Category: Information Technology

Introduction

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) has had a great impact in the way business is conducted in the modern world. Several companies have incorporated technology in their operational and strategic management. Areas among others in which information technology is deployed to increase employees competency and productivity include: staffing systems, career development systems, and training systems.

When companies employ electronic transactions in their daily operations, the business becomes E-commerce. Internet availability is sometimes a basic requisite for the incorporation of Information Technology (IT) in business. Components of this kind of business include online payment for goods and services and extranet network systems among others. Although IT is not a replacement to historical conventional manual trading, it is actually of immense benefit to firms that undertake to implement it. The initial cost of IT infrastructure installations is costly, but the benefits outweigh the investment cost and improve businesses.

Information Technology and employee productivity

Several firms of all levels still depend on communication channels such as emails and voice mails to distribute information.MS Word documents, spreadsheets, presentation and various other unstructured ways of communication are common occurrences in business settings. The forms lack coherent structured systems to enable archiving and compilation of resulting materials from the teams input (Antbony & Morton, 1971. p.63).

In essence once a document is circulated, the dispatcher has to typically wait for response from the various concerned personnel. In the meantime, some details that are fundamental to the concern issue come in late or never arrive at all. The author therefore has to compare the limited information received and ultimately compile another document which is then re-sent and the cycle begins again. Several important comments end up being made outside the documents and never find their way into the actual drafts. The consequence is wasted effort by the author, data resources that no one can cross reference and knowledge drain of the circulators and coordinators of the compilation system (Coghil & Laudon, 1997).

Several Web applications such as intranets, extranets and many more others efficiently curtail these set backs. In general, the applications provide one single source-repository for all the data. Company wide access to the information requires a degree of authorization that depends on several factors such as seniority in the company. The systems ease global updating of information and provide fast and efficient means of increasing productivity. Incorporation of IT in management of firms leads to: Availability, scalability, capacity planning, reliability, performance and flexibility (Cummings, et al. 2006).

Staffing systems

Every organization tries to equip itself with the best staff possible. This however is a challenging issue in both local and international organization. Global staffing is a sensitive aspect of human resources management that a company needs to be well vast in for effective operations (Pucik, 1996, p. 76). For multinationals, employees may be expatriates, host-country nationals, or third-county national.

Information Technology helps human resource departments of organisations in several aspects related to staffing. To begin with management of staff timing like physical monitoring of when staff comes in and out is easily done by security cards which are used to open doors and at the same time record the entry or the exit. IT assists in running of organisations. When services are automated, the need for human capital becomes redundant to a large margin.

The initial cost of automation may be high, but maintenance of machines is way easier than retaining employees. For instance the current healthcare problems associated with inadequate number of nurses in the United States can be significantly reduced by incorporating IT into the system. Clerical work and other tasks can be automated leaving practitioners with ample time to attend to patients needs.

Mistakes associated with human beings like negligence are also reduced. Staffing shortages can therefore be reduced through information technology. For multinationals operating in global scale, IT provides maintenance of personnel track records in a manageable manner from a centralized headquater eliminating the difficulty that international mangers would have to face in keeping the records manual hence increasing competency.

IT gives the service industry a chance to serve customers for longer hours. A common notable example is in the banking sector. Conventional manual service to customers does end with the close of business hours but through Automated Teller Machines, customers are still able to enjoy services such withdrawal of cash. Longer service hours translate to more transactions and revenue in addition to customer satisfaction. This significantly increases productivity (Efraim, and Wetherbe, 1996).

Career development and training systems

Career development goes hand in hand with training in the Information Technology sector. This is not only due to constant innovations in the industry but also the numerous challenges that require solutions through information technology. Flexibility is important in ensuring IT employees are up to date with emerging new trends in the sector.

Business that incorporates Information Technology in their operations should be ready to employ IT technicians and constantly upgrade their knowledge in the trade for them to serve the company better and experience career growth. This is through acquisition and development of new skills. In the IT industry, it is common for a good product to be in the market for only a short period of time and get surpassed by an even better one.

If the companys basis for using Information Technology is to gain a competitive edge in the market and provide better services, then it has to adjust to using the new product. This means that the concern employees in the IT sector must clearly understand the operation of the particular product. The company therefore needs to have a structure for reinvesting in employees to continuously acquire the necessary skills in order to perform better.

This is done through retraining of the employees which could be in the form of seminars, scholarships to an academic institution, industrial arrangements with the manufacturers of the products, or on job training among others. Evaluation should be done to ascertain which of the prospective options is most viable for the company by considering factors such as cost, benefits to the company, and impact of employees absence. A good investment on Information Technology greatly gives a competitive edge in running of firms increasing efficiency, competency, and performance (Morton, and Lester, 1990).

Conclusion

Technology has not made communication cheaper but has made it way quicker creating a global village which eases decision making and running of organisations. The expensive nature of installing Information technology infrastructure and security risks associated with centralization of information which can easily be accessed are but some of the downsides of IT. All in all, IT boosts employees productivity, improves staffing systems, and ensures career development and training for staff. These benefits greatly develop firms and increase their efficiency in operation amounting to higher competency and productivity.

Reference List

Antbony, G.G. & Morton, S. S. (1971). A framework for management information systems. Sloan Management Review, 13 (Fall), 55-70.

Coghil, K. & Laudon , J. P. (1997). Management Information Systems: New Approaches to Organization and Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cummings,D. et al. (2006). In Management Information Systems for the Information Age. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Efraim, T. & Wetherbe, E. R.(1996). Information Technology for Management: Improving Quality and Productivity. New York: John Wiley.

Morton, S. M. & Lester C. (1990). Thurow, Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. London: Oxford University Press.

Pucik, V. (1996). Human Resources in the future: An Obstacle of a champion of Globalization?. CAHRS Working Paper Series. Web.

The rapid development of technology should first be introduced into the most critical areas of science and infrastructure. Introducing IT in the healthcare sector can improve quality and significantly speed up work. However, the benefits are not limited to stakeholders solely on the part of employees and patients interacting with them. Their positive impact affects the entire vertical of medical personnel to optimize critical processes, and other service users will be able to save time and be more confident in the quality of treatment.

Regarding interaction opportunities, it is worth mentioning technologies that provide proactive control of potential diseases at the level of entire communities. This approach is one of the most promising, solving the problems of lack of medical personnel, overcrowding of hospitals, and the frequency of visits to such institutions. Persuasive technology, one such technique, can be implemented as a mobile application for health behavior promotion or as companion software for health monitoring devices (Orji and Moffatt 66-68). As a result, access to this technology significantly increases awareness among the population on issues of interest to them, reducing the burden on hospitals. In addition, medical personnel get the opportunity to interact with a large group of people at the level of society, constantly updating and improving information. Finally, directly in the clinics in the hands of the patient, it is possible to monitor health indicators in a convenient format independently. Research shows the positive impact of this approach in most cases (Orji and Moffatt 77). As a result, this knowledge can become the foundation for implementing technologies on a larger scale.

However, patients only sometimes need proactive monitoring  in many cases, the diseases are widespread, requiring a different assessment. A striking example is type 2 diabetes, which has a broad negative impact on the human body without a proper and constant assessment of the situation and condition. If many people know the need to control such things as blood sugar levels, body weight, proper nutrition, and much more, then there were no mechanisms for adapting this knowledge and implementing it in real life for a long time. The development of mobile technologies has made it possible to obtain educational and organizational information regarding specific diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes, in a highly convenient and accessible format (Shan et al. 878-879). A simple notification on a smartphone at the right time can already protect against the consequences of the rapid development of the negative impact of the disease on the body. Synchronization and record keeping of analyzes can visualize personal information and systematize it for convenient handling when working with a qualified specialist.

Nevertheless, modern challenges give new impetus to the creation of relevant developments in technology and medicine. The pandemic has created many problems, and psychological problems have begun to develop on a large scale. Through such channels of interaction, such as mobile applications, social networks, and others, there is a positive trend in the fight against ailments (Figueroa and Aguilera 5). Thus, the burden on medical institutions is reduced, and the pure awareness of the population is increased, which positively affects the medical services system, making a step towards telemedicine.

Consequently, it can be concluded that technologies improve medicine, which is most clearly seen in the benefits to stakeholders. Patients and people, in general, receive convenient tools for monitoring their health, nurses and doctors receive optimization of specific processes within institutions, and managers develop prospects for the development of sciences related to technology for better analysis. Information and the mechanisms of its high-quality processing become the critical aspect that contributes to the development of this direction.

Works Cited

Figueroa, Caroline A., and Adrian Aguilera. The Need for a Mental Health Technology Revolution in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 11, no. 523, 2020, pp. 1-5.

Orji, Rita, and Karyn Moffatt. Persuasive Technology for Health and Wellness: State-of-the-Art and Emerging Trends. Health Informatics Journal, vol. 24, no.1, 2018, pp. 66-91.

Shan, Rongzi, et al. Digital Health Technology and Mobile Devices for the Management of Diabetes Mellitus: State of the Art. Diabetologia, vol. 62, no. 6, 2019, pp. 877-887.

The primary goal of this document is to delineate the information and communication technology (ICT) procedures of the healthcare setting as well as the framework for communicating, reinforcing, and implementing these policies. The hospital consists of approximately 150 employees, including healthcare practitioners, ancillary workers, the administrative unit, and IT workers. This policy document has been created to establish and support the minimal requirements deemed essential in safeguarding assets, including data, against improper disclosure, unintentional or unauthorized access, destruction, modification, and unavailability. This will be done to uphold the sensitivity, value, and criticality of the hospitals operations and the safety of its clients.

The assets protected under these guidelines include software, hardware, and data, including populace and patient health information (PHI). The stipulations contained in this document apply to all employees as well as contractors and vendors working in partnership with the healthcare setting or those who access the institutions computing platforms remotely. By developing a practical and feasible policy system and using the recommended policy establishment procedure, the hospital aims to gain significant volitional compliance.

Policy Orientation

Vision

To implement sophisticated decisions promptly with feasible security procedures for safeguarding PHI and health systems.

Mission

The policys mission is to surpass expectations in the application and adherence to the hospitals internal security merits. We intend to provide quality protection to our clients by offering reliable healthcare services without subjecting them and the organization to cyber-related security threats.

Policy Objectives

• To offer users appropriate guidance regarding the utilization of various data and its associated assets within the healthcare setting.
• To foster the implementation of proper data security management systems in the healthcare facility with clearly established responsibilities and roles.
• To reinforce the adequate protection of the institutions data assets and avoid infringements of any contractual, regulatory, statutory, and legislative obligations.
• To ensure that the healthcare facilitys employees comprehend their duties, they fit in their assigned roles, and to minimize threats linked to the misuse of resources, fraud, and human error.

