position worse (though be careful with this!) and secondly by building a rosy vision to which people can then attach their dreams.

…there is nothing to attract me forwards
If the change is nothing to do with me, if the benefits are all for other people or the general organization, if I just do not buy the 'vision' as sold, then I will feel no pull and I will not buy into the change.You may offer forth a brilliant vision, but do the people buy it? Make sure your communications are clear and couched in terms that people can understand and buy into. Make your visions inclusive, such that people really can and will buy the change.

…I do not know which way to move
If I buy the vision, I may still may not know which way to jump. Some change projects sound wonderful, but people are left wondering what to do (even the managers).Grand plans need to be turned into tactical detail in which people can see and easily take the step forward.

…the journey there looks painful
The final destination may be great, but the journey from here to there looks very uncomfortable. The anticipated pain of the transition is more immediate than the distant and hazy future, and I respond more to this than to any inspiring vision. Make sure the transitional period between now and the final change does not appear so uncomfortable that people refuse to join you. In practice, it may not be that bad -- what counts, though, is the perception of the people, so design the transition well and then communicate it well.

...the destination or journey is somehow bad or wrong
If the transition or the final destination somehow transgresses my values, then I will judge it to be bad or wrong and will be very loathe to join the party.Be careful with the change in working around established organizational and general social values. If you must break an unwritten rule (such as getting rid of people) then do so with appropriate consideration and care.

…I do not trust those who are asking me to change
If my experience of you is that you have been untrustworthy in the past, then I am not likely to buy your vision of the future. If you are going on what I perceive as a perilous journey, then I will not trust you and will not join you. The integrity of leaders is a very important attribute. If you want people to follow you, then you must give them good reason to trust you.

I am not going to change because…
Even if people do not want to change, they may still have to do so, albeit truculently. Some people, how ever, have the wherewithal to refuse.

…I am able to ignore the change
One of the questions I will ask is 'What happens if I do not go along with the change?' If the negative implications for my non-compliance are negligible, then I can happily not join in. This sort of situation occurs when the person in question is so valued by the organization that the idea of them leaving is unthinkable. This is often where difficult choices around change take place. What do you do with the laggards? If this problem is not addressed, then the people around them may take their lead and before long you have a silent revolution on your hands.

…I have the power to obstruct the change
Another reason why a person can happily ignore the change is because they can stop it. People in senior positions often treat change as being a good thing -- as long as it is for someone else. When faced with change themselves, they may do whatever it takes to scupper the change, for example by refusing to give needed access or other support. This is a good test of the senior sponsor of change -- which may need to be the most senior officer in the organization. Those who actively oppose the change must be dealt with -- preferably kindly and in in an understanding way, but ultimately in a firm and final way.

The nature of opposition
When considering stakeholders who are opposing the change, do a deep analysis of their personality to give you better ability to manage their opposition and convert them to the cause of the change. This analysis should help you to decide whether and how you might convert the person to the change cause or, if they are implacable opponents, how you might control or contain their opposition.

Drivers

Beliefs
Beliefs are basic drivers of thought and behavior. If you can understand their beliefs, you can begin to change them.
• What are their beliefs about people? Their rights? Their capabilities?
• What beliefs do they have about themselves?
• How strongly do they hold these beliefs?
• What are the beliefs that they have that led them to oppose the change?
• What beliefs do they have that could be used to help convert them?

Values
Values are guides and shapers of behavior that tell what is right and wrong, good and bad, important and unimportant. Understanding a person's values tells you what they will not do as much as what they will do.
• Are any of their values being transgressed by change actions?
• What are their stress values? Are these being triggered?
• What values can you appeal to, to persuade them to change?

Goals
Goals are the deliberate objectives that we set ourselves to satisfy values and needs. By identifying these and how they are affected by change, you can
• What are their career goals?
• What are their social goals?
• What other goals do they have?
• How are any of these affected by the change?

Perceptions
The perceptions that people have of the change is based on their internal systems and the inferences they make. Perception is reality for the person, even it if is not really true. It therefore makes sense to understand how they perceive the change.
• What are their perceptions of the change? What do they think will happen?
• What are their perceptions of other stakeholders in the change? Do they think others will help them? Do they think others will gain unfair advantage?
• What are their perceptions of those implementing the change? Do they think the change agents will be fair? Do they think they are competent?

Potential
A critical question about opponents of change is what they can and are likely do to oppose the change.
• What power do they have?
• What is the source of that power? (position, expertise, social, etc.)
• How might they use that power? (blocking, persuading others, etc.)
• What would the impact of that action be? (local, widespread, etc.)
• How might their power change?

Triggers
And when you understand the power that a person who is opposing or may oppose the change, the final step is to understand their triggers, those events that would tip them into action.
• What would lead them to use that power? (events, actions, etc.)
• What would defuse them beforehand? (involvement, listening, etc.)
• What would bring them down after they had started resisting? (listening, threats, etc.)
• Who do they listen to? (friends, social leaders, senior people, etc.)
• What could other people do to contain or convert them? (words, action, etc.)

When resistance to change occurs, then it is very helpful to be able to spot it coming and hence respond appropriately to it (rather than be surprised when the change mysteriously fails).

Signs of resistance

Early signs of resistance
If you can catch resistance early, then you can respond to it before it takes hold, effectively nipping it in the bud.

Gossip
When the change is announced, the tom-toms will start beating loudly and grapevine will bear fruit of much and varied opinion. Keep your ear to the ground on what is being said around the coffee points. Listen particularly for declaration of intent and attempts to organize resistance. Grumbling and complaint are natural ways of airing discomfort, so you should not try to squash it (you would fail, anyway). The biggest danger of it is when it is allowed to ferment in an information vacuum.
Respond to gossip by opening it up, showing you are listening to concerns and taking them seriously, and providing lots of valid information that will fill the vacuum.

Testing
Just as a high school class will test a teacher's ability to maintain discipline, so also will some brave soul test out what happens when they resist change. They may, for example, not turn up to a meeting or openly challenge a decision. How you deal with such early resistance will have a significant effect on what happens next. For example you can jump on the person and squash both them and their words, or you can take an adult position, describing what they have done and assertively questioning their motives.

Collectivism of resistance
Resistance can happen both on an individual case-by-case basis or people may band together.

Individual action
Individually, people may resist, although this is generally limited to the extent of their personal power. For those with lower power, this may include passive refusals and covert action. For those with more power, it can include open challenge and criticism.
Handle individual action individually, starting with those with greater power. As necessary, you may need to make an example, and disciplining a senior executive can send a strong signal to other resistors.

Collective action
When people find a common voice in organized resistance, then their words and actions can create a significant threat to the change, even though they are individually less powerful. Trade Unions are a classic example of this.
Organized resistance is usually a sign of a deep divide. People will not go to the bother of organizing unless they have serious issues with the change. Manage collectives by negotiating with their leaders (which can be much easier than dealing with a myriad of smaller fires). You may well need to make concessions, but you at least should be able to rescue some key elements of the change. You can also 'divide and conquer' by striking deals with individual key players, although this must be done very carefully as it can cause a serious backlash.

Visibility of resistance
Sometimes resistance is out in the open, but more often it starts out in a more underhand, covert way.

Covert resistance
Covert resistance is deliberate resistance to change, but done in a manner that allows the perpetrators to appear as if they are not resisting. This may occur, for example, through sabotage of various kinds. Handle covert resistance by showing that you know what is happening and setting in place investigations designed to identify the people responsible.

Overt resistance
Overt resistance does not try to hide, and is a result either of someone comfortable with their power, someone for whom covert acts are against their values, or someone who is desperate. This may take forms such as open argument, refusal or attack.
Deal with overt resistance by first seeking to respond openly and authentically. If the resistance is blind, then you will have no alternative but to defend, for example by isolating and disciplining attackers.

Activity of resistance
Overt resistance does not need to take positive action -- sometimes it can be passive.

Passive resistance
Passive resistance occurs where people do not take specific actions. At meetings, they will sit quietly and may appear to agree with the change. Their main tool is to refuse to collaborate with the change. In passive aggression, for example, they may agree and then do nothing to fulfill their commitments. This can be very difficult to address, as resisters have not particularly done anything wrong. One way to address this is to get public commitment to an action (and you can start small on this), then follow up -- publicly if necessary -- to ensure they complete the action. Then keep repeating this until they are either bought in or give in.

Active resistance
Active resistance occurs where people are taking specific and deliberate action to resist the change. It may be overt, with such as public statements and acts of resistance, and it may be covert, such as mobilizing others to create an underground resistance movement.
Overt active resistance, although potentially damaging, is at least visible and you have the option of using formal disciplinary actions (although more positive methods should normally be used first). When it is covert, you may also need to use to covert methods to identify the source and hence take appropriate action.

Dealing with resistance
Here is a small raft of things you can do to handle resistance, starting with kind and moral approaches and ending with the harsher end of gaining compliance. This whole site has fleets other things you can do, of course.

Facilitation
The best approach to creating change is to work with them, helping them achieve goals that somehow also reach to the goals of the change project. When you work with people, they will be happier to work with you.
This is a good practice when people want to collaborate but are struggling to adjust to the situation and achieve the goals of change.

Education
When people are not really bought into the rationale for the change, they may well come around once they realize why the change is needed and what is needed of them. In particular, if new skills are required, you can provide these via a focused course of education.

Involvement
When people are not involved physically or intellectually, they are unlikely to be involved emotionally either. One of the best methods of getting people bought in is to get them involved. When their hands are dirty, they realize that dirt is not so bad, after all. They also need to justify their involvement to themselves and so persuade themselves that is the right thing to do.

Negotiation
When the other person cannot easily be persuaded, then you may need to give in order to get. Sit them down and ask what they are seeking. Find out what they want and what they will never accept. Work out a mutually agreeable solution that works just for them and just for you.

Manipulation
Manipulation means controlling a person's environment such that they are shaped by what is around them. It can be a tempting solution, but is morally questionable and, if they sense what you are doing, will lead to a very dangerous backlash. Only consider this when change is necessary in the short term and all other avenues have been explored.

Coercion
Even more extreme than subtle manipulation is overt coercion. This is where you sit them down and make overt threats, for example that if they do not comply that they will lose their jobs, perhaps in a humiliating and public sacking. This should only be used when speed is of the essence or when the other person themselves has taken to public and damaging actions.

How to cause resistance

Here are just a few of the ways you can cause people to resist the change:
• Resist the resistance, fighting back.
• Do not use your sponsors.
• Try to do everything yourself.
• Allow sponsors to be non-committal about the change.
• Use threats and aggressive language.
• Avoid talking to individual people.
• Avoid listening to people.
• Do not visit the various teams affected.
• Spend more time with your allies (and avoiding the troublemakers).
• Ignore those who resist. Keep your fingers crossed they will give up.
• Tell people about your plans and then ignore the plans.
• Give lots of rational reasons why people should do as you say.
• Dive into the details before they have bought the big picture.
• Do not test that people have understood what you have said.
• Lose faith yourself in the change.
• Be vague about what the change will be.
• Avoid being the messenger of bad news.
• Collude with the other person.
• Produce non-specific plans.
• Expect people to instantly understand what took you three weeks to figure out.
• Publicly and aggressively punish those who object.
• Shout down anyone who disagrees.
• Do not change reward systems to align with the change.
• Make 'an exception' for talented people who resist.

Responding to unexpected resistance

What happens when you are in the middle of a conversation or meeting and someone speaks out against the change?

Pause
The natural tendency of many people is to respond immediately, perhaps butting in or cutting the other person short. The voice may be authoritarian and tinged with anger. But think how this appears to other people? The message being sent is 'public disagreement is not allowed'. A likely effect is that the person resisting now has the sympathy of others (and may recruit the others to their cause). It is also very likely that the resistance will just go underground. So the very first thing is to bite your lip, hold your tongue and count to three. Take a moment to pause and assess the situation. What are others doing? Is the person speaking cautious or bold? What does the body language tell you?

