Cyber Crime Research Paper Essay

Can anyone who uses a computer be a victim to cybercrime? Yes, anyone who uses a computer has a chance of being a victim of cybercrime. Cybercrime has become a big issue in today’s society. Cybercrime is defined as crimes committed on the internet using a computer as either a tool or a targeted victim(Razali). Cybercrime can be committed by many people like computer geeks looking for bragging rights to businesses trying to gain an upper hand in the marketplace by hacking competitor websites, Rings of criminals wanting to steal your personal information and sell it on black markets, or spies and terrorists looking to rob our nation of vital information or to launch cyber strikes(Computer Intrusions). Cybercrime can be used many ways.The two main cause of cybercrime are identity theft and internet stalking. Cybercrime is very bad and and can hurt many people physically and mentally, people need to be more aware of the ways to get around cybercrime. Identity theft is one of the m ain cause of cybercrime. Identity theft, also know as ID theft is a crime in which a criminal obtains key pieces of personal information, such as social security numbers or driver’s license numbers, to pose as someone else(Razali). There are many kinds of identity theft. There is Criminal identity theft(posing as another person when apprehended for a crime), Financial Identity theft(using anothers identity to obtain credit, goods and services), Identity cloning(using anothers information to assume his or her identity in daily life),Medical identity theft(using anothers identity to obtain medical care or drugs), and Child identity theft(Wikipedia). Many people out in the worlds try to steal peoples wallets, phone, purses and other belongings in plain site or while you are away from your belongings, But what are people trying to steal from you on the internet. Identity thefts on the internet can be stealing many of things. They can be taking bank accounts, credit card numbers, or anything else that is someones personal information. Identity theft is bad and shouldn’t be committed. There are many ways of obtaining this information. People will rummage through rubbish for personal information(dumpster diving), Retrieve personal data from redundant IT equipment and storage media including PCs,servers,PDAs, mobile phones, USB memory sticks and hard drives that have been disposed of carelessly. They are many more ways to also do this. Identity theft is bad because it can cause many people harm. The victims of identity theft can suffer from adverse consequences if they are held responsible for the perpetrators actions(Wikipedia). They could be sent to jail, prison or if it is really that bad they could die over identity theft. If you were associated in takeover identity theft, than the imposter just used stolen information to gain access to the persons existing accounts(Razali). If you were associated in true name identity theft then the imposter used personal information to open new accounts( Razali). The imposter might open a new credit card account, phone account, etc. Some may however say that Identity theft is good, and they would be right. Identity theft is good for the government, police and FBI. They could use identity theft to catch a imposter causing a lot of harm. They could use it to take down another country that is doing ours harm. They could even make themselves look like a identity theft to see what other are planning. This could help stop it and save many people lives, money, homes, families and mainly their identities. Cyberstalking in the second biggest cause of internet crime. Cyberstalking is the use of internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group, or an organization(Wikipedia). A number of key factors are in cyberstalking: False accusations, Attempts to gather information about victim, monitoring their targets online activities, encouraging others to harass the victim, false victimization, attacks on data and equipment, ordering goods and services, and arranging to meet. It is so easy to accomplish cyberstalking with all of the social media sites today like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. There are many types of cyberstalking. There is Stalking by strangers which means the cyberstalker could be a stranger or someone who has had a former/present relationship with the victim. There is Gender based stalking which is harassment and stalking based on the victims gender.

Cultural Diversity in Mauritius: Myth or Reality? Essay

Many people tend to dab the â€Å"Mauritian culture,† as a homogenous one. Some deny the cultural diversity in the island evolving harmoniously. In this regard, unity and diversity are interchangeable words. Constituting of ethnic groups and world religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, co-existing with Hinduism and myriad spoken languages, the island’s people avow and practice different faiths which are reflected in our customs, rituals, norms, and festivals. Despite the contrasting way of life, the citizens remain essentially united. As Mauritians, we love to say that Mauritius is a twinkling model of unity in diversity. But then, we tend to do a lot of things which can only undermine the unity of this country. Unfortunately, diversity is used by many opportunistic politicians for disruptive purposes. After 45 years of independence, ethnicity remains the stratifying factor. Multicultural policies through funding religious groups are considered as empowering minority communities to voice out. In reality such policies have empowered not individuals but their â€Å"leaders† who owe their status and influence mainly to their affiliation with the government which benefits in its turn by manipulating the population and projecting their conventional image to the public through such platforms. At the 473rd anniversary of Maharana Pratab Singh and the creation of the Indian state of Rajasthan on Sunday 19th May 2013 at Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, Phoenix the Prime Minister asserted that â€Å"Diversity should not be divisive. We are from different parts of India, but we are in the same boat. We should not make any difference between us,† as reported by the newspaper Le Dà ©fi Quoti dien. As a remedy, several solicit a secular state- a clear separation between religion and the state, which honestly, is not really the case in Mauritius who has lived an enigmatic development of its political history since the pronouncement of the United Nations, on the case furnished by ‘Resistans ek Alternativ’ militating against the exigency for a candidate of general elections to mention his ethnic belonging. Recently in the limelight, the Best Loser System was designed to provide â€Å"balanced† ethnic and political representation. Boasting about being â€Å"one nation, one people,† what is it about this â€Å"balanced† ethnic and political representation? Across several  decades since independence, haven’t we evolved and gained enough maturity to catabolise our ‘minority or ‘majority’ complex? If this does not show the erosion of that sense of togetherness in a culturally diverse society, then we wonder what it means. Wo uld a secular state mean that there will no longer be public holidays based on religious festivals, something that exist nowhere else in the world? Would we finally live in a flourishing democracy? Mindset. The Mauritian psyche is accustomed to doubt the unfamiliar and see â€Å"external† social groups as a menace. This demeanour is a real threat to national integration, peace, progress and development. This mentality is derived from fear, suspicion and mistrust in the country. To the newest generations, the 1999 riot in relation to Kaya’s death could be the reason that took a tragedy to uncover the truth of existing communal tension. Pretending that all is well in the society means doing very little to instil social cohesion. How can we expect a progressive change when the communal mentality is being perpetuated across generations? Official reform is one thing but changing the mindset of 1.3 million of people implies kissing impossibility. Nevertheless, many are optimistic and try to manoeuver the next generation through example and education. Despite all, for some, Mauritius has a marvellous timeline of peaceful cohabitation. We need not go back at the time of independence where we stood together as a one nation to steal a glance of that. April 2013 marked the flash floods which affected Mauritius causing large-scale disasters. The Mauritian solidarity and unity that we were to witness in providing the huge aid to the victims in need were indeed commendable, proving that we may have different religions and skin complexions, but we all belong to one human race. Alfred Adler said â€Å"There is a Law that man should love his neighbour as himself. In a few hundred years it should be as natural to mankind as breathing or the upright gait; but if he does not learn it he must perish.† Thus it seems imperative that all Mauritians should bury their petty differences and work collectively. We must create the foundation of a new Mauritius. We cannot be satisfied with the partly biased idea of a harmonious society, pressurisi ng us to believe in a stable nation. Common has it become in this interest-minded world to veil sinister intentions  behind this masquerade. Unity in diversity is not a slogan. It is a way of life. But will the forthcoming generation adopt this way of life?

Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis Paper

Through the Doors of High School Bullying – something that happens every day in high schools, but yet people do not always acknowledge what goes on. According to the article Bully Facts & Statistics, 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school. Bullying exceedingly affects a person. Whether it comes to a stop or not, the person harassed will never have the same mentality. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a plane crashes on a deserted island and all that remains is a group of boys. No adults – young boys all alone.Throughout the novel the children have leadership roles and rules in order for their continued existence. The experience a person has while on the island is how they reach their goal – survival. Lord of the Flies is a classic because it is seen as a metaphor for high school in this contemporary era because of the struggle for power that is showed through the setting, the characters, and the symbols. Goldi ng uses the scar on the island as a part of the setting to relate to high school. No matter if the boys abscond from the island, the mark will still exist similar to a student’s reputation in high school.The scar in the novel is the scene where the plane crash emerges. This is the characteristics of the scar after the crash: â€Å"The undergrowth of the side of the scar was shaken and a multitude of raindrops fell pattering† (7). A scar literally means leaving a mark on something. The popular crowd in high school ensures an easier time of leaving a positive impact on the school, because they have additional power over the other students. This is an example of students struggling for power. Besides the popular crowd, everyone else has a hard time of gaining their power and making an impact on the school.A person will never forget about their experience in high school just like the boys will never overlook the effects of the plane crash that happened in Lord of the Flies on the island. From the novel Lord of the Flies, Piggy’s characteristics remain not all that different from high school students. Early on in the novel, when Piggy and Ralph first meet, Piggy states, ‘†I don’t care what they call me,† he said confidentially, ‘â€Å"so long as they don’t call me what they used to call me at school†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (11). Piggy’s declaration refers to how he accustomed to be treated back home.Piggy’s heavyset body and nerdy glasses causes constant harassment directed towards him. Contrary, high school students remain not all that different. Whether in high school or Lord of the Flies, name calling can really get to a person. The students that get picked on constantly are the ones that struggle the most at gaining power. The students that pick on others are the ones that contain the most power. On the island, a social stance takes place. Ralph and Jack are the leaders while the litluns follow th em. Piggy remains the outcast. In schools the bullies, usually the jocks, tend to pick on the nerds.Although Piggy was known as the outcast, he had brains. â€Å"But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains. Ralph was a specialist in thought now, and could recognize thought in another (78). † Piggy was smarter than most of the others; that was part of the reason of why he stood out. Similarly, high school students judge to quickly. Again, that is a big part of why bullying takes place at school. Because Piggy is smarter than the others, it causes him to struggle the most for power. He is seen differently than the others and judged for it.Furthermore, possessions parallel materialistic possessions of people in high school. In the novel, the conch is used as an important object to the boys. Towards the end of the book when Roger rolls a boulder on Piggy, â€Å"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and c eased to exist† (181). In Lord of the Flies, the conch symbolizes power. The conch represents order; it keeps the boys in line. Similar to high school, the conch represents power like students’ possessions. By having expensive clothes, it symbolizes richness, coolness, and popularity.Ralph a leader in the novel, uses the conch to gain his power. But Ralph eventually loses his power. â€Å"The space under the palm trees was full of noise and movement. Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him. All at once the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone – following Jack (38). † This is like high school because everyone fights for their power. Ralph represents society and in order for them to maintain their societal image; Ralph guides the boys by making rules. The conch calls the group to meetings and remains exceedingly important to the boys – especially Ralph.After giving the boys false information for a period of time, the boys turn to Jack as their leader instead of Ralph. Therefore, Lord of the Flies is a classic because it persists as a metaphor for high school in this contemporary era because of the struggle for power showed through the setting, the characters, and the symbols. In Lord of the Flies people have to deal with bullying every day. All because of the social groups that take place and the power that comes along with it. Always remember – bullying will proceed to exist in high schools but if a person does not let it bother them then it will not be as affective.

