The Importance Of The French Revolution - 777 Words

The French Revolution was certainly one of the most important events in Europe’s political history and highlighted the importance of the new age of Enlightenment. The outcomes of the Revolution were many: its short comings led to the rise of the Napoleonic Regime and Robespierre’s reign through terror led other European revolutionaries to step back in fear. However, whilst the revolution failed to achieve all it had aimed to do; it did overthrow its monarchy, creating the first true European Republic, and was able to introduce a slither of democratic ideology into a society used to aristocratic dictatorship, showing other European states that the people really did have power; proving, for the first time, that left-wing ideology was†¦show more content†¦The terms of this Treaty meant that another war was almost inevitable, thus leading to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon’s 1799 coup to become the First Consul of the Republic, was the start of one of the biggest political and societal reforms the world had ever seen. Napoleon was desperate to prove he was a just leader, he wanted to ensure the aims of the French Revolution became law; this was notably seen with the implementation of the Napoleonic Code, replacing the patchwork of Feudal Laws that had previously existed. The document established the Republic as the first European country to create a Civil Legal System, a modern and simpler concept that existed to serve the entire population. Napoleon’s reforms were unlike anything Europe had seen before and set the French First Republic at the forefront of political innovation. France had become an example by which many European countries would follow in the century to come. However, the Napoleonic Wars that sprouted from Napoleon’s constant changes to the international system, in his attempt to legitimise the aims of the Revolution, ultimately led to Napoleon’s downfall; yet, the consequences of the Wars were of great importance to Europe’s stability. Notably, the Napoleonic Wars led to the creation of the Concert of Europe, an alliance between European powers that would likely not have occurred without the French Revolution or Napoleon.Show MoreRelatedImportance of the French Revolution2007 Words   |  9 PagesThe French Revolution is a moment in France’s history that brought upon a political upheaval and chaotic mess. What many people do not realize is the enormous impact the French Revolution has on current European Civilization and other societies in the world. The revolution changed not only France, but other countries as well. Consequently, the revolution was not a mark in history, but a stepping stone. The Revolution started a domino effect which led to imperative events in the world’s history andRead MoreThe French Revolution And Napoleonic Years1539 Words   |  7 PagesThe French Revolution and Napoleonic years are very important to European history because they mark a time of great change and transformation, a time when Europe was in the thrall s of its rise to modernity. Two of the aspects of modernity brought to light during the French Revolution were the increasing importance of the middle class and the idea, though not necessarily the practice, of political liberty. However, some of strides made in France toward modern liberty were almost completely erasedRead MoreThe French Revolution By Edmund Burke Essay1538 Words   |  7 PagesOne of the most critical moments for human history, the French Revolution transpired amongst a slew of issues which caught France at a point of near destruction. 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Part B will present accounts of the assaults on the BastilleRead Mor eEssay on Comparison of the American and French Revolutions1022 Words   |  5 PagesComparison of the American and French Revolutions The American and French revolutions both compare and contrast in their origins and outcomes; both revolutions began due to the common peoples need to obtain independence and liberty from an oppressive government. The American Revolution was triggered by the American colonists need for financial independence from the overpowering nation of Great Britain, while the French revolution was a struggle to gain social equality among the masses. AlthoughRead MoreThe Year 1789 By Abbe Emmanuel Sieyes1370 Words   |  6 PagesThe year 1789 was an eventful one in France with major changes happening all over the country. The French government was in a state of desperation, because of a string of wars and bad investments the country was now in bankruptcy. 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Climate Change And The Global Economy - 1316 Words

As climate change continues to insist on the impending destabilization of the global economy, climate change is observed from a multitude of angles that identify threats to sustainable development. The corollaries generated by climate change are regularly interlinked, insinuating exponential exacerbation for the issues at hand. Nonetheless, prompt action can yield positive results in the overlapping constituencies. As one of the most pressing issues of our time, it is of paramount necessity to speculate what policies are in place to enforce the mitigation of climate change. What has been done ? What can we continue to do - and to what effectiveness ? With the â€Å"figure – ground† reversal and the perpetual shifts that have followed, Earth has emerged as a human â€Å"work of art†. Human beings were the creations of the Earth and we are beginning to take over that role partly because of our increasing power over parts of the biosphere, our ability to affect natural systems, but more significantly because now that we can grasp the Earth in our mind’s eye, we increasingly see that we have it in our grasp (UofT, 1993, pg. 1). The encroachment and appropriation of natural resources have contravened with the natural state of the planet, to the extent in which Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions have drastically weakened our atmosphere. The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate change, which commitsShow MoreRelatedThe Economics Of Climate Change1400 Words   |  6 PagesThe Economics of Climate Change The world economy is a very complex system; in the system harmful externalities disrupt capital flows and determine economic productivity. Most notable of these externalities is inadvertent global warming. 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The Body Shop Free Essays

