Category: Commerce

Executive Summary

Top Breadz, a Sydney-based industrial bread and pastry manufacturer assigned our team to investigate how Business–to–Business (B2B) e-commerce solutions might benefit the company to reach its goals, namely, to increase sales by the retail outlets, to increase revenues by entering new markets or increasing market share, and to reduce operating costs.

In regards to these objectives, our proposed B2B e-commerce solution is the design and implementation of a B2B extranet portal for Top Breadz. The extranet solution includes a secure, easy-to-use order management portal to enable partners, suppliers and buyers manage their dealings with the company more efficiently and less costly and collaborative tools to share customer information with partners.

Undertaking the project will benefit Top Breadz by improving its bottom-line efficiency via cutting costs and time of the expenditure and revenue cycles. This not only reduces operating expenditures but also gives the company an edge over its competitors. Having a unified system for all partners also facilitates new market development or market penetration.

The risks to be considered by the Top Breadz team studying the solution are the following:

• Retail partners might not possess the proper or compatible Information Technology (IT) background to gain advantage of Top Breadz’s new system.
• Taking into account the lack of any legacy systems, and consequently, lack of experience in IT at Top Breadz, implementing a B2B e-commerce platform requires a fundamental shift within the business processes, which might prove to be troublesome and result in early faults.
• For the same reason, defining the exact scope of the project is unsure since the requirements are not clear in terms of scalability and future development.
• Initial capital outlay is substantial, especially compared to the cost savings only to be realized on the long-term.

The proposed system is perfectly capable of delivering the features that will help Top Breadz reach its goals. We therefore, recommend introducing the new B2B extranet system.

Introduction

Business to Business (B2B) e-commerce is becoming an increasingly important method of conducting buying and selling processes. One of the prominent lessons that have emerged from company experiences is the recognition of the significant role that extranets play in B2B e-commerce operations.

Among other things, this paper provides a discussion on how the use of a B2B e-commerce extranet, which has been proposed for Top Breadz, can improve the company’s performance.

Description and Explanation of the IT Innovation

The information technology services required for e-commerce are Internet, intranets, and extranets. An extranet may be defined as a secure network that uses Internet and Web technologies to connect two or more intranets of business partners, thus enabling business to business communications to take place effectively (Kallioranta & Vlosky 2004).

It allows trusted business partners to have secure access to information assets on another firm’s intranet. For example, Top Breadz may connect its computers with its various suppliers and retailers to ensure successful deliveries.

An extranet can be viewed as being part of a series of levels that include the Internet and intranet levels as well (Karra 2006, p. 5). Table 1 provides a comparison of the Internet, intranet and extranet while figure 1 illustrates a typical extranet configuration.

Table 1: Comparison of the Internet, Intranet, and Extranet

Figure 1: A Typical Extranet Configuration (Karra 2006, p. 5)

There are four things that can be said of an extranet. First, an extranet is part of the Web and its operation relies on the infrastructure provided by the Internet. Secondly, an extranet is privately owned. This is unlike the Internet that is not owned by any one. When compared to intranet, an extranet if public as it allows companies to access each other’s information.

Another major characteristic of an extranet has to do with the fact that it is mostly used to facilitate business to business interactions. By using an extranet, Top Breadz and its partners will be able to exchange information. Lastly, it is critical for any extranet to guarantee security and control the way information is accessed and shared (Kallioranta & Vlosky 2004).

Generally, the use of a Web browser at the front of an extranet makes it less intimidating. Users without a strong foundation in IT are, therefore, saved from worrying about what goes on at the backend.

Extranet Design Principles

Extranets share the same design principles formulated for the Internet. These principles include the following:

Interoperability

Interoperability for B2B e-commerce means that companies and customers do not have to purchase and upgrade software from the same vendors. Their computers will be able to communicate over the Internet because of the standard protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

Layering

The structure of the Internet is layered. While the bottom layers of software are concerned with operating the computer hardware, higher layers come closer to the needs of the person using the Internet. For extranet users, the most relevant layer is the application layer which processes the information required by the Internet user.

The different hardware and application layers need to communicate with each other and they do so by using well defined interfaces. The Internet layering standard results in increased reliability of Internet software and is invisible to the Internet user.

Simplicity

The layering has resulted in simplicity of software design. Each layer is concerned only with its own functionality, making its design simpler. For example, the layer concerned with physical devices like mouse operations are hidden from the higher layers that process information. The kind of simplicity contributes to increased software reliability and hence extranet reliability.

Uniform Naming and Addressing

Each Internet host computer has an Internet Protocol (IP) address that uniquely identifies it on the Internet from millions of other computers on the Internet.

End to End Protocols

The Internet does not process information. It enables the transfer of packets of information between computers. The transmitting or receiving computers, known as the end system, do the actual processing of information.

Business Related Benefits of the IT Innovation

There are a number of benefits that are associated with the use of an extranet. Among the benefits of an extranet are the following:

Coordination

An extranet will allow the company to improve the flow of goods, services and information among it customers. The smooth interaction between Top Breadz and its partners will in turn improve efficiency and increase customer loyalty.

Feedback

An extranet will enable Top Breadz to receive instant feedback from its customers and other business partners. It will give consumers an opportunity to express their views about products or services before they are even introduced into the market.

Customer Satisfaction

Central to any business is customer satisfaction. When treated well, customers will always return to be served by the company. The use of an effective extranet will allow Top Breadz’s to increase the speed at which goods and services are delivered to the customers. Eventually, the relationship with the customers will therefore be strengthened.

Cost Reduction

With an efficient extranet in place, Top Breadz will be able to provide information to its partners in a timely manner and will equally receive whatever information it requires from its partners as and when needed. An extranet will also facilitate easy submission of purchase orders to the company by distributors. Top Breadz will also reduce its expenses through speedy delivery of goods as well as services.

Expediting Communication

Extranets increase the efficiency and effectiveness of communications among business partners by linking intranets for immediate access to information. A traveling sales person can receive the latest product information from his or her hotel room before going to a sales meeting.

Similarly, Top Breadz will be able to provide the latest information to a customer regarding its products without making several phone calls and going through different brochures and sales manuals.

Specific Issues that May be Associated with Extranets

Security is a critical aspect of extranet development, which extends to both the company and its partners. Security issues must be considered through the design, implementation, and management of any extranets applications.

Developing a security plan for an extranet application should begin with a risk assessment to identify the potential sources of threat to the network, how likely these threats are to occur, and the investment in security that will be required.

The level of security investment will vary depending on the nature of the extranet application, the threats of intrusion, and the sensitivity of the information shared on the extranet. Among others, extranet security should consider authentication and access control, privacy and data integrity.

Access Control

Access control provides or denies access to the network and is usually implemented through deployment of a firewall. A firewall alone, however, is not a sufficient security strategy.

Providing confidentiality of information while it is in transit over the public Internet can occur through encryption strategies. User authentication can take place in part at the firewall, but it is usually handled by the application service. User control, however, is almost always handled by the application service.

Authentication

Authentication defines the external population that is permitted to access the extranet. It will ensure that the external interaction with Top Breadz’s extranet is coming from an authorized source. Assigning account names and passwords to extranet users is one of the methods that will be used to implement authentication.

The identity of an extranet user will then be confirmed when he or she presents both the account name and password to the host application. A security policy that allows the use of one-time only passwords that expires once a user has been authenticated or encrypting the password before transmission will be a great addition to the strengthening of Top Breadz’s security.

Privacy

Privacy of communication with the extranet and exchange of data are typically implemented through an encryption technique. Encryption is the process of scrambling data before transmission over the public Internet. Several techniques are available such as public and private key cryptography systems.

While encryption is an effective strategy to protect the confidentiality of the information during transmission, it does not prevent inception and alteration or guarantee that the data packets are received intact.

Data Integrity

Data Integrity provides the assurance that the data transmitted over the public Internet are not modified in any way. For most applications requiring privacy, encryption techniques such as secure sockets layer (SSL) connection will provide sufficient data privacy and integrity. Virtually all Web browsers recognize the SSL protocol, among others, for data encryption.

