Category: Technology

Introduction

P2P, otherwise known as peer to peer, is a model in which one can share the files or data without the need of any centralized servers. In this, one can see many peer systems which are interconnected to each other. Peer-to-Peer systems benefit from and share the resources owned by systems that are distributed around the Internet. (Welcome to the 8^th international conference on peer- to peer computing 2008 (P2P08) 2008). This technology is entirely different from the server-client technology. The P2P systems can be in many forms. Presently Email, Internet Relay Chat and Napster are all examples of P2P systems. (Stone, et al n.d.).

Routing

There are different types of routing issues present in this P2P technology. Before discussing each type of routing in the P2P technology, one needs to understand about the techniques of routing. The term routing can be defined as a selection of path in the network for sending the data from source to destination. In other words, it can be explained as the process of defining the routes for sending the packets from source to destination. The routing has got two important tasks  first one is defining the paths for sending the data and second one is forwarding the packets based on the pre-selected path.

In case of P2P technology, an important thing one needs to keep in mind while designing the routing algorithms are scalability, complexity and anonymity. These are the important issues faced by the designers while implementing P2P. These things are mentioned in the technology survey named Peer to Peer Routing done by Emmanuel Stone, Tim Czerniak, Colm Ryan, and Rob McAdoo.

• Scalability  It is very important for the designers to keep in mind while creating the routing algorithm. It is the scalability that measures the performance of the system when number of nodes in the network or number of data in the network increases.
• Complexity  This is another important issue the developers of the routing have to keep in mind. Complexity means the different steps needed to make sure that data are travelling through the network very smoothly at the time of worst case scenario or when the traffic is very high in the network.
• Anonymity  This thing is not much important in the P2P networks. Still, there are some cases when the network is designed to provide the anonymity. Then this will be a problem and this problem has to be solved at the time of routing.

Next thing to discuss in this paper is about different routing types used in the P2P which resemble each of the above mentioned issues, namely, scalability, complexity and anonymity.

The two basic routing systems are Napster and Gnutella. The Napster is a centralized server and Gnutella is decentralized server. They are also well known peer to peer systems, and the users depend on this routing system. Napster is an important application of the peer to peer routing systems. Napster is the most used file sharing system. Napster is the file sharing system that used a central server for storing and searching the directory of files, but performed the file transfer in a direct P2P fashion. (Buford, Yu & Lua 2008, p.55).

The Napster started in 1999. Within very less time, the Napster became very popular. In the P2P system, the mass media has highly influenced the Napster system. But it got bad name. It had to face legal issues and was shut down. The Napster is not a full file sharing system. So it must be removed and the situation is that a new file sharing system must be introduced.

The first full P2P file sharing system is Gnutella and it became more popular than any other. The Gnutella is an overall network which has a wide spread use. The Gnutella protocol provides a simple reliable distribution system that delivers knowledge, literature, art and music to all. (What is gnutella 2003).

The idea behind the Gnutella was very simple. If a client wants to join in the network, he must know the address of any node in the network. The figure below shows the network having nine nodes. Once the client got a connection in any of the node in the network, the client can use the help of ping for finding the address present in the other nodes. The basic concept of this is each node always possesses a connection with the other nodes as shown in the figure below.

Pastry

In the P2P model, the node is selected as random. The Pastry Nodelds is the random circular orbit with 128 bit id space. The Pastry Nodelds works on the basis of simple technique. In this 128 bit node is transmit the data to the node which is nearest to the basic node through the circular data. I.e. each Pastry Nodelds node is can communicate with nearest neighbouring node. It is completely is not centralized process and not scalable.

Each node communicates with the nearest node. The Pastry Nodelds have routing table which consist of N nodes , neighbourhood set which have a the Nodelds and IP address and leaf set which consists of a Nodelds and IP address of the half node which is numerically very close to it. The locating and routing of Pastry is done by many steps. First check the whether the key falls within the Nodelds which is enclosed within the leaf set. If the key is covered by the leaf set, the message is openly transmitted to the destination node which is closest to the key. Otherwise the routing table is used here and the massage is sent to a common routing prefix.

Plaxton

Plaxton otherwise known as plaxton mesh. It is just like mesh and it is used for locating the named objects. The algorithm used in this is hashing algorithm. With the help of this algorithm this will find out the nodes in the network. The structuring of these is of two parts. The two parts are neighbour table and pointer list. The approach of plaxton in locating and routing the nodes is follows. First of all it will send a query destined towards object. Consider the abject is named as A. If it finds A then it will redirect to the server named as A. The neighbour table is used to store the mapping which is occurring at the time of searching. This routing method guarantees the unique node can be found in the network within log_bN logical hops. The problem with plaxton algorithm in routing is it does not support insertion and deletion of nodes dynamically.

Tapestry

The functions of Tapestry algorithm is similar to Plaxton algorithm which has been described just above. The main difference between these two is in adaptability and in fault tolerance. Structuring is same as plaxton has node as got neighbouring map which has put at routing levels. Each node presenting has got forward pointer and backward pointer. The Tapestry uses distributed algorithm for routing. The algorithm otherwise known as surrogate routing. At the time of locating and routing the tapestry performs the process of hashing. It generates the object ID for searching the roots.

It stores all information about the replicas to improve the performance and it stores in the table. This provides flexibility in the routing. The fault tolerance in the routing is adopted by jumping to another or nearby node when the bad links are available. The node insertion and deletion is possible in this.

TRIAD

TRIAD cannot be considered as a complete peer to peer system. But the major characteristics of TRIAD show much similarity to the peer to peer systems. The routing based on the contents transmitted is efficiently accomplished with TRIAD. The routing used is network integrated so that it takes up a position between centralized and decentralized systems.

The TRIAD system consists of a number of replicated servers through which the routing takes place. The integrated routers are used as IP routers and name servers. The name search is taken place through the servers in any approach along with which the piggybacking is done. This results in the establishment of the route as soon as the name is sought out.

Since more than one path is available for the seeking of the name, the reliability of the system becomes admirable. Also the routing based on name results in an increase in the performance of the TRIADs compared to the DNS based system. The user equipments in TRIAD act as servers or routers or both servers and routers.

Security

Millions of people use free P2P file sharing programs  software to swap music, video and other files over the Internet. (Mitchell 2009). The privacy of P2P networks is discussed here. The user has to maintain privacy in P2P networks. There can be different types of threats in privacy of P2P networks. For the communication through the internet the user will have to provide some information like IP address port number etc.

This information can be helpful in hacking which hinders security. The use of computer networks can also provide information about the users to a third party. For example, in VoIP, a third party can know about the people talking, the time and duration of the call etc. Some other threats to security of P2P networks are viruses, spy ware, malware etc. Spy ware is software that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge and provides it to a third party. (Spyware: definition 2009).

For the proper security of P2P networks, it should be configured properly. Kazaa is a distributed file sharing service that uses peer to peer network technology. (Mitchell 2009). It helps in sharing files like music, movies etc. The sharing of information between computers may allow the invasion of viruses and other hosts. Anonymous networks are the third generation P2P networks. It is an improvement over Kazaa which is the second generation P2P network.

