Use of Smartphones

One cannot stop wondering how life would be in the past, especially with the advent of modern technologies that have emerged in the world just recently. These rampant technologies are thought to be the mother of modern technological era where life seems to be easier and exciting than ever.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Use of Smartphones specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Modern generations, especially those who were born in the last two decades when the development of modern technologies was at its threshold, would find it hard to imagine how people managed to communicate with each other at a distance one hundred years ago. The Impact of modern technology has been felt in almost all sectors of life, including in the vast field of communication. This is evident in the current world where the power of mobile phones and other mobile devices has completely changed the way we interact and communicate with each other in life. As a matter of fact, mobile phone devices, which are in use allover the world, have taken over each and every aspect of the current society. As it would be observed, the mobile phone is arguably the most developed device today as far as communication technology is concerned. From the bulky radio-like devices of the past to the slimy, handy smart phones of the modern day, mobile phone devices have come a long way to make our lives more comfortable (Raento Oulasvirta 2009). In regard with mobile phone technology, this paper examines the growing use of smart phones in the world, and the kind of impact these types of phones have on people’s lives. What is a Smart Phone? As it would be observed, there are various definitions for a smart phone, depending on the phone’s model, shape, and features, among other key aspects. All these definitions, however, appear to associate the devices with computers, identifying them as mobile phone devices that combine both teleph ony and computing applications and services. In this regard, smart phones are types of phones having in-built computer applications or features, which are normally characterized by high computing capabilities. Just like computers, smart phones are build into special features and applications that would be certain to make their users remain fully engaged to modern forms of entertainment as if they were near computers (Zheng Ni 2006).Advertising Looking for report on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Some of the common features and applications of most smart phones include, but are not limited to, high-resolution touch screens, high-resolution cameras, video and media players, GPS navigation accessibility, web browsers, and high-speed access of data. Just like computers, recent versions of smart phones can run add-on programs and be able to update software, thus giving users the potential to be more product ive in various grounds of accountability. This special characteristic, however, makes smart phones more useful to current generations who are eager to explore and experience every bit of modern technology. The rapid abundance of new innovations in the mobile phone industry has added more exclusive features on these gadgets, making them the most popular electronic devices in the world. Types of Smart Phones There are different types of smart phones in the market today. These differences are mainly determined by aspects such as their models, in-built applications, the operating systems used by the devices, and the manufacturing companies behind their development. Some of the common types of smart phones available in the world include Apple Iphone, BlackBerry Tour, and Samsung Galaxy. As it would be observed, all these types of smart phones differ greatly in terms of their functionality and the type of applications they use, among other aspects. Below are individual summaries for each of the smart phones types highlighted above, whereby their varied functionality and the types of application they use are of much concern. Apple iPhone Just as the name suggests, this is a 3G smart phone which is owned and developed by Apple Inc. The development of the iPhone begun way back in the year 2004, but it was not until at the beginning of 2007 when this superb mobile device was finally unveiled to the public by Steve Jobs, the then CEO for the company, (Low Pittaway 2008). IPhone models come in generations, and currently, there are six of these generations. One special feature which makes this device exclusive is its ability to allow users to engage their friends and family in live video chats directly from the gadgets. Other common special features associated with the iPhone include video shooting, accessibility of the internet, sending as well as receiving emails, playing music, and ability to receive visual voicemail. The phone is enhanced by various add-ons that give users the ability to access and explore Apple Application Store right from the phone’s memory and the internet. The latest versions of the iPhone have come with modified features and improved applications thus giving people improved access of the vast world of entertainment. These include, but are not limited to, a widened display, an 8MP iSight camera, and a faster chip.