Impact Of Computer Technology On Communication Essay

1. ABSTRACT Technological development has had a strong impact on the way society communicates, particularly with its acceleration in the last few centuries. From the invention of the telegraph and telephone to the advent of the Internet, technology has given people tools to not only keep in touch with each other, but also express their feelings and opinions to a broader audience than would otherwise have been impossible. Everything has both a positive and negative impact, and the impact of technology on the communication process also comes as mixed baggage. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the positive and negative impacts of computer technology on communication. In this article, we would be discussing the impact of popular technological elements like emails, telephones, cellphones etc. on our means of communication. INTRODUCTION Communication is an essential part of life. The use of technology can be a great help to people in communicating, reducing the time it takes. But technology can have consequences of reducing person-to-person interaction without the device as an intermediary. Email Electronic mail, or email, was one of the first changes in how people use technology to communicate with individuals. The ability to release information to many different people at once, without calling a meeting or requiring printing of the materials, turned into a money- and time-saving device. Text Messaging Text messaging also has its own language, an abbreviated form of speech that has found its way into classrooms and businesses. People are more likely to pull out their phone and start texting while sitting at the table for dinner or while having a conversation in person. The actions of texting may seem rude under conventional social norms, leading to misunderstandings. Instant Messaging Instant messaging has been around since the 1990s. It was primarily used by people to communicate while doing homework and just to keep in touch. It was texting before text messaging became affordable. Businesses realized the potential of real-time communication at the computer between employees and implemented it. Instant messaging, or IM, has allowed people to reach other people without having to use the phone. Social Media Social media have been a revolution in how people plan events and communicate with one another. Rather than talking to their friends in person, they can post a comment about their life. The revolution of social media has allowed people to rekindle friendships, make new friends and gain new interests. 1. Positive Effects of Technology on Communication Technology has transformed the once big and far world into a tiny global village. Thanks to technology, we now have the power to communicate with anybody on the other side of the world. The points below summarize these benefits. 1.1. Keeping in Touch For more than a century now, technological advances have brought the world closer, making communication across long distances easier. Telegrams are faster than letters; phone calls, in turn, are faster than telegrams, as well as easier and more pleasant, since they require no go-between and allow users to hear each other’s voice. Cell phones take this one step further, allowing people to call and speak with each other regardless of their location. Online communication of all types is the most efficient yet, with email being a near-instantaneous version of the paper letter; webcams, paired with communication programs such as Skype, iChat or Google Video  Chat, make it possible to see the person you are speaking with rather than just hear his voice. 1.2. Doing Business The same technological advances that have simplified and improved personal communication have also had the same beneficial effects on business. Communication between colleagues is near-instantaneous whether they are a few rooms or a few countries apart; video conferencing allows companies to have workers scattered around the globe while but still hold efficient meetings and discussions; business networking is made easier by social media and online networks designed specifically for that purpose, such as LinkedIn. Perhaps most importantly, companies can expand beyond their local market and gain a wider customer base simply by maintaining an active online presence. 1.3. Overcoming Disabilities Technology has both improved communication for disabled people and made it possible where it previously wasn’t. Hearing aids boost the hearing of partially deaf people, making it easier to understand speech, while cochlear implants restore hearing to the completely deaf. Speech-generating devices give people with severe speech impairments a way to express themselves: perhaps the most famous user of such a device is scientist Stephen Hawking. Further advances in technology may result in functional brain-computer interface systems, restoring the ability to communicate to people who have lost it entirely, such as sufferers of locked-in syndrome. 1.4 Reaching a Broader Audience As people’s ability to communicate improves, the reach of their messages widens. This can be especially important in politics and activism. For instance, photos and video recorded covertly through a cell phone can be quickly and easily shared online through websites such as YouTube, making it harder for oppressive regimes to keep control; social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can be used to organize and coordinate meetings and protests. The Egyptian revolution of 2011-2012 was spurred greatly by social media. 2. The Negative Effects of Technology on Communication 2.1. Privacy Communicating via computers can help people bridge large geographical gaps and access remote information, but doing so may open up a person’s privacy more than he might want. With an in-person meeting or phone conversation, there is a relative assurance that details of those exchanges will remain private. However, with email, text messaging or message boards, there is a record of what people say. Information is not just thrown out into the air like speech, but it stored as a permanent record. There is an inherent danger when third parties can access these online â€Å"conversations.† Similarly, social networks and other Internet-based communication tools are vulnerable to privacy breach, as users often engage in these activities on public networks, leaving personal information, potentially, out in the open. 2.2. Misinterpretation The fact that most communication taking place on computers comes in the form of text can actually be a negative in terms of our ability to understand things clearly. Even with email, it is possible for information to be misconstrued or the emotion of a statement to be missed. Saying â€Å"thanks a lot† to someone in an e-mail message, for instance, could be used to genuinely relay gratitude. On the other hand, it could indicate a negative feeling of someone being put in a tough position. The context clues that a person provides with their body language and tone of voice are lost in this scenario. Users get around some of this confusion by using emoticons — keyboard characters that serve as a shorthand for mood and feeling — but a great deal of subtlety can be missed without seeing how someone reacts with their body language and voice. 2.3 Dependency Society’s dependency on computers for communication is also a dangerous game, as outside forces can prevent communication in a variety of ways. Earthquakes, floods and hurricanes have caused various slowdowns and stoppages of Internet connectivity for people all over the world. Additionally, reliance on social networks and email can have the unintended consequence of opening a person up to identify theft attempts and email scams. Even the outside force of political unrest can threaten a user’s ability to communicate, as the 2011 demonstrations in Cairo and Libya  resulted in government shutdowns of the Internet, drastically curtailing each country’s ability to communicate, both nationally and internationally. 2.4. Impact on children The minds of children are like blank pages. As we know that the generation of this era has a high level of dexterity. Their elevated cleverness allows them to fill those pages very fast with the provided information. Such information can be extracted not only from books and other educational materials but also from games, TV shows and texting. . Now, more and more people are interacting with others through different platforms like apps, role-playing online games, social networks, etc. This advancement has hampered the physical interaction skills of many children. Due to that they don’t know how to interact with others when they meet them in-person or what gesture they should carry. A limited use of gadgets can be quite useful for children as it will allow them to be up to date with the current technology. However, the overuse of these advancements can really hamper or even damage their development in the personal growth, communication and educational department. 2.5 Elevated Exasperation These days, children indulge themselves in internet, games or texting. These activities have affected their psyche negatively, consequently leading to increased frustration. Now they get frustrated whenever they are asked to do anything while playing games or using internet. For instance, when their parents ask them to take the trash out, they get furious instantly. This behavior has shattered many parent-children relationships. 2.6. Deteriorated Patience Patience is a very precious virtue and its scarcity could deteriorate a person’s Will. Determination is a necessity that comes with patience and without it no individual can survive the hardships of life. According to studies, tolerance in children is vanishing quite increasingly due to the improper use of technology. For example, children get frustrated quickly when they surf internet and the page they want to view takes time to load. 2.7. Declining Writing Skills Due to the excessive usage of online chatting and shortcuts, the writing skills of today’s young generation have declined quite tremendously. These days, children are relying more and more on digital communication that they have totally forgot about improving their writing skills. They don’t know the spelling of different words, how to use grammar properly or how to do cursive writing. CONCLUSION While technology did make communications faster and easier, it has also made, at times, communication more distracting and less clear.With any technological innovation and use of computer, communication issues of privacy, trust, security, and social control have been raised as computers have become more pervasive.. As you can see, the impact is both positive and negative. But logically thinking, technology has bettered the communication process and has done negligible harm. The positive points of the technological advancements cover up the negative points. It all depends on how we use these means; use the technological means of communication for sane purposes, and don’t abuse them for malicious motives REFERENCES [1.] Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., McGuire, T. W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39(10), 1123-1134 [2] Smilowitz, M., Compton, C. D., & Flint, L. (1988). The effect of computer mediated communication on an individual’s judgement: A study based on the methods of Asch’s social influence experiment. Computers in Human Behavior, 4,311-321. [3] Freeman, S.C. and L.C. Freeman 1979 â€Å"The networkers network: a study of the impact of a new communications medium on sociometric structure†. Social Science Research Reports, No. 46. University of California,Irvine. [4] Tanis, M. (2003). Cues to Identity in Computer Mediated Communication. The impact on Person Perception and Subsequent Interaction Outcomes. Thesis University of Amsterdam. Enschede: Print Partners Ipskamp.