The Body Shop Table of contents Introduction  :2 Section A3 A comprehensive strategic analysis of the industry  :3 Question 13 1)The external strategic analysis of The Body Shop3 1. 1 ° Synopsis of the beauty industry: Macroenvironement and trends3 1. 2 ° The competition: immediate industry and competitive environment5 1. We will write a custom essay sample on The Body Shop or any similar topic only for you Order Now 3 °The key success factors of the beauty industry and The Body Shop7 1. 4) The SW(OT) analysis of The Body Shop8 Question 2:8 Applicability and effectiveness of new CEO Patrick Gournay’s strategies8 SECTION B10 Question 3:10 Vision and Mission10 Question 4:11 Financial and strategic objectives:11 Question 5:12 Corporate and business strategies12 Question 615 Balanced scorecard for The Body Shop15 References Introduction The cosmetic industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. The worldwide annual expenditures for cosmetics is estimated at U. S. $18 billion. There is a strong competition in this industry all over the world. To compete and obtain a competitive advantage, companies have to invest a lot. They always have to innovate, to invest in advertising campaign in order to be known and to be successful. The Body Shop decided to be different, their products are natural, it is an ethical organisation, associated with environmental friendliness. But how The Body Shop takes part in the cosmetic industry? What are their vision and mission and what strategic directions should be recommended to the Body Shop in order to perform successfully in this industry? Section A A comprehensive strategic analysis of the industry Question 1 The cosmetic industry is a very aggressive and challenging market, in order to be more competitive and to gain market shares and customer loyalty, companies as The Body Shop have to understand their environment. After analysing the external environment (major trends of the industry, competitors and driving forces), the key success factors as well as the strategic issues will be evaluate, in order to provide a SWOT analysis. 1) The external strategic analysis of The Body Shop 1. 1 ° Synopsis of the beauty industry: Macroenvironement and trends The PEST model in as interesting tool to understand and study all the components and trends that affect the beauty industry. This environment analysis permits us to understand the strategy of beauty brands as The Body Shop. To identify the importance of each components of the industry, it is necessary to quantify them. In the last column, O will represents â€Å"opportunity† however T will represent â€Å"threats†. Moreover, a number will be associated to see the impact of each element. PESTE model for the Body Shop |Importance of the regulations concerning the launching of new |T 5 | |Political environment (legislation and |products in the markets: (allergies†¦) | | |regulations) | | | | | | | | | | | | |Globalisation (driving force) |T8 | | | | | | |Strong local and foreign competition |T9 | | | | | | |Increase in prices | | | | |T6 | |Economic and international environments |Increase in the budget bound for beauty | | |(general economic conditions) | |O6 | | |Cosmetic industry: huge market | | | | | | |Alliance groups in the cosmetic industry to attract new customers |O8 | | |(driving force) | | | | |O7 | |Societal environement (societal values and |Growth of the free time: importance to take care of our body and |O6 | |lifestyles) |beauty | | | | | | | |Importance of well being | | | | |O8 | | |Importance of the beauty (driving force) | | | | |O8 | | |Be young and stay young | | | | |O8 | | |Ageing of the population (segmentation of products) (driving force) | | | | |O7 | | |New market for men (new products.. ) (driving force) | | | | | | | |Companies and customers have more and more social responsibility |O8 | | | | | | Different needs and preferences according to the countries and the | | | |skin differences |O7 | |Societal environement (societal values and | | | |lifestyles) |Important demand variations and fashion effects in terms of |O6 | | |cosmetics | | | | | | | |Growth of the worldwide market of cosmetics (driv ing force) | | | | |O6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |T8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |O7 | | | | | | |Use of internet to buy products (driving force) |O6 | | | | | | Rapid innovation (waterproof †¦) (driving force) | | | | |T7 | | |Need of strong technological capabilities | | |Technological environment | | | | |Strong marketing innovation (driving force) |T7 | | | | | | | | | | | |T8 | | | | | | |Respect the environment |O10 | | | | | |Environmental aspects |Sustainable development |O10 | | | | | | |Fair trade |O8 | | | | | | |Bio market and products (driving force) |O9 | | | | | |Environmental aspects |Ecology | | | | |O8 | After this analyse of the trends, components and driving forces of the industry, it is interesting to see the place of the competitors in the industry. 1. 