Information and Systems for Competitive Advantage Research Paper

Information and Systems for Competitive Advantage - Research Paper Example The researcher states that for many organizations, such Web sites are helpful to customers because they are able to acquire resources, as opposed to determining requirements for resources. On the other hand, customers make use of the sites for determination of requirements, as opposed to using them for acquisition purposes. At the same time, the Web helps firms to be in a position to compete in the manner expected. CLRC is advantageous due to the fact that it is able to provide guidance that assists in the search for SIS opportunities by focusing on the needs of customers. Products that are provided by an organization to its customers appear as supporting resources from the point of view of the customers. This is due to the fact that a customer must go through a kind of resource lifecycle to acquire them, and this requires a significant amount of effort and time to manage. The ability of a supplier in assisting a customer to manage this lifecycle enables them to differentiate themsel ves from the competition, thus creating a competitive edge. The differentiation method applied may be in form of enhanced customer service, the introduction of direct cost savings or investing in ICT. The relationship between ICT and the CRLC framework is crucial especially in today’s technologically advanced world due to the fact that enhancement of customer service/ experience is largely dependent on the advancement. Various studies have been carried out to determine the prevalence of ICT in the wine industry; different forms of ICT used in the industry, how they are applied and incorporated in the various operations, what they are used for, their importance in enabling production, as well as the factors that could influence their use.

Is penalties harsh enough on underage drinking and should parents be Research Paper

Is penalties harsh enough on underage drinking and should parents be held accountable - Research Paper Example This paper intends to discuss whether penalties applied to underage drinking are harsh enough, or in other words, should drinking be allowed for underage people, and should parents be held accountable for underage drinking. If we compare the drinking age in United States to that in other countries around the globe, we come to know that there are stricter laws in US about legal age for drinking. Most of the other western countries regard it as a normal social activity performed by an individual of any age. In European countries, and in England, children start taking alcohol, although a small quantity, with their parents. Wine is often a casual part of meal. Australia allows drinking at eighteen and England allows it at sixteen, and the teens consuming alcohol at so young an age are found to be perfectly healthy. This makes it easy to argue that a lower drinking age should be acceptable when the rest of the world is okay with it. Thinking this way, one feels that there are harsh penalt ies by the government on underage drinking. ... It is easy to teach a young kid of 18, as compared to an elder person, and make him learn how much of it is okay and how much is harmful. Parents in Europe teach their kids how to be responsible with drinking and then they set them free to try it out, but responsibly. In US, parents are so much fearful of the worse consequences and threats posed by heavy alcoholism that they inculcate this fear inside their children that the act is totally wrong and they cannot think about drinking before they reach a set age by the law. This concludes that there is no need for harsh penalties on underage drinking, but there is need to create more awareness on health hazards in case of binge drinking. Learning and knowledge can do what penalties cannot. There is another dark side regarding penalties. Harsh penalties increase the thirst. It is very natural for man to crave for something he has been forbidden. He wants to do things and try them out when they are told not to. This is because of his expe rimental nature that compels him to crave for something he cannot get. Adam ate the forbidden fruit because he had been specially told not to eat it. Similarly, alcohol becomes the tempting forbidden fruit for teens. Strictly forbidding kids to touch alcohol increases the curiosity inside them and then they turn out breaking the laws and standing liable for penalties. Studies have suggested that most teens drink out of their excitement that they get in breaking the law. â€Å"87% of high school seniors have used alcohol† (Harold). Hence, it is clear that a lot of high schoolers and teens do consume alcohol. Then what are the laws for? Medical science and psychological studies reveal that teens