Women Role in Christianity and Islam

A Christian Woman is a woman who loves God more than herself. She is a woman who prays for her family, her church, her government and her country. She is a woman who reads God's Word and puts Him first in her life. From the beginning of the early Christian church, starting with Jesus, women were important members of the movement. The examples of the manner of Jesus reveal his attitudes toward women and show repeatedly how he liberated and affirmed women. Both complementarians and egalitarians see Jesus as treating women with compassion, grace and dignity. 2] The gospels of the New Testament, especially Luke, often mention Jesus speaking to or helping women publicly and openly, contrary to the social norms of the time. Jesus had female followers who were his sponsors,[Lu 8:1-3] and he stopped to express concern for the women of Jerusalem on his way to be crucified,[Lu 23:26-31] while Mary Magdalene is recorded to be the first person to have the privilege of seeing Jesus after resurrec tion. [Mk 16:9] The role of women in Christianity today depends almost entirely upon the context in which women find themselves or choose to be involved in. More conservative Bible-believing women will tend their participation in church leadership etc. The modern womens rights movement has had a dramatic impact on the role of women in Christian churches. â€Å"Women in Christianity† is a vast and complex subject with multiple dimensions as Christianity is one of the largest religions in the world practiced in different societies and cultures around the world. When we deal with the subject of â€Å"Women in Christianity† we need to understand that Christianity as that exists today is a mix of different denominations with Catholics and Protestants being the principle denominations. Further it would be prudent to delve into the history of Christianity to understand the role of women in this religion. In early Christianity there was no separate roles prescribed for men and women and women were not distinguished separately from men. This was despite the fact that the society in West Asia at that time was highly patriarchal in nature. Women in Christianity: The early Christian prophets From West Asia, Christianity spread to ancient Greece and Rome which were purely patriarchal societies. In these societies women and children were hought of as assets or possessions held by the head of the family. Men and Women were distinguished separately in this kind of set up and women were generally considered inferior to men. During these times Christians believed that the world will end soon and Christ will come to earth for the second time. There were many women teachers and prophets in Christianity in those days who believed in this proposition and went their way in preachin g this doctrine. Women in Christianity: Wave of change in twentieth century Only in the twentieth century things started changing in Christianity. With the churches loosing much of their clout and power in the twentieth century, with democratic governments firmly established in many countries in Europe as well as in America and with religion getting separated from politics things started to change in a dramatic fashion in Christianity that was never thought about in the last two thousand years of the religion. It all started with the early feminist movements and peaked with the second wave of feminism from the period of 1960s. This period saw a profound change in the status of women in Christianity as a religion. Women's rights came in the forefront. Women in Christianity: Women's liberation movement The period of 1960s and thereafter can be considered as the beginning of the â€Å"women's liberation movement† in history which advocated social, cultural, political and religious equality of the gender. Though the women's liberation movement went full throttle in this period the patriarchal set up did not vanish as such and the concept of sexual dualism still existed. This concept not only viewed the differences between men and women in mere biological terms but it also ranked and applied values to these differences. For instance, men were considered to be more idealistic, spiritual, and psychic than women. On the other hand, women were thought to be more emotional, instinctive, and physical than men. This was a senario of absolute â€Å"gender stereotyping† and it existed from last two thousand years. It was only the women's movement in 1960s that challenged these kind of thinking to some affect. Women in Christianity: The religious right and the liberal feminist theological movement It is quite natural that the Religious Right criticizes feminists, who challenge the superiority of men. They in fact resist everything about the feminist movement. For example they even dislike the liberal welfare policies for women because under such policies, single mothers who need to raise their children and the economically destitute are assisted financially. The Religious Right view such assistance as preventing the establishment of traditional families. They also reject the relativism of human existence and therefore they are intolerant to other views, cultures and religions. They believe in the absolutism and purity of Christian values and tradition. For the religious right â€Å"Patriarchal Christianity† is the central core of all existence. Anything outside this central core has to be resisted and absolutely rejected. The changes that happened in the Christian society in the last two hundred years have also affected other cultures and religions in a profound manner. The feminist movement owes its roots to the Christian society and thanks to it feminism has become a global phenomenon today which advocates gender based equality and ending of all types of discriminations and bias against women. In fact the study of the role of â€Å"women in Christianity† transcends the spectrum of â€Å"religion† and gives us a broad perspective of the struggle of women from the last 200 years for a right to a dignified and meaningful life.

Research Proposal: Youth Unemployment And Attitude Towards Employment: Comparative Study Between Migrants And Non-Migrants