2 ° the competition: immediate industry and competitive environment In order to understand the dynamism of The Body Shop, we have to understand the competitive structure of th e cosmetic industry. The â€Å"competitive structure† of this market and the â€Å"critical rules of the game set by the industry† can be explained by using the â€Å"Porter’s model of competitive forces† in the cosmetic market. The Porter’s model is composed by five forces, the nature and strengths of the competitive pressures associated with these five forces have to be examined force by force to identify the specific competitive pressure which each comprises and to decide whether these pressure constitute a strong or weak competitive force. (Hough, J et al: 2008:101). It permits us to establish how important the market is to current and potential competition. Porter ‘s model of competitive forces in the beauty market [pic] These forces are explicated in this table: |- High local and international competition | | | | | |- The Body Shop has to face the direct competition in the domestic and international markets | | | | | |- Face the numerous cheaper competit ors | | | |Rivalry competition |- Lots of competitors as: supermarket, beauty institutes, hair dresser, perfumery †¦ | | | | |HIGH |- Big brands with strong image: Dior, Yves St Laurent, Estee Lauder †¦ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Rivalry competition | | | | | |HIGH | | | |- Too much brands | | | | | |- Too difficult to obtain a brand image and customer loyalty | |Threats of new entrants | | |LOW |- Numerous regulations | | |- There are not really substitutes products but there are lots of others brands.. | | | | | |- The substitutes products will be : | |Threat of substitute products | | |HIGH |- Cheaper products, no name brands | | | | |- Products tested on animals | | | | | |- Non natural products | | | | | |- Imitative products | | | | |Bargaining power of suppliers |Their impacts are not too big | |MEDIUM | | | |- High expectation in terms of quality and services | |Bargaining power of buyers | | |HIGH |- New generation with internet, buyers can c ompare prices | After this analysis, we can follow with the key success factors of The Body Shop. 1. 3 °the key success factors of the beauty industry and The Body Shop â€Å"Key success factors are the products attributes, competencies, competitive capabilities, and market achievements with the greatest impact on future competitive success in the marketplace. † (Hough, J et al: 2008: 97) In order to succeed and to be competitive, The Body Shop has to manage key success factors. So we can say that cosmetics brands have: – To be innovative and to propose new products – To obtain global distribution capabilities To have strong e-commerce capabilities (friendly website†¦) and the possibility to buy online products – To have an excellent and famous branding image: customers could identify them to the brand and its values. – To be different – To maintain high level of quality and services in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyal ty In the next part, we can realise a SWOT analysis to evaluate if The Body Shop meets these key success factors. 1. 4) The SW (OT) analysis of The Body Shop The SWOT analysis provides an overview of the firm’s situation and it is an essential component of crafting a strategy tightly matched to the company’s situation. (Hough, J et al: 2008: 138). The SWOT analysis is composed by the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We have already done the opportunities and threats in the macroenvironment analysis that is why we just evaluate here the strengths and weaknesses of The Body Shop (internal environment). | | | |STRENGHTS |WEAKNESSES | | | | |Global business Lack of new products | | | | |Ethical business |To slow to get new market share | | | | |High social responsibility |Stores too old, need a new design | | | | |Respect of human rights |Unpopularity of the Body Shop in the city and in the business | | |community | |Present all over the world (in 47 countries) | | | |Lack of enthusiasm | |Anti animal testing practices | | | |Failure in different countries: ex France, USA.. |Good manufacturing and wholesale | | | |Big problems with franchises | |Reorganisation to the firm to a management group | | | |Lack of adaptation to the needs and preferences of overseas markets | |Importance of the environ mental friendliness |(ex: USA) | | | | |Strong corporate culture in the firm ( involvement of the staffs in |Not a strong retailer | |the campaigns) | | |Important financial losses | |Products naturally made | | | |Products and concepts easily imitated | |Uniqueness of the products in term of its packaging | | | |Too much importance in launching environmental projects and too less| |Strong identity |in running business | | | | |Different suppliers from different ethnics and groups |Followers in cutting prices | | | | |A. Roddick: ethical and strong leader |Prices more expensive than the other competitors | | | | |Importance of staff selection |Lack of advertising | Question 2 Applicability and effectiveness of new CEO Patrick Gournay’s strategies P. Gournay was a business man with experiences. He wanted to create a new strategy for The Body Shop in order to be a unique brand, different to the others. This strategy was focus on different point: – Be faster to launch new products (less than one year). – Redesign the stores to satisfy the customers and to improve the brand’ image. – Cut the number of products by 25%, to be focus on â€Å"heritage† products. – Acquisition with Cosmo Trading for ? 7 million to have more control on European operations – Restructuration New products with a strong Body Shop’ identity: Hemp, differentiated products – New leadership – Reclarify the mission and vision of the company: be a strong reta iler – Outsource manufacturing and find manufacturing partners in each region – Cut administration costs – Decentralization in 4 main regions – Focus on customer satisfaction Even if some problems were still present in UK and USA, and if some periods were more critical than the others as Christmas for example, the P. Gournay’s 2000 strategy was a new life for The Body Shop. After some mistakes due to bad choices and a lack of experience in the cosmetic industry P. Gournay planed a real revolution in The Body Shop organisation. In a result of this revolution, profits rose by ? 9 million to ? 