Making sense of strategy Essay Example

Making sense of strategy Essay 8301 A Making Sense of Strategy I An Analysis of the Impact of the Internet on Competition in the Banking Industry, using Porters Five Forces Model [Student Name] [Student ID] [Submission Date] words: 2500 Table of Contents Question 1: Examine how the emergence of the internet is likely to affect the competitive landscape of the banking industry. a. Evolution of Internet its Effects on Banking Industry: In todays modern era, nobody can deny the immense growth of technology and power of computerization. Modern computerized revolution has penetrated into every sector in the form of internet. The emergence of internet has greatly helped the banking industry to setup a domain of its clients and mark their geographic locations. This computerized system of banking simply refers to E-banking that is a broad term that takes place on the online system. There is no need to go personally to the bank; it only demands an online system to make the financial transactions. It can also be called as online banking, phone banking or a personal computer banking, etc. The power of online banking and e-business solutions has greatly helped the customers to make instant transactions online. With these latest wired facilities, banks can easily carry out their account operations, or the e-business plans, the online banking system now provides full convenience to its customers to check the status of their accounts and to make transactions at its fastest pace. Electronic banking has become a platform to meet the demands of the changing and growing consumer as well as develop a new base of customers. It is not only the fastest mean of transaction but also provides more efficient ways to handle your bank account. It has provided many Job opportunities by enlarging the commercial market. We will write a custom essay sample on Making sense of strategy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Making sense of strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Making sense of strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer There is a substantial increase in the altering standard of living and know how scientific the efficiency of the people decided that the Internet and online banking channel is that were hardest smack and used confidently. Lets discuss about the benefits of todays online banking system and its various client oriented approaches. The most basic elements of an online banking system are Customers Account Management, Provision of Fast Solutions, and Value- Added Services and Support. One of the biggest advantages of online banking is the efficient account management and its operations. Be it an online purchase request, or a simple balance enquiry, be it a cash transfer process or an e-business investment, the power of online banking operations has made it much easier than before. Now, the customers are not required to go and visit bank themselves. With online banking facility, they can easily operate their accounts, make transactions and can have their bank statement checked instantly. Moreover, corporate banks can easily provide fast services to their customers by using their online banking system. Another advantage of online banking is the reduction of business cost. An online system provides a central data repository and a network of computers attached with the main server. This helps to reduce the operational costs of a bank for maintaining more branches at different locations. Internet is the most powerful source to capture a wider audience simultaneously. With this facility, it has become much easier to setup a network of online banking system. Internet banking does not restrict the banking system within a country but allows offering their services globally without involving any extra cost. Internet has made it easier to target specific market online. It directly allows bank to focus more and to provide full product information, services or any other information necessary to be known by the customer. This feature gives advantage to the bank to get the hold of most profitable customers and to keep up the long term relation with them. Online banking approach provides flexibility to remain connected with your valuable customers 24 hours and keep them updated about their desired information on a regular basis. This helps to enhance the image and reputation of the bank. Provision of fast value added services helps to acquire ustomer attention more promisingly, with added customer loyalty and trust. A lot of new innovative technologies and advance services are rapidly becoming a part of online banking system. This will provide a competitive edge to bankers by attracting more customers with powerful client oriented packages and consumer driven initiates. Internet as a strong means of communication has greatly helped to boost the online banking process and making it a future demand of todays banking industry. Question 2: be able to compete in this environment dominated by internet and online banking. . Fundamental Requirements to Establish a Hi-tech Banking Industry: With the huge growth of banking business and emerging need of internet banking, there must be a wide availability of resources and capabilities that a bank should possess to compete in a fast paced environment. Lets talk about these resources and capabilities that make a bank successful in todays modern computerised world. 1 . Online Banking: The first and foremost necessity of todays computerized banking industry is to have an online banking system. With the power of internet, online banking is the only system which provides easy solution to customers problem. Now your problems can be addressed instantly on the net, through your banking network. Different banks are providing different packages and services to capture more market share and customers loyalty. These includes special banking offers like car loan facility, house loan, study loan, business loan, credit card facility, visa card for shopping purposes, and much more. With each value added service, different banks offer different packages and discounts to their customers, to make their online banking system better and most desirable as compared to their competitors. . Mobile Banking A new state-of-the-art facility in computerised banking industry is the mobile banking. With this innovative technology, customers can now operate and check the status of their account online, by using their mobile internet. Majority banks have been providing an alert message facility to its customers. You can easily subscribe to any online value added service by sending a text message on your bank servi ce number, or online help number. Either it be a request for your account balance to be received weekly or monthly basis on your mobile via sms alert facility, or it is request o get your transaction details as an instant message from your bank. The mobile banking is a highly beneficial facility for businessmen and entrepreneurs. 