Abstract Nigeria’s adolescent & young adult population (aged 15-24) is currently facing a crippling problem that will endanger the future of the nation. The median age data from the world.bymap.org website is used to define the term â€Å"youth migrant and non-migrant population, or youth population†. The median age of the migrant and non-migrant population throughout the developing world does remain in a late adolescent phase with ages ranging from the 15th birthday until the 24th birthday (world.bymap.org, 2013, median age). This study expects to find that youth population attitudes toward unemployment will be similar in the migrant and non-migrant populations. I seek to examine this assertion by carrying out a qualitative investigation on the relatedness of unemployment among the youth and their attitudes based on a population analysis of the youth among the indigenous non-migrant locals and migrant immigrants in Nigeria. The migrant and non-migrant youth population is primarily located in Latin America and on the African continent to which Nigeria has a median population age of 19.1 (2010 Est.) (world.bymap.org, 2013, median age). Global unemployment rates among the youth population are on the rise (indexmundi, 2013, 1). The same case is observable in Nigeria where the number of unemployed youths accounts for more than half of the total number of unemployed people in the country (Youth Speak Community, 2013, 1. It has been suggested that attitudes of the youth may be the main reason behind the high levels of unemployment among the youth. Introduction The global rate of unemployment indicates high levels of unemployment among the youth. The median age data from the world.bymap.org website is used to define the term â€Å"youth migrant and non-migrant population, or youth population†. The median age of the migrant and non-migrant population throughout the developing world does remain in a late adolescent phase with ages ranging from the 15th birthday until the 24th birthday (world.bymap.org, 2013, median age). In fact, the rate of growth of unemployment among the youth population is higher that the case of adults (Alanana, 2003). The reported incidence of youth unemployment is even higher in developed economies as compared to emerging and developing economies. However, in the recent years the cases have been so sporadic in developing countries especially in Africa (Alanana, 2013). This is because according to Alanana (2013), the numbers of the youth population is increasing at an alarming rate as compared to the rates at which job opportunities are being created. The case of unemployment among the youth in Africa is alarming and is currently a threat to social-economic stability and peace. Nigeria is also a major immigrant destination in West Africa with over one million immigrant population. The youths accounts for a majority of the immigrant population. This represents about 0.7 percent of the population. The case of unemployment among the youth cuts across both the locals as well as the immigrants (Alanana, 2003). This paper purposes to analyse the case of unemployment among the migrant and non-migrant youth population in the country and how the attitudes affects the rates by analysing unemployment among the local youths and the immigrant youths in Nigeria.Problem statementGenerally, the rate of migrant and non-migrant youth unemployment in Nigeria is very high. However, the rates of unemployment among the youth are incomparable to the older male working population in the country. Several reasons may be behind the abnormal differences in the unemployment rates between the youth and the adult population. Several studies have associated the differences in the unempl oyment rates between the migrant and non-migrant youth populations and other adults to the attitudes posed by the youths regarding job specifications. Other studies referenced in Alanana (2013), Youth unemployment in Nigeria: some implications for the third millennium have indicated that the local youth are very selective towards jobs as compared to immigrant youth. This dissertation will examine the extent of truth in this statement by generally observing the link between unemployment among the youths and their attitudes and also examine the attitudes of immigrant and local youths towards employment opportunities in the country.Research objectivesThis research study will be guided by the following objectives: To analyse the link between unemployment among the youth and their attitudes To analyse the difference in unemployment rates between local youths and immigrant youths To examine how attitudes affects the differences in unemployment rates of the local youths and immigrant youths.Organization of the studyThis study will be divided into five chapters. The introduction will provide the background and need to study how attitudes influence unemployment in the country. This will also include a description of the research hypothesis, objectives, questions, limitations, assumptions, significance, and the approach adopted in the investigation. The second chapter will provide a detailed analysis of literature review of previous investigations relevant to the research problem. The third chapter will provide the research methodology that will be used in addressing the hypothesis and the research questions. Chapter four will represent all the data that will be collected and analysed in this planne d study. Finally, the fifth chapter will delineate on the conclusions that will be drawn in the study as well as the recommendations. Literature review For the development of an effective gap analysis, this study will analyse several previous imperial investigations and authentic statistics on unemployment among the youth in the world and specifically in Nigeria. The literature review will focus on the unemployment among locals and immigrants on a general perspective globally as well as local perspective in Nigeria. The literature reviewed in this study will be sourced from credible sources such as national and international newspaper sources that cover Nigeria, government publications and other academic journals to ensure that the process of gap analysis is founded on a comprehensive, valid, sound and reliable set of data. The study will focus on most recent studies and publications dating back to a maximum of 7 years ago to ensure the data used in the study represents the most recent situation as far as unemployment among the youth is concerned. According to Youth Speak Community (2013), Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populated country, has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. By 2011, the unemployment rate was at about 24 % of which the rate of unemployment among the youths was estimated to be about 50% (Youth Speak Community, 2013). However, the case is similar in many other African countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana, which have unemployment rates of 25%, 40 %, and 11 % respectively (Youth Speak Community, 2013). The most critical issue affecting Nigeria and Nigerians today is the issue of unemployment and subsequently the problem in the future of unemployment is with current levels of youth unemployment in Nigeria (Bakare, 2013)Bakare states that World Bank statistical data list Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate at 38% (Bakare, 2013) but Bakare believes the real rate of Nigerian youth unemployment is closer to 80% (Bakare, 2013). The rate of youth population education continues to increase with Nigerian universities producing 150,000 graduates per year (Bakare, 2013), however; the rate of job production has not kept to pace with the production of university graduates per year (Bakare, 2013). The focus of Nigeria’s future as a result of the youth unemployment problem is also part of the research agenda of the Nigerian Universities. The Department of Business Administration and Marketing, at the Delta State University are in the process of determining how the current youth unemployment crisis will impact Nigeria’s economic and social future. According to Salami (2013), The problems Nigeria faces tomorrow will depend on how the youth population of Nigeria matures as adolescents into adulthood. â€Å"Records from the National Population Commission (2001) indicate that youths under the age of 30 constitute over half of the approximately 150 million Nigerians. According to Doreo Partners (2013) unemployment rate in Nigeria is growing at the rate of 16% per year with the youth impacted the most and accounting for three times the general unemployment.† (Salami, 2013) Damilola (2013) describes the rise in unemployment in Nigeria as â€Å"one of the major social problems affecting the growth and development of this country.† (Damilola, 2013) The situation is described as so dire the population of Nigerians cannot meet basic needs due to the lack of jobs. Damilola also describes a problem of cronyism in Nigeria that awards jobs to college graduates with political connections rather than based on individual merit. The suggestion by Damilola is for the youth to be â€Å"creative and learn different vocational skills.† (Damilola, 2013) A startling report by the Department of Sociology at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria has indicated that youth unemployment has led to a rise in violent crimes (Ajaegbu, 2012) The overall level of despair of the youth population is blamed for the level of youth unemployment. â€Å"By using the deprivation theory proposed by Ted Gurr, this study has explored the proximate and ultimate causes involving the youths in violent crimes. If factors that create the feeling of deprivation and frustration created by unemployment are addressed, Nigeria’s youths will not engage in violent crimes.† (Ajaegbu, 2012) According to the Christian Science monitor, the youth unemployment problem leaves the Nigerian youth population so despondent that militant groups are better able to prey on these populations and recruit them into criminal organizations. â€Å"The vulnerability of unemployed youth in Nigeria’s northeast leaves them open to Boko Harem’s narratives, which have only been augmented by weak governance and the poor delivery of basic services. Boko Haram members, who live in the city’s poor communities, command the loyalty of those who have languished into poverty.† (Parker, 2013) This issue of militant groups in Nigeria leaves the migrant and non-migrant youth population prone to exposure of issues relating to criminality and recruitment into militant groups. Methodology The survey response questionnaire will be of a qualitative research design to measure the subjective response from the migrant and non-migrant youth population in Nigeria. The focus of the survey questionnaire will be to assess the sentiment, or feelings, of the youth population with regard to their current and future employment prospect. Qualitative research involves the use of a subjective inquiry into the survey questionnaire, which is necessary to establish a base for analysis to include meaningful words, observations, stories, individualities, and chromatic renders with minimal consideration of the number of participants (Higgs & Cherry, 2009). This approach will enable the investigation and examination of the youth unemployment issue with a small sample population, and hence allowing the investigation to proceed with a limited budget. Furthermore, since the investigation requires a deeper analysis and explanation on the links between attitudes and unemployment among the y ouths, the use of qualitative methodology will allow the study to analyse the objectives effectively. The data will be collected from each participant of the sample population using interview questions derived based on the objectives identified in the introduction. The data will be coded by linking a number (1, 2, etc.) to each survey response question. The investigation will collect data via semi-structured interviews. After data collection is the analysis process. The analysis will be based on the observer’s impression as the main analysis technique. The use of observer’s impression has been proven to be simple and effective in producing in-depth analysis (Higgs & Cherry, 2009).Ethical statementGenerally, this study will observe all the ethical requirements in all the processes of data collection and analysis as is expected under an Internal Review Board (IRB). Some of the factors that will be considered include protection of participants’ privacy and confidentiality. Conclusion From the above introduction, it is evident that unemployment among the youth in Nigeria is a major social and economic issue in the country. Developing a deeper understanding on the reasons behind the high levels of migrant & non-migrant youth unemployment is necessary to ensure effective steps are taken to deal with the issue. This study will provide an examination and render a conclusion to the notion of the assertion that attitudes of the youth contribute to the high levels of unemployment. This will expand the current knowledge on the issue of youth unemployment and hence allow policy makers to have a better understanding of the issue for effective policy development References Alanana, O. O., Youth unemployment in Nigeria: some implications for the third Millennium, Global Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (1), 21-26. 2013 Bakare, Bilikis. â€Å"Addressing youth unemployment in Nigeria.† BusinessDay |. 2013 http://businessdayonline.com/2013/11/addressing-youth-unemployment-in-nigeria/ (accessed November 21, 2013). Higgs, J. & Cherry, N., Doing qualitative research on practice’, in Higgs, J., Horsfall, D. & Grace, S. 2009 (eds.), writing Qualitative Research on Practice, Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers F., J. â€Å"Why is youth unemployment so high?.† The Economist. 2013. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/05/economist-explains-why-youth-unemployment-so-high (accessed November 21, 2013). Salami, Youth unemployment in Nigeria: A time for creative intervention. International Journal of Business and Marketing Management, Vol. 1(2); pp. 18-26, July 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.resjournals.org/IJBMM/PDF/2013/July/Salami.pdf Damilola, Saanu. â€Å"Nigerian Tribune.† How to tackle youth unemployment in Nigeria. 2013 http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/18043-how-to-tackle-youth-unemployment-in-nigeria.html (accessed November 21, 2013). Parker, Gillian. â€Å"In Boko Haram country, Nigeria’s new crackdown brings mixed feelings.† 2013. The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2013/0528/In-Boko-Haram-country-Nigeria-s-new-crackdown-brings-mixed-feelings (accessed November 21, 2013). Youth Speak Community, Youth Unemployment In Nigeria: Shocking Statistics, Facts And Why The Future May Not Be So Bright Afterall. 2013 Retrieved from http://risenetworks.org/2013/05/16/youth-unemployment-in-nigeria-is-there-hope-for-nigerian-youth/ â€Å"Median Age – world statistics and charts as map, diagram and table.† Median Age of the World. 2013 http://world.bymap.org/MedianAge.html (accessed November 21, 2013).