Recommendation and Conclusion

In spite of the challenges discussed above, the use of extranets is bound to improve the performance of Top Breadz’s B2B e-commerce services. It is a convenient way of saving costs and has a wide reach.

Although the initial capital outlay is substantial, Top Breadz will certainly benefit by implementing the proposed solution. As was explained earlier, there are clear benefits that are linked to the use of extranets for B2B e-commerce.

In implementing the solution, however, it will be necessary for Top Breadz to ensure that retail partners possess the requisite skills to use the proposed system. This may be accomplished by assessing the capacity of these partners and providing training where needed.

All the concerned parties must also be sensitized in advance as their involvement in the entire process is critical for a successful implementation. The team investigating the solution should also work closely with their counterparts at Top Breadz to clearly establish the scope of the proposed system.

Reference List

Kallioranta, SM & Vlosky, RP 2004, A Model of Extranet Implementation Success Effects on Business Performance, <http://www.lfpdc.lsu.edu/publications/working_papers/wp66.pdf>.

Karra, VK 2006, Using Extranets to Add Value: A B2B Perspective. Web.

Dubai has registered strong growth trends in its visitor numbers for the last five years. Arguably, this trend is attributable to the endeavours of Dubai’s tourism promotion organisation, DTCM. However, many counties across the world have similar companies, but their tourism industries do not enjoy similar growth patterns. This difference sets DTCM apart and makes its marketing approach and target markets subjects of interest. This essay examines the DTCM’s marketing endeavours with a specific focus on its target markets and the prominent features of Dubai as a tourist destination.

Who are the Key Target Markets for Your Tourist Destination?

Tourism is a key driver of global economic growth. Thus, countries strive to capture their share of benefits of this lucrative industry. However, each country’s approach and offerings determine the country that gets the largest share of the benefits. Dubai, one of the emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has done exceptionally well in the recent past. For example, the city of Dubai, which is the focus of DTCM’s tourism promotion endeavours, was ranked position seven among the world’s most visited cities in 2013 (Jacobs, 2013). Therefore, the source markets of Dubai’s visitors are examined below.

According to the Gulf News Report (2012), Saudi Arabia is Dubai’s leading tourist source market. It has held the same position for a number of years. This attribute makes it one of the most important target markets for DTCM’s marketing campaigns. In fact, apart from China, Saudi Arabia is the only country that hosts more than one of the 20 overseas offices operated by DTCM (Gulf News Report, 2012). Since Saudi Arabia is Dubai’s leading source market, and Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Pakistan, India, as well as Russia feature among its most important source markets, it becomes apparent that DTCM has placed emphasis on regional markets in the past (Gulf News Report, 2012).

In addition, the recent opening of the fourth DTCM office in Chengdu, China, shows that DTCM aims to attract more visitors from China. According to Intelligent Business Horizon (2013), in 2012, China clinched the top position in so far as overseas visitor expenditure is concerned. Dubai as a leading shopping destination, which happened to receive relatively low numbers of visitors from China, has stepped up its campaigns in the country. Consequently, China is the country that hosts more than two of DCTM’s overseas offices (Gulf News Report, 2012). Several other examples can be cited to show that DTCM targets lucrative markets across the world. However, attention now shifts to the market segments targeted by DTCM.

Dubai is known across the world as a paradise for luxury lovers and shoppers (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). As such, the marketing campaigns run by DTCM tend to focus on these issues. For example, Saudi Arabia, which is Dubai’s leading tourist source market, is also home to the largest land and property owners in Dubai (Gulf News Report, 2012). DTCM’s heightened campaign in China also supports this line of argument because Chinese tourists emerged as the leading overseas spenders in 2012 (Intelligent Business Horizon, 2013). Therefore, DTCM is working to attract this expenditure to Dubai.

These examples show that DTCM targets high-class individuals and business people who can double the number of shoppers or property developers and leisure tourists in the city (Evans, 2013). DTCM’s campaigns also target middle-class individuals who can enjoy Dubai’s luxurious tourist offerings and shops (Definitely Dubai, 2014). Little attention is paid to the economy class despite there are hotels that cater for this category as well.

Research and find a Sample Advertisement from the Destination

Describe the Destination Attributes – i.e. Urban, Rural, Coastal, Remote?

The focus of Dubai on the middle and upper class visitors can be seen in its array of tourist attractions. Apart from the traditional attractions, such as the Dubai Museum and the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, there have been recently developed attractions that clearly target the middle and upper classes (Definitely Dubai, 2014). Dubai boasts of an infrastructure that easily passes as the epitome of architectural ingenuity. Its hotels are among the best ones across the world, it has the tallest building and hotel, and its transport infrastructure is magnificent (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). In fact, most of Dubai’s attractions can be described as outrageous because they do not exist anywhere else. Dubai is an urban setting of its own kind.

Apart from its magnificent architecture, Dubai has excellent coastal attractions, which include a collection of beautiful artificial islands commonly referred to as the Palm Islands (Definitely Dubai, 2014). Its beaches also give tourists memorable experiences.

Intriguingly, Dubai also has a desert that makes it one of the few destinations that offer a combination of breathtaking urban architecture, serene palm filled beaches, and endless desert landscape (Definitely Dubai, 2014). Additionally, outside of the city of Dubai, the majestic Hatta Mountains give Dubai (the Emirate) an element of remoteness (Definitely Dubai, 2014). Since it is one of Dubai’s attractions, it completes the image of the region as a multifaceted tourist destination.

Apparently, Dubai is a destination like no other. However, what stands out about the tourism industry of Dubai is how DTCM markets the destination. It is truly doing a commendable job because, without the aggressive marketing approach it has adopted, Dubai would have remained unknown as it was several decades ago.

References

Definitely Dubai: The Official Tourism Portal of the City of Dubai. (2014). Web.

Dubai for Tourism: Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. (2014). Web.

Evans, P. (2013). Dubai targets Chinese visitors at Chengdu. Routesnews. Web.

Gulf News Report: Dubai’s tourism industry grows 10% to 9.3 million. (2012). Web.

Intelligent Business Horizon: International tourism to continue robust growth in 2013. (2013). Web.

Jacobs, D. L. (2013). The 20 Most Popular Cities In The World To Visit In 2013. Forbes. Web.

Tourism has for a long time served as a key foreign exchange earner for countries. Consequently, national governments, state governments, as well as city authorities across the world engage in campaigns aimed at positioning their countries, states, or cities as prime tourist destinations. Notably, the success rates of such campaigns vary as evidenced by the number of tourists that visit various destinations across the world. Based on existing statistics, Dubai seems to be doing well on this end. Consequently, this paper examines the tourism promotion efforts of Dubai with a focus on the body that is charged with the responsibility of overseeing tourism within the emirate.

Dubai is one of the most famous tourist destinations across the world (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). Like other countries or states, it has an established body that oversees all tourism related matters. This body is known as the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). It was set up in 1997 as a replacement for the Dubai Commerce and Tourism Promotion Board (DCTPB) (Dubai for Tourism, 2014).

Over the years, it has risen to become quite elaborate in terms of structure and organization. All tourism related matters, as mentioned above, are conducted under the auspices of DTCM. It plans, supervises, and develops the entire tourism sector (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). Further, it licenses and classifies all tourism related services such as accommodation and tour operation among others (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). Hotels and travel agencies are also licensed and supervised by this body to ensure that world-class quality prevails in all services rendered to tourists (Dubai for Tourism, 2014).

As of 2014, DTCM established an affiliate body known as the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) to take charge over the marketing and promotion of the emirate as a premium destination for tourism and business (“Dubai sets up body to promote tourism,” 2014). This affiliate body works under DTCM to give the emirate the desired global publicity ahead of the planned Dubai Expo 2020. Apparently, the DTCM is reducing the burden of its direct involvement in all tourism related matters by allocating responsibilities to specialized bodies. This way, it will only play a supervisory role to ensure that Dubai, as a tourist destination, keeps getting better.