Anonymous network provides anonymity or secrecy. Some of the anonymous networks are Freenet, GNUnet etc. Friend to friend network is another third generation P2P network. An example of friend to friend network is the MUTE. For the privacy of P2P network, the usage of the P2P software should be known by the user. He should also have knowledge about the information shared. The shared document should be secure and it should be free from any kind of information that can be misused. Privacy should also be maintained in the information sent. The IP address should be kept private so that the user identity is not known by others.

The use of P2P network involves certain risks. Many of the computer users at home have low knowledge about security. Due to their carelessness viruses can attack the computers easily. Problems can also occur due to accidental file sharing. The individual users may be less experienced and they may find it difficult to detect and remove the viruses. One way to tackle this problem is to use a firewall and a good antivirus program which should be updated frequently. A P2P application that is free from viruses should be used and the user should try to learn the configuration of the network. In companies there are corporate users using the computers.

The use of P2P application may cause some problems in the companies. The accidental file sharing in companies may sometimes cause the sharing of their secret files and other information. There should be a reliable protection for information of the companies. The increased number of employees in the company is also a problem for security. They install whatever software they like and use the computers as they wish. The experts of the company may not be able to manage them. One of the main threats of both individual and corporate users is identity thefts like Korgo virus. These viruses help in cracking password and other user information.

Security of the network should be taken into account at the starting stage itself. If it is considered only at the last stage, it will be difficult. The P2P network faces this problem. The privacy of the first and second generation of P2P network was not up to the required level. The third generation P2P network is still not in a developed stage. They dont have some of the functions and uses of the second generation P2P networks. When the third generation comes into use, the risks in P2P also will increase. Even though the third generation P2P application may provide a certain level of secrecy, they do not guarantee a high level of security.

So the problems of the viruses and other spy wares will remain as such in the future also. Secrecy in the network can become a disadvantage sometimes, because it can favour the malicious users as these users sometimes remain unrecognized. It will remain a problem to security. In Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technologies we can share files without a centralized server. For locating the nodes it contains a fault tolerant mechanism which helps variety of applications. The application can be multicast, anonymous communications, and web caches. As mentioned earlier Peer to Peer does not follow the client server paradigm.

It is based on peers and thus replication is possible in the system which provides features like availability, scalability. For getting better efficiency and scalability, careful analysis and designing is a must. As these systems mainly focus about sharing of large amount of music, designing is mainly based upon that criteria such as it should contain variety of services which is not centralised, that is decentralised which includes services like network storage and content distribution. It also includes services like web caching, searching and indexing etc. Our main aim is to make the system secure. As these systems are mainly used for music sharing, they are open to attack. They study about the traffic and give unidentified communication against the system. Also they try to use the disk space which will badly affect the actual user.

For surviving such kind of problems we always give importance to security of this network. File sharing system in the peer-to-peer give formations to the people. The people who are installing these tools are aware about its security and privacy. P2P users must be always aware about a source which is from a trusted one and must be careful about the viruses. Installing antivirus software will protect from virus attack up to some extent. Online attacks will also affect these systems.

By sharing files between different users online attackers can identify computer IP address and they can access data of that computer having the particular IP address. This will badly affect the security of the system. Self-Help Attacks is another security problem. This will occur in the rise of self-help techniques by copyright holders concerned about infringement on file-trading networks. (Davidson 2003). To provide security of peer-to-peer systems users should have better knowledge about operation and risks of these systems. The major security tips are the following.

1. Knowledge about the type of file that are shared
2. Be careful about the downloading file
3. Proper usage of the security tools
4. Share the files legally
5. Aware about spy ware.

The major P2P security approaches are encrypting the traffic in the peers. Encrypting aims encryption of stream and it is not detected easily. With the actual connection stream completely encrypted, it becomes much harder for the P2P traffic to be detected, and, thus, attacked, blocked, or throttled.

(Li 2007). By anonymizing peers, these networks can protect the uniqueness nodes and the users. Anonymity means we cant identify from where these data are coming and which is the destination of that data. It does this by making all peers on the network universal senders and universal receivers, thus making it practically impossible to determine if a peer is receiving a chunk of data or simply passing it through. (Li 2007).

Encrypting P2P traffic and anonymizing the peers together provide better security for the system. Always take care to use Peer-to-Peer system in secure way. The main thing that we have to remember is the following: Scan all the details collected through file sharing. We have to share needed data only. Always be careful about the client software. Avoid the usage of Peer-to-Peer network in a corporate environment without agreement because other P2P users can collect data from our compute which may affect the bandwidth of the network. Networks such as Bit Torrent and eMule make it easy for people to find what they want and share what they have. (Bradley 2009). Above all, for getting better security of the system, careful designing and protocol execution is necessary.

Conclusion

In this paper we have discussed about data sharing, routing and security in Peer-to-Peer over lay network systems both at the application layer and network layer. The main routing systems discussed here are Napster and Gnutella. The various security issues are also included. Because of its high processor speed, hard disk space, fast internet connection, Peer-to-peer systems are widely used nowadays.

Reference List

Bradley, T 2009, Peer- to- Peer (P2P) security: four steps to sharing and swapping file without becoming a victim, About.: Wireless/ Networking. Web.

Buford, J, Yu, H & Lua, E K 2008, P2P networking and applications: early systems: napster, Morgan Kaufmann.

Davidson, A 2003, Peer- to- peer file sharing privacy and security: security risks, Center for Democracy & Technology. Web.

Li, J 2007, A survey of peer- to- peer network security issues: encrypting P2P traffic. Web.

Li, J 2007, A survey of peer- to- peer network security issues: anonymous P2P. Web.

Mitchell, B 2009, Kazaa- kazzaa: definition kazaa, About.: Wireless/ Networking. Web.

Mitchell, B 2009, Top 10 free P2P file sharing programs  free P2P software, About.: Wireless/ Networking. Web.

Spyware: definition 2009, SearchSecurity. Web.

Stone, E., et al n.d., Peer to peer routing: introduction, 4BA2: Technology Survey. Web.

Stone, E., et al n.d., Peer to peer routing: gnutella routing, 4BA2: Technology Survey. Web.

Welcome to the 8^th international conference on peer- to peer computing 2008 (P2P08): please visit P2P as most recent event in the series of P2P conference 2008, IEEE: P2P08 RWTH Aachen University. Web.

What is gnutella 2003, Gnutella: File Sharing and Distribution Network. Web.

A consumer survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that a majority of North Americans are not aware of the infectious diseases they are at risk neither of nor of the immunizations that can prevent them. The national survey found that only 2.1%of 18-64 year olds have been immunized for tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. Even more alarming was that immunization as a preventative against shingles for people over the age of 60 was as low as 1.9%. Further recognized was that influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates among the elderly have fallen very short of the 90% set for national targets.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) has made a call for physicians to increase the use of immunizations amongst older citizens so that unnecessary illnesses do not develop which drain economic budgets for public health (Ebersole, Hess, Touhy, Jet, & Luggen, 2008). The CDC suggest that older adults be immunized against a variety of infectious diseases: chickenpox, diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, human papillomavirus/cervical cancer (HPV), influenza, measles, meningococcal disease, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumococcal disease, rubella, shingles and tetanus.