Listen
The next step is to listen carefully not only to what they are saying but also to how they are saying it. Listen for the deeper messages between the lines. Listen to their fears, hopes and ambitions. Hear the tensions and emotions. Notice how they are coping. You can also draw out further information, tipping the bucket to ensure you have the whole story. Use appropriate questioning techniques to learn more.

Empathize
Make your initial response one that empathizes with their position. Show first that you understand (even though you may not agree) and respect their right to voice an honest opinion. This and other previous action will have won you many friends -- perhaps even the person in question who may have been expecting you to resist their resistance (which is just what it would be) and is preparing for a fight. When people expect a fight and find only concern, the surprise is likely to change their opinion.

Think
Before you open your mouth, think hard about what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. Done wrong, a response will show your empathy to be false and may cause a bitter backlash.

Respond
Respond in a way that offers the other person a dignified way out. Seek win-win. Use their language. Reframe their position to show a bigger picture.

The income statement is a simple and straightforward report on the proposed business's cash-generating ability. It is a score card on the financial performance of your business that reflects when sales are made and when expenses are incurred. It draws information from the various financial models developed earlier such as revenue, expenses, capital (in the form of depreciation), and cost of goods. By combining these elements, the income statement illustrates just how much your company makes or loses during the year by subtracting cost of goods and expenses from revenue to arrive at a net result -- which is either a profit or a loss.

Budget and Financial Constraints

Financial Constraints and Differential Investment Responses

Since differences in investment opportunities arising from product market exposures do not appear to explain differences in the effects of depreciations on affiliates and local firms, we now consider an alternate explanation: a differential ability to overcome financial constraints.

Local Firms and Leverage Differences

If financial constraints contribute to the relative underperformance of local firms, then the relative performance amongst local firms should be dictated by the level and composition of leverage prior to the depreciation. While data on the duration of debt is not available for multinational affiliates, data on the level and duration of debt is available for local firms. For each local firm, we compute averages of the ratio of total debt to assets and the ratio of short term debt to total debt over the three years prior to a crisis. We then use the sample median level of these averages to classify if local firms have above or below medians levels of leverage and short term debt. Dummies are included in interaction terms in the basic specifications to analyze if highly levered local firms, particularly those with short term debt, experienced the sharpest reductions in investment subsequent to depreciations. Local firms that rely heavily on short term debt are likely to face significant liquidity constraints, especially since interest rates often increase following depreciations. The specifications are presented employ the log of capital expenditures as a dependent variable and the interaction terms of interest are those that discriminate amongst local firms on the basis of the level and duration of their leverage prior to the depreciation. In these three specifications, the coefficients on the post-depreciation dummy indicate how local firms with high leverage, high amounts of short term debt or firms with both characteristics respond to the depreciations. In turn, the interaction terms indicate how the remaining local firms and how affiliates respond relative to these baseline coefficients.

The coefficients indicate that local firms with high leverage are the firms associated with the low investment response. Indeed, the coefficients on the post-depreciation dummy and that variable interacted with the low leverage dummies are of similar magnitude but opposite signs, indicating that local firms with low leverage do not experience a sharp fall in investment. The coefficient on the post-depreciation dummy interacted with the multinational dummy indicates that affiliates increase investment. The composition of debt is emphasized, and, similarly, firms with low amounts of short term debt do not experience a sharp investment drop. Finally, the roles of the level and composition of debt are jointly considered and the results are even more stark. Local firms with low leverage and low amounts of short term debt experience investment increases subsequent to the depreciation as the coefficient on the relevant interaction term is greater, in absolute value, than the coefficient on the post-depreciation dummy alone. The increase in investment experienced by this set of local firms is similar in magnitude to the increase in investment of affiliates, as indicated by the coefficient on the depreciation dummy interacted with the multinational dummy. These results are robust to the use the ratio of capital expenditure to net PPE as the dependent variable. The average investment experience of local firms obscures much heterogeneity that is associated with their level and composition of leverage prior to the depreciation.

The Financing of Multinational Affiliates During Sharp Depreciations

While more granular data on local firms is not available, a closer look at the behavior of multinational affiliates provides further evidence on precisely how they circumvent financing constraints. Table 7 presents regressions that examine growth in different components of affiliate financing subsequent to depreciations. The results demonstrate that local debt, foreign debt (debt borrowed from non-local persons), and related party debt (debt borrowed from an affiliate’s parent) all increase significantly in the year of depreciations. There are two interpretations of these results. First, new capital may flow to affiliates in one of these forms of debt. Second, if debt is denominated in foreign currency, then the reported increase in debt may simply reflect a revaluation of existing loans to reflect the depreciation. This revaluation of existing debt would not necessarily include any new flows of capital. Since increases in debt occur in the year of depreciations and are larger for debt from foreign sources (which is more likely to be denominated in foreign currency), this revaluation effect is likely to explain at least some part of the growth in debt. Examining changes in paid-in-capital provides cleaner measures of new capital infusions from the parents of affiliates. Paid-in-capital consists of the initial capital stock of an affiliate and any new equity infusions. This measure does not include retained earnings. Since this component of financing is measured in dollars, using historic exchange rates for translation when necessary, changes in the growth of paid-in-capital cannot be explained by changes in currency valuations. The data reports regression results where the dependent variable is the growth in paid-in-capital. The paid-in-capital of multinational affiliates increases in the years following depreciations, although this increase is only significant in the year after a depreciation. The coefficient estimates suggest that the paid-in-capital of multinational affiliates increases by 10.8% in the year after depreciations. This result provides direct evidence that new equity infusions from parent companies enable multinational affiliates in emerging markets to capitalize on investment opportunities after depreciations. In combination with the evidence provided on the impact of the level and composition of local firm debt, this evidence further confirms the role of internal capital markets in allowing multinational firms to overcome financial constraints that handicap local firms.

Alternative Explanations

It is also possible that the relative performance of multinational affiliates and local firms reflects other factors associated with the two types of firms. For example, as hypothesized in Blonigen, the depreciations could be accompanied by an increased incentive for foreign multinationals to purchase emerging market corporations and exploit their intangible assets abroad. This explanation of investment dynamics during depreciations, hypothesized in the context of U.S.-Japan mergers and acquisition activity, is less likely to be relevant in the emerging market setting where fewer firms have intangible assets worth exploiting in developed markets. Moreover, much of the evidence presented above is on capital expenditures and therefore is less likely to be driven by acquisitions, as hypothesized in this theory. The differential response of multinational firms could also reflect overinvestment by multinational firms in the aftermath of currency crises rather than constrained under-investment by local firms. If over-investment was operative, it is hard to explain why the analysis of operating exposures discussed above yield significant results. Moreover, analysis presented in Desai, Foley and Forbes does not indicate that multinational firms experience a decrease in operating profits relative to local firms following deprecations. More generally, it is conceivable that other differences between the two samples are driving the results. The descriptive statistics indicate that local firms are larger than multinationals, and such size differences could help explain the results. In order to consider this possibility, interactions of the lag of the log of firm sales and the depreciation dummies have been included in the specifications are presented, and the results are not substantively changed. It is also possible that non-random entry, exit or switching between multinational and local status may conflate the results. In order to consider this possibility, the specifications are presented have been performed using a balanced panel of firms and only those firms that were present two years prior to the depreciations. These analyses generate results very similar to those presented in the paper. Finally, reduced investment by local firms could reflect the corporate governance deficiencies of local firms. Johnson et al. model this possibility and, in their model, stealing increases as investment becomes less profitable in environments with weak governance. To examine the possibility of this alternative explanation, we employ the country-level governance variables used in Johnson et al., split the sample at median levels of these governance variables, and investigate if continued differential performance persists in the subsamples. Splitting the sample at the median level of judicial efficiency, rule of law, or enforceable minority shareholder rights indicates that multinationals outperform local firms in all subsamples. Only if the sample is split at the median level of accounting standards is there a subsample where multinationals do not outperform local firms, and this is the subsample of countries with low, not high, accounting standards.

Reference:
WIKIPEDIA.org

MIS 2 - Assignment 2

2010-06-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

Nature of Relationship between Business plan an IS plan

There is considerable debate in the academic literature on the issue of business/IS alignment. As yet, no one has come up with a universal methodology for achieving it. However, there is significant consensus that business planning should not be done in isolation. Indeed, it has to be done in conjunction with IT plans and both plans need to be developed collaboratively by a team consisting of business-focused managers and technology-focused IS professionals. Clearly, the implication is that, when writing an IT strategic plan, chief information officers (CIOs) should not wait until the business plan is formulated. CIOs should be active participants in the development of both strategies. The point that a sequential approach to alignment is not effective and that “a better approach is one in which strategies, processes, technologies and actions are defined and aligned concurrently.” Similarly, The development of IS strategy during the same process and at the same time as business strategies if organizations are to derive maximum advantage from IT systems.

The reality in many organizations, however, is that they have no formal business planning process, let alone an IS strategic planning process. Almost a third of respondents did not have a formal business plan—that is, a written plan. Perhaps a detailed written plan is not always essential as long as both parties—business-savvy managers and IT specialists—are well informed about the corporate aims and objectives and participate in the informal planning process to understand how technology can
help the organization in realizing them .

Over the past twenty years, information systems (IS) planning has consistently remained among the top ten issues facing senior executives. A key aspect of strategic IS planning is the need for alignment between business planning (BP) and information systems planning (ISP). In the context of BP and ISP, alignment means that business and IS plans (the outputs of the planning process) should be in harmony and consistent with one another. In other words, similar to aligning things to make them congruent, business and IS strategic alignment can be defined as the alignment of IS goals, strategies and processes with the goals, strategies and the processes of the business enterprise.

It appears that IS planninghas decreased in ranking (though it still remains among the top five issues) while business–information technology (IT) alignment has remained the top key issue since 2004. Although this issue has received significant attention in recent years, empirical research focusing specifically on BP–ISP alignment appears to have somewhat slowed down. Note that this chapter focuses on the alignment between IS strategy/plan and business strategy/plan, and between IS planning and business planning. When the concept of deriving IS strategy from business strategy was first, it dealt primarily with the content of plans—that is, deriving theIS mission, strategy and objectives from the mission, strategy and constraints of the strategicbusiness plan. Even when the “reverse” transformation of having IS influence business strategy was first discussed, the focus was on content.

Little attention was given to the alignment of the IS strategic planning process with the business planning process until IBM used the other approach as the basis for their business systems planning (BSP) process. IBM’s use of these ideas with their customers around the globe was significant in popularizing and extending their application to the consideration of both content and process. Subsequently, various researchers have emphasized the importance of enterprise architectureand strategic planning methodologies/ frameworks for creating alignment. Examples of IS planning methodologies/frameworks that suggest how IS can support or be aligned with business include: BSP and Business Information Control Study (BICS), and critical success factors (CSFs), value chain, customer resource life cycle, and strategic thrusts. In addition, authors have also examined the creation of business-aligned IS strategy in practice. However, a review of such literature, which would include details of different strategic IS planning processes and frameworks, is beyond the scope of this chapter.

Various terms are often used synonymously to describe alignment, namely, “bridge”, “congruence”, “consistency”, “coordination”, “fit”, “fusion”, “harmony”, “integration”, “linkage”, and “match”.

The need for BP–ISP alignment or more generally, business–IT alignment, has been emphasized in both prescriptive and empirical studies. The basic premise of the importance of alignment is that greater alignment between IS and business will lead to better performance. Alignment has been examined in various contexts, such as mergers and acquisitions, enterprise systems implementation, critical success factors of business and IS executives, software development processes, Internet usage, and interorganizational relationships. However, the focus of this chapter is mainly on the alignment of business planning/strategies with IS planning/strategies.