To promote the secure dissemination, storage, and processing of health data through proper planning, network management, media handling, change management, backups, and operating processes.

Acceptable Use

Password Use

• Users will not reserve password copies in any electronic or written form. However, passwords of essential accounts may be saved securely.
• Users may modify passwords in instances where there is evidence of potential password or system compromise.
• Users are required to modify passwords at a 90-day regular interim or according to the periods accessed.
• Users will adjust interim passwords upon the initial login.
• It is recommended that users do not include passwords in automated login procedures.
• Users are warned against sharing their passwords with other individuals.
• Users must ensure that they have no audience when entering their respective passwords.

Password Construction

• Users will select passwords that are hard to guess but easy to recall. The chosen password should consist of eight characters as the minimum length and constitute a blend of numerals, capital letters, and unique characters (! @ #).
• Do not utilize number or word patterns or sequences such as 122333411 or aabbcc.
• A users workplace password should not be similar to their non-work-related passwords.

Anti-Virus

• Anti-virus will be installed on all laptops and workstations; it should be running and be updated regularly. A corporate anti-virus will be installed across the healthcare settings appropriate electronic devices.
• All hosts utilized by employees and connected to the hospitals Extranet/Intranet/Internet, irrespective of their ownership, must have the sanctioned virus-scanning software with an up-to-date virus database, except in instances where the gadget has been overridden by group or departmental policy.
• Users are warned against modifying the anti-virus settings.
• Users are advised against disabling or changing the anti-virus agent or its delineated settings upon installation.
• Users should not interrupt the automatic virus scan programmed on their desktop.
• Any virus detected by users should be reported to the reporting head or manager in their specific units, as per the required protocol or in the System-to-System Administrators.
• Extreme caution should be observed when accessing email attachments from unidentified senders that could contain Trojan horse codes, email bombs, or viruses.

Internet Usage

Users will not access or use the Internet for non-official purposes. Personal internet usage shall be limited to news, knowledge, and educational sites. Visiting unethical, offensive, and non-business sites which contravene security policies shall be strictly avoided.

Users will not utilize Internet facilities to:

• Disseminate or download malicious tools or software or intentionally spread any virus.
• Infringe any license or copyright agreement by distributing or downloading safeguarded material.
• Upload data, software, or files belonging to the hospital to any website on the Internet without the consent of the organization.
• Share any sensitive or confidential hospital information with any website on the Internet unless sanctioned by management or superiors.
• Post any hospital propriety data online, share bulletin boards, newsrooms, public forums, or Briefcase/drives. This is strictly proscribed. Any contravention will be liable for disciplinary actions, including lawful consequences.
• In case of Internet access misuse, the responsible users Internet access shall be terminated by sanctioned personnel and disciplinary actions taken.
• Users shall ensure that security on the Internet browser is activated or enabled according to these guidelines: 1. Browsers must be configured not to remember passwords of web applications, and 2. Browser security settings should be set to medium.
• The hospital reserves the entitlement to review and track users Internet usage to ensure policy compliance. Monitoring will be sanctioned by the IT Security Officer.

Email Usage

• An email is a communication tool for business operations, and users should utilize this tool in a lawful, effective, and responsible manner.
• Users must adhere to the hospitals email policy regarding effective and proper email utilization.
• Users will archive their emails regularly and safeguard their accounts on the hospitals server using strong passwords and will not communicate their passwords to any other individual.
• Users are required to report all suspicious security issues or vulnerabilities noticeable within their email system promptly and to the appointed system administrators.
• The hospital has the right to disclose, intercept, or help in disclosing or intercepting conversations via email to ensure users abide by the organizations policies.
• Users are required strictly use only email accounts provided by the hospital to convey official information.
• Users will avoid the forging or unsanctioned utilization of email header data.
• The healthcare facility reserves the authority to track email messages.

Cloud-based Database Storage

The access to the hospitals cloud-based data storage system shall not be accessed for the purpose of health information exchange, manipulation, and storage, without the IT security managers consent.

Data Management and Security Personnel

The Commitment of the Management to Data Security

• The hospital shall develop an IT security monitoring forum (ITSMF) comprising senior administrative or leadership representatives from various units and functions.
• The ITSMF team will review the hospitals IT security policies quarterly or as needed, and the meetings minutes will be recorded and preserved appropriately.
• ITSMF conclaves shall be conducted twice annually to review the appropriateness of the data security policy implementation.
• ITSMF will ensure the adequate or sufficient allocation of resources for data security projects.
• The ITSMF will create an IT security implementation team to aid in the application of these procedures.
• In collaboration with the IT security officer, the ITSMF will oversee the maintenance and implementation of IT security controls and policy implementation.
• ITSMF gatherings will be held quarterly to facilitate the reviewing and assessment of IT security cases and endorse effective preventive or corrective actions.
• The ITSMF group shall employ strategies that facilitate regular data security training, education, and awareness among workers within the healthcare setting.

Designation of IT Security Roles

• The ITSMF team will be tasked with assigning data security responsibilities and roles. The hospitals IT security manager will coordinate and oversee all data security operations within the healthcare setting.
• The IT security officer will be tasked with preparing, disseminating, and maintaining IT-related procedures and pertinent policies. He/she shall ensure that all business processes assets are recorded with a distinguished owner.
• The IT security manager, in coordination with asset owners, will be tasked with distinguishing and evaluating asset-related risks at least once annually.
• The HIT unit shall sanction the acquisition of brand-new data processing equipment.
• The management unit heads, in coordination, will authorize software and hardware following the assessment of their compatibility or congruence with other pre-existing systems and security control requirements.
• The legal units approval will be crucial in the acquisition procedure to facilitate compliance with statutory requirements for new IT processing equipment.
• The IT security officer will sanction the utilization of privately or individually-owned data processing tools for processing the organizations business data.

Confidentiality Treaties

• The HIT and human resource (HR) team will create confidentiality consent forms.
• The HR manager will oversee the signing of confidentiality treaties by third-party institutions and workers prior to allowing access to sensitive data or pertinent data processing equipment.
• The head of the hospitals legal unit will ensure the on-disclosure and confidentiality consents conform to all applicable legislation, e.g., the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) (Health information privacy, 2018).

The Protection of Pertinent Software and Hardware

Network Security Management

• Networks will be controlled and managed adequately to ensure that they are safe from threats and to reinforce the safety of applications and systems utilizing the network, including data in transit.
• General network activities management will be distinctly allocated to an individual. The duty for executing specific tasks will be allotted to individuals capable of performing them adequately.
• The likelihood of staff interfering with the networks operation by malicious intent or error will be minimized by separating the responsibilities of team members operating the network, ensuring that all employees sign confidentiality and non-disclosure treaties, and organizing tasks to reduce the possibility of unsanctioned data modification, error, fraud, or theft.

Network Service Security

• The IT security manager will oversee the implementation of adequate technology controls while acquiring network and security services from pertinent service providers.
• The IT security manager will ensure that these controls conform to the data availability, integrity, and confidentiality stipulations during information transmission between the service provider and client.
• The IT security manager will also oversee the signing of operational level agreements by units providing security and network services.
• The IT security officer will track the services offered by these departments regularly. Preventive and corrective actions will be conducted to ensure these units are as stipulated in the agreement.

Data Exchange Guidelines and Policies

• Effective controls will be applied to safeguard against malicious codes during electronic data transmission.
• Approaches such as the use of passwords or encryption will be used to protect classified or sensitive information, particularly when being dispatched as an attachment via email. HIT systems and email messaging will be safeguarded adequately, as per their vulnerabilities.
• Disposal procedures will be applied during the destruction of sensitive data.

End-users are advised not to:

• leave classified data unattended at printers and scanners.
• Auto-forward emails, especially to external ids.
• Disclose classified information and answering gadgets.

Wireless Communication

• Testing of wireless routers will be done before their selection.
• WAP (Wireless Access Point) within the hospitals networks will not be utilized by third parties unless necessary and following the authorization by the IT security manager.
• All wireless network access will be reinforced with a robust authentication approach to intercept unsanctioned users.
• The configuration of the wireless devices SSID will be done to ensure that it does not indicate or contain any data regarding the healthcare setting, its personnel, and units.
• Due to WAP and WEPs vulnerability, they shall not be utilized for wireless operations or deployments. Instead, the use of WAP2 enhanced with EAP-TLS is recommended.
• In-depth security evaluations of wireless connections will be conducted at random and regular intervals.
• The access password for the WAP shall be modified periodically within a three-month period.

Compliance

Compliance with Regulatory Requirements

• In coordination with the legal unit, the IT security manager will distinguish and document all pertinent contractual, regulatory, and statutory requirements, for instance, the HIPAA and HITECH, relevant to the healthcare settings practice.
• The above-mentioned personnel will be responsible for distinguishing controls to be applied to help the hospital meet the applicable legislative expectations.
• The IT security manager will record all duties required during control implementation to ensure they meet relevant legislative stipulations.
• The HIT department will ensure that all pertinent software is licensed and purchased from credible vendors.
• Annual training on intellectual property rights (IPR) shall be organized and conducted under the guidance of the IT security manager.
• The installation or downloading of pirated software belonging to third parties using the hospitals systems is strictly proscribed.
• The IT security manager will delineate appropriate procedures for maintaining a precise monitoring approach for all licenses during software disposal or transfer (Mbonihankuye et al., 2019).
• The IT security manager will distinguish and record all files that should be maintained to ensure conformity with legal requirements, identify the documentations retention period, and employ protection measures to safeguard the documents availability, integrity, and confidentiality.
• The IT security head will initiate technical and policy compliance reviews annually and quarterly, respectively.

N/B: Non-compliance will be liable for disciplinary actions, including legal consequences and the termination of user access and employment contract.

Independent Data Security Review

• The organization will perform an independent implementation review of these policies annually.
• The IT security manager will ensure improvement recommendations are implemented within a one-month period where feasible.
• The IT security manager will ensure the independent review outcomes are addressed during the ISMF gatherings and the records of these conclaves are maintained.

Data System Control Audits

• Audit exercises, including external audits within the hospital, will be conducted regularly, i.e., annually.
• The IT security head will document and convey pertinent audit requirements to the appropriate units before the audits initiation. He shall also seek managements approval.
• The audit group will have read-only access to audited data and software. This activity (auditing) shall be conducted in the presence of an IT team member.

Evaluation and Monitoring

The healthcare settings senior managers and relevant IT security personnel will oversee the policys implementation, tracking, and evaluation to ensure the protection of data resources against unsanctioned disclosure, destruction, modification, and access.