Environment, Crime, and Disease in Mali Research Paper

Environment, Crime, and Disease in Mali - Research Paper Example Environmental Issues Globalization has various impacts on Mali’s environment, which are both positive and negative. The positive impact on the environment has mainly been in the agricultural sector. A good example is the tremendous growth in production of cotton (Kutting, 2004), which came about with the introduction of new seeds, which suited the Mali environment favorably. The increase in production of cotton has helped in the contribution to the economy because of increased exportation. The interaction of Mali with other countries has helped Mali know of better ways to cope with current environmental changes. The negative effects of globalization on the environment have been uniform in many countries especially third world countries with no exception to Mali. Globalization has led to mass industrialization, which has made industrial wastes a nuisance (Logan, 2002). This has led to pollution of water masses, which lead to the destruction of marine life and also diminishing a ccess to fresh water for human and animal use. Crime Similarly, globalization has influence the occurrence of crimes both positively and negatively. Through globalization, Mali law enforcers have accessed ways to fight crime by interacting with other law enforcers in the globe. This has somewhat reduced some forms of crime and has made Mali a more secure place. Also due to globalization there has been collaboration with allies in the Diaspora, who have helped to give ideas on training to ensure the law enforcers get the best training they can get so that the country is kept safe. However on the other side, globalization has also led to access of terrorists to ideas to build weapons of mass destruction and has increased the threat of terror attacks (United Nation, 2010). Mali people are very close allies with the USA in the war against terrorism. The local Mali individuals have also been able to learn more tactics to commit crime thus the rate of crime has gone up. Disease Mali being an African country in the tropics, there are many diseases that are rampant in the region. The region is infected with communicable diseases and globalization has spread the diseases to other parts of the world due to immigration to other countries (Lee, 2003). This has made the country have a crisis every time there is an outbreak of a disease since the poverty levels in this third world country cannot allow combating of these diseases easily. On the other hand, globalization has availed researchers with samples to try and get a cure for these communicable diseases. When foreigners come to Mali, they have to be immunized and thus vaccines have been developed to avoid also a humanitarian crisis, when there is an outbreak. Conclusion Mali has been working closely with USAID to combat the negative effects of globalization. In terms of environmental problems, USAID has funded Mali government in controlling industrial wastes not to spill over to the environment and end up polluting it. USAID through funding the world vision is also helping in providing safe water for drinking to the Mali community. The efforts of the USAID are quite commendable and their effect is being felt, but, I believe the involvement of the locals more to help keep the environment safe will yield better

