Information Technology Management Essay Example for Free

Information Technology Management Essay It is commonly argued in the Information Systems literature that a major reason why organizations fail to exploit Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) successfully is because of the lack of â€Å"alignment† between the Information Strategy, the Business Strategy and the Organizational Strategy. The provisions according to information sytem literature correspond to the real happenings in the real world. According to Campbell David, 2004, technological advancement has been embraced throughout various aspects of business, academics, finance and governance. The paper addresses one key component of information system that is considered as a challenge by organizations and business entities in the aspect of using information technology. The key value here is alignment between information, organization and business strategy. A major concern in this paper is to explain the term alignment in the context of information technology. The paper addresses reasons that make alignment one of the key values organizations seek to achieve. In this first issue of alignment the major concern is about transactions carried on in financial institutions. Information technology has been adopted in the recent past as a tool for executing and reviving business strategies in financial institutions. The development of certain business strategies has been enhanced by consideration of values that correspond to alignment. Alignment is therefore, the capacity by a business such as a financial institution to demonstrate a strong positive relationship between latest information technologies and the generally accepted financial guidelines. It calls for customer satisfaction, market share and product innovations. These measures are all essentials in value and adopting such determines the stability and the outcome of a financial institution. Before alignment financial institution needs to assemble all available information technology and carry on with feasibility study. This is because the effectiveness of a computer squarely depends on its capacity to improve or malign the organizational units. Factors to consider before alignment Planning- the original process has to be planned and agreed upon by the managers of the financial institution. Auditors should also be involved in this exercise for audits, re-examinations and readjustments of the whole project. Relation to benefits –alignment must be of benefit to the financial institution since it is a costly exercise. It is of no use to adopt latest technology if the problem is controllable by changing some management practises. This is according Culp Christopher, 2001. For example, outputs like profits and revenue do not call for information technology rather the size and organizational structure and number of staff that dictate the demand for additional computers. Alignment must stick to its purposes to overcome all obstacles as resistance to change may come from many sources including the employees and customers. Advantages of alignment The latest technologies such as client sever internet, data warehousing has positive implications which include first, incremental profit gains. Second, internal alignment in an organization remains a success factor in employee’s ability to perform effectively and become a cutting edge provider of value to customers. Third, alignment acts as business intelligence solutions for organization that helps in management and efficient customer satisfaction. For example, e-banking software where customers can access their bank accounts at home without necessarily going to the banking halls. Fourth, other than saving time it is also considered a secure method than transporting money to banks. Fifth, business intelligence solutions have been important aspects in financial institutions as they help to sort out effectively volumes of transactions within a short period of time. For example, pay roll software that is able to calculate thousand of employee’s monthly dues, deductions and contributions irrespective of their earning rates within a mater of seconds. Computers have also been used to solve complicated business calculations and at the same time update them accordingly. Take for example where a customer gets a loan from a financial institution either on a reducing interest rate. The software will auto calculate the interests based on the number of years the customer will take to clear plus the principal amount and at the same time store the information. Sixth, alignment reduces the amount of paperwork used in various departments especially in printing, faxing and laminations. This is because nowadays office memos and other information are shared online by use of internet between departments and even branches. Seven, alignment has played a key role in marketing and advertising new products through the internet. A customer can place an order and at the same time pay by transferring funds from a financial institution to account of the seller effectively. Disadvantages Alignment is a very costly exercise to an enterprise like financial institution in terms of prices and employee training as it calls for massive training. System change over might also be rejected by both the employees and the customers. Sometimes computers breakdown and will definitely slow the process in financial institution slowing down the entire process. This leads to a massive loss and failure to satisfy customer needs. For example, slowing or breakdown of machines in a Forex bureau dealing with foreign exchange will loose sales since currency changes value every minute. Business alignment methods Nowadays, many business transactions are relying on an efficient IT support system. It is remarkable to note the improved professionalism and responsibility in corporate and technical fields. Many companies and especially in the financial sector have invested massively in business IT and corporate ICT. This is a very important development in creation of personal responsibility in terms of accountability, capability and