Ritz-Carlton Hotels

Case Application – Making you Say Wow (Chapter 3 page 68-69) When you hear the name the Ritz-Carlton Hotels, what words come to your mind? Luxury? Elegance? Formal, or maybe even dull and boring? Very expensive? Three words that the company hopes come to mind are exemplary customer service. Ritz-Carlton is committed to treating its guests like royalty. It has very different corporate cultures in the hotel and lodging industry, and employees are referred to as â€Å"our ladies and gentleman. † Its motto is printed on a card that employees carry with them: â€Å"We are Ladies and Gentleman serving Ladies and Gentleman. And these ladies and gentleman of the Ritz have been trained in very detailed standards and specifications for treating customers. These standards were established more than a century ago by founders Caesar Ritz and August Escoffier. Ritz employees are continually schooled in company lore and company values. Every day at 15-minute â€Å"lineup† sess ions at each hotel propoerty, managers reinforce company values and review techniques. And these values are the basis for all employee training and rewards. Nothing is left to chance when it comes to providing exemplary customer service.People looking to get a job in this hotel are tested both for cultural fit and for qualities associated with a real passion to serve customers. A company executive says, â€Å"The smile has to come naturally†. Although staff memebers are expected to be warm and caring, their behaviour towards guests had been extremely detailed and scripted. That is why a new customer service philosophy implemented in mid-2006 was so different from what the Ritz had been doing before 2006. The Company’s new approach is almost the opposite from what the company had been doing till 2006.Do not tell employees how to make guests happy. Now they are expected to figure it out. Says Diana Oreck, vice president, â€Å"We moved away from the heavily prescriptive , scripted appproach and toward managing to outcomes†. The outcome didn’t change, though. The goal is still a happy guest who’s really happy and delighted by the service received. Howevery, under the new approach, staff members interactions with guests are more natural, relaxed, rather than sounding like they are reading lines from a book.

Agricultural Policy of Bangladesh Essay

Agriculture is the dominant economic activity in Bangladesh and regarded as the lifeline of the Bangladesh economy. Its role is vital in enhancing productivity, profitability and employment in the rural areas for improving the wellbeing of the poor. As the largest private enterprise, agriculture (crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry) contributes about 21% of the GDP, sustains the livelihood of about 52% of the labour force, and remains a major supplier of raw materials for agro-based industries. Agriculture plays an important role in the overall economic development of Bangladesh. Agriculture is also a social sector concerned with issues like food and nutritional security, income generation and poverty reduction. Besides, it is the biggest source of market for a variety of consumer goods, including consumer durables particularly in the rural area. Hence, improvement in agricultural sector performance and acceleration in its growth are critical to reducing rural poverty. 1. 2 Agricuture sector encompasses crops, fisheries, livestock, and forestry sub-sectors. Separate policies on livestock, fisheries and forestry have been formulated by the respective ministries. In this perspective, Ministry of Agriculture has drafted this policy document in order to undertake and guide development activities in the crops sub-sector. As expected, policies aimed at crop production in the areas of reaserch, extension, seeds, fertilisers, minor irrigation, marketing, gender and HRD have prominence in this document. Since crop sector plays a major role in Bangladesh agriculture and gets the utmost importance in various agriculture related programmes of the government, this policy document for the development of crop sector is, therefore, entitled as the National Agriculture Policy. It is estimated that the agricultural land is declining by 1% per year and the land quality is deteriorating owing to degradation of soil fertility (e. g. nutrient imbalance), soil erosion and soil salinity. In addition, water resources are also shrinking. In order to produce more food for an increasing population, and raw materials for agro-industries, there is a need for increasing agricultural growth through higher productivity, including increased yield, agricultural intensification and diversification, and value addition. The overarching goal of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) matches with Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of achieving 50% reduction in the proportion of population living below the poverty by 2015. In addition to maintaining a sound macro-economic framework, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), entitled Unlocking the Potential National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (GoB, 2005), highlights the need for higher growth in rural areas, development of agriculture and rural non-farm economic activities as one of the four priority areas to accelerating pro-poor economic growth. In order to achieve the GDP growth rate of 7% per year, agriculture must grow by at least 4-4. 5% per year (PRSP, 2005). This is presumably possible through an increase in agricultural productivity (for crops, horticulture, livestock, fisheries and forestry) based on modern agricultural technology and a supply chain linking farmers with consumers in the domestic as well as overseas markets. Small farms dominate the agrarian structure of Bangladesh. Therefore, performance of the sector greatly affects economic progress and people s livelihood. To reduce rural poverty 2 and improve rural livelihoods, it is necessary to recognize and to develop existing agricultural production system into a more dynamic and viable commercial sector. Agriculture has the potential to reduce food deficit as well as shortage of industrial raw materials, and also to generate employment opportunities with reasonable income, which will in turn help improve the standard of living of the rural people. The growth potential of most of the crops and other agricultural commodities are substantially higher than present level of production. 1. 7 Sustainable intensification and diversification of agriculture through technological change requires an efficient and productive agricultural technology system comprising agricultural research and extension. This needs to be supported by appropriate value addition and market linkages. Enhancing productivity, resource use efficiency, using cutting age science, experimental facilities and above all productivity and maintaining a reservoir of first-rate human resources to sustain knowledge-intensive agriculture has become critically important. The Bangladesh agriculture demands considerable scientific and technological input. Today s complex national and economic environment requires increase in the effectiveness of the public expenditure in research and extension system. Major challenges for the Bangladesh agriculture are to raising productivity and profitability, reducing instability, increasing resource-use efficiency, ensuring equity, improving quality; and meeting demands for diversification & commercialization of agriculture. 1. 9 The existing National Agricultural Policy was adopted in April, 1999. With the passage of time some issues and concerns have emerged in agriculture, in some cases with new dimension. For instance, dwindling agricultural resources, declining biodiversity, climate change, increasing frequency & intensity of natural disasters, increasing input prices, soaring food prices etc. require transformation of agriculture in such a way that would address challenges to meet demands. This necessitates the revision and updating the earlier document to make it relevant to the present agro-economic context. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of Agriculture Sector For developing of a pragmatic and effective and efficient national agricultural policy, it is a pre-requisite to gauge the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that are associated with the issues of policy interventions.

Hazard and vunerability analysis (Case) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hazard and vunerability analysis (Case) - Essay Example A terrorist wanting to target a populated area where the biggest affects could take place would choose and have chosen a largely populated area like the World Trade Center. The targets chosen by the terrorist on September 11th were vulnerable targets. Profile sectors in the community contributed to its vulnerability. The location was on the east coast and easy for those coming from the Middle East to access. The city is near water and there were only few ways to get in and out of the city. In the midst of a panic, this would make it difficult for emergency crews to get it and help. The height of the building makes it impossible to evacuate everyone in a quick and timely matter. All of these events, after being profiled are a perfect fit for a terrorist attack. The severity level was catastrophic on September 11th. Many lives were taken and the building was completely destroyed. There is no way around it; the World Trade Center was too vulnerable to an attack. There needs to be higher awareness of other areas that can have catastrophic losses from a terrorist attack. The terrorist are smart and often plan very carefully before a huge attack like September 11th. The terrorist may have been targeting D.C. as their main target. September 11th could have been used as a distraction while the other planes went to Washington D.C.. This is why it is very important to make sure that even after one event occurs, no one is safe. The enemy may also have plans in force to target another area. 2. What factors, if changed, may have pre-empted the disaster? There were factors that could have lessened the severity of the loss that occurred on September 11th. The building was easily accessible by many, it was located along the coastline, and there are few ways to get to and from the building. Circumstances like this create too much vulnerability. Vulnerability is what makes an area a target for terrorist attacks. The buildings location should send a flag up that the area is a hig hly targeted area. Being on the coastline allows the building to be accessed by anyone in the world. Because of this, the plane was able to come right off of the coast and straight into the building. When a building is that vulnerable a border patrol type security needs to be set up and able to monitor flights coming in and going out. If some sort of security was able to stop the plane first, the affects could have been lessened. Having an effective evacuation plan could have pre-empted the disaster. Buildings that are vulnerable need to make sure that there is a way to get as many people out of the building as possible. These evacuation plans need to apply to everyone in the building and enforced. Not only is an evacuation plan important, it is important for emergency response vehicle to get to and from the disaster. If a plan was in force and New York was prepared, the severity would have been lessoned. It is all about being prepared. Being prepared may not be able to stop the att ack from happening, but it can lessen the severity. It is never to late to be prepared for a disaster. Many vulnerable areas can learn a lesson from what happened and learn to prepare their selves if a similar incident happens. 3. Is there any indication that New York or Washington D.C. utilized a hazard and/or vulnerability analysis in their planning for this type of disaster? There wasn’t a strong indication that N