3. Competent Staff Another emerging need of internet and computerised banking is the availability of competent and talented staff. Having educated and smart people on board can greatly help to contribute positively in companys growth and development. Moreover, it is required that the staff must have the prior knowledge of online internet marketing and e-business strategies to effectively carry out the banking operations. Experienced staff and trained people would be able to handle technical and non-technical, both problems easily, and would be in a much better position to meet customer needs to their full satisfaction. Another added benefit is the establishment of healthy learning environment, where senior and trained personnel can help to train new staff on the latest online tools and banking software, and could also get benefited from fresh ideas of the newcomers. . Secure Network One of the most important concerns of online internet banking is its system security and safety. The account information is the most confidential data of a customer that eeds to be privately secured. It is highly important that the bank must have a firewall protection and other security protocols and measure to keep data safety and integrity. Cybercri me and hacking are at its peak. There is a need to protect system from these online threats, malwares, computer viruses and other bugs that can lead security techniques and softwares to protect clients data. This high end protection enables the bank to carry out its operations smoothly and helps to maintain the required trust level with its customers. 5. Prior Planning Action Banking business is progressing rapidly with todays market needs and customers ecessities. Market is the survival of the fittest. Without proper business action plans and strategic marketing policies and procedures, a bank cannot compete in recent electronic banking environment. A banker must do a proper market survey and study of its operational environment before starting its banking business. This helps to determine its main stakeholders, competitors, and current services provided. Moreover, it would be helpful to make a healthy business structured plan and improved programmes, offering better policies and procedures, as compared to other competitors of the banking industry. Question 3: The authors argue that certain theories and concepts used to key for competitive advantage in the traditional business environments are no longer important in this new era of internet dominant environment. Explain. Contemporary Theories and Internet Dominant Environment The modern approach of online baking and internet e-business has changed the banking procedures and operations drastically. A lot of new effective marketing strategies have emerged to address and solve customers problems and to provide better services. However, we should not forget about the indigenous and ontemporary marketing theories and philosophical models that makes the foundation of todays banking business. These models are the pillar stones of banking system. The old theories of competitive advantage demonstrate the basic working principles of banking business and its consumer driven approaches. One such competitive advantage theory is the Porters Five Forces Model. This framework is based on five forces that can influence the banking industrial structure. This model helps you to understand about the strength of your current competitive position and makes an important part of your planning toolkit. Porters models highlights about the Competitive Rivalry i. e. the number and capability of your competitors. If you have many competitors in the market, and they offer attractive products and services, then you will most likely have little power in the situation, because suppliers and buyers will go elsewhere if they dont get a good deal from you. Secondly, the Supplier Power i. e. how easy it is for suppliers to drive up prices. This depends on the number of suppliers, the uniqueness of their product or service, their strengths and selling capabilities. The third force is the Buyer Power i. e. the customers who inally consume the product or the firms who distribute the industrys product to the final consumers. Potential customers can bargain to cut down the prices being charged by the firms and can demand better quality and service of product. Then we have the Threat of Substitution i. e. the ability of your competitors to find a different way of doing what you do, by introducing substitute products having ability of satisfying customer needs effectively. Porters last and fifth force is Threat of New protection for your key technologies, then new competitors can quickly enter your market and weaken your position. If you have strong and durable barriers to entry, then you can preserve a favorable position and take fair advantage of it. Porters five forces model and generic strategies are easily applicable and greatly important for all the banking business scenarios. These basic strategies are the basis for all new and advanced theories and strategies. All banking business must consider and incorporate these theories, while designing and planning their marketing strategies, policies and programmes. Question 4: Select a bank in your home country and answer the following: a. Using Porters Five Forces model, discuss its competitive environment, b. How the internet impacts it competitive position and c. How it has continued to preserve its competitive position. a. Porters Five Forces Model Lets take the example of Central National Bank of America and discuss its operations based on the Porters Five Forces Model: Rivalry among Existing Competitors Business rivalry leads to a healthy market competition among existing firms as well as new entrants. If there are lot of competitors in the market, each competing for