commitment. However, with the changing technology certain changes are felt through continuous exercise which cannot be exploited. New machines have to be budgeted or the old ones have to be upgraded from time to time. To achieve this objective the following steps must be put into consideration. First, planning which calls for implementation of traditional IT alignment techniques seen by many as the CEO’s work. A successful IT/business alignment calls for a more interactive approach or dialogue between the IT managers. They need to clarify what the business expects, what it delivers and how to allocate (Watson Gregory, 2005). This is achieved through prioritization and putting into considerations the rules that empower and govern the IT department. A second plan or consideration used to bring about alignment is that IT should track, adapt and modify business level services. At the same time the use of information technology in financial institutions or any other entities should be done with a purpose of supporting appropriate support of services. Another method is proper management of technological systems which helps to achieve the desired results through a consolidated service support by IT staff. A system need to be put in place to monitor and manage urgent or critical business services. The system should prioritize service requests to enable service delivery at promised levels and also track business processes at certain levels. It is important to note that worth methods are usually required to effectively manage the IT infrastructure and implement changes. The chief executive officer and his or her managers need also to ensure that the set organization standards and expectations are met through proper implementation processes. Certain considerations such as model should be considered for purpose of implementing alignment and information technologies (Selznick Philip, 1952). This involves mapping of IT assets and planning for resources that support services at critical times. It identifies the resources needed to be assembled to deliver IT services. This is done at agreeable service while at the same time reducing costs. A second consideration is measurement whereby the IT department should come up with methods of data collection and operational procedures all based on areas of functionality. According to Chester Arthur, 1994, the measurement methods should correspond with technology and be business oriented. In addition, the measures should ensure a more real time resource allocation decision. The consideration of various measurement principles gives an entity or enterprise the capacity to execute its duties fast. The methods applied by different entities in business alignment are deemed to measure up to set standards and cut down on costs. Alignment of costs and deliver of services through technological application gives entities the capacity to run their operations in a more efficient manner. Validity of alignment as a goal The role played by ICTs is paramount and evident in real life applications in business and organizations. As a goal, alignment is seen to support productivity and new innovation across the entire world. ICT play a very important role on trade development. Application of information technology is also seen as a tool for infrastructure development. Recently, the world economic performance has improved leading to global growth as a result of embracing information systems. The economic growth is seen to have an impact in both developed and developing countries with some developing countries recording a remarkable growth (Danis Wade, 2006). Most countries have recorded a positive growth of the gross domestic product. In addition international markets trade and industrial production has been boosted through alignment. Economic development has led to a smooth global supply chains that broaden the market. A number of advantages arise as evidence that alignment is a valid consideration in the scope of information technology. First, ICT is used for research to provide an organization with basic information about how to improve on performance. Organizations consider putting in place certain measures necessary to acquire information from competitors (Daghfous Abdelkader, 2006). The acquired information is essential as it helps entities to achieve their goals. Second, in the current world of changes, it is important for every organization to consider evaluating measures that support alignment to out perform their competitors. Application of ICT by entities thus promotes a common understanding of how transactions are carried within organizations at low cost. It is a future consideration that all entities should develop measures to fight threats of new entrants, threat exposed by bargaining powers of buyers, sellers, threat of substitute products and barrier to entry. According to Herman James, 2000, embracing information and communication technology will help to do away with threats imposed by five forces. A third consideration is the fact of e-commerce which is a component of electronic business. The use of information systems in carrying on with business transactions online is a true reflection about the validity of alignment. The future of using information technology in the world especially in business transactions is very certain. The concept of globalization is playing a very big role in creation of favourable environment for trading. Creation of strong communication networks enables countries from different regions to carry on with business transactions online. This is one major development of information technology embraced by both developed and developing states. Every state has the mandate to promote the application of information technology through application of the necessary measures. A fourth consideration that needs to be put in place is thorough training of individuals on how to use internet. This should be done in schools and other institutions that promote learning. Children at young age need to know how to apply technological information for purpose of establishing proper measures in business and other aspects of life.