Change and the Management of Change Essay Example for Free

Change and the Management of Change Essay Change Management Planning, Implementing, controlling, and reviewing the movement of an organization from its current state to a new one Causes of Change External Incremental (Evolutionary) †¢Occurs slowly over time (fuel-efficient cars) Dramatic (Revolutionary) †¢Can cause many problems especially if unexpected †¢Might lead to total rethink of operation of organization oBusiness Process Re-Engineering Business Process Re-EngineeringFundamentally rethinking and redesigning the processes of a business to achieve a dramatic improvement in performance Globalization-Increasing interdependence for countries’ economies through free trade and multinational company investment †¢New opportunities to sell products in other countries †¢Increased competition from products made more cheaply in other countries-often by multinationals †¢Use either pan-global marketing for localization strategies †¢Achieve and try to maintain a competitive advantage Technological Advances-Leading to new products and new processes †¢Products: new computer games, iPods and iPhones, hybrid-powered cars. †¢Processes: robots in production; computer assisted design (CAD) in design offices and computer systems for stock control. †¢Staff retraining †¢Purchase of new equipment †¢Additions to product portfolio-Other products may be dropped †¢Need for quicker product development which may require new organizational structures and teams Macro-Economic Change- Fiscal Policy, Interest Rates, Business Cycle†¢Changes in consumers’ disposable incomes-and demand patterns that result from this †¢Boom or recession conditions-need for extra capacity or rationalism †¢Need for flexible production systems (staff flexibility) to cope with demand changes †¢Explain need for extra capacity or need to rationalize †¢Deal with staff cutbacks in way that encourages staff who remain to accept change Legal Changes †¢Changes to what can be sold †¢Working hours and conditions †¢Staff training on company policy †¢Flexible working hours and practices Competitors’ Actions †¢New products †¢Lower prices †¢Higher promotional budgets†¢Encourage new ideas from staff †¢Increase efficiency by staff accepting need to change production methods †¢Ensure resources available to meet challenge Environmental Factors †¢Increase green consumerism †¢Increasing concern about industry’s contribution to climate change †¢Social and environmental audits supported by strategic changes (recycle packaging) Internal Organizational Changes †¢Delayering* †¢Matrix structure** replaces hierarchical º †¢Retraining of less senior staff to accept more responsibility †¢Job security †¢Retraining staff in teamwork and project management Relocation †¢Moving operations to another region/country †¢Redundancy schemes for workers who lose their jobs †¢Grants for those willing to move Cutting Costs To Improve Competitiveness †¢Capital-intensive rather that labour-intensive methods †¢Rationalisation of operations †¢Retraining staff to operate advanced tech. †¢Redundancy schemes for workers who lose their jobs †¢Flexible employment contracts and working practices *DelayeringRemoval of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organizational structure **Matrix StructureAn organizational structure that creates project teams that cut across traditional functional departments  ° Level of Hierarchy A stage of the organisational structure at  which the personnel on it have equal status and authority Factors Causing Resistance to Change †¢Fear of Unknown (Uncertainty) †¢Fear of Failure (Skills/Abilities beyond worker’s capabilities) †¢Losing Something of Value (Income, Status, Job Security) †¢False Beliefs (Some convince themselves current system will work to avoid risks) †¢Lack of Trust (Past experiences between workers and managers) †¢Inertia (Might have to work harder) Strategies to Reduce Impact of/Resistance to Change Change Management Force-Field AnalysisAn analytical process used to map the opposing forces within an environment (such as a business) where change is taking place 1.Outline proposal for change 2.List forces for and against change 3.Assign estimated score for each force †¢Weighs importance of forces †¢Helps identify who is most likely impacted by change †¢How to strengthen forces supporting decision and reduce forces against it †¢Can implement leadership style that reduces opposition and resistance to change Project ChampionA person assigned to support and drive a project forward. Their role is to explain the benefits of change and assist and support the team putting change into practice Project GroupsCreated by an organisation to address a problem that requires input from different specialists Promote Change 1.Establish a sense of urgency. 2.Create an effective project team to lead the change. 3.Develop a vision and a strategy for change. 4.Communicate this change vision. 5.Empower people to take action. 6.Generate short-term gains from change that benefit as many people as possible. 7.Consolidate these gains and produce even more change. 8.Build change into the culture of the organisation so that it becomes a natural process.

An Inspector Calls by J.B.Priestly Who killed Eva Smith? Essay

An Inspector Calls by J.B.Priestly Who killed Eva Smith? There are many different factors involved with the death of Eva Smith that should be considered while asking the question whom ultimately killed Eva Smith. Each one of the Birling family (including Gerald Croft) pushed Eva Smith that extra bit closer to killing herself, but no one person was individually responsible for her death. Whether one person was more to blame than any other it is hard to say. Although these people contributed to her unfortunate end to life, her position in life and society are also greatly to blame. It is Mr. Arthur Birling who starts off the train of events, as he is the first to come in to contact with Eva Smith. Mr. Birling sacked Eva Smith from his factory after she and a few others went on strike, demanding higher wages. As Mr. Birling said to the inspector, 'She'd had a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go'. I don't see that he did anything wrong, anyone in his position would have done the same. And as he says, it's his duty 'to keep labour costs down'. He's a 'hardheaded businessman', as he calls himself, he'd do anything to make as much profit as possible. He wasn't to know what would happen to Eva Smith two years down the line, after he sacked her. As he said 'If you don't come down sharply on some of theses people, they'd soon be asking for the earth'. Although Mr. Birling didn't do anything wrong in my eyes, he wasn't portrayed too well throughout the play. He shows himself to be arrogant, complacent and self-absorbed. One major flaw in Mr. Birling's behaviour is that he seems to show no remorse at all for Eva, and after all he did help drive her to commit suicide. He shows no regret for dismissing E... ...ike ending her life, and she wouldn't be lying on a slab with her insides burnt out. After all, she was the person who decided to kill herself, she could have tried for another job, she could have accepted the money from Eric and she could have made him responsible for the baby, when it came. In conclusion, it would be unfair to put the blame onto one person, when each and every one of them helped contribute to Evas' miserable end to life. It may be more accurate to blame society, her class, and the time in which she lived. No real crime has been committed in this play, but I believe that the Birling family should share the moral responsibility for this young woman's pitiful suicide. Then maybe next time they are about to do something selfish they'll think of the devestation they might bring to others, and not just the benefit they bring to themselves.