271 million compared with the same period in 1999 and most of his objectives were achieved. These elements show a very good execution of his strategy. It is always easier to plan a strategy but the implementation of it relieve to strong efforts in leadership and management. The organisational changes that is to say the restructuration as well as the decentralization of the company were very good strategic changes. It permits to share the responsibilities and to involve more the employees in this new strategy. P. Gourmay is a strong leader, he had the capacity to believe in The Body Shop future and to be fast to react. It understood the needs of the markets in creating new products as well as new services as home selling. He also wanted to be more customer oriented, improving the brand image thanks to the redesign of the shops and developing marketing tools as customer loyalty program in UK. Even if his lack of experience in the beauty industry was claimed, he was able to refocus the company to be a strong retailer. The results of his strategy have been done by better profits, share value and sales. Gourmay looks to be a good communicant, he explained numerous times his choices and the aim of his strategy, this step is important to create a strategy-supportive culture. The applicability and effectiveness of his strategy have been recognized by analysts, by the business community but also by all the company. Section B Question 3 Vision and Mission †¢ A mission statement focuses on current business activities — â€Å"who we are and what we do† The Body Shop is a global business, based on ethics, his products are known and famous for their naturally and because they are not tested on animals. The Body Shop is an organization with strong values and identity. The Body Shop was one of the first organization focuses on social responsibility and fair trade. The Body Shop offers natural cosmetics and personal care products. They have services as home selling and massages in their shops. With ageing of population and the importance of well being nowadays, customers have strong expectations in terms of quality and excellence. The sustainable development is a recent value in our society and customers expect companies as The Body Shop to respect it. The Body Shop is a good retailer; it has manufacturing partners in each of his four region area. This organization has the capacity to create new 100% natural products and to be involved in social causes. †¢ A strategic vision concerns a firm’s future business path — â€Å"where we are going† The Body Shop should gain market share and extend his leadership position in the cosmetic industry worldwide. They should be more famous and extend their brand awareness all over the world. The Body Shop will follow with his ethical values and develop new products and services in order to be more competitive. In other words, The Body Shop has to create new opportunities to leverage their brand globally. To achieve these goals, The Body Shop has to pursue and to improve the broader corporate goals of profitable growth and continuous improvement. The Body Shop should: – Achieve world-class performance by attaining a strong competitive position in target markets. – Exceed customer expectations for quality and value. – Earn in excess of the cost of capital over a business cycle. These elements can be reaching thanks to: – The distinguished brand The heritage of integrity and teamwork. – The advanced skills – The special relationships that have long existed between the company and the employees, customers, dealers and other business partners around the world The Body Shop has to pursue his natural products based more on well being th an beauty. They have to follow their politics about ethics and fair trade and stay oriented by the environmental friendliness. The Body Shop has to be focus on customer satisfaction. The management has to be more profits oriented and be more aggressive in order to survive. †¢ Types of business , the body shop should be in: The Body Shop should open his shops to new customers. Nowadays there is a new market with men and old people. They should segment their products and adapt them to new consumers’ needs and expectations. They also should create and develop a friendly website where customers could see all of their range of products and buy them online. Question 4: Financial and strategic objectives: Financial objectives: Outcomes focused on improving financial performance ? Achieve revenue growth of 10% per year This objective is important and it is achievable. Indeed, thanks to P. Gourmay they have reached very good performances in term of profits and sales. This objective will be the consequences of the new strategy implementation. It also will be the results of a better customer satisfaction and brand awareness. This objective can be reach thanks to an internal growth as I said before but also thanks to an external growth. It will be interesting for The Body Shop to realize alliances with big actors of the cosmetic industry. ? Increase net profit margins from 2% to 4% As we can see in The Body Shop case, that during Christmas period they have interesting margins. This objective can be the results of scale economies, and costs reductions. Strategic objectives; Outcomes focused on improving long-term, competitive business position. Different strategic objectives could be developed: ? Have more attractive products than rivals Be more focus on customer satisfaction ? Gain customer loyalty ? be more innovative ? Gain recognition as a leader in natural products We are going to focus on 2 main objectives: ? be more focus on customer satisfaction This element is key point to ensure the future of the Body Shop, they ha ve to be more customer oriented, to understand their needs and expectations. If customers are satisfied and feel considered, they will be naturally more loyal. As we know, a loyal customer is cheaper than a new customer. Different tools will be developed in the new strategy in order to reach this objective. Moreover, The Body Shop will have a new strategy to obtain new customers. Gain recognition as a leader in natural products The core competency of The Body Shop is his capacity to create natural products. To gain market share, they should use this element and work on it in order to be recognize as a leader in the natural cosmetics industry. This element will give to the Body Shop an excellent and famous branding image. The Body Shop will have an image of â€Å"specific† companies, with strong skills and know-how. Question 5 Corporate and business strategies In order to reach the financial and strategic objectives gave above, The Body Shop has to realise some actions to be m ore and more competitive during the five next years: The Body Shop