It may be that the frequency for shots are part of the hurdle to meet national targets, with time being short people may not have adequate access to a GP to obtain or update their immunizations (Melillo, & Houde, 2005). For example, the vaccination against cervical cancer for women is a three-dose course. Whereas tetanus need only be re-given every 10 years; chickenpox, measles and mumps are considered to be one off vaccinations and influenza an annual one; hepatitis and meningococcal usually require more than 2 doses.

Turning now to preventative gerontology the focus shall be on telehealth or telemedicine. The USA has a rapidly increasing population of older citizens (Halter, 2009). More older people are seeking medical aid as compared to any other age group. As such, how the health care system and society in general care for the aged is a huge challenge for future health and social care systems (Field, 1996). Thus technological alternatives and automating of some processes to better enable independent living, safer living, more meaningful living and a high standard of coordination and information updating for nurses (Hazzard, 2005).

Information technology (IT) is now a given part of nurses training at university and in the field. Technology and networks of computers able to utilize a variety of software enable preventative medicine to be taken to a whole new level. Patients/clients can monitor themselves or the nurse has an alternative form of real-time measurements (Gardiner, 1995). It is no longer necessary for face-to-face consultations as tele-diagnostics and even operations can take place. Hence, future medicine in the USA is heavily dependant on the use of technology and the implementation of telehealth for preventative gerontology.

Telemedicine can help with GNP in educating patients and clients about lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, stress, alcohol and infectious disease (Lyder, 2005). The advancement of technology can also help patients to maintain adequate physical activities to bolster health such as using a WII or Sony Play station for real-time exercise programs; using the computer to plot waist measurements, food diaries, emotional journeys etc and accessing the Internet to share information, gain education, learn from up-to-date peer reviewed research and to discover how other older persons live independently and manage their health using technology. Ultimately, smart technology can aid older adults to remain living in their home independently whilst GBP is maintained over great distances (Lyder, 2005; Yellowlees & Kennedy, 1997).

References

Ebersole, P., Hess, P., Touhy, T.A., Jet, K. & Luggen, A.S. (2008) Toward healthy aging human needs and nursing response. (7th ed.) St. Louis: Mosby.

Field, M. et al, (1996) Telemedicine: A guide to assessing telecommunications in Healthcare. National Academy Press: Washington DC.

Fries, F. (1997) Can preventive gerontology be on the way?Am J Public Health 87(10): 15911593. Web.

Gardiner, M. (1995). Meeting the Home Health Care Needs of the Elderly in the 21^st Century through Telecommunications: Report and Recommendations Consumer Interest Research Institute, Washington, DC.

Halter, J. (2009) Hazards geriatric medicine and gerontology. (6th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hazzard, W. (2005) Preventive gerontology: Edging ever closer to the Barrier to Immortality. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 60: 594-595. Web.

Lyder, C. (2005) Smart technology: Keeping our Elders Independent. Web.

Melillo, K. & Houde, S. (2005) Geropsychiatric and mental health nursing. Boston: Jones and Bartle.

Yellowlees, P. & Kennedy, C. (1997) Telemedicine: Here to stay, MJA, 166.

Secure Interaction Designing, a vital component in todays world of interface designing is the practice of designing a system, which aims at safeguarding the interests of the legal end users of the computer system. Various concerns have cropped up during the past times, which include the likes of viruses, malwares, spywares and phishing apart from traditional issues like online tracking systems and involuntary revelation of personal information.

In order to save the user from harm, the softwares behavior must be in coherence with the anticipation of the user. Thus attending to security issues need an understanding of the users perception of working of the system. If not, the user would not have the means to foresee and comprehend the outcome of his actions. Consequently, secure systems must implement security judgment founded on the grounds of user-oriented events but at the same time should permit those events to be articulated in well-known forms. (Gupta, 2007)

How admonition fits into an overall security strategy

Security can be implemented by means of employing two approaches, namely: security by designation and security by admonition. In the Security by designation approach, subsequent to a users triggering an event, the system takes the suitable actions linked with security issues. For instance, double-clicking on a folder icon would lead to rendering the contents of the folder. While in Security by admonition approach, it would present notifications, which the user needs to attend to and take suitable action, based on his judgment, from the available options offered by the system, and the system would display a caution message when the user attempts to proceed with an action, which might cause harm. This paper looks into the intricacies of the Security by Admonition approach and its effectiveness as a security strategy. (Pramod, 2007)

Providing security as a component of the product or service package has increasingly become a trend amongst vendors who consider this as a vital element of their business strategy. However, in many security features, the concluding security-related decision is left to the end-user. According to experts, this policy originates in a clash between offering security and usability, where security typically encumbers and usability generally aids the user in accomplishing a job. (Gupta, 2007)

Successful implementing admonition as a security measure

The above figure exemplifies a method employed to surmount the previously mentioned conflict. The security strategy symbolized by the rectangle incorporates a wide range of activities, which the user might find either adequate or else improper. Each time the user takes a course of action, which may be undesirable for him, but at the same time is allowable as per the security policy, the system calls for user affirmation of the action. This approach, entitled as security by admonition, leaves the ultimate decision to the end-user. (Pramod, 2007)

Some illustrations of these notifications are the firewall popping up a dialog box requiring the user to authorize a process on a certain server requesting access to run on a particular port, the Internet Explorer phishing filter offering a caution message to the user that the webpage being navigated might be unsafe and the Firefox browser requiring heightened privileges with regards to some signed JavaScript code. Security by admonition policy relies on the understanding of the end-user regarding security and his computing knowledge to take proper decision. (Gupta, 2007)

The admonition approach allows a user to intervene instead of the system taking a security-related action, which might hinder the task of the user. However, an issue in the policy of admonition is at what time to warn and under what circumstance to proceed. The following figure explains this conflict.

The effectiveness of admonition as part of a security system

Providing too little caution exposes the user to potential hazards whereas on the other hand presenting the user with too many caution messages vexes the user. The greater the incongruity between acceptable and permissible actions, the more difficult it is for the system to tradeoff between security and usability. (Gupta, 2007)

Another issue in this policy is the aggressiveness of designs in the form of compelling users to respond to a prompt. It generates a lot of annoyance amongst users at times. Effective designs should be conspicuous by their proximity and importance instead of their aggressiveness, which gets in the way of the accomplishment of user tasks. Examples of good designs can be the appearance of a transient bar in browser windows that doesnt obstruct the view of the page as a display prompt would, displaying information on the cursor trail, or reminders concerning passwords emerging beside a password field when it is active. (Pramod, 2007)

Security by admonition as a successful IT security strategy can be analyzed in two distinctive methods. Firstly, as a social process, which makes entities act in a deliberate way based on social, conduct or secondly, with computer systems that plainly request an answer to a question. Social engineering can be considered as one of the most influential instruments in a firms IT security policy.