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - Essay Example It seems like America has forgotten the lesson learned after the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire. On March 25, 1911 right before the final whistle called for the end of the day a fire started on the 8th floor of the 23 Washington Place (Schneider). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the building. After the fire started the 8th floor called the 10th floor to give them warning, but no one notified the 9th floor (Stein and Greider 182). The women on the 10th floor either escaped through an elevator or up the stairwell to the roof. The people on the 8th floor went down the stairwell or through the elevator. An elevator ran for a little while to the floors , but soon the cables melted (Drehle 153). Soon people were opening the elevator shaft and jumping to get away from the flames. Women were also jumping out the 9th floor windows as well. The 9th floor girls were trapped due to a locked stairwell that was supposed to prevent theft† (Greenwald 62). As the factory burned people gathered on the street watching the women jump. Fire trucks did not have the water or the ladders to reach the 8th floor. The devastation of human life was enormous. Lives were lost due to an antitheft measure. After the fire workers cried for new safety measures. â€Å"The 146 lives lost in the fire ignited. ... If women tried to strike they were considered bad. â€Å"They were either ‘good’ girls who listened docilely to fathers, employers, and policemen, or ‘bad’ women whose aggressive behavior made them akin to prostitutes† (Orleck 62). Even if the women at Triangle would have protested the unsafe locked doors, it would have been up to management to open them. One of the owners probably would not have listened. Max Blanck was caught locking doors again in 1913; he was only fined $20 (Hoeing). There was a need for the creation of OSHA and unions. Although the Triangle fire was 100 years ago, many lessons can still be learned from the tragedy. However Americans are forgetting about this tragedy and other workplace accidents. Unions are being outlawed by our own congresses. Instead of worrying about lives, the legislators are more interested in budget shortfalls. â€Å"Yet a century later, the laws that could have saved lives had they been in place on March 25, 1911, are being threatened by budget cuts proposed by a Republican-controlled Congressâ€Å" (Schneider). Unions have come to stand for pay raises and benefits. What about the safety issues? It seems like safety issues seem to be a moot discussion. The most famous anti-union legislation is against teachers in Wisconsin. It might seem like a good idea to cut the budget, but what could the possible outcomes be? Teachers might decided to go to different states that still have unions. That could mean the best teachers would leave. If the best teachers leave, then what would the children of Wisconsin be learning? The consequences could reach for generations. Without the union what happens if principals decided to make the teachers work in unsafe conditions?

Overpopulation and Its Effects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Overpopulation and Its Effects - Essay Example Death rate is the prime regulator of the growth rate in a country. Death rate is controlled by a number of factors that include but are not limited to the quality of health care, awareness of health and safety in the society, availability of healthy diet and general style of living of the people. The Japanese population underwent a rapid growth during the 18th and 20th century, which can be attributed to the measures taken by the government to combat epidemics, the situation of law and order implemented by the central government which prevented the continuation of conflicts among the various states in Java, and the food policy which maintained an adequate supply of food to the nation during famines. There occurred an epidemic of Variola in Java during the 18th and 19th centuries. â€Å"Since 1856 there had been a systematic method under the supervision of the medical inspector to prevent further variola epidemics† (Timmer). Accordingly, the spread of disease was controlled. Th ere has occurred a general improvement in the quality of health care all over the world in general and the technologically advanced countries in particular. Alongside, birth rate has increased which controls the growth of population at the other end of the continuum. Birth rate is controlled by a number of factors including the increase of influx of foreigners to fill the skill gaps in countries with low growth rate of the local population, and religion. There are several religions including Islam which encourage people to have more children. Also, governments of several countries around the world have started to take measures to increase population so that the shortage of skills can be eradicated, which emerged in countries with low population. Hence, the two-way effect of decline in death rate and increase in birth rate is the main cause of growth of population. Early marriage is one of the most important causes of overpopulation. Again, religion is the prime motivational source f or the people to marry early as most religions condemn the acts of fornication and appreciate marriage. The practice of early marriage is also an outcome of the modernization of the society. As the society has become more modern and the factors provoking sexual desire are omnipresent, people have started to marry their children earlier than they did before so that the children can have a legitimate means of satisfying their physical needs in the society. Advanced societies around the world have conventionally suffered a lot from the increase of teen pregnancies. Teen pregnancies not only put the pregnant girls and their families in distress, but also the future of the children born from such pregnancies is insecure. Single parents tend to be more irresponsible towards their children. On the contrary, the responsibility of the up-bringing and nurturing of a child born to a married couple is shared by both husband and wife. Therefore, there has been an increase in the emphasis upon th e importance of marriage. Accordingly, early marriages have increased in number. This means that young couples feel more secure in marriage and their tendency to have more children increases. Illegal immigration is an external factor that increases the population of specially the advanced countries. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants enter

Social Marketing Campaign for Youth Gangs Assignment

Social Marketing Campaign for Youth Gangs - Assignment Example This essay declares that the proliferation of gangs is a national and local issue. The young ages of gang members and resulting individual and collective deviant behaviours make them a particular national concern. The basic age range of gang members is between 12 and 24 years, with the average ages of 17 and 18 years. These are children who should be studying in school and being moulded by society to reach for their dreams and upmost potentials. Instead, they are engaging in deviant and criminal behaviours. States and local communities also experience a rising incidence of gang membership. This paper makes a conclusion that in Atlanta, International Robbing Crew and 30 Deep are two of the largest gangs. They are mostly involved in drugs and robberies. The literature on the social context of gang membership contains numerous contradictions. Albert Cohen advances a subculture theory that seeks to explain why the youth join gangs. In particular, a gang provides them the opportunity to belong, to develop their sense of masculinity, to do something that is â€Å"valuable†, or to fight middle-class society and authority follows the study of psychologist Erik Erikson to understand gang membership. Erik Erikson argues that identity is a â€Å"developmental phenomenon† shaped by the social conditions and internal developmental processes. A social and cultural background that provides for the identity formation process and helps adolescents achieve their human identity needs is beneficial to a robust identity formation.

The Impact of Nursing Shortage on the Healthcare Industry Research Paper

The Impact of Nursing Shortage on the Healthcare Industry - Research Paper Example Population Aging and Increase Demand of Nurse’s 13 2. Variety of Career Options 13 3. Healthcare Cost Demands 13 4. Financial Assistance 14 5. Work Environment and Workload 14 Research Question 14 Chapter 2: Literature Review 14 Introduction 14 Nursing Staff Shortage and the Hospital Management 15 The Financial Crises and Nurse Shortages 15 Nursing Shortage Solution 16 Future Recommendation 17 Conclusion 18 Chapter 3: Methodology 19 Introduction 19 Evaluation Methods and Tools 19 Reliability and Validity 20 Maintenance of Data Integrity 20 Research Design 22 Research Methods 23 Participants in the Research 24 Obtaining of Permission 25 Chapter 4: Data analysis 26 Introduction 26 Results 27 List of Tables Table 1: Results List of figures Figure 1: Nurses rating based on customer satisfaction Figure 2: National Supply and Demand projections for FTE RNs, 2000 to 2015 Chapter 1: Introduction to the Problem Introduction The shortage of acute care nurses had been one of the primary concerns in the healthcare industry across the world. The issue created a substantial impact on the fitness activities efficiency in hospitals and healthcare centers. Several studies have shown that the nursing graduates entering in the nursing profession and those who are still in the occupation were not enough to facilitate the hospitals and patients. The healthcare professional shortage was one of the chief impediments in the achievement of United Nation’s Millennium Development goals to remove poverty, hunger, improvement of education systems, reduction in morbidity, and mortality as written in the guidelines of the year 2004 that are provided by the international nursing council (Littlejohn, Campbell & Collins-McNeil, 2012). The problem of shortage of acute care nurses had a relation to the past historical staffing, appointment, resources, nursing demand estimation, and nursing concerns for healthcare services of a country. The issue of shortage of nurses was not easily measureable and demands extraordinary planning and requirements. The relative shortages involved the accessibility of qualified and skilled professionals for the vacancy; however, they did not meet other criteria for employment (Dinsdale, 2004). The absolute shortage represents a situation that lacked availability of skilled people for a particular vacancy. The shortages may include the impact of fair consideration, geographical position, retention, and recruitment challenges meeting the replacement demands. The challenges to resolve nurse related issues included coordinated policies and package development to provide long term and sustained solutions (Buchan & Aiken, 2008). The nursing requirement could be fulfilled through the promotion of education as well as by the availability of facilities for the professional nurses to deliver sufficient care to patients. It could further assist in improving the community health and to attract more clients to the healthcare industries. Accord ing to the â€Å"Health Resources and Services Administration† HRSA report (2006) it was expected that the shortage of nurses would elevate up to one million till the year 2020. The

Chinese history (east asian studies) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinese history (east asian studies) - Essay Example Leaders in China remain worried about this incident, since the possibility of a popular uprising of a similar kind worries them. This could also lead to a schism in the leadership that would be disastrous for the unity of the nation. Shirk points out the parallel in history that worries the Chinese leadership, the breakup of the Soviet Union, which was the result of widespread discontent. Shirk points to the support of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In the absence of this support, the possibility of a similar breakup looms large, that worries the Chinese government, which seeks to prevent it through maintaining an authoritarian regime. 3. The evolution of the Chinese foreign policy is something that has caught the eye of various political thinkers and foreign policy analysts. The change from a passive approach to one that actively engages in the political affairs of the world in an active manner signals a change of approach that coincides with the entry of China as a supe rpower in the political arena. It is a change from the erstwhile policy of China that was aimed at attaining the status of a superpower without causing any damage to its internal situation of peace. This shall however, according to analysts around the world, cause a certain kind of conflict between the new and the old power, by which is meant the United States of America and China.