Final Project IEP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Project IEP - Essay Example Other skills exhibited by gifted and talented children include leadership and organization. These skills are unique and they make talented children standout. However, talented children need special guidance to enable them achieves their potentials and evade destructive behavior (Whtmore & Maker, 1985). Individualized educational systems were found to be critical in enabling the young talents achieve their full potentials. Individualized educational programs, are programs that describes the goals and expectation of a child within an academic year under given conditions and support Adam is a six-year-old boy in the second grade. After his second birthday, his parents started noting a difference in his growth and development as compared to that of his peer. Unlike his peer, Adam had an outstanding ability to read since he was a two-year-old child. However, his parents were not quick to notice that Adam had a unique reading talent. Having a child who is good in almost everything, puts th e child and the parent in an awkward position because, the parents do not want to seem like they view their child as more special than their friend’s children. In addition, Adam wanted to fit in his age group, but his exceptional talents put him in constant trouble. His parents have reported that his interest in various matters is very intriguing. For example, Adam is interested in international and national matters such as environmental issues and terrorism. His curiosity makes him relentless in demanding answers, and he will not give up, until he finds an answer. He cannot stop asking about questions concerning God and life after death, the interesting bit is that, this has gone on for the past one and a half years. Unlike other children, Adam is not only interested in knowing whom God is, but also where he can be found. Adam is also very sensitive and he usually scrutinizes the validity of all responses given to him before accepting them. His talent in visual and performin g arts is evident from his intense interest in music and very impressive drawings, which his parents agree could be on an exhibition wall. Adam’s teachers report that he always wants to please his teachers and, therefore looks for their approval in everything he does. Although this habit might be beneficial to him in the short-term, it might prevent him from acquiring other important skills in life. His ability to grasp concepts is far beyond that of his peers; this makes him to complete his class work before other students. He usually uses his free time staring into space or scribbling imaginary shapes on a piece of paper. Adams prefers the company of children in older grades because; his age mates perceive his intense knowledge about various concepts as abnormal. The fact that his academic performance is excellent also makes him unpopular with his friends. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, approximately 5-7% of all United States youth and children have a specia l talent in a particular field (Whtmore & Maker, 1985). This translates to about three million children in the country being in possession of a special talent. It has also been noted that the ability of children to grasp concept varies with states. Whereas some states have 5% of their children having this special talent, others have 3% of their total children population. Teachers are therefore required to ensure that such children develop

Ethics and Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethics and Public Administration - Essay Example Ethics are considered as accountability principles, which the public use to scrutinize government people s work in public sector. Government people s and public manager’s decision and code of conduct are directed by ethical principles that are public’s perception of the correct actions by public managers and government people. Therefore, to ensure effectiveness and transparency in their public work, government people subscribe to various ethics theories. Government ethics debates centers on the question of whether it is moral and ethical for government people to deceive the public to acquire and maintain their power. Whereas, people cringe at the legitimating mendacity though by government people s, people have the true Walzer’s admonition that â€Å"no government people can survive in politics without getting their hands dirty. The discussion will analyze the official deception defense as outlined by Machiavelli and Walzer, ethical theories that guide political behavior and code of conduct and finally outline why government people are justified to get their hands dirty. Discussion Any debate concerning ethics in public management is fraught with controversial issues such as the apolitical service culture, conflict of interest among others. Having public ethics and theories help to put distinction that ensure that government people s act based on set moral and ethical principle. Ethics also put an extra burden on government people s concerning their behavior conduct; therefore, government ethics strive to create an increasingly open atmosphere within the public operations, (Bowie, 2002, p. 52). Ethical issues that government people s experience are complex and dynamic and these issues are unique to public service that demands public managers to take choices concerning ethical issues on regular basic. Whereas people commonly believe that government people s are naturally challenged by telling the truth, very few citizens would like to conce de that government people are on certain occasions justified to get their hands dirty, (Oberdiek, 2006, p.55). However, there are compelling circumstances and ethics on special occasions that require government people s to lie not to jeopardize public interests. As early mentioned, public services is guided by ethical theories based on the nature of their public work, for instance, some political service and behavior support deontological ethics theory. Deontological theory is a duty or obligation grounded ethics, and deontologists assert that ethical rules bind government people s to their duty and they consider the right or wrong aspect of the action and not the effects of the action consequences, (Coady, 2006, p. 31). Deontologists are concerned with the government people s’ fidelity to principles and overlook the results or outcomes of a certain act, in their moral worth determination. Kantianism or the ethical theory of Kant is considered deontological because it mainly revolves around an individual’s obligations instead of their emotional feeling and end objectives – the center of this concept is the duty of a government people or what he should do in a certain situation. Kant’s ethical theory asserts that true ethical and moral acts are grounded on the highest sense of duty and the right and fair actions but not on the self-interest or highest utility on a broader aspect (irrespective of the possible effects for government people

Legalize Marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legalize Marijuana - Essay Example Marijuana use also falls within the limits of a personal choice for everyone, and by making the choice to use it criminally, the United States is infringing on a personal choice. In 1857, John Stuart Mill wrote in an essay, â€Å"Over himself†¦over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign†. Marijuana usage, especially in a private home or residence, is a personal choice, and by making it criminal, the government is taking away a choice and a personal liberty. In addition, the fact that the use of marijuana is criminal is only the tip of the iceberg; in doing so, the government has forced thousands of businesses and services to institute drug-prevention programs and random testing procedures. While I do agree that some limits should probably be set to people working certain jobs if marijuana was made legal, these drug programs would not be taking money away from the business.Fifteen states and the area of Washington D.C. have passed legislation making marijuana a legal substance for medicinal purposes. While there are some stipulations, such as in thirteen out of the fifteen states proof of residency is required, and further laws are put into place regarding the growing of marijuana as opposed to simply consuming it, the fact remains that it is a legal substance. These states did what they did because they saw the benefits of having marijuana as a legal alternative to those that were in extreme pain or already suffering from a terminal illness in the first place.... Marijuana usage, especially in a private home or residence, is a personal choice, and by making it criminal, the government is taking away a choice and a personal liberty. In addition, the fact that the use of marijuana is criminal is only the tip of the iceberg; in doing so, the government has forced thousands of businesses and services to institute drug-prevention programs and random testing procedures (â€Å"American Civil Liberties Union†). While I do agree that some limits should probably be set to people working certain jobs (e.g. nuclear reactor operator, construction worker, etc.) if marijuana was made legal, these drug programs would not be taking money away from the business. Marijuana possession and usage is already legal throughout the United States, though not from shore to shore, for medicinal purposes. Fifteen states and the area of Washington D.C. have passed legislation making marijuana a legal substance for medicinal purposes (â€Å"Medical Marijuana†) . While there are some stipulations, such as in thirteen out of the fifteen states proof of residency is required, and further laws are put into place regarding the growing of marijuana as opposed to simply consuming it (â€Å"Medical Marijuana†), the fact remains that it is a legal substance. These states did what they did because they saw the benefits in having marijuana as a legal alternative to those that were in extreme pain or already suffering from a terminal illness in the first place. Even former Surgeon Generals in the government have weighed in, stating that there was overwhelming evidence that marijuana could take away the pain of an illness (â€Å"Medical Marijuana†). It is my opinion that usage and consumption

Nuisances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nuisances - Essay Example   Secondly, the plaintiff must also prove that the act of nuisance constituted unreasonable and unlawful conduct. In arriving at a determination of whether the defendant’s actions can be held to be unlawful and unreasonable and thereby constitute the private nuisance, the Courts will take into account the locality of the land, because actions in areas may constitute nuisance while they would not in others. The Courts will also consider whether the nuisance action would have affected the sensitivity of a normal, everyday person.   For example, in the case of McKinnon Industries v, Walker fumes from a neighboring factory destroyed delicate orchids.   But the Courts held that since the smoke would have affected even ordinary flowers, the act constituted the private nuisance.  An act will not be construed as the private nuisance if its general outcome is to be of some use to the community, after taking into account the location and the time of the activities.   For examp le, in the case of Harrison v Southwark Water Company building work that was carried out during the day was not deemed to be a nuisance because it was carried out at a reasonable time during the day and was likely to improve the value of the surrounding property when completed.  An act will be held to be a nuisance if it can be demonstrated that the defendant had a malicious intent because this will serve to establish that the defendant's actions were unreasonable and thereby constitute the nuisance.

Foreign Policy Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Foreign Policy Change - Assignment Example Legro presented some arguments related tithe change in the foreign policy of the United States. He raised four issues that needed further clarification. He pointed out an issue that is pertaining to the role of politics in performing relevant jobs that need to be reminded to the policy makers (Legro 2005). The author referred to politics by including activities led by the leaders of that country that are associated with the governance of country. Politics has a strong influence that can affect a country and its economy, businesses, society, education, tourism and many other elements. In order to manage and control all aspects of an economy the leaders should make strong strategies. The effective strategy  can always become difficult to develop and implement because of the contingent political battle among political leaders (Legro 2005). Therefore, Legro gave his views on this issue by focusing only on the holistic nature of ideas. He explained that a change in collective ideas is i nherently conflictual and political, but a focus on the situation of the contingent politics in which continuity is likely or it is not properly defined.