the same products and services, then there are strong chances of price fluctuation, innovation of new products and services, better advertising methods and campaigns nd provision of quality products. Business rivalry greatly effects the marketing operations and setups of business firms. Each firm tries to adopt effective methods and techniques to capture greater market and community share. Some may reduce their product price to attract more customers, while others try to introduce more innovative and substitute products. Some firms pay special focus on their advertising methods and campaigns to get a larger customer share, as well as making improvements in their products and services. For example, in Central National Bank, the competition among different banks is very high. The Central National Bank of America has to face strong rivalry from its competitors. To cope with it, the bank has adopted several policies including provision of improved quality of services, well planned advertising campaigns, and customer focused initiatives, to gain higher market share. Threat of New Entrants New entrants always bring a healthy competition in the market with their new innovative products and get a share in the market easily. Banking industry in Central National Bank is also on the rise. It is growing at a very good pace. Due to tough competition and emergence of new entrants in the market, Central National Bank of America, is forced to lower its margins in order to attract the customers. Threat of Substitute Products Services Nowadays, consumers are paying attention towards a better quality and affordable price product. This leads to competition among different firms to introduce high quality, superior products, but within the buying range of their customers. These substitute products and services are the basis to differentiate and makes a firm achieve better position in the market from its competitors. The banking industry is also adopting several cross-cutting techniques and policies to fulfil customer needs nd make them happy with their operations. The Central National Bank of America is also striving from the past many years to win customers heart by establishing a strong banking setup and better implementation policies. Several new banking services including online banking, mobile banking, and e-business investment plans have been introduced by standard chartered bank, to provide maximum flexibility and state-of-the-art facilities to its customers. Buyers Bargaining Power A buyer bargaining power is another strong influential factor that greatly affects the business. If the prices are higher, then the company would be in a weaker position, aking its clients inclined towards other competitors products and services. However, keeping a reasonable and affordable price lowers the chances of a buyer to bargain for products at their desired price. This in return helps to strengthen the position of the company in the market. Americas banking industry offer fixed charges and prices for almost all the services. This helps to establish reasonable price criteria where consumers dont have to decide between different competitors products. For example, the bank account opening charges and minimal opening balance requirement for all the banks in America is nearly the same. This helps the lients to open an account in any bank of their desire, as it would not make any wide ranging difference to switch between two banks. Suppliers Bargaining Power Suppliers bargaining power hold special importance to influence the market. If suppliers are providing high quality products which can meet clients need to its fullest, then they are in a better position to bargain a higher price for that product. Making services and products up to the mark and maintaining a suitable quality standard helps the suppliers to get a larger share and incentive out of their spent cost. Moreover, customers also prefer to buy a quality product. If other suppliers bargaining powers are lower, then the customers demand to get high quality, good featured product also rises. In Central National Bank of America, the suppliers of bank include the customer deposits, mortgage-backed securities, mortgages and loans, and loans from other financial institutions. The availability of several banks in the market makes the suppliers bargaining power high. a. Impact of internet on competitive position Power of internet in the banking sector has contributed greatly to promote and spread its operations worldwide. The facilities like online banking, mobile banking, ith quality internet banking services. Standard chartered bank is a multinational bank that also adds to the competitive edge. Moreover there have been so many unique services linked with standard chartered online banking that are provided by the bank. These all factors have helped the bank in setting the competitive advantage. c. Managing competitive position Standard chartered bank KSA, strong adherence to its policies and customer-oriented approach has helped to establish its reputation and image in the market, so far. It is considered as a leading bank in Saudi Arabia banking industry. This is also due to its onstant revision and upgrading of the online services and programmes to meet customer needs. Bank manages its competitive position by adding new services to its service line and by maintaining the standard of its services. Customers can get maximum benefit from standard chartered bank for its new initiatives and better revised policies. References Gefen, D. and Straub, D. (2000). The relative importance of perceived ease of use in IS adoption: A study of E-commerce adoption. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 1, pp. 1-28. Gerrard, P. and Cunningham, J. B. (2003). The diffusion of Internet anking among Singapore consumers, International Journal of Bank Marketing, 21 (1), pp. 6-28 Kalakota, R. and Whinston, A. B. (1997). Electronic commerce A managers guide. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Longman. Porter, M. E. (1979) How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review Simpson, J. (2002), The Impact of the Internet in Banking: Observations and Evidence from Developed and Emerging Markets. Telematics and Informatics, 19(4), pp. 31 5-330. Thornton, J. and White, L. (2001) Customer orientations and usage of financial distribution channels, Journal of Services Marketing, 15(3), pp. 168-185.