Management Process Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Process - Case Study Example Quoting The Guardian "In spite of the recession, and in contrast to rivals like Marks and Spencer and Debenhams, the company could report a 20% increase in sales to 2.3bn, for the year to the end of September." Primark has been flexible in understanding its customers' needs and offering them the latest at affordable prices. The company has been open to expansions and acquisitions. It has 193 outlets today, all over U.K and Europe, not to mention the parent country of Ireland. When its rival BhS wound up its operations in Ireland, in 1992, Primark was quick to seize the opportunity and set up a 50,000sq ft showroom in the upmarket area of O'Connell Street, Dublin. In 1995, it bought out BhS's One-Up discount chain and in 1999, it acquired 11 stores from Co-Op. In 2005, the company acquired 6 stores from 'Allders'. According to Sarah Segal, Primark is a high street retailer that has a line of brands and focuses on buying, logistics and supply chain management rather than branding, when compared to its peers like TK Maxxx. The buying team from Ireland and U.K travels worldwide to acquaint itself with fashion trends and look for inexpensive suppliers. Computerized customs clearance helps the company achieve speed to market. Dedicated warehousing and distribution facilities also help reduce time and cost for the movement of goods in the supply chain. New fashion trends have been copied quickly and thus products have reached their stores before the competitors. After carefully selecting the new fashion designs that would appeal to the target consumer, the company is quick to add stocks when these items are in high demand. Constantly updated records of daily sale and stock information sent to the warehouses helps in restocking fast selling items immediately. Quality While the company claims itself as a no frills seller, it has never compromised on the quality of the finished product. "Style, quality and affordable prices" are the attributes associated with Primark. Value for money is the idea behind this retailer's success. When a company can grow by leaps and bounds the way Primark has since its inception 1969 and continue to make profits much above the industry average even in times of recession, it speaks volumes about the quality of the products sold. It is hard to imagine that such a huge retailer does not need support through advertising campaigns. Obviously, the quality has to be so good that the company can sell products like hot cakes even during the recession. Cost Primark promises to deliver high fashion clothing at very affordable prices. True to its slogan "Look good, pay less," it offers clothes at very reasonable prices (like jeans for 4). Its success formula in keeping the cost low seems to be it target group: the fashion conscious below the age of 35.Outsourcing the workers from other countries where labour is cheap helps in significantly reducing the production costs. Here is a company that can afford to do away with advertising, thus saving the company billions of s that would otherwise have been spent on advertising. Susan Segal feels that their success is due to the fact that they are positioned clearly at the cheap end of the market, thus avoiding a middle of the bracket position like its

Cultural Diversity Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Cultural Diversity - Research Proposal Example Therefore to be able to take the optimum contribution of the workforce, companies will have to take care of their sentiments and requirements in such a manner that the workforce feels satisfied while working in the company and while interacting amongst each other. Multinational companies in particular have come to realise the importance of taking good care of their employees in such a manner that the diversity tends to become strength for the company. This study is therefore an effort to analyse how the diversity at the work place affects the working environment and how the companies can take better care of the workers by addressing the diversity concerns. During the study the policies of some of the companies will be studied to find out how they take care of their employees and manage the workforce. An effort would also be made to see how providing equal opportunities to the workforce helps these companies in strengthening the core competencies of the organization and what are types of challenges these companies have faced in the process. In such cases, the viewpoints of the employees too will be taken to see how well they are enjoying the diversity prevailing within the organisation and whether it is helping them in doing their bit towards the goals and objectives of the company. In the era of globalization, thanks to widespread proliferation... The researcher narrates interesting experiences of some of the companies like Texaco, Coca Cola, and Morgan Stanley. It is stated that initially these companies probably thought diversity was just a "good idea" too, until they got hit with lawsuits and much negative publicity. Millions of settlement dollars later, these companies saw the business case for managing diversity well and as a reaction have implemented many strategic diversity initiatives. Pamela Tudor therefore underlines the principle that in order to work with people from diverse backgrounds and be successful in the globalisation era, the prerequisite is effective management of diversity in the organisation. In recent years, China has emerged on the horizon as one of the fastest developing countries. Lower production costs are one main reason for its popularity as a major manufacturing hub. Many international companies, particularly from the western world have shifted their manufacturing facilities to China in order to take advantage of the cheaper labour costs. When MNCs prefer to take advantage of multi-location facilities, lower costs of production, and expertise from the world over, diversity is bound to be there at the workplace. While many of the managers and specialists are being sent to China from western nations, a number of Chinese and other people from South Asia are also being recruited at these manufacturing facilities. Taking good care of the employees therefore requires that the diversity should be managed effectively at these companies. Therefore, it will be interesting to study how the diversity is being managed by some reputed companies while taking care of employee's w elfare. Preliminary Literature Review The Chartered Institute

Goya Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Goya Foods - Essay Example These factor would influence the marketing objectives of the business it overall performance. Businesses that are unable to factor viable products in the market usually fail. Management is a critical factor that influences the success of the business. The company CEO is a figure that influence, growth and success of the business. Policies adopted a business would influence it behavior in a competitive market. In designing business policies and marketing objectives, the management evaluates all possible factors that dictate business performance in different environment. This paper intends to evaluate the performance of Goya Food. Company overview Goya Food Company distributes and manufactures a wide range of food products. Goya Food Company has its headquarters in New Jersey. The Company command large market share, which springs to Latin America among other destinations. The products of company borrows a lot from the traditions of various communities it serves especially the Hispanic foods (Liberman 84). Most of foods products of Goya Food Company constitute the traditional taste of Hispanic foods. The company marketing strategy adopted the trend of producing and distributing Hispanic foods because of the customer culture that influence market stability. It is also important to note that Goya Food Company relies on the market information in developing viable products that respond to changes in market demands. The company began its operation in 1936. Goya Food Company import food products Spain in order to manufacture products, which would meet the needs of the Hispanic people whom it serves. Goya Food Company is one of the largest family owned companies in the United States. The company CEO is Bob Unanue who has a duty of steering the company to higher heights. Goya Food Company is among the few family companies that have sufficed all odds to remain viable in the market. Leadership of Goya Food Company Management is a vital element in company business. Managemen t of the company is a pillar that has kept the company in market for more than seventy years. The leadership style applied by Goya Food Company has been a critical factor that has steered the company to the current level it has reached. Since the company is family owned, board of directors of the company are family members. This is quite appealing because the members have been able to make difficult management decisions, which has influenced the progress of the company. For instance, the former company CEO Joseph made many decision of the company without involving the board members a fact that led to his ousting. Agreement among the members of the body during annual meetings of the company influences the management operation of the company. Largely, the decision of the board influence top management of the company. It is also important to note that, family members of the company founder form the shareholders of the company. This is in accordance to private company establishment act. Success of the company lies on the strategic leadership approaches adopted by the company. Research reveals that the company management body solves its disagreement through conversation. The CEO of the company alludes that court is the last option that the company would seek for intricate issues that affects its management (Goya). The leadership of Bob Unanue has ensured that the company develops new products and expands its market share. It is unique for family companies to develop several distribution outlets and products without facing challenges that threaten the growth of the company. Bob has been able to coordinate and make strategic decisions, which influence the overall performance of the

Teachers connecting to todays Learners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Teachers connecting to todays Learners - Essay Example Also, pattern recognition substitutes psychological processing functions in multifaceted milieu. 2) Currency is the intent of all connectivist learning activities because it is in our observation that the technological and education industries are continuously undergoing changes and advancements. Connectivism emphasizes upon the fact that learners have to remain up-to-date with all the changes occurring in their learning environment and must ensure that the knowledge they are acquiring and using is current so that all modern learning needs are satisfied (Rowley & Hartley, 2008, p.16). This is important if learners want to excel in their respective fields. 3) Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources because in today’s modern world, it is important for the learners to make connections between specialized technological sources or nodes if they want to perform the complex tasks effectively. This enables them to make a collection of contradictory knowledge fields and perceptions which enhances their learning process. Such an aggregation of knowledge enables them to build better opinions and judgments, which makes them better individuals in the long run (Anderson, 2008,