As children, everyone has been educated to differentiate between correct and incorrect. The admonition is a policy simply based on that teaching. Its effectiveness depends on how well systems are designed and to what extent the balance between security and usability is achieved. To confront the challenges thrown up the admonition approach is not an effortless job for multinational corporations. However, overall it presents a relatively low outlay alternative as compared to existent complex security structures, which may give it an edge above the others. (Pramod, 2007)

References

Gupta, Ashok K, Uma Chandrashekhar, Suhasini V. Sabnis, Frank A. Bastry; 2007; Building secure products and solutions; Bell Labs Technical Journal; 12, 3, 21-38; Alcatel-Lucent; Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Pramod, Hari, V. Koppol, Ashok K. Gupta, Dor Skuler; 2007; A service-delivery platform for extending security coverage and IT reach; Bell Labs Technical Journal; 12, 3, 101-119; Alcatel-Lucent; Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey; Bell Labs, Cornelius, North Carolina.

Synopsis of Article

This article talks about the revolution that has been brought about in the businesses with the advent of information technology. Earlier memos and hand written letters were used for communication and naturally it was a very time consuming process. With emails, faxes, video conferencing etc. boundaries and territorial restrictions do not exist anymore; distances are covered in seconds. Naturally, work is faster and more accurate.

But apart from this, each employee has maintained a personal relation with the technology  productivity raise. They use technology in whatever way that it suits them to raise their productivity and make it beneficial for them; this increases their target achievement (Mordecki, 2004). Therefore, technology can help develop the quality and the quantity of an organization both. With the emergence of technology, new posts such as the IT Manager are being opened up which facilitate employment opportunities for many. For underdeveloped countries which do no have the enough vacancies and jobs can make good use of it to increase their employment rates.

This article also talks about the need to tie together the bonds of a business manager and an IT manager. Both play a very important role in the organization which are on different paths but lead to the same goal. They have different areas of work and different skills along with perceptions and take on things. It is very important to align those two tracks towards the same goal because without each other the managers cannot really work and the organization can never be technologically advanced in its operations especially in the world of today.

Relevance of Article to class

This article can help people decide their future career paths based on the future market and opportunities emerging in the market. It tells how important the job of an IT manager is and how a business is incomplete without it. Also, how managers are dependant on one another and IT is a progressing and ever changing field, thus, the other managers need to be in touch with the IT manager at all times. All this can make the students realize why they should go for this post. Apart from scope, it can also help us in realizing that it is up to us that in which manner we use technology and customize it to ourselves to personally grow.

Personal Reaction to Article

The author is correct in saying that since the future market is full of technological advancements and eventually everything will be automated (Taylor, 2008). Therefore, personally I think I will deviate into the information technology field so that I do not feel handicapped in the future.

Reason for selection of article

The main purpose was to give an idea to others that technology is just more than computers and speedy work. Additionally, I also intended to show them the possibility of a huge future market which will need employees, so that they can think of their future scope.

Based on this article and the analysis I have made, I personally believe that each member present in the class should discuss how they think technology can help them develop. Everybody having different views and plans to improve themselves using technology can be a great help to those who have not figured out how to use technology for their better, and can turn out to be a very useful discussion.

Works Cited

Mordecki, D., Technology Impact in Business, (2004). Web.

Taylor, J., Live from IMPACT  The Impact of Technology on Business, James Taylor on Enterprise Decision Management; (2008). Web.

Information technology has continued to advance over the years, these advances have continuously been improved due to the increase in international business activities. Multinational business activities can only be made easier if there is frequent and prompt communication. It has become easier to monitor international business trends through this technology. This modern technology has reduced inefficiencies that were brought about by human error and instead softwares have been programmed to accurately perform the required tasks. Even though these technologies are expensive to invent and maintain, they are economical in terms of production output. In recent developments a communication technology; voice over IP, abbreviated as VoIP, has been introduced to the business world, this technology has continued to excite its users because of its numerous advantages.

According to (Williams, 2009 pp33-34) Voice over IP provides a single network through which consumers can perform various tasks like making calls, sending emails and passing any other computer data. This simplifies the work which would have otherwise involved the use of many devices and consequently eliminates implementation cost. This device is also more adaptable compared to other communication systems which have a specialized geographical coverage.

It is being picked up by more telecommunication companies who are adapting it and spreading its use even to the poorly networked regions. (Weber, 1998) argues that, through voice over IP technology, data can be shared over several devices even without the use of a standard phone or a computer. With the increased international coverage of the broadband network, international calls are being made possible through the internet by VoIP phones.

These will in turn slash down on the amount normally used to make these calls. It has been deduced that voice over IP will provide more multimedia experience which will be able to be transferred between computers and phones. Compared to a phone line which can only accommodate two communicating people, a voice IP can involve more than two parties through conferencing by compressing the data. With voice IP, it is not only the voices that can be exchanged but as one talks, other data materials like files and pictures can be exchanged through a web cam. (Anderson, 2001) It is also possible to view the picture of the person that you are communicating with on line. Voice IP has a high capacity to tolerate fault because the inherent complexity in PSTN is eliminated making it flexible and hence supporting several communications.

VoIP technology is very portable which has made it possible to transfer data service of the office through the intranet of the organization. Using VoIP for voice communication, involves lesser and cheaper devices for regular internet users. They will only need a sound card, a microphone and speakers to access these exiting features. Business activities and social relationships can be intensified by the use of this technology which offers a wide variety of applications that facilitate international launches.

Voice over IP technology has very many benefits that can be utilized by any commercial institution to facilitate good business relations. Different branches of company will not necessarily have to come together for meetings, with video conferencing through the VoIP, different parties from different regions can effectively hold their meetings. With a VoIP connection, it is easy to oversee and manage company activities; in fact this will save the manager from having to walk from one department to the other trying to find out what his staff is doing. This can be transferred to the information technology staff that is more skilled in using it.

The company will also be able to intensify its business activities in the internet through this technology that allows them to share their views with their prospective investors and even customers. (Richard, 2003) This is because voice over IP provides them with a variety of links which they can browse through. Due to the wide geographical coverage of the technology, business activities can be done and managed even in the places that are deemed to have poor communication coverage. (May, 2002)

With this technology the company will have the latest updates of the immerging skills and technologies in the world. This will help them to be making necessary adjustments in their products so as to fit well in the society. Through the facilities provided by this technology, possible businesses opportunities can be found which will enable the company expand its business coverage. Knowledge is also transmitted from one company to another and through this networking, different partnerships may be formed.

The main drawback of voice over IP is that it requires a specialized technician to manage it. The company also has to ensure that it has enough band width to adequately handle its activities. This technology can expose a company to its competitors who will be able to track the various procedures that they use to market and sell their products and consequently adapt the same to counter attack them. Profiles that were considered secret, are no longer so.

Conversations can be trapped and stored using this technology and this may cause strained relationships that had taken time to build. The company has to go through various adjustments to incorporate a new technology; this involves training its staff and installing new equipments. This is a costly exercise that not only consumes money but also time. (Williams, 2009) With more inventions in the field of information technology, the former ones that may have equally coasted the company to install become out dated and are resold at a much lower price.

With more inventions still being made on the voice over IP technology, we can only wait in anticipation for more exciting devices that will further improve the communication system. The changes may not always be friendly as they require a lot of working capital to train experts and install them. This excitement also pause a greater challenge to the business communities who are now supposed to also advance by seeking technological knowledge that will enable them to use it in the most appropriate way.