Price Differences Associated with Quality Essay

Price Differences Associated with Quality - Essay Example This paper will critically analyze the price differences associated with quality by giving a specific focus on imperfect competition and price differences. Effects of grade quality on demand According to an observation, â€Å"grade quality is the distinguishing feature or grade of the product in appearance, performance, life, reliability, taste, odor, and maintainability etc; these are generally called as quality characteristics† (Charantimath, 1). The grade quality or quality characteristics can have a great influence on the demand of a product because quality and price are the major determinants of a product’s market demand. Economic theories state that a change in quality can make a shift in the demand curve. When two identical products with different quality levels are available in the market at the same price, consumers would buy the product having superior quality. To illustrate, demand for Giordano’s pizza is greater than that of Papa John’s at a gi ven price. It happens because consumers believe that Giordano’s pizza has higher quality and therefore it would better satisfy their needs than Papa John’s pizza would do. ... It is observed that modern people are able to determine their needs precisely; hence, they can accurately identify product quality characteristics that are necessary to serve those needs. It is obvious that improved quality characteristics may better serve an individual’s needs. In other words, a consumer would get greater level of utility from a product with higher grade quality. Generally, a consumer always tries to acquire increased utility with minimum amount of money. In short, it can be stated that a product with higher grade quality will have increased market demand or demand is positively affected by grade quality. Referring to the law of demand, it is clear that the price of a product is directly proportional to its market demand. As discussed earlier, a product with higher grade quality will have a high level of market demand which in turn leads to an increase in its price. Maintenance of quality-price relationship is necessary for stabilizing an economy. To illustra te, majority of the agricultural products have predetermined grade quality standards and hence their price considerably varies in accordance with grade quality changes. Agricultural yields with a lower quality are paid minimum prices while marketers are ready to pay higher for high quality agricultural yields (â€Å"Grain marketing plans for farmers†). However, the law of diminishing marginal utility is also applicable to quality-price relationship. The law states that utility derived from the consumption of a product diminishes with each unit of the same product additionally consumed. Hence, a product’s price will not be increased beyond a certain level if a person continuously consumes a

The General Force of Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The General Force of Analysis - Essay Example The journal also analyzes the pressure, which suppliers place on a company has an enormous impact on the margins of the company. This includes the factors, which influence the intensity of the suppliers’ power, include shortage of suppliers and unavailability of substitutes of a product. The issue of customers affecting a company’s boundaries because of the number of buyers, the quantity of purchases, and ease of finding substitutes of a product, price and importance of a product is also discussed in the journals. The authors mention how risk of substitutes is determined by the ease of customers to acquire an alternative to a product or service because they are fascinated by cheap alternatives. In addition, Competition among companies, and how they determine the returns of a company were explored; consequently, the issue of return reduction when competition is high in the retail sector is discussed. Competition is increased when there is no company that stands above the rest and when there is no difference between products and services.The authors Munir et al, explore how the Pakistani mobile company Moblink, employs research on their stakeholders so as to determine those affected by those who influence the procedures of the company and those interested in its success or failure. Stakeholders may be individuals or organizations. The journal discusses how Moblink reduces competition in the industries by introducing barriers. It also shows how Moblink determines how suppliers and customers affect its returns.

The topic can be revised by the writer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The topic can be revised by the writer - Essay Example Using the four-quadrant model, I was able to categorize my major activities as: urgent and important (quadrant one), not urgent and important (quadrant two), urgent and not important (quadrant three), and not urgent and not important (quadrant four). I tracked down eight activities through the week that consumed at least one and a half hours every session. Using the four quadrant model, the activities can be classified as; The classification was enabled by calculating the amount of time that each grid consumed. Quadrants 1,2,3,4 consumed two hours, three hours, one and a half hours, and two hours respectively. The grid revealed to me that I spent more time on online chatting than I thought. I was surprised by the amount of time I devoted to activities that were of self-interest. The music practice was urgent and important for a forthcoming schools’ music festival. I noticed that I attached little value to the practice as compared to the other members, regardless of its short timeframe. An activity is important if it comprises of long-term strategies and personal development. Important activities are those that contribute to health and wellness. Music practice, studying, and exercising were the most important activities for the past week. I am passionate about those activities since they stimulate personal development. Music, studying, and exercising form my hobbies list in my rà ©sumà ©. They are activities that propel my long-term goals of personal development; and success. There are two factors that dictate whether an activity is urgent. Firstly, the activity has to have a deadline. Secondly, there must be an authority that requires the activity completed within its timeframe. Music practice and reading and writing journals were activities supervised and coordinated by the director of music and health chairman respectively. The activities were time pressured and required adequate concentration to get the work

Implications of Information Technology in Developing Countries Essay Example for Free