Works Cited

Health Information Privacy Law and Policy. HealthIT. 2018. Web.

Mbonihankuye, Scholas et al. Healthcare Data Security Technology: HIPAA Compliance. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, vol. 2019, pp. 17. Web.

Introduction

The past and current education systems have faced criticism for their lack of ability to engage students in the classroom. This presents a challenge to teachers and -educators. Teachers have been turned to a narrator while the students have been turned to be listening objects. This severs the essence of learning as it is curtailed by memorization of knowledge rather than understanding. The students in turn become bored as the teacher becomes more puzzled as to why the students are not interested in learning. We may first start by introducing the concept of Ning. The importance of education is to pass lifelong knowledge and skills to students through engaging them in the teaching process. Dialogue in and outside the classroom can keep students interested in a particular subject even when outside the confines of the class and without the restriction of the teacher. This leads to a better understanding between the teacher and the student (Wells, 2007).

It is this learning environment that has brought forth the inculcation of the Ning network which is described as a platform that enables the formation and creation of ones social network. Ning first appeared in 2005 but was later initiated officially in 2007. The impacts of the technological advancement in such social networks have seen the lifestyle of many people in terms of information seeking in different fields such as education, dating, and career searching change in a big way. Nowadays people are able to get valuable information through social sites and spread them to other people who may require them and find good use of them. There are however a number of negative factors that are associated with social websites, misuse of other peoples personal information, and malicious attacks of innocent victims. a social network is a form of social structure made up of nodes which can be individuals or entities which are tied up in different interaction levels ranging from families and close friends to sovereign nations worldwide. Technology has made it possible for a word-wide network to be possible through interactive websites enabling instant messaging and emails. Users can also create their profile which are times broken down into categories which are internal social network (ISN) and external social network (ESN) (Brewster, 2009).

Despite the discouragement of usage of social networks in academic institutions, statistics have shown that most students discuss educational information while using such sites. It has been found that exchanges of education useful information that are important are shared through social sites such as MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. A person seeking higher education can also get relevant information and details from such sites through consultations. Most people are willing to offer their assistance and directions to such users.

There are several preferences that a user can opt-in to. The first option is where the client or user may decide to be offered the service for free but with the surety that his/her account can use for push advertisement by the people owning Ning. The second option is where the user may decide to pay Ning services in exchange to control the adverts running on their pages. The fee imposed is mainly paid every month.

Users

Ning has a wide variety of users who range from individuals to multinational co-operations that could be seeking newer and faster ways for their employees to engage and share knowledge. Ning network is not only restricted to schools and institutions but can also be used by families to connect with each other. Educators have also used the technology for the expansion of ideas related to curriculum development. Ning can comprise of forums, videos, pictures, and chat capabilities that assist students and teachers to discuss and portray in real-time. Another advantage that the technology introduces is that it is accessible to everyone provided that they have access to the internet. Class projects can be organized with the teacher having prior knowledge of opinions on what the students know about the subject. A Ning network enables teachers to further continue and offer more time to students even after class. Time in the classroom is always insufficient for the teacher to satisfy the needs of each and every student in the class. Through Ning network, discussion on the topic can be expanded outside class with the assistance of blogs and discussion boards.

Adoption of the Ning network

Various platforms can be used for the growth of education in the classroom. Ning network was first implemented for educational purposes in 2005, shortly after it was introduced by cofounders, Marc Andreesen and Gina Bianchini. Ning is a Chinese word that stands for peace. Ning offers features that allow educators to form their own social networks. These networks can be centered on particular interests with each displaying specific designs. The adoption of Ning and other forms of social media for teaching students is a new idea that has not been fully embraced by all schools as various barriers need to be overcome in the school setting. These barriers are manifested through a lack of computer resources in schools and also a lack of specialized personnel who are equipped with relevant knowledge on social networking.

This new phenomenon calls for the need for teachers, students, and administrators to collaborate and share knowledge. This will result in advancing education and the development of a curriculum that is engaging as opposed to the current system which lets the teacher dominate the learning process hence leading to a passive student.

Rationale for research

The current educational system has been hindered by the lack of engaging nature that it provides to students and the net effect that it has on the teachers. A Ning network enables teachers and students to share knowledge freely without the constraints of time and space. Through the use of the web, learning is becoming more and more attractive to the students. Social networking sites have been used in the past to create friendships on the positive side and negatively been used by others to spread rumors and gossips. When social networking tools are used for education, they become tools and engines for growth within the educational sector. Educational networks are utilized to create and engage the learning community to dialogue with each other hence leading to the participation of more people in the learning process.

Questions for Research

The most basic question the research will dwell on is the use of Ning in our schools and how it can successfully integrate both the inputs of students and teachers to come up with a better educational framework.

Definitions

E-Learning: In the earlier periods, e-learning has thrived in the educational arena.

Many individuals use online education for the reason that it is convenient, as teachers and students can log into their courses through the net from anywhere. All they have to have is a computer or internet connection (Risham, 2010). E-learning presents prospects for adults with diverse learning methods to take part in different actions that contain those learning methods. It is suitable for students and educators as they are able to access information from different geographical sites and time zones. This cultivates research and writing skills among the students as contact between the teachers and their class is maintained through written communication. This ends up being the main mode of communication.

Apart from educational institutions, organizations began to inspect the utilization of e-learning apparatus in the facilitation of day-to-day operations. The alteration in platforms from Web 1.0, to Web 2.0, which is better in terms of technology and much savvier adaptation of the internet, made this achievable. Instead of still pages that basically disclose information, Web 2.0 permits individuals to relate with the information and this comprises tools such as blogs and educational networks such as social networking sites.

Knowledge management

Knowledge management is defined as the management of human knowledge in institutions through the collection, synthesis, and dissemination of knowledge in a well-organized and functional manner. Knowledge management entails making people think of the knowledge in their hands and the capture of this knowledge in a selected location, and later disseminating it to the right people (Robin, 2004).

Collection of knowledge is much simpler than in earlier periods, given the development of technology and the web. The difficulty comes in classification to make sense to a larger group. The next difficulty exists in sharing knowledge with others in a manner that is searchable and can equal the correct knowledge to the right people. An institution must join the individuals who require the knowledge with those who contain it.

Knowledge management delivers the knowledge to students heads, and social networking apparatus is a way to collect this knowledge. Educational networks such as Ning could then take this information from one individuals head and transform it into a form that other students can utilize Research has shown that knowledge is the application of facts to solve problems that could be hindering a person. Knowledge is often described as an infinite asset because it is the only asset that increases when it is shared. It is also described as the information received and applied in the performance of activities. In addition, knowledge is related to the experiences of people in organizations and societies. Many scholars and researchers have forwarded the concept of knowledge as a resource and an intangible asset and forms part of the so-called intellectual capital of an organization. To fully understand how knowledge-based value creation works, an understanding by management on what it is and how it relates to the competence of the firm is crucial. Most times it is information combined with understanding and capability. It lives in the minds of people and is based on individual experiences, beliefs and expectations.

Scholars have often put it that knowledge provides a level of repeatability, reliability, or predictability that usually stems from the recognition of patterns. For example, an astute executive knows the significance of the dollar figures on his /her companys income statement and this makes him/her capable of taking positive action. It also guides action, whereas data and information can merely inform or confuse. Knowledge is the product of individual and collective learning which is embodied in products, services and systems (Bontis, 2002).

Social networking: These are defined as web-based services that permit people to either build a public or semi-public profile inside an enclosed system. These services are able to express a catalog of other individuals with whom they have a link. These profiles can also be seen and list traversed.

Educational Networks: These are user-friendly, user-generated settings. They are also a media used to advance partnership and cooperation; all these are needed in a truly educational environment, be it a classroom, boardroom, or an online discussion board. These abilities can be improved in an educational environment that uses educational networking.

Educational networks are able to sustain social networking and project-based education methods where educators and students can contribute in different capacities. This type of education is referred to as social learning (Foss, 2004).

Literature Review

As espoused by Hargadon, Steve in his article, Educational networking: The role of web 2.0 in Education. The internet has revolutionized the way businesses and organizations are run and this also applies to education as we are now seeing more and more cases of educational networks being applied in schools and other institutions of higher learning. Software developers are coming up with more innovative means for educators to pass on their lessons and knowledge without the constraint of both time and location to students. The students on the other hand can be able to discuss and generate dialogue with their counterparts on how best to solve problems that may afflict them. The first step towards the creation of educational networks was to make sure knowledge was accessible to everyone at all times. A school can decide to incorporate an intranet that will be used in the storage and display of information such as documents, forms, charts, and graphs, pictures & scanned images, databases & corporate and organizational calendars. The intranet can be commissioned by the school and can contain relatively static information, somewhat dynamic information, and highly dynamic information. Within the relatively static information are benefits descriptions, policies and procedures, forms, school charts, newsletters, document templates, facility locations & maps, and minutes of meetings. Some of the dynamic information listed on the organizations intranet includes phone listings, internal job listings, project data, including their summaries and schedules. Highly dynamic information on the website incorporated daily news, corporate contacts, individual student data, email address listings, school calendar.

Using Educational Networks to integrate knowledge management and Learning

Associations formed to link social networking tools to educational institutions and organizations are increasing. The drift in telecommuting and virtual classes has alienated students and reduced chances for unofficial face-to-face knowledge exchange sessions. This challenge has led to schools and institutional organizations finding ways in which students and educators can share knowledge and connect the tools to existing educational programs. Educational networking tools such as Ning and Classroom 2.0 tools can bring individuals as one to share, and capture the knowledge transfers (Kotelnikov, 2010).