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Use of Smartphones specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Coupled with their thin and light design, all these impressive features have placed the iPhone in the list of the most valued phones in the world. This explains the resounding sales of these phones that are observed allover the world nowadays. BlackBerry Tour This is a mobile phone device which is designed and marketed by Research In Motion. The device would make its first appearance into the global markets in the mid of 2002. One important thing to note about this phone is that, it is part and parcel of the 9600 device series. Some of the key features associated with this phone include Operating system, GPS navigation, media player, 3.2-megapixel camera, GPRS/ EDGE/ GSM capability, QWERTY keyboard, 3G data overseas, high-capacity audio jack, Bluetooth connectivity, and a memory card slot, among other special features. The Tour is also widely acclaimed for its outstanding battery life and access to the device’s Application World which comprises of a vast array of downloadable programs and software. Samsung Galaxy This is an Android smart phone which is designed and marketed by Samsung Electronics. First released in the market in mid 2010, Galaxy is the latest version of Samsung mobile phone series. Ever since its release into the global markets slightly over two and half years ago, the gadget has won several compliments and awards from various associations, possibly owing to its unique features and specifications. This recog nition has fetched Samsung Galaxy series an international acclaim, thus making them one of the most sold smart phones globally. Some of the common in-build features of Samsung Galaxy include a multi-touch capacity screen, microphone, QWERTY keyboard, ambient light sensors, headphone jack, both rear and front facing VGA cameras, memory card slot, accelerometer, FM radio, and magnetometer. Samsung Galaxies are also known for their support for various multimedia file versions and formats.Advertising Looking for report on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Impact of Smart Phones on People’s Lives As it would be observed, the impacts of these modern devices on our lives are far-reaching. Survey shows the global demand of smart phones to have risen steadily over the last few years. In fact, the sale of these stylish phones is reported to have outstripped that of conventional phones by large margins in the last two years. As more people across the world continue to acquire smart phones, the gadgets are becoming essential equipments in people’s lives (Barkhuus Polichar 2011). No wonder, the devices have become a darling for both the young and adults, with teenagers making a significant impression as the largest possessors of the smart phones. Unsurprisingly, this is owing to their appetite on addictive social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, among other engaging applications that are accessible through the in-build applications of the smart phones. However, this wide usage of smart phones across the world comes with b oth positive and negative impacts on humans. Positive Impacts The use of smart phones has helped to break the barriers of distance for international communication through various interactive applications such as the Web and Bluetooth. For instance, people are able to chat with their families and friends directly through interactive applications in their phones. Some of these social platforms that could be accessible from the smart phones include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn groups, and Google Plus, among other channels of interaction. All these internet applications plays a key role in people’s lives, by enabling them to communicate effectively and exchange important information thus staying connected with each other, irrespective of the geographical barriers between them. In just another perspective, the use of smart phones positively affects one’s productivity in the work place through a number of ways. For example, people can always load their devices with important mobile applications that would allow them work efficiently without having to rely upon their computers or any other assistive equipment. Some of these applications include Microsoft Publisher, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel, all which play a very important role in our day to day lives in the work place. Two very important aspects about these applications are that; they are user-friendly and inexpensive. This, however, makes them a more convenient way of approaching work. More importantly, smart phone users can also use online systems such as IBackup and Dropbox to save important information and documents (Zheng Ni 2010). Apart from working as a backup security for data incase of computer crashes, these systems are also convenient in enabling people gain access to their work-related information while on the go, using their smart phones. Smart phones with QWERTY designs such as the BlackBerry can also be very important, since they can allow users to type important reports and e mails while travelling, even in the absence of their desktop computers or laptops. As a matter of fact, these applications have helped to maintain workforce mobility for regular travelers. This wise usage of smart phones in handling work-related task away from the office is always certain to make people productive, even while they are stuck in traffic jams or waiting in cues in banks. Another positive impact of smart phones is that, they have become all-in-one entertainment tools for many people allover the world, owing to their capability to support all types of multimedia format files. People have also used the power of smart phones to share photos and video, among other types of fun stuff, thus keeping each other motivated and entertained. Negative impacts While