Implications of Information Technology in Developing Countries Essay The survival and growth of organizations in an increasingly turbulent environment would depend upon effective utilization of information technology for aligning the organizational structure with environmental preferences and for creating symbiotic interorganizational structures. How can IT help the organizations in responding to the challenges of an increasingly complex and uncertain environment? How can IT help the organizations achieve the flexible organization structure? These are the topics that remains to be a matter of question for many developing countries. Although Information technology is still a . black box . technology for developing countries, it is largely applied in industrialised countries to the disadvantage of the majority of developing countries. This paper will try to illuminate the aspects and the impact of Information Technology in managing organizational change and its implications for developing countries. 1. Introduction The rate and magnitude of change are rapidly outpacing the complex of theories. economic, social, and philosophical on which public and private decisions are based. To the extent that we continue to view the world from the perspective of an earlier, vanishing age, we will continue to misunderstand the developments surrounding the transition to an information society, be unable to realize the full economic and social potential of this revolutionary technology, and risk making some very serious mistakes as reality and the theories we use to interpret it continue to diverge..-Arthur Cordell(1987). We have modified our environment so radically that we must modify ourselves in order to exist in this new environment..Norbert Wiener(1957) The survival and growth of organizations in an increasingly turbulent environment would depend upon effective utilization of information technology for aligning the organizational structure with environmental preferences and for creating symbiotic interorganizational structures. How can IT help the organizations in responding to the challenges of an increasingly complex and uncertain environment? How can IT help the organizations achieve the .flexible. organization structure? These are the topics that remains to be a matter of question for many developing countries. This study will try to illuminate the aspects and the impact of Information Technology in managing organizational change and its implications for developing countries. 2. Aspects of Information Technology Information technology (IT) may be defined as the convergence of electronics, computing, and telecommunications. It has unleashed a tidal wave of technological innovation in the collecting, storing, processing, transmission, and presentation of information that has not only transformed the information technology sector itself into a highly dynamic and expanding field of activity creating new markets and generating new investment, income, and jobs- but also provided other sectors with more rapid and efficient mechanisms for responding to shifts in demand patterns and changes in international comparative advantages, through more efficient production processes and new and improved products and services (e.g. replacing mechanical and electromechanical components, upgrading traditional products by creating new product functions, incorporating skills and functions into equipment, automating routine work, making technical, professional, or financial ser vices more transportable). The development of IT is intimately associated with the overwhelming advances recently accomplished in microelectronics. Based on scientific and technological breakthroughs in transistors, semiconductors, and integrated circuits (chips), micro-electronics is affecting every other branch of the economy, in terms of both its present and future employment and skill requirements and its future market prospects. Its introduction has resulted in a drastic fall in costs as well as dramatically improved technical performance both within the electronics industry and outside it (Malone and Rockart, 1993). The continuous rise in the number of features on a single micro-electronic chip has permitted lower assembly costs for electronic equipment (each chip replacing many discrete components), faster switching speeds (thus faster and more powerful computers), and more reliable, smaller, and lighter equipment (fewer interconnections, less power and material). Similar dramatic falls in costs occurred in the transport and steel industries in the nineteenth century and in energy in the twentieth, associated with the emergence of the third and fourth Kondratiev cycles, respectively. The potential effects of microelectronics are thus very far-reaching, for its use in production saves on virtually all inputs, ranging from skilled and unskilled labor to energy, materials, andcapital. All sectors of the economy have been influenced by the development of IT applications: information technology opens up greater opportunities for the exploitation of economies of scale and scope, allows the more flexible production and use of labor and equipment, promotes the internationalization of production and markets, offers greater mobility and flexibility in capital and financial flows and services, and is frequently the precondition for the creation of innovative financial instruments. Information system developments are constantly being applied to increase the productivity, quality, and efficiency of finance, banking, business management, and public administration. In manufacturing, and to some extent in agriculture, many processes have been automated, some requiring highly flexible, self-regulating machines, or robots. The engineering industry has been transformed by computer-aided design and three-dimensional computerized screen displays. The pace of technological change in IT will most likely accelerate the already observable growth in the interdependence of international relations not just economic or financial, but also political and cultural. National economies have become more susceptible to the effects of policy decisions taken at the international level, and domestic economic measures are having increased impacts on economic policies of other countries. World markets for the consumption of similar goods are growing, and so are common lifestyles across national borders. The advance of telecommunications and computerization has recently enabled large companies to use information systems to transmit technical and economic information among numerous computer systems at different geographical locations, subjecting widely dispersed industrial plants to direct managerial control from a central location; this affects the international division of labor and production and international trade, changing the patterns of industrial ownership and control, altering the competitive standing of individual countries, and creating new trading partners. It is the integration of functions that confers on information technology its real economic and social significance. More than just a gradual and incremental technological evolution leading to improved ways of carrying out traditional manufacturing processes (i.e. simply the substitution of new technologies for existing systems and the rationalization of standard activities), IT offers the opportunity for completely new ways of working through systems integration. Rather than applying one item of new technology to each of the production functions now performed at distinct stages of the production process, i.e. design, production, marketing, and distribution (in what could be called stand-alone improvements or island automation), having evolved in to new technologies, i.e. Enterprise Resource Planning systems, IT offers the possibility of linking design to production (e.g. through programmable manufacturing, measuring, and testing equipment responding to the codification of design), planning and design to marketing and distribution (e.g. through a variety of computer aids and databases that sense an d collect changing market trends), production to distribution (e.g. by automatically incorporating orders and commissions by customers and suppliers into the production process), etc. The complete integration of all these production subsystems in a synergistic ensemble is still more a long-term trend than a reality, but use of automated equipment to link together individual items of equipment belonging to hitherto discrete manufacturing operations has already made IT a strategic issue for industry. More technical advances are expected soon in the automation of telecommunications and the linkage of computers by data transmission that will enhance the possibilities of systems integration. Such programmable automation, or computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), has the capability of integrating information processing with physical tasks performed by programmable machine tools or robots. CIM offers radical improvements in traditional problem areas confronting manufacturers, such as: reduced lead time for existing and new products; reduced inventories; more accurate control over production and better quality production management information; increased utilization of expensive equipment; reduced overhead costs; improved and consistent quality; more accurate forecasting; improved delivery performance (Miles et al., 1988). These features characterize information technology as a new technological system, in which far-reaching changes in the trajectories of electronic, computer, and telecommunication technologies converge and offer a range of new technological options to virtually all branches of the economy. Moreover, IT forms the basis for a reorganization of industrial society and the core of the emerging techno-economic paradigm. The reason for the pre-eminence of the new technological system clustered around information technology over the equally new technological systems clustered around new materials and biotechnology is the fact that information activities of one kind or another are a part of every activity within an industrial or commercial sector, as well as in our working and domestic lives. Almost all productive activities have high information intensity (some involve little else, such as banking or education). Further more, along with the premier of internet technology and e-business architectures; powerful concepts like inventory control, supply chain management, customer relationship/service management, and management resource planning through the internet under the name of Enterprise Resource Planning have enabled IT to be capable of offering strategic improvements in the productivity and competitiveness of virtually any socio-economic activity. Other than industrial or commercial sectors, information technology is also applicable in education sector and in public institutions. Thus, Information Technology is universally applicable. Probably only a fraction of the benefits derived from information technology-based innovations have so far been reaped and the rest remain to be acquired in the next decades. The shift towards systems integration to capitalize the full potential benefits of IT requires considerable adaptations, learning processes, and structural changes in existing socioecon omic institutions and organizational systems. The tradition in most current organizations is still to operate in a largely disintegrated fashion, reminiscent of the Ford-Taylorist management approaches that dominated the fourth Kondratiev cycle: high division of labor, increasing functional specialization/differentiation and de-skilling of many tasks, rigid manufacturing procedures and controls, long management hierarchies with bureaucratic decision-making procedures and a mechanistic approach to performance. Under these conditions, use of IT is restricted to piecemeal technology improvements. By contrast, information technology-based systems offer organizations the opportunity of functional integration, multi-skilled staff, rapid and flexible decision-making structures with greater delegation of responsibilities and greater autonomy of operating units, a more flexible and organic approach enabling a quick adjustment to changing environmental conditions. (Piore and Sabel, 1984.) But this means that information management skills require the ability to make choices about the optimal arrangements for particular situations: unlike earlier generations of technology, IT offers not a single best way of organization but a set of more or less appropriate alternative organizing, staffing, and managing options that may be adopted in different organizational contexts. There is no determinism in the way information technology influences the socioinstitutional framework. Therefore, organizational innovation is a crucial part of the requirement for firms to adapt to survive (Miles, 1988). Unfortunately, this is true for all the institutions as well. Further, it is even more dramatic for the organizations in developing countries because of not being able to properly adapt to this so-called .black-box. technology. No matter how frustrating it is interpreted for these countries, IT still has significant impact on their development. Although socio-economic structure of these countries resists organizational or institutional changes, the complex interrelations between these changes and information technologies have significant implications for the way IT does and will affect the societies and economies of developing countries. As a matter of fact, the negative and positive potential impacts of IT on these countries are a matter of great controversy among economists and politicians. The main short term issues usually discussed are the potential erosion of the comparative advantages of low labor costs, particularly in relation to assembly facilities, and the effects of automation, particularly on internal markets and international competitiveness. Implications of information technology for those countries hold great importance. 3. Implications for Developing Countries The first direct effect of the micro-electronics revolution was the location of production for export in third world countries. While production of mainframe computers continued to be located largely in industrialized countries, production of smaller computers and of microelectronic devices, more subject to price competition, was shifted to low-wage locations, mainly in East Asia, where countries presented low wage costs as well as political stability, a docile labor force, and government incentives. Location of production for local and regional consumption followed, but the countries concerned were mainly middle income: three quarters of US investment in third world micro-electronic industries was concentrated in 11 countries, namely the four Asian dragons, India, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia (Steward, 1991). Export-oriented investments in these countries were associated more with direct foreign investment from larger firms in industrialized countries than with firms producing for the local market; on the other hand, licensing was more associated with smaller firms (Tigre, 1995). The automation of production decreases the relative importance of labor-intensive manufacturing and cost of labor, thereby eroding the competitiveness of low labor costs. For instance, automation led to a sharp decrease in the difference between manufacturing costs of electronic devices between the United States and Hong Kong: in manual processes, manufacturing costs were three times higher in the United States, and the introduction of semi-automatic processes made the difference practically disappear (Sagasti, 1994). Equally, the expansion of automation in Japan has contributed to a reduction of Japanese investments in the Asia/Pacific region involving firms in electronics, assembly parts, and textiles (Sagasti, 1994). The trend to increasing systems optimization and integration is most likely to induce large producers in industrialized countries to bring back a significant share of their production located in developing countries (offshore production). This movement has been called comparative advantage reversal. As integration increases, with functions previously obtained by assembling pieces being incorporated in the electronic components, value-added is pushed out of assembly processes into the components themselves and upwards towards servicing. In addition, the growing technological complexity of electronic devices increases the value of the parts manufactured by firms located in industrialized countries The amount of value-added obtained in offshore assembly has thus been constantly decreasing (Sagasti,1994). Global factories constructed in locations of least cost, often at a considerable distance from final markets, were economically worthwhile because labor was one of the major determinants of costs. Technology and rapid responsiveness to volatile local markets are becoming more important components of competitiveness. The reduction of product cycles due to the growing resistance to obsolescence of programmable machines and equipment has led to a concentration of manufacturing investment in capital-intensive flexible manufacturing, further adding to the erosion of the comparative advantages of developing countries. The assembly of systems will probably continue in some developing countries that have adopted protective legislation for local production targeted at particular market segments (e.g. Brazil), although this is changing very rapidly (Steward, 1991). The types of equipment produced under these circumstances are used largely in internal markets and are hardly competitive on the international level; they tend to be far more expensive than comparable equipment available abroad, and often their installation and use are also more costly because of expensive auxiliary installations, under-use, and lack of management skills. Nevertheless, they may at least provide the country with the capacity to follow the development of information technologies more closely. In other countries, assembly of equipment is taking place from components bought practically off the shelf, but as the level of hardware integration and the amount of software incorporated into the chips (firmware) grow, valueadded will be taken away from the assembly process, reducing or eliminating its economic advantages. The introduction of microelectronics requires certain new skills of design, maintenance, and management, as well as complementary infrastructural facilities such as reliable telephone systems and power supplies. Deficiencies in these factors prevent the widespread adoption of information technology in developing countries (Munasinghe et al., 1985). The more advanced developing countries, with a wider basis of skills and infrastructure and a more flexible labor force, may be in a better position to adopt IT and to increase their productivity and their international competitiveness. But the less developed countries, with inadequate skills and infrastructure, low labor productivity, and lack of capital resources, will find it difficult to adopt the new technologies; they are likely to suffer a deterioration in international competitiveness vis-Ã  -vis both industrialized and the more advanced developing countries (Stewart et al., 1991). Quality, too, requires an adequate level of skills, infrastructure, and managerial know-how that is generally lacking in developing countries. This greatly reduces the synergies, number of options, faster responses, and more informed decisions that can be implemented in the firm by the optimization of the systems performance. In turn, the composition of the labor force existing within firms located in industrialized countries will further improve their systems performance and further reinforce the advantages derived from automation. The proportion of the labor force employed in production is constantly decreasing in the industrialized countries, implying that performances at the systems level and innovation, not manufacturing, are becoming the key to profit, growth, and survival (Sagasti, 1994). Like biotechnology, information technology is a proprietary technology, vital technical information regarding design engineering specification, process know-how, testing procedures, etc., being covered by patents or copyrights or closely held as trade secrets within various electronic firms from industrialized countries. Many companies in the software area do not patent or copyright their products because it entails disclosing valuable information, and firms are generally reluctant to license the more recent and advanced technologies. Therefore, technology transfer takes place mainly among established or important producers, hindering the access to developing countries. Moreover, the main issue facing developing countries is not so much the access to a particular technology but to the process of technological change, because of the dynamism of this process. Sagasti implies this issue in the book The Uncertain Guest: science, technology and development (1994) that recent trends in int er-firm relationships seem to indicate that this access takes place essentially through the participation in the equity of the company holding the technology.