Different styles of leadership Essay

Marianne and Betsy do have different styles of leadership. Betsy is the more authority compliance manager and as well a little middle of the road off management. Marianne is more of country club management and as well as middle of the road. From experience with those management style. I think Betsy should focus more on what her direct manager wants. If your relatively new to a company, it would be very bad to rock the boat. I don’t think she should continue to follow the same leadership style because quite frankly it’s not working. However she should totally abandon her authority leadership style. Honestly Marianne and Betsy are at a point where they desperate need to work together to get the main goal in the right perspective. Marianne should become move of an authority compliant manager by giving her friendship with Bridget and Suzanne just a little separation. Betsy also needs to learn how to be more of a middle of the road team player management. She can’t rely on being too bossy, especially when her own boss tells her she is bossy that’s a very bad sign. Betsy and Marianne can work together if they both come to an understanding. Betsy is more in a jam then Marianne. Betsy works under Marianne and Betsy is a fairly new employee. If Betsy resist Marianne and goes to senior management it could possible jeopardize her employment. Furthermore Marianne has the majority vote amongst the staff. Betsy might have to loosen up her rings and join more of the middle of the road management or either takes some tips into the country club management.

The Organizational System Of Yanomami - 994 Words

The Organizational System of Yanomami The world aggregates a lot of small societies, and groups, and each group has its own culture and economic system. Yanomami is located in the Amazon forest, in the south of Venezuela and northern Brazil and is one of the largest tribes in the Amazon. This group has an appealing history, because of the aggressive way they responded to anthropologists who tried to investigate more about them. Due to their reactions against anthropologist, it is a challenge to do a research in their lifestyle. Their method of subsistence is considered old-fashioned. The economic system is based in foraging and trades, and recently they started using the horticulture. â€Å"Horticulture can be defined as farming without the use of technologies like the plow, irrigation, fertilizer or draft animals.† (Eller, 134) Talk about their economic system is interesting because, as an indigenous group their resources are limited and they have not good relationship with t he western civilization. Historically, they have been facing ecological problems. In 1975, a mineralogical survey revealed the presence of gold in Yanomami’s land, since then they have been fighting against miners, because they brought diseases and killed many Yanomamis. Economy is what ensures the sustainability of a society. It is important that a group has an independent economic system. Yanomami is not completely independent, because they depend on the natural resources Amazon forest provides to them.

Husserl on Passive Synthesis - 1059 Words

In this section Husserl compares the progressive perceptual process of an immanent object with that of a transcendent (i.e. spatial object), with special interest towards the Now phase of perception. He quickly points out that immanent objects only have . . . one possible way to be given in the original in every Now . . . which means during the duration of an experience of an immanent object, a color for example, the object is completely determined and the distinction between appearing and what appears is collapsed(ACPAC553). The reverse is true in the case of external perceptions of transcendent objects. As Husserl states, . . . the spatial object has infinitely many ways [to be given in the original] since it can appear in the Now,†¦show more content†¦The sense is, however, never fully given in an absolute way in the external perception of transcendent objects. This leads us to the issue of skepticism. In external perception, according to Husserl, the accomplishment of sense-giving is never complete as there is a continuous bringing forth of intuitions which fulfill empty prefigured intentions of the object. (ACPAC57) But this is not the only function of the sense-giving, the sense itself, Husserl says, . . . is continually cultivated and is genuinely so in steady transformations, constantly leaving open the possibility of new transformations.(ACPAC57) That is, the sense becomes enriched as it exists for a conscious subject, which makes perception an acquisition of knowledge. For although there is an ever changing sense exhibited through the external perception of a transcendent object, there is also the unified, what Husserl calls, substrate x which subsists through all the flowing of sense in whatever How mode it is presented. This is the sense which becomes ever more determined and enriched. Spawned by this process is an unattainable idea which, according to Husserl, lies in in finity, and that is the idea of an absolute and determined transcendent object (ACPAC58). At best, for Husserl, we grasp in the flesh a flowing-approximation which acts as if it were the essence but only produces a partial intuitiveShow MoreRelatedPhenomenological: Qualitative Research and Research Methodology9542 Words   |  39 Pagesnumber of philosophers into a variety of divergent themes. At the beginning of the 20th century, Edmund Husserl (1962), the founder of modern phenomenology, gave phenomenology new meaning, which gained significance as his theory of a ‘Science of Consciousness’. This theory involved the study of phenomena (things, objects) as they present themselves in consciousness as immediate experience. Husserl does not accept that certainty (or ultimate truth) can be achieved solely through the use of rationalityRead MoreThesis About Call Center Agents14127 Words   |  57 Pageswork motivation, challenges and coping strategies. The work motivation was noted to be high due to the financial benefit of the job. However, problems such as excessive tardiness and absences from school, difficulties meeting school requirements and passive class participation have been observed among the working students. Some managed to develop coping strategies like studying during days off and decreasing leisure time. Others resorted to engaging in smoking or drinking habits to cope with the stressRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesunderlying theoretical dimensions nor methodological approach to be employed. With the recognition of different approaches to organization theory, there is a widely perceived need to bring some order to the field. This textbook offers a well-integrated synthesis of approaches to organization theory. It will be welcomed by organization theory scholars and reflective practitioners and is a valuable companion for scholars and students of organization theory. Henk W. Volberda, Chair of the Departmen t of Strategic