Movie review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Movie Review Example The opening scene can also be said to be well executed and even prepares the viewer for what is expected in the film at a later stage. The film later on transits to the main scene that touches on the return of Victor to Buenos Aires after the demise of his father (The Princess of France, 2014). Victor hopes to revive his previous work on the acting group for the radio play that was motivated by his getting a grant to produce Shakespeare’s plays. This style is indeed catchy and attractive to most of the viewers since they understand the theatrics applied by director Pià ±ero. The film also presents dramatic scenes of the female characters, but later the director shifts the story to the theme of the story that is explained by the Victor who struggles with the loss of his father by engaging in internet radio plays (The Princess of France, 2014). With this content and stylistic approach, the audience is glued to the next story and the ultimate end of the story. The most intriguing aspect about the film is the love triangle of Victor. The director explains how Victor learns that his longtime lover Paula had vanished and was also unfaithful to him. He slowly gets attracted to Ana who they had already conversed through email (The Princess of France, 2014). However, a great percentage of the women in the cast seem to have a strong attachment to him. In the course of his plays, Victor gets into rehearsals and recording plays. What makes this part noteworthy is the manner in which the camera focuses on Victor recounting lines from a play that show him swearing off women (The Princess of France, 2014). One can tell the confusion that Victor is going through, especially considering that he had a nasty past with the women. It would actually be argued that women have actually become a puzzle in Victor’ life. The most disturbing is how Victor struggles with the death of his father. It is even worse when he realizes that his former girlfriend h ad taken off.

Attitude Of Young Adults Towards Drinking Milk In Pkaitsan Essay Example for Free