Additionally, the DTCM runs a website by the name definitelydubai.com (Definitely Dubai, 2014). This website features as the official tourism portal for Dubai. It provides plenty of information regarding tourism in Dubai including the best attractions, a travel guide, and events as well as festivals that may be of interest to tourists. It further provides instructions for tourists on how to get to Dubai from the rest of the world. Essentially, everything that a potential visitor may want to know about Dubai is featured on the website.

An analysis of the endeavors of DTCM insofar as tourism promotion in Dubai is concerned reveals that it focuses on some key areas of strength. First, Dubai has marketed itself to potential tourists across the world as the luxury destination of choice. Luxury lovers have every reason to visit Dubai because true to its dominant promotional message, Dubai features unique and spectacular architecture, excellent infrastructure, and most importantly, relatively affordable accommodation in some of the best hotels the world over (Robertson, 2014). Therefore, to answer the second question, yes, Dubai has a clear message that it uses to market itself. It depicts itself as a tourist paradise since it has everything a tourist may desire.

According to an analysis conducted by the Travel Trade Gazette (TTG), earlier this year, Dubai was voted the leading luxury destination (Robertson, 2014). Its strengths included the relatively affordable luxury accommodation, tranquility, and excellent infrastructure. This analysis confirms that Dubai’s effort to pass itself as a luxurious tourist destination is not mere marketing hype. It does everything it can to ensure that its services are consistent with its marketing theme or slogan.

Besides depicting itself as a luxury destination, Dubai also features strongly as a shopping paradise. It ranks second after the U.S. as a leading shopping destination (Robertson, 2014). Considering that most tourists are also active shoppers, this attribute adds to the appeal of Dubai as a tourist destination. More importantly, it adds to the luxury associated with Dubai. Further, it undoubtedly shows the emirate’s commitment to its marketing slogan.

Dubai is an intriguing tourist destination not because it has state-of-the-art facilities, but because the approach it uses to handle its tourism industry is quite optimistic. It engages in intensive marketing campaigns and follows with an expansion of its facilities beforehand. For example, the Dubai Expo 2020 is a tourism-oriented event that is still way off. Nonetheless, Dubai has already established a body charged with the responsibility of publicizing the event.

More interestingly, plans are already underway to expand the accommodation capacity of the emirate with up to 80,000 new rooms to be added (Dubai for Tourism, 2014). This preparation is in line with the emirate’s desire to clinch the position of the leading tourist destination in the world by 2020. As such, other preparations such as expansion of the transport industry are also ongoing. The proactive and optimistic nature of Dubai’s tourism promotion is definitely intriguing.

References

Definitely Dubai: The Official Tourism Portal of the City of Dubai. (2014). Web.

Dubai for Tourism: Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. (2014). Web.

Dubai sets up body to promote tourism. (2014). MEED: Middle East Economic Digest, 58 (5), 19.

Robertson, E. (2014). Dubai ‘best for luxury’. Travel Trade Gazette UK & Ireland, (3079), 19-20.

Executive Summary

This paper provides a detailed review of the stages of project management for the triumphant execution of an e-Commerce system for a clothing company in Abu Dhabi, the Unites Arab Emirates (UAE). Project management is a vital process in ensuring a successful implementation of projects since it allows a room for proper planning and reduction of risks that may arise.

The world of technology has revolutionised the business environment in ways that had never been imagined before. This project management dossier details the successful execution of an e-Commerce system at Apparel Company in UAE. The report details various stages and aspects of the project implementation, including the goals and objectives of the project, the project plan and schedule, estimated budget and revenues, and execution and launching.

Introduction

The emergence of computer technology and the internet has brought drastic changes in the world of business in the last one decade. E-Commerce has emerged as a major marketing platform that 21^st century businesses can only avoid at their peril.

E-Commerce allows businesses to trade their goods online to equally technologically perceptive customers who are keen on comparing different options, receiving discounts, and making comparisons between different products they seek to purchase. E-Commerce has eliminated the restrictions of time and space, that is, the need to do shopping physically, a factor that is very attractive to customers and hence a platform that businesses cannot ignore.

This paper seeks to give a detailed project management report on a successful implementation of e-Commerce application for Apparel Company in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The report discusses all stages of project management that are necessary for a successful implementation and execution. These stages, which constitute the project implementation cycle, include project definition, planning, execution, and delivery/completion.

Project Description

The need for the adoption of e-Commerce has never been as important as it is in the 21^st century (Laudon & Guerci 2002; Nielson 2014). As a marketing platform, e-Commerce offers businesspersons with a platform that has endless opportunities of selling their products to a wider group of people through the internet.

In less than a decade, e-Commerce has redefined and changed how businesses and customers interact in buying and selling. Through the platform, customers have the opportunity to compare products online, remotely place an order, and receive a delivery of their products, all without physically visiting the shop or the outlet (Harris 2000; Metafuse Inc. 2013).

The importance for the Apparel Company in adopting an e-Commerce system is therefore evident. In preparation for the implementation of this system, a preliminary survey to shed light on internet usage and online shopping in Abu Dhabi has been done. Further, a detailed design highlighting the goals, tasks, specifications, and responsibilities has been developed. The schedule of implementation of the e-Commerce application and a detailed stage-by-stage discussion of each phase has been discussed.

Defining

The main of the project discussed in this paper is to implement successfully, an e-Commerce system for Apparel Company in the city of Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

Goals

The main goals of the e-Commerce project are as follows:

1. To augment the sales and the revenues of the company by 15% or more.
2. To raise the company’s market share by up to 20% or more.
3. To upgrade the company’s systems and technologies to support effective and efficient services to customers.
4. To diversify the range of services that are offered by the apparel company.

Specifications

The following are the specifications for the successful implementation of the e-Commerce application:

1. To develop, test and successfully launch an e-Commerce application and system for the company.
2. To develop the application, carry out pilot trials, test for errors, fine time the application in response to results of pilot trials and test results for errors, and successfully launch a fully functioning e-Commerce for the company.
3. To develop and carry out a one-month training program for employees to implement and use the application successfully.

Project Stakeholders

Project stakeholders refer to those persons and institutions that have an interest in a given project or institution and can influence the implementation and execution of a program (Caniels & Bakens 2012). They are key in the process of defining the goals and objectives that relate to all stages of the project cycle. The following are the key stakeholders:

1. Customers: The e-Commerce application is specifically made with a focus on improving customer experiences and shopping options. Hence, they are the major stakeholders.
2. The Apparel Company/Owners: The company and its owners are major stakeholders of the project since they expect to get good returns from the e-Commerce application (PMBOK 2013).
3. Project Managers-These are the people who are bestowed with the responsibility of ensuring that the e-Commerce application is developed and implemented according to the agreed specifications (Hooley et al. 2007).
4. Departmental bosses-These people are important in ensuring that the project runs effectively to serve the needs of customers and the organisation (Raymond & Bergeron 2008).

Tasks

The definition of the activities or their sequence of implementation in project management is referred to as work breakdown arrangement (PMBOK 2013). Consequently, the following is the work breakdown configuration:

Project Personnel and Responsibilities

The success of a project is highly dependent on the personnel and the execution of their different tasks (Caniels & Bakens 2012). The process of project management is a collaborative process where each party to the process has a specific role and works as a team members for the overall completion of the project.

For the e-Commerce application project, the personnel who will be involved and their respective roles are summarised in the table below:

Planning

Project planning refers to the process of stating how a given project will be completed as guided by a given project schedule, stages, and appropriated resources (Kahura 2013). The table below shows the milestone timelines and budgetary appropriation.

Work Breakdown Structure

The following diagram is a detailed work breakdown configuration for the completion of the e-Commerce system:

Milestone Timeline Table

The milestones of a project indicate the various stages through which the project implementation passes. These milestones include preliminary study, definition and planning, development and implementation, and delivery stages. The following table gives the approximate milestones timelines:

Project Budget and Financial Impact

The project budget includes the estimated financial resources that are expected to be used for the successful implementation of the projects. On the other hand, the financial impact is a measure of the net present value of the project at 15%internal factor and internal rate of return for the project.