Alignment is important because it helps to: ensure that information systems are targeted on areas that are critical to successful business performance, ensure that the IS function supports organizational goals and activities at every level, enhance top management’s understanding of the significance of IS, and increases IS management’s understanding of business objectives, ensure that ISP activities are coordinated with BP activities so that the IS function can better support business strategies and contribute to the achievement of business value, facilitate acquisition and deployment of information technology that is congruent with the organization’s competitive needs rather than existing patterns of usage within the organization, heighten the stature of IS within the organization, thus facilitating the financial and managerial support necessary to effectively implement innovative, maximize returns on IT investment, help achieve competitive advantage through IS, provide direction and flexibility to react to new opportunities.

Reference:
WIKIPEDIA.org

MIS 2 - Assignment 1

2010-06-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

Ten years from now, I see myself as an MIS Programmer in a large organization. To achieve this goal, one of my strategies is to acquire the top ten traits of a good programmer. These traits are:

1. Think! - This is the most important trait of a good programmer. I must never jumps into anything. Given a problem, I must first think over it. The more I think, the more ideas, questions and alternate solutions come to his mind.

2. Learn! - Learn Baby, learn! A good programmer has a burning desire to learn new things every day. I observed learning itself is so formalized and force fed that students are bored with it.

3. Help others! - This to me is the golden rule of programming. "Help other as you would want others to help you". The advantage of helping others was: immense experience in solving programming problems, various ways people see a particular problem. Also you come across interesting/weird/strange ideas!, empathy towards programmers. The difficulty they face in their day to day job. But sometimes, "Help others" is not something officially appreciated.

4. Lead by example! - Another important trait if you are a senior programmer or architect. If you are a technical lead or a lead programmer, lead by example. Write code in front of your team members. You will get more trust, respect and support from your team!

5. Know a bit about everything! - For example, If you are a core Java programmer, you should also know about SQL programming. It also helps if you know a bit of regular expressions or a scripting language.

6. Know basics of computer science! - There are many programmers out there who doesn’t have the basic knowledge of computers or their inner workings. This is very essential. Many of the programming difficulties that people face is due to the lack of knowledge of how computers work! If needed take a computer science course.

7. Perfect it as much as you can! - Nobody is perfect. You can’t write perfect code in the first iteration. Refactoring is the mantra. Analyse your code, find code fragments that can be reused and refactored.

8. Use tools! - Many programming tasks can simplied if you use appropriate tools. For example, in all my projects I use Adobe Dreamweaver to develop web applications.

9. Explore code! - If you want to improve your coding skills quickly, one thing I recommend is exploring code written by others. If I would have said this 10 years back, you would ask me- "Where can I find good code?" But now the scene is completely different. Open source movement has revolutionized everything. There is so much good open source code out there that I feel overwhelmed by it!

10. Be Humble! - Humility is the last of the top 10 traits a good programmer should have. But it is not the least! As you get more and more experience, it is very natural to feel arrogant. The moment you become arrogant, you loose the trust and respect of your fellow programmers. Being arrogant also shows how ignorant you are! Remember, no one is perfect. You can also make mistakes. If someone points it out, thank him and accept his valid comments.

Here’s my other adopted strategies:

Never stop learning

Computerworld's "40 under 40" are a varied group, but one trait you'd be hard-pressed to find among them is a willingness to rest on their laurels. IT professionals who have to be asked to learn new skills confine themselves to narrowly defined careers.While it's essential to master a technical specialty, those who become leaders tend to broaden, not just deepen, their areas of expertise. Attending a conference on a topic that's outside your comfort zone is a great way to stimulate your thinking. In addition to traditional classes and seminars, seek out other ways to learn, like finding a mentor or taking on projects that stretch your abilities.

Keep track of blogs and Web sites in areas that interest you, participate in online forums, and attend trade shows and networking events, always with a critical eye on your future. What new technologies are most likely to shape the industry? By keeping up with changes in technology, you gain the ability to steer your career toward growing specialties (such as wireless security, to use a current example) and away from less marketable ones.

Soft skills set you apart

Keeping your technical skills and knowledge up to date is important, but if you want to help bring about change rather than just respond to it, you'll also need to take a look at how you work with others. In a survey by Robert Half Technology, CIOs cited interpersonal skills, the ability to work under pressure and communication skills as the top traits they seek in IT professionals, aside from technological proficiency. Soft skills may be trickier to assess and improve than hard skills, but they're critical to the impact you have on your colleagues, company and industry. It's a good idea to periodically assess your soft skills to determine where improvements should be made. Ask trusted colleagues for feedback on your strengths and weaknesses. When you identify a shortcoming, make a plan to address it. For example, if you think you could stand to improve your presentation skills, you might consider enrolling in an organization like Toastmasters or volunteering to give your team's status update at the next staff meeting.

Business savvy is another key attribute that requires deliberate effort. Whenever you're uncertain about the bottom-line "why" of an IT project, refresh your knowledge of the company's priorities and goals by talking to your manager. A big-picture perspective is a prerequisite to making meaningful contributions to your firm. In addition, understanding the big picture enables you to anticipate the needs of your company and your industry before those needs become apparent to everyone -- a major distinguishing characteristic of IT innovators.

Establish your leadership potential

For the most successful IT professionals, job descriptions are just starting points. When you take the initiative to expand your role, people start to think of you as a leader. Serving as a leader also means demonstrating integrity and selflessness. For example, the willingness to "own" a mistake or a failed project does more to establish your credibility than making sure you get your share of the credit when a project succeeds.

Your role as a leader should extend beyond the walls of your company. Joining a professional association, going to conferences and offering to speak or present at industry events are good ways to build your reputation and become an active part of the exchange of ideas. Many successful IT careers get stuck on plateaus not because of any shortage of ingenuity or persistence, but because they take place largely in a vacuum rather than in constant, creative interaction with others.

MIS Major Paper Journal

2009-10-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

June 29 –July 02 2009
Group decided to start on seeking for probable company to be adopted for this project.

July 03 2009
The group had decided to ask the permission to SSS if we can conduct study and to be our adopted company.

July 06 2009
Monday
We went to SSS and we were able to entertain by Mr. Jesulito Flores, one of the IT support staff of Regional Information System Support Department. He advised us to present a letter address to the branch manager, Mr. Manolito Tagalog.

July 07 2009
After we had drafted the clearance letter, we immediately signed it to our facilitator together with OSS Director and the Dean.
We went back to SSS and present the letter to Mr. Jess. He personally gave it to the branch manager. Unfortunately, Mr. Tagalog, branch manager was not there so, he told us to return in Monday.

July 13 2009
We returned to SSS to verify if our letter was approved by the branch manager. Fortunately, it was granted.

July 15-17 2009
Group Discussion
Planning for Information System Assessment Content
Tentative IS Assessment Content

Introduction
Purpose, Scope And Objective of the Study
Company Profile Definitions
Legislative History
Vision, Mission and Goal
Company Operation
SWOT Analysis
Finding and Observation
Parameters (IT Technology)
Process Work Diagram
Recommendation

July 20-28 2009

Group Activities:
Research - for references
Topics:
§ SWOT Analysis
§ Assessment Tool
§ Related on Hardware
§ Related on Software
Review of Modules
Formulations of Guide Questions
Aug 26 2009
The group had decided to present the formulated questionnaire to the RISS Department Head.
We were told they cannot accommodate us by this month because of the busy schedule they had. So, the group decided to leave the questionnaire for them to answer it in their vacant time for our initial data gathering.

Aug 29 2009
Company Background
Data Gathered:
Guide Book for SSS Members
Social Security Act of 1997
SSS Forms
Visits Web Site www.sss.gov.ph

Aug 30 2009
The group started the documentation of the company background:
Company / Legislative History
Vision, Mission and Goals
Organizational Chart
Read the given Company references:
Guide Book
SSS Booklet

Sept. 17 2009
We were able to conduct an interview to Mr. Jesulito Flores.
Here are the informations he imparted to us:
Regional Information Service Support (RISS) Department
-supports SSS with relates to IT problems
-total control of all systems in Regional Southern Mindanao Branches:
Davao
Toril
Digos
Kidapawan
Tagum
Gensan
Tacurong
Coronadal
Mati
-the first line of Defense
-ICT of Southern Mindanao
-Technical Support to ICT problems
Social Security System
-social support to private company
Service Systems:
-web sites : online inquiries
-Info Kiosk
-main office located in Manila
Network Operating Systems
-Windows Base, currently using XP version
Hardware maintenance
-twice a year
-warranty of hardware purchased
System Problems:
-Electrical Fault
-Internet Connection
Internet Service Provider
-Globe Tel. and PLDT
-RASS (Remote Access Service Search)
Software Proprietary
-SAP
-ORACLE
Departments in main office:
-ADM 1-3 (Application Dev. Management)
-SSA (System Software Administration)
-TRD (Technical Research Dev.)

Sept. 28 2009
This was our second interview with the RISS Department Head and Mr. Jesulito Flores , an IT support.

Sept 30 09
We went to PLDT & Smart Company at Ponciano St. Davao City. We had inquired about upgrading Internet Connection from T1 to T3.
We were entertained by Mr. Rolando R. Cadabas SME Area Sales Head of Mindanao together with his colleague who was a graduate of ECE of USEP. They gave us the idea about cost of upgrading internet connection and the probable cost for installation.

Information Environment: Virtual Library

2009-10-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

The Virtual Library was the first index of content on the World Wide Web and still operates as a directory of e-texts and information sources on the web. It was started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of HTML and the Web itself, in 1991 at CERN in Geneva. Unlike commercial index sites, it is run by a loose confederation of volunteers, who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they are expert. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "WWWVL", the "Virtual Library" or just "the VL".

Information resources or information services that are available over the Internet. At BMCC, the Virtual Library site provides access to a large number of library resources (indexes, journals, and reference materials, for example) and online reference service via the campus computer network. Students access these resources through a browser on a workstation anywhere on campus or remotely from home. A search aid that combines Internet technology with traditional library methods of cataloguing and assessing data.

The individual indices, or virtual libraries live on hundreds of different servers around the world. A set of index pages linking these individual libraries is maintained at http://vlib.org/, in Geneva only a few kilometres from where the VL began life. A mirror of this index is kept at East Anglia (UK). A VL specific search engine has operated for some years and is now (VLsearch) located on its own server at vlsearch.org.

The central affairs of the Virtual Library are co-ordinated by an elected Council. A central index (the 'Catalog') is maintained and joint services provided by the Council on behalf of the association.

My Role in virtual library is Systems Administrator. A system administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network. System administrators may be members of an information technology department. The duties of a system administrator are wide-ranging, and vary widely from one organization to another. Sysadmins are usually charged with installing, supporting, and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and planning for and responding to service outages and other problems. Other duties may include scripting or light programming, project management for systems-related projects, supervising or training computer operators, and being the consultant for computer problems beyond the knowledge of technical support staff. A System Administrator must demonstrate a blend of technical skills and responsibility.