Willis Carrier and the Invention of Air Conditioning

Willis Carrier and the Invention of Air Conditioning I fish only for edible fish, and hunt only for edible game, even in the laboratory, Willis Haviland Carrier once said about being practical. In 1902, only one year after Willis  Carrier graduated from Cornell University with a Masters in  Engineering,  his first air conditioning unit was in operation. This made one Brooklyn printing plant owner very happy. Fluctuations in heat and humidity in his plant kept causing the dimensions of his printing paper to alter and create misalignment of the colored inks. The new air conditioning machine created a stable environment and, as a result, aligned four-color printing became possible – all thanks to Carrier, a new employee at the Buffalo Forge Company who started working for a salary of only $10 a week. The â€Å"Apparatus for Treating Air† The â€Å"Apparatus for Treating Air† was the first of several patents awarded to Willis Carrier in 1906. Although he’s recognized as the â€Å"father of air conditioning,† the term â€Å"air conditioning† actually originated with textile engineer Stuart H. Cramer. Cramer used the phrase â€Å"air conditioning† in a 1906 patent claim he  filed for a device that added water vapor to the air in textile plants to condition the yarn. Carrier disclosed his basic Rational Psychrometric Formulae to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1911. The formula still stands today as the basis in all fundamental calculations for the air conditioning industry. Carrier said he received his â€Å"flash of genius† while he was waiting for a train on a foggy night. He was thinking about the problem of temperature and humidity control and by the time the train arrived, he said he had an understanding of the relationship between temperature, humidity and dew point. The Carrier Engineering Corporation Industries flourished with this new ability to control the temperature and humidity levels during and after production. Film, tobacco, processed meats, medical capsules, textiles and other products gained significant improvements as a result. Willis Carrier  and six other engineers formed the Carrier Engineering Corporation in 1915 with starting capital of $35,000. In 1995, sales topped $5 billion. The company was dedicated to improving air conditioning technology. The Centrifugal Refrigeration Machine Carrier patented the centrifugal refrigeration machine in 1921. This centrifugal chiller was the first practical method for  air conditioning large spaces. Previous refrigeration machines used reciprocating piston-driven compressors to pump refrigerant through the system, which was often toxic and flammable ammonia. Carrier designed a centrifugal compressor similar to the centrifugal turning blades of a water pump. The result was a safer and more efficient chiller. Consumer Comfort Cooling for human comfort rather than industrial need began in 1924 when three Carrier centrifugal chillers were installed in the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit, Michigan. Shoppers flocked to the â€Å"air  conditioned† store. This boom in human cooling spread from department stores to the movie theaters, most notably the Rivoli Theater in New York whose summer film business skyrocketed when it heavily advertised cool comfort. Demand increased for smaller units and the Carrier Company obliged. Residential Air Conditioners Willis Carrier developed the first residential â€Å"Weathermaker† in 1928, an air conditioner for private home use. The Great Depression and  World War II slowed the non-industrial use of air conditioning, but consumer sales rebounded after the war. The rest is cool and comfortable history.

Using A After Certain Verbs Before Infinitives

Using 'A' After Certain Verbs Before Infinitives Having trouble explaining the a in the following sentence?  Ã‚ ¿Quieres aprender a jugar baloncesto? Would it be the same explanation as the personal a or is it just like the English to play basketball? Or neither of these? 'A' After a Verb Before Infinitives There very well may be an explanation here, but Im not sure what it is other than thats the way it is. There are certain verbs, and aprender is one of them, that need to be followed by a when followed by an infinitive. Why Spanish would use aspirbamos a nadar (with an a) for we aspired to swim but querà ­amos nadar (no a) for we wanted to swim appears arbitrary. There appear to be no clear rules to indicate when a verb needs to have an a before a subsequent infinitive, although verbs that indicate some sort of motion - such as venir (to come) and llegar (to leave) - usually do. So do some verbs that indicate a change in action, such as empezar (to begin). Following are the most common verbs that should be followed by a before an infinitive. Note that many of the verbs listed have more than one meaning; the meaning given is one that is often intended when the verb is followed by a and an infinitive: Acceder (to agree to): Los empresarios accedieron a estudiar las demandas de salario. The employers agreed to study the salary demands. Acercarse (to approach): Josà © se acercà ³ a ver si yo estaba bien. Jose approached in order to see if I was OK. Acostumbrarse (to be used to): No me acostumbro a perder. Im not used to losing. Alcanzar (to manage to): No alcanzaba a comprenderlo. I wasnt able to understand it. Aprender (to learn): Los hackers aprenden a camuflar el cà ³digo de sus ataques. Hackers are learning to camouflage their attack coding. Apresurarse (to hurry): Me apresurà © a leer algunos de los volà ºmenes de la serie. I hurried to read some volumes in the series. Aspirar (to aspire): Carlos aspiraba a ser senador. Carlos aspired to be a senator. Bajarse (to get down, lower oneself): Todos