A Defense of Epicurius :: Essays Papers

You did What? To Whom? When? A defense of Epicurius. There have been many attempts at formulating a theory that accounts for our intuitions regarding the harm of death. Most theories attempt to account for this intuition by attributing the harm of death to a deprivation of some sort. That is a person is harmed when she dies because she is deprived of some good thing. This paper is a defense of Epicurius's argument regarding death as a response to deprivation theories. Before I enter into the argument proper, two statements should be made. First, I do not intend to defend hedonism in this paper. Although, I am uncomfortable defending any particular thing as having intrinsic value, I am inclined to say there must be some things other than pleasure that have intrinsic value (and the converse). However, this rejection of hedonism is in no way relevant to my defense of this argument, because the loss of goods has no bearing on death, regardless of what exactly the goods are. Second, I will define death as follows: the permanent end to existence. Since existence is a binary property (either there exists something that corresponds to x or there does not), this means that death must be instantaneous. For at any given moment one could ask, "Does Kai exist?" and receive an answer, we can narrow the time of death to an instant. Thus, death mimics a function of the form: f(x) = 1 if x < 1; f(x) = 0 if x > 1. The idea is that at every point after 1 you are dead, but at every point up to and including 1 you are alive. In other words, there is no point at which you are not either alive or dead and no point at which you are both. Now that's done. Epicurius's argument is essentially that there is no point at which we are harmed by death, and therefore death is not bad. Specifically, he formulates his argument in the following way: 1. Death is not bad for the victim before death. 2. Death is not bad for the victim after death. 3. Thus, there is no time at which death is bad for the victim. 4. Thus, death cannot be bad for the victim. A defense of Premise (1) is not hard. Since my death has not yet occurred it is impossible for it to act as a cause of anything that is occurring now.

Analyse of “the Darkling Thrush”

Analyse of â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† Thomas Hardy presents a theme of hope in his poem The Darkling Thrush. In the poem winter season has brought about death and despair. A tired old man leans over a coppice gate in a desolate area, to see the ghosts of the past and little hope for the future. Hardy uses imagery to evoke ideas and images in the readers mind. â€Å"The land's sharp features seemed to me. The Century's corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy, The wind its death-lament. † In describing the landscape he refers to the landscape as an intimate object as if it were human. He compares the landscape to a dead body laying all around him and the clouds becoming the coffins top, and the wind his death lament. The man also describes the landscape to have as much life and spirit as he does. Hardy choose his words carefully using negative words such as gray, desolate, broken and haunted. This negatively leads us to believe that this is how Harper feelings are; alone and frightened out in the cold. While still using a negative tone Harper tries to turn the poem to a somewhat positive tone. He continues to use wording such as frail, aged, gaunt and small but adds in wording like full-hearted and joy illimited. The change of wording suggests a shift in the tone of the poem. A songbird has entered, spreading warmth and hope into the earlier desolate and dead landscape. The theme of hope is introduced with the appearance of a songbird in stanza three. The bird is meant to resemble hope and that things are not quite over yet even though it may seem so. In the winter months death is brought forth yet in the coming of spring restores that life once again. The poem suggests that if one doesn’t give into the negative a positive can and may come forth; whether one is aware of this or not. In the poem’s last stanza the man reveals his thoughts as if his thoughts as if he has see a glimpse of hope as the life songbird colours the air with its song. â€Å"So little cause for carolings Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things Afar or nigh around, That I could think there trembled through His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew, And I was unaware. † The stanza suggests that there may be hope after all. Is it the spring coming once more? Or is it