Analytical Tools Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analytical Tools - Case Study Example This makes the analysis important in that it supports the process of by which the events are reported, investigated and relevant actions taken to help avoid the incidence (Ferrer & Thurman, 2009).   The identified airline flight data in my case study is events data report. This is a data that has all the events that took place during the flight process. This type of data is useful since it provides the actual occurrence of the journey with other airlines that take the same route. These include the prior preparations of the journey. These prior preparations include carrying the safety materials and equipment for the assurance of getting to the destination. This reports that contain data are carefully filled and safeguarded by the operations personnel of a particular flight. They are then incorporated in the flight data monitoring or the flight operational quality assurance program (Ferrer & Thurman, 2009).   Occurrence reports are contained in most of the airlines and are managed by the ground personnel. Today the safety tools are both conducted and applied by the ground personnel as opposed to the few years ago whereby the tools were only used by the cabin crew and personnel (Ferrer & Thurman, 2009).   Some airlines have gone a mile further to supplement the safety tools with confidential human factors reporting systems. The tools attend more to human factors as opposed to the details that are found in the typical airline reports. The reports are particularly encouraged by the crew members of the flight by exchanging the relevant safety information. This is one particular way of coordinating the information by getting the right one (Ferrer & Thurman, 2009).   Digital flight data is electronic in nature and hence easily transferable for long distances. These are the data that are recorded by the radar and hence worked upon. This particular data can be kept on very many airlines at a particular

Strategic Management Unit 3 IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Management Unit 3 IP - Research Paper Example First, such firms benefit from gaining market share and further positioning themselves in best locations. This could affect the theory in that higher market share could cause an increase in cost of operation thus diluting the associated high returns. Secondly, first movers gain new knowledge relevant for success in their fields (Li, Lam, Karakowsky & Qian, 2003). Changes in the knowledge could cause the first mover to find ways to fast learn the emerging knowledge. Being the first, such firms also secure resources and commitments for their provision (Eggers, Grajek & Kretschmer, 2011). This impacts the theory in the context where there is limited information on the resources available. Finally, they have the advantage of establishing and securing long-term relationships with investors, suppliers, customers and distributors, an important concept for firms seeking to develop long lasting business entities. However, Hill, Jones and Schilling (2013) observe that first movers suffer cost disadvantage as they have to establish most of the infrastructure from scratch. This affects the theory in that organisation that requires high set-up capital shy away from pioneering markets, products or services. There is a high uncertainty associated with first movers. This would particularly impact on the theory if the entity is not familiar with the regulations, needs and culture of the target geographical regions. Thirdly, first movers face the risk of adopting a losing strategy that would make them fail and leave opportunities for late entrants who would have learnt from their mistakes (David, 2013). This would be the case if the first mover would not be able to make predictions on their investments. Finally, first movers could invest in obsolete or inferior technology, making this theory particularly unappealing to entities in businesses where technology advances

Business ethics Essay Example for Free

Business ethics Essay -Ethics derived from the Greek word ethos – which refers to the conventional customs and norms of a given culture – the term ethics can be understood in two ways: †¢ as a traditional field of philosophical inquiry dating back to ancient Greece, which is concerned with values as they relate to human conduct; and †¢ as the systematic study of norms and values that guide how people should live their lives. -Ethics is to do with what is good and bad or right and wrong. The study of ethics can be either descriptive or normative. Descriptive ethics involves empirical research or inquiry into the actual rules and standards of a particular social group. Normative ethics is concerned not only with what people believe they ought to do, but also with what they really ought to do. It therefore entails taking a position. Nevertheless, it must be recognised that these two categories are in actual fact intertwined, as even the most empirically minded individuals engage in prescription as well as description. There is therefore no conceptual barrier to combining descriptive with normative ethics. -Business ethics theories include the moral principles or codes a company implements to ensure that all individuals working in the company act with acceptable behavior. Business owners and managers can use an ethics theory they deem most appropriate for use in their operations. A few different business ethics theories exist, such as the utilitarian, deontological, rights, justice, common good and virtue approach. These theories can be used on their own or in combination with each other. Each theory includes specific traits or characteristics that focus on specific ethical principles that can help companies correct business issues. -The utilitarian approach focuses on using ethical actions that will promote the most good or value among a society while limiting the amount of harm to as few people as possible. Among the business ethics theories, this is typically seen as the oldest theory, as it was propagated by many philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Businesses can use this theory to ensure the outcome of various situations helps the maximum amount of stakeholders. The â€Å"rightness† or â€Å"goodness† of ones action is not inherent in the action per se, but can only be judged by its consequences (or ends). Utilitarianism is the dominant ethical perspective in the business sphere, and can be seen as a â€Å"calculating approach† to ethics (Fisher and Lovell, 2006). A common example of business utilitarianism is the adoption of ethical principles – not because it is the â€Å"right thing to do† – but because of the image enhancement which this may produce, in view of societys increased demand for ethical conduct in the business sphere. A positive company image creates what is known in the literature as â€Å"reputational capital† or advantages accruing to companies from a good reputation which may lead to positive outcomes in areas such as improved employee morale, increased strategic flexibility and enhanced financial performance. -The deontological system (Immanuel Kant: 1724-1804) is based on the assumption that actions must be guided by universalisable principles and rules which apply regardless of the consequences of the actions. For Kant, the â€Å"moral person† is one of good will, who makes ethical decisions based on â€Å"what is right†. From this viewpoint, nevertheless, an action can only be morally right if it is carried out as a duty – not as an expectation of approval or reward. -The rights ethical approach is based on the belief that all individuals have rights in life and should be treated with respect and dignity. Morals play a large role in this because individuals must personally use ethical behavior in order to achieve the end goal without mistreating people. -Justice as an ethical approach is where all humans are treated equally through society, regardless of rank, position, class, creed, or race. This is also known as the fairness approach in business ethics theories. If people are not treated fairly — such as one employee receiving higher compensation than another — a justifiable reason must exist, such as higher technical skills or the exclusiveness of a job position. -The common good approach attempts to promote the common values and moral or ethical principles found in a society. This varies from place to place, based on countries specific cultural or societal beliefs. For example, the moral principles found in Japan will often be different than those in the United States. Business owners and managers often implement these principles to ensure their company’s overall mission is in sync with society as a whole. -The virtue approach (Aristotle 384-322 BC) is a bit more difficult for businesses to implement, as its approach focuses on following ethical principles that should be evident in society. These principles or virtues seek to replace the current values if they do not bring about the most good or best development of humanity. Businesses can implement this approach, although it may run against the grain of society until the values take hold among the general public. -Business ethics is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world. The ethics of a particular business can be diverse. They apply not only to how the business interacts with the world at large, but also to their one-on-one dealings with a single customer. -Good business ethics should be a part of every business. There are many factors to consider. When a company does business with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first company unethical by association? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses. -If a company does not adhere to business ethics and breaks the laws, they usually end up being fined. Many companies have broken anti-trust, ethical and environmental laws and received fines worth millions. -Therefore, business ethics is concerned with good and bad or right or wrong behavior and practices that take place within a business context. -In short, business ethics refers to â€Å"values, standards and principles that operate within business†. Unethical behaviour -It is a sad truth that the employees of just about every business, in every business, will occasionally encounter team members who are taking part in unethical behaviors. Such unethical behaviors include a wide variety of different activities. Among the most common unethical business behaviors of employees are making long-distance calls on business lines, duplicating software for use at home, falsifying the number of hours worked, or much more serious and illegal practices, such as embezzling money from the business, or falsifying business records. -Though there is sometimes a difference between behaviors that are unethical and activities that are actually illegal, it is up to the business itself to decide how it deals with unethical behavior legal or not. -As unethical behaviors are manifested by upper-level management, workers throughout the organization note them, and unethical behavior becomes a cultural norm. Ultimately, this culture results in detrimental behaviors. Leadership -Leadership is the primary way companies foster proper ethical behavior. Leaders and executive managers have a responsibility to set the tone for ethical behavior by conducting business in an ethical and moral manner. If a leader fails to display a proper ethical behavior, workers may be unwilling to accept the companys ethical guidelines. -Leaders who act ethically ensure that problems and issues in the company are identified quickly and handled appropriately by managers and employees. Proper leadership ethics also maintain an organizations long-term viability and business environment, because customers are more willing to embrace an ethical company. Company Culture -A company culture is the intangible business environment created by leaders and executive managers. Leaders use the companys culture to pass on the mission, goals and objectives and how employees should approach jobs when helping the company reach its goals. Important elements of a strong company culture include integrity, trust, leadership, professional behavior and flexibility. Leaders and executive managers should weave these elements into company culture to ensure employees understand and follow ethical business principles. -Companies can teach employees the companys culture by using manuals or informal meetings. These mediums give management an opportunity to explain the importance of ethical business behavior. -A whistleblower (whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities (misconduct) occurring in the business organisation. The alleged misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to the stakeholders, such as fraud, health/safety violations, and corruption. Whistleblowers may make their allegations internally (for example, to other people within the accused organization) or externally (to regulators, law enforcement agencies, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues). -Businesses have a Code of Conduct and/or Code of Business Ethics that are actively promoted to the corporation’s employees and that are entrenched in its corporate values. As a business grows and as the business model gets more complex, it is important that we provide the company employees with a common set of guidelines to help reinforce and uphold its values. Codes of conducts are very common in business organization and the members are required to sign to indicate formally their acceptance. E. g. Customers are at the core of the success and must be treated with respect. One way do this is through the customer-focused business model– customer centricity. Customer centricity requires an ongoing relationship of trust between the employee and the customer because the relationship between the customer and the employee is much more than transactional. The employees share an obligation to: †¢ Treat all customers fairly and honestly. †¢ Communicate in a respectful and helpful manner. †¢ Provide prompt and accurate customer service. It is a duty to protect any customer’s information and privacy. †¢ It is extremely important to keep the Company’s private information confidential. Not discuss these confidential matters with anyone outside the organization. -A business success is based on strong relationships with customers, vendors, suppliers and others. Employees and directors are prohibited from: †¢ Taking personal advantage of opportunities that are discovered through the use of corporate property, information or position. †¢ Using corporate property, information, or position for personal gain. †¢ Employees are required to disclose or avoid any activity or interest that may be regarded as a possible conflict with the company’s interest. †¢ Employees are expected to be mindful of the Company’s values and standards in their business dealings. It is never acceptable to solicit gifts, gratuities or business courtesies on behalf of the business organisation for the personal benefit of an employee, family member or friend. †¢ In all situations employees are prohibited from implying that they represent the company in any political activities. †¢ If you are contacted by a representative of any government agency, don’t handle the situation by yourself. Contact your Legal Department. A model of an employee acknowledgment of the Code of ethics of XYZ co. Ltd. I acknowledge that I have received and will comply with XYZ co. Ltd Code of Business Ethics (the Code). I also understand that I have the responsibility to review XYZ co. Ltd policies and procedures. I understand that violation of the policies and ethical standards outlined in the Code may subject me to disciplinary action up to and including termination without notice. I understand that if I have questions related to the standards of conduct outlined in the Code or other Company polices not covered in the Code, I am to discuss them promptly with my manager or the Ethics Office, Human Resources dept. I also understand that I may be required to sign one or more annual statements reporting conflicts of interest or receipt of gifts and gratuities. Date: Name of employee: Department: Employee number: Signature: Sources: Caroll Buchholtz, Business and Society, 5th edn. Robbins P. R, Organisational Behaviour, 11th edn. Weiss J. W, Business Ethics, 4th edn. www. bestbuycanadaltd. ca/ www. edc. ca/ www. ehow. co. uk/ www. wisegeek. com.