The table below gives a breakdown of the estimated project budget for the e-Commerce system:

From the above table, the project will cost approximately 350000AED, which will be funded partly through equity and partly through debt in the form of loan. The table below shows the sources of funds:

In calculating the financial impact of the project, NPV, and IRR models are used where several assumptions are made as follows:

1. The average unit price of a product is 90 AED escalated at 2% per annum
2. The number of units per month is 500 units growing at 5% per annum
3. Maintenance expenses are estimated at 30% of the total revenues, where 10% covers administrative and miscellaneous expenses
4. The project manager’s cost is an expense for the overall duration of the project at an escalation of 5%
5. The interest rate is the average of the opening and closing debt calculated at 10% interest rate
6. The depreciation and tax rates are at 0% as the project does not involve capital assets
7. The financial impact of the project is estimated at15% discounting factor as detailed in the table below:

Project Resources Plan

The table below gives the staffing plan and the costs involved in compensation:

Project Communication Plan

A project involves different people and information. Hence, it is important to identify the communication channels and processes that will ensure that the decision-makers and all involved people are on the same page. The following is a table indicating the communication plan for the project:

Risks

Each project has its risks that relate to finances, schedule, resources, and market (Laudon & Guerci 2002). It is important for an organisation to identify these risks and take the necessary actions through a risk response plan as discussed below:

Methodology and Risk Identification

It is important to keep on reviewing the project progression to identify any eventuality (Caniels & Bakens 2012). In this case, daily progress discussions by the project team is an important aspect of ensuring that risks are identified as they arise. Secondly, the project manager and financial managers must be alert to notice any deviation in budgeted costs and schedules and act accordingly through discussions with the top management during monthly reviews. In reviewing project progress, it is important for the project team and the top management to discuss any risks relating to resources, finances, schedule and budget.

Risk Response Plan

The following table shows the risk response plan adopted for the project:

Execution

Execution is also referred to as the project development and implementation phase. It denotes the period of putting plans into reality (PMBOK 2013). Project execution requires the development of progress reports, meetings, and quality assurance to ensure the project is successful.

Submission of Progress Reports

It is important to ensure that all members who are involved in the project share the project progress with each other for input, risk reviews, and quality assurance. As such, it is important after every review meeting to share progress reports to all members. Secondly, during the review, it is important to have a follow-up on issues identified in previous review meetings and a discussion of the actions taken.

Changes

In each review meeting, a discussion of issues that have been identified in the previous meeting and the respective action allows members to acknowledge and approve any changes on the project before current issues are discussed. Major changes such as those that touch on budget or schedule must be addressed to the top management for approval or any other appropriate actions.

Quality Assurance

While implementing the project, it is important to ensure that every process meets the set quality expectations (Raymond & Bergeron 2008). Such an approach ensures that the final product is of the highest quality as required by the company. This goal can be achieved by applying the quality measurement parameters set during the project planning and generating quality report as required. The table below is a sample report t testing the quality of the e-Commerce application:

The following is a Quality Assurance and Quality Control logbook samples for the application:

Sample Quality Assurance log:

Sample Quality Control log:

Delivery

Delivery is the final stage of the project management cycle and involves activities such as training, resource and staff releases, documentation and reporting.

Training

This involves the training of staff members on the key aspects of the application for its successful execution.

Documentation

This stage involves the development of a manual concerning the use of the application and/or a transfer all the necessary documents from the project staff to the organisation.

Release Resource and Staff

The stage involves termination of contracted resources and staff.

Lessons Learned

This stage involves taking a record of lessons learned from the risk response plans, progress meeting and reports on the project for future use to avoid same problems in future projects.

References

Caniels, C & Bakens, J 2012, ‘The effects of Project Management Information Systems on decision making in a multi project environment’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 30 no. 2, pp. 162-175.

Harris, L 2000, ‘Librarians and E-Commerce: Making E-Commerce Work for You’, IFLA Journal, vol. 1 no. 1, pp. 129-131.

Hooley, G, Saunders, J, Piercy, F & Nicoulaud, B 2007, Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning, Prentice Hall/Financial Times, New York, NY.

Kahura, N 2013, ‘The role of Project Management Information Systems towards the success of a project: The case of construction projects in Nairobi Kenya’, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 3 no. 9, pp. 104-116.

Laudon, C & Guerci, C 2002, e-Commerce: business, technology, society, Addison Wesley, Boston, MA.

Metafuse Inc. 2013, Basic Phases of Project Management. Web.

Nielson, M 2014, Global e-Commerce Report, Project Management Institute, New York, NY.

PMBOK 2013, A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Project Management Institute, New York, NY.

Raymond, L & Bergeron, F 2008, ‘Project management information systems: An empirical study of their impact on project managers and project success’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 26 no. 2, pp. 213-220.

Annexes

Weekly Progress Report Template

Vendor’s Evaluation Criteria

Review Presentation Agenda

1. Introduction.
2. Project Status.
3. Modules Developed.
4. Percentage progress.
5. Project budget.
6. Modules to be developed.
7. Quality assurance log.
8. Quality control log.

Amount sold by each salesperson

The table presented below shows the sales for each sales person.

The pivot table presented above shows a summary of the total amount that is sold by each salesperson. The total sales were: $2,650 for Albertson, Kathy, $3,700 for Brennan, Michael, $1,935 for Davis William, and $400 for Dumlao Richard. The total sales amounted to $8,685. The table presented below shows the total monthly sales.

The results show that the total sales for the month January amounted to $5,175, $2,160 for February, and $1,350 for March.

Security measures

The first security measure that is available for protecting the customer is the encryption of the online store. For an electronic commerce website to be secure, it should provide safe transactions using various tools such as secure electronic transaction protocol (SET), secure sockets layer (SSL), or other types of encryptions (Rich 135). These encryption forms should accept and process the personal data of the clients without the data being breached or unintentionally made available to the public and other forms of security threats. Therefore, the technology of encryption helps in protecting the personal information of the consumers, especially during the checkout process (Becker 161).

One significant advantage of this measure is that it helps the customers to protect sensitive information. Also, the customers have a better idea of the persons or companies they are trusting with their personal data. A significant drawback of this measure is that communication with SSL encryption is relatively slow. This is based on the fact that there is a two-way communication that slows down the network and reduces the speed of response of the runtime server (Sadeghi 157).

The second security measure is two-step authentication. In this case, two bits of information are needed for every attempt of login. In most cases, websites require the use of an account password and a single-use verification code that is received through SMS or other recommended applications. Another example of the extra layer of security is the use of fingerprints in addition to passwords.

An advantage of this measure is that it provides a higher level of security. A disadvantage is that it does not work with a number of applications. Besides, the process of two-step authentication is quite long and cumbersome because customers are compelled to fill in security information twice. From the company’s point of view, this measure is expensive to implement.

The third measure is the use of a password manager. In most cases, customers often reuse passwords, or they use simple passwords because they are easy to remember (Parsons 71). However, when the security of the customer and the entire business is at stake, the use of simple or reused passwords may not help. Therefore, password managers work by creating strong passwords. Besides, they store the created passwords in an encrypted vault that has a single master password. This enables the customers to easily access their details (Rezaul 429).

An advantage of this security measure is that it ensures that customers have passwords that cannot be cracked easily. Besides, they will have a unique password for every website that they visit. Also, all their passwords will be managed easily. This eliminates the risks that are associated with the use of simple passwords. One drawback of the password manager is that they do not work on all websites. Therefore, customers may be compelled to create simple passwords for such websites (Mjolsnes 135).

Works Cited

Becker, Ann. Electronic Commerce: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Application, New York: IGA Global, 2007. Print.