just the ghost messing with him? Hardy’s poem as well as its overall theme is a reflection of the time period he lived in. The poem takes place on New Year’s Eve, the last day of the 19th century. The queen is barely breathing her last few breaths and the Victorian Era is coming to an end. Waiting just around the corner is a new era, a new king, and a new Period completely different from the Victorian Era. The theme of hope is presented in a fashion that even though something may seem dark and shadowy that one needs to have a little faith in such matters. Things in the world and life are going to be unclear because nothing is ever sure. Hardy wants readers to have reliance in the world and the transformation of the times. Stanzas . The gate which the speaker is leaning on represent the threshold of the new century. The spectral quality of frost suggests the ageing and the ghostly quality of the landscape. The scene has the mere trace of life, in which natural and human presences are ghostly. The figure of the â€Å"weakening eye† symbolizes the ending of the day along with the ending of the century. The â€Å"tangled bine-stems† represent a harp which all the strings have been broken emphasizing the â€Å"winter’s dregs†. The stanza ends with the speakers awareness that he is alone, the people who usually occupy the land have returned to their home. . This stanza also marks the end of a century. The landscape’s features become like an immense body layed out. The first sentence shows the speaker’s mind enclosing the huge space of land and sky into the frightening display of the Century’s corpse in its coffin. The sky is the lid. The second sentence emphasizes that the ending of the century is not just closing to the speaker, but an end which seems to separate it from any relation to the future. Every spirit of vegetal and human life is under the pall of this death. 3. The darkling thrush, in all its homeliness and diminutiveness, is the corporeal voice of the real world. The bird’s song is spontaneous and unpremeditated. It â€Å"fling[s]† its â€Å"soul† into the â€Å"gloom† in contrary of the speaker’s previous flinging of his spiritless soul upon the landscape. The bird’s joyful act appears to the speaker as a choice, and not for mere survival in the â€Å"growing gloom†, but for the enthusiastic and full-hearted participation. 4. The speaker has not been convinced or transported out of the â€Å"growing gloom†, but his response to the birds song is to think. Although the â€Å"blessed Hope† is a knowledge only the bird has and of which the speaker is yet unaware, the speaker accepts the birds song as a sign that there is hope for the future. Analysis of â€Å"The Darkling Thrush†, by Thomas Hardy As the title has already mentioned, this assignment will be an analysis on a poem by Thomas Hardy. The poem is called â€Å"The Darkling Thrush†, also known by another title, â€Å"By the Century’s deathbed†. My analysis will include elements such as the poems’ setting, structure, imagery, diction, rhyme scheme and theme. I will go into one element at the time, and them give examples from one stanza only in that element. I will not come back to the same elements in the other stanzas, even though they are there. Therefore, this will not be a complete analysis of every element in each of the stanzas. I’d rather prefer to give a thorough description of what the different elements are and then give a few examples of each of them. In then end I will try to come up with a conclusion. The poem takes place on New Years Eve, the last day of the 19th century. It’s also the end of the Victorian Age. Winter is bringing death and desolation with it. A tired old man leans over a coppice gate in a desolate area, seeing ghosts of the past and little hope in the future. This poem has 4 stanzas, each with 8 lines. This is what we call an octave. The lines changes between having 4 and 3 stressed syllables in them, which is called tetrameter (4) and trimeter (3). Since the lines also follow a form of having one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable etc, we also call it iambic. As an example I use the poems 1st stanza. Line number 1, 3, 5 and 7 each have 4 stressed syllables, therefore called iambic tetrameter ( / – / – / – / – ). Line number 2, 4, 6, and 8 each have 3 stressed syllables, therefore called iambic trimeter ( / – / – / – ) The tangled bine-stems scored the sky5 And all mankind that haunted nigh7 Had sought their household fires. 