Features of Information Technology

Features of Information Technology The Internet also known as the Net and is also a worldwide network of computers. It is made up of thousands of interconnected computer networks (a network is a group of computers connected together). A network in the Internet can be large (consisting of thousands of computers), medium (consisting of hundreds of computers) or small (consisting of just a few computers). Similarly, the computers in the network can be mainframes, minicomputers or microcomputers. All computers in the Internet cooperate and work together to provide a variety of useful services to the users. Computers in the Internet fall into two basic categories: host (servers) and terminals (browser). Users connect to the internet by subscribing to an Internet Service Provider commonly known as an (ISP). An ISP is an organisation that provides bandwidth services at some cost to clients who wish to have internet connections in their homes or offices. NetZero, ATT and Microsoft Network (MSN) are ISPs. Individuals also connect to the Internet through business firms, universities, or research centres that have designated Internet domains. Connection is done by: Traditional telephone lines and modem Broadband services which are provided by Digital subscriber line (DSL), cable satellite connections and T lines. T1 and T3 are international telephone standards for digital communications. They leased dedicated lines suitable for business or government agencies to secure guaranteed service levels. The Internet is based on the TCP/IP networking protocol suite. Every computer on the net is assigned a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. The Internet also consists of domain naming system which stands for DNS. The (DNS) converts IP addresses to domain names . Features that define the internet The World Wide Web (WWW) EMAIL NEWS TELNET File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Internet Relay Chat (IRC) The World Wide Web (WWW) The World Wide Web Know as WWW is part of the internet that supports hypertext documents allowing users to access and navigate different types of data. It is also a web document that is encoded with HTML tags. These HTML tags allow designers to link contents via hyperlinks. Every web page has an address which is a Uniform Resource Locator which stands for (URL). Currently the Web is viewed mainly as a tool for allowing access to a large amount of published information. EMAIL This is also known as Electronic Mail and it is the reason most people stay on the internet. With the inception of the email facility people can create, send and receive email messages to one another around the globe using an email program with an email account on the internet mail server. Email clients usually contain user interfaces to display and edit text. NEWS News is another major feature of the internet. It includes hundreds of newsgroup each newsgroup hosts discussion on a specific topic. A newsgroups name indicates its users special topic of interest such as clothes, shoes, food etc. When participating in a news program you need to have a news reader program that lets you read articles that have been posted on a news server. Articles can be posted for people to read and respond to. is the worlds biggest electronic discussion forum. It provides a way for messages to be sent among computers across the entire Internet. People from all over the world participate in discussions on thousands of specific areas of interest called newsgroups What is Telnet? The Telnet protocol is often thought of as simply providing a facility for remote logins to computer via the Internet. Telnet follows a Client / Server Model. You run a piece of software on your own PC (the client) to use the resources of a distant Server Computer (host computer) Some practical uses of Telnet include: Telnet is a Protocol that lets you use the power of the Internet to connect you to databases, library catalogs, and other information resources around the world. Telnet lets you connect directly to another computer on the Internet and run programs on the computer (provided you have access permission (Username and Password). Theoretically you have a lot of power at your fingertips. Your dumb terminal or very old PC can run programs on the worlds most powerful computers. How is the Internet governed? The Internet is a democratic setup. No single organization owns or manages all the resources in the Internet. Rather, it is collectively owned and managed by thousands of organizations from around the world. Each organization owns and manages its own network, but provides services to other networks as well as receives services from them. There is no master or slave relation in the Net all users have equal standing. The Internet data traffic is carried over transcontinental high-speed backbone networks that operate in a range of 45Mbps to 2.5 Gbps. Trunk lines are owned by long-distance telephone companies called Network Service Providers or by National Government. Local connection lines are owned by regional telephone and cable television companies in the United States that connect retail users in homes and business to internet. The regional networks lease access to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), private companies, and government institutions. Each organisation pays for its own networks and its own local Internet connection services, a part of which is paid to the long-distance trunk line. Individual internet users pays ISPs for using their services and they generally pay a flat subscription fee no matter how much or how little they use the internet. The internet is not owned by any state or organisation and it has no formal management. However the internet policies are established by a number of professional organisations and government bodies including the (IAB) Internet Architecture Board that helps define the overall structure of the NET, the Internet Corporation for assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), assigns IP addresses and the World Wide Web Consortium which sets Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) and other programming standards for the web. These organisations influence government agencies, network owners, ISPs and software developers with the goal of keeping the Internet operating. The Internet must also conform to the laws of the nation-states in which it operates as well as the technical infrastructure that exist within the nation-states.

Operations Management for Market Leadership

Operations Management for Market Leadership Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1: Overview Operations management is deemed to be an integral part of the day-to-day business process and services delivery of organizations irrespective of the industry in which they are operating as argued by Slack et al (2005)[1]. This makes it clear that the effective use of the resources and technology in order to ensure prompt delivery of the promised services to the customers is not only elemental for the sustainability of the business but also the core deliverable that can be achieved only through effective operations management (Slack et al, 2006[2]). Tourism in the global market has seen tremendous growth with the increase in the affordability and the demand for new destinations in the market from all levels of the market (Yu, 1997[3]). The increase in the level of package tours and the number of holidaymakers visiting places abroad since the dawn of the twenty-first century justifies the aforementioned (Dempsey and Gesell, 2007[4]). It is further evident from the arguments of Dempsey and Gesell (2007) that the increase in the tourism industry is mainly influenced by the level of affordability and convenience provided through flight services across the globe mainly in the form of economy flights. This makes it clear that effective operations management in the tourism industry especially in the airways business segment of the industry is a key element that has a direct impact on the tourism industry in a given geographical location (Barnes, 2007[5]). The growth of economy and low fare flight services to a variety of destinations across the European Union and across the Atlantic further makes it clear that a airline operator cannot achieve market leadership through pricing strategies but only through distinguishing itself from others through quality of service offered. In this report a critical analysis on the use of effective operations management practises to achieve competitive advantage through improving business operations at British Airways Plc is presented t o the reader. 1.2 Aim and Objectives Aim – The aim of this report is to present a critical analysis on the use of operations management concepts to achieve sustainable market leadership and growth at British Airways in the Tourism Industry. Objectives The above aim is accomplished through focusing the report on the following research objectives To present a literature review on the key concepts associated with the operations management in the tourism industry focusing on the airlines business. To present a company profile on British Airways and the company’s operations management. To present a discussion on the areas of development for British Airways and the implementation of the Operations Management concepts presented in the literature review. 1.3: Research Scope and Methodology The scope of the research is restricted to the airlines business segment of the tourism industry as opposed to the airways operations as a industry in itself. This is due to the fact that the case of former involves the operations management from a quality of service perspective whilst the latter also involves the industry standards and regulatory aspects of the business. The research methodology is qualitative in nature as the application of the operations management concepts at British Airways to actually test its viability and the results of the implementation requires higher level of commitment from the company which is unavailable for this academic research. The research hence uses secondary research resources to deliver the research on the chosen topic. 1.4 Chapter Overview Chapter 1 – Introduction This is the current chapter that presents the research aim and objectives alongside a brief introduction on the nature of the research being conducted. Chapter 2 – Literature Review This chapter presents the key concepts of Operations management and their role in the tourism industry focusing on the airlines business segment. The purpose of this chapter is to present an insight on the Operations Management concepts at a theoretical level prior to conducting the company profile of British Airways in chapter 3. Chapter 3 – Case Study This chapter commences with a company profile on British Airways (BA) Plc followed by a detailed analysis of its business operations and the current operations management strategies deployed. The aim of this chapter to present a critical analysis on the issues faced by the operator in the UK and the global market in terms of effective operations management to deliver quality service to its customers. Chapter 4 – Discussion This chapter presents a discussion on the theories and the research presented in the chapters 2 and 3. The discussion presented aims to justify whether the theory discussed in the literature review can be accomplished in case of BA. This chapter also aims to present a discussion on the benefits that can be realised through the implementation of the operations management concepts as part of the BA business operations’ management. Chapter 5 – Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter presents a review of the objectives initially to assess the relevance of the research conducted in relation to the set objectives. This is followed by the conclusions drawn on the research and recommendations for both the intended audience and for further research. Chapter 2 – Literature Review 2.1: Introduction Operations management in the tourism industry is a major aspect that is not only integral to the business of the organizations in the industry but also the core element that dictates the mere existence of the competing organization (Barnes, 2007). This is naturally because of the fact that the operations management forms majority of the service management strategies of any organizations (Barnes, 2007). The prompt and effective delivery of the services promised to the customers is deemed to be the key for achieving competitive advantage in the tourism industry as well as t he hospitality industry as a whole (Fenn, 2008[6]). This makes it clear that the operations management in the strategies of the organizations in the tourism industry where travel by both the holiday makers and professionals are fused together, is critical for successful delivery of the products and services. Unlike retail/wholesale manufacturing industries, operations management in the tourism industry does not have a physical product for delivery through the use of logistics mechanisms but actually depends on the logistics and transportation strategies for customising the products and services to the intended customer (Fenn, 2008). This is naturally because of the fact that the tourism industry is integral to the transportation and logistics management for both the travellers/tourists and baggage handling as argued by Baxter (2007)[7]. This makes it clear that the operations management in the tourism industry mainly in the air-travel business segment is dependant on the application of the logistics and transportation management concepts from a services delivery perspective as opposed to merely delivering the products using a Just-in-Time or similar delivery strategy (Fenn, 2008). Core concepts of Operations management Clark and Johnston (2005)[8] argue that the overall operations management in a given organization predominantly revolve around the following core concepts Product and Service Management Quality Management Inventory Management Logistics and Transportation Management Facilities Management Configuration Management These are discussed in the subsequent sections of this chapter in the light of operations management in the airlines industry. 2.2: Product and Service Management The product and service management in the world of operations management is mainly concerned with the configuration and delivery of the services post purchase by the customer (Wild et al, 2005). This makes it clear that the product management in the case of operations management is the actual process of defining the timelines associated, costs and the service level agreements associated for the delivery of the product as an operations’ service to the customers by a given business organization. For instance, in a online retail scenario where the delivery of the goods purchased by the customers over the Internet is delivered using a logistics service provider by the retailer, the service level agreement of the retailer with the supplier must ensure that the guarantee to the customer is achievable under typical operational conditions of the business (Baxter, 2007). In case of the airline industry the major aspect associated with the delivery of the aforementioned products/services is that the product sold is in itself is realised as a service rendered to the buyer/customer. This makes it clear that the effective management of the operations by the airline operator is critical to ensure that the services purchased by the customers are delivered effectively. For example, a ticket or package tour purchased by a customer as a product is also the service experienced by the customer during the course of the journey. This further makes it evident that the operations management is not merely prompt delivery of the product but actually its appropriate planning and implementation in case of the airline operations in the tourism industry. The product and services management in the operations management of any organization involves three major aspects as discussed below: Definition – The definition of the product or service intended to sell to the customer is the first and most critical element associated with the product and service management as argued by Slack et al (2006)[9]. The product definition in the tourism industry involves the definition of the scope of the product and its intended value addition for the customer or the buyer as argued by Fenn (2008). The product definition also involves the process of ensuring that the requirements of the customers are met with by the service provider in case of the tourism industry. This is because of the fact that the services offered are measured by the customer who directly experiences them as part of the delivery of the product or service as argued by Fenn (2008). This first-hand response element of the customer feedback and their perception associated with the tourism industry is the major element that attributes to the need for a stable product definition. The airline operations in particular is one of the business segments where the first-hand response of the customer is not only part of the services offered but also in terms of the delivery of the service and associated tasks like the baggage handling, check-in and in-flight services including food and beverages offered as argued by Baxter (2006)[10]. Yet another element associated with the operations management in the airline industry as part of the product definition is the extent to which the service provider is prompt in the delivery of the services defined as part of the product. In case of the airline industry this is a critical aspect owing to the fact that the tourists and other travellers using the airline service depend entirely on the effectiveness of the operator in handling the safety and security of the passengers as well as their belongings in terms of checked-in baggage, hand baggage etc. As the traveller on holiday using the airline service to reach the destination will require his/her checked-in baggage in order to continue with their vacation without hindrance, the aforementioned justifies the need for a stable product definition. Another critical aspect associated with the product definition in the tourism industry is the need to ensure that the customer requirements are not only catered for but also to ensure that the services delivered as part of the business process is managed effectively at the operational level as argued by Baxter (2007). As mentioned before the case of tourism industry in general mainly involves the customer experiencing the services delivered first-hand. In other words the operations management in the tourism industry is not a behind-the-screen process but performed in front of the customer itself (Baxter, 2007). Design – The design phase of the product or service involved in the airline industry of the tourism business is a key aspect that involves a variety of long-term, short-term and day-to-day operational decisions as argued by Clark and Johnston (2005). The design phase of the product or the service is deemed as the actual planning involved with the scoping and delivery of the product or service defined at the product definition. In the case of airline operations business, the key elements that influence the design include from long-terms aspects like infrastructure, location, facilities up to day-to-day operational activities like the provision of food and facilities in-flight as well as the handling of baggage at the airport terminals both at departure and arrival ends of the journey as argued by Baxter (2007). The long-term decisions in the operations management of the airline operations involve Location – The location of the airport and the associated infrastructure to ensure the flight handling on a day-to-day basis without affecting the domestic life of the general public is the critical element associated with the product design for the airline operators on a long-term basis. This is evident from the case of many airlines managing the infrastructure and operations of the international airports of key destinations. Lufthansa’s role in managing the Frankfurt Airport in Germany, the management of Dubai International Airport by Emirates and responsibility of managing key international airports in the UK by British Airways including London Heathrow airport are classical examples for the aforementioned. Infrastructure – The infrastructure associated with the setting-up and the continuous maintenance of the airport is the second long-term element that influences the effectiveness of the tourism operations management by any airline operator in a given location. The infrastructure maintenance includes the installation of the security, baggage handling, staffing and mainly the handling of flight take-off and landing at airport terminals to ensure the smooth transfer of passengers from or into the aircraft as applicable (Dempsey and Gesell, 2007). Apart from the aforementioned, the key long-term element associated with the product design is the ability to improve and accommodate to changes in the external business environment in order to cater for the demands from the customers (or travellers) in the target market. The increase in the prominence of cheap flight services for the trans-Atlantic and European Union destinations for tourism is an example that justifies the aforementioned. With the increase in cheap flight services, the density of air-travellers in the western nations to various foreign destinations for vacation has increased tremendously (Baxter, 2007). This increase in the passenger density through airports which is also due to the growth in the affordability and the rising economic growth across the globe as a result of out-sourcing is one of the key long-term elements that influenced the construction of Terminal 5 at the London Heathrow airport. The opening of the Terminal 5 at the Heathrow airport has provided the British Airways flight operator the opportunity to utilise the infrastructure to consolidate the operations of all BA flights (long and short-haul) from a single Terminal at the Heathrow airport thus establishing the company’s brand identity effectively in the UK and global commercial aviation market. Delivery – The delivery of the services in the airline operations industry is the final and the most critical element in the case of the product and service management as argued by Slack et al (2006). Apart from the fact that the customer experiences the operations management strategy first-hand as part of the journey travelled, the delivery element also accompanies the services and facilities offered to the customers as part of the operations and their ability to meet the customer requirements (Slack et al, 2005). Footnotes [1] Slack, N.; Chambers, C.; and Johnston, A.B.R (2005), Operations Process Management: Principles and Practice for Strategic Impact, Prentice Hall [2] Slack et al (2006), Operations Management, Prentice Hall Ltd [3] Yu, G (1997), Operations Research in the Airline Industry (International Series in Operations Research Management Science), Kluwer Academic Publishers [4] Dempsey and Gesell (2007), Airline Management: Strategies for the 21st Century – 2nd Edition, Coast Aire Pubns [5] Barnes (2007), Operations Management, Cengage Learning [6] Fenn, D (2008), Travel Tourism Market – Market Review 2008, Key Note Ltd [7] Baxter, J. (2007), Travel Tourism Market – Market Review 2007, Key Note Ltd [8] Clark, G; and Johnston, R (2005), Service Operations Management: Improving Service Delivery, Prentice Hall [9] Slack, N.; Chambers, C.; and Johnston, R.; (2006), Operations Management, Prentice Hall [10] Baxter, J. (2006), Travel and Tourism Market – Market Review 2006, Key Note Ltd