Attitude Of Young Adults Towards Drinking Milk In Pkaitsan Essay

MIS Related Issues

MIS Related Issues ASOS.com MIS RELATED ISSUES à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Despite the spectacular dot-com bust a few years ago, the Internet has markedly changed the way we do business. (Reynolds, 2004, 78) Conducting business in the digital economy refers to the use of Web-based systems, on the Internet and other electronic networks, to accomplish some form of e-commerce. Networked computing is helping some companies excel and is helping others simply to survive. Generally, the collection of computing systems used by an organization is defined as Information Technology (IT). In the developed countries, almost all medium and large organizations use information technologies, including e-commerce, to support their operations. IT, in its narrow definition, refers to the technological side of an Information System (IS); it includes the hardware, software, databases, networks, etc. An IS collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific purpose. It processes the inputs (data, instructions) by using IT and produces outputs (reports, calculations). It includes people, procedures, facilities and it operates within an environment. MIS refers to the management of ISs and it raises a lot of concerns, such as global, e-commerce, software system choices, ethical, social and operation strategy issues. (Turban et al, 2001) The aim of this paper is to examine five selected MIS topics and analyze specifically one or two of the occurring issues of each topic; then, connect these issues to the ASOS.com enterprise. The paper begins with a brief observation of the background of ASOS.com. Initially, the selected topics and issues, derived from relevant literature, will be described. Next, a discussion of whether each issue is a problem for ASOS.com or not is presented. Furthermore, a reflective paragraph follows. The paper ends with the conclusion section and the references. ASOS.com Asos.com, is the UKs largest online-only fashion and beauty store, attracting over one million visitors a week. Its name stands for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"As Seen On Screen and it was chosen to show the brands intention, to supply the public with outfits similar to the styles of celebrities. Asos.com targets 16 to 34 year olds; it offers womens fashion, menswear, accessories, jewelry and beauty products. It provides potential customers browsing its content, with a number of unique features. For example, individual catwalk model videos of most clothing items on the site, and a fashion blog, which is frequently updated with articles relating to celebrity and entertainment. Asos.com is greatly admired for its large variety of fashion and beauty goods and for the speed at which it keeps up with the latest fashion trends. (http://www.asos.com/) Asos.coms headquarters are located in Camden Town, in North London. The company was launched by Nick Robertson in 2000. Since then, the online company has seen significant growth. Over Christmas season of 2008, it reported a 100% increase in sales and for the financial year ending 31 March 2009, it reported a revenue of  £165,395,000. Asos.com is being run by a board of three directors and two non-executive directors. It is a PLC, quoted on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) part of the London Stock Exchange. AIM is not as strict in its rules as the main market; it therefore, helps smaller companies to raise capital through the sale of shares. Asos.com chose to use the web channel, since researches have shown that online sales have been increasing faster than any other sector. It has targeted young people, for these represent around 60% of online shoppers. To attract them, it offers a diverse range of brands and products. Above all, it offers a pleasurable shopping experience, by ensuring that the website provides much more than a customer would expect from a shop. The site, also, provides more choices, competitive prices, new styles and, above all, convenience. While growing, Asos.com has developed a more complex structure. It has worked hard to keep up with changes in technology. The website is being kept up-to-date by constantly adding new products and product lines. Moreover, Asos.com uses other communication channels to drive growth. These include a monthly magazine of 116 pages and an e-mail newsletter that is being sent to 1.8 million users each week. In addition, it distributes PR pieces in other publications and encourages word-of-mouth recommendation. (http://www.asos.com/) GLOBAL MIS/RISKS Designing websites for a global audience The designing of successful web-sites that present information about products and services is a relatively recent occupation, which introduced new issues and challenges that designers were called to face. It is well-known that some web-sites seem to be more efficient than others. They are more often visited and more purchases occur. Very little is reported in the literature on web design and the evaluation of the factors that formulate a successful web-site. However, many studies have been made, in order to empirically test the features, often mentioned by trade journals and vendors, as being critical to design a successful web site. The roles of a web-site are many and important; some of them are: marketing research, marketing tool, public relation machine and means of payment. Web sites are basically an interface between the costumer and the firm. The web sites are being designed in order to facilitate organizations, to carry out business activities by using Internet technology. On their web sites, each organization promotes and sells its products or services, provides catalogs, technical support and obtains useful feedback from its consumers. (Udo and Marquis, 2001/2) According to Udo and Marquis, there are eight factors that contribute to the design of an effective web site: * Download Time (response time) * Navigation * Graphics Usage * Interactivity * Cohesion * Consistency * Use of Frames * Amount of Advertisements (Udo and Marquis, 2001/2) According to Tilson, R. principles like simplicity, satisfaction (feedback) and versatility (flexibility) are also very important in designing e-commerce sites. In fact, Tilson describes eight factors, with which the designer achieves the following: * Simplicity: doesnt compromise usability for function. * Support: user is in control with proactive assistance. * Obviousness: makes objects and their controls visible and intuitive. * Encouragement: makes actions predictable and reversible. * Satisfaction (feedback): creates a feeling of progress and achievement. * Accessibility: makes all objects accessible at all times. * Versatility (flexibility): supports alternate interaction techniques. * Personalization: allows users to customize. (Tilson et al, 1998) Asos.com has very successfully designed its website for a global audience. As already mentioned, the website offers to potential customers a large variety of unique features, such as catwalk videos, a fashion blog, a diverse range of brands and products, a pleasurable shopping experience, competitive prices, new styles and convenience, in order to attract more users and set itself apart from other similar websites. The company tries to keep up with changes in technology by frequently updating the website, which is also kept up-to-date by constantly adding new products and product lines, according to the latest fashion trends. Its global success has been recognized through many awards such as: % Sep 2002: E-commerce awards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Highly commended % Feb 2005: More Magazine Fashion Awards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Most Addictive Online Shopping % Oct 2008: Aim Awards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Company of the Year % Nov 2008: Company High Street Awards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Best Online Shopping % Mar 2009: Cosmopolitan Online Fashion Awards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Best Online Retailer (http://www.asos.com/) E-COMMERCE AND ITS ISSUES à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Electronic commerce is taking off both in terms of the number of users shopping, as well as, the total amount of people, who are spending via Internet based transactionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . (Tilson et al, 1998) E-commerce is gaining importance rapidly, in todays business environment. The practice of e-commerce has been in existence since 1965 and has attracted the interest of many pundits. Most companies accepted and adopted the e-commerce technology faster than any other technology in the history of mankind. The reason is that the benefits are plenty; by creating a web site they can be seen all around the world, reach out to new customers, have lower transaction costs, meet their customers expectations and needs, provide new services and products and therefore, remain competitive. (Khan, 2008) E-commerce presents enormous opportunities for both consumers and businesses in the world. The self-service enabled by it, allows consumers to conduct a wide-range of activities. They can access thousands of online sites and purchase anything, from groceries to books, cars, credit-cards and loans. As Mark Hurst stated: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Its ease of use, its ease of use. Why doesnt the industry get that?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Andrews, 1998) Legal and Ethical issues in E-Business Internet technology has posed new challenges for the protection of individual privacy. Computer information, regarding Internet users, is generated every day through credit card purchases, telephone calls, magazine subscriptions, video rentals, mail-order purchases, banking records and local/state/federal government records. If this information is put together and minded properly, it could reveal a users credit information, driving habits, tastes, associations, political interests and much more. It is possible to record many online activities, including which websites a user has visited, which newsgroups or files he has accessed and what items he has purchased over the Web. Some organizations use this information to better target their offerings. Others monitor the Internet usage of their employees to see how they are using company network resources. A new data analysis technology called NORA (non-obvious-relationship-awareness) offers even more powerful profiling capabilities to the government and the private sector. NORA can take information about people from sources like employment applications, telephone records, customer listings and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"wanted lists, and correlate relationships to find obscure hidden connections that might help identify criminals or terrorists. Cookies are another noteworthy issue. Cookies are tiny files deposited on a computer hard drive, when a user visits certain websites. Cookies identify the visitors Web-browser software and track visits to the website. When the visitor returns to the site, the website software will search the visitors computer, find the cookie and know what that person has done in the past. Then the site can customize its contents for each visitors interests. There are several more ethical/legal concerns occurring from the use of IT. For example, another issue is the protection of intellectual property such as software, digital books, digital music, or digitized video. It is extremely difficult to protect intellectual property, when it can so easily be copied and distributed. In addition, there is the matter of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"spam messages and the computer theft/fraud (stealing personal credit card information). (Laudon and Laudon, 2005) Asos.com guarantees privacy and security over credit card purchases for the website visitors. There have been strong movements from the political view to protect the Web users privacy and security. Additionally, the online industry has preferred self-regulation to privacy legislation for protecting consumers. In 1998, the online industry formed the Online Privacy Alliance to encourage self-regulation to develop a set of privacy guidelines for its members. The group promotes the use of online seals, like TRUSTe, certifying websites adhering to certain privacy principles. There has also been created an additional industry association called Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) to develop its own privacy policies to help consumers opt out of advertising network programs and provide consumers redress from abuses. On top of the legislation, new technologies are available to protect user privacy during interactions with websites. Many of these tools are used for encrypting e-mail, making surfing and e-mail activities appear anonymous, preventing client computers from accepting cookies etc. Asos.com plans to use such activities in the short-run, to ensure its visitors privacy. (Laudon and Laudon, 2005) SOFTWARE SYSTEM CHOICES To buy off-the-shelf packages or develop from scratch The acquisition of new software and hardware can bring dramatic applications that will change