The Evolution Of Corporate Espionage Business Essay

The Evolution Of Corporate Espionage Business Essay Espionage is the use of illegal means or deceptive practices to gather information. It is also commonly referred to as industrial or economic espionage. Industrial Espionage (or Economic Espionage) is the clandestine collection of sensitive, restricted or classified information. This information by its very nature is not openly accessible and can only be obtained through covert collection means. Industrial Espionage might include the theft of sensitive or restricted competitor information (such as financial data, restricted manufacturing processes, customer accounts, etc.), covert recruitment of sources within a competitors firm, and other such methods. Each and every day covert activities are being conducted for the purpose of obtaining information that can create value for another organization, be it a business or another government. Corporate initially meant united in one body (1398, from L. corporatus or corpus which means body  [1]  ). However, in due course of time the term the connotations attached with it finally paved way for the new age definition which is pertaining to a corporation or a group come together for a common goal. Moving onto Espionage, it means the systematic use of spies to get military, political or industrial secrets (1793, from Fr. Espionage  [2]  ). Corporate Espionage basically suggests impregnating a corporate system or structure with spies or systems so as to facilitate leakage of information which could in all probability mar the growth, financial stability the prospects of the victim organization to have sustained development in future. Corporate Espionage would cover illicit activities like theft of trade secrets, bribery, blackmail technological surveillance. And with developments that followed in the recent years, even attempts to sabotage a corporation may be conside red corporate espionage. Basically there are three primary motivations behind corporate espionage. First, an individual corporation may use corporate espionage to advance their goals towards maximizing shareholder value. Secondly, state-sponsored corporate espionage is an essential ingredient of modern day economic warfare or military application of the intellectual property. Thirdly, special interest groups may conduct corporate espionage to gather data to further their cause (i.e. environment interests). There are also instances where the distinction between legal and illegal intelligence gathering activities is blurred. Probably the most notorious case of corporate espionage that has been dealt in this study is Proctor and Gambles attempt to find out more about Unilevers hair care business by hunting through their garbage bins. Distinction between corporate espionage and competitive intelligence The difference between competitive intelligence and industrial espionage, is significant. By definition, industrial espionage refers to illegal activities which range everywhere from outright theft to bribery and everywhere in between. Conversely, competitive intelligence collection is governed for the most part by adherence to corporate and professional ethics which preclude the use of illegal means to obtain information. Moreover, the distinction between the two is in terms of modus operandi. At bottom, the competitive intelligence process consists of collecting information as elements which when legally, ethically but rigorously collected and analyzed, can provide the same kinds of information as might otherwise have only been available through such illicit means as theft. Burglary, outright theft or bribery might be some of the ways that criminals would resort to in order to obtain what a competitor may need constituting an act of corporate espionage. The evolution of corporate espionage over decades and the rationale behind its use The history of corporate/industrial espionage probably dates back to the sixth century when Justinian, the Byzantine emperor hired two monks to visit China. He wanted them to gain an understanding of silk production in China and to smuggle silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds out of that country to break its worldwide monopoly on silk production. The monks smuggled these eggs and seeds out of China in hollow bamboo walking sticks. Subsequently, in a few years the Byzantine Empire replaced China as the largest silk producer in the world. Over the centuries, industrial espionage practices continued to play a major part in the development of many countries. In the 18th century, alarmed by the industrial and military supremacy of Great Britain, France sent its spies to steal the latters industrial secrets. Corporate espionage gained more attention in the last few decades. Some of such instances are mentioned herein: In 1999, one of the most famous cases of corporate treachery, a Taiwanese company head was arrested as he was convicted to have paid an Avery Dennison (U.S. Label manufacturer) employee $160,000 for the secret formulas for the companys pressure-sensitive adhesive. In 1996, General Motors sued Volkswagen, charging that GMs former head of production had stolen trade secrets turned them over to Volkswagen. In 2000, Oracle Corporation head Larry Ellison had hired an investigation firm to dig out embarrassing secrets about Bill Gates headed Microsoft. In 2001, FBI arrested two employees from Lucent Technologies for conspiring to steal lucent trade secrets sell them to the Chinese government. In 2003, Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari charged Toyota with stealing the design for its Formula One racing car. Looking at the recent trend it becomes clear that corporate espionage cases have been increasing by leaps and bounds. The reasons for this can be attributed as: -advent of the information age with its tools and technologies has made it much easier to gather information and analyse intelligence. -Trained intelligence analysts can easily ferret out deeper information through masqueraded phone calls, purported interviews of the victim companys employees, going through their garbage, creating e-relationships with employees or joining use nets frequented by them. -The second issue that places most companies at risk is lack of employee awareness and education. At times, the management is to blame for the myopic approach that IT security should safeguard its intellectual property. The misplaced over-dependence on technology to protect the companys intellectual property is ridiculous, given that, even in the most digitised companies, over 70 per cent of critical information is still in non-digital forms. -Companies that invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in firewalls and PKIs (public key infrastructure) forget that over 15 per cent of their employees are talking to prospective new employers (or competition) at that very moment. Or that several third parties and temporary employees are swarming all over their organisation with complete access. -The single factor that makes corporate espionage devastating is its transparent nature. Physical assets when stolen get noticed and things can be attended to rapidly. But a company could be getting robbed of intellectual property or competitive advantage for years and might still not know what exactly is going wrong. Thus what began as that innocuous glance at what competition is doing, just to keep oneself abreast of the latest developments in the business one was in, is now taking the ugliest forms of ethical and legal violation. And this includes the entire gamut of wrongdoing: the selling of technological knowhow, product design, research papers, client lists and other trade secrets by loyal employees, infringing intellectual property law, teams resigning en masse from a company, taking along with themselves upscale, lucrative customers to the new entity, selling defence secrets in the lure of monetary kickbacks, and what not. In fact, corporate espionage has moved far from within the confines of the corporate sector to foreign nations, with many IT expatriates and even foreign employees with acquired citizenship acting as a conduit for the flow of confidential information from one corporate to another, from one nation to another. Cross border businesses and employees, remotely located custom ers in an era of E-Commerce, telecommuting contractual employees-all these are adding to the ease with which these acts of malfeasance are being committed. It is interesting to examine the Annual Report to U.S. Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, FY 2008, it brings out the following:- The threat to the United States from foreign economic intelligence collection and industrial espionage has continued unabated since the publication of the Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, 2007. Economic espionage cases went up slightly and nearly every day brought reports-in the press and in the classified world-of new cyber attacks against US Government and business entities. Additionally, the increasing use of new modes of communication and social networking provided uncharted opportunities for transferring information and spying on the part of enterprising foreign intelligence services. According to evidence amassed by the US CI community, a wide variety of foreign entities continued to try to illegally acquire US technology, trade secrets, and proprietary information. With companies encouraging outsourcing of research and development (RD) and establishing foreign bases of operation, foreign entities had more opportunities to targe t US information and technologies and mask their collection activities. As a result, it was increasingly difficult to measure fully the extent of their espionage and illegal acquisitions. Nonetheless, the CI community assessed that the cost in FY 2008 remained high, given the number of legal cases, investigations, and technologies targeted. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The FBI opened 55 new cases and pursued 88 pending cases during the reporting period, slightly more than reported in FY 2007. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ ICE made 158 arrests in FY 2008 and achieved 187 indictments that resulted in 143 convictions for export-related criminal violations, more than any other Federal law enforcement agency. These efforts-similar to the previous year-significantly contributed to preventing sensitive US technologies, as well as weapons, from reaching terrorists, hostile countries, and violent criminal organizations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ DOC/BIS participated in more than 792 export investigations. This resulted in 40 criminal convictions, $2.7 million in criminal fines, over $800,000 in forfeitures, 56 administrative cases, and $3.6 million in administrative penalties. Wide Ranging Group of Actors According to information compiled during the reporting period, businessmen, scientists, engineers, and academics, as well as state security services from a large number of countries, continued to target US information and technology. The bulk of the collection activity, however, came from a core group of countries. Enduring Acquisition Methods While the most frequently reported collection methods remained the same during the past year, requests for information (RFI); exploitation of open-source media; and requests to purchase or share technology were often used. Some reports indicated an increase in the use of multiple methods in single contacts. General techniques included: RFIs Collectors used direct and indirect requests for information in their attempts to obtain valuable US data. These types of approaches often included requests for classified, sensitive, or export-controlled information. Solicitation or Marketing of Services Foreign companies sought business relationships with US firms that would enable them to gain access to sensitive or classified information, technologies, or projects. Acquisition of Technology Collectors continued to exploit direct and indirect acquisition of technology and information via third countries, the use of front companies, and the direct purchase of US firms or technologies in 2008. Conferences, Conventions, and Trade Shows These public venues offered opportunities for foreign adversaries to gain access to US information and experts in dual-use and sensitive technologies. Official Foreign Visitors and Exploitation of Joint Research Foreign government organizations, including intelligence and security services, also targeted and collected information, frequently through official contacts and visits. Statistics on visits and assignments to DOE facilities indicate that the number of visitors remained relatively stable compared to 2007. The statistics also show that visitors made multiple visits to individual facilities. China and Russia accounted for a considerable portion of foreign visits to DOE facilities during FY 2008. Cyber Attack and Exploitation Cyber threats are increasingly pervasive and are rapidly becoming a priority means of obtaining economic and technical information. Reports of new cyber attacks against US Government and business entities proliferated in FY 2008. Several adversaries expanded their computer network operations, and the use of new venues for intrusions increased. Threats against mobile telephones rose as well. Blackberry and iPhone-essentially general purpose computers-are susceptible to malicious software, according to opensource reporting. Foreign Targeting of US Travelers Overseas Foreign collectors also targeted US travelers overseas. Collection methods included everything from eliciting information during seemingly innocuous conversations to eavesdropping on private telephone conversations to downloading information from laptops or other digital storage devices. Targeted Information and Sectors Foreign collectors continued to seek a wide range of unclassified and classified information and technologies. Information systems attracted the most attention; aeronautics, lasers and optics, sensors, and marine systems were other top targets. Where as in case of India a report by Leslie DMonte Sapna Agarwal / Mumbai  February 10, 2007 from Business Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/corporate-espionage-goes-undetected-unsolved-in-india/274229/) highlights the existing state of affairs , in that Corporate espionage virtually goes undetected and unresolved in India. The arrest of a VSNL employee for allegedly leaking information to a competing company is one of the few cases of corporate espionage to have come to light. However, a majority of corporate espionage cases go undetected. If detected, very few complaints come to light. And in the few cases that complaints are registered, hardly any action is taken. Only 20 per cent of corporate espionage cases are detected. Of this, a mere 20 per cent get reported and only 10 per cent can be solved, says Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group. Moreover, there have been very few convictions in India till date for corporate espionage or data theft, while not a single case has been registered under Section 66 of the IT Act 2000 the recent online ticket booking fraud cases where airlines were duped, is a case in point. In data theft cases, proving the crime is difficult. Besides, it could span across countries, under different jurisdictions, making it more difficult for law enforcement agencies, explains Vijay Mukhi, president, Foundation of Information Security and Technology (FIST). Every company I meet knows they are victim of some or the other form of data theft, but are not aware of how to deal with it, he adds. Any corporate leveraging intellectual property rights (IPR), offering cost-effective solutions or innovative or ingenuous solutions and not taking structured measures to protect its IPR, loses 5-10 per cent of their revenues to data theft, corroborates Raman. We get at least one or two cases every month, besides many inquiries; our clients ask us for specific information from their competitors or send dummy interviewees to find out salary packages, says Sunil Sharma, CEO, Authentic Investigation, Delhi. Ajay Jugran, Partner of law firm, Lawcombine, says, This malady is deep-rooted. Its prevalent when PSUs call for bids. Trading in bidding information is rampant. Companies are even using annual maintenance (AMC) contractors to plant surveillance software in rival firms. The software gives a daily log of the data via e-mail. Corporates have not woken to this fact despite the fact that the law (unless for national security purposes) does not permit this, explains cyberlaw expert and Supreme court lawyer, Pavan Duggal. Corporate Espionage has risen to epidemic levels. Espionage strategies range from illegal to merely seedy. In most cases, the best defense is employee awareness. The current organisational focus on risk management, governance, and compliance has, for some, blurred the responsibility for ensuring the security of an organizations assets. Corporations have to reconsider the effectiveness of their overall security programs, given the current threat of corporate espionage. Comprehensive security programs should address this threat. Though espionage cannot be eliminated, implementing multi-layer safeguards will at least minimize losses. What Can Companies Do? As competition in the global market place increases, so will the instances of corporate espionage. Therefore, companies both big and small need to take steps necessary to protect themselves from becoming a victim. Here are four necessary steps to help protect valuable data from falling into the hands of competitors. 1. Companies must identify what information is sensitive and classify it as such. Information such as RD processes and innovations or new market strategies are easily identified as sensitive. However, other information such as personnel files, pricing structure, and customer lists are often overlooked and left unprotected. 2. A company should conduct a risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities, and the probability that someone will exploit those vulnerabilities and obtain sensitive information. 3. Establish, review and update security policies and appropriate safeguards, both procedurally and technologically, to thwart attempts to exploit vulnerabilities and gain access to valuable company data. 4. Train all employees. Users, managers and IT staff all need to be trained in what business information needs to be safe guarded, techniques that can be used to gain access to sensitive data, and what procedures should be taken to report compromises or suspected attempts to solicit sensitive information. Government Involvement in the Espionage Threat Countermeasures -The government must conduct a threat assessment to determine risk and External / Internal flaws in the security the major corporations both private and public sector undertakings so as to prevent any possible attack of espionage. This would help protect such information as is necessary for keeping the economy of nation on track and preventing from it from any derailment by the financial loss that might be caused due to espionage activities. -There is a need of initiative on the part of government to make policies and procedures that would help in controlling the rampant increase of espionage activities. Such policies and procedures must be in writing and easy to understand and should be accessible easily. Further it is also needed that such regulations passed by government must be disseminated so that it becomes friendlier for the victim of corporate espionage to take recourse to the measures provided under this. -The government must also stay updated with regard to various developments that take place in the corporate world. For this revision of such policies and procedures is required from time to time. Such policies must also be updated annually so as to keep in touch with the latest technological developments. -The government must also take care of its assets, its people, its information, and its property so that it can utilize all these resources properly without any threat of being espionage by enemy organizations. -The government while handling various public sector undertakings must take care of its human resources. There must be Proper Position Descriptions of all the employees which must be accompanied with Pre-Employment Investigations about their background. It must be followed by Periodic Investigations so as to check any change in the behavior of a disgruntled employee. -The government must also advocate for the publication and release of Audits and Investigations. There must be regular audits of all areas, as this would help in investigations of losses and investigations of violations of policy. After doing this the government would be successfully able to check corporate espionage.