Homelessness Essays -- Homeless families, social reform, outreach

Homelessness is a serious problem in our society. Every night in our nation thousands of people are on the streets. This type of behavior is considered deviant because it does not reflect the norms and values of our society. In many cases the homeless people in our country are treated as total outcasts. Many of these people have severe mental disorders. Some are victims of an economy that has failed them. One may ask how such harsh situations exist in such an advanced society. With all the money and programs created to help people it seems ridiculous that this behavior exists. In a society where people have so much how is it possible that there are still people that have so little. The homeless are humans, no different than anyone else. They have rights and privileges just as any other citizen. As fellow humans we are obligated to help those in need. The homeless are in need. They are not only in need of money, but they are also in need of our attention and our support. Homelessness is something that we as a society need to address and eliminate completely. In the past few years the number of homeless people has increased tremendously gaining the attention of the public eye. While there is debate over how many homeless people are in the United States, few disagree that the numbers are overwhelmingly high and they are growing. In the past the homeless population mainly consisted of white men who were alcoholics. Now the homeless consists of many different types of people ranging in ethical background. They have also become a younger group of people and have a variety of different reasons for their homelessness (Farr, 1986). Homeless people have no bed to keep warm in if they get a fever or if the weather is cold. They do no... ...ington: University Press of Kentucky. Works Consulted Children's Defense Fund. (1998). The state of America's children: A report from the Children's Defense Fund. Boston: Beacon Press. Fitchen, J. (1981). Poverty in rural America: A case study. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Gans, H. J. (1995). The war against the poor: The underclass and antipoverty policy. New York: BasicBooks. Garrett, P. (1996). Poor kids in a rich nation: Eating the seed corn. In Pathways from poverty educational network. University Park, PA: Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. (ED 406 080) Katz, M. B. (1990). The undeserving poor: From the war on poverty to the war on welfare. New York: Pantheon Books. Kryder-Coe, J. H., Salamon, L. M., & Molnar, J. M. (Eds.). (1991). Homeless children and youth: A new American dilemma. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Juvenile Crime :: essays research papers

Remember doing something mischievous or wrong when you were a kid and getting the label "delinquent" slapped on you ? Did you ever wonder what it meant ? That is what my topic for today is . . . juvenile delinquency. In this report I will: define juvenile delinquency, give the extent of juvenile delinquency, give some suggestions on what causes juvenile delinquency, and what is being done in various communities to deal with this growing problem. The legal term juvenile delinquent was established so that young lawbreakers could avoid the disgrace of being classified in legal records as criminals. Juvenile delinquency laws were designed to provide treatment, rather than punishment, for juvenile offenders. Young delinquents usually are sent to juvenile courts, where the main aim is to rehabilitate offenders, rather than to punish them. But the term juvenile delinquency itself has come to imply disgrace in today's society. A youngster can be labeled a delinquent for breaking an y one of a number of laws, ranging from robbery to running away from home. But an action for which a youth may be declared a delinquent in one community may not be against the law in another community. In some communities, the police ignore many children who are accused of minor delinquencies or refer them directly to their parents. But in other communities, the police may refer such children to a juvenile court, where they may officially be declared delinquents. Crime statistics, though they are often incomplete and may be misleading, do give an indication of the extent of the delinquency problem. The FBI reports that during the early 1980's, about two-fifths of all arrests in the United States for burglary and arson were of persons under the age of 18. Juveniles also accounted for about one-third of all arrests for larceny. During any year, about 4 % of all children between the ages of 10 and 18 appear in a juvenile court. The percentage of youngsters in this group who are sent to court at least once is much higher. A third or more of those boys living in the slum areas of large cities may appear in a juvenile court at least once. Girls are becoming increasingly involved in juvenile delinquency. Today, about one of every five youngsters appearing in juvenile court is a girl. In the early 1900's, this ratio was about 1 girl to every 50 or 60 boys.