The challenges facing me in performing the role of systems administrator are:

1. Operating Systems and Applications Challenge – I can address this challenge by maintaining a database system, and handling the responsibility for the integrity of the data and the efficiency and performance of the system. I will make sure that the network infrastructure such as switches and routers, and diagnoses problems with these or with the behavior of network-attached computers. I can confront this challenge by analyzing system logs and identifying potential issues with computer systems, introducing and integrating new technologies into existing data center environments, and performing routine audits of systems and software and backups. I can also meet this challenge by applying operating system updates, patches, and configuration changes and performing system performance tuning

2. Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Challenge- I can address this challenge by responding to individual users' difficulties with computer systems, provide instructions and sometimes training, and diagnose and solve common problems. I will perform routine maintenance and upkeep, such as changing backup tapes or replacing failed drives in a RAID. Such tasks usually require physical presence in the room with the computer; and while less skilled than sysadmin tasks require a similar level of trust, since the operator has access to possibly sensitive data. I am also ready and to be on the call when a computer system goes down or malfunctions, and must be able to quickly and correctly diagnose what is wrong and how best to fix it.

3. Software Engineering or Developing Challenge– I will face this challenge by maintaining web server services (such as Apache or IIS) that allow for internal or external access to web sites. Tasks include managing multiple sites, administering security, and configuring necessary components and software. Responsibilities may also include software change management. I must understand the behavior of software in order to deploy it and to troubleshoot problems, and generally know several programming languages used for scripting or automation of routine tasks.

4. Computer Security Challenge– I will dare this challenge by engaging into a study and training to make a specialist in computer and network security, including the administration of security devices such as firewalls, as well as consulting on general security measures. Particularly when dealing with Internet-facing or business-critical systems, I must challenge myself to have a strong grasp of computer security. This includes not merely deploying software patches, but also preventing break-ins and other security problems with preventive measures. Computer security administration is also my role that is responsible for overall security and the upkeep of firewalls and intrusion detection systems, but all I must be generally responsible for the security of the systems in their keep.

Reference:
www.wikipedia.org

Barriers in IS/IT Implementation in SSS Davao

2009-10-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Barrier in Information Systems/Information Technology means a factor that had a direct or indirect negative impact on the implementation processes. Based on my adopted company SSS, the barriers in their IS/IT implementations are:

1. Exceeded budget – This barrier is based on the interviews with the SSS IT personnel that the buys any IT hardware assets that is popular in the market like the Cisco Router. The regional offices of SSS have limited recommendation power in the purchasing of IT equipment due to the centralized management of information systems. I would suggest that the regional offices of SSS must have price and cost monitoring program and department of the hardware purchasing. I believe that this department will save the public money and this savings will go to the benefits its members.

2. Lack of specialized personnel. This barrier is come up from of the interviewee that he trained only once in his 5-year work residency is SSS as an IT Support Staff. I recommend that SSS must have a regular training program for their IT personnel. No technology implementation can be successful without proper training, and many people in today’s workforce are very adept at using the technology at hand and seem to derive much more value from the training they receive because of their high comfort level. Yet there are still those who experience high anxiety at the thought of learning a new application or system, but given the necessary encouragement and support, SSS Information Systems end-users can become productive end-users

3. Use of inexperienced staff.- This barrier is risen from the conversations with the SSS IT personnel that there are information systems end-users who are old enough and ready to retire from the service. These people are difficult to teach the new technology and new innovations of information systems of SSS. I would suggest to SSS to hire young professionals to use the functions and features of its information systems. I would also recommend to extend IT education to current SSS employees and Information Systems end-users. To adapt the competence of the personnel to changing demands, two alternative strategies may be applied. One strategy implies that the existing personnel may receive additional training and education in order to improve their own competence and skills. The other strategy means that new personnel categories are hired, complementing the competence profile of the existing personnel.

4. Opposition from leftist group to the new information particularly to the unified ID system – This barrier is taken from the excerpts of journals of interviews with the IT staff from SSS. The unified ID system aims to consolidate the different ID system of SSS, Pag-ibig, LTO and Philhealth. The leftist group opposes to this information system proposal because they believe that this project can interfere with the privacy of individual members of these government institutions. And they also think that this government project points to the surveillance of activities of leftist group. I would suggest to SSS officials to conduct a public forum for them to explain the advantages of the unified id system. Also, the public will know that this project has a great purpose in their transactions with these institutions and to avoid bad humors to this unified id system.

I Will Go For The USEP Outsourced Information Systems

2009-09-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

I will first state the brief history of Information Systems of USEP. Few years ago, the University through the Institute of Computing (IC) was able to develop an Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) which was approved by the National Computer Center. The approved ISSP of the University Management Information Systems (UMIS) and is now an integral part of the long leap project of the Institute of Computing. Part of the plan was to develop an information system that will handle the student records, registration and enrolment. Other components of the ISSP include financial management information system, supplies and resources management information system, human resources management information system, research and extension management information system and general administrative information system.

Sometime in 2008, the Office of the University President commissioned the IC to develop an enrolment system of the University. This was brought about by the looming prices of outsourced computer systems which the University has been using for three years. The primary objective in developing an enrolment system of the University is to come up with internally developed system for enrolment which is less costly, efficient and flexible. With this, two programmers, Dr. Tamara Cher R. Mercado and Engr. Michael Angelo Cagape were tasked to develop the enrolment system with the guidance of the Dean of the Institute of Computing, Engr. Val A. Quimno.

Summer of SY 2008-2009, the IC has just implemented the newly developed Student Records Management Information System (SRMIS). The SRMIS as a pilot project of IC is eyed as an efficient and effective management information system with minimal cost of development. Also, the SRMIS has a potential of becoming a marketable product that can later be translated as an income generating project (IGP) of the university.

As proposed, the following are the expected outputs of the SRMIS project:

Output 1: Student Records & Registration Module – This module aims to develop an automated system for the registration and record keeping of the student’s records to be handled by the Office of the Admission and Student Records and the Registrar’s Office. All colleges and affected offices are expected to use this module for the loading and retrieval of student records

Output 2: Student Assessment Module – This module will handle assessment of fees per student depending on the number of units taken. Also, additional fees such as laboratory, internet, library, insurance and other fees will automatically be computed and reflected in the student’s certificate of registration. This module is an integral part of the Student Records & Registration Module and Cashiering and Collections module.

Output 3: Cashiering and Collections Module – This module provides a comprehensive range of functions in relation to cashiering and collection. This module will handle all transactions related to cashiering and collection of students fess and other fees. This module will be designed for its future integration in the New Government Accounting System (NGAS) which the Finance/Accounting Department is currently using.

Outsourcing and insourcing can both be described generally as, the acquisition of internally required resources obtained from an external source. With respect to freight transportation management, the following outsourced services are fairly common and some were even available at the beginning: Freight Bill Auditing -- both pre and post, management reports; Loss and Damage claim handling; and Transportation purchasing. Outsourcing firms perform these services, as well as others, at their locations; whereas the insourcing firm would deliver the functional programs over the Internet or intranets for use by the client. Outsourcing tends to be exclusive, that is, client interaction is typically limited to processing and rules questions raised by the vendor. On the other hand, insourcing is inclusive and these firms interact with their clients in order to lead the market through innovation and continuous program improvement. Like the Microsoft business practice of maintaining a high level of program and system operating performance through heuristic client interaction and automated Internet downloads, insourcing firms seem to be mimicking this model. The primary differentiators between insourcing and outsourcing are concept, business model, and delivery methodologies.

Outsourcing has recently become a new hot topic in microfinance, at least among those of us following technology trends. The general idea is that by allowing someone else to manage some or all of your technology, your time is freed up to focus on what you know best, working with clients. Outsourcing would allow small Microfinance Industries (MFIs) to focus their limited human resources on their core business rather than on technology. And just like Salesforce.com and other Software as a Service (SaaS) products have improved the lot of small and medium businesses in the US, outsourcing could change the playing field for microfinance by providing small MFIs with access to more secure and robust systems.

Outsourcing provided a beneficial alternative to the in-house traffic department. With the advent of inexpensive computers and computerization, clever audit firms capitalized on those advantages. Through the economies of scale, the audit firm could afford to channel its intelligence and financial resources to develop and improve the associated practices and services necessary to create transportation management service advantages that individual companies could not or chose not to do. With appropriate customer mass, and because of standardized tariffs outsourcing was a reasonably profitable business for both the provider and the customer. Outsourcing remains a viable business alternative for some in-house tasks and services.

If have to choose between in-source or outsource. I will go for outsourcing the information systems of USEP. As I know, any organization that has an in-sourced information systems must have an IS/IT Department. USEP has no IS/IT Department. Institute of Computing (IC) is not an IS/IT Department. It is a college. There is no team of programmers who will maintain the information systems of the school, the SRMIS. Information systems must go to updating, repairing, modifying, and expanding from time to time in order to accommodate the needs of the clients of the school, e.g. students. In my knowledge, only Engr. Cagape owns the positions of application programmer and systems programmer of the school. Application programmers write programs to handle a specific job, such as a program to track inventory within an organization. He also may revise existing packaged software or customize generic applications which are frequently purchased from independent software vendors. Systems programmers, in contrast, write programs to maintain and control computer systems software, such as operating systems and database management systems. In other organizations, these two information system specialist positions must have a separate individual, handling their duties and responsibilities. At this time, Engr. Cagape in on leave and the question is what happens to the maintenance of the SRMIS of the school.

In my opinion, outsourced information systems are much better than in-source. I believe that outsourced information systems can resolve the problems of in-sourced information systems of USEP through developing new applications, updating outdated custom software, replacing developers/programmers who are no longer available, solving software compatibility difficulties, completing unfinished software development projects, providing support for new IT services personnel, automating organizational processes, fixing problems with proprietary applications, addressing unique business requirements, porting software to web, desktop, and PDA applications, creating custom device drivers for specialized applications.

I also believe that outsourced information systems save time and money. Outsource takes forward thinking, expertise, and innovation to develop high-quality information systems functions and applications that work for any organizations, schools, and universities like information systems should, that are created cost efficiently and timely, and that will serve your needs into the future. Those attributes resulted in a fundamentally different approach to information systems development. I am also convinced that outsourced information systems can offer a more robust and secure core information systems application, increased functionality, such as full integration between portfolio, accounting, and client information modules, ability to network with other university offices and eventually payments systems allowing colleges to offer better services to students, improved reporting capacity, both for internal management purposes as well as reporting to stockholders of the school, and ease of mind from not managing costly and complicated servers in-house.

I have faith in company who offers outsourced information systems in software development which is flexible, which accommodates specific software requirements, and which provides detailed, thorough, clearly-spelled-out estimates you can rely on. The university will work with a software developer who provides documentation that's clear, concise, and error-free. And the school will discover what it's like to work with an experienced programmer who understands the business requirements. Outsourcing remains a viable, but transitioning business alternative to many in-house transportation management tasks and services.

That is my position of the status of information systems of the university. I will go for the outsource.

SONA and Areas of ICT

2009-08-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

1. Creation of a Department of Information and Communication Technology.
The creation of this department will greatly help the sector of information and communication technology (ICT). The Filipino information specialists like the Filipino programmers, software developers, software engineers, computer scientists, and software analysts will benefit to this program of government. I am sure that agenda of this department will be the professionalization of computer programming. The professionalization of programming makes Filipino IT professionals to increase their knowledge, skills and experience in new programming languages, software project management techniques, and application frameworks that is required to produce quality computer softwares and programs. And these computer softwares and programs developed by Filipino IT professionals will improve the quality of life of Filipino people very soon.

2. The Resiliency of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis.
This industry has employed many Filipinos as call center agents and call customer service representatives have become more and more popular. These jobs have good salary and compensation and this will give a greater help and ease for the poor family of the Filipino workers. And, our government tries and continues to support and improve this industry of information and communication technology.

3. Amendment of the Public Service Law which governs the Telecommunications Industry.
The amendment of this law will strengthen the consumers’ rights to good and right services especially to telecommunication companies like Smart and Globe. These corporations abused the Filipino consumers by stealing the load of celfone users who subscribe to their network services and by rendering poor services in the form of dropped calls and short period of validity time of load. I am favor of this amendment which should be one of the priority amendments of congress to stop the unscrupulous conduct of these telecom giants.