se bajaron a observar el fenà ³meno. Everyone got down to see the phenomenon. Comenzar (to begin): Comienzas a pensar. Youre beginning to think. Comprometerse (to promise): Se comprometieron a bajar los precios. They promised to lower prices. Decidirse (to decide): Me decidà ­ a comprarlo. I decided to buy it. Dedicarse (to devote oneself): me dedico a hacer otro tipo de humor. I am dedicating myself to do another type of humor. Detenerse (to stop): Por eso me detuve a leerlo. Thats why I stopped to read it. Echar (to begin): Cuando salieron se echaron a correr. When they left they began to run. Empezar (to begin):  ¿Cundo empezarà © a sentirme mejor? When will I begin to feel better? Inclinarse (to be inclined): Me inclino a leer lo mejor de la literatura de autoayuda. I am inclined to read the best of the self-help literature. Ir (to go):  ¿Quieres saber cà ³mo vas a morir? Do you want to know how youre going to die? Llegar (to arrive, to succeed): Llegaremos a tener à ©xito. We will arrive at having success. Negarse (to refuse): Al principio se negà ³ a dar su nombre. At first, he refused to give his name. Parar (to stop): Pararon a comprar tortillas. They stopped to buy tortillas. Pasar (to come in): Pasaron a hablar con à ©l. They came in to talk with him. Ponerse (to start): Se puso a hablar en tercera persona. He began to talk in the third person. Quedarse (to remain): Nos quedamos a vivir con mi pap. We stayed to live with my father. Resignarse (to resign oneself): Me resignà © a ser và ­ctima. I resigned myself to being a victim. Resistirse (to resist): Se resistià ³ a ser detenido. He resisted being arrested. Romper (to suddenly begin): La pobre mujer rompià ³ a llorar. The poor woman broke out crying. Sentarse (to sit down): Nos sentamos a platicar sobre cualquier cosa. We sat down to chat about all sorts of things. Tender (to tend to):  ¿Por que las mujeres siempre tienden a enamorarse tan rpido? Why do women always tend to fall in love so fast? Venir (to come): Vinieron a ganar dinero. They came to earn money. Volver (to do again): No volverà © a ser joven. Im not going to be young again.

Consumer and consumption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Consumer and consumption - Essay Example This "Consumer and consumption" essay outlines the marketing strategies that Coca-Cola used to become the leader on the market. The globalized world has resulted to new borderless markets with numerous corporations crossing geographical and political boundaries to market and initiate operations and investments on a global scale. International marketing leads to a new problem where organizations have to utilize ingenuity, creativity, and huge budgets to attain a competitive edge in the market. This has resulted in international marketing concept; leading organizations to utilize different perspective in attracting customers on a global scale through perceptions and brand images. While a consumer product is made in the factory, consumers in most cases do not buy the product, but the brand, which is perceived to add value to it. This was a statement by Charles Revlon, the founder of Revlon, who noted that in the factory, he made cosmetics, but customers bought hope from the stores. This trend will be strategically portrayed in Coca-Cola Company in manufacturing, marketing, and production of the coca cola beverage that has become one of the leading global brand names in refreshments. The Coca Cola company history began in 1886, when the curiosity of one Atlanta pharmacist Dr. Pemeberton resulted to the creation of a tasty distinctive soft drink, which could be sold in many soda fountains. The strategy was creating flavored syrup, mixing with carbonated water, and giving to neighbors around his pharmacy. Those who tasted the drink exclaimed that it was excellent (Coca Cola, 2011). During the first year, the Coca Cola servings were at 5cents per glass, with the sales being an average of nine servings daily in Atlanta; compare this with the current estimated coca cola servings of about 1.6 billion daily current (Coca cola, 2011). The history that marked the current Coca Cola Company as it is known today dates back to 1894, after the death of the founder; when Biedenham installed the first bottling machinery at the Mississippi soda fountain, which was the first attempt to sell Coca Cola drink in bottles (Coca Cola, 2011). Joseph Whitehead and Lupton developed what i s known as the Coca Cola worldwide bottling system, as it is known to

To what extent do you agree with free market economics being more Essay

To what extent do you agree with free market economics being more effective than a mixed economy - Essay Example The government apart from refraining from regulating the market also does not provide any services and leaves this to the private sector. This kind of market has received both positive argument and negative ones (Hodgson, 2006). Those who do not feel that this kind of market economy can be efficient argue for a mixed market economy which includes the role of the government both as a regulator as well as a player in the production of goods and services. This mixed market is also called Keynesian economics, named after the famous English economist who helped in the rebuilding of the American economy during the great economic recession of the 1930s in the United States of America. The mixed market system features the government as a referee and prefect in the economy, providing for regulation and control as much as is needed. It also features the government as the provider of the most crucial and basic needs and services to the public. This is done to make sure that these are not capita lized. These services include education especially at elementally level, health and security. In a mixed market economy, the private sector is involved in the greater part of the production, but under the watch of the government. There are a number of advantages with regard to the mixed market. To begin with, the fact that the government is involved in the production of essential services is important in order to provide for the protection of those who may not afford to get these services from the capitalist market. The mixed market also regulates the private sector for the purposes of protecting consumers against unfair exploitation. Those who argue in favor of the mixed market argue that the belief by free-markets enthusiasts that the market has its own way of regulating itself through the laws of demand and supply (competition) are fundamentally wrong. This argument against the efficacy and