Technology will always change, and with the emerging class of technicians we have to be always ready to advance higher as we adapt to the new inventions. A company with new improved technology improves the quality of its production and quantity of the finished products. Once the technology is in place, goods and services produced satisfy potential customers and company is able to grow all the time. Therefore, I recommend that the new technology be adapted so that the company can make use of rapidly changing technology in order to match with the consumers tastes and preferences. (May, 2002)

References

Weber R. (1998): Information System Control and Audit: Prentice Hall pp. 12-16.

Williams K. (2009): Using Information Technology: career education pp. 33-34.

Richard T. (2003): The Ethics of Information Technology and Business: Blackwell Publishers pp. 27-30.

Anderson J. (2001): Security Engineering: John Wiley & Sons pp. 24-27.

May C. (2002): The Information Society: Polity Pr pp. 39-42.

According to the facts presented in this case, Paul Jones was the first person to make contact with the attorney concerning his intention to divorce his wife. It was the responsibility of the attorney who was in charge of this to take note and record this intention. These are the records that are necessary for future references in case of conflict of interest arising with future clients. When Melanie Jones makes contact with the supervising attorney to report her intention to divorce her husband no conflict of interests check is run. This is the beginning of all the mess in the case. It is a fact that the failure by the supervising attorney to make records of contact with Paul Jones is itself an ethical issue. Secondly, the failure of the supervising attorney to run a conflict of interests check on meeting with Melanie Jones is unethical. To add to this even if he would have run the check positive results could not have been realized since the records of his husband were not in existence according to the facts presented in this case.

Consequently, these ethical issues led to the violation of one of the rules concerning client-lawyer relationships. By the ABA Model Rules of professional conduct, client and lawyer relationship rule number 1.7 a lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest. A concurrent conflict of interest occurs when;

1. The representation of one client will be directly averse to another.
2. There is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyers responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person or by a personal interest of the lawyer.

In this case, it is clear that Paul Jones was the first to report to the supervising attorney on his intentions to divorce his wife. Conflicts of interest arise because Paul Jones is the husband of Melanie Jones therefore in their pursuit for legal services they cannot be represented by the same lawyer. This is because if the lawyer decides to represent Melanie Jones, Her husband who is also a client to the same Lawyer would be affected adversely in his pursuit for a divorce.

The consequence of violating the rule on client verse lawyer relationship the lawyer is subject to disciplinary action according to the ABAModel rules of professional conduct.

The lawyer is under an obligation to observe the rules governing his conduct in the practice of his profession keeping in mind that the umbrella body for the law profession has a code of ethics under which all lawyers operate. Practicing law with disregard to rules of the profession calls for disciplinary action to be administered to the concerned lawyer to maintain the high standards of ethical behavior in the profession. Therefore under the law, the supervising attorney should face a penalty for not observing the required ethical standards when dealing with Paul Jones and Melanie Jones.

What should have been done

To prevent the violation of the rule concerning conflict of interest in the lady lawyer-client ship there are a number of things which ought to have been taken care of.

First of all, it was important that during Pauls Jones first contact with the supervisory attorney, he should have taken note of the case pending the time when Paul would have come to start the divorce procedure. The records of Paul Jones would have been very useful in future cases so as to establish if there is a relationship of any other future client with him. With reference to such records using appropriate tools, it would have been possible to detect the possibility of conflict of interests arising in future as a result of another client seeking the services of the same lawyer. When Melanie Jones makes contact with the same supervisory attorney the correct thing that should have been done is running the conflict of interests check. This would have given positive results therefore it would have been clear that she is the wife to Paul Jones and therefore should seek another lawyer or communicate with her husband concerning the matter. The fact that Paul had made contact first with the supervisory attorney should have been explained to her in a good way for her to understand that proceeding with the case would lead to unethical behavior. This information should also have been conveyed to Paul Jones for him to understand why he was given priority over his wife. The issue of Paul noticing the situation when a lot of things have already happened should not have occurred.

In short, records should have been kept well to prevent the supervisory attorney from quickly forgetting that Paul Jones had initially shown up and informed them of his intention to divorce his wise. Negligence on the part of the attorney by not running a conflict of interest check should not have been there if a lot he is ethical and competent.

Role of technology

Technology plays a very significant role in information and communication. Tools in information systems that are effective in managing information are very essential for preventing such undesirable incidences in the course of practicing law. Microsoft Outlook is one such important tool that could be used to capture the information concerning Paul Jones when he made his first contact with the supervisory attorney. In this application, important personal information of the clients should have been stored for future references. With the coming of Melanie Jones, the supervisory attorney should have treated her as a different entity and therefore captured her personal information using Microsoft outlook. After capturing the information, it is important that a conflict of interest be done using the software. This would bring out the relationship between the two and would therefore indicate that there is a conflict of interest Using Microsoft outlook it is possible to store information in an organized way even using the personal folders. There is an option of finding information or contacts on the menu. This can be used quickly to search for related pieces of information that can detect relationships between the different clients who seek for legal services. Microsoft outlook is therefore an efficient way of organizing client information by lawyers to prevent incidences of conflict of interest from occurring due to the tendency to forget especially when a client reports and disappears only to come back later. Microsoft Outlook can therefore be used as a standard protocol for checking conflict of interests by use of client information.This would be important in improving efficiency and professionalism in the practice of law in the firm.

Synopsis: The author argues that HTTPS protocols used in websites have some security holes that are not covered by using SSL. The SSL technology is used to provide security but hackers can manipulate the SSL by decoding the data, using SSL-MITM or SSL Man in the Middle technique. Thus hackers can exploit the SSL to hack into the transactions made by users when they enter data in eCommerce sites and gain confidential information of the victim. The author proposes three different methodologies that can be used to stop the hacker from using the SSL-MITM technique.

Relevance: The article has some amount of relevance to the class since many of the students do indulge in online shopping. Many are assured when they see the SSL symbol of a lock at the bottom of the screen and feel their information is confidential and the website is protected. However, this is not the case and it is possible for hackers to still hack and steal passwords. For one thing, the article cautions us to be careful while exchanging information on the net. For another, developers and programmers can make use of the article and make websites more secure.

Personal Reaction: The article was a sort of eye-opener and a bit scary as I always felt that it was safe to transact when the site is protected by SSL. However, this is not the case and even seemingly secure sites are not safe. I also begin to think that this information and the article should receive much more mid publicity and website owners and developers should be made aware of the problems and solutions. Another personal reaction is I begin to wonder if all the eCommerce sites, that are hosted by highly technical people have fooled millions of people into believing that the transactions on their site are safe.

Reason for selection: There are two reasons for selecting the article and the first is the interesting subject f the article and the second is the presentation and structure of the document. Website security has become very important as many of us undertake eCommerce transactions. The article has shown how even SSL that is regarded as a high-level security feature can be compromised. The article also gives names of hacking tools such as ARP Spoof, DNS Spoof, Sniffing and SSL Dump and process used by hackers along with screen shots of the hacking tools to show how hacking is done. This is very useful information for the lay reader as well as technical people. The article is also presented and structured properly with an abstract, introduction, body with different headings and a conclusion. The manner in which the information is presented and complex ideas are put forth is a good example of how academic articles should be written.