Developing an Educational Networking tool for Education

STEPS

1. Letting people appreciate the school as a knowledge market. This includes the creation of a place where knowledge is created continuously as people learn and gain experiences. This includes activities such as where people continuously seek information and knowledge in order to solve specific problems. Knowledge moves through organizations is exchanged bought, forgotten, lost found, generated, and applied to work. Hence need to create effective enabling conditions and market mechanisms for generating and exchanging information.
2. The school should be able to create an enabling condition for knowledge markets example the provision of physical infrastructure, I.T, strategic visions, objectives values incentives, and attitudes, and relationships (Foss, 2008).
3. Principles and rules of knowledge market: Knowledge markets only work if some basic rules and guiding principles are respected e.g. common interest principle and using the lighthouse principle (getting a mentor or give and take principle.
4. Knowledge media: Media through which knowledge in school is identified, transferred shared, generated e.g. yellow pages.
5. Knowledge Maps and skills profiles: This will involve the school developing skills profiles and by determining the jobs positions and for each position, determine the roles of people and competence. The school can go further by contributing to the staffing of projects. The management of the school can come up with a method of Collective memory example databases, groupware applications (software that enables users to work collaboratively on projects via network); capture and retrieve systems for relevant knowledge, codified and described in handbooks, manuals, process descriptions, project files, etc. Gatherings and meetings of practice-bringing experts log will be informally bound log by stored expertise.
6. Knowledge Infrastructure (Tools): With assistance from the Information technology department, tools to support knowledge sharing can be designed to support knowledge media. They can include I.T Infrastructure and applications. The infrastructure can be based on Intranets and web-based software. Infrastructure could also consist of physical as well as communication (Foss, 2008).
7. Implementation paths for Knowledge Management: At this stage, we may ask ourselves, which one for Cleveland School? This answer can be answered through many facets ranging from Information management to Knowledge management. We can start with I.T systems and specific applications e.g. databases, yellow pages, discussions panels. This can be followed by knowledge managers as change accounts- designate a knowledge manager to be responsible for knowledge creation and transfer. A problem-oriented path can be followed where solutions are triggered by a need, or knowledge management initiatives within the school can be initiated by creating teams with common interests this is best implemented using a top-down approach. Whereby knowledge management is initiated by School by corporate management

Benefits of Educational Networks

Almost all educational analysts and participants concur that incorporating social

Networks into official educational strategies signify major reforms in the way schools and other institutions of higher learning have coached and developed skills. Although social learning is not able to swap officially with e-learning, there are still some requirements that need to be fulfilled in order for structured education to distribute content, gauge performance and follow compliance. However educational networking can be utilized to amass knowledge and information to integrate into e-learning.

Ning has been shown to be a first-rate tool for educators and student orientations and schooling programs. Most institutions usually present a standard orientation that focuses on the schooling community. Schooling departments could generate wiki or blog threads on their particular departments that are purposely geared to supplementing students and educators with all the schooling community having critical components and designs that can manipulate educational success in schools. The goal would be to provide sustained support for students and teachers that can be tailored to meet the developmental requirements of specific groups of students and other educators within the institution (Simmers, 2008).

Educational networking is spreading into many schools and institutions of learning all across the World. Educational networking might comprise of initiatives such as partnerships on projects or offering support and development in a students knowledge.

Knowledge management keeps an eye on and includes shared knowledge across a learning institution to guarantee that learning processes are properly conducted and skills and abilities are shared with all the members of the school fraternity. Educational networking allows members to locate educators for just-in-time help through the help of the internet. Spontaneous support forums based on certain issues and concerns can also be formed to help users with immediate problem-solving. Appropriately enthused, knowledge and intelligence can grow exponentially when distributed among members. When individuals share ideas, each stand to benefit, and these benefits spread to other people when again spread.

Barriers

Undoubtedly there is a serious obstacle to knowledge sharing, with one of them being the lack of a connection linking the source and the beneficiary. Educational networking technology permits people to connect on general subjects. Individuals divided by location can link and generate virtual interactions so that knowledge sharing can happen. One of the difficulties of networking through this technique is that education needs to be merged with high-quality social relations (Zedram, 2008).

An institution can utilize social apparatus to bring together knowledge that develops formal learning. Blogs in an educational class let members share their skills and understanding, construct case studies for prospective e-learning classes, or utilize information remote from the formal educational process. Provision of structured educational networking for students after an e-learning class, or online module that develops face-to-face guidance permits an institution to record the valuable data shared by the class members during the post-course conversation.

It repays the school to expand a procedure to capture and broadcast the casual learning that happens through online educational networking. If data is not captured, the school misses out, as it cannot make certain that the shared knowledge is precise and suitable for the school, and students will not distinguish the worth of the knowledge they have.

Tools and applications to collect and share knowledge

Almost all educational networking tools like Ning that have expanded in fame popularity have been utilized for learning in one or more forms. All schools should regard all social tools including Ning in their classes for their training and development:

Blogs are sites retained by persons with regular postings of thoughts, views, or news. Any person with access to the website can scrutinize the entry and comments. Ripme.com reports tracking 0.5 million bloggers in January 2009 with 20,000 blog posts in 24-hours. Blogs are a precious instrument for linking knowledge management and e-learning. A school can develop blogs as a medium for transferring knowledge since they allow students to see what is inside one persons head. An institution can set up a blog forum based on community blogs by department, topic, project, or issue. Content can be extracted so that data can be distributed and reused for external content.

Wikis are like blogs, but allow many members to donate to the content on the site. It is a joint knowledge-sharing implementation, and the content can be effortlessly and speedily updated, making it appropriate to just in time education. Wikis permit the student to be lively in knowledge sharing while allowing just in time methods to implement and distribute knowledge with many individuals operating on a collective project (Bontis, 2002).

Twitter is a networking micro-blogging website that permits learners and educators to pursue others messages. For knowledge management, Twitter lets an individual ask a question to colleagues. By trailing the communication thread, other members are able to view answers and solutions. An Institution can gather all the tweets in a database to class, tag, and share. A student can employ Twitter to track a mentor, connect to other educators, check new ideas, and continue conversations after class.

Facebook & MySpace are cases of social sites that attach individuals with familiar interests or interactions. Members can generate and search profiles, construct networks, and share data. For a school institution, they offer the ability to create profiles of students and teachers to categorize subject matter, specialists, incidents, and working relations. Designers can establish subject matter specialists for class growth and those in quest of advisers can look into profiles. Teachers can search and look for other staff with like experiences to think on problems and answers.

Instant messaging: involves real-time contact that links two or more individuals online or by cellphones, for SMS communication. Precious knowledge can be shared as individuals share incidences, work through problems, or talk about current ventures. Since IM utilizes text, it is simply confined and shared, for repurposing in educational content. An IM discussion on a problem can be captured and then re-utilized in a school blog sharing the last answer, and the procedure used to come to the answer.

Conclusion

Organizations and institutions are integrating Social and educational Networking apparatuses into their Knowledge Management applications and e-learning activities. Other individuals and especially schools can study from their examples (International Medical Center, 2010).

Price Water House Group; employ a wiki-based joint knowledge management tool. The knowledge captured from employees can be collected speedily through the company. They employ wiki sites, and other apparatus to permit communities to work together and generate value for the organizations.

Sun Microsystems new joint educational setting involves wiki-driven uses in arrangement with a learning management system (LMS). It permits employees to produce and upload data to issue to other staff. They are aware that learning can only happen through informal conversations among employees they offer them the technology so that individuals can share their knowledge.

Ohio State Universitys knowledge information system OSU: pro is able to handle their distant learning programs since the school can recognize other institutions and individuals with whom they can work together and share best procedures and lessons. In addition, the raw data collected by scholars can be included in data and knowledge. If the university has a list of its knowledge assets, it should be able to generate educational and other programs faster.

Shell Exploration & Productions educational is incorporated with and matched with the mechanism of its knowledge management technology like the web-based capability dictionary, forums, and hubs of excellence.

Future technology will persist to assist knowledge management to support educational initiatives and help schools gather, class, and share knowledge among users.

A recent Report flags semantic-aware applications as a current new technology with education precise functions in3 to five years. This technology makes it simpler to recognize the situation in which information is contained, which leads to new ways to locate and combine content. One social networking site, Twine.com, is already using this technology. As members assemble a profile, shares data, and collect content, the site makes links and proposals detailed to the member. The more a user adds, the more Twine incorporates and knows about the member and distributes the right data to him or her. For knowledge management websites sites like Twine permit staff and institutions to better gather, arrange, and administer the knowledge shared among members and to assemble the content that can be employed for educational purposes for classes.

Using Web 2.0 educational networking sites such as Ning, knowledge management and education in the class can become very efficient training and knowledge sharing vehicles for an institution.

Integrating knowledge management and e-learning is a change that transforms the way education and members of the school fraternity learn and benefit from the schooling system. Social networking tools such as Ning are a way to collect it.

References

1. Bontis, N. (2002) The strategic management of intellectual capital and organizational knowledge. New York: Oxford university press.
2. Brewster, C. (2009). Ning: The latest in Social Apps. London: Oxford Publishers.
3. Foss, K. (2005) Knowledge Management and Intranet Solutions. New York: P.K. Foss.
4. International Medical Center. (2010). Grand Opening: King Launches Private Health Sector. A Dream come True, Says CEO of Jeddahs High-Tech Hospital.
5. Kotelnikov, V. (2010). Tacit knowledge as a source of competitive advantage.
6. Risham, B. (2010). The next Frontier in Education. Perth: Ocean View Publishers.
7. Robin, C. (2004). Knowledge Management. New York: CRC Press.
8. Simmers, C. (2008). The Internet and School Transformation. London: Sharpe.
9. Wells, H. (2007). Theories of Social networks applications in our Education System. New York: Springer.
10. Zedram, A. (2008). The latest in Internet Technology for 2008. New York: CRC Publishers.

Introduction

With the evolving technology, organizations are putting more efforts to keep up with these advances in technology. The business environment has to a great extent been influenced by the constant changes that are being witnessed in the market currently, technology has made it easier to come up with methods of production that are more effective as well as means of receiving orders, raw materials and processing all of this.

The communication process is therefore to a large extent reliant on the level of technology that has been adopted in an organization; that is why it is very important for the organization to keep in line with the constant technological changes that are taking place in the market place in all business aspects (Sward, 2006).

This case relates to the efforts that were put by Volkswagen to set up an Information Technology infrastructure in the organization. This involved integrated efforts from all the concerned departments in a bid to identify, allocate funding and fully oversee the successful management of the IT system in the organization.

The areas that were given key priorities will be identified in a bid to determine whether the decisions that were made by the management of Volkswagen concerning the business priorities were right and whether the organization could have done better in this situation.

Therefore the budget allocations to the IT department will be considered and the way in which they were made; ultimately, this will come in handy in determining whether this was the best approach or what would have been the result had the management decided to give the IT department the authority to prepare and manage its own budget allocation.

Background Information

The process of funding and overseeing the implementation of the IT system at Volkswagen America was initiated and overseen by the CIO Dr. Uwe Matulovic; it involves an involvement of all the major stakeholders in the organization including the Executive team leaders, the program management office, the IT steering committee as well as the digital business council and the other major personnel from the business Units within Volkswagen America (Austin, 2007).

Among the major issues that were of concern and which needed urgent consideration included the issue of overseeing a means of governance and directing the process of development, there was also a major hurdle regarding the amount of funding that was available had been allocated implementing the new business architecture at Volkswagen America; this branch was very crucial for the market share that the Volkswagen group enjoyed in the United States.