it is true that the constant usage of smart phones has helped to improve our lives in various ways, it has also brought bad effects to people’s lives. For instance, reliance on these devices, especially by the teen agers, has contributed to inappropriate use of time as a result of addiction to the devices. The wide array of applications, particularly games, music, video, and the Web, do attract users for entertainment purposes. This, however, would contribute to wastage of time as people embark on searching for unproductive material and stuff. Relentless use of smart phones has also been linked to a number of health problems (Guo Wang 2004). Some good examples here would include muscle disorders, tendons, and spinal disks, resulting from repetitious use of smart phones. The habit of typing on the tiny keypad of a smart phone can also present greater risks of tearing hand muscles. More importantly, constant use of smart phones has also been linked with marriage issues in modern societies. Some of the common aspects and habits arising from usage of these interactive devices, and which have contributed to the above issue include; their fast data processing abilities which enables people to send messages unnoticed, the discreet nature of call and messaging systems of the phones, and increased opportunities enabling people to remain attached to social networking sites for long durations through the devices. Based on these observations, it is arguably clear that smart phones are both a blessing as well as a curse to modern generations. List of References Barkhuus, L Polichar, V 2011, ‘Empowerment through seamfulness: smart phones in everyday life’, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, vol. 15 no. 6, pp. 629-639. Guo, C Wang, H 2004, Smart-phone attacks and defenses, IEEE, New York. Low, D Pittaway, A 2008, ‘The ‘iPhone’induction-a novel use for the Apple iPhone’, Pediatric Anesthesia, vol. 18 no. 6, pp. 573-574. Raento, M and Oulasvirta, A 2009, ‘Smartphones An Emerging Tool for Social Scientists’, Sociological methods research, vol. 37 no. 3, pp. 426-454. Zheng, P Ni, L 2010, Smart phone and next generation mobile comput ing, Morgan Kaufmann, Burlington, Massachusetts. Zheng, P Ni, L 2006, ‘Spotlight: the rise of the smart phone’, Distributed Systems Online, vol. 7 no. 3, pp. 27-33. This report on Use of Smartphones was written and submitted by user Wade E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How To Motivate Your Team To Write Great Content - CoSchedule Blog

How To Motivate Your Team To Write Great Content Blog Its not easy to write killer content over and over again, day after day. It is even more difficult when you arent the one writing, only guiding a team through the process. Step 1: Let your writers write! How do you motivate a team to produce better content? Or sometimes, how do you get them to produce any content at all? Bark, Beg, and Badger Usually, our first inclination is our worst. Hopefully we get better as we guide our team over time, but that doesnt stop us from badgering our writers a bit too much in the beginning.  We send reminder emails.  Sarcastic hints. Eye rolls. Yelling that tanks morale and friendships. These arent all that motivating, or successful. They rarely lead to long-term improvements. There is a better way. Ownership One of my go-to management theories for nearly everything has been the principal of ownership. When writers feel a sense of ownership on a project, they become more willing to do amazing things. They work late, they put in the extra time, and most importantly they take pride in what they do because they arent just doing it for you. They are doing it for themselves. Giving your writing team ownership in what they do gives their words power.This is powerful motivation, but it doesnt happen by accident. How do we motivate our teams? How do we give them a sense of ownership? 1. Let Them In Too many editors assume that their writers cannot be trusted. This is insulting, and makes grown adults feel like a child. Great editors move beyond this, and trust their writers first by letting them in on what we are doing. If they simply cant be trusted, then they probably shouldnt be on your team (and that is a different problem entirely).  This means that you should make them a part of your big decisions. Their opinion needs to count. It also means that your job is not to lord over them. Rather, your job is to delegate big goals, and then get out of the details and out of their way. 2. Let Them Be Them Most editors were writers first, and that makes it easy for them to meddle and place too much control over what their writers do and how they do it. Dont micro manage. Trust your writers, and let them develop their own spin, their own voice, and their own style. Of course, this doesnt mean that you withhold all restraints. Boundaries are good and necessary. Just dont be over zealous in your control, and recognize that your tendency is to go at least one step too far. 3. Create a Creative Environment When we over-extend ourselves as managers, we turn a creative process into a robotic one. We create   templates, guidelines, and standards that suck creativity out of the room. We believe that our limitations bring quality, but if they are over the top, they can do the exact opposite. Creativity is a powerful tool. We have to recognize  that our writers are creative people, and give them the opportunity to embrace it. This means that we need to be willing to let them try something new, let them explore, let them fail, and let them succeed all on their own.