Discussion Questions: The article has brought about the very interesting topic of hacking and this concerns all of us. Some of the discussion questions are: Are the eCommerce websites that we use aware of these threats and have they initiated measures to prevent hacking? How do we verify if the websites we use are safe and that some hacker has not already hacked the system? Does changing passwords every time we use eCommerce sites help in increasing protection? Should we trust brick and mortar shopping malls more than eCommerce websites?

References

Chomsiri Thawatchai, 2007. HTTPS Hacking Protection. IEEE, 21st International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops. 0-7695-2847-3/07

Introduction

To begin with, it should be stated that the development of the IT sphere and the spread of communication technologies have changed the image of business management essentially. Currently, there is an excellent opportunity for managing a business, staying in any corner of the world by the means of the internet, or arranging and controlling the business performance on the other continent.

Relational Technology

The constant development of the internet environment makes the availability of almost any data rather high for millions of users. Multimedia data is a user-friendly solution for providing numerous services over the internet to users and consumers. It should be stated, that Relational Technology is mostly based on such multimedia data management, making the application of this technology easy and effective. It is also designed for proper storage of data dealing with financial instruments, engineering diagrams, managerial principles, monetary flows, etc. It is necessary to emphasize that the application of relational technology for data management and processing systems essentially simplifies the remote trouble solving, linked with the data management. Relational technology may be also adapted for solving numerous managerial issues. Thus, it will be necessary to incorporate the communication-oriented applications to the RT for this purpose.

One of the brightest examples of using relational technology is the Oracle server. Wilson (2000) emphasizes the following fact in his research: the Oracle server can be enhanced by developers to create their own application-domain-specific data types, based on the relational technology principles. Thus, there is an opportunity of creating financial portfolios, phone networks  and thus ensure that the database programs properly deal with the same level of abstraction as the application domain. Originally, it is desirable to integrate these new domain types as closely as possible with the server so they are treated at par with the built-in types. With such integration, the database server can be readily extended for new domains. From this point of view, it should be emphasized that relational technology, and the business management strategies, based on this technology, generally require advanced data management services that maintain the rich data types used in electronic catalogs, corporate repositories, and other media-rich applications. Thus, if something goes wrong in the abroad business sector, Relational Technology is designed for remote troubleshooting and performing managerial decisions in a department, which may be located in any part of the world. Surely, the IT issues are solved the most quickly, while HR management problems, for instance, require more time for being solved in the case of necessity. (Jonassen, 2004)

If the project is implemented in the allover performance of an organization, it should be emphasized that all the expenses may be returned rather quickly, as it liberates numerous resources, spent for communication. These are the financial, human and time resources, consequently, the company will be able to improve the allover performance and get an opportunity of creating additional remote departments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be stated that the relational technologies, applied to data management are rather helpful. It is explained in the example with the Oracle server, that these technologies are effective in the troubleshooting process, especially in the sphere of IT. Nevertheless, these technologies may be adapted for solving managerial issues.

References

Jonassen, D. H. (Ed.). (2004). Handbook of Research on Communications and Technology (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Wilson, M. I. & Corey, K. E. (Eds.). (2000). Information Tectonics: Space, Place, and Technology in an Electronic Age. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Introduction

Globalization and the current financial crisis felt all over the world are two forces that are changing the mindset of business leaders. In the past, European and American businessmen can afford to spend money without thinking hard about where it went and how it was spent. As long as a product was created at the end of the day then that is considered as a mark of success. In the 21st century this is not the case because today, one of the major goals of businesses is cost-efficiency and the need to reduce time-to-market. This is especially true when it comes to firms that employ lean management strategies. In a lean management system, one can find a concept that has revolutionized product design and product delivery and it is called rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping promises to improve communication, cut costs, and deliver the product on time with minimal or zero modifications needed.

Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a subset of lean management systems. The main purpose of a lean management system is to eliminate waste, reduce the number of constraints and finish and deliver a product on time without having to send it back for modifications or make major changes to the design. In other words, the company will achieve cost-efficiency without having to sacrifice quality. This is made possible by identifying the needs of the customers, then delivering what was agreed upon in the meetings with the client. One way of using the lean management approach is to use RP, but before going any further it is important to first define the meaning of a prototype.

According to one explanation a prototype is simply defined as, An approximation of a product or a system (Chua et al., p.1). It can also be a component of a system. The more popular definition of a prototype is stated as follows, & the first or original example of something that has been or will be copied or developed; it is a model or preliminary version (Chua et al. p. 1). This provides a basis for the development of a product or software. This will jumpstart the project and instead of wasting valuable time discussing the capabilities of the project staff and other less important issues, by providing them a prototype the customer will automatically determine what they can expect from the manufacturer. The rapid deployment of a prototype will allow the customers to have a general idea or a look and feel of the final product. In this way, they can immediately offer their suggestions on the preliminary stages of the development cycle and the project goes on to the next level without wasting time and effort.

Application

The first step is to interview the customer about their needs and wants. The next step is for the project staff to determine if they can satisfy these needs and wants in view of budget, schedule, and technical constraints (Frame, p. 59). After accepting the project, the staff will begin the long and arduous task of deciding what exactly is needed by the customer and then proceed to manufacture the product, develop the software or finalize the design of the component. The customer on the other hand will wait until the project is completed and then test the new product, software, or component. If there was a miscommunication or a misunderstanding in the preliminary meeting then it will result in a product that is below the expectation of the client. The product will be returned for modification or redesign.

If there is just a way to reduce the time between preliminary meetings and customer feedback then it will reduce the cost of the production and will allow the project staff to deliver on time as well as earn high praise from the customers. The solution is RP. This is because RP will enable the project staff to determine the correct design early in the production cycle. This is made possible by the fact that a prototype can be a virtual representation or a rough representation of the product (Chua et al., p. 2-3). In certain cases, the project staff can be so experienced when it comes to dealing with a particular product that they can even bring a prototype on the first meeting with the clients.

A company known for creating management information systems (MIS) for instance will have a general idea of what customers wanted due to their vast experience in the field of Information Technology. In their first meeting with the clients, they can show the three prototypes and in the field of IT, this is nothing more than screen images. The three prototypes are simply screened images of a) data entry forms; b) data retrieval forms; and c) help menus (Frame, p. 60). These images are rough and yet very effective in allowing the clients to see a tangible representation of what the final product can be. This is an example of a prototype. The reason for creating a prototype is to provide customers with a look and feel or overview of the final product (Frame, p. 60). The customer will greatly appreciate this level of professionalism because they can immediately feel that the team handling the project is not wasting their time.

In the case of a company that is in the business of supplying components to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), they cannot afford not to use RP. For this type of company, they must be able to provide a rough representation or at least a scale model of what they are going to do. In the case of significantly large components then they must have a scale model before going to rapid prototyping and rapid deployment. The OEM will be able to have an overview of the plan and from the very beginning can inform the project staff that there is something wrong with the design. Therefore, they do not need to purchase raw materials just yet and then build the component based on the erroneous design. This is another example of why RP will enable cost-efficiency.