Islamization of the Philippines Essay

Contrary to the methods of Spanish conquistadors who handled colonization at swordpoint, the introduction of Islam to pre-colonial Philippines and to the rest of Southeast Asia was generally achieved with minimal bloodshed. By marrying into the rich and ruling class, Muslim traders, teachers and missionaries facilitated the spread of Islam as they travelled to Java, Sumatra, Jahore, Malacca, Borneo and other nearby islands to conduct their mission. By the 13th century, most of the lands of Southeast Asia were Islamized, and pretty soon the southern part of the Philippines followed this trend during the 14th century. But of course, this phenomenon could have not been possible without notable Muslim people who spearheaded the spread of Islam. Based on the tarsila or the genealogies, the first one who introduced Islam in the country was Tuan Mashaika, the supposed son of Jamiyun Kalisa and his wife, Indira Suga, who were both sent to Sulu by Alexander the Great (Mongcal). Tuan Masaika married the daughter of Raja Sipad of Patikol in Buansa, present-day Jolo (Scribd.com). He was followed by Karim-ul Makhdum, or simply Mukdum, a noted Arabian scholar who introduced Islam in Malacca in the middle of 14th century and continued his travel to the east. He then reached Simunol, Sulu after passing through Sambuwangan (Zamboanga) and Basilan in 1380 (Mongcal). He built the first mosque in Sulu, and he continued to preach Islam until the time of his death. Around 1390, Raja Baginda, a minor prince from Menangkabaw, Sumatra arrived with soldiers and conquered Sulu. Afterwards, in 1450, they were followed by a Jahore[->0]-born Arab explorer[->1] and religious scholar[->2] named Sayyid Abu Bakr Abirin, or simply Abu Bakr (Sultanate of Sulu- Wikipedia). Upon coming to Sulu, Abu Bakr married Paramisuli, the local dayang-dayang or princess, and daughter of his predecessor, Raja Baginda. Then, he founded the first-ever sultanate of Sulu with him as the sultan, and thus he assumed the title Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-HÄ shim. But it was Shariff Muhammad Kabungsuwan Ibrahim, son of a royal-blooded Arab from Hadramaut (Scribd.com), who stretched the borders of Islamization beyond Sulu, and into the entirety of Mindanao. In 1475 he and his soldiers invaded the natives of present-day Cotabato and married the princess Putri Tonina. He then founded the sultanate of Mindanao with him as the head. It wasn’t just the natives in Mindanao who had been affected by the spread of Islam. Malay traders from Borneo facilitated the spread of Islam to some of the provinces of Luzon, namely Batangas, Mindoro and Pampanga. By the time the Spaniards arrived during the 16th century, they were surprised to discover that natives from certain parts of Luzon, including pre-colonial Manila and Tondo, practiced Islam. It is common knowledge, however, that technically and generally, the Spaniards had been more successful in propagating their religion all throughout the Philippines, thus confining and paralyzing the spread and influence of Islam. Today, the Philippines is one of the most predominant Roman Catholic nations in the world, second to East Timor in Southeast Asia. Only about 5% of today’s Philippine population practices Islam. The Roots of Education in the Philippines It is common for Filipinos to place a high regard on education not only as a predestined obligation to their children, but also as an important means to a higher social and economical status. According to the National Statistics Office or NSO, as of May 2012, 58 million out of the estimated 67 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years old are functionally literate, meaning they can read, write, compute, and comprehend (Mercene). Most Filipinos who are functionally literate are those whose who have at least finished high school. In pre-colonial Philippines, however, education in hunting-gathering communities or Primitive Communal societies was â€Å"informal, unstructured, and devoid of methods† (DepEd). It is less focused on academics characterized by the 3Rs which are reading, writing and arithmetic, and more compliant to vocational activities. The learners were taught by their parents or in the houses of tribal educators such as the babaylan or the katalonan, who are believed to possess wisdom and knowledge on spirituality with respect to their beliefs and traditions (Sribd). An ancient Southeast Asian writing system, called the Baybayin, was used as a teaching medium. Baybayin, from the Tagalog term baybay which means â€Å"to spell† is a member of the Brahmic family[->3] and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century, up until the late 19th century (Baybayin – Wikipedia). It is not to be confused with Alibata, which is Arabic in origin. Ancient writing tools consist of leaves, palm fronds, tree bark, fruit rinds, daggers as panulat and materials made from bamboo. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, these native communities are already practically and technically literate using the Baybayin. There had been several major changes to the type of education in the Philippines during the Spanish period, as their teachings were centralized on the ideology of Catholicism. The tribal tutors were replaced with Spanish missionaries, and the responsibility for providing primary education to indigenous populations was left to religious orders, headed by parish friars. The concepts of church and school were merged. This elitist, religious-oriented and exceedingly patriarchal type of education continued until it was partially liberalized through the enactment of the Educational Decree of 1863 which provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government (DepEd). The first book printed in the Philippines, a version of Doctrina Christiana or Christian Doctrine in the Chinese language, was printed in 1590, to be followed by versions in Tagalog and Spanish in 1593. There were four major groups of Spanish missionaries who established Christian schools in the Philippines, most of these institutions still teaching at present. The Augustinians established a school in Cebu in 1565, and then the Franciscans took charge of educating the natives in 1577. The Jesuits followed in 1581, with the youth as their focus. They also founded the Unibersidad de San Ignacio, which was later incorporated into the University of Santo Tomas, and also the Colegio de San Josà © in 1601 that took over the management in what became Escuela Municipal, now Ateneo de Manila University (Education in the Philippines- Wikipedia). The last group of missionaries were the Dominicans, who established a school on their first mission in Bataan in 1587, and later founded Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1620. In general, however, education during the Spanish period was â€Å"inadequate, suppressed, and controlled† (DepEd). A free and adequate secularized public school system only came with the first decade of the American rule, with respect to recommendations of the Schurman Commission, or the First Philippine Commission – a five-person group headed by Dr. Jacob Schurman[->4], president of Cornell University[->5], to investigate conditions in the islands and make recommendations (Schurman Commission – Wikipedia). The Taft Commission or the Second Philippine Commission established by President William Mckinley came later in 1900. This commission, headed by William Howard Taft[->6], was granted legislative as well as limited executive powers (Taft Commission – Wikipedia), and thus it focused on training the people for the duties of citizenship and avocation. The spread of public schools throughout the Philippines came afterwards in 1901, when the Thomasites, the five hundred pioneer teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines due to shortage of teachers, arrived and estab lished barangay schools. Works Cited List Mongcal, MAJ SAMUEL T . â€Å"Sulu: Our Ancestral Domain.† The Philippine Marine Corps’ Official Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Sultanate of Sulu – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.† Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"The Spread of Islam in the Philippines.† Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. . REPORT IN HUM 10 Javier, Jess G. Hum10 – B1 [->0] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johore [->1] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_people [->2] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_scholar [->3] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family [->4] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Gould_Schurman [->5] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University [->6] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft

Art Criticism

Art Criticism Research Paper Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 1907-1908 The Kiss, painted by Gustav Klimt, is probably his most recognized work. He began working on the painting in 1907. In The Kiss, there is a couple embracing each other. The man is covered in neutral colored rectangles, and the woman is wearing brightly colored circles and flowers in her hair. There are many lines in the image considering all of the rectangles the man is wearing. They are colored in various shades of gold and symbols, while embracing each other with a kiss against a bronze background.The texture seems rough and varied throughout the piece. The couple is the focal point of the piece, while the rest of the painting shatters into colorful patterns. This hints the idea that Klimt was inspired by Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement. There is not much negative space in the piece. The couple and their patterns dominate the image because it is right in the center of the page. T here is not much negative space in the piece, but the man has black rectangles all over his body. This is significant because it depicts the sharpness and boldness of a man in contrast to the woman who wears circular patterns all over her body.This is where the biggest contrast is. The emphasis is on the couple because of the bold bronze color that the couple is painted in. The contrast to the background helps it pop. The elements communicate a very content mood. The couple seems very passionate and sexual towards one another. The artwork is balanced very well. Every inch of the painting is painted in, and the top and bottom are filled in. There is a sense of depth because of all the contrasting colors. The picture looks very three-dimensional.The artwork has a rhythm that feels as if the viewer could feel the couple’s passionate movement. Klimt created this piece of art to convey the passionate love a man and woman can share. The picture is very sexual, yet full of heart. Th e couple seems to be so in effectuated with each other that the real world is no longer present. If I were the woman in the picture I would be thinking about how loved I am. The theme is that women and men share a kind of love that no one else can comprehend. The title for this piece is very appropriate, and I would not change it even if I could.The kiss is an extremely simple title that does a good job explaining the artwork, yet leaving room for the viewer to imagine for themselves. When I first looked at the artwork, I thought that it was just a couple kissing, but as I kept examining it I realized how much more it is. I enjoyed examining this piece of work a lot. I felt that it was very much worth my time because the artist used a very sophisticated kind of technique to portray his message. I think it is a very respectable piece because of its simplicity yet the complex message it portrays.