Enablers and Inhibitors to Knowledge Management

Enablers and Inhibitors to Knowledge Management Enabling organizations to capture, share, and apply collective experience and know-how of people is emerging as fundamental to competing in the knowledge economy. There is a growing recognition in the business community about the importance of knowledge management. As a result, there is growing enthusiasm and activity centered on knowledge management. Some organizations have taken initiatives to understand and manage this critical resource. But, in spite of these initiatives, several organizations particularly the Small and Medium Enterprises still have not approached knowledge management activity formally or deliberately. The cause for this sluggishness towards knowledge management could be that most organizations are still struggling to comprehend the knowledge management concept. The reason for this confusion may be attributed to a gap between the emerging concept of knowledge management and the lack of understanding about it. To bridge the gap, the fundamental issue of identifyin g salient characteristics of knowledge management phenomena needs to be addressed. The key thesis is that enablers of the knowledge management paradigm often unravel inhibitors in adapting and evolving knowledge management systems for business environments that are characterized by high uncertainty and radical discontinuous change. This paper thus, explores by presenting a hierarchical model the enablers, inhibitors and identifies critical success factors necessary for a successful knowledge management initiative. The paper uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to ascertain the relative importance of the influential factors towards a successful Knowledge Management implementation. Keywords: Knowledge Management Systems, Critical Success Factors, Analytic Hierarchy Process 1. Introduction The information era has caused enterprises to realize the shift from resource economy of controlling land, machines, factories, raw materials, and labor forces to the knowledge economy of creating business value through utilization of intangible knowledge. This has caused knowledge management to be of crucial importance and it has grabbed peoples attention and generated significant discussions both in the academia and industry. The true creation of business value today mainly comes from knowledge and its management. Knowledge is critical in obtaining competitive advantage within an enterprise (Sang and Hong, 2002), enterprises should consider the knowledge to be a critical resource and leverage it judiciously (Gupta et al., 2000; Liebowitz, 2003). To facilitate the knowledge accumulation process, enterprises must encourage employees to share their experience and knowledge with others meanwhile accumulating their knowledge as an organizational asset. Therefore, the activities of knowledge management should enable the creation, communication, and application of knowledge; and they should drive the capability of creating and retaining a greater value onto the core business competencies (Tiwana, 2001). However, there are concerns about enablers and inhibitors to implementing knowledge management for enterprises. In the process of carrying out knowledge management, organizations face varying conditions of corporate culture, workflow processes, and integration of all the employees knowledge. They also need strong support from top management, because it is possible that during the process they will encounter resistance from employees. Organizations also need to increase the usage of information technology in order to help the problem regarding the flow of information. Wong, (2005) suggest the need for a more systematic and deliberate study on the critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing knowledge management is crucial. Organizations need to be cognizant and aware of the factors that will influence the success of a knowledge management initiative. Ignorance and oversight of the necessary important factors will likely hinder an organizations effort to realize its full benefit. Wong, (2005) also indicate that previous studies of critical success factors (CSFs) for knowledge management implementation have been heavily focused on large companies. This is because most of the early adopters and superior performers of knowledge management were in fact large and multinational corporations. As such, existing factors are mainly large companies oriented, thereby reflecting their situations and needs. Directly applying these factors into the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) environment may not be sufficient without an understanding of their very own and specific conditions. Previous studies fall short of studying and identifying the CSFs from the SMEs perspective. They have not considered the features, characteristics and situations of smaller firms. Nor have they explored other factors, which could potentially be more important for SMEs when accomplishing knowledge management. This paper evolves a model for critical success factors for knowledge management implementations in small medium enterprises (SMEs) based on a questionnaire survey. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework has been developed for finding the importance of the influential factors. AHP is an effective quantitative tool that helps to prioritize problems, issues or variables based on relevant criteria and alternatives. The applicability and usefulness of the AHP approach as a multi-criteria decision-making tool is well acknowledged in the management literature. The present work has adopted this tool for segregating a few critical aspects of knowledge management implementation from the inconsequential many, so that organizations could focus only on those dimensions that are crucial for their success instead of spending a large quantity of time, effort and resources in mindlessly concentrating on peripheral issues. Hence the objectives of this paper are two-fold: To identify the criteria for the AHP model with respect to issues relating to critical success factors for knowledge management implementations in SMEs To present an AHP framework for absolute measurement of priorities in order to critically evaluate the issues relating to critical success factors for knowledge management implementations in SMEs. 2. Review of Literature 2.1 Enablers to Knowledge Management As organizations embark into managing their knowledge they need to be clear of the factors that influence knowledge management, which are known as knowledge management enablers. Enablers are the driving force in carrying out knowledge management, they do not just generate knowledge in the organization by stimulating the creation of knowledge, but they also motivate the employees to share their knowledge and experiences with one another, allowing organizational knowledge to grow concurrently and systematically (Ichijo et al., 1998; Stonehouse and Pemberton, 1999). Knowledge management enablers are the mechanism for the organization to develop its knowledge and also stimulate an environment within the organization for the creation and protection of knowledge. They are also the necessary building blocks in the improvement of the effectiveness of activities for knowledge management (Ichijo et al., 1998; Stonehouse and Pemberton, 1999). Knowledge management enablers include the methods of knowledge management, organizational structure, corporate culture, information technology, people, and strategies, etc. (Bennett and Gabriel, 1999; Zack, 1999; Davenport, 1997; Long, 1997). A study by Yu et al. (2007) identified a set of critical enablers such as knowledge management team activity, learning orientation, knowledge management system quality, and knowledge management reward for developing organizational capabilities of knowledge management. These critical enablers have a significant, positive influence on knowledge management performance. Research done by Yeh et al. (2006) concludes that strategy and leadership, corporate culture, people, and information technology are four of the enablers in knowledge management. They found that for the strategy and leadership enabler the most important part is to obtain the support of the top managers. For the corporate culture enabler, the important part is the forming of a culture of sharing but needs to be supplemented by information technology. For the people enabler, other than the training courses, the channels of learning and the incentive program for the employees are also key factors. As for the information technology enabler, the speedy search of knowledge for its re-use is becoming more and more important. In practice they discovered that the establishment of a dedicated unit is also a key enabler, and this enabler mainly plays the role of furthering knowledge management, taking communication, and coordinating with other departments as its duty. 2.2 Inhibitors to Knowledge Management The biggest inhibitor to knowledge management implementation arises from unwillingness of people to systematically organize their knowledge. Since, this cannot be solved with technology, different kinds of work are needed. Examples include the promotion of knowledge management amongst people, or requiring top management to give their people pressure to implement knowledge management (Yeh et al., 2006). Chatzoglou and Diamantidis (2009) conducted research that focused on the IT impact on firms non-financial IT risk. Their results indicate that IT risk factors affect mainly coordination and partially information ability but not productivity. Furthermore, the most significant risk factors affecting business performance are management ability, information integrity, controllability and exclusivity. Lin et al. (2005) suggest inhibitors in implementing the knowledge management arise out of strategic, perception, planning and implementation issues. The results of their research reveal that: From the strategic aspect, the upper management should address the enterprises strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats, and then formulate a suitable knowledge management strategy. Furthermore, they should be equipped with information about the activities and performance throughout the organization. From the perception aspect, the critical task of the top managers is to identify the core knowledge required to maintain competitive advantage. Employees and top managers work together for a common goal; thus, employee efforts can guarantee a successful implementation of the knowledge management. Therefore, an organization should provide suitable training and resources to the employees, and use information technology to provide a friendly repository to standardize and store knowledge. The organization should also establish an atmosphere emphasizing knowledge sharing and innovation and encouraging employees to form such a culture through a reward system. From the planning aspect, the action plan should include schedule, people involved and resources required, although it is difficult to transfer the necessary knowledge to the knowledge management plan due to non-standardization. Employees orientation toward knowledge management, including the awareness of the importance and benefits of knowledge management and IT skills for knowledge management process, should be completely addressed. Knowledge-oriented employee assessments can also fail if they are not linked closely to existing incentive systems. The company should take steps to build up the trust of the knowledge owners by associating knowledge sharing to pay and incentives. From the implementation aspect, a robust set of metrics that evaluates the value of the knowledge management after implementation will need to be developed. It is essential that the top managers instill in the employees the importance and benefits of knowledge management. Employees often fear that if they pass on their knowledge to others, they will endanger their own position, authority, even power in the organization. Training and communication are essential to calm down employees fears of change, and perhaps to help them to enjoy new ways of working with their colleagues. Thus, firms need to create the right circumstance around the organization, primarily in the areas of knowledge management activities and culture. Jennex and Zakharova (2005) suggest a holistic approach that addresses critical elements such as an effective technological infrastructure; integrating the technology infrastructure into everyday processes; having an enterprise-wide knowledge structure or taxonomy; a knowledge management strategy; knowledge management metrics of success and identification of inhibitors of knowledge usage. Lang (2001) identified several inhibitors to knowledge creation and utilization in organizations. First, there may be inadequate care of those organizational relationships that promote knowledge creation. Second, there may be insufficient linkage between knowledge management and corporate strategy. Thirdly, inaccurate valuation of the contribution that knowledge makes to organizations profits renders the value of knowledge management ambiguous. Fourthly, there may be a pervasive lack of holism in knowledge management efforts. Finally perhaps not something ordinarily considered a problem for managers to deal with -poor verbal skills may hinder the actual processes of knowledge creation. Plessis, (2007) feel that the management of the inhibitors to knowledge management would need to be a mix of cultural, organizational, process, management and technology initiatives. The challenge is to select and combine the methods and approaches available, and harness them to address the organizations business needs. 