Mjolsnes, Stig. Technology and Practice of Passwords: International Conference on Passwords, PASSWORDS’14 Trondheim, Norway, December 8-10, 2014, Revised Selected Papers, Germany: Springer, 2015. Print.

Parsons, June. New Perspective Computer Concepts 2016 Enhanced, Comprehensive, Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. Print.

Rezaul, Karim. Strategic and Pragmatic E-Business: Implications for Future Business Practices, New York: IGI Global, 2012. Print.

Rich, Jason. Design and Launch an E-Commerce Business in a Week, US: Entrepreneur Press, 2008. Print.

Sadeghi, Ahmad-Reza. Financial Cryptography and Data Security: 17^th International Conference, FC 2013, Okinawa, Japan, 2013, Revised Selected Papers, Germany: Springer, 2013. Print.

Introduction

In most nations of the world today, belonging to chambers of commerce is compulsory under state laws, with dues paid under certain sections of the business authorizations. These setups are known as “public law” chambers. Most of these organizations have members running into thousands since it is a must for every genuine business organization to join. But in some countries, membership of these organizations is voluntary. Chambers of commerce are more commonly found in the European Union. It is thus imperative to state that these organizations have in the last few years contributed immensely to the growth of the businesses of its members, and have contributed to public policy formulations, which have impacted positively not just on the lives of its member organizations but on the society at large.

The Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce is the umbrella body for many chambers of commerce residing in that region of the world. The association of chambers of commerce around the world is referred to as the international Chambers of Commerce, with its headquarters in Paris. The WCF comes together after one year to hold a general congress. Issues bothering on the effective operations of the various chambers are discussed. And collective positions are taken on global issues, which every individual chamber of commerce is expected to promote on return to its own region or state.

Chambers of Commerce

There are a lot of misconceptions, on subjects relating to brands and organizations. These misconceptions are encountered on a larger scale when the expression “chambers of commerce” is used, even though the term is not new. The misunderstanding of these terms by a lot of people is self–inflicted, there is as a result of the mode of operation of these organizations in different countries of the world.

Daniel (57) defined it as “an organization of businesses seeking to further their collective interests while advancing their community, region, state or nation”. People who own business organizations in cities, or countries come together to form these organizations to speak for their communities, and to promote the welfare of their business. Different chambers of commerce have different missions (Nyagba, 67). Some of the missions embarked upon by a few of the chambers of commerce are

1. To enhance the development of the state or Nations.
2. The promotion of certain areas in a region investor is likely to be attracted to.
3. To serve as a community voice in public policy debates.
4. Encourage efficient business transactions and as a result, remove common client frictions with business organizations.

Membership of Chambers of Commerce

There are different membership models of chambers of commerce, in the volunteer model of joining chambers of commerce, which is commonly found in the USA, and practiced in many countries of the world, organizations are not under compulsion to register with a chamber. The mode of operation of chambers of commerce differs from that of trade unions, under which registered members are bound in a strict doctrine of operation. In trade union organizations, business organizations and individuals pay certain sums of money as dues to become members, and the members thus expect to reap the benefits of registering.

It is significant to note that in chambers of commerce, it is the organization that is registered as a member and not the employee. A request is then sent to registered organizations to get their top management involved in the operations of the chambers. A business organization has the freedom to belong to as many chambers of commerce as they wish to enhance their market share and organizational connectivity. The number of dues that are paid by a particular company is dependent on the size of the company, and not based on the organizational or company members that are involved with the activities of the chamber.

Service Territory

The geographical location of a chamber of commerce is popularly known as a “Service territory”. The assigning of a service territory is based on political jurisdiction. It is oftentimes distinguished by the catchment area of the members of the organization (chambers). The set up of Borders by organizations is based on official or unofficial understanding (Agir, 45).

Relationships in Chambers of Commerce

The chambers in a particular country are not bound under contractual agreements. There is no contractual agreement existing among the members. The relationship existing among the members of the chambers is informal. And nobody is answerable to the other; the operation of the chambers is based on understanding.

The Structure of Denver Chambers of Commerce

The Denver chambers of commerce carry out their activities as non-profit entities referred to as 501(c) (6) organizations. This co-operation is given the opportunity of standing in for its members in public policy discussions. They negotiate and state their own positions on planned legislation. Regarding public policy issues, sometimes they recommend candidates for assignments (public office). The modes of operations of different chambers of commerce differ with their missions. A chamber of commerce may make arrangements with an organization to provide services to its members at a reduced cost. Commonly, large chamber organizations, like the Denver Chambers of Commerce depend less on the dues collected from its members for operation. Basically, all chambers of commerce have alternative sources of income; mostly realized from their seasonal or annual events.

The Denver Chambers of Commerce and Public Policy

The Denver Chambers of Commerce promotes an optimistic operational environment that is comfortable for the creation of jobs, conducive for business investments, and recreational activities or tourism purposes. These objectives, the Denver Chambers of Commerce go about accomplishing them with the assistance of community-based and business organizations, to enhance the standard of living of the Denver citizens. Below are some of the policy statements of the Denver Chambers of Commerce.

1. The Denver Chambers of Commerce advocates for tax incentives that are strictly anchored on organizational performance and ongoing aggressive scrutiny of such programs, many of which emphasized the realization of economic growth strategies.
2. The Denver Chambers of Commerce encourages financial accountability at all levels of government and it also seeks to do away with the repetition of services and programs.
3. The Denver Chambers of Commerce supports the actualization of government efficiencies, which are realized via mergers.
4. The Denver Chambers of Commerce supports the assessment, and the discretion, of the overall tax scheme impacts.
5. The Denver Chambers of Commerce supports scheduled governmental reviews of the successes of the government and it stands against the creation of new tax schemes that are not in consonance with the reviews.
6. The Denver Chambers of Commerce encourages competition, as an effective method of comparing business organizations to offer clients good service and ground-breaking services.

The Denver Chamber of Commerce and its Effect on public policy

The Denver Chambers of Commerce has in the last few years featured prominently in lending its voice in the state’s major policy formulations and has also succeeded in establishing itself as a most heard voice on policy issues. This, the chamber goes about achieving by formulating strategies to let its members, and those saddled with the responsibility of policy making educated of essential business matters. By utilizing available communication media, especially electronic the chambers publish their view on public debates and send to members and at the same time set up committees that go out and lobby legislators. As a result of the massive campaigns embarked upon by the organization, most of the resulting decisions on public issues are not far from the organizations’ views.

The Effect of Public Policy Contributions on Denver Chambers of Commerce

As a result of the increasing impact of the Denver Chamber of Commerce on public policy discussions, the membership of the organization has increased greatly. This is because of the public trust it has succeeded in gaining over the years. The increase in the membership of the organization has also improved the chamber’s revenue, thus making it easier for the organization to pursue its strategic objectives.

Improved patronage of member business organizations is another important impact the chamber’s contribution to policy issues has created (denverchamber.org).

The Effects on Denver

Adhering to contributions from the Denver Chambers of Commerce, by the lawmakers and public policy formulators has resulted in a thriving and conducive business environment as it is presently observed in the state. The hearts of more investors are being stirred towards Denver, as they currently see it as a city of opportunities.

Conclusion

Chambers of Commerce in general and the Denver Chambers of Commerce in particular, are today seen as veritable tools for the growth of business organizations and society. The importance or impact these organizations have exerted on public policy debates can never be overemphasized. Though the membership of Chambers of commerce is not compulsory, businesses must avail themselves of the opportunity of the benefits derivable as registered members. The Denver Chambers of Commerce has in the last couple of years positioned itself as a un negligible voice in public debates. As a result of the activities of the organization which have impacted positively on the lives of its members and the society, members of the organization now enjoy better patronage from the public, as a sign of the public’s identification with the organizations’ success. It is also noticed that recently most businesses are getting registered with the Denver Chamber of Commerce as a business strategy, to improve their operations. Improved quality of service rendered by business organizations is one important impact of the Denver chamber of commerce that is worth mentioning, and increased accountability on the part of the government. As a result of the activities of the Denver chamber of commerce and similar other organizations, the society or people are now indirectly involved in the decision-making process of government policies that impact directly their lives.