8 Through the use of personification, symbols, metaphors, alliteration (this last element may also refer to the poems structure) and a selected sort of words, he produces images in the readers mind, when all he really does is just speak from his inner state of mind, as modernists are soon to do. To show the use of imagery in this poem, I’ve taken its 2nd stanza as an example. Here he uses personification on the landscape, thereby referring to an inanimate object as if it were human. He compares the landscape to a dead body lying all around him, and the clouds becoming the coffins top, and the wind his death lament. The poet also makes use of alliteration in this poem. An example from this stanza is corpse, crypt, cloudy, canopy etc, where you easily notice the same sounds repeated several times. This has mostly a decorative effect, but it also makes you focus on these words, thereby revealing parts of the poem’s nature and temperament. The land’s sharp features seemed to be1 The Century’s corpse outleant, 2 The ancient pulse of germ and birth5 The choice of words in this poem has been carefully selected, leaving little to coincidence. If you look carefully, you notice him using lots of negatively loaded words such as grey, desolate, broken, haunted etc. He himself is all alone out in the cold with all his negatively loaded words. But this changes further on in the poem. In stanza number 3 you will notice a change in the poets use of diction. In stead of keeping mainly to negatively loaded words, he suddenly makes use of positively loaded words too. Words like frail, aged, gaunt and small still remains, but you also get words like evensong, full-hearted and joy illimited. This change in diction shows the reader that something new has occurred in the poem. A song-bird has entered, spreading warmth and hope into an earlier desolate and dead landscape. Another thing to bear in mind (in a more of a general matter concerning his poems) as you read Hardy’s poems, is that he chooses to avoid following a â€Å"jewelled line†. He doesn’t care for writing just pretty poetry. He breaks with conventions concerning the normal use of language. An aged thrush frail, gaunt and small5 Had chosen thus to fling his soul7 As you read it through, you easily find its rhyme scheme to be regular. There is only one irregularity in it, and this always means that it’s put there on purpose, and that it has a special meaning. He operates with end-rhyme, but both in masculine and feminine endings. The major theme is introduced in the poems 3rd stanza, in the appearance of a song-bird. It is probably supposed to resemble â€Å"hope†, and that things are not quite over yet although it may seem so. Like winter always brings death along with it, the coming of autumn restores some of it to life once more. Although things may look pretty negative right now, don’t give in to it, life will return sometime, even though you are not aware of it yourself. This theme can be seen as a kind of reflection on the time Thomas Hardy lived. It was the end of an era, and end of a Period and almost the end of a Queen. And when a new Period is called for, it’s often a reaction to the old one. Now was the time for a reaction. Things looked dark and not so promising. People didn’t know what hope there lay in the future, but as this poem says, there may be hope coming although you don’t know of its coming. In the poems last stanza, the man revealing his thoughts to us sees a glimpse of hope, as the song-bird colours the air with its singing. There may be hope after all. Is it the spring coming once more? Or are his â€Å"Demi-Gods† just playing with him? So little cause for carolings 1 Was written on terrestial things3 That I could think there trembled through5 Some blessed Hope whereof he knew7 If you’ve followed me through these 5 pages, you will probably not only feel that your understanding of the poem is enhanced, but also your understanding of poems in general. I’ve tried to guide you through some of the main elements of poetry, giving a brief explanation as to what they are and how to find them. Because I’ve chosen to spend so much time on this, I didn’t use them all in each and every stanza. But now that you have it in front of you, why not try to look for signs of the different elements in the other stanzas? If I were to give my own opinion of this poem, then I think I like the other title of the poem better. It is more fitting, considering the context around the writer at the time. You are in the last day of the 19th century, the queen is breathing her last few breaths, and so is the Victorian era. Awaiting just around the corner is a completely new era, a new king, and an entirely new Period entirely different from the Victorian.