Using RP, a firm can experience not only efficiency but also a significant improvement when it comes to customer satisfaction. The following reasons help explain why (eFunda, 2009):

• Increase effective communication  in the first meeting with the client the project staff can show them a prototype that will allow them to provide feedback and the design can be clarified even on the early stage of the production cycle;
• Decrease Development Time  a prototype enables not only the customer but everyone involved in the manufacturing process to see an overview of the software or a rough representation of the product/component, allowing them to voice out their concerns with regards to the viability of the project;
• Decrease Costly Mistakes  the client, the engineers, and even the end-users can see where the project is heading, and having an idea of the final design they can provide feedback improving the design much further and reducing the possibility of recall or redesign;
• Extend Product Lifetime  since the engineers were able to create the correct design by the needs of the customers as well as the actual users of the product then it can be used effectively and correctly reducing the possibility of breakdowns due to incorrect design or improper use.
• Decrease Delivery Time  the rapid feedback provided by the customers in the early stage of the production cycle will also translate to faster turnout.

The most important feature of the RP concept is its ability to enhance communication. In this day and age where components and software development is outsourced to places like Shanghai, China, and New Delhi, India the chances of miscommunication and misunderstanding can be increased exponentially. Even two firms one located in the UK and the other in Germany can discuss a project and all of a sudden both camps will be talking about two different things. The language barrier is a very critical issue in the age of globalization. This problem can be easily overcome with the use of RP.

RP works by how the human mind functions. A person will have a better understanding of the project and the expected results if he or she can see a model or a prototype. Even a virtual prototype developed on a computer screen is much better than having nothing to work with. It is also a well-known fact that a picture can paint a thousand words. Imagine the impact of a prototype that customers can see and touch.

In the aforementioned example of the development of software for MIS, the project staff only brought with them screen images but the customer can already provide much-needed feedback. Every client is different from the last one and they have their individual preferences such as background color and even the type of font used in the system. During a very long meeting, the details of the project can be easily glossed over because there are so many things that have to be discussed like the main purpose of the software or the delivery date. A prototype will allow the customer to immediately discover flaws in the design especially those that cannot be easily detected in a written or verbal description of the project. For instance, in the case of the MIS project, the customer can comment on the size of the data entry field.

Enhancing Rapid Prototyping

RP can be further enhanced with the use of cutting-edge technology. In the past, RP can be made possible by creating scale models or developing a replica of a product by merely producing the shell or framework. Even if this is not yet the final product, creating samples or representation of the final product in this manner can be time-consuming. Today, this process can be enhanced by the use of 3D modeling on the computer. For instance, the design of a new aircraft need not require a scale model or even the creation of a replica using cheap material such as wood or Styrofoam. All of these can be done using computer software that will replicate the design in a virtual environment (Chua et al., p. 26). The customer can even experience a walk-through within the 3D environment. Therefore, even if the project is still months before completing the customer has a general idea of what the cockpit or the fuselage will look like.

Using advanced computer systems the project staff does not need to meet with the clients regularly. They can send improvements and modifications of the design through the Internet. The client can view the virtual prototype on the computer and provide inputs. This can go back and forth until both parties are satisfied that they had a lock on the correct design. They can proceed to the next phase which is to bring together the people and the appropriate machines or equipment that will create the final product.

While computer systems are a great advantage when it comes to RP. Prototyping can be also enhanced by simply modifying the way feedbacks are generated. As mentioned earlier the first phase of the development process is for the project staff and the client to meet. They can show the prototype and then the clients will make comments regarding the general direction of the project based on the prototype shown to them. When the team handling the project has finished making improvements to the prototype, before they go to the production stage, they can also show the prototype to the end-users. These are the people who are going to use the product. In the case of the MIS project, it is the clerks who will perform the data entry and so they must be consulted. On the part of the manufacturing company, it is their engineers who will do the actual work and not just the designers who created the prototype on a computer.

Conclusion

In the age of globalization and increasing competitiveness in the marketplace, it is crucial to be the first to bring the product to the market. But this product will be useless if it has many flaws in the design. The challenge, therefore, is speed and cost-efficiency. This is can be solved using rapid prototyping. It allows manufacturers, developers, and clients to communicate effectively, expressing their expectations and agreeing upon a particular design very quickly reducing wastage in both time and money. The use of computer systems can greatly enhance the effectiveness of RP because it also improves the sending and receiving of data and the result is more effective communication between two parties as well as a significant reduction when it comes to time-to-market  the length of time needed for developing the product before it can be delivered to stores, showrooms, clients and end-users.

References

Chua, C. K. et al. Rapid Prototyping: Principles and Applications. 2^nd ed. New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing, 2004.

eFunda. Rapid Prototyping: An Overview.

Frame, Davidson. The New Project Management: Tools for an Age of Rapid Change, Complexity, and other Business Realities. 2^nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.

Abstract

This report compares the integration of the multimodal theme of information technology in the strategic, learning process and belief system of an organization in order to determine the feasibility of information technology integration in organizational cultures. The method for comparison was in the broad application of information technology on the performance and efficiency in problem solving capacity of information technology on each of the themes. The study concludes that information technology is best applicable in the mentorship and learning processes in an organization because the strategy and belief system themes are more human dependent and are more dynamic in nature. However, the learning and mentorship process is consistent with the values of an organization and the knowledge acquired by new members through the learning process is applicable even with a change in strategy and beliefs.

Introduction

This report describes the multimodal theme of technology integration that would enhance the functioning and output capacity of different organizational cultures. Organizational culture is basically the overall characteristics of an organization. It covers the system of beliefs and shared values among the personnel in the organization and entails the standard code of conduct and problem solving processes. In a broader sense, organization culture covers the core values within the people, structures, and control systems to produce behavioral norms in an organization. According to Brown, Organizational culture refers to the pattern of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an organizations history, and which tend to be manifested in its material arrangements and in the behaviors of its members. (Brown, 1998, p.9) There exists different perspectives of organizational culture and this report shall illustrate the integration of information technology in all the themes of organizational cultures.

Background

According to Maull, Brown and Cliffe, organizational culture can be divided into three distinct themes (Maull et al, 2001, p. 312).

Strategy

Organizational culture and strategy are intricately intertwined because culture and organization are not mutually exclusive. Changes in strategy will inevitably bring about changes in culture. Conversely, changes in culture inevitably lead to changes in strategy. Strategy is therefore an integral part of organizational cultures and is a major component of organizational culture themes.

Learning and mentorship

This theme identifies the human resource present in an organization as a pace setter for new members. Older or experienced personnel have over time been challenged with several problems which they have learnt to solve. By accepting, coping and solving multiple challenges, these employees have become valuable to the organization (Boar, 2001). They have also learnt a standardized procedure on how to cope with problems and the measures needed to solve a given problem. Through the learning process, the have also developed a distinct code of conduct and an objective mode of thinking, reasoning and perspective (Brown, 1998, p.42). Such qualified employees are thus considered to be mentors who new employees should look up to and learn from. This theme underscores the fact that culture is used as a guideline for new employees allowing for the steady growth of an organization.