Works Cited

Agir, Martins. Establishment and Operation of a Chambers of Commerce. Cape Town: Aloom, 2002.

Daniel, Jones. The impact of Chambers of Commerce on Public policies. Nairobi: Alam, 1994.

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Web.

Nyagba, Joshua. Chambers of commerce and policy Formulations.Dublin: Menac, 2007.

A major determinant of a country’s position in the global sphere is through its performance in various spheres. Thus, the economic strength of a country indicates how other countries will choose to partner and trade with it, as well as align their political obligations and decisions to reflect the views of their trading partner (Rautava, 2011).

Notably, commerce and trade seem to be the driving forces for countries that want to align with each other politically. Thus, it is possible for a country’s coalition to change depending on their major trading partners.

Both Russia and China were enemies during the cold war (Hsu & Soong, 2014). However, these two countries are now strategic trading partners, with similar political interests of the United Nations Security Council. Similarly, developing African countries rely on China for trade and aid. In fact, China is the biggest trading partner for Africa, making contributions of over 20 billion.

In return, African countries pledge their loyalty to China and support any proposals they make at the United Nations forum. This simply goes to show that trade relationships are the pillar for political alignments.

The United States of America is a country that trades with other nations, given that trade is a critical growing sector of its economy. Notably, the trade industry has shown rapid growth over the years, with the most recent indicators showing that there has been an increase in the sector as government agencies, people, and businesses continue to import goods and services from other countries.

The US takes centre stage in shaping the global economy. The GDP of the Unites States was less than 9% by the year 1959 (Fergusson, 2011). That was the total value of combined imports and exports. The GDP rose by 25% by the year 1957.

Notably, the United States relationship with Canada affects both its trade and foreign policy. In fact, it is highly imperative for Canada to base its foreign policy on the relationship it has with the United States. It is now becoming common knowledge to most Canadians that they are tied to the American “hegemon”, and it is their obligation always to act in support of America (Fergusson, 2011).

One main benefit that Canada derives from its bilateral relationship and alliance with the United States is the guarantee of its national security against the impending global terror threats.

Notably, it is imperative for Canada to stick close to the United States for both domestic and continental security reasons. Thus, over the years, it has been necessary that Canada engages in an intra-alliance liaison with the United States when it comes to military issues.

Notably, the Canadian forces, especially the Navy, act in collaboration the United States’ Army to implement policies that foster seamless integration with the United States’ forces. This behaviour is depicted in how the two countries handle their Gulf operations.

For instance, the Canadian ships can deploy and train with the US battle groups, such that they were the only unit in the world that could seamlessly integrate with the United States’ Navy.

Given this allegiance from Canada, the United States has fostered excellent trade relations with its neighbour over the years. This relationship has, in turn, boosted trade in the region. For instance, the enactment of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that was implemented in the year 1989 showed Canada’s cordial relations with the US.

The trade between the two countries increased as Canada doubled the percentage of the goods and services it traded with the US from 30% in the year 1970 to more than 60% in the 90’s.

Another country that has used commerce to create political alliances is China. China has established relations with various countries for the benefit of its economic and political climate. Among the relationships that China has highly maintained are the African states. In fact, Chinese officials have been active in visiting the African region.

To further improve these relations, China established the China-Africa Business Council (CABC) that was launched in 2005. Its secretariat offices are located in Beijing, with offices in major African countries like Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, and Mozambique. This business council represents a public-private partnership involving the operations of China, the UNDP, and the Chinese government (Sun, 2014).

In 2006, China hosted the largest summit for African countries, with a total of about 48 African leaders with the intention of discussing how the country could improve trade and investment in Africa. It is during this forum that China promised to double its assistance to African countries, with an agreement of about 2 billion dollars signed to foster development in Africa (Chun, 2013).

Other than serving the economic interests of the African countries, its African policy also implies that China gains important allies when it comes to voting in the United Nations. The countries include Sudan, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe, who are obliged to vote in support or line with China at the United Nations’ forum.

Another main partner of China in international trade is Russia. The two countries, China and Russia, are trade partners because they have a similar goal of challenging the United States’ hegemony, despite the past rivalry and differing interests making their relationship a bit complicated. Both Russia and China are common denominators of contemporary geopolitics.

Further, it happens that both Russian and Chinese interests at the United Nations Security Council coincide with each other. Owing to the need for these countries to limit the American power over the globe, China and Russia tend to enjoy excellent trade relationships through which they can exchange the business of hydrocarbons for that of cheap consumer goods. Notably, this commerce and partnership item creates the need to promote an alternative approach to western diplomacy.

Notably, trade between the two countries has considerably increased over the past six years, with the two countries engaging in the biggest gas deal in the previous years (Hsu & Soong, 2014).

In China, a critical trade attraction and political alliance with Russia is based on the need to challenge Washington’s dominant global position. It is assumed that unless China forms a relationship with Russia, it will be unable to shift the world’s position from unipolar to bipolar (Lukin, 2014).

Similarly, Russia shares the same goal of challenging the United States’ homogeny in support of a multipolar world. Resultantly, the two countries, more often than not, find themselves in supporting sides of the United Nations Security Council, where they also wield vetoes as permanent members of the Council (Lukin, 2014).

It is impossible to make any deal on Iran’s nuclear program without the consent of China and Russia, due to the influence of both countries in the United Nations Security Council and the backing that they have for each other. China is interested in Russia’s military artillery, as well as natural resources in exchange for the mutual political alliance that the two countries share.

Other than the nature of the trade and the political alliance, the two countries are not natural partners because Russia has very little to offer in brands and innovations to likely tempt the regular Asian customers (Rautava, 2011).

Thus, even though China and Russia are international trade partners, China is the major trading partner in Russia after the European Union. However, Russia is barely in the list of top ten trading partners of China, as it accounts for only 3% of the total trading volumes in the country (Hsu & Soong, 2014).

Even though there is a minimal contribution of Russia to China regarding trade, both have expressed an interest in weakening the United States’ dollar as the reserve currency. Notably, Russia now takes the Chinese Yuan for oil payments. Further, Russia turned to China for financial assistance following the various sanctions that Russia has received.

In conclusion, commerce and political alliances are tied to each other. The current world order dictates the idea of giving and taking. Thus, countries are looking for political alignments with the countries that are good economic performers, with the hope of improving their standards of living.

In return, countries pledge their allegiance and loyalty in international forums and security matters when supporting major proposals enforced by the trading partners. Such is the relationship that exists between the United States and Canada, China and Africa, as well as China and Russia.

References

Chun, Z. (2013). The Sino-Africa relationship: toward a new strategic partnership. Web.

Fergusson, I. F. (2011). United States-Canada trade and economic relationship: prospects and challenges. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service

Hsu, J. Y., & Soong, J. J. (2014). Development of China-Russia relations (1949-2011) limits, opportunities, and economic ties. Chinese Economy, 47(3), 70-87.

Lukin, A. (2013). Russian-Chinese relations. ISPI Analysis, 167(5), 1-8. Web.

Rautava, J. (2011). Russia’s economic policy and Russia-China economic relations. Helsinki, Finland: Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Sun, Y. (2014). Africa in China’s foreign policy. Web.

The two theories the government relied on are the Congress’ Commerce Clause and the Supremacy Clause. The individual mandate is a legal obligation requiring all people whose incomes surpass 150% of the federal poverty level to purchase health insurance. From the first theory, the Supreme Court established that the mandate was a tax imposed by Congress on people who failed to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Fiedler, 2020). It was argued that the mandate was not a punishment for the failure to purchase the insurance. Under the Supremacy Clause, the Court found that the individual mandate was a levy enacted through a justifiable congressional powers exercise, allowing Congress laws to prevail where the federal and state governments operate dually. Medicaid expansion is a provision in the ACA broadening the eligibility criteria into comprehensive health insurance. The Supreme Court upheld the expansion by establishing its constitutionality as a lawful exercise of Congress’ power to formulate and impose taxes.