Essay from Joel S. Burma †Second ThePensters Writing Contest Medalist #2

Evolving traditional education into virtual reality classes has many advantages; however, it also has many limitations overriding the benefits and therefore it will not replace traditional education in the foreseeable future. Firstly, virtual reality classes would result in children spending more time at home by themselves with a mask over their head, rather than in a classroom setting surrounded by children. This may lessen their ability to learn how to work in groups and cooperate with their peers, which is a skill proven to be learned through traditional education.1 Secondly, as a consequence of younger kids having more technology, the rates of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have steadily increased and this problem may worsen with the incorporation of virtual reality classes.2 Finally, this type of learning is more accessible to more affluent students, meaning lower social economic status (SES) families would not have access to this type of learning, further escalating the disparity between the rich and poor.3 For these reasons, traditional education is a more feasible option for students to obtain both school knowledge and the necessary people skills required in the workplace and everyday life. Traditional education allows children to go to school and learn how to cooperate in a group setting with an adult and 20-30 other students. They learn how to share and use teamwork to work towards a common goal, which is a crucial life skill that may not be developed through virtual reality classes.1 Also, with traditional education, students may have the opportunity to be in the same class as a student with down syndrome or autism. This unique opportunity allows them to interact first hand with these populations and understand the vast diversity throughout the world. With the introduction and expansion of social media, children are spending less time in the presence of others, but rather in virtual reality.4,5 This has sustainably lowered the amount of close friends’ children have and intensified the rates of adolescent depression because children are not receiving adequate social interaction.5 Virtual reality classes may further exacerbate this problem as children would have very limited interactions with others and have fewer close friends. The rates of ADD and ADHD have dramatically amplified in the last decade with the expansion of technology.2 This is a result of parents letting their children watch hours of stimulating television shows to keep them busy and entertained, which has been shown to reduce the ability of children to orient their attention and focus on a task for a duration of time.2,6 On average an adolescent child spends four to five hours watching television in a day.7 Virtual reality classes would only make this situation worse as there is a high probability students would be spending both their school day and evenings away from reality. This also means a reduction in physical activity as they would not be required to get outside and move, increasing the rates of obesity and not allowing the children to develop basic fundamental movement skills.8 Finally, virtual reality is not widely accessible to all students; therefore, it would most likely be used by higher SES families as lower SES families would not be able to afford this type of education.9,10 If government money and resources are put into virtual reality classes and traditional education is overlooked, lower SES families will be more impacted by this decision3. The more affluent would receive the best education; whereas, the less affluent would be forced to a second tier form of education, further amplifying the disparity between rich and poor, leading to further segregation and inequality.3,10 In summary, virtual reality classes have several advantages; however, the negative impacts strongly outweigh the positives. There are already too many problems in this world including adolescent depression, physical inactivity, obesity, ADD, ADHD, inequality, and segregation, and the introduction of virtual reality classes would potentially make these difficulties substantial worse. As of now, traditional education is the best way to go as children have to opportunity to learn how to interact with their peers and function as part of a team. It also gives them the freedom to make friends, create lifelong bonds, and learn about the vast diversity in this world. References: Osumi, T. (2003). Teamwork and people power: Liberatory teaching in the elementary classroom. Amerasia Journal, 29(2), 92. Froiland, J. M., Davison, M. L. (2016). Home literacy, television viewing, fidgeting and ADHD in young children. Educational Psychology, 36(8), 1337-1353. Publishing, O., Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD iLibrary, OECD. (2012). Equity and quality in education: Supporting disadvantaged students and schools. Washington: Organization for Economic Cooperation Development. Kuss, D. J., Griffiths, M. D. (2011). Online social networking and addictiona review of the psychological literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(9), 3528-3552. Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T., Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017-1031. Lo, C. B., Waring, M. E., Pagoto, S. L., Lemon, S. C. (2015). A television in the bedroom is associated with higher weekday screen time among youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD). Preventive Medicine Reports, 2, 1-3. Boyse, K. (2010). Television and Children. Michigan Medicine. Bazar, K. A., Yun, A. J., Lee, P. Y., Daniel, S. M., Doux, J. D. (2006). Obesity and ADHD may represent different manifestations of a common environmental oversampling syndrome: A model for revealing mechanistic overlap among cognitive, metabolic, and inflammatory disorders. Medical Hypotheses, 66(2), 263-269. Martà ­n-Gutià ©rrez, J. (2017). Virtual technologies trends in education. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(1). Rounce, A. D., Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Saskatchewan Office, desLibris Documents, Canadian Electronic Library (Firm). (2004). Access to post-secondary education does class still matter. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Saskastchewan.