Briefing Reading Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Briefing Reading - Assignment Example According to Miller et al (2010: p.273) these firms began by discovering their hidden resources, also called asymmetries, which included building on their own unique potentials, relationships, hard-to-copy assets, knowledge and experiences. Over time, these firms were able to develop several organizational processes and designs in order to find these asymmetries, turn them into capabilities and gear them across the necessary market opportunities. As stated by Miller et al (2010: p.274), they asymmetries are hard-to-copy ways that create a difference between a firm and its rivals. For this reason, Reed discovered that his bank was different and developed ways to make that difference a valuable asymmetry that his rivals would not copy and later found a profitable market that valued it. Shana Corp, a private Canadian software company, exhibit a similar path to that of Citibank. Over time, the managers of Shana realized that the company had developed unique capabilities, which included valuable kinds of work that its rivals could not do as fast or better. This allowed the company to exploit and extend its competitive advantage over other firms. In short, the managers of Shana were able to focus on what the company was able at, reflected on it, developed and found clients that would benefit from its new capabilities (Miller et al (2010: p.274). There are three imperatives of inside-out strategy, which include discovering of asymmetries and their potential, creating capability configurations by design, and pursuing market opportunities that build on and leverage capabilities (Miller et al, 2010: p.275). It is difficult for firms to develop their hidden resources unless they have some potential edge. For this reason, firms need first to discover their asymmetries and potentials, which will serve as starting points for creating advantages as they are hard to copy. Thus, to find potential asymmetries, managers are required to do an outside and

Market Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Market Structure - Essay Example Characteristics of Perfectly Competitive Market In a perfectly competitive market, a large number of buyers are willing to buy products and services at a certain price level and a large number of sellers are willing to sale those products and services for the specified price level. All firms are price taker in perfectly competitive market, having a relatively small market share and operating in a profit maximization motive. Profit is maximized in that point where marginal revenue meets marginal cost (Stackelberg, Bazin, Hill and Urch, 2010). There are no barriers to entry and exit for firms into the industry. All factors of production are perfectly mobile in long run perfect competition. Complete information is available to the consumers in terms of product quality, method of production, price of competitors. Purchasing behaviour of the buyers is rational as all information is available to them. Market cannot be affected by any externalities. Buyers are well aware about their market rights. Therefore, no cost of benefit can influence one party to harm the other party. Firms are engaged in producing homogeneous goods which are hardly differentiated in terms of price level and quality. Economies of scale is absent in this market structure as a result of continuance of a large number of buyers and sellers. There is no transaction cost is perfect competition. Hence no cost is involved in exchanging goods in this type of market structure. Local fish or vegetable market is a perfect example of this kind of market structure (Stackelberg, Bazin, Hill and Urch, 2010).

18th Century Spanish America and Race

18th Century Spanish America and Race Assess the role of the State of Spanish America in the formation of ideas about human differences prior to the 18th century. The formation of ideas about human difference has been contingent upon both fluid and persistent socio-political, historical and economic forces since globalisation arguably began with the age of discovery in the 1400’s, arguably spear-headed by the Spanish empire. This is perhaps most perceptible in the key signifiers of human social distinction. Concepts such as ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ appear to be static, objective human categorisations; yet, when subjected to a process of historical and geo-political scrutiny, each proves to be a subjective and poignant signifier, even a product of a process of social and historical construction and part of the production of knowledge.[1] The historical phenomenon of the Spanish State serves as an exemplar to demonstrate a convergence of ideological paradigms which shaped notions of human difference, underscoring this central contention that ideas of human difference are generated within a specific historical milie u, often involving the confrontation of two or more ethno-cultural groups. It is crucial to acknowledge that Spain’s dominance of Africa from the 15th century and parallel conquest of Latin America was enacted with the conscious and unconscious appropriation of Eurocentric ideals which emphasised European supremacy and assumed European cultural, theological and economic superiority over Amerindians. The seeds of such national superiority have been traced to Biblical delineations of difference,[2] with its demarcation of blessed and cursed progeny, reinforced historically by medieval theological thought which associated blackness with the devil and sin, while whiteness was aligned with purity and righteousness. The widely accepted European medieval theory of ‘monogenism’, derived from the Biblical teaching of a common ancestry and family tree concept of origins, gave impetus to the Spanish State’s self identity.