There was a capped funding for this implementation of the IT projects in the organization, the VWoA needed a total of $210 million to successfully implement these projects but only $60 million had been allocated by the parent company, the Volkswagen Audi Group.

Given that this amount was inadequate to fully cater for the IT projects that were in process, there was a need to come up with a new process of giving priority to the projects that were to be funded; however in all this it was very important to ensure that the new business architecture had the capability to match with the corporate goals for the organization as well as the business strategy. It was also very important to ensure that the benefits of this program would be able to be felt at a global level within this organization.

With the limited funds the management of the business team at VWoA presented a major challenge, this could be attributed to the allocation of funds to the various projects and business units in order of priority.

As a result, the leaders of the business units whose projects had not been funded had a case to feel left out and thus oppose the new business architecture. In this regard, the CIO had to ensure that all the units were represented in the process of determining the best way in which to determine the prioritization procedure for the projects that were due to receive funding.

Key factors in the Prioritization Process

One of the most important considerations that were put in the process of developing the new business architecture was the involvement of the leaders of all the business units to ensure that there was an all-round involvement of all the concerned parties.

All the business unit leaders had an opportunity to present their case on why their projects needed to be given priority in the funding process; the actual prioritization process needed to be carefully considered an analyzed to ensure that all the stakeholders understood it clearly and were in agreement with it.

Another important issue that needed the attention of the stakeholders was addressing the problems and criticism that had been leveled on the process and looking at the associated cases in a bid to come up with solutions for the problems that had been encountered (Rose, 2000).

In determining which projects were to be given top priority in the funding process, the budget allocation for each project was considered in addition to the range to which the project will affect the business operation of the business, that is; is it at the VWoA level or at the global level. These were key determinants for the level of priority that was given to each project in the allocation of the funds.

The management team in the prioritization process put into consideration some key factors that included a look at the project, the communication process for each project as well as the dependants of the project.

The projects were considered in relation to the blueprint for the business as a whole; in this regard, therefore, it was possible to group together the similar initiatives and identify those projects that were dependent on each other; this made it possible to reschedule the dependent projects until such a time when the independent ones had been implemented.

The other important consideration included the formal requests that had been presented by the business units for funding, this determined the grouping of the project depending on the type of investment as either a project that was necessary to stay in business, the amount of return on investment associated with the project and finally the ability of the project to create and investment opportunity for the business organization.

Finally the projects, on the basis of the requests from the business units, were transformed into the portfolio goals for the business enterprise. This was done by considering the top strategic goals for the organization in line with the giving priorities to the projects. After this, the funding was allocated depending on where the projects ranked based on the ranking criteria with the top-ranked projects receiving funding first until all the funds had been exhausted (Austin, 2007).

Problems and Critiques for the Prioritization process

There were several challenges that were encountered in the process of implementing this process of prioritization of the funding process. This process that was based on the strategic goals for the business created a sense of disharmony in that some of the projects that seemed to have global importance to the business did not receive any form of funding.

There was a major challenge in bringing on board all the employees especially those from the business units that did not receive funding; this was mostly due to the independent nature of the operation of the business units. The major problem here was on the means through which the employees could be made to look at the bigger picture and consider the benefits due to the larger organization as a whole as opposed to the individual business units.

The other major problems were related to the tendency by the individual business leaders to exaggerated the ROI associated with their businesses in order to get priority in the funding process, this presented a major challenge in the validation of the strategic relevance of each project under consideration.

In this regard, there was a dire need to find alternatives in order to address all the issues that had been raised in regard to the prioritization process, this included reallocation of funding to key projects that had not received funds, leaving the unfunded projects just like that until more funds were available, sourcing the funds for the projects from other sources or alternatively beginning the prioritization process all over again.

There are various criteria that can be used to manage IT project, the criteria can be based on the financial outcomes of the project, the organizational needs associated with the project, the business environment in which the competition is taking place, the technical requirements for the business, the risks associated with the business and finally the support that the management offers to the business (Jiang & Klein, 1999).

These criteria are ranked in order of priority and they are very important in determining which projects should be given top priority, in the case of VWoA, these were very crucial considerations.

The growth initiatives that were identified for VWoA, in the coming years were a key determinant in the projects that needed to be given key priority during the allocation of funds to the various projects for the business enterprise.

Budget Control for the IT projects

It is important to have an in-depth understanding of the process of controlling the budgets that were due for the allocation of funds for the implementation of the IT projects. As aforementioned, most of the funds were allocated from the parent company for VWoA to facilitate the implementation of these projects.

The control of the budget for the funds was, therefore, the prerogative of four teams in the organization; these included the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), the IT steering committee (ITSC), the Project Management Office (PMO) and the Digital Business Council (DBC).

In this process, the major responsibility for the ELT was to execute the next round of growth, this was a key aspect in the prioritization process for the projects because it determined the projects that were in line with the attainment of these objectives; the IT governance also has a critical role to play in determining the Next round of growth in the business.

On its part, the ITSC was responsible for the guidance and approval of the selection and prioritization process for the IT projects, this was very important in determining which projects were given top priority in the budgetary allocations (Austin, 2007).

The project proposals and approval of these proposals was the responsibility of the PMO; finally the DBC had a very critical role to play in the control of the budget, it had the responsibility of going through the projects and carrying out thorough scrutiny in order to determine the projects that were in line with the business strategy for VWoA. This was a key consideration in the prioritization process and as a result, it was very important to have a competent DBC team in place that fully understands what was required in this aspect.

It is very important to ensure that all the teams understand their responsibilities properly and that they take an active role without any bias in the budgetary allocation and control process. The IT department has a critical role to play in the success of any business by making sure that the business remains relevant in the market, therefore the team responsible for the budgetary allocations should be able to carry out their responsibilities in a competent manner and ensure that all the stakeholders are satisfied with their decisions.

With the new budgetary constraint that was put by the parent company, there was a great need to reconsider the business architecture for the allocation of funds for implementing the projects; in the same way, it was very important to ensure that the overall business objectives for the organization were given top consideration as opposed to the implementation of the projects for the individual business units, in this regard therefore the achievement of the business strategies for the organization was given top priority.

The team that was given the responsibility of handling the budget allocation consisted of representatives from all the business units and they were likely to make a decision that was likely to benefit the business as a whole as opposed to setting aside a budget for the IT projects which might have benefited independent business units at the expense of the entire business enterprise.

Conclusion

Although it is important to fund all the IT projects at VWoA, with a limited budgetary allocation, this was not possible. The prioritization process, therefore, presented the best opportunity to ensure that the projects that were funded were in line with the business strategies of the organization.

In order to ensure that all the employees understand this process and that they are fully involved in the same, all the affected business units need to take part in making the funding decisions, the funding decisions for the IT projects need to be done in line with the attainment of the company strategies (Applegate, Austin & Soule, 2009).

Ultimately there should be clear communication in the business units concerning the funding, and the executive management has a responsibility to ensure that all the business units understand and are in agreement with the decisions that are made in regard to the funding of the projects. Ultimately all the employees will play an active role in ensuring that the IT projects are ranked according to priority and that VWoA will be able to achieve its business objectives as per the corporate strategy.

References

Applegate, L. M., Austin, R.D. & Soule, D.L. (2009). Corporate Information Strategy and Management, (8^th edition). Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Austin, R.D. (2007). Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Jiang, J.J. & Klein, G. (1999). Project selection criteria by strategic orientation. Information & Management. 36:63-75

Rose, T. (2000). Prescriptions for Managing IT Priority Pressure. Information Strategy: The Executives Journal. 17(1), p.18.

Sward, D.S. (2006) Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology: Practical Strategies for IT and Business Managers. Intel Corporation, pp. 1-307.

Introduction

Starbucks Corporation uses a powerful business model to produce and market its products to many customers across the globe. With over 182,000 employees, the company remains a leading roaster and retailer of quality coffee. It also has numerous brands that support its business image such as Starbucks VIA, Seattles Best Coffee, Tazo, Evolution Fresh, Verismo, and Teavana. This paper identifies specific recommendations and information technology (IT) approaches that can be used to support or implement them.

Strategic Recommendations

Recommendation One

The first recommendation presented in the article Strategic Analysis of Starbucks Corporation is that Starbucks can consider a number of emerging markets in order to maximize its potential. The most appropriate approach is to design powerful models that resonate with the needs of local customers. The use of information technology can support this objective. To begin with, the company can create new websites that deliver the intended message to local citizens (Barbosa, Rodello, & de Padua, 2014). This means that every market such as India, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil should be served using a different website. The information should be communicated using local languages. The move will ensure the companys model supports the unique needs of each market.

The second approach is to use social networks such as Twitter.com and Facebook.com to advertise its products in the targeted regions (Taecharungroj, 2017). Consequently, more people will be informed about the companys products and offerings. The strategy will eventually make it easier for Starbucks to achieve its potential in such markets. Information technology can also be used to revolutionize the manner in which the targeted customers are served. Companies such as Amazon have embraced the concept of e-marketing to achieve its goals. Since many regions across the globe are embracing the power of the Internet and information technology, the company can customize its model to meet every customers needs.

Recommendation Three

The third recommendation explains how Starbucks Corporation can develop its fresh juice and tea products in such a way that its supports its business objectives. This strategy is relevant since the company has only been focusing on its line of core coffee products (Geereddy, n.d., p. 7). This recommendation can be implemented successfully through the use of information technology. The corporation can begin by automating most of its tea and juice preparation processes. The use of programmed machines can increase efficiency and ensure more customers are served efficiently. Data analysis can also be done using modern technologies to understand the changing needs of different individuals. The acquired information will be used to make informed product development and marketing decisions.

Efficient communication technologies will improve the manner in which employees, stakeholders, and customers share information. Such practices will support a new model that seeks to produce and market these additional offerings (Chi & Sun, 2015). Consequently, the companys competitive advantage will increase significantly and maximize profits. With effective technologies in place, Starbucks can be able to improve the way juice products are packaged, streamline service delivery, and support decision-making processes. The use of information technology to improve the manner in which raw materials are sourced and delivered to the companys stores will support the current business model (Hutt, 2016). A good example of a company that embraces the power of IT in supply chain management is Wal-Mart Incorporation. Starbucks can embrace such concepts to support these product mixes and eventually become even more successful.