4. The Main Education Highway towards a Knowledge-Based Economy launched by The Presidential Task Force on Education.
This endeavor will further boost the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) environment in the country. The technical education and skills trainings of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will employ much Filipino people in BPO industry. Courses like computer servicing and maintenance and medical transcription as well as trainings in call center agent and customer service representative are offered in this government institution in a very affordable tuition fee. This program of government also envisions seamless education from basic to vocational school or college.
On the other hand, our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be on offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way. And this educational system should alleviate our poor Filipino family from poverty and hardship.

My Suggestions/Recommendations in Improving the Internet Connectivity of USEP

2009-08-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Technology
I would suggest the the 2.5 STABLE version of Lamit 2Pro Advanced and Lamit 2Pro Mini Power servers to University President. Despite the very small dimensions of the Mini Power server, it maintains all the features and characteristics of the Lamit 2Pro server’s Platform. The new generation of servers includes Wireless connectivity (N type, offering an extended coverage area and maximum transfer rates) providing easier users’ connection. The new servers’ version also offers new encryption facilities, a better control and professional management of the users’ LAN.

The Lamit 2Pro servers were tested in difficult conditions, beside high debit satellite bidirectional connections offered by Lamit, in different regions of the world, at different levels of users, starting with the services for small or middle users and continuing with the broadband communications via satellite offered to romanian and foreign military bases from Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The servers/routers have advanced functions of acceleration and prioritization of the data transfer between the user’s network and internet, helping the VoIP and VPN communications.

The Lamit Company also offers broadcast services via satellite, occasional or permanent ones, as well as special encrypted governmental connections, dedicated networks, point to point and point to multipoint connections, SCPC/SCPC or SCPC/DVB S2 types.

Military bases, governmental agencies, universities, internet café’s, drilling and oil, gas and petroleum companies, as well as various corporations and physical persons from all over the world (USA, Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa) are using daily the high speed satellite connections offered by Lamit Company for worldwide communication and safe data transfer. The Lamit 2Pro server Platform has been adapted to improve the communication in each of the previously mentioned environments.

Last but not least, it is important to mention that Lamit Company was elected the winner, in 2009, of two international awards: “International Trophy for Technology and Quality” and “Golden Award for Quality and Business Prestige”, the annalists’ conclusions being:

The Selection Committee of Lamit Corporation said that after a deep analysis of the company’s activity they concluded that due to their innovative special capacities, Lamit Co. succeeded to maintain itself in the top of the companies that activates in the transmissions via satellite field.

Lamit Company made itself known due to the innovative solutions and the improvement they made to the quality of transmission services via satellite, fixed or mobile and through its value added networking solutions, reason why it has received multiple appreciations and international awards in the past years.

Steps and Processes:
I would suggest the following tips and improvements to university network administrator, network technicians, university computer technicians, university employees as well as to students:

#1 Ditch the modem. The first tip is to get rid of the modem and move to ADSL. Yes, broadband is available at low cost in most areas. University network technician would visit keyword broadband to see if it's supported by his exchange. If he is on broadband he can probably skip the rest of the top tips because he'll be enjoying life rather than fretting about his connection speed.

#2 Update drivers. University network administrator must love the modem! Perhaps university’s fund is limited or he doesn't have ADSL in his area - read on. Driver files are updated regularly by most modem manufacturers. For some modems, he can also "flash upgrade" the software in the modem to provide the latest (and fastest) communications software. Even so, he should be sure the driver is right for his operating system. To find the latest drivers, he just enter the modem details into a search engine such as www.yahoo.com or www.google.com.ph with the word "driver". So, to find drivers for a USR Sportster modem, enter "USR Sportster driver" and follow any instructions on how to install it. He can check his current modem drivers from Control Panel. With Windows XP, Select Start | Control Panel | Phone and Modem Options | Modems | Properties | Drivers.

#3 Tweak settings. Host computers have some settings that may improve modem throughput. All data sent over the internet goes in data packets. The size of these packets is the Maximum Transmission Unit or MTU. The aim is to send packets that are as large as possible without them needing to be broken down into smaller packets which would slow down their connection speed. A modem user, should set the (MTU) to 1500, the RWIN multiplier to 10 and Time to Live to 35. Download Tweak-Me or Tweak-XP to get this done automatically.

#4 Use FTP download wherever possible. If students want to download files, they can often choose between FTP or HTML download. FTP, (File Transfer Protocol,) is much faster for file transfers so they should choose that when they can.

#5 Use a high speed port. This'll only apply to readers with really old computers. The serial port may use an old, slow chip called a UART. The answer is to fit a high speed serial port with a 16550 UART chip or to fit an internal modem which includes one of these beasties.

#6 Use a download tool. There's nothing more frustrating than losing a connection near the end of a one hour download. The good news is that most downloads are resumable which means they can be restarted from where the connection failed. Universisty computer technician needs the right tool to manage the reconnection - one of the best is shareware Getright. Getright also searches for the fastest download sites and splits the download between several sites with the downloads running in parallel for the maximum possible download speed.

#7 Use a faster browser. Once computer users have connected to Yahoo, they can start any browser and run it in a second window. Opera is one of the fastest so why not download a free copy and give it a test run?

#8 Manage the computer cache. Every time university offices use the internet, images and other files are downloaded onto machine’s hard disk. If a particular image or other file is needed in a subsequent session, it can be pulled from the disk faster than it could be downloaded again. They are kept in a "Temporary Internet Files" folder, often called Cache. When the folder is full, Windows deletes the oldest files. University employees can vary the size of this folder by visiting Control Panel and selecting Internet Options. If they increase it, then more files can be stored on hard disk but if they go too far, then a slow PC may spend too long searching cache! They'll need to experiment to find the right level for their computers and internet connection speed.

#9 Define a blank homepage. Each time students start a browser outside their Google window, the browser will go to the defined homepage. If this is slow, they should change the home page to a fast web site. If they are a real speed nut, set it to blank. To do this, go to Internet Options as above, and select Use Blank. Now their external browser is up and running in record time.

#10 Don't display images. Text only windows are much faster to download. Computer technicians can easily restore images when required. Here's how to set whether to display images: From Internet Options (see above) select the Advanced tab. Scroll down until the multimedia section is seen, then select or deselect "Show pictures." Select Apply then OK to save the change.
If they make these changes and they'll be cruising in the fast lane!

Infrastructure:
I would suggest the following computer hardware and sofware infrastructure: Computers should be running at least Pentium-2.0Ghz w/48.8K modem. Computer technician would use different "internet software" ( pick and choose what works better ). Network technician would also use different operating systems ( WinXP or WinVista or Linux ). Host computers should upgrade to faster hardware ( Pentium 4, Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, AMD Sempron, AMD Athlon ) and upgrade to faster connection ( DSL or Full T1,T2 ).

University internet server needs to have a 24 hour dedicated connection to the internet and it should be internet server == a "unix machine" + firewall + router + phone lines to ISP. Another suggestion is to switch to a "better/faster/larger" ISP ( not the slow commercial online services ).

Innovations:
I would suggest the innovations in cable modem/router tweaking to improve university internet connection speed. All modems make it possible for established communications channels to support a wide variety of data communication. Similar to other modems, a cable modem receives and sends data by modulating and demodulating signals. However, cable modems differ from other modems because they also function like routers. Broadband Internet data is delivered into the home or office over a coaxial cable line that also carries television signals. The information travels like a TV channel through the coaxial cable line. The cable modem separates the data from the television signals and directs the data to the PC and video to the television.

Local traffic is the biggest speed cap that plagues cable modems or a source of a slow cable internet connection. Cable modems work on a network/grid that connects to a T3 router running at 45 Megabits per second. Depending on where computers placed, they could have a busy grid, or a not-so-busy one. Then there is Internet traffic. Network administrator’s best bet if he really needs the speed is to pick a time where not as many people are on. There is a noticeable difference in traffic between 2 AM and 6 PM.

There are a number of ways to improve the performance of university cable modem/router. Unlike old fashioned dial-up modems, there isn't a whole lot he can do to increase the speed of computer cable connection. He can tweak the way the broadband Internet cable connection sends the data/packets back and forth. If he is new to this whole thing, there are a number of programs that will automatically set the best values for the connection. Some of the most popular programs are EasyMTU, I-Speed, Intelli Dial-Up, Smartalec, Smartplay.

There’s also Web browser called Voyager 5000 made by Smartalec that’s much faster than regular Internet Explorer. Updating the drivers on computer’s (Network Interface Card) can give the most noticeable speed boost above everything else. Some good places to check for drivers would be: www.drivershq.com, www.download.com, and even www.altavista.com.

Improving university cable internet speeds with connection teaming is also an option. Midpoint has a feature called connection teaming. Connection teaming combines multiple connections to the Internet for increased bandwidth. Along with connection teaming, the software splits large files being downloaded into multiple smaller parts and downloads each part at the same time along each connection. Cable modem companies sometimes allow network technician to purchase additional IP address for a monthly fee. @Home does this for $5 per IP address. @Home caps the bandwidth per account, not IP address - but at the very least, it might increase the efficiency of internet connection and allow the throughput to closer reach the capped maximum speed.
On a very basic level, host computer’s performance also affects the Internet performance as well. If university computer isn't running at its best, neither will the broadband Internet connection.

Maintenance
I would recommend the following tips on University Wifi Network and Internet Connection Maintenance:

1. Upgrade and Add Equipment
Many have heard of the basic Wi-Fi equipment like network routers (or access points) and wireless adapter cards. While good routers and adapters can last for many years, in general university network technician should periodically consider replacing the old equipment. Newer network gear can be faster, more reliable or offer better compatibility with university offices electronic gadgets.

Some network technicians fail to consider the benefits that more advanced gear like wireless print servers, game adapters and video cameras can bring to the offices and computer laboratories. Before settling for a bare-bones network setup with only a router and a few PCs, research these other types of products also (that can be acquired for very reasonable prices).

2. Move the Router to a Better Location
Some computer technicians quickly assemble their wireless network only to find that it won't function in certain areas of the residence. Others enjoy a working setup at first but find later that their network crashes when a microwave oven or cordless phone is turned on. Perhaps even more common, PCs in a basement, attic or corner room may suffer from chronically poor network performance but the office employees fear attempting to fix it. One easy way to address these common Wi-Fi networking issues is to move the wireless router to a better location.

3. Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number
In most countries, Wi-Fi equipment can transmit signals on any of several different channels, similar to televisions. Most wireless routers ship with the same default channel numbers, and most technicians never think about changing this. However, if they experience radio interference from a nearby offices’ router or some other piece of electronic equipment, changing the Wi-Fi channel is often the best way to avoid it.

4. Upgrade Router Firmware
Wireless routers contain built-in programmable logic called firmware. A version of firmware is installed on the router by the manufacturer, and this logic is essential to the operation of the device. However, many routers also offer a firmware upgrade capability that allows employees to install newer versions. Updating university firmware can provide performance improvements, security enhancements or better reliability. University network personnel should watch for firmware updates from the router manufacturer and upgrade as needed.

5. Increase Signal Strength and Range of the Router
No matter where in a residence a wireless router is installed, sometimes the Wi-Fi signal will simply not be strong enough to maintain a good connection. The likelihood of this problem increases with longer distances and with severe obstructions such as brick walls between the router and the wireless client. One way to solve this problem is to upgrade the Wi-Fi antenna installed on the router. Some routers do not support antenna upgrades, but many do. The alternative involves installing an additional device called a repeater.

6. Increase Signal Strength and Range of the Clients
As with wireless routers, Technicians can also improve the signal strength of wireless clients. They must consider this when dealing with a single Wi-Fi device that suffers from a very short signal range compared to the rest of these devices. This technique can improve the ability of laptop computers to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, for example.