an organization. Managers must be prepared to make risky acquisitions that will have a significant impact on the firm. There has been some movement towards outsourcing and strategic alliances to reduce the time required to develop vital applications. Buying instead of making is one strategy to bring change more quickly in the firm. However, the purchase decision is one that usually warrants advice from systems professionals. Software can be bought from a large number of companies. Manufacturers of large computers often sell proprietary software for them, especially operating systems. Companies like Computer Associates sell a great deal of software for large-scale computers. The main attraction of buying of-the-shelf packages is to avoid having to develop a custom system. Custom programming is expensive and time-consuming; therefore, when a package is available, it should be considered. The major advantage of using a package is cost savings. The package developer expects to sell a number of packages to recover the investment in developing it. The cost is thus amortized over a number of users. The cost to the developer though is usually higher than the development of a single application would be, since the package must be general enough to be used by a number of customers. This increased generality makes the package larger, more complex and often less efficient to operate than an application specifically developed for a single application. (Henry and Lucas, 2000) The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"make or buy decision is always a difficult one for management. The availability of new technologies in the marketplace and a movement by firms to get back to their core competencies, have led many companies to select the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"buy option. Because of the high cost and long time required to develop software, most managers look first at whether they can buy existing software and modify it, if necessary, to avoid programming an application from scratch. (Henry and Lucas, 2000) (Henry and Lucas, 2000) Asos.coms managers had to face all these difficulties in order to make a decision of whether to develop their own custom system or buy existing software and modify it, according to their needs. They could have depended upon outsourcing to develop and operate their applications, or choose to retain part of their IT functions and to partially outsource some activities, which I believe would be the best decision for the company. Unfortunately, there isnt much information in the Asos.com website of how the organizations software systems were developed. ETHICS / SOCIAL ISSUES Information ethics relates to standards of right and wrong in information processing practices. Organizations must deal with ethical issues relating to their employees, customers and suppliers. Ethical issues are of high importance, for they have the power to damage the image of an organization and to destroy the morale of the employees. Ethics is a complicated area, since ethical issues are not cut-and-tried; they vary between people, cultures and countries. What may be regarded as ethical by one person may be regarded as unethical by another. (Turban et al, 2001) Displacement of employees with Information Technology IT offers many benefits to the organizations. A key benefit of IT is for example, the reengineering of work; it provides operations with many benefits such as elimination of production waste and reduction of operating costs. On the other hand, redesigning business processes could cause millions of employees to lose their jobs. As Rifkin (1993) said: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"We will create a society run by a small high-tech elite of corporate professionals [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] in a nation of the permanently unemployed. (Laudon and Laudon, 2005) Some argue that relieving bright, educated workers from reengineered jobs will result in their replacement to better jobs in fast-growth industries. However this does not apply to unskilled, blue-collar workers and less well-educated, old managers. Consequently, IT has created new ethical dilemmas, in which one set of interests is pitted against another. For example, many of the large telephone companies in the USA are using IT to reduce the sizes of their workforces. Voice recognition software reduces the need for human operators by enabling computers to recognize a customers responses to a series of computerized questions. Competing values at work are, therefore, developed and groups are lined on either side of a debate. Companies argue that displacing employees with IT is ethical, since they have the right to use ISs to increase their productivity and reduce the size of their workforce, in order to lower expenses and remain in business. The employees that are being displaced argue that their employers have responsibilities against their welfare and that their displacement with IT is unethical. (Laudon and Laudon, 2005) Asos.com, as an online corporation, occupies much less personnel than traditional fashion and beauty industries. The company hires high-educated, IT experts to run the operating software and keep the companys website updated with the most innovative features. Displacement of employees with IT is not an issue for Asos.com, although, the latest movement of businesses moving into the digital economy, could be an issue for less and less workers are needed. STRATEGY AND IS / INITIATIVES à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Competitive Advantage is at the core of a firms success or failure. (Turban et al, 2001) Ensure continued, powerful Competitive Advantage Computer-based ISs have been enhancing competitiveness and creating strategic advantage for several decades. A competitive strategy is defined as a broad-based formula for how a business is going to compete, what its goals should be and what plans or policies will be required to carry out those goals. Through its competitive strategy, an organization seeks a competitive advantage in an industry. A Competitive Advantage represents an advantage over competitors in some measure such as cost, quality, or speed. A strategic IS can assist an organization to gain a competitive advantage through contribution to its strategic goals and the ability to considerably increase performance and productivity. (Turban et al, 2001) M. Porters competitive forces model is the most popular framework for analyzing competitiveness. It is used to develop strategies for organizations, with the purpose of increasing their competitive edge. Porters model identifies five major forces that could endanger an organizations position in a given industry. These forces are: 1. The threat of entry of new competitors 2. The bargaining power of suppliers 3. The bargaining power of customers 4. The threat of substitute products or services 5. The rivalry among existing firms in the industry (Turban et al, 2001) Asos.com is an online-only corporation; this fact alone provides the company with a strong competitive advantage over its (traditional-clothing-stores) competitors. Asos.com possesses a competitive advantage, mainly, in a matter of cost/expenses, since it doesnt own stores and doesnt occupy vendors and other kinds of staff (cleaning staff, security, etc.) For Asos.com, Internet technologies offer very powerful tools that can increase success through traditional sources of competitive advantage. For example, apart from low cost, Asos.com has an excellent customer service and superior supply chain management. Low costs contribute to more advantages such as competitive prices and supreme quality for the companys products. Consider and Decide IT Strategy: be a leader, a follower or an experimenter Strategic management refers to the conduct of drafting, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives. IT contributes to strategic management in many ways. For example, it can contribute through innovative applications, competitive weapons, changes in processes, links with business partners, cost reductions, relationships with suppliers and customers, new products and competitive intelligence. Porters model identifies the forces that influence competitive advantage in the marketplace. Managers are interested in the development of a strategy that aims to establish a profitable and sustainable position against these five forces. To accomplish this, a company needs to develop a strategy of performing activities differently from a competitor. There are many different strategies that managers can choose, according to which copes best with their operation. Some of them are the following: Cost Leadership Strategy: Produce products at the lowest cost in the industry. A firm achieves cost-leadership in its industry by thrifty buying practices, efficient business processes, forcing up the prices paid by competitors and helping customers/suppliers reduce their costs. Differentiation Strategy: Offer different products, services, or product features. By offering different-better products companies can charge higher prices, sell more, or both. Niche Strategy: Select a narrow-scope segment (niche market) and be the best in quality, speed or cost in that market. Innovation Strategy: Introduce new products and services, put new features in existing ones, or develop new ways to produce them. There are many other strategies such as Growth, Alliance, Operational Effectiveness, Time Strategy, etc. (Turban et al, 2001) Asos.com has tried to implement Niche strategies. It has chosen a relatively small market segment (it targets consumers aged 16 to 34) in the clothing/fashion and beauty industry and it has tried to be the best in cost, quality, and speed of the deliveries (same day delivery service through the use of MetaPack delivery management software and CitySprints SameDay Courier solution). Given that it is an online enterprise, and it can therefore keep expenses low, it demonstrates very competitive prices and a very wide range of products and brands. It also maintains high standards of quality for its products. (http://www.asos.com/) REFLECTIVE PARAGRAPH I believe that the main lesson learnt here is that the use of IT has many benefits, but also many drawbacks. IT and the use of information systems can bring rapid change to organizations, enhance productivity and reduce costs. A firm established on the World Wide Web has countless advantages, which is why most medium and large organizations and even small ones create a website. In contrast, numerous concerns derive from the exploit of IT. Global, software system choices, e-commerce, strategy and IS initiatives, and ethical, social and political, are only some of the subjects that raise a great deal of issues. However, there are many options to be considered for the use of IT and most of the matters can be resolved. CONCLUSION To conclude, a brief observation of the background of ASOS.com has been given. The five selected MIS topics have been examined and the occurring issues have been analyzed. Moreover, a discussion of whether each described issue is a problem or not for ASOS.com has been presented. Finally, my reflective thoughts have been outlined, in the reflective paragraph. Last of all, mentioning that in the 21st century we find ourselves living in the age of computerization, is essential. There is plenty room for future development of IT and IS. Information and Communication Technologies for Development, for example, refers to the application of Information and Communication Technologies within the field of socioeconomic development or international development and its concept is intimately associated with applications in the developing nations. It is concerned with the direct application of IT approaches to poverty reduction. Information and communication technologies can be applied either in a direct (their use directly benefits the disadvantaged population) or in an indirect sense (facilitates the improvement of general socio-economic conditions). In many indigent regions of the world, legislative and political measures are required to facilitate or enable application of information and communication technologies. References Andrews, W. (1998) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“At Far Too Many Sites à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Buyer Be Lost Appliesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Internet World, Vol. 98, Issue 6 Henry, C. and Lucas, Jr. (2000) Information Technology for Management, McGraw-Hill, 7th edition, Ch. 15-17 Khan, K. M. (2008) Managing Web Service Quality: Measuring Outcomes and Effectiveness, Information Science Reference, Ch. 1,3 Laudon, K. and Laudon, J. (2005) Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Prentice Hall, 9th edition, Ch. 5 Reynolds, Janice (2004) The Complete E-commerce Book: Design, Build and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business, CMP, 2nd edition, p.76-79 Tilson, R., Dong, J., Martins, S. and Kieke, E. (1998) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Factors and Principles Affecting the Usability of Four E-commerce Sites, Proc. Of the 4th Conference on Human Factors and the Web Turban, E., McLean, E., Wetherbe, J. 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