Recommendation Four

Starbucks has been focusing on its coffee products because they are the major sources of revenues. According to the presented case study, Starbucks Corporation should acknowledge the fact that consumer lifestyles and tastes have changed within the past few years (Geereddy, n.d.). The company should, therefore, expand its menu to ensure healthy products such as beverages and snacks are available to its customers. Information technology is a resource that can be used by this company to support or implement this recommendation. Social sites such as Facebook.com can make it easier for the corporation to monitor the emerging needs and lifestyles of its customers (Nikoloski, 2014). This understanding will ensure that the right beverages and healthy products are included in its menu. Modern technologies can also be used to gather customers opinions and ideas.

Starbucks should emulate the practices embraced by Southwest Airlines. Modern technologies have made it possible for the company to address the needs of its customers. For example, emails, websites, and online chats can make it easier for the company to improve its offerings (Berisha-Shaqiri, 2015). The organizations research and development (R&D) team can use modern technologies to get adequate nutritional information. This knowledge will be used to produce healthy products.

Conclusion

This discussion shows clearly that information technology can be used by companies to support their business strategies, streamline their operations, and collect timely information for effective decision-making. Starbucks Corporation can, therefore, use IT solutions to meet the changing needs of different customers, improve its products, and coordinate most of its organizational processes. The approach will ensure Starbucks improves its services, produces superior beverages, and tackles the increasing level of competition.

References

Barbosa, S. C., Rodello, I. A., & de Padua, S. I. (2014). Performance measurement of information technology governance in Brazilian financial institutions. Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 11(2), 397-414. Web.

Berisha-Shaqiri, A. (2015). Impact of information technology and Internet in businesses. Academic Journal of Business, Administration, Law and Social Sciences, 1(1), 73-79.

Chi, J., & Sun, L. (2015). IT and competitive advantage: A study from micro perspective. Modern Economy, 6(3), 404-410. Web.

Geereddy, N. (n.d.). Strategic analysis of Starbucks Corporation. Web.

Hutt, R. W. (2016). Reputation on the line: The Starbucks cases. Journal of Business Strategy, 37 (1), 19-26. Web.

Nikoloski, K. (2014). The role of information technology in the business sector. International Journal of Science and Research, 3(12), 303-309.

Taecharungroj, V. (2017). Starbucks marketing communications strategy on Twitter. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(6), 552-571. Web.

Professional Postgraduate Diploma in GRC  Masterclass Evaluation template for Executive Summary

Preamble

Generali Worldwide Insurance Company (hereinafter referred to as Generali Group) recognizes the need for the effective and safe use of information technology (IT) for furthering its governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) functions. The companys GRC practitioners take a holistic view of principles governing ITs security context when making decisions about its GRC functionality. They also recognize the importance of aligning IT solutions with the companys vision, mission, and objectives. Therefore, to guarantee the flexibility and development of maturing GRC practices, Generali Groups GRC support specialists have opted for a bespoke IT security solution (Generali Group 2016).

The companys centralized IT architecture allows its GRC practitioners to access and control a large number of organizations processes and activities without endangering the information assets. The following IT security principles allow ensuring that all IT GRC functions are carried out safely: individual responsibility, use of IT assets, identification of information, availability, reliability maintenance, the security of design, prudence, and segregation of duties (Generali Group 2016).

This reflective journal aims to explore the use of IT in GRC for carrying out management, revision, and compliance functions. The topic is of high relevance to me because by understanding compliance technology, it is possible to ensure that GRC software solutions of Generali Group are aligned with the companys vision, mission, and objectives, thereby eliminating security vulnerabilities and improving the organizations competitive edge.

Key principles and issues raised within the Master class

Decision Making, Oversight, and Control

The first essential learning point from the Masterclass is that IT can be used to provide GRC specialists with the evidence necessary for decision making, oversight, and control. Different companies have different regulatory environments that require the use of compliance technology, which can streamline GRC functions, thereby reducing overall costs (ICT 2015). When it comes to customer due diligence (CDD), GRC software solutions are integral to creating a customers profile at the point of application. It is only one example of ensuring compliance in the ever-changing regulatory environment in which financial services organizations such as Generali Group have to operate.

Unfortunately, only around 60 percent of decision-making in major companies is based on solid data (PWC 2016). It means that decision cultures of many organizations still do not revolve around the use of modern algorithmic tools. Furthermore, the companies that are somewhat data-driven use available data to support the conclusions they want (PWC 2016, p. 2). The refusal to rely on IT GRC solutions is a pernicious trend that can expose a company to numerous compliance risks and diminish its competitive advantage.

Modern IT GRC solutions have management, execution, and control capabilities. However, effective implementation of such software packages depends on how they are aligned with a companys mission, vision, and objectives as well as GRC specifics that may substantially vary across its different branches. Therefore, to ensure that IT GRC solutions necessary for data gathering and oversight of compliance matters, provide reasonable assurance of resilience and security from a companys operating model perspective, it is necessary to consider the use of bespoke solutions. There is also an option of hiring a third party for the delivery of IT GRC services (FCA 2014).

However, after analyzing key technical and legal areas of interest, Generali Group has decided against outsourcing its critical technology services (Generali Group 2016).

For an IT GRC solution to deliver one of its benefits of providing GRC practitioners with information aiding their decision-making process, enterprise compliance technology has to be centralized, structured and organized. There is ample evidence suggesting that companies with above-average IT GRC performance, which is achieved with the help of core structure integration, have more than 20 percent higher profitability than firms with poor governance (PWC 2017, para. 7).

An important part of achieving a high level of IT GRC performance is to centralize data storage. Not only does it help to meet regulatory requirements but it is also beneficial from a practical point of view. Namely, a financial services organization that has a homogenous IT platform with central data storage can prove traceability and liability of information in financial reports (ICT 2015, p. 7). Moreover, localized data centers will allow more efficient control of corrective actions that have to be taken by a company.

Compliance Analytics

The second learning point of the Masterclass that has to be remembered is that compliance analytics is an invaluable tool helping to assess information from a variety of data sources to improve a companys GRC potential (Zitting 2015).

According to Spanaki and Papazafeiropoulou (2013), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 necessitated new approaches to a companys GRC strategy. Many companies used to build their GRC activities around detective measures that come in the form of retrospective reporting. Unfortunately, after-the-fact IT forensics substantially reduces the time for remediation of control deficiencies, thereby undermining the effectiveness of compliance initiatives (Abdullah, Indulska & Sadiq 2012). Automated detection through compliance analytics is an alternative approach to traditional detective measures.

It can be argued that the use of compliance analytics is an effective method for eliminating compliance gaps and predicting policy breaches. Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) Compliance Analytics is a data-mining platform that can be used by financial services organizations for the detection of financial crime compliance (FCC) risks (ICT 2015). The platform allows its users to identify behavioral anomalies, unusual patterns, and trends, hidden relationships, and high levels of activity with high-risk countries and entities (SWIFT 2014, p. 1).

This learning point is connected to the previous one in that the centralization of data at all levels is important for conducting relevant investigations by a compliance analytics system. Effective risk management analytics are only possible when standardized data are gathered at a single point of an institution.

Use of IT in Know Your Customer (KYC)

The third learning point is that IT can be effectively used to conduct KYC activities, which are essential for CDD. Despite the preponderance of the evidence that effective gathering and sharing of KYC information between financial institutions decreases compliance risks, many organizations still rely on legacy systems that hamper the flow of KYC data (ICT 2015). Not only such legacy solutions, which are often based on manual processing, increase error occurrence rates, and create regulation risks, but they also diminish the overall quality of client experience.

KYC automation is an area of IT that has been effectively explored by SWIFT to provide banks with access to standardized client data through a secured online portal (ICT 2015). It should be mentioned that several companies are specializing in the delivery of such services, with KYC Exchange Net AG being the largest. Such an approach to due diligence allows classifying customers according to their key characteristics that include, but are not limited to, industry, size, risk, and entity. It should be mentioned that recent developments in mobile banking technologies have pushed providers of KYC automation services to include non-traditional customers who have been previously excluded from financial services (ICT 2015).

GRC specialists have to recognize that all KYC activities have to be treated from the risk-based approach (RBA) point of view. The choice of every KYC policy presupposes a trade-off; therefore, it is important to achieve an optimal balance between false acceptance of an invalid identity claim and false rejection of a valid identity claim (Gelb 2016, p. 3). With the help of modern KYC utility systems, it is possible to quickly process KYC documentation, thereby capturing potential information gaps promptly. Also, KYC technological solutions that are based on RBA allow enhancing customer outcomes by avoiding unnecessary false positives (ICT 2015).

Utilization and Recommendations

When it comes to practical applications of the learning points, GRC specialists of Generali Group have to use GRC functions of IT to enhance the quality of their decision making, compliance, and control. To this end, it is recommended to ensure that compliance technology is aligned with the organizations vision, mission, strategy, and goals. Therefore, only bespoke IT solutions should be used for covering specific GRC activities and achieving an optimal level of alignment (ICT 2015).

To lower GRC risks in Generali Group, its compliance professionals should make use of SWIFT Compliance Analytics (SWIFT 2014). The service has continuous monitoring and auditing functions that are extremely efficient in detecting all kinds of FCC risks. The real-time use of predictive analytics can help the company to introduce powerful prevention measures, thereby avoiding unfavorable future developments.

The efficient integration of IT GRC processes within the companys control environment is not possible without introducing modern KYC technological solutions.

Conclusion

The research on the Masterclass topic has helped me to better understand the importance of the efficient use of IT in the GRC activities of a financial services organization. Now I know that Generali Group should try to eliminate its manual processing to achieve effective, risk-based analysis of KYC information and improve client experience.

Reference List

Abdullah, N, Indulska, M & Sadiq S 2012, A compliance management ontology: developing shared understanding through models, in C Rolland, C Bodart, & C Chauvet (eds), Advanced information systems engineering, Springer, Berlin, pp 429-444. Web.

FCA 2014, Considerations for firms thinking of using third-party technology (off-the-shelf) banking solutions. Web.

Gelb, A 2016, Balancing financial integrity with financial inclusion: the risk-based approach to Know Your Customer. Web.

Generali Group 2016, Operational risk management guidelinescompany IT security guidelines. Web.

ICT 2015, ICA professional postgraduate diploma in governance, risk and compliance: course manual  module 6, International Compliance Training Ltd, Birmingham. Web.

PWC 2016, Data-driven: big decisions in the intelligence age. Web.

PWC 2017, IT governance, risk and compliance (IT GRC). Web.

Spanaki K, & Papazafeiropoulou, A 2013, Analysing the governance, risk and compliance (Grc) implementation process: primary insights, 21^stEuropean Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) conference proceedings, Uxbridge, London, pp. 1-9. Web.

SWIFT 2014, Compliance analytics: enhanced understanding and management of your financial crime-related risk. Web.