Requirements for the Corporate Computing Function

Requirements for the Corporate Computing Function Michael J. Hudgins   The new Corporate CIO of XLZ Data Systems has devised a nine-point mission statement for the company. I am one of the operations managers in the department and have received a memo on the new policy and an associated task. The CIO wants to address the new strategy in a three-phase rollout plan and my feedback on LAN and MAN technology. As a reference point, the table below addresses the nine points of the mission statement of the CIO.   Ã‚   Analysis as to why the fifth point, Meet information requirements of management, is in the CIOs list of nine (9) points. Stallings, W. (2009) It is very important that the development of data processing activities at the departmental level can at times increase the difficulty of obtaining data for the effective use of executive management making their job more difficult, the information difficult to interpret. The adoption of differing departmental standards and means of summarizing data makes uniform collection of data for upward reporting more difficult. (p. 54). Therefore, it is of my own opinion that the reason why CIO stressed that point is to make sure that we address the complexity of understanding the massive amounts of data that is produced and presented to management and that the process be as streamlined as possible. This makes it possible for the CIO to make better business decisions without having to spend more time that should be sifting through vast amounts of data produced that was not designed as it was outlined in the business requirements documents. First Phase Rollout Items Listing Since the first phase of the rollout will only contain three of the nine points of the mission statement, I would make a case that the items to be included in phase one would be the following for the reasons listed: Item number one (1) I believe would have to be part of the initial rollout: Provide computing capability to all organizational units that legitimately require it. After all it is our mandate to provide IT services to all corporate customers and departments within the organization and this could be done on a cost savings basis by acquiring cost efficient systems that include servers, personal workstations and personal computers. Item number two (2) would be number 9 of the mission statement: Make the work of employees enjoyable as well as productive. I firmly believe that our employees are our greatest assets and should be treated as such and considered just as valuable as the IT Systems hardware and software. Having access to all the resources that our employees need to perform their job tasks is an essential and I might add, critical aspect of productivity. This benefits the company bottom line. Last but certainly not least, the third item of the initial rollout I believe would be mission statement item number seven (7): Allow organizational units sufficient autonomy in the conduct of their tasks to optimize creativity and performance at the unit level. Stallings, W. (2009) Widespread use of small computers can provide highly individualistic service to all the departments needing computing, allow users to establish and maintain autonomy in their operations using their own equipment, and provide users with hands-on opportunity to enjoy computing use while improving departmental productivity. (p. 54) Now that I have addressed the first three items to be part of the phase one rollout of the CIOs mission initiative, I would like to take this opportunity to address what I believe to be the most critical and necessary part of any IT Corporate Initiative and that is Security. I strongly recommend to the CIO that XLZ Systems. It does not matter how large or small our company currently is, there is a need to have a cyber security plan to ensure the security of our information assets. The cyber security plan that we implement must take into consideration the protection of the following: XLZ Systems customer information, that includes all confidential information is currently held on behalf of customers and business clients. XLZ Systems financial information, and this information includes market assessments and all of our companys own financial records and other miscellaneous financial corporate data. XLZ Systems corporate products information, that includes any designs, plans, our patent applications, source code, and any and all drawings. As we have seen from other corporate data security breaches such as Target to name a few, failure to protect our datas confidentiality might result in our customer credit card numbers being stolen, with legal consequences and a loss of goodwill. This can and more than likely will result in lost customers and the potential for lawsuits. So in closing, in addition to the nine points of the mission statement I would amend it to now number ten with security ranking as high as number one. This will be my report to the CIO. References Schlossbauer, S (2015) Management Requirements and Changing Values in the Information Age Retrieved from: https://us.experteer.com/magazine/management-requirements/ Stallings, W. (2009). CIS 505: Business Data Communications: Custom edition (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stallings, W (2009) Standards Organizations Retrieved from: http://www.box.net/shared/9dtnzvwys8/1/15730219/164146343/1 Zaharia, A (2016) 10+ Critical Corporate Cyber Security Risks A Data Driven List [Updated] Retrieved from: https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/10-critical-corporate-cyber-security- risks-a-data-driven-list/