Belief system

The belief system organizational culture theme covers the fundamental guiding beliefs and daily beliefs. Fundamental guiding beliefs provide the framework for the practical beliefs in life, that is to say, they essentially provide the direction for daily beliefs. As fundamental guiding beliefs, they are consistent and rarely change since they are the basic beliefs that embrace universal truth. Conversely, daily beliefs are the rules and opinions about everyday behavior. These beliefs are dynamic and constantly change to fit a given situation.

The Multimodal theme of integration of information is the use of a number of functions and conditions in which two or more different methods, procedures or forms of information technology are used in delivery and retrieval of information.

Discussion

The integration of information technology discussed involves the multimodal theme of information integration on the different organizational cultures in any organization or company. Each organizational culture theme may utilize different technology and systems, hence, prior to the conceptualization and application of multimodal integration, the system integration planning should be comprehensively conducted (Boar, 2001). The system integration activities should include the planning and study of system compatibility and possible flaws, identification of available systems values and specifications developed to address the identified flaws, identification of data elements required in the multimodal and multiple user operation, project system security management, data security and risk assessment (Brown, 1998, p.116), analysis of data flow between organizational departments, intellectual property rights, integration of new capacity into existing systems, information systems for administration, support and maintenance(Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102). The techniques that can be used for the integration study may include common media and system compatibility verification laboratory, industry systems applicability study (Watkins & Marsick, 1993), definition of required data elements, gap analysis on systems and data, system security and risk management (Boar, 2001).

Integrating information technology in organizational strategy

The integration of information technology on a strategic aspect includes the assessment of the internal and external organizational factors and the proposed method for intentional change the organizations position within the industry to provide the necessary steps needed to be ahead of the competition (Boar, 2001). The evaluation activities basically involve the identification of the organizations major prospects and the competitors, and the continual monitoring and constant review of additional environmental changes and their effects to the organization (Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102). The analysis techniques include the market analysis, investor evaluation analysis, competitor analysis, output and input analysis, service area analysis, demographic and client projections, industrial relation analysis as well as forecasting of short and long term commercial trends(Watkins & Marsick, 1993). Before the establishment of the organization strategies, the organization is required to identify and analyze the market trends and dynamics in regards to the ever-changing consumer market in terms of geographical area, income level and population segments (Boar, 2001). The analysis techniques that relate to these factors are consumer oriented and need analysis, for example public image analysis, promotion and marketing service analysis, consumer satisfactions index, fair pricing analysis, public responsibility contribution, authority and legislation impact on the organization and consumer benefits, public safety and security procedures and standard(Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102).

Integration of information technology in organizational learning

With the multimodal integration of information technology, facets of integration and applications are used to cover the whole organizational learning paradigm. Application of automated mentorship solutions for the organization, may allow new members in the organization to acquire the necessary organizational beliefs and values in all levels in an organization through a centralized mechanism that takes into account the members of different departments (Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102). Access to information is restricted and members are required to use identification modes such as contactless smart cards, speech recognition, or fingerprint and palm recognition, among others, to access their profile (Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102). The learning process is saved on the main server through daily or weekly learning progress. The multimodal automated mentorship program creates a different means as to how new members can access information on problem solving behavior and at the same time acquire the extra set of skills essential to an organization(Watkins & Marsick, 1993). The multimodal automated mentorship program can be used to solve several key issues facing an organization, with minimum human interference. New members are required to access the automated mentorship program on a daily basis to acquire the beliefs, value and behavioral conduct to become productive members of the organization. Through stored information, the progressing members are tested along the process and results automatically evaluated to determine their validity in the organization (Watkins & Marsick, 1993). The solutions provided through information technology integration include the human resource and personnel management analysis (Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102) and allocation that include recruitment, training, evaluation and promotion of administration, technical and operation staff. By reviewing the personnel profile, the organization can determine their operational and technical strength.

Integrating information technology in organizational belief system

Multimodal integration of information technology is two fold in terms of the beliefs in an organization. This is due to the fact that there are two sets of beliefs which are the fundamental and daily beliefs. Since fundamental beliefs are constant, information technology integration is applicable and effective in the daily beliefs set. Due to the fact that daily beliefs are dynamic and situational, the integration of information technology here considers the daily processes and problems to create room for a basic set of beliefs (Boar, 2001). Conversely, information is updated on a daily or situational basis to inform members of developing situations via speech or written text. The information is compartmentalized in accordance to the organizational departments most affected and delivered to those departments (Watkins & Marsick, 1993). These reviews provide the identification of gaps in the organizations operational services offerings and the technical staff skills, thus determine whether the organization is more profitable and efficient using internal full service or outsourcing managed services (Oviatt, 1996, p. 95-102). There are a number of techniques for the analysis activities, which may include the technical and operation staff analysis; servicing area definition, evaluation of customer support management index, personnel performance index, systems support requirements definition, and operation management analysis(Watkins & Marsick, 1993). Additionally, fundamental beliefs can be integrated into the automated belief set to offer possible solutions to current or developing problems to allow for early problem solving and consequently, faster growth for the organization (Watkins & Marsick, 1993).

Conclusion

From the report, it is evident that the multimodal theme of information technology integration is applicable in all themes of the organizational culture. The end result is a more standardized code of conduct and values which void of any human element, likely to improve the output capacity of the personnel and overall performance of the organization. The analysis that precedes and follows the integration of information technology is also important in determining the overall direction of the organization and the most effective modes of operation. Consequently, organizations must be alert and receptive to the organizational dynamics and changing information systems, so as to take on a proactive perspective in organizational management and organizational cultures. The end result is acceleration in the rate of performance, efficiency and profit even with minimal personnel.

There is rapid growth in the information technology industry and many organizations are heavily reliant on information systems for their daily running. It is therefore prudent for an organization to embrace new information technology rather than have their competitors have the advantage. Information technology is of particular interest to the learning and mentorship of new members of an organization. This is a relatively an unexploited area of information technology but it is more or less highly potent in producing superlative results. In a far-sighted manner, organizations can incorporate the core beliefs and values of an organization to new members in the early stages of their introduction. The benefits here are numerous because for one, new members are able to cope faster with the underlying trend of an organization, allowing them to settle in and harness their potential earlier. Recruitment of new personnel will also be automated, removing any biased views that accompany human assessment. Additionally, there will be less human interaction in terms of learning and mentorship meaning new members will not have to constantly enquire from their seniors the measures to undertake when faced with a given problem.

Since learning and mentorship is automated, new employees will be guided as they progress in their work and the end result is there is less time wasted by the new and senior employees in their interaction to solve a problem. Such automated learning will ensure that new employees are capable of performing and behaving like senior employees in a relatively short time. Therefore, the added value to the organization is immense in terms of information retrieval and distribution and there are also potential benefits for the organization. The benefits include but not limited to reduced mentorship and training costs, increased output, higher growth rate and an increase in efficiency with few employees.

References

Boar, H., (2001). The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology, 2nd Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Brown, A., (1998). Organizational Culture. (2nd Ed). Vancouver: Pitman Publishing, pp. 9-176.

Maull, R., Brown, P., and Cliffe, R., (2001). Organizational Culture and Quality Improvement. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 302-326

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