Zitting, D 2015, Data-driven risk and performance management: using transactional data to detect fraud, ensure regulatory compliance, and outrun competitor, Apress, New York, NY. Web.

When Cheryl Smith, the new CIO, arrived at WestJet, she was asked by the CEO to advise whether the company had an adequate IT infrastructure.

Assessed Aspects of the WestJet IT Situation

One of the overarching purposes for WestJet to hire Cheryl Smith was to receive an accurate assessment of its own IT infrastructure. The managers and business leaders did not understand the purpose of the IT department and its functions in correlation with the companys business goals. To accomplish this task, Smith decided to press for aggressive solutions. She was not afraid of giving critical assertions and directly changing the existing infrastructure. Namely, she assessed the following areas (Munro & Khan, 2013):

• Operational and decision-making structure.
• Project management and budgeting.
• The relationship between business and IT.
• Skill adequacy of employees.

Upon the completion of her analysis, Smith concluded that, while many of the employees were highly proficient in many IT-related areas, the department itself was largely disconnected from the company and its current objectives. It did not have a clear project management and budgeting program and used an ad-hoc approach to project management and decision-making. These organizational aspects are important, as without them the department struggling fulfilling any tasks beyond maintenance and small alterations to the existing IT infrastructure, as was shown when WestJet faced the issue of needing to adjust its systems to global standards.

Assessment Summary and Critique

Smiths assessment of the situation was largely correct. The purpose of IT is not just to maintain employee satisfaction, which was something that the current infrastructure was able to do, despite its shortcomings. It is also supposed to be an integral part of the company and help advance its competitive advantage by adopting and optimizing new technology to support the needs of the company. Her approach sought to modify the existing structure to meet these challenges (Munro & Khan, 2013). I completely agree with her assessment.

Justification of the Major Changes in IT at WestJet

As a CIO, Smith forced many changes into the existing IT structure. Namely, the governance model was overhauled to forge a stronger link between business units and the IT department. She introduced a new structure, which separated the homogenous blob of generalist specialists and introduced a yearly project budget (Munro & Khan, 2013). Instead of facing a day-to-day struggle with minor projects, the new IT department had to undertake larger tasks on a less frequent basis. One of Smiths major successes involved introducing emergency servers to back up information and provide support in case of a major failure caused by natural disasters or a critical systems malfunction (Munro & Khan, 2013). All of these changes made WestJets IT performance more efficient, thus improving the companys competitive advantage.

Lessons Learned Based on the Experiences at WestJet

WestJets case study clearly shows the drawbacks of an IT department that was not optimized for a long time. While adequate in maintaining the status quo, its structure was no longer efficient to be able to adapt to the realities of the air transportation market. It struggled with any large-scale tasks and resisted changes when Smith tried to introduce them. I learned a few important lessons from this case study. An IT department must always have a connection with the companys business units rather than exist as a distant, separate entity. It should undergo periodic changes and reorganizations, as employees become entrenched in their habits and beliefs without it. Lastly, an ad-hoc approach can work only with an abundance of high-class generalists. A well-structured and compartmentalized IT department would be able to handle advanced projects. It would also be easier for HR to find replacements if required.

References

Munro, M., & Khan, S. (2013). WestJet Airlines: Information technology governance and corporate strategy. Web.

What are the problems associated with measuring the ROI on a CRM system?

ROI is the acronym for return on investment, a measure of performance that helps in evaluating the efficiency of an investment singly in comparison with other investments. The enterprise-wide impact, the effect on revenue and costs, the fact that most CRMs are deployed for strategic reasons rather than tactical and difficulties in quantifying improved benefits such as improved decision making make some of the core problems associated with measuring ROI on a CRM.

The Hilton case confirms the above. The hotels management acknowledges that it is almost impossible to measure ROI on CRM. According to management, most of the objectives have been achieved from an electronic standpoint. However, it is almost impossible to determine if the effectiveness of personnel has increased with CRM.

How do you think Hilton measured its ROI? How else could the ROI be measured?

Various companies have difficulties in measuring ROI on CRMs. Hiltons case was no different. Hilton acknowledged that the mathematical approach to measuring ROI had its limitations. They, therefore, took a theoretical approach to examine customer satisfaction through ensuring the employees were well trained and the service given to customers was worth their money. To help in tracking the satisfaction of customers through CRM, the company adopted the Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking survey which gave various performance indicators on CRM.

The rating indicators obtained through SALT were a key pointer to the effectiveness of CRM and platform for the improvement of services offered by Hilton. Hilton could also employ activity-based costing (ABC) which many experts agree provides a good starting point for calculating customer profitability for CRM. ABC identifies shifts in behaviors in relation to resources consumed and recommends the ways through which businesses can shift customers to more profitable behaviors.

Was the Hilton system successful?

Success is relative and sometimes, specific to a company or industry. However, there is consensus that outcomes such as rising customer numbers, satisfaction, and profitability denote success. According to the company, the system was very effective from an electronic standpoint. Staff was able to easily print the guests arrival report as shown in exhibit 8, and there was clarity in the company ranking of their customers in order of importance.

Increased efficiency brought by OnQ CRM system made it possible for staff to enough preparations beforehand effectively raising customer service standards and customer satisfaction. Ultimately, Hilton had to come up with a good method to measure ROI on its CRM. However, the fact that service delivery and contact between customers and hotel staff increased is in itself a measure of success.

Do you think it achieved its ROI?

As said earlier, ROI is the gains from an investment that technically refer to the proceeds obtained from an investment. A positive ROI measure for OnQ would mean Hilton achieved ROI on its investment. That would mean access and keen evaluation of revenue figures before and after the investment. While it is difficult to calculate the above, it is safe to conclude that Hilton did achieve its ROI on the OnQ CRM. Adoption of results from SALT and revelations by managers such as Cowan that customer service had improved in the electronic front is proof that customer satisfaction was on an upward trend. Given that the company was profitable before the implementation of the system, the revelations are a pointer to even better performance by the company. Hilton, therefore, achieved its ROI.

What further information might you need to answer this question?

To calculate ROI one has to have access to information on the gains the company has made from the investment as well as the cost of investment. A calculation of an investment by the cost of investment is done with the resulting figure expressed in percentage form. This figure gives the benefit of the investment. In Hiltons case, the above information is missing and it is necessary that it is available so that an effective ROI can be calculated.

What variables do Hilton Hotels use to measure the success of their system?

Most of Hiltons variables of measure are not mathematics oriented. Tom Keltner, EVP, and CEO of the Americas identify the willingness of property owners to invest in Hilton as one of the measures of success. The acquisition of Blackstone showcases other variables that Hilton uses to measure success of CRM. They include proof of significant savings through improved efficiency of call center operations, effective differentiation of the Hilton Brand from the competitors and easiness of delivering the needed return going forward. Also, increased customer satisfaction as evidenced by SALT will offer critical variables to Hilton Hotel management to measure the success of their OnQ CRM system.

As a Central Manager of Hilton group, what metrics would you like to obtain from the CRM system / other management information system that would really help you? Why?

CRM systems are equipped to perform a wide range of functions that that avail information crucial to the management of a company. As a central manager of Hilton group, information on customer retention, visits and/or orders per customer per annum, cross sales, referrals from already existing customers and reactivation of previously inactive customers will form a central to the management of the facility. The above information will be handy in understanding the trends of the company so that effective plans can be put in place to reap maximum profits from its core business.

As a hotel manager of one of the Hilton properties, what is your impression of the Arrivals report? Is there any other information that is likely to be collected by Hilton that could be displayed to you on the same report to improve your customer service?

The Hilton hotel arrivals report gives a good impression. The arrivals numbers are impressive especially after the launch of CRM. There is a likelihood that the CRM has helped reactivate dormant customers while recognition has ensured increased loyalty from already existing high value clients. Additionally, the numbers may have gained from a high recommendation rate from satisfied clients owing to the improved CRM. On the same report, a manager will find it useful if information on the spending patterns of the clients is displayed.

That way the manager is in a better position to easily segment customers who visit the facility for easier marketing. Also, it will be important to display the arrivals timing in order to help in staff deployment. Correct staff deployment helps in better delivery of customer service by ensuring that staff is not under or overstaffed.

Introduction

For starters, the word music can be defined as an art form involving organized sounds and silence, expressed in terms of pitch, quality, and rhythm.

Since time immemorial, music has been used as the medium of choice by many to calm the soul of the wounded beast, as it were&

Melodic works are useful to many for myriads of reasons; communication, serving an aesthetic or artistic role, ceremonial and/or religious purposes, relaxation and/or meditation, inspiration, capturing particular situations (more so on the part of the musician him/herself), but in this given context, such are employed with the objective of providing daily bread, as many-a-people are actively involved in the now-thriving Music Industry, a term used to describe a wide range of music-related businesses and/or organizations, including the musicians themselves who are engaged in not only composing but also performing songs, chiefly for commercial gain. This definition is as per the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) that includes sound recording and music publishing activities (J-59) (Ideas for Dozens: A brief history of the Music Industry).

Additionally, being quite diverse in nature, other sets of workers earn their livelihood via music-related activities, inclusive of record producers, talent managers, entertainment lawyers, journalists, promoters, instrument manufacturers, to name but a few.

General meaning

When applied in a broader sense, the term Music Industry encompasses a wide array of sub-industries that conglomerate from several industrial classifications, such as Information and Communication, which deals with all matters sound-recording and music-publishing, programming, and broadcasting activities (for instance, radio stations), Arts, Recreation and entertainment, Manufacturing and Retail Sales-including that of music instruments, and also the Educational aspect of the same, including activities carried out in Music Training Schools and assorted Disc Jockey (DJ) Academies. In the same breath, the terminology also denotes an affiliation with various non-profit-motivated bodies, including Performance Rights Organizations, Musicians Unions, and Writers Copyrights Collectives.

Evolution of the Industry

The development of the music industry can be traced back to the early 1700s when the Church was at the core of facilitating the growth of the same through the provision of patronage. However, towards the end of that century, various performers began seeking commercial markets for their work, a relevant example of such being one Wolfgang Mozart, hence initiating the paradigm shift to fostering the uprise of the industry.

In the early 1900s, sheet music publishers dominated the industry, which refers to a printed or hand-written form of musical notation that utilized paper or parchment as the principal medium. The cylinder machine was in use before gradual technological advancements were made into records, gramophone, radio, stereo, audiocassettes, and finally, the Compact Disc, largely regarded as the finest available carrier of music for that point in time, evidenced by high sales during the latter part of the 1980s, hence replacing Vinyl use. The technological advancements did not stop at this. There have always existed people who due to their desire to embrace the unembraceable strive for perfection and make unbelievable innovations. Driven by the immense desire to obtain something even more convenient than a CD, to run their computer music libraries, and to listen to the music selected by them alone, people ended up inventing MP3 format.