7. Increase Wireless Network Security
Many network authorized personnel consider their wireless network setup a success when basic file and Internet connection sharing are functional. However, if proper security features are not in place, the job remains unfinished. They should follow this checklist of essential steps for establishing and maintaining good Wi-Fi security on a office and laboratory network.

Reference:
www.broadbandinfo.com
www.sahafa.com
www.thefreelibrary.com
www.practicalpc.co.uk
www.compnetworking.about.com

MIS and LMIS

2009-07-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

MIS

Management Information System refers broadly to a computer-based system that provides managers with the tools for organizing, evaluating and efficiently running their departments. In order to provide past, present and prediction information, an MIS can include software that helps in decision making, data resources such as databases, the hardware resources of a system, decision support systems, people management and project management applications, and any computerized processes that enable the department to run efficiently.

The development and management of information technology tools assists executives and the general workforce in performing any tasks related to the processing of information. MIS and business systems are especially useful in the collation of business data and the production of reports to be used as tools for decision making.
Applications of MIS
With computers being as ubiquitous as they are today, there's hardly any large business that does not rely extensively on their IT systems.

However, there are several specific fields in which MIS has become invaluable.

1. Strategy Support

While computers cannot create business strategies by themselves they can assist management in understanding the effects of their strategies, and help enable effective decision-making. MIS systems can be used to transform data into information useful for decision making. Computers can provide financial statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy. MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they can collate into coherent reports unmanageable volumes of data that would otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained unseen if the raw data were consulted manually.

MIS systems can also use these raw data to run simulations – hypothetical scenarios that answer a range of ‘what if’ questions regarding alterations in strategy. For instance, MIS systems can provide predictions about the effect on sales that an alteration in price would have on a product. These Decision Support Systems (DSS) enable more informed decision making within an enterprise than would be possible without MIS systems.

2. Data Processing

Not only do MIS systems allow for the collation of vast amounts of business data, but they also provide a valuable time saving benefit to the workforce. Where in the past business information had to be manually processed for filing and analysis it can now be entered quickly and easily onto a computer by a data processor, allowing for faster decision making and quicker reflexes for the enterprise as a whole.

Management by Objectives

While MIS systems are extremely useful in generating statistical reports and data analysis they can also be of use as a Management by Objectives (MBO) tool. MBO is a management process by which managers and subordinates agree upon a series of objectives for the subordinate to attempt to achieve within a set time frame. Objectives are set using the SMART ratio: that is, objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-Specific.

The aim of these objectives is to provide a set of key performance indicators by which an enterprise can judge the performance of an employee or project. The success of any MBO objective depends upon the continuous tracking of progress. In tracking this performance it can be extremely useful to make use of an MIS system. Since all SMART objectives are by definition measurable they can be tracked through the generation of management reports to be analyzed by decision-makers.

Benefits of MIS

The field of MIS can deliver a great many benefits to enterprises in every industry. Expert organisations such as the Institute of MIS along with peer reviewed journals such as MIS Quarterly continue to find and report new ways to use MIS to achieve business objectives.

Core Competencies

Every market leading enterprise will have at least one core competency – that is, a function they perform better than their competition. By building an exceptional management information system into the enterprise it is possible to push out ahead of the competition. MIS systems provide the tools necessary to gain a better understanding of the market as well as a better understanding of the enterprise itself.

Enhance Supply Chain Management

Improved reporting of business processes leads inevitably to a more streamlined production process. With better information on the production process come the ability to improve the management of the supply chain, including everything from the sourcing of materials to the manufacturing and distribution of the finished product.

LMIS

Information Systems Leadership is a continuing information systems innovation meeting customers’ needs. This implies not only creativity in developing new information systems and enhancing existing ones, but also astute market knowledge to ensure that they sell. The strategy involves delivering a continuous stream of new information systems and/or services, where what is new is valued by the customers. The rapid gain of market acceptance and market share were due not only to the innovative information systems itself but to new systems to control the manufacturing and distribution of the information systems, which is more akin to fast-moving consumables than traditional eye-care information systems. 3M has traditionally followed an information systems leadership strategy in the adhesives and coating market, and the story of Post-it notepads is now legendary—how a ‘failed’ new adhesive became the basis for a best-selling information systems—what would we do without it?
The management of ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ and achieving balance between both is complex. The previous section illustrated that the debate is generally portrayed as alternating between centralization and decentralization. However, the ‘middle ground’ has become an appealing alternative. Von Simson, for example, subscribes to an IS functional design with IS/IT roles played by both a central IS function and the business units and prescribes a ‘centrally decentralized’ IS function with strong dotted-line reporting relationships. He argues that clear structures and distinct roles and responsibilities must be defined with a mix of centralized and decentralized resources. Otherwise, confusion, conflict, duplication of effort and/or inadequate systems integrity will occur. In a similar vein, the federal structure is often seen as capturing the benefits of both centralization and decentralization. With such a structure, business units receive a responsive service from decentralized IS functions, while at the same time a corporate IS function provides groupwide IT services and exerts some degree of central leadership and control of IT activities. While intellectually appealing, little guidance can be found as to what these decision areas are and how to make it work. The key questions are what aspects of IS/IT are best managed centrally and which are best devolved—degree of diffusion in Sullivan’s terms— and whether IS/IT activities are managed by a specialist IS function at all or should they be managed by business management themselves.
IT leadership, which includes IT envisioning, fusing IT strategy with business strategy, and managing IS resources. The leadership exhibited by the information officer is a key aspect in achieving success with IS. Two components of leadership of critical importance for the information officer are:
1. Ability to create a set of value expectations shared across all areas of the business—one sensitive to the realities of competency, competition and culture.
2. Ability to deliver on those expectations measurably information officers must understand and express IT’s value in a way that’s meaningful to all executives.
Success in improving the contribution of IS/IT is initially premised on having strong IS leadership within the IS function and the importance of the IS Director/CIO having credibility within the business. The data from this research highlighted the importance of first getting the basics right—network uptime, availability and reliability of applications, help-desk response times, etc. Leadership by example appears to be key in achieving a truly open knowledge environment. As an emerging topic of study within the field of IS, we have much to learn about how knowledge can be effectively ‘managed’ before we can understand how best to deploy IT to improve the processes involved.

My Learnings/Reflections in COMDDAP 2009

2009-07-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

I attended the Open Source for Business Applications seminar last July 3, 2009 which was presented by Mr. Ben Alegre and Paul de Paula of Spinweb Productions, Inc. I learned that the Open Source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software's source code. And Open Source Software is defined as computer software for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that meets the Open Source Definition or that is in the public domain. This permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified forms. It is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open source software is the most prominent example of open source development and often compared to user-generated content. The term open source software originated as part of a marketing campaign for free software. A report by Standish Group states that adoption of open source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.
I discovered that the Open Source Definition is used by the Open Source Initiative to determine whether or not a software license can be considered open source. Mr. Ben Alegre presented the following criteria of the distribution terms of open-source software to comply with:

1. Free Redistribution
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.

2. Source Code
The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.

3. Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.

4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

7. Distribution of License
The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.

8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.

9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.

10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral
No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.

In the seminar, Mr. Ben Alegre showed many Open Source Technologies and these are Ubuntu, OpenOffice, Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin, GIMPshop, Transmission, LimeWire, VLC, LAMP, Drupal, Joomla, Wordpress, OS Commerce, Zen Cart, Ruby on Rails, PHP Cake, Civi CRM, and Moodle. I learned that in the Open Source, there is no vendor lock-in, there are large support communities, and it is more secure. Like the Proprietary Software, Open Source is reliable, proven performance, highly scalable, and widely used. And, there are many applications that the Open Source Software (OSS) can apply with in the web. It can apply in Portals, Corporate, Publishing, Government, Education, Art, Music, Multimedia, Social Networking Sites, E-commerce, and CRM.

I also attended the Hewlett-Packard Thin Client Server Computing seminar the same day which was presented by Nexus Technologies, Inc. I imbibed that Thin Client is a client computer or client software in client-server architecture networks which depends primarily on the central server for processing activities, and mainly focuses on conveying input and output between the user and the remote server. In contrast, a thick or fat client does as much processing as possible and passes only data for communications and storage to the server.
I discovered that many thin client devices run only web browsers or remote desktop software, meaning that all significant processing occurs on the server. However, recent devices marketed as thin clients can run complete operating systems such as Debian Linux, qualifying them as diskless nodes or hybrid clients. Some thin clients are also called "access terminals." I realized that many people that already have computers want the same functionality that a thin client has. The presenter of the seminar said that computers can simulate a thin client in a single window (as thru a browser) or with a separate operating system boot-up. Either way, these are often called "fat clients" to differentiate them from thin clients and computers without thin-client functionality.

I find the several advantages of thin clients and these are:
· Lower IT administration costs. Thin clients are managed almost entirely at the server. The hardware has fewer points of failure and the client is simpler (and often lacks permanent storage), providing protection from malware.

· Easier to secure. Thin clients can be designed so that no application data ever resides on the client (just whatever is displayed), centralizing malware protection and reducing the risks of physical data theft.

· Enhanced data security. Should a thin-client device suffer serious mishap or industrial accident, no data will be lost, as it resides on the terminal server and not the point-of-operation device.

· Lower hardware costs. Thin client hardware is generally cheaper because it does not contain a disk, application memory, or a powerful processor. They also generally have a longer period before requiring an upgrade or becoming obsolete. There are fewer moving parts and one upgrades the server and network instead because the limitation on performance is the display resolution which has a very long life cycle. Many thick clients are replaced after 3 years to avoid failures of hardware in service and to use the latest software while thin clients can do the same, well-defined task of displaying images for 10 years. The total hardware requirements for a thin client system (including both servers and clients) are usually much lower compared to a system with fat clients. One reason for this is that the hardware is better utilized. A CPU in a fat workstation is idle most of the time. With thin clients, CPU cycles are shared. If several users are running the same application, it only needs to be loaded into RAM once with a central server (if the application is written to support this capability). With fat clients, each workstation must have its own copy of the program in memory.

· Less energy consumption. Dedicated thin client hardware has much lower energy consumption than typical thick client PCs. This not only reduces energy costs but may mean that in some cases air-conditioning systems are not required or need not be upgraded which can be a significant cost saving and contribute to achieving energy saving targets. However, more powerful servers and communications are required.

· Easier hardware failure management. If a thin client fails, a replacement can simply be swapped in while the client is repaired; the user is not inconvenienced because their data is not on the client.

· Worth less to most thieves. Thin client hardware, whether dedicated or simply older hardware that has been repurposed via cascading, is less useful outside a client-server environment. Burglars interested in computer equipment may have a much harder time fencing thin client hardware.

· Operable in Hostile Environments. Most thin clients have no moving parts so can be used in dusty environments without the worry of PC fans clogging up and overheating and burning out the PC.

· Less network bandwidth. Since terminal servers typically reside on the same high-speed network backbone as file servers, most network traffic is confined to the server room. In a fat client environment if you open a 10MB document that’s 10MB transferred from the file server to your PC. When you save it that’s another 10MB from your PC to the server. When you print it the same happens again — another 10MB over the network to your print server and then 10MB onward to the printer. This is highly inefficient. In a thin client environment only mouse movements, keystrokes and screen updates are transmitted from/to the end user. Over efficient protocols such as ICA or NX this can consume as little as 5 kbit/s bandwidth. This statement makes some very heavy assumptions about the operating environment, though.