2.3 Critical Success Factors for Knowledge Management Generic critical success factors exist for knowledge management; however, each organizational environment and culture is unique and presents unique critical success factors. Co-creation with all relevant stakeholders is extremely important on this road to understand the organizational culture and idiosyncrasies well before embarking on a knowledge management journey, as far as possible. Critical success factors specific to an environment are, however, often only identified once the journey has started, and it is thus important for a knowledge management strategy to be flexible to take these factors into account. The end state will be different than the original strategy and roadmap for an organizational knowledge management implementation due to these unique critical success factors. Adaptability and flexibility to take unique critical success factors into account will therefore be a critical success factor in itself (Plessis , 2007). As asserted by Frey (2001), although large organizations have led the way in introducing and implementing knowledge management, it is increasingly important for small businesses to manage their collective intellect. Okunoye and Karsten (2002) stated that knowledge management has indeed become the underlying sources for successful organizations regardless of their size and geographical locations. Therefore, a better understanding of the CSFs for implementing it in SMEs is needed in order to ensure the success of their efforts. Wong, (2005) has grouped the critical success factors into a number of generic factors such as management leadership and support, culture, technology, strategy, measurement, roles and responsibilities, etc. These are common in knowledge management efforts and therefore, they are also believed to be applicable to SMEs. He suggests that one should also consider the needs and situations of SMEs when developing CSFs for them. Wong, (2005) proposes a comprehensive model for implementing knowledge management in SMEs. They are: management leadership and support; culture; IT; strategy and purpose; measurement; organizational infrastructure; processes and activities; motivational aids; resources; training and education; and HRM. Recently (He and Wei, 2009) discussed that Knowledge Management System users beliefs are contextually differentiated, and a distinction between knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking behaviors and an adequate emphasis on their variance in terms of user belief is needed. Yang et al. (2009) identified crucial knowledge management enablers and examined their impacts on organizational performance. Chen et al. (2009) proposed an approach of measuring a technology universitys knowledge management performance from competitive perspective. Their approach integrates analytical network process with balanced scorecard that contains four perspectives, including customer perspective, internal business perspective, innovation and learning perspective, and financial perspective. Chang et al. (2009) investigates the key factors for knowledge management in the national government of Taiwan. Their study relied on two distinctive dimensions: core KM processes (organizational missions and values, IT applications, documentation, process management, and human resource) and KM performance (knowledge capture and transformation, business performance, and knowledge sharing and value addition). Wen (2009) developed an AHP model for the measurement of the effectiveness of Knowledge Management in Taiwanese high-tech enterprises. Thus, what emerges from the review of literature is the following: There are both enablers and inhibitors to knowledge management implementations in SMEs. Both enablers and inhibitors may be classified essentially into three broad categories technical, human, and financial. Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for knowledge management implementations are different for SMEs from that of large organizations. Critical Success Factors (CSFs) also depend on the management of the enablers and the inhibitors. Thus, it is beneficial for the SME to build a framework that would be used to prioritize the enablers and inhibitors towards a successful knowledge management initiative. For this reason we propose the AHP framework to prioritize influential factors contributing to a SMEs initiative towards the implementation of knowledge management. 3. Framework for Knowledge Management implementation Any successful managerial implementation requires management of enablers and the inhibitors. Similarly, in case of knowledge management it is important to have the information about the influential factors (enablers and inhibitors) for the successful implementation of knowledge management. Not all of the influential factors are equally important for the successful knowledge management. For this reason we have used the AHP framework for finding the importance of the influential factors. AHP has been widely used as an analytical tool for decisions related to knowledge management. Recent work by Wen (2009) in presenting an effectiveness measurement model for knowledge management using AHP is a contribution in this direction. In AHP the complex decision is structured into a hierarchy descending from an overall objective to various influential factors, sub-factors, and so on, until the lowest level. The objective or the overall goal of the decision is represented at the top level of the hierarchy. The factors and sub-factors contributing to the decision are represented at the intermediate levels. Finally, the decision alternatives or selection choices are laid down at the last level of the hierarchy. According to Saaty (2000), a hierarchy can be constructed by creative thinking, recollection, and using peoples perspectives. It should be noted that there is no set procedures for generating the levels to be included in the hierarchy. The structure of the hierarchy depends upon the nature or type of managerial decisions. Also, the number of the levels in a hierarchy depends on the complexity of the problem being analyzed and the degree of detail of the problem that an analyst requires to solve. As such, the h ierarchy representation of a system may vary from one person to another. In the present study the influential factors are determined via widespread investigations and consultations with various experts, and owner/managers of SMEs. Synthesizing the literature review from (Chang et al., 2009; Chatzoglou, and Diamantidis, 2009; Chen et al. 2009; He and Wei, 2009; Lai et al., 2009; Wen, 2009; Yang et al., 2009), the opinions of the experts and owner/managers are employed to obtain the two main factors: enablers and inhibitors. From these factors, 6 influential sub-factors for the successful implementation of knowledge management are briefly described as follows (refer to Figure 1 for complete hierarchical structure): Enablers (C1): This factor includes three sub-factors, C11: technical; C12: human; C13: financial. Inhibitors (C2): This factor includes three sub-factors, C21: technical; C22: human; C23: financial. According to the AHP methodology, weights (priorities) can be determined using a pair-wise comparison within each pair of factors. To determine the relative weights, owner/managers can be asked to make pair-wise comparisons using a 1-9 preference scale (Saaty, 2000). However, in the present study for the pair-wise comparison, we have relied on actual data, that is, the data extracted from the questionnaire survey. The advantage of using actual data (quantitative data) over preference scale for pair-wise comparison eliminates the need for consistency checks (Saaty, 2000). Technical Human Financial Enablers Inhibitors Successful Knowledge Management Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Figure 1: Framework for Successful Knowledge Management Implementation 4. Methodology Data Source: The research used both secondary and primary data. An extensive literature survey was undertaken, which helped in framing the questionnaire for the primary data collection. The focus of the study was on primary data. Research approach: The survey method was used for the study. Our primary data has been gathered using questionnaire technique. Our target population is all small firms in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (India) with turnover ranging from Rs. 50 million to Rs. 250 million and employment levels between 15 and 50 employees. Specifically, we are targeting the owners or top managers at these firms. For the purposes of this research, we used a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included 60 questions in two sections such as: [A] Enablers to Knowledge Management [B] Inhibitors to Knowledge Management Contact Method: The questionnaires were sent via email and were telephonically followed up. Sample Size: Amongst the 4263 companies (as per Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Prowess database) that belonged to the criteria in the entire country, 1039 such companies were located in the National Capital Region of Delhi, which included New Delhi, Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and NOIDA. Due care has been taken to include only those companies that made the sample more representative thus, e-mail questionnaires were sent to 500 amongst these 1039 companies. 119 responses were received that formed the sample for the study. This is a 23.8% response rate, which is acceptable. Data Analysis: The data so collected were analyzed with the AHP techniques to arrive at weights (priorities). The following procedure has been adopted on the collected questionnaire survey data for pair-wise comparison of AHP. Firstly, we calculated the average value of 119 responses (preferences based on 5- point Likert scale) obtained for each question. These average values were calculated to describe the central location of an entire distribution of responses. Then for every said category we calculated the Composite Preference Value (out of 5) using the following relation: Composite Preference Value (CPF) = (Corrected Value à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Maximum Value) x 5 where, Calculated value = sum of the average values for the questions considered in a category. Maximum value = sum of the highest possible values that a respondent can choose for the questions considered in a category. 5. Research Findings The pair-wise comparison matrices showing the measure of each factors relative importance with respect to the overall objective of successful knowledge management is summarized in Table 1. For the pair-wise comparison of the factors and sub factors, we relied on inputs obtained from the survey. We consider two critical factors important for successful knowledge management: enablers and inhibitors. From the pair wise comparison the picture emerges that for successful knowledge management, enablers (50.86%) are marginally important over inhibitors (49.14%). The difference of relative importance being marginal suggests that enablers are important and inhibitors cannot be ignored. Thus it is important to harness the enablers about knowledge management and its associated benefits amongst owner/managers without loosing sight about the inhibitors for a successful knowledge management. Based on investigations and consultations with various experts and owner/managers of SMEs these critical factors (enablers and inhibitors) were further decomposed into three sub factors, namely, technical, human and financial for capturing reality (see Figure 1 for complete hierarchical structure). On pair-wise comparison of technical, human and financial sub factors corresponding to enablers; technical (37.07%) dominates the other sub factors, i.e. human (36.26%) and financial (26.67%). It implies that owner/managers of SMEs consider investments in technology as the ultimate solution to all problems. It may be noted that when the same technical, human and financial sub factors are compared pair-wise corresponding to inhibitors, financial sub factor (38.36%) dominates the other sub factors, technical (31.64%) and human (30.01%). The result suggests that financial considerations are predominant inhibitor towards embarking into knowledge management implementations. In what follows next, we use the bottom up approach to get the global relevance of technical, human and financial aspects towards successful knowledge management. Towards this we multiply the local relevance of technical, human and financial sub factors corresponding to their parent factors with the local relevance of the parent factors corresponding to overall objective, i.e. successful knowledge management. Finally, the obtained relevances of technical, human and financial aspects corresponding to the critical factors, i.e. enablers and inhibitors are added to get the global relevance. The results obtained for the global relevance of technical, human and financial aspects incorporating relevance of the critical factors, i.e. enablers and inhibitors; technical (34.40%) is most important followed by human (33.19%) and financial (32.41%). Owner/managers of SMEs need to prioritize their efforts towards successful knowledge management in terms of technical, human and financial aspects necessarily in that order: The owner/mangers of SMEs should work out strategies for successful knowledge management by optimizing the enablers aspect of technical sub factor while mitigating the inhibitors emerging out of the same sub factor. The owner/managers may focus on process improvement, system improvement, and business intelligence development on a priority basis. Simultaneously they should keep a watch on damage to knowledge infrastructure, copyright/patent infringement and data pilferage and theft. In terms of human sub factor the owner/managers should make necessary efforts to enhance employee competencies, satisfaction, and retention. At the same time they should endeavor to reduce employee turnover, corporate espionage and withdrawal of efforts on the part of the employees. Regarding financial sub factor the owner/managers should try their best to enhance return on investments on building knowledge infrastructure and promoting knowledge management practices while keeping operational costs under control. 6. Conclusion We have developed a hierarchical model for the implementation of successful knowledge management. In the proposed model, first we identified the influencing factors and sub factors for the implementation of successful knowledge management. For this we relied on critical literature review and opinion of experts, and owner/managers of SMEs. Survey has been conducted for getting responses of owner/managers towards the influential factors and sub-factors with a view to successfully implement knowledge management. Finally, these responses have been collated to find the composite preference value (CPF) used as weights for the pair-wise comparison of the factors and sub-factors in AHP. Based on the AHP results, we conclude the following for successful knowledge management in SMEs: Managing enablers and inhibitors are critical success factors for knowledge management in SMEs. Owner/managers need to harness the enablers but not be complacent towards inhibitors. Owner/managers consider technology implementation as a major enabler towards successful knowledge management. Owner/managers consider financial considerations as a major inhibitor towards successful knowledge management. Owner/managers need to prioritize their efforts towards successful knowledge management in terms of technical, human and financial aspects necessarily in that order The key thesis is that enablers of the knowledge management paradigm often unravel inhibitors in adapting and evolving knowledge management systems for business environments that are characterized by high uncertainty and radical discontinuous change. Specifically, the study identified the critical success factors as: process improvement, system improvement, and business intelligence, enhancing employee competencies, satisfaction, and retention, return on investments on building knowledge infrastructure. The study also identified that success cannot be achieved unless damage to knowledge infrastructure is prevented, copyright/patent infringement and data pilferage and theft is stopped, employee turnover, corporate espionage and withdrawal of efforts on the part of employees is reduced, and operational costs are under control. In the present study the model considered influential factors such as enablers and inhibitors. The subject of knowledge management being vast, many other factors may influence knowledge management besides the ones considered in the present study. Future research may be directed towards identifying several other influential factors with a view to identifying a comprehensive list of critical success factors for knowledge management. Also the present work has considered only the top down approach. Clear identification of influencing factors would need to consider a bottom up approach as well.