has to follow his strategy of differentiation by launching natural Products with elements from all over the world. â€Å"The essence of a broad differentiation strategy is to be unique in ways that are valuable to a wide range of customers. † (Hough, J et al: 2008: 152) To be very effective, The Body Shop has to study consumers ‘needs and behaviours to understand what they consider important, what they think has value and what they are willing to pay for. This buyers study will help them to create new products and services perfectly adapted to consumers’ expectations. It they follow this strategy and tried to be totally different, the consumers will accept to paid more and will be able to identify them to the brand. This strategy needs also to have a strong corporate culture based on innovation, the human resources have a strategic role, they have to recruit creative employees. The employees have also to be trained in order to be innovative and creative. – Have a bigger brand awareness is necessary for the Body Shop. That is why they have to invest more in marketing. They already have a strong identity but they have to diffuse it thanks to new media opportunities. The communication is an important element, more advertising campaign will add value and increase brand awareness. A powerful world advertising campaign will be interesting. As the Body Shop is a brand with strong values and politics, they should realise a different campaign as â€Å"Benetton† has done few years ago. In this campaign, they have to be different and to communicate about their natural products, that is to say their specific skills, their high quality and excellence. The campaign will be a â€Å"paper† campaign or a TV one, if the budget allows these expenditures. – As I said before, The Body Shop has to be customer oriented. They should realise a friendly website where customers will be able to see their range of products and services and where they would be able to buy online products. It will permit to customers to have good references and to be easily found on the world wide web. The website will permits to the organization to be more attractive and to attract a maximum of internet users. The organization should develop his customer loyalty programs all over the world. People like to be considerate as a specific customer and expect to have a â€Å"specific treatment†. The loyalty card encourages consumers to be loyal in order to receive presents and special o ffers. – They also could extend their services: Selling at home should be proposed in numerous countries. Customers love being the main interest of the companies. With this service they feel caring and have the feeling to have customized services. We have also seen that additional services as massages have increase the sales. People after having a nice moment want to buy the products used during this time. The Body Shop should propose services as sauna and hammam for example. – The Body Shop should not stay a niche market. The new trends and lifestyles give them big opportunities. They should realise a segmentation of their products that is to say they should have specific products for men and old people for example. They have to innovate and to adapt them to the changes. – The Body Shop is already a global company but they should be present in other market as India, an emerging market. The beauty is an important value on this country, and the Indian beauty is known all over the world thanks to L’Oreal’s muse. This new market can ensure new sales and market shares, it is a new opportunity. The Body Shop should adopt a more aggressive strategy; the competition should not be underestimating. The company has to be more profit oriented. To reach their objectives, they can realise some alliance with a big brand as L’Oreal. Indeed, this alliance will permit them to shares their resources and capabilities in technology and innovation for example. It will help them to realise new products. – The creation of new products will also be strategic elements in specific period as Christmas. The Body Shop should realise limited products to give exclusivity to some customers. With specific range of products for this specific period, The Body Shop will improve his differentiation. All these changes require strong involvement of the management and employees, The Body Shop has to be more reactive, and they have to adapt them of their environment: lifestyles etc. As Gourmay done, the company has to change its structure when it is not adapted in order to be profitable and to promote innovation in the company. The culture has to be supportive and be oriented on differentiation and creativity. The resources are necessary to invest on an advertising campaign for example, but these marketing tools can lead to an increase on sales, market share and profitability. The company has to think regionally and globally in order to be present in new market as emerging market. The control is an important step, it is important to evaluate the actions done and to learn from the mistakes. The evaluation permits to have a continuous improvement, The Body Shop should be more control oriented. Question 6 Balanced scorecard for The Body Shop |THE BODY SHOP | |HEAD OFFICE | |MAIN OBJECTIVE: | |Increase their market share all over the world, be a leader in natural products and have a better brand awareness | FINANCIAL |CUSTOMERS |INTERNAL |LEARNING AND GROWTH | | | | | | |- Refocus on retailing |- Increase their satisfaction |- Reinvention of The Body Shop |- Training of employees to be | | | |brand |more creative and innovative | |- New market shares: |- New products and services | | | |Selling in new market: India |(massages.. |- New structure |-Profiling the staff | | | | | | |- Revenue growth of 10% per year |- Better adaptation to each |- New strategy, plans and |- New staff: recruitment | | |countries’ needs and preferences |leadership | | | | | |- I nnovative culture | |- Increase of the share price |- Better communication |- Products line and distribution | | | | |channels rationalized | | |- Selling new products |- Customer retention | | | | | |- Decentralization of the | | |-Selling to new consumers |-Customer acquisition |management | | | | | | | |- Alliance with cosmetics |- Redesign the stores, better |- New values: quality and | | |companies: L’OREAL for example |brand image |excellence | | | | | | | | |- More customer information |- Regulatory control | | | | | | | | |- More prominently |- Be a good corporate citizen | | | | | | | | |- More loyalty programs | | | References – Hought, J. Arthur, A. Thompson, Jr. Strickland III, A. J Gambie, J. E. 2008. Crafting and Executing Strategy. McGraw Hill International Edition. – Piercy, N. The Body Shop. A case for burial or rising from the grave? – The Body Shop values report. 2007. How to cite The Body Shop, Essay examples

Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. Answer: Introduction Information and communication technology is used by almost every organization for running the business as well as for the development of the business. This technology is gaining huge importance with the passage of time. The organizations are able to gain reputation as well as create and generate value by using the solutions provided by ICT (Keller Heiko, 2014). ICT plays a crucial role in every industry. The organizations can achieve success by incorporating ICT in the business processes as well as business plans (Day et al., 2012). Managing information becomes simple and effective by the incorporation of ICT in the business processes. Treating ICT independently from the business processes will affect the IT projects leading to its failure (Vaishnavi Kuechler, 2015). There are many security threats as well as risks that are associated with the ICT. The given case study gives an overview of a small Australian organization that develops software and is aiming to expand the business. ICT security applications are gaining importance because of the numerous data and security risks as well as threats. This report describes the information as well as network security of the information technology and ICT. It also talks about three applications of network security. These applications play a crucial role in the current market. Most of the organizations adopt these applications for protecting their intellectual property and sensitive data. This report not only talks about the advantages of using these applications but also points out the limitations of these applications. It also figures out the ways by which these applications will play a major role in the expansion of the Australian company. This report also gives recommendations regarding the ways by which the company will be able to grow and expand its business while maintaining a certain level of security in the organization. The main aim of network or information security is to protect sensitive information and data from unauthorized access as well as tampering (Shiravi, Shiravi Ghorbani, 2012). In this era of technology, the organizations that are running in the market give topmost level of priority to information security. Almost every organization incorporate security features in all the business processes in order to achieve success and protect their sensitive data. Information security is concerned with the protection of network as well as system against malware and other harmful attacks. Attackers have the ability to exploit weaknesses present in the networks or systems (Skopik et al., 2012). There are several types of weaknesses that can be present in the system like technological weakness, configuration weakness and weakness existing in the policy (Luiijf, 2012). An organization has to deal with several data as well as security threats and risks. Implementation of strong security standards as we ll as policy will help an organization to mitigate and reduce the chances of security attacks. Information and Network Security Applications in the Current Market The security risks as well as threats that are associated with ICT are growing with time. Every organization adopts and implements antivirus, intrusion detectors as well as firewalls for protecting its intellectual property and sensitive data (Grech et al., 2012). Use of appropriate applications as well as technologies will help organizations to save and protect valuable information against different types of data loss and attacks. These security applications must be used in an updated form for getting the expected result and expanding the organization. Using these, applications will play a major role in improving the operational efficiency of the organization and will raise the level of customer satisfaction. Most of the organizations choose to encrypt all the sensitive data by using cryptography techniques and algorithms in order to protect the data from being hacked and misused (Stallings Tahiliani, 2014). The chances of digital assaults will reduce by implementing strong securit y standards and using security applications as per the requirements of the organization. Strong and appropriate internet protocols also play a significant role in securing valuable data and protecting it from security threats as well as risks. Norton Security applications are very popular in the current market. These applications play significant role in protecting several computer systems as well as networks against various security threats. The security features present in this application are superior in comparison to the features of other security applications. It also gives fast performance in comparison to other applications (Min et al., 2014). The identity of the organization can be safeguarded by adopting these applications. These applications can safeguard the sensitive information that is present in the system. The main advantage of the Norton Security over other security applications are it does not affect the performance of the system. It also provides high speed along with good performance level. It provides strong security to the system and network in which it has been installed (Ciampa, 2012). The organization gets the facility to select the data which is to be protected. The organization can also mention th e degree of protection that is required for protecting the data. When the user tries to send a message that is not encrypted then this application generates a message that