Italian Hours Essay

Italian Hours, Henry James’s most acclaimed collection of travel stories written between 1882 and 1909, is a very interesting piece of travel literature. However, it does much more than a typical work in the genre would do, that is describing author’s experiences in a foreign, usually exotic, country. Instead, Italian Hours can be seen as an important document from a historical and anthropological perspective, since it catalogues living conditions, attitudes, customs and traditions of Italian people at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. There are other prominent examples of travel literature, such as Tocqueville’s Journey to America, which provide in-depth explorations of cultural idiosyncrasies and social organization of different societies; Italian Hours should be seen as one of the works in the latter category. James’s opinions on various matters are all more interesting for the reason that his perspective, as of an American writer and tourist, is â€Å"an embodiment of modernity by definition† (Manolescu-Oancea 2010, para. 1), while Italy is conventionally regarded to be a country that has entered the period of modernity later than other major European powers. In the subsequent paragraphs, a number of examples of the aforementioned will be presented. It is necessary to keep in mind that James’s work touches upon a wide variety of philosophical topics, which are all very intriguing yet unfortunately cannot be covered in this essay due to space constraints. This essay will focus primarily at James’s interpretation of social conditions, developments, and debates in Italy of the aforementioned period. The concluding section will briefly discuss the place of Italian Hours among other works of travel literature set in Italy. Along with describing natural beauties and historical sites of Italy, James devotes significant attention to analyzing people’s daily lives, which allows for a deduction about social structures that existed in Italy of those times. For instance, when describing Sienna, James (2008) talks of it as of a city that is still in the 14th century, with numerous and rich nobility that is â€Å"perfectly feudal and uplifted and separate† (p. 242). There is no middle class, or bourgeoisie; instead â€Å"immediately after the aristocracy come the poor people, who are very poor indeed† (James 2008, p. 42). A great divide between rich and poor has been very characteristic of Italy of the late 19th and early 20th century. The miserable situation of poorer Italians is exacerbated by the government that wields unreasonably high taxes. Upward social mobility is a rare phenomenon, and most Italians born outside of the upper classes were expecting a life of struggle and destitution . When recollecting his time in Venice, James writes that Italians’ â€Å"habitations are decayed; their taxes heavy; their pockets light; their opportunities few† (James 2008, p. 13). It is necessary to keep in mind that the unification of Italy occurred quite late in the 19th century. A lot of problems remained unresolved following the unification, ranging from economic deprivation to epidemics of fatal disease. Most researchers name â€Å"the huge material gulf between north and south† (p. 168) as one of the most pressing problems of the time: previously Austrian provinces of Lombardy and Venetia were more developed then southern provinces like Sicily. The following statistics give a fairly comprehensive picture of the level of economic development in the immediate aftermath of the unification: In 1870s the primary sector [agriculture, mining and forestry] accounted for 62 percent of total employment against less than 50 percent for France, Germany and the USA. For the UK the figure was only 22. 7 percent. Most of the industrial development was concentrated in very few areas, namely Lombardy, Piedmont and a few firms in the region of Naples† (Faini & Venturini 1994, p. 74). Yet the disparities in life quality between different provinces of Italy are not salient in James’s writings. Keen on noticing regional differences, the author of Italian Hours speaks of Italian people as generally poor, although income gap becomes more and more extreme as one moves southwards. Poor economic conditions have resulted in mass emigration of Italians to other country, mostly to the United States, which seems particularly ironic in the context of James’s observations about Italy and America. James (2008) describes Italians as simple and unpretentious; he writes of them as of people that â€Å"have at once the good and the evil fortune to be conscious of few wants† (p. 3). However, early modernity has already associated sophistication with having a variety of needs that are hard to satisfy. In accordance with these criteria, Italians might come across as being less civilized than other peoples, although such view is definitely misguided. Enjoying simple pleasures can be a sign of wisdom and contemplative approach to life; although many of the pleasures Italian cities offer might seem to be â€Å"superficial pastimes† (James 2008, p. 14), they are no less pleasurable from it. Enjoying