The Congress’ act of setting the shared responsibility payment at zero dollars in 2017 has led the Supreme Court to relook at the constitutionality of the ACA. This implies that the individual mandate cannot be deemed a constitutional taxation strategy since the associated financial penalty does not generate any revenue for the federal government. In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law, mainly because of the tax element. In 2017, Congress effectively eliminated the tax component of the law by setting the penalty at zero dollars (LaFontaine et al., 2019). In this regard, the tax aspect of the individual mandate was the law’s lynchpin, and its removal renders the legislation unconstitutional since it can no longer be considered a tax as no revenue is generated. From this dimension, the individual mandate is an indispensable and integral component against which the entire law is anchored. Consequently, if the Supreme Court establishes that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the whole legislation should be invalidated.

The Supreme Court granted an injunction sought by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America against the enforcement of an executive order issued by New York’s Governor. Among the reasons why the judges deemed the restraining orders essential is that the applicants demonstrated the discriminatory and biased nature of the enforcement against religion. For instance, the secular and business establishments considered essential were allowed to admit an unlimited number of people at any given time, while churches and synagogues’ attendance was capped at 10. This means that if the Court did not issue the injunction, the plaintiffs would be disproportionately impacted by the executive order. Additionally, the church’s attendants would suffer irreparable harm as they miss critical traditions requiring personal attendance. As a state officer working for the state, I would recommend the designing and impositions of restrictions that reflected impartiality on businesses and religion. Further, the executive order should be narrowly tailored to mirror the infection patterns in the state without appearing biased against religion.

Although parental consent is essential in most health decisions, an emergency contraception program could succeed without parental involvement. In Carey v. Population Services International, the Supreme Court asserted the constitutional right to privacy for minors seeking to obtain contraceptives (Iles, 2020). This implies that although parental input is desirable, confidentiality is critical, and a school can provide emergency contraception without involving parents. Therefore, the program to avail emergency contraception pills to high school students can go forward without parental consent.

New York City County can pass laws regulating the size of containers used to serve sugary beverages in the city’s restaurants. Notably, the regulation and administration of interstate commercial affairs are reserved for counties and states, while Congress addresses trade between foreign countries and between states. For instance, the determination of such aspects of products as weights and other metrics is within the purview of the state. In this regard, the New York City Council can pass a law that would regulate the size of containers used in serving sugary beverages within the city.

References

Fiedler, M. (2020). The ACA’s individual mandate in retrospect: What did it do, and where do we go from here?. Health Affairs, 39(3), 429−435. Web.

LaFontaine, P. R., Vogenberg, F. R., & Pizzi, L. T. (2019). From then until now: A top-down view of the Affordable Care Act. P & T: A Peer-Reviewed Journal for Formulary Management, 44(8), 467–493.

Iles, S. (2020). Prescription Restriction: Why Birth Control Must Be Over-the-Counter in the United States. Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 26(2), 389−422. Web.

Introduction

In his book, Remix, Lessig portrays the gap between remix technologies virtual minimalism and the copyright law. Lessig emphasis currently is only set for digital media every time an imaginative work is in digital field is utilized, copies are easily enabled through technology. The precise of digital technology and amateur utilization not standardized enough thus its roles gets only limited for professional usage (Lessig 2009).

Lessig maintains that advancement in multi-media sector and knowledge has become the nowadays form of literacy (vernacular of today) thus taking the part of reading and writing. Children who are brought up in places where these technologies have taken every part of life may not understand why “remixing” should be termed illegal. Lessig adds that the amateur progression within the digital period cannot be halted but only put under laws. Thus, the bitter outcome from this knowhow is that the coming children grew up in what they term as “illegal”. That conception has brought social allegations which have gone ahead of copyright wars.

The Cultures of Read Write and Read Only

The culture of read only is described as the culture people take in a submissive manner regardless of the degree of submissiveness. Naturally the analog technology supported the Read Only models of culture’s business, its allocation and the inadequate duty of that to consumers in need (Lessig 2009).

Lessig claims that digital technology does not come with natural analog restraints preceded by it. That is what was once termed illegal and implacable is currently just considered illegal. A good example for this is the iTunes Music store which was guarded by the Digital Rights Management while it offered its digital music.

Currently, the majority of us would never plan our schedules within specific programs because of their online availability even when charged. Lessig illustrates with its Amazon usage that the progression of entertainment and its promotion lays on targeting the customer demands and bringing their preference products.

Unlike the Read Only culture, the Read-Write culture has a mutual linkage between the producer and its consumers. Handling of tasks like songs and perfecting them in confidential circles reviews of ways of Read-Write culture which was taken as a common culture before the coming of reproduction expertise. The immediate following of copyright laws and technologies however altered the flow of popular culture (Carl 1979). This became advanced with people being trained of how to suspend their productions to professionals.

Lessig utilizes blogs to explicate the three levels of that democratization. Blogs have shaped the association towards the stable industry as they permitted the non-professional content (William 2004). The remarks attributes which immediately proceeded offered an opportunity for readers to create a dialogue with the amateur dealers. Hence tagging of the blog users on the content foundation, offered the required layer of the users, the opportunity sort their huge content depending on their interests.

This paper will focus on copyright wars which endangers the survival of certain American industries. Copyright war is significant to a healthy culture since it inspires certain forms of originality. In its absence, there would be a poor culture. When copyright laws are properly balanced, incentives are created and this helps in the production of great new works. However, these wars are not real arguments for survival though considered real for certain businesses. We must therefore ensure that the benefits obtained from this war are more than the costs. These wars however promise authors and artists the protection guaranteed by the copyright system.

The Remix

Lessig argues in nowadays the digital culture has completely filled our lifestyle to a huge extent. This has left to answer the thesis statement “whether it is possible to make Art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy”. For instant, an average teenager can take an hour every weekend day to use the computer for leisure purposes while he spend only 7 minutes reading. Lessig insists that it is still not a surprise to view other creative forms progressively becoming dominant forms of writing. The earlier generations utilized textual quotes to establish on writing whereby nowadays collage or quoting processes have collapsed due to digital media (Lessig 2009).

People have resulted into coming with varying content from several sources to come up with something new. This kind of expression has some power as expressed in Lessig eyes. It is understood that their implications does not come from their content but from their reference which is only realized only when the original gets into utilization (William 2004).

Lessig portrays the remix incident crucial in formation of cultural insight and a significant analysis of advertising and media which influences our daily life. However, as the things are today, the copyright restrictions will bring down the edification which has been put into use in these digital forms of literacy especially within those institutions halt any forms of illegal practices.

Cultures of our Past and Future

It is clear that changes in culture are happening and these changes can’t be evaded. The future will be obviously different from the past and the present therefore not everyone who had a role in the past is guaranteed one in the future. What was once a precious role or well paid career can really just vanish from the landscape.

If consumers of culture can get all the text, music and video they want without having to pay, then a problem arises as to why they should impart money into the cultural economy to pay for those intellectual goods and services. They wonder whether quality is worth paying for and whether what’s available for free is already of sufficient high quality to make it good enough to meet their wants. If these consumers reject spending money on these properties directly, then this leads to decreased chances for creators and conciliators to earn much income.

The trade- off between the past and the future has led to an acute confusion. Nevertheless, there is hope in unexpected synthesis of the past and the present creating a phenomenally more successful future. The future could either be read only or read and write and could see the surfacing of an economic enterprise that has been uncommon in the past.

Profit Making Economies against Sharing Economies

The commercial economy/profit making economy is realized when the products in market are controlled by the market principles. That means both products and services contain a substantial economic importance whether labor or money. This kind of economy has been highly attributed by internet as the gateway in which the business thrives.

This has enhanced the existing economy and more so acted as the foundation in which other several major businesses thrive. This usually favored some businesses by offering a broad range of products which are accommodated in one particular space. Another good example for a successful digital commercial is Google which has come up with its novel values from which other businesses formed.

Similar to commercial economy, the sharing one extend into digital field. Lessig has given a good example of Wikipedia. This is where most of the websites depend on the consumers’ involvement. This ranges creating and editing of its content and no payments are done.

Hybrid

The three kinds of hybrid portrayed by Lessig are are community spaces, collaboration spaces, and communities.

Community Spaces

Lessig cites some of the progressive community spaces which cater for their users requirements. These involve YouTube, Craigslist, Flickr, and Dogster among others. These sites on the other hand respond back to their users through self-regulation and content allocation upon flagging its undesired substance. These sites earn revenue via advertisements though are keen not to interrupt with their users.

Collaboration Spaces

Collaboration spaces work on the same goal of achieving a certain target based on its users’ belief. For instance, the volunteers Usenet users who assist those in need of help technologically by solving computer problems is a good example as given by Lessig. Those contributes are not paid or known through they have a great impact to help other big companies like Microsoft grow. They are not involved in any business apart from sharing their proficiency to help its users.

Within this group, Lessig also informs of the known Heather Lawyer 2000 after the commencing of fan site by teenagers though later threatened for inappropriate utilization of copyrighted substance. Nevertheless, the minimal control of site’s content enables its users to correctly use their content whilst promoting it at no costs.

Communities

Lessig emphasizes that those communities are not established on forfeit but both side of producer and consumer have to gain. Where the parallel economies thrive, Lessig adds that there is not mutual exclusion. Most of the artists, who at first licensed their work with the CC license, enabled them share and remix their task in the time acclaimed (Lessig 2009). This has enabled them to utilize their drive in this visibility and deal with commercial economy.

Lessig cautions that the hybrid economies ought to do well to evade on what he referred as sharecropping, referring to those corporations who compelling the remixer to give up go-ahead to his formation provided they don’t have the entire rights from their components in case they organize to commence their work for business purposes.

Conclusion

Lessig , in his final remarks of “reforming us”, he emphases on the importance of moving forward amidst the ridiculous copyright wars which he insists are not helpful to the coming generations hence the great need of putting some limits to governmental control. Lessig adds that children who grow up in this digital age view these laws as pointless and fraudulent more significantly, trifling when they go on to download and remix regardless of them. Lessig cautions of a bigger trickle-down impact particularly towards the viewing of children’ laws in general. Most of Lessig’s arguments seem to rely on the benevolence of consumers of culture and their reactions towards resourceful people to sustain them directly in their efforts. It is however difficult to convince people to pay for cultural productivity. The music industry is falling down with newspapers taking the lead and the journalism sector as a whole. It seems that people will still pay for exceptional artifacts and skills. The commodity culture industries whose products are easily copied digitally could have a challenge ahead of them. The author of free culture shows how the current copyright system destructs anyone, who produces, takes pleasure in or trades any art form with Lessig arguing that artistic resources should be distributed openly rather than being taken as commodities to be accumulated.

Reforming the Law

Lessig has outlined the 5 steps below that will oust people from unnecessary laws and ensure sound and efficient copyright laws:

• Deregulating Amateur Activities: which simply means allowing of non-commercial activities to take place especially the amateur to utilize their rights given via copyright. More so, this act would enable less control and untie in order to eradicate some of the challenges for corporations’ controlling.
• Issuing of Clear Title; Currently there is no complete registry which is reachable to indicate those who own certain products. More so, Lessig emphasizes of owners/authors having their right to register their works for purpose of extending their copyrights within certain time duration. He insists the change would be significant for digital enhancement in education field.
• Simplifying of Systems; Commenting on his former works, Lessig adds that systems ought to be simplified. For instance, for children complying with the copyright laws ought to comprehend that law.
• Legalization of Copies: The daily activities are supposed to shape on federal controls concerning copyrights which ensures that directive reaches beyond boundaries. Hence the law should be rearticulated to hinder out unnecessary uses in relation to copyright owner’s regulations.
• Legalizing of File Sharing; Lessig suggests that this ought to be done so as to authorize non-commercial file sharing. Another way is by authorizing simple licensing regulations where users for affordable fees ought to buy their right to share their files.

Works Cited

Carl J. Dahl man, “The Problem of Externality,” Journal of Law and Economics 22 (1979): 141.

Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture (New York: Penguin Press, 2004), 3–7.

Lawrence Lessig, “The Regulation of Social Meaning,” University of Chicago Law Review 62 (1995), 943–1045.

Lawrence Lessig, Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy: Penguin Books, 2009.

William W. Fisher Promises to Keep; Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2004.

Protection of Consumer Privacy

The development of new information and communication technologies has had a tremendous impact on individual privacy as well as security. Although previously confined to paper records, personal information ranging from name, address, and telephone number data to sensitive financial, medical, and behavioral information, now exists in electronic form.

Individuals routinely provide their personal details to businesses and employers online or through electronic transactions. In turn, companies use this information for analytics or marketing, and entities share the same information with a wide range of third parties (Horvath et al., 2009).

The ease with which personal information is collected, used, and shared has significant benefits for consumers and businesses. This free flow of information increases convenience, facilitates transactions, enables sophisticated and targeted marketing and assists law enforcement.

These benefits, however, are accompanied with challenges including the potential for a decrease in individual privacy, the possible spread of inaccurate or incomplete information, and the risk of identity theft among other crimes (Pitofsky et al., 1999). Advances in technology have also affected privacy and security in other ways. In particular, the Internet has made personal computers a gateway to an entire world of information.

Key Developments in Privacy Protection

The primary catalyst leading to policy discussions about information privacy protection has been technological change (Rule & Greenleaf, 2008).

From the computerization of large data sets in the 1960s to computerized processing of all records in the 1970s to computerized searching of record systems in the 1980s to the online linkages and searching capabilities of the 1990s, information and communication technologies have provided the foundation for concerns about consumer privacy protection.

However, this is not to say that other factors, most notably political events, interest groups, policy ideas, political climate, constitutional issues, and transnational activities have not played important roles in the development of consumer privacy protection.

However, the initial trigger placing information privacy on the policy agenda has been and is likely to continue to be, technological change. Once on the agenda, privacy issues generally occupy a relatively low position until other forces or events help to elevate public interest (Rule & Greenleaf, 2008).

Implementation

In general, federal and state laws require entities to gather personal information about consumers to provide notice about how they collect, use, disclose, provide access to, and protect that information. Apparently, privacy policies are the most common vehicles for providing such notice.

Many laws exist that require entities collecting personal information to post privacy policies in certain contexts. Most notably, California law requires any commercial Web site that collects information through the Internet to conspicuously post a privacy policy statement that meets several criteria (Pitofsky et al., 1999). Federal law on the other hand requires financial institutions to have privacy policies on their Web sites.

Under California law, the privacy policy itself or a hyperlink to the privacy policy must be visible on the home page of a Web site. If a hyperlink is used, it must be prominently displayed. Text links to the privacy policy should be displayed in a manner that a reasonable person would easily notice. In short, the format and content of the privacy policy generally should be easy for a reasonable consumer to understand.

Privacy policies should disclose what personal information is collected from consumers. California law requires Web site operators to identify the categories of personal information that the operator should collect. Other countries have similar requirements, suggesting that the failure to notify consumers about the collection of personal information is an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

For example, in 2002, Amazon entered into an agreement that required it to amend its privacy policy. Bound by the agreement Amazon was to specify to consumers exactly what personal information was to be gathered (Rule & Greenleaf, 2008).

References

Horvath, A., Horvath, A., Calkins, S., Villafranco, J., & Calkins, S. (2009).Consumer Protection Law Developments. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association.

Pitofsky, R., Anthony, S., Thompson, M. W., Swindle, O., & Leary, T. B. (1999). Protecting Consumers Online: A Federal Trade Commission Report on the First Five Years of Its Internet Law Enforcement Program. Darby, PA: DIANE Publishing.

Rule, J. B., & Greenleaf, G. W. (2008). Global Privacy Protection: The First Generation. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.