Human Resource Management in Brunei Essay

Rousseau (1990) defines culture as a set of common values and understandings obtained through socialization (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2008). As such, the Islamic laws define the fundamental customs and lifestyle of Bruneians. Nevertheless, culture is an elusive behavior, which can be refined and redefined as the macro-environment changes. We explore how attitudes and perspective can be changed, in order to better adapt to technologies through laws and policies, without contradicting the essentials of Islamic culture thus improving their economy. The General Order in Brunei provides employees with high social security and benefits; they are entitled to ‘lifetime employment’ (Dore, 1973). Thus leading to insufficient supply of jobs for the younger generation who makes up the largest percentage of the unemployment rate. Additionally, paternalism is evident in Brunei; superiors act as a father figure in the organization and employees show utmost respect for their managers. Thus illustrating the relationship between cultural influences and organizational behavior. Foreign investments and tourism in Brunei have been severely impeded due to their inflexible Islamic culture, hence affecting Brunei’s integration with the world. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan, the importance of ‘liberation of visa regulations’ will ‘boost tourism and trade opportunities’ (Ying Chua, 2010). However in Brunei, regulations on foreign investments must comply with the standard of their Islamic laws, which hinder growth. Thus, exemplifying that culture affects its economy as it set the boundary of Brunei’s business environment. It is difficult for Brunei to fully integrate their economy with western countries due to very differing culture. Nonetheless, she can aim to be the capital for the Islamic world. For example, it can be the financial capital for the Middle Eastern countries, or even the world main supplier for Halal food in the world. This acts as a double-edge sword for Brunei because Brunei will not compromise their rich culture for economical gains. However before attaining such standards, Brunei has to examine their technological infrastructure and whether Bruneians are ready to adapt themselves for changes. Bruneians pride themselves on their rich Islamic culture hence they are less receptive to changes that appear to be in conflict. The sultanate laws never inculcated the use of technology until the mid 21st century, the government through its education system (Ganske & Hamidon, 2006). However the older generation, which the workforce mainly consists, is less responsive to such drastic changes. Firstly, it is against their culture to voice differing viewpoints to their superiors as it is considered disrespectful therefore, severely curtailing their initiative thus breeding complacency and conformity. Secondly, the lack of formalization (Chan, Foo, Nelson, Timbrell, & Othman, 2010) contradicted the implementation of new technologies; ‘the announcement to embark on e-government (a B$1 billion project) was made in 2000 but it was not until 2003 that the actual planning started (Kifle & Cheng, 2009)’, this 3 years gap have left many Bruneians confused about the process and pro gress. Language is part of a country’s culture. (Bakar, 2008). Therefore any language differences, will significantly hinder Bruneians’ adaptation to technology. Brunei’s national language is Malay while new technologies developed are instructed in English. This sudden change in the use language has adversely impeded on their adaptation. Nevertheless, this is only applicable to the older generation as Brunei government has enforced bilingualism in their current education system. A shift in their language culture from solely Malay to bilingualism will enhance their adaptation to new technology hence fulfilling Brunei’s vision of becoming an e-government whereby all traditional manual paperwork are electronically done. It is indisputable that Brunei will always be ruled by a strict set of Islamic laws, which forms the core principle of the country. Nonetheless, the problems faced by Brunei can be corrected through prudent laws and policies that can be inculcated as part of their culture. Culture shapes the fundamental of the legal and political system in Brunei. The Sultanate laws favour the Brunei Malays because of their shared values and customs while indigenous minorities are viewed inferior (Braighlinn, 1992). This partial treatment could potentially jeopardies Brunei’s economy by distancing relationships with developed countries because of very differing culture and customs and these developed countries have valuable resources, which Bruneians can acquire from. For example, skilled professionals from other countries will be hesitant to enter Brunei’s workforce because they have slower social advancement and benefits. This can be improved on without changing the core principles of Islamism. Furthermore, it is because of their traditional principle of ‘strict essence of conformity and consensus’ (Kramar & Syed, 2012) that has tremendously thwarted their country’s global integration. Brunei’s doctrine, ‘does not allow organization or individual to challenge the government and its policies’, has adversely stunts employees’ initiative. The Majesty criticized their work indifference, working ‘just like a robot with no direction, initiative or common sense’ (Low, Zain, & Ang, 2012). Such inflexible and flaccid work-attitude, would only curtail individual’s motivation at work and more drastically, leading to colossal losses to the organization. To a great extent culture sets the tone of how a country should be governed by defining the boundaries of their operations. However, we can no longer say that a country’s culture is a separate entity from its political system or from its economy or even their adaptation to technology. Culture orientates the parameters of one’s laws and policies, which in turn affects the growth of its economy. Likewise, a technologically cultured country brought about through good policies, could bring about many benefits to its economy. All these factors are intertwined and together they work as a whole system as to how a country, whether private or public companies, should be run. However there are certain strategies which the government can undertake to help individual adapt to the technology. The Government Employee Management System (GEMS) is a project, which aims in achieving an interactive and integrated public service. (Brunei Government Prime Minister’s Office 2010) Human Resource Management (HRM) consists of 2 main functions; the process of managing people in the organization in a structured and thorough manner, e.g. hiring people and retention of people. Secondly, the management of people within an organization e.g. managing relationship between management and employees. Critically, HRM requires the use of technology-based platforms to ensure efficiency and high-productivity of an organization. Thus, the importance of implementing GEMS and ensuring success to facilitate HRM better. Introduction of the use of technical system for HRM Government Employee Management System (GEMS) is a web-based system that enables, â€Å"efficient data input and greater transparency, which allows better management of HRM practices such as recruitment, compensation and benefit.† (Brunei Government Prime Minister’s Office 2010) To achieve greater effectiveness, GEMS will automate a significant number of tasks that were previously done manually. Employees’ information will now be kept in a database accessible to all departments, and it will be easily attainable. It would fasten decision-making because information would be readily available whenever required. Responses of Advancement of technology in HRM However, GEMS was not well received by employees. The Majority of the population belongs to the Malay community, thus finding it difficult to adapt to the English web-based system. Strategies that involve Human Resource enable individual employees to adjust themselves to technological changes Re-training of Employees GEMS was found as a complex system, training is thus, crucial to assist staff and officers to adapt and operate GEMS effectively. Training will greatly assist employees to better manage GEMS, as employees would be able to constructively operate the new system independently. Further mentoring is needed to ensure employees have fully comprehended the use of the system. At the same time creating a sense of achievement and often boost employee’s morale. However, there are several disadvantages and cost to re-train employees. Firstly, the large amount of people in an organization makes it difficult to schedule trainings (N Nayab 2010). Secondly, training requires a lot of time and ample resources, which could be economically disadvantageous in the short run. Hence, organization should thoroughly consider the pro et contra before sending employees for re-trainings. Motivating of employees Another key approach to assist staff and officers to adapt effectively to such changes is through motivation. Rewarding Employees A reward system can be created to encourage the use of technology. A good strategy to ensure adaptation for employees would be the use of monetary benefits. For example, HRM could implement an incentive plan by recognizing its employees for its efforts to adapt and use new technologies. It aims to acknowledge good performance and address the gap between the organization goals set for employees and the final outcomes. Increase job satisfaction of employee The more contented an employee is with its job, the higher possibility an employee would be adaptive to changes. (Richard W. Scholl 2003) Employers can consider satisfying employees’ job satisfaction, such as pay, working hours and job security. With job satisfaction, employees would be more adaptive to changes and the willingness to ensure effective operation of GEMS, which in result beneficial to the company in the long run. However, motivation is subjective. While it can empower employees and employers, its effect may be short term. Therefore, effort must be made consistently, for it will not be able to fulfil its long term effect of adaptation towards new organization goals. Strategies by Singapore Government A country’s adaptation towards technology is nurtured over time, and Singapore is a good example for Brunei to help individual adapt to technology. Singapore encourages technology development in its bid to become the next Silicon Valley (Gregory Gromov 1986). Singapore Government has created schemes and funding, which include cash grants, tax incentives and debt financing (AsianOne 2009). Brunei Government could also implement special schemes and grants dedicated to attract setup and ensure success, encouraging entry of foreign technology investors. This will subsequently, benefit Brunei as it helps risk reduction, in terms of investment in the long run. To further encourage the development of new innovations, SPRING Singapore has a special Technology Innovation Programme (TIP) for those who are able to develop new inventions or improve existing ones (SPRING Singapore 2012). Such programs and campaigns could be implemented in Brunei, encouraging Brunei to be exposed to the latest technology available, resulting in the increase of tech savvy consumers over the years. The above are just some strategies, which Brunei can adopt to help individual adapt to technological changes. There are many other strategies and prudent policies which Brunei can mirror, modeled by the western countries without compromising its core principle of Islamism. HRM is not culturally neutral. The nature of the scope is linked with local institutions, labour laws, corporate strategies and industrial relations vary greatly across national borders. Social Rights Bruneian adheres to the MIB ideology, a set of guiding values with the incorporation of the importance of Islam as a religion. This strict rule over the country means there are limitations to the freedom of speech, freedom of associations and collective bargaining (Kramar & Syed, 2012). However, despite the strict conformity, the government has adopted flexible and family-friendly policies (Kramar & Syed, 2012). For instance, General Order states that one should work no more than 8 hours and there are flexibilities when family responsibilities arise. America offers a much higher degree of freedom to its people. In the case of her stipulated law, â€Å"employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and shall be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers†¦. in the designation of such representatives.† (Stough, 1933). This leads to the formation of Labour Unions, which give the workers’ rights to negotiate terms with the management. The political system of the two countries sets them apart. In Brunei, HRM has to adhere to the country’s strict conformity, affecting multiple HRM issues such as appointments, discipline, work etiquette and appointments. Its people have little or no say over what is decided for them, unlike America. This social rights has seen the formation of Labour unions; an idea in which the government of Brunei will never tolerate. Sociocultural Individualism vs. Collectivism Brunei is more of a collectivist – the working environment culture is such that the people who work together are closely knitted, like a big family (Salleh & Clarke). Supervisors and officers are treated with respect like that of a parent (Kramar & Syed, 2012). Employees have no qualms sharing any problems and issues with their managers. Such informal relationship leads to total loyalty to their group; it gives the workers the sense of belonging and security. America, on the other hand, is represented by individualism (Gorrill, 2007). The need to develop personal relationships is less significant in comparison to Brunei. Individual performances are, instead, highly valued in American culture; managers are only approached for help in essential situations (Gorrill, 2007). The American corporations subscribe to formal corporate planning procedures and are generally viewed as unconcerned with promoting long-term loyalty to the organisation (Beechler, Najjar, Stucker, & Bird, 1996). Thus, a highly competitive work ethic is cultivated, leading to less job security Low vs. High Power Distance With a hierarchical relationship in place, Brunei is thought to possess a high power distance. However, it is not the case. The nurturance and care provided to the subordinates by their superiors imply that a paternalistic relationship is present (Aycan, et al., 2001). In return, the subordinate are loyal to their superior. The relationship positively impacts on the employee participation rates in decision making and problem solving. Evidently, it lowers the power distance between managers and their subordinates. Western cultures are, more than often, represented with a low power distance, thus a certain degree of informality is present. However, in America, an authoritative and organisational hierarchy is very much accepted and entrenched in its business culture (Dana, 2010). In other words, decisions are made from the top. The hierarchical chain of command often supersedes personal relationship and clear distinctions are made between work colleagues and friends (Gorrill, 2007). These leads to a significant power distance between managers and employees. Economy The economic context of a country is hardly predictable and stable, but it is most likely to have long-term consequences for HRM (Kramar & Syed, 2012). The supply and demand of labour forces vary accordingly to the country’s unemployment level. Supply and demand of labour force The benefits offered by the Brunei’s public sector, coupled with the family-style work culture, create a stable and secured work environment. As such, a job position will, almost, only be available when someone retires or resigns (Kramar & Syed, 2012). This brings about minimal turnover and thus, leads to an oversupply of labour force. America also faces unemployment issues but however, causes and implications are different and unlike Brunei, the issue is not a long term one. In the States, companies are unconcerned with long time loyalty and retrenchment may occur due to poor performances, intensifying job competition (Gorrill, 2007). Despite facing similar unemployment problems, HRM from the two countries has to tackle the problem very differently. When 1,000 applicants apply for a job with only 4 vacancies, HRM in Brunei has to ensure the right people are hired for the jobs (Kramar & Syed, 2012). (Salleh & Clarke)While in America, HRM faces the challenges of recruiting people for jobs because intense job competitions bring about a lack of job security. Bibliography AsianOne (2009), Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., Singaporeans second most tech savvy in the world, viewed 15 February 2013 . Aycan, Z., Kanungo, R. N., Mendonca, M., Yu, K., Deller, J., Stahl, G., et al. (2001). Impact on Culture on Human Resource Management Practices: A 10-Country Comparison. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Beechler, S., Najjar, M., Stucker, K., & Bird, A. (1996). Japanese-style versus American-style Human Resource Management Overseas: Examining Whether the Data Support the â€Å"Facts†. New York: Columbia University. Black, A. (2008). Ideology and law: the impact of the MIB ideology on law and dispute resolution in the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. Asian Journal of Comparative Law. Braighlinn, G. (1992). Ideological Innovation under Monarchy: Aspects of Legitimation Activity in Contemporary Brunei: Aspects of Legitimation Activity in Contemporary Brunei. The Netherlands: VU University Press. Brunei Government Prime Minister’s Office (2010), GEMS Background, viewed 15 February2013, . Bujang, A. G. (1987). Education for Nationhood. Southeast Asian J. of Education Studies . Dana. (2010). 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