works by great masters of the past or magnificent nature are some of the activities Italians often indulge in. One of the issues that have been heatedly debated at the times of James’s travels was the question of whether to restore or preserve ancient ruins, and how to do it. In Italian Hours, the author presents his negative â€Å"assessment of the results of renovation in Italian cities and in his criticism of the intrusions of modernity in the cityscape† (Manolescu-Oancea 2010, para. 1). In his opinion, buildings should be seen as humans, having their own lifecycles and histories, and therefore mortal. Moreover, buildings have a unique ability to tell stories of people who have once inhabited them and sometimes even have to atone for their sins: â€Å"Houses not only look like ageing bodies, they also seem to be permeated with the life of their former inhabitants, which lends them a dark human aura, a psyche† (Manolescu-Oancea 2010, para. 6). As with cityspaces, natural landscapes for James are not â€Å"merely a picturesque backdrop for romantic adventure†¦[but are]†¦endowed with some of the richness of symbolic values inherited from great historical events† (Mariani 1964, p. 42). Since the richness of Italian history and nature are so impressive, James notes with regret that so many Italians live in poverty. On the other hand, he believes that being constantly surrounded by breathtaking beauty is a fair compensation; moreover, the peculiarly lighthearted approach to life Italians have helps them cope with daily problems. Although a lot of criticism of social reality of the late 19th century and early 20th century is present in James’s text, a comparison with his own country, America, is usually to the disadvantage of the latter. In Monte Mario outside Rome, James (2008) observes â€Å"the idle elegance and grace of Italy alone, the natural stamp of the land which has the singular privilege of making one love her unsanctified beauty all but as well as those features of one’s own country toward which nature’s small allowance doubles that of one’s own affection† (p. 166). In comparing American and Italian cuisine, the author recollects Grotta Ferrata, a rather insignificant and unkempt village, yet al fresco food for its fair â€Å"couldn’t fail to suggest romantic analogies to a pilgrim from the land of no cooks† (James 1995; cited in Collister 2004, p. 95). When James expresses dissatisfaction with new developments in the centre of Florence, he thinks of America again, fearful of the ancient city being disfigured â€Å"under the treatment of enterprising syndics, into an ungirdled organism of the type, as they viciously say, of Chicago† (James 2008, p. 257). Ev en in term of attitudes, James (2008) appreciates the fact that Italians are more down-to-earth and relaxed than his fellow men when he fears that a day may come when people â€Å"rush about Venice as furiously as people rush about New York† (p. 57). Thus, while modernity and speed become synonymous with the New World, James’s observations unmistakably point to â€Å"cultural wrong-headedness and impoverishment of the America† (Collister 2004, p. 196). At the same time, Italy is to James â€Å"literally picturesque – real life composes itself into art at every turn† (Collister 2002, p. 340). Constant reminiscences of the New World serve several particular functions in James’s writing. First of all, it appears to be symbolic of his attempts to establish an emotional connection with his readers and – through his personal perspective – to help establish a connection between his readers and Italy. This device is frequently employed in travel literature: the reader can feel overwhelmed with descriptions of faraway places and strange cultures that bear no resemblance to their own; it is therefore the role of a writer to create a minimum level of comfort by recalling familiar places and phenomena. In such a way, readers can comprehend the mode of life in distant lands building on their own experience in their home countries. On the other hand, such reminiscences serve another purpose, as Manolescu-Oancea (2010) argues: James’s constant references to America and to his Americanness introduce a special kind of alienated perspective, both geographical and temporal, which is decidedly American in outlook† (para. 20). James’s fascination with Italy has been enduring, yet there were moments in his life when the writer has expressed a significant degree of dissatisfaction with living conditions there. Rome is the city that has come is for the most criticism in his private letters; in one of them he even writes the following: â€Å"I feel that I shouldn’t care if I never saw the perverted place again† (James 1907; cited in Lubbock 2008, p. 2). This perhaps can be attributed to the fact that his brother, William, has contracted malaria while in Rome and had to move southwards to Florence to improve his health (Gale 1959). It is indeed interesting to observe how both James’s life and writings create a rather accurate account of what it was like to live in Italy at the end of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. James’s Italian Hours is one among many other literary travelogues of Italy; Sterne’s Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768) and Dickens’ Pictures from Italy (1845) are perhaps the most known of them. What distinguishes Italian Hours, however, is that it â€Å"follows no chronology and even the geographical ordering – much dwelling upon Venice and a movement southwards as far as Naples with a return to Tuscany – is (unlike Goethe’s Italienische Reise) arbitrary† (Collister 2004, p. 194). At the same time, the peculiarity of the narrator’s style gives a powerful and overarching sense of organization to this seemingly odd collection of stories.