[3] This widely accepted view within medieval Europe has been largely discredited in more recent centuries, dismissing the notion of a common human genesis.[4] The Iberian Peninsula had left a potent legacy and precedent at the conclusion of the medieval period, with Spain’s stark delineation and unyielding destruction of human difference. The pronounced ethnic diversity on the peninsula in the form of Jewish and Muslim migrants from throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, exacted a Spanish definition which underlined difference rather than similarity, and in fixating upon difference, brought the reflex action of the decimation of such diversity, through a systematic, historic and prolonged practice of massacre, segregation, conversion, inquisition and expulsion.[5] Such unenlightened, barbaric and medieval practices, one may argue, left their mark on the Spanish psyche, readily appropriated by the American Spanish state, as it imported and imposed its imperialistic, paternalistic and sanctimonious practices, upon a rich diversity of Amerindian ethnic societies. This precursor to the Spanish American state illuminates the historical consciousness of the earlier Spanish rule in Europe, revealing the cultural hegemonic assumptions and practices the Spanish state appropriated from its 14th and 15th century European roots.[6] The early 20th century pejorative branding of pre-eighteenth century Spain as the ‘black legend’ evokes â€Å"Spain’s colonial brutality in the Americas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.† [7] Ironically, Spain drew condemnation from other European nations for such action, deemed to be an ignorant, superstitious and fanatical nation, incapable of entering modernity.[8] Spain’s European condemners had been equally culpable in sub-Saharan Africa, in stimulating the African slave trade. By casting Spain as the antithetical demon, England, France and northern Europe masked their own international sins in the process. This brief observation illustrates one process that shaped human ideas about human difference, namely, intra-cultural ignorance and an insular societal gaze which repeatedly reinforced the values, practices and beliefs of Spain’s own cultural epicentre, and in the process, defined other ethnicities by their differences an d their otherness. Moreover, the Spanish American state constructed a false social hierarchy based upon religious assumptions which condemned humans living a more unencumbered and simple existence initially beyond the grasp of modern commerce and technological innovation. Furthermore, Spain’s Eurocentrism was buttressed by the prevailing ‘Latinising’ philosophy of Emmanuel Kant, whose notions of human barbarism, cast Amerindians of the New World as intrinsically inferior beings, bereft of the light of civilised knowledge and cultural sensibilities. Kant allegedly appropriated the formative Spanish Catholic writer â€Å"Las Cassas (and his) sixteenth century prescriptions about barbarians.† [9] The black legend’s origins are attributed by Greer to the three events including â€Å"the expulsion of Jews and Moors from the Iberian Peninsula; the so called discovery of America and domination and exploitation of African and Indian slaves; and the privileged position in which Christianity found itself.†[10] Insight into the formulation of ideas concerning human difference derived from the American Spanish state are noted in revisionist views of the Black Legend, which credits Spain with the dubious honour of â€Å"commodifying labour needed for colonial expansion in the Americasinstead of (Spanish) capitalism receiving kudos for stimulating the industrial revolution.†[11] Greer’s assertion that the burgeoning concept of â€Å"race emerged in Spain from the opportunistic wealth seeker, (an individualistic cause not considered in eastern empires such as the Chinese of Ottomans), (inspiring) Spanish conquistadors and other northern European colonists,† [12] highlights the geo-political nature of constructions of human difference. Indeed, Las Cassas’s classifications of the barbarian (emanating from the sixteenth century) illustrate the artificial construction of otherness and human difference, informing the way the Spanish American state approached Amerindian et hnic groups and the African slaves. Politically motivated criteria to confer barbarian status and thereby remove human dignity, included a focus upon the absence of conventional religion, permitting a thrust of colonialism and imperialism to be sanitised as the Indians of the new World receiving civilisation, in fact a falsely ennobling enterprise. Scholars such as Greer have also drawn attention to the Spanish state’s conference of Las Cassas’ criterion of the Latinate requirement of a civilised society, a cultural construct which excluded the Americas from civility and vindicated Spain’s imposition, in effect a dangerous reinvigoration of the â€Å"humanist renaissance recovery of Roman Imperial power†. [13] Furthermore, Jesuit historian Juan de Mariana from the 1600’s drew attention to the concept of the diminution of cultural breeding through inter-racial breeding, another social construct in itself, with little basis in biological fact. ‘Inter-mixing and bastardisation†™ as it was pejoratively known, â€Å"register a religio-ethnic racism† when the assumed benefit of full assimilation to the pariah culture failed to occur. [14] This matter of the racial formulations has been extensively studied by Barth. [15] This scholar contends that ethnic identity is maintained by â€Å"repeatedly redefining social boundaries, which may or may not coincide with geographic boundaries†[16], and that by â€Å"dichotomising others as strangers or members of another ethnic group, a limitation of shared understandings (is imposed, nurturing) differences in criteria for judgement of value and performance.