· More efficient use of computing resources. A typical thick-client will be specified to cope with the maximum load the user needs, which can be inefficient at times when it is not used. In contrast, thin clients only use the exact amount of computing resources required by the current task – in a large network, there is a high probability the load from each user will fluctuate in a different cycle to that of another user (i.e. the peaks of one will more than likely correspond, time-wise, to the troughs of another. This is a natural result of the additive effect of many random, independent loads. The total load will be normally distributed about a mean and not the sum of the maximum possible loads.
· Simple hardware upgrade path. If the peak resource usage is above a pre-defined limit, it is a relatively simple process to add another component to a server rack (be it power, processing, storage), boosting resources to exactly the amount required. The existing units can continue to serve alongside the new, whereas a thick client model requires an entire desktop unit be replaced, resulting in down-time for the user, and the problem of disposing of the old unit.

· Lower noise. The aforementioned removal of fans reduces the noise produced by the unit. This can create a more pleasant and productive working environment.

· Less wasted hardware. Computer hardware contains heavy metals and plastics and requires energy and resources to create. Thin clients can remain in service longer and ultimately produce less surplus computer hardware than an equivalent thick client installation because they can be made with no moving parts. Computer Fans and disk storage (used for cooling and storage in thick clients) have mean times before failures of many thousands of hours but the transistors and conductors in the thin client have mean times before failure of millions of hours. A thick client is considered old after one or two cycles of Moore’s Law to keep up with increasing software bloat but a thin client is asked to do the same simple job year after year. A thin client, on the other hand will be replaced only when it lacks some feature deemed essential. With audio, video, and USB, thin clients have changed little in 15 years, being essentially, stripped-down PCs.

Reference:
WIKIPEDIA.org
http://www.nexus.com.ph
http://www.spinweb.ph

Ways of Green Campus Computing

2009-07-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Green computing techniques are easy to incorporate. And it will result in: a reduction in overall operating costs by reducing power use, using shared hardware resources, reusing similar systems, and reducing supplies such as toner, ink and paper, enhanced work environments such as campus computer lab space and office work space with reduced noise pollution and eye strain from traditional CRTs, corporate and social responsibility through a focus on the Triple Bottom Line, an expanded set of success values focusing on people, planet and profit, an enhanced University Image: green computing solutions on the U campus can be used as marketing tools for potential students and researchers.

Putting The University Laboratory’s Computers To Sleep

When you're not using your computer, you can save energy by putting it to "sleep." When your computer is in sleep, it's turned on but in a low power mode. It takes less time for a computer to wake up from sleep than it does for the computer to start up after being turned off.

You can put your computer to sleep right away by choosing Apple menu > Sleep. You can also choose to put the computer to sleep automatically when your computer has been inactive for a specified amount of time. You can also set only the display to sleep. If your computer is in the middle of a task that you want to let finish while you are away (for example, burning a DVD), you should set only the display to sleep.

Open Power Options in Control Panel. In Power Schemes, click the down arrow, and then select a power scheme. The time settings for the power scheme are displayed in System standby, Turn off monitor, and Turn off hard disks. To turn off your monitor before your computer goes on standby, select a time in Turn off monitor. To turn off your hard disk before your computer goes on standby, select a time in Turn off hard disks.

The University Should Go Green to Save Money

Relocate a college's server computers next to a solar-power generator. Replace AC power with DC power. Cool the servers only where they get the hottest. Put the servers in the ocean and power them with waves. To supply computers directly with local DC power. Computers generally use direct current, but the public electricity grid typically supplies alternating current, and 30 percent of the electricity can be lost in the conversion of one form to the other. Intelligent measuring systems like Greenlight should be extended to allow engineers to more precisely determine how to use energy.

The University Offices Computer-Generated Waste Should Properly Disposed

Important steps toward green computing include modifying paper and toner use, disposal of old computer equipment and purchasing decisions when considering new computer equipment.

Paper Waste
• Print as little as possible. Review and modify documents on the screen and use print preview. Minimize the number of hard copies and paper drafts you make. Instead of printing, save information to disks, or USB memory sticks.
• Recycle waste paper, have a recycle bin at each community printer and copier location.
• Buy and use recycled paper in your printers and copiers. From an environmental point of view, the best recycled paper is 100 percent post-consumer recycled content.
• Save e-mail whenever possible and avoid needless printing of e-mail messages.
• Use e-mail instead of faxes or send faxes directly from your computer to eliminate the need for a hard copy. When you must fax using hard copies, save paper using a "sticky" fax address note and not a cover sheet.
• On larger documents, use smaller font sizes (consistent with readability) to save paper.
• If your printer prints a test page whenever it is turned on, disable this unnecessary feature.
• Before recycling paper, which has print on only one side, set it aside for use as scrap paper or for printing drafts.
• When documents are printed or copied, use double-sided printing and copying. If possible, use the multiple pages per sheet option on printer properties.
• When general information-type documents must be shared within an office, try circulating them instead of making an individual copy for each person. Even better, make the document electronically available to the audience and display it on a projector.

Electronic Waste
• Use the campus network where possible to transfer files. This avoids the need to write CDs or DVDs or use floppy diskettes.
• Use USB memory sticks instead of CDs, DVDs, or floppies.
• Use re-writable CDs and DVDs.
• There are hopes of the University Recycling program addressing e-waste in the near future.

Reference:
www.utah.edu
http://greencampus.winserve.org
www.dailyutahchronicle.com

My thoughts on automated elections with reference to the current situation

2009-07-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

The past manually-done Philippine elections rely heavily on manual tallying and canvassing of votes. This kind of election makes the processes vulnerable to control and manipulation by traditional politicians and those with vested interests. As I have searched from www.inquirer.net, I saw the basic problems afflicting electoral system. And these are (a) outdated electoral process; (b) failure to implement the electoral modernization law; (c) limited administrative and regulatory capabilities of the COMELEC; (d) ineffective educational/information campaigns on new laws and policies; (e) weak political party system; (f) unaccountable political financing; and (g) defective party list system (Governance Assessment, 2003). Filipinos are so sick and tired of this manual process of election. And, I do not want to hear another Hello Garci Scandal this coming election.

I hope automated Philippine election will happen in 2010 election to ensure a credible and transparent electoral process. The modernization of the electoral system through computerization shall be supported to ensure the credibility of polls and correct the deficiencies in the electoral system. With recent settlement of differences between Smartmatic and TIM, this is for the betterment of the country. Filipino people have been desiring for automated elections for the past four decades. I hope the reconciliation is genuine so that we have an election system in 2010 that has integrity, security, and veracity. I hope this project of government is not another fraudulent deal like the Mega Pacific contract. Related to this event, the two companies, Smartmatic and TIM agreed to consult a Singaporean neutral arbiter should disagreements arise or to submit to a Singaporean court that would apply commercial arbitration rules, in case of a disagreement in the future. This development is good for the country to solidify the full automation of 2010 election.

With the recent news this week, this 2010 Election will hire almost 80 T nformation technology (IT) people who will assist the Comelec in conducting the automated election and to handle the voting machines. This is a big help in terms of financial aspect to all techiguys in a short period of time. And, it will be great experience for them to serve the country and countrymen in an information technology way.

Truly, our election needs more than an automated election. The Election Code must be further revised and amended to respond to the needs of the present electoral system. Measures to strengthen the party system and regulate the activities of political parties shall be created. State financing of political parties shall also be considered through the passage of the Campaign Finance Bill. The Comelec’s capacity to raise the level of political discourse and educate citizens regarding their right to vote will be enhanced. This will be done through conduct of continuing citizen and voter education through partnership with civil society groups and other government institutions. The electorate must be empowered with information that would help them vote intelligently. The challenge is to develop the people’s appreciation of their vote as a means to reform the government and receive better services from it. Part of this challenge is the need to raise the awareness of the electorate on relevant issues and the corresponding platforms of the candidates, if the country is to shift from the politics of personality to the politics of party programs.

Reference:
INQUIRER.net

The Risks Associated with Business and IS/IT Change in Dole Davao

2009-07-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

I and group 1 members namely: Anthony Rigor Aguilar, Athina Alorro, Jerusalem Alvaira, Michael George Guanzon had an interview with the MIS Programmer of Dole Davao and her name is Cristine Galindo. The interview was conducted in Dole Satellite Office located in SJRDC Building at around 12 noon last July 2. This interview was recorded through celfone recorder and PSP recorder.

Company Profile: Dole Philippines

Dole Food Company's worldwide team of growers, packers, processors, shippers and employees is committed to consistently providing safe, high-quality fresh fruit, vegetables, and food products, while protecting the environment in which its products are grown and processed. Dole's dedication to quality is a commitment solidly backed by: comprehensive programs for food safety, scientific crop protection programs, stringent quality control measures, state-of-the-art production and transportation technologies, continuous improvement through research and innovation, and dedication to the safety of our employees, communities and the environment. Dole is committed to nutrition education to communicate to the public the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Dole is a founding member of the National 5 A Day for Better Health Program and is a leader in developing technology-based nutrition education programs for children.

Based on Dole Philippines (Davao) that I visited and its MIS Programmer that I interviewed, the risks associated with business and IS/IT change are:

1. Failure of the new System. This means that the new system does not achieve the full functionality of the old system. It also means that new system does not live up to the expectation of end-users. In this case, Backup, Recovery, and Business Continuity must be addressed by the system analyst. Disaster Recovery Planning is often not sufficiently addressed or is low on the priority list, as there is no immediate, detrimental impact to the entity, until a disaster or other situation preventing normal operations arises. The business entity should develop a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) that will cope with the unavailability of the computer application(s) during an unexpected outage. This plan should be written, approved by management and tested on a regular basis. The plan would address how the entity would recover from short or long-term outages, as well as how operations would continue during the recovery effort.

2. End-users will not accept the new System. The employees who will use the new system may not like the interface or the graphical user interface (GUI) because they are familiarized with the old system’s interface. This problem can be solved through proper training. The success of any application is greatly dependent upon the training provided to the end-users initially and on a continuing basis. Continuing education is necessary to ensure employees are aware of, and proficient with, application enhancements and new releases. Recurring education also addresses training needs of new employees. Adequate training curriculum must be available to application users

3. Synchronization of all applications of the new System. Synchronization of the system means that the functions and applications of the system occur at the same time or proceed at the same rate. Synchronization also means simultaneous flow of functions of the new system. In this factor, we have the Program Change Control. The purpose of program change control is to ensure that only appropriate changes to program logic are made, performed in a timely manner, do not negatively impact other logic and ultimately produce the results expected by the user that requested the change. We also have System Interfaces factor. The endless pursuit of efficiency gains has resulted in the ability to transfer data from one system to another electronically rather than expending time keying data into both systems. The exchange of data from one business application to another is considered an interface. The accuracy and completeness of data files transmitted to, or received from, other applications should be assured by a quality control process consistent with the receiving application’s edit standards.

4. Data must change not change in the new System. In this instance, the term Data Integrity arises. The purpose of data integrity is to ensure complete and accurate data, which can be reported in any manner users require, with all fields formatted according to data definition rules and within established ranges (date fields should not allow month>12, day>31, and a code field should only be populated with valid values). The risk of internal fraud increases if individuals are granted the ability to modify program logic as well as production data. Adequate data input edits in place to prevent data corruption (on-line or batch)

5. Upgrading from old system to the new System. Upgrading means to advance or raise to higher a new system. One feature of upgrading is Data Access Security. The purpose of data access security within any application is to grant users appropriate access privileges necessary for the job they perform while restricting privileges not needed for their job or that could create weaknesses in the Internal Control structure of the entity. Duties and responsibilities assigned to each job role should be defined by management that ensure adequate segregation of duties. Those job role definitions can then be used to establish specific application permissions granted and/or restricted. Data access security should also provide an audit trail, which could be utilized to identify specific users that made individual changes to the data. Network environments which allow users to access the data directly (typically via a database utility such as Paradox or MS Access), effectively voids data access security within the application and should not be allowed. This type of access allows users full update capability with no audit trail. Another feature is Network Security. This higher level of security would typically grant users the ability to access an application, then administration of the specific application security would be utilized to grant and/or restrict data access as necessary within the application. Networks become more complex as more efficient, effective and secure products are made available through advances in Information Systems technology. Preventive measures can reduce the risk associated with threats inherently caused by advances in technology.