Countering the Culture of Sex :: Teen Pregnancy Ellen Goodman Essays

Countering the Culture of Sex Over the past twenty years teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases between teenagers have been growing problems in the United States. In two articles, â€Å"Countering the Culture of Sex,† by Ellen Goodman and â€Å"Moms have strong impact on teen sexual activity,† by Daniel B. Wood solutions are brought as to how we can solve these growing problems. One text spends its time picking at the media, while the other shines the light on parents and guardians. Both writings push our society to see what is happening to the teenagers of our country, and asks our citizens to do something about it. While there is no clarity as to which paper has a greater understanding of how to solve this matter, by combining the ideas of both texts a solution is brought about that is sure to make an impact positively for this cause. In â€Å"Countering the Culture of Sex,† by Ellen Goodman, the author paints the portrait of a community that sells sex to kids just as easily as it sells any merchandise. Goodman says that the images broadcast to teenagers day in and day out creates this illustration of a world with no consequences for unprotected acts of sexual behavior. She says that teenagers are more greatly influenced by their favorite television stars than they are by their own parents. Teenagers are watching their favorite celebrities having unprotected sex with no â€Å"reality†. Television does not show its characters getting pregnant at sixteen or contracting HIV. The argument in this literary work is that children are fed a false image of sex and thus do not know what they are getting themselves into when they have unprotected sex. The author calls on Congress to get involved, â€Å"These messages that kids actually listen to ought to be piped into the hearing rooms where Congress is busy c oncocting a new welfare policy†. Goodman wraps up the article with a little sexual truth-in-advising, â€Å"one part passion to two parts diapers†. In â€Å"Moms have strong impact on teen sexual activity,† by Daniel B. Wood, the idea of parents having greater influence on their children than our society has given them credit for in recent years is used. Wood claims that parents are the key to keeping our children from making the mistake of unprotected and uneducated sex. This article reports that â€Å"21 percent of boys and 19 percent of girls have engaged in sexual intercourse before the age of fourteen.

Teaching Philosophy :: Education School Essays

Teaching Philosophy Children are our future and it has been a dream of mine to guide them into the right direction by the way of a good education. Having two children of my own, and preparing them for school, prompted me to want to achieve my goal of teaching. Watching their faces beam with pride as they learned something new, made me so proud. Teaching them preschool activities required research in knowing what I should teach to prepare them for elementary school. I used workbooks that I purchased from stores and I printed out worksheets from the Internet to help them learn. I considered myself a traditionalist; I directed the activities and had emphasis on a core curriculum that I planned for daily. After seeing them succeed from my teaching efforts, I decided I wanted to help other children succeed. I believe the purpose of education is to gain knowledge and to know how to use it to be successful in life. Without an education, a productive life cannot be had. I hope that I can always instill in my students the desire to want to know more and therefore become more knowledgeable. I want them to be excited about learning and not to look at school as a punishment. I want them to realize every goal they may have can be reached through a good education. I want to see all of my students succeed and I want them to know that I will do anything to help them. Anytime a student should need my guidance, I will do my best to help. I want them to not only gain knowledge, but to also have self-confidence and to be proud. I know, from experience, when a child is struggling in school, their self-confidence is low and their grades will reflect it. However, when a child finally grasps the knowledge he needs, his self esteem will soar as well as his grades. It's so important that s tudents feel good about themselves and I want to make sure I can do my part in making sure that happens. My classroom will reflect a realist philosophy. I will have a linear seating arrangement and they will all face the blackboard. Teaching Philosophy :: Education School Essays Teaching Philosophy Children are our future and it has been a dream of mine to guide them into the right direction by the way of a good education. Having two children of my own, and preparing them for school, prompted me to want to achieve my goal of teaching. Watching their faces beam with pride as they learned something new, made me so proud. Teaching them preschool activities required research in knowing what I should teach to prepare them for elementary school. I used workbooks that I purchased from stores and I printed out worksheets from the Internet to help them learn. I considered myself a traditionalist; I directed the activities and had emphasis on a core curriculum that I planned for daily. After seeing them succeed from my teaching efforts, I decided I wanted to help other children succeed. I believe the purpose of education is to gain knowledge and to know how to use it to be successful in life. Without an education, a productive life cannot be had. I hope that I can always instill in my students the desire to want to know more and therefore become more knowledgeable. I want them to be excited about learning and not to look at school as a punishment. I want them to realize every goal they may have can be reached through a good education. I want to see all of my students succeed and I want them to know that I will do anything to help them. Anytime a student should need my guidance, I will do my best to help. I want them to not only gain knowledge, but to also have self-confidence and to be proud. I know, from experience, when a child is struggling in school, their self-confidence is low and their grades will reflect it. However, when a child finally grasps the knowledge he needs, his self esteem will soar as well as his grades. It's so important that s tudents feel good about themselves and I want to make sure I can do my part in making sure that happens. My classroom will reflect a realist philosophy. I will have a linear seating arrangement and they will all face the blackboard.