† [17] In relation to the American Spanish state, while the mindset instigating notions of human difference sprang from European ideologies of capitalism, conquest and misplaced notions of civilisation, the interface featuring Spanish ethnicities in the New World, allowed Spanish identity and membership, and its Amerindian corollary, to â€Å"not based upon a once off recruitment process†,[18] but rather find recurring validation and expression. As the politically and economically superior entity, the Span ish state’s view of itself was reinforced as a result of its confrontation with African and Amerindian ethnicities, while conversely, African or Amerindian ethnic groups’ sense of themselves was retained, yet their subjugation at the hand of the European Spanish super power state prior to the 18th century wars of independence, meant their ethnic expression was muted and their religious and social practices were sidelined by Spanish hegemonic insistence. Some have asserted that the Spanish state’s supremacy over the American Indians was due to â€Å"their own theory of the relativity of human social behaviour.† [19] Furthermore, the Spanish scholastics allegedly appropriated Aristotelian notions of the natural man, incapable of moral awareness and superimposed this paradigm upon the American Indian.[20] Aristotelian ideologies of the theory of natural slavery, conveniently served the imperial cause of sixteenth century Spain in the New World. The â€Å"concept of natural man – someone who had chosen to live outside the human community, thereby causing themselves to be less human and impoverished†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [21] certainly reveals a pre-existing cultural lens, which dictates what one observes while surrounded by a different culture to one’s own and what one identifies with. It is now quite self-evident that many aspects of another ethnic group and their culture remain unnoticed, as one is relatively bound by the parameters of one’s own cultural limitations and ways of understanding the world.[22] Recent scholars have helpfully turned their attention to the factors which cause new definitions of ethnicity to emerge, stabilise and be transformed.[23] The ultimate, yet hard won Amerindian independence from the dictates of the Spanish state was a signifier that inter-cultural confrontation clarified both geographic and ethnic boundaries, and in spite of the composite cultural identity nullification, the vestiges of ethnic memory were preserved, permitting a rebuilding of Amerindian cultural practices not derived from Europe. Bibliography Barth, F. (1969), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organisation of Culture Difference, Scandinavian University Books, London. Greer, M.R.; Mignolo, W.D. and Quilligan, M. (2007) Race in the Middle Ages, chapter 4 in Rereading the Black Legend: The Discourses of Religious and Racial Difference in the Renaissance Empires University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Pagden, A. (1982), The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Wade, P. (1997) Race and Ethnicity in Latin America, Pluto Press, London. Wimmer, A. (2008), The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: A Multilevel Process Theory, AJS Volume 113 Number 4 (January 2008): 970–1022 Footnotes [1] Wade 1997:5 [2] Wade 1997:10 [3] Wade 1997: 7 [4] Ibid ,7 [5] Greer et al 2007: 75 [6] Ibid [7] Greer et al 2007:1 [8] Ibid [9] Greer 2007:1 [10] Greer 2007:2 [11] Greer 2007:3 [12] ibid [13] Greer 2007:7 [14] Greer 2007:13 [15] Barth 1969. [16] Barth 1969:15 [17] Ibid [18] Ibid 15 [19] Pagden 1982: 3 [20] Pagden 1982:3 [21] Pagden 1982: 6 [22] Ibid 4-5 [23] Wimmer :2008 1011

Management and Supply Flow Project: VWoA Case

Matulovic, the new CIO, has two primary concerns at VWoA: defining governance and establishing development process directives. However, Matulovic is in a difficult situation; he faces inadequate funding, new business architecture and increasing pressure from his peers. His circumstances are predictable given the history of IT consideration, by VWoA, as a source of overhead and the highly unpredictable U.S. market for Volkswagen Group. Matulovic’s biggest hurdle is in regards to the capped funding that has been determined by the parent company (Volkswagen Audi Group). VWAG allotted VWoA only $60 million, out of the requested $210 million, for IT projects.Given the scope of VWoA initiatives, the amount is far from adequate. However, at the time, there were no additional funds available. The procedure for deciding which projects will receive funding is streamlined by a new prioritization process. This process for managing IT priorities is part of a new business architecture desig ned to align organizational activity with corporate goals and strategy. During the first few years of any new policy or procedure there are bound to be unforeseen complications. The largest glitch was how the new process did not account for â€Å"behind the curtain† programs such as the intercontinental Supply Flow Project.The Supply Flow Project should absolutely receive funding. The cost should not come entirely from VWoA, but