gives a warning signal to make the user aware. The users are also given the right for selecting the level of internet access. This application has the ability to monitor the internet connections. The Anti-Virus software prevents the various categories of malicious code attacks that are possible (Baquiran Wren, 2014). Some of them are virus attacks, worms and Trojan horses. Norton Firewall helps the organizations to protect it from any extrinsic attack (Suh et al., 2014). This application acts as a barrier and notifies the user if there is any type of unauthorized intrusion. The advertisements that are displayed on various websites can also be blocked by using Norton Security applications. All these features of the application can be considered to be its success factors. These applications have certain limitations as well. Installing these applications consumes huge memory space and the process of uninstalling the application is very difficult. These two characteristics of this application are the main reason behind its failure. The Norton Security application cannot be totally erased from the system even after it has been uninstalled. The advantages of this application overshadow its disadvantages. Therefore, the Australian organization can use the Norton Security application. Kaspersky Internet Security is another application that will help to satisfy the needs of the Australian company. This application plays a crucial role in protecting the system and network of a company from phishing attacks, spam, network attacks as well as new types of threats (Gudkova et al., 2013). This application contains many protection components that have the capability to tackle all kinds of threats. Real-time solutions can be provided by these applications. Virus attacks can harm the documents in the system. These virus attacks can be prevented by the File Anti-Virus. All the files are scanned to detect any virus present in the system. Only virus free files are allowed to be accessed by the users. The mails received by the system can be scanned to detect any virus through the Mail Anti-Virus. Firewall is known for protecting the private internal network from extrinsic intrusion. The network monitor is supposed to monitor the network. Anti-Spam prevents any type of phishing activity. This is done by checking the URLs of the websites. The memory space consumed by this application is less. All these can be considered as the success factors of the application. There are certain limitations like, it reduces the computer performance and it is slow at detecting malicious websites. The compatibility of the firewall needs to be improved (Verlinde Verlinde, 2013). The disadvantages or limitations are much less as compared to the huge list of advantages. Therefore, the Australian organization can use the Kaspersky Internet Security for fulfilling its demands. Bitdefender Total Security can also be used by all the organizations for protecting their systems and networks from malware attacks like virus attacks, spyware attacks, Trojan horse and all types of internet attacks like phishing attack, hacking and spam (Pavel, 2013). It scans the entire system to detect and prevent the entry of malicious codes. The files and documents present in the system are also scanned by Bitdefender. The HTTP traffics are also scanned by this application. This application does not allow the system to download any infected file or documents from web. The responsiveness of the system is improved by this application. This application can also keep track of what is typed on keyboard by using the keylogger component. It has the ability to scan during the startup time of the computer. The web cookies can be also scanned by the application. These are the success factors behind the Bitdefender Total Security. There are many disadvantages like, the scanning process is slow and the application is known to consume huge quantity of resources. All these are responsible for deteriorating the performance of the computer. The disadvantages or limitations are much less as compared to the huge list of advantages. Therefore, the Australian organization can use the Bitdefender Total Security for fulfilling its demands. Expansion of the Organization The applications that have been discussed in the previous section can be incorporated in the business processes of the Australian company for expanding its business in next five years and open several branches by using ICT. ICT is prone to various risks like: Spyware: These programs act as a spy and enter any network or system in a silent manner. The motive of these programs is to watch the activities of user and get unauthorized access to sensitive data (Kahate, 2013). Vulnerabilities: These are the defects or faults that are exploited by the hackers and attackers (Hou, Li Chang, 2017). The hackers can exploit the vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to the valuable data of the organization with the intention of harming the company. Malware: These are malicious codes designed for the purpose of damaging the system or network (Sikorski Honig, 2012). Viruses and Trojan horses are examples of malware. Worms are also a type of malware. These risks can be prevented and mitigated for the purpose of expanding business. The aim of the organization will be fulfilled by adopting the above mentioned applications. The use of security applications has become the first priority of every organization. It has become a necessity. Security applications will help to protect the valuable data of the company. It will help the company to create its global image. The present goal of business expansion will be easily achieved by incorporating the security applications in its business processes (Cardona, Kretschmer Strobel, 2013). The attackers will not be able hack into the system and misuse the data. Strong security standards as well as policies will keep the organization away from any security threats and risks. The organization will get many benefits by adopting and incorporating security applications in the business processes. The organization must choose to purchase vendor applications rather than developing in house applications. The