Some of IT/IS Best Practices in Dole Davao

2009-06-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

1. Their systems are not centralized. According to Maam Cristine, their payroll, production, logistics, research and documentation, manufacturing have different systems. That is why they have internal IT personnel. For me, this is good because if one system will fail or crash, the other systems will not be affected. The whole operations of the company will still continue even if one system has failed.

2. When they develop or change any kind of systems, they conduct first a thorough system analysis. Maam Cristine said that the processes of making a system are system analysis, development, testing, and implementation. For me, this right because any single system of a big company like Dole has carried a lot of information and data and it is necessary to conduct a series of system analysis before any changes will be failed.

3. The IT/IS Department is divided into two groups. Maam Tina told us that the technical group is the one in charge of hardware maintenance and networking of hosts/computers. The other one is the application group that is composed of IT/IS software programmers. For me, this grouping of IT/IS personnel is necessary to have a separation and overlapping of responsibilities and duties.

4. The old and reliable systems should stay. Maam Tina mentioned that systems which are built before and still working robustly and perfectly should remain in IT/IS Department. For me, this is a right guideline. Why you change a system if it is still working perfectly according to the company’s needs. This saves money and time.

5. Integration of Systems. Maam Cristine spoke to us that integration of systems is important because for example their logistics system and production system have a common system to have a smooth delivery of company goods and services. For me, this is a right practice. Integration of systems means linking all different systems together to act as one powerful system that makes the whole process of company close to perfection.

6. Their IT/IS system is internal not outsourcing. Maam Tina believed that companies which have IT/IS System run by internal IT personnel get cheaper overhead cost in the long run. And it is good for the internal IT people because their programming skills will be honed more. In internal IT/IS System, the data files is more safe and secured. For me, internal IT/IS system is good for the IT employees because they have security of tenure. Unlike, the outsourcing companies, they only keep their employees as long as there are projects to be made. No projects, you are gone IT people.

7. Training is a must for IT/IS people. Maam Galindo expressed that consistent training for themselves is their tool for them to compete with the outsourcing IT people. Dole has annual budget for the training of their IT/IS Personnel. Maam Tina told us that what they learned from their trainings is for them to adopt the knowledge and make the company better. For me, being an IT/IS people is a continuing learning because Information Technology is the fast rising and fast changing technology right now.

8. Dole Asia is maintained by Filipino IT People. Maam Cristine stated that the web services and email services of Dole Latin America, Dole Hongkong, Dole Japan, Dole Korea and Dole Middle East are proudly managed and maintained by Pinoys like her. For me, this is the best. Filipinos can longer be left behind in any technology. Pinoy ITs can excel in information technology more there is proper trainings and seminars.

9. Dole IT/IS Data Security System is checked by respected company. Maam Tina talked that the vulnerability of their systems from hackers is verified by Verisign, a company based in overseas. They also use reliable firewalls for them to be secured from outside threat. For me, it is also better to have an outsourcing in the company once.

10. Making a backup copy of data files. Maam Galindo uttered that making a backup copy is standard operating operation procedures for all data that have stored in a database system. Maam Tina encourage us that we, students, must start from school to make backup copy of our own files just in case of operating system crash or hard disk crash. For me, making a backup copy of files is a must for the recovery of data that is too important for the organization’s stability and growth.

Reference:
www.dole.com

The Triple Filter Test

2009-06-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

Next time someone starts to spread gossip , think of this:

In ancient Greece (469-399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom.
One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"
"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That’s right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student, let’s take a moment to filter what you’re going to say."

"The first filter is Truth . Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and…"
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don’t really know if it’s true or not."

"Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness . Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"
"No, on the contrary…"
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you’re not certain it’s true?"
The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.
Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really…"
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"
The man was defeated and ashamed.
This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem…
V
V

Mintzberg’s 10 Managerial Roles

2009-06-22T23:56:00.001-07:00

Figurehead.
Social, inspirational, legal and ceremonial duties must be carried out. The manager is a symbol and must be on-hand for people/agencies that will only deal with him/her because of status and authority.
The leader role
This is at the heart of the manager-subordinate relationship and managerial power and pervasive where subordinates are involved even where perhaps the relationship is not directly interpersonal. The manager
- defines the structures and environments within which sub-ordinates work and are motivated.
- oversees and questions activities to keep them alert.
- selects, encourages, promotes and disciplines.
- tries to balance subordinate and organisational needs for efficient operations.
Liaison:
This is the manager as an information and communication centre. It is vital to build up favours. Networking skills to shape maintain internal and external contacts for information exchange are essential. These ontacts give access to "databases"- facts, requirements, probabilities.
As 'monitor'
- the manager seeks/receives information from many sources to evaluate the organisation's performance, well-being and situation. Monitoring of internal operations, external events, ideas, trends, analysis and pressures is vital. Information to detect changes, problems & opportunities and to construct decision-making scenarios can be current/historic, tangible (hard) or soft, documented or non-documented.This role is about building and using an intelligence system. The manager must install and maintain this information system; by building contacts & training staff to deliver "information".
As disseminator
- the manager brings external views into his/her organisation and facilitiates internal information flows between subordinates (factual or value-based).
The preferences of significant people are received and assimilated. The manager interprets/disseminates information to subordinates e.g. policies, rules, regulations. Values are also desseminated via conversations laced with imperatives and signs/icons about what is regarded as imprtant or what 'we believe in'.
There is a dilemma of delegation. Only the manager has the data for many decisions and often in the wrong form (verbal/memory vs. paper). Sharing is time-consuming and difficult. He/she and staff may be already overloaded. Communication consumes time. The adage 'if you want to get things done, (it is best to do it yourself' comes to mind. Why might this be a driver of managerial behaviour (reluctance or constraints on the ability to delegate)?
As spokesman (P.R. capacity)
- the manager informs and lobbies others (external to his/her own organisational group). Key influencers and stakeholders are kept informed of performances, plans & policies. For outsiders, the manager is an expert in the field in which his/her organisation operates.
A senior manager is responsible for his/her organisation's strategy-making system - generating and linking important decisions. He/she has the authority, information and capacity for control and integration over important decisions.
As initiator/changer
- he/she designs and initiates much of the controlled change in the organisation. Gaps are identified, improvement programmes defined. The manager initiates a series of related decisions/activities to achieve actual improvement. Improvement projects may be involved at various levels. The manager can
1. delegate all design responsibility selecting and even replace subordinates.
2. empower subordinates with responsbility for the design of the improvement programme but e.g. define the parameters/limits and veto or give the go-ahead on options.
3. supervise design directly.
Senior managers may have many projects at various development stages (emergent/dormant/nearly-ready) working on each periodically interspersed by waiting periods for information feedback or progress etc. Projects roll-on and roll-off,
the disturbance handler
- is a generalist role i.e. taking charge when the organisation hits an iceberg unexpectedly and where there is no clear programmed response. Disturbances may arise from staff, resources, threats or because others make mistakes or innovation has unexpected consequences. The role involves stepping in to calm matters, evaluate, re-allocate, support - removing the thorn - buying time. The metaphors here are
If you are up to your backside in alligators it is no use talking about draining the swamp.
and
Stop the bleeding as only then can you take care of the long term health of the patient. (not Mintzberg's anecdote)
As resource allocator
- the manager oversees allocation of all resources (£, staff, reputation). This involves:
1. scheduling own time
2. programming work
3. authorising actions
With an eye to the diary (scheduling) the manager implicitly sets organisational priorities. Time and access involve opportunity costs. What fails to reach him/her, fails to get support.
The managerial task is to ensure the basic work system is in place and to programme staff overloads - what to do, by whom, what processing structures will be used.
Authorising major decisions before implementation is a control over resource allocation. This enables coordinative interventions e.g. authorisation within a policy or budgeting process in comparison to ad-hoc interventions. With limited time, complex issues and staff proposals that cannot be dismissed lightly, the manager may decide on the proposer rather than proposal.
To help evaluation processes, managers develop models and plans in their heads (they construe the relationships and signifiers in the situation). These models/constructions encompass rules, imperatives, criteria and preferences to evaluate proposals against. Loose, flexible and implicit plans are up-dated with new information.
The negotiator
- takes charge over important negotiating activities with other organisations. The spokesman, figurehead and resource allocator roles demand this.

Six IS leadership roles (CSC, 1996)

2009-06-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

1. Chief architect. The chief architect designs future possibilities for the business. The primary work of the chief architect is to design and evolve the IT infrastructure so that it will expand the range of future possibilities for the business, not define specific business
outcomes. The infrastructure should provide not just today's technical services, such as networking, databases and desktop operating systems, but an increasing range of business-level services, such as workflow, portfolio management, scheduling, and specific business components or objects

2. Change leader. The change leader orchestrates resources to achieve optimal implementation of the future. The essential role of the change leader is to orchestrate all those resources that will be needed to execute the change program. This includes providing new IT tools, but it also involves putting in the place teams of people who can redesign roles, jobs and workflow, who can change beliefs about the company and the work people do, and who understand human nature and can develop incentive systems to coax people into new and different behaviors

3. Product developer. The product developer helps define the company’s place in the emerging digital economy. For example, a product developer might recognize the potential for performing key business processes (perhaps order fulfillment, purchasing or
delivering customer support) over electronic linkages such as the Internet. The product developer must "sell" the idea to a business partner, and together they can set up and evaluate business experiments, which are initially operated out of IS. Whether the new
methods are adopted or not, the company will learn from the experiments and so move closer to commercial success in emerging digital markets

4. Technology provocateur. The technology provocateur embeds IT into the business strategy. The technology provocateur works with senior business executives to bring IT and realities of the IT marketplace to bear on the formation of strategy for the business.
The technology provocateur is a senior business executive who understands both the business and IT at a deep enough level to integrate the two perspectives in discussions about the future course of the business. Technology provocateurs have a wealth of
experience in IS disciplines, so they understand at a fundamental level the capabilities of IT and how IT impacts the business

5. Coach. The coach teaches people to acquire the skillsets they will need for the future. Coaches have to basic responsibilities: teaching people how to learn, so that they can become self-sufficient, and providing team leaders with staff able to do the IT-related
work of the business. A mechanism that assists both is the center of excellence - a small group of people with a particular competence or skill, with a coach responsible for their growth and development. Coaches are solid practitioners of the competence that they will be coaching, but need not be the best at it in the company

6. Chief operating strategist. The chief operating strategist invents the future with senior management. The chief operating strategist is the top IS executive who is focused on the future agenda of the IS organization. The strategist has parallel responsibilities related to helping the business design the future, and then delivering it. The most important, and least understood, parts of the role have to do with the interpretation of new technologies and the IT marketplace, and the bringing of this understanding into the development of the digital business strategy for the organization

My First Day Reflections/Learnings

2009-06-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

My first day reflections/learnings in MIS was the same with the HRM subject that I took last last year under Prof. Randy S. Gamboa. It was exciting and nervous because again it is under Sir Gamboa, The Main Man. I learned the prelude of MIS(Management Information System) and the definition of this subject. The LMIS term was introduced which is Sir Gamboa's own interpretation of MIS. I also learned the PDOC (Plan, Direct, Organize, and Control) term in Management Information System.

Again, this subject will be tiring because we have to look for companies that has MIS but this will be a new, fun, learning experience.♠♣♥♦