allocated amongst the global Volkswagen group of companies. This project is critical to Volkswagen’s global supply chain management and their goals. Successful global integration not only promises company wide savings, but plays an underlying role in customer satisfaction and loyalty, the number one corporate goal. This Supply Flow Project is already underway and needs additional funding for a timely completion. The new funding prioritization process overlooked such programs as this, primarily because the benefits achieved were at the global le vel. Because of the widespread benefits, all global constituents should contribute to the project’s financing.Matulovic, along with the supply flow group in Germany, should combine forces and present their case to VWAG for separate and additional funding for the Supply Flow Project. Due to situations like the Supply Flow Project’s lacking â€Å"qualifications† to receive adequate funding, opponents claim the new system is â€Å"too theoretical† and may not be conducive to VWoA operations.True or not, this cannot be properly determined in the first year of the prioritization process implementation. Furthermore, with a capped spending amount, there are bound to be a few disgruntled individuals whose project did not receive the proper funding. These discontented members of the Executive Leadership Team may not agree, but must realize it is a part of doing business. Furthermore, it is a way of doing business that they all previously agreed to. Matulovic shoul d proceed as formerly agreed, with the business architecture output â€Å"blueprint† which plays a vital role in formalizing governance and prioritization processes.1. Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America? The budgets for IT projects were controlled through a process that involves several organizational entities that establish priorities. There were four specific teams that were involved in this process: the ELT (Executive Leadership Team), the ITSC (IT Steering Committee), the PMO (Project Management Office), and the DBC (Digital Business Council.)The ELT was responsible for executing the NRG (Next Round of Growth) strategy in which the IT governance is a part. The ITSC consisted of business and IT managers and was responsible for guiding and approving the process of IT project selection and prioritization. The PMO administered the project proposal and approval process. The DBC was responsible for the project filtering process w hich decided which projects were most in line with the companies business strategy.2. What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process? The new IT priority management process was driven by the new IT budget constraint given to VWoA by the parent company VWAG. If the new budgetary constraint was not initiated, it is likely that elements of the former less organized and less centralized method would be maintained.In the end, this may benefit the individual business units, but be detrimental to the business as a whole. In creating the new process, Matulovic enabled the business unit managers to work together to make the  decisions that would effect their departments using the overall company strategy as the driving element. In doing this, he succeeded in involving all of the managers that would be affected by the prioritization system while maintaining the executive lea dership team’s strategic goals. This new system was a substantial improvement over the former system.3. On page 8 we see that $16 million of the $60 budget is for SIB projects, under the spending direction of Matulovic; on page 1 we see that some people consider this unfair – is it? Should budget be â€Å"set aside† for IT projects? Why? The budget allocated for the SIB (Stay in Business) projects (business continuity and legal) should receive the highest priority.As denoted by the name, if any of these projects are incomplete or fail, the risk to the business is substantial compared to business unit priorities. However, the amount budgeted may be a point that could be questioned. Instead of predetermining the amount required, he should have submitted the SIB to the same process as all of the other projects which would have reduced or eliminated the business unit manager’s perception that Matulovic was trying to control company strategy.4. How should Matu lovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special treatment outside the new priority management system? What should Matulovic do about the unfunded Supply Flow project? Matulovic created a well organized system that focused on company goals. His fellow executives were involved in the IT priority decision making and the company expectation is that business unit managers also support company goals.If they think that these goals in relation to their requests does not make sense, then they had the opportunity in this process to voice their concerns to the one of the process teams (the ELT,ITSC,PMO, and/or the DBC), not to Matulovic himself. Because the Supply Flow project is tied into global strategy, Matulovic should propose that the funding for this project come from VWAG.5. In general, what characteristics should a process for deciding about funding of IT projects have? General characteristics that an IT funding process should have: – Involve all of those who will be affected by the funding decisions in the process. – Align IT funding priorities with company strategy.– Enable communication between business units depending on the funding and between those units and executive management.

The Most Popular Samples of Research Essay

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