company will not have to spend time and money on the maintenance of the software (Kotelnikov, 2014). It is the vendors responsibility to maintain and update the software when necessary. The company can concentrate on different strategies to improve its productivity rather than wasting time in updating and maintaining the software. The company will be able to save the cost of production of new software. The company will also get advices from the experts of the software. The only disadvantage of buying software from vendors is that the company will not have complete control over its applications. The interest of the vendor can conflict with the interest of the directors of the company at any time. The advantages of buying software from vendors are much more as compared to its disadvantages and hence it is preferable for the company to buy the security applications from third party vendors. Conclusion This report concludes that the implementation and use of information or network security applications is essential for the organization. The company is planning to expand and this would be possible by considering the security threats of ICT and incorporating the applications in its business processes. The intensity of threats is rising with time. Different threats have a different level of exposure. The risks that are discussed in this report are malware, vulnerabilities as well as spyware. The organization can expand by protecting its valuable information from any type of external attacks. This report discussed about three applications of network security. These security applications play a crucial role in the current market. Norton Security applications play a significant role in protecting several computer systems as well as networks against various security threats. It also gives fast performance in comparison to other applications. Kaspersky Internet Security plays a crucial rol e in protecting the system and network of a company from phishing attacks, spam, network attacks as well as new types of threats. The memory space consumed by this application is less. Bitdefender Total Security can be used for protecting the systems and networks from malware attacks like virus attacks, spyware attacks, Trojan horse and all types of internet attacks like phishing attack, hacking and spam. This report said that most of the organizations adopt these applications for protecting their intellectual property and sensitive data. This report not only discussed about the advantages of using these applications but also pointed out the limitations of these applications. It also figured out the ways by which these applications will play a major role in the expansion of the Australian company. This report also said that the organization must choose to purchase vendor applications rather than developing in house applications. The company will not have to spend time and money on t he maintenance of the software. The company will be able to save the cost of production of new software. This report also mentioned that the only disadvantage of buying software from vendors is that the company will not have complete control over its applications. Strong security standards as well as policies prevent the organization from any security threats and risks and help in its expansion process. Recommendations Vendor applications: It will be more preferable for the company to purchase security applications from third party vendors rather than developing their own software. The company will be able to save the cost of maintenance as well as the cost of production. It is the responsibility of the vendors to maintain and upgrade the system whenever it is necessary. The company will get time to focus on other requirements and increase the production level. The company will get correct expertise advice from the vendors. The company will be free from any extra workload. Firewall Security: Firewall is known for protecting the private network of an organization from any extrinsic intrusion. It prevents any harmful entry into the internal network by acting as a wall or barrier between the internal and the external network. The firewall allows external traffics to enter the internal network only if it satisfies certain conditions. The company must use firewall security for protecting its business as well as expanding its business. Encryption: The plain or readable texts can be converted to cipher or encrypted texts in this process. The must aim to encrypt the valuable data in order to prevent data loss or breach in the coming future. References Baquiran, M., Wren, D. (2014). Document: Webroot Secure Anywhere Cloud Antivirus vs. Six Competitor Antivirus Products (August 2014). Cardona, M., Kretschmer, T., Strobel, T. (2013). ICT and productivity: conclusions from the empirical literature.Information Economics and Policy,25(3), 109-125. Ciampa, M. (2012).Security+ guide to network security fundamentals. Cengage Learning. Day, A., Paquet, S., Scott, N., Hambley, L. (2012). Perceived information and communication technology (ICT) demands on employee outcomes: The moderating effect of organizational ICT support.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,17(4), 473. Grech, A., Chartrand-Miller, K., Erftemeijer, P., Fonseca, M., McKenzie, L., Rasheed, M., ... Coles, R. (2012). A comparison of threats, vulnerabilities and management approaches in global seagrass bioregions.Environmental Research Letters,7(2), 024006. Gudkova, D., Kulikova, T., Kalimanova, K., Bronnikova, D. (2013). Kaspersky security bulletin.Spam Evolution. Hou, J. B., Li, T., Chang, C. (2017). Research for Vulnerability Detection of Embedded System Firmware.Procedia Computer Science,107, 814-818. Kahate, A. (2013).Cryptography and network security. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Keller, J., Heiko, A. (2014). The influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on future foresight processesResults from a Delphi survey.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,85, 81-92. Kotelnikov, V. (2014). Small and medium enterprises and ICT. Luiijf, E. (2012). Understanding cyber threats and vulnerabilities. InCritical Infrastructure Protection(pp