Situational/Customer/Industrial Analysis

Introducing innovation after innovation was what ruined the music industry. In 2006 the CD was the main product of the record industry. It accounted for more than 80% of total global sales. In 2007 the sales reduced by 19% and it became evident that there would never be any changes for the better. With the availability of MP3 music, the CD format was no longer accepted.

Industrial situation

Several changes in the music industry have been documented, not only regarding the distribution of the music itself but also the actual production process. The state of affairs towards the end of the 1990s decade was that professional recording studios record a variety of music genres catering for different audiences on Compact Disc (CD) format, including hip hop/rap, rock, jazz, and pop, as dictated by the market demand, and consequently, the afore-mentioned record labels step in to play the distributive role. Competition among the Big Four was rife, with each battling for a larger pool of musicians to be honed under their belt, proverbially speaking, not to mention the turf wars that are the order of the day.

In 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a regulatory body, was formed among these super-companies, with the major aim of representing their interests in the corridors of justice. Violation of copyright laws served as the main bone of contention, with several bodies being sued for infringement of the same, including the infamous Napster.

Production and Distribution Strategy

An elaborate policy for producing and subsequently distributing recorded music is adhered to in the industry, involving the initial creative process coordinated by a record producer. Once the finished song(s) is/are recorded on CD, record distributor companies arrange for the shipping of the CDs to department and music stores. As the sale kicks off, whether in these stores or via the Internet, the individual performers earn royalties, either for a defined period or in the case of popular recordings, perpetually. (A New Day for Music? Digital Technologies in Contemporary Music Making)

Discernible costs

This has been the operative system over the years, which is characteristically quite lengthy and tedious. Also, unprecedented increases in cases of piracy have dogged the music industry. Bootleg (fake versions) CDs were once, and in many regions, still are, on heavy rotation.

Benefits accrued

On the other hand, it fosters transparency, accountability and accords the entire process with a definitive sense of direction. Benefits derived from this blueprint include the provision of employment opportunities to the multitude of workers directly and/or indirectly involved in the entire process, inclusive of travel agents, tour managers, the record producers, musicians themselves, among others.

Also, one may argue the case for the efficiency of the system in place, seeing that a very diverse market is usually served satisfactorily, based upon the interaction of the forces of demand and supply.

The emergence of Electronic Commerce

The face of digital distribution was altered towards the late 1990s, initially following the onset of Napster, the first peer-to-peer file-trading system, which primarily covered the college jurisdiction. The underlying concept was that a user had to avail a given portion of his/her digital music library for purposes of being available for anyone to download, and in return, the same user received ready and free access to download anything else that had been availed by anyone else. Resultantly, a quantitatively large database was created, at the disposal of every other college student. Consequently, several bands and recording labels filed suit against the company, which was eventually shut down.

However, a Pandoras Box had been opened, and a host of related services came into the limelight, all making extensive use of the distributive architecture, for instance, the popular Bit Torrent. (Everything you need to know About the Music Business)

A key development was that unsuccessful attempts had been made to set up a centralized system, from whence monetization would be facilitated, hence coming up with a concrete business model.

Yet another landmark event in this industry was the entry of the Apple brand into the market in the year 2001.

The introduction of the iPod gadget, which was geared to play music on-the-go, as well as the iTunes software, allowed users to easily transfer digitally-recorded music from CDs, which were purchased from the various recording labels, onto their computers, from which they could either burn onto CDs or directly transfer to their portable iPods.

A notable impact of the onset of these developments was the emphasis on single songs over an entire album, whereby maximization of individual songs was sought, as was facilitated by the random mode of playing songs on the iPod.

The year 2003 witnessed the release of the iTunes Music Store, an endeavor that sought to avail a wide array of music digitally, all retailing at a given, indiscriminate price. Deals had been struck with the major labels to provide the music catalog, and Digital Rights Management were included with each purchased file (song), being software that was to play the role of limiting the user from making unwarranted copies of a single file, or to use the same on alien gadgets/devices, especially those manufactured by competitor firms. This informational system venture served as both a deterrent and control mechanism, seeing that it aimed to regulate. Quite notable is the fact that the artists themselves barely get monetary compensation from this venture, and it is mainly the labels that get the best deal, accountable for about 70% of the stakes (Ideas for Dozens: A brief history of the Music Industry, 2006).

Other online music distributors have also followed suit, and huge rewards are being reaped, left, right and center. Thus, it can be deduced that the onset of Information technology has served as a sort of double-edged sword, cutting both ways, since, on one hand, it facilitates the effective distribution of and access to digital music, while the other side of the coin reveals that unauthorized/illegal downloads largely undermine efforts to adequately reap benefits of this intellectual property.

Roles of Information Technology

Information technology refers to the management and subsequent use of information via computer-oriented and/or based tools. In the music industry, digitally recorded music is stored online on computers, which saves an organization a lot of space for secondary storage.

Air, road, and railway networks are all connected by the use of information technology, for instance, in the banking industry; online purchases are facilitated through the use of credit and debit cards. At the click of a mouse, it is possible to acquire items via the internet, including intellectual property.

Originally informational technologies were used for the purposes of business and commerce and were, as a rule, applied at plats or in banks. Then some modern corporations started using communication means but only in recent years did the true potential of informational technologies found its realization in other aspects of peoples lives. The usage of informational technologies in all the spheres of everyday life, not only in the business sphere, showed that the era of revolutionary changes was getting closer. The greatest changes made by informational technologies occurred in the spheres not related to the traditional spheres of informational technologies application.

Informational technologies are of great necessity for a proper social development of each country of the world. Day after day they become a part of every persons life, just like using water or electricity. The usage of informational technologies is a sign of the countys level of development. Moreover, the countrys competitiveness and productivity are closely related to its use of informational technologies.

Information technology impacts multiple facets of todays trade industries and businesses, increasingly becoming a basic factor. Informational technologies have a perceptible impact on different industries including film industry, television and radio, media, publishing industry and, one of the most tangible, music industry.

Informational technologies could not but touched the music industry resulting in significant changes and altering the former ideas of music distribution. With time more and more people start listening the music by means of digital technologies having a possibility to record the music by themselves and to alter the music tracks in a way that they consider necessary. There is no wonder that new informational technologies applied in this industry involved serious changes in music production. Spirited discussions of the affect of these technologies on further development of the industry have been led on a regular basis but never was the legislation able to restrain the development of technologies. This is why what can be observed now is a real revolution in using portable devices which are able to meet the requirements of each user.

The current status in the organization as regards information technology is that it has established a separate arm within it, tasked with the duty of harnessing electronic commerce initiatives, deciphering untapped technological business opportunities around the world, as well as coming up with a variety of ways to make full use of the internet. Staff of this arm, christened eLabs, technically support the e-business initiatives undertaken, including web-casting, interactive radio, digital downloads and subscription to the same, not forgetting the new phenomena of pay-per-play through digital modes of purchase.

Benefits attributable to information technology (IT) include: A sharp decline in synchronization costs, resulting to new, concentrated business structures, which go a long way in enabling the business to respond to competitive forces, through provision of effective management of interdependence; technological improvements enable the control of spatially-dispersed business units; and long-distance communication is heightened through the outlay of the technological hardware.

Closely related to informational technologies is the aspect of the internet, the globally-connective village. Information systems generally facilitate various administrative functions, such as finance, resource management and accounting. Marketing and sales also fall under this categorization. The main function of any information system is storage, processing, search, development and transfer of information.

Internet serves to provide an electronic market place, whereby buyers (music enthusiasts) and sellers (the distributing organization) may engage each other for the purpose of trade (in digital music). Additionally, there is a wealth of information that can be sought online, which in this case may involve artist background or even information pertaining to the recorded music itself. Jobseekers may also search for vacancies online, hence facilitating the building of a human pool of resources for the organization. A discussion forum can also be set up via the web, within which the technical staff may liaise with customers regarding provision of goods and/or services. Today, there even exists an opportunity of obtaining higher education via the Internet which is useful for those who are deprived of the possibility to attend classes daily. Earning money via the internet is very common these days and most of people have internet-based businesses gaining profits daily. Internet chats and special sites can help in getting medical and juridical assistance or at least find people with common problems and interests.

The use of Internet for the study process cannot be overestimated. It helps the students acquire necessary basic skills in word processing, working with different databases, gives them a possibility to study educational programs and communicate with their fellow-students sharing knowledge and experience. Internet databases help in search of any kind of information thus giving the students a possibility to study and entertain at one and the same time. Different web-sits offer a variety of educational programs for teachers as well as method-guides which can be used in class. In other words, Internet makes studying process easier and more absorbing.

Implications from the case study

There is an increasing tendency for the movers and shakers in the music industry to lean more towards embracing technological changes. All and sundry do contend that the age of bulky operations involving exchange of tangible/hard cash for music compact discs (CDs) is coming to an end, instead being replaced by the onset of digital music and electronic banking. A paradigm shift is thus in the offing, and within the next few years, the entire industry will be streamlined to enhance operations. This being the case, there is a ready demand for qualified personnel, more so in the line of managing the afore-mentioned information technology resources. Practitioners will also come in handy during the roll-out of the technological framework, and will subsequently be tasked with supervising and/or implementing the entire sale and distribution process.

Conclusion

Overall productivity acceleration can only be achieved through incorporating the timely innovations in the field of information technology. This area is yet to be fully exploited, and adequate steps should be taken to ensure that healthy competition among the key firms dominant in the industry is maintained, if only to encourage further deliberations into alternative ways of delivering the required goods to the end user.

Reference List

1. Cohen, S. (1991) Popular Music and Urban regeneration: The Music Industries of Merseyside. London: UCL Press
2. Durant, A. (1990).A New Day for Music? Digital Technologies in Contemporary Music Making. New York, Touchstone
3. Passman D., (1997).Everything You Need to Know About the Music Business. New York; Simon and Schuster,
4. Clarke, G.E, (2006). Ideas for Dozens: A brief history of the Music Industry. Westport: Greenwood,
5. Cagle, V.M, Music, In Stanley (Ed), (1990). The Postmodern Moment: A Handbook of Contemporary Innovation in the Arts. London and New York: Routledge
6. Cunningham, H., (1998).Digital Diversions: Youth Culture in the Age of Multimedia. London: UCL Press
7. James, L. (1992). Popular Music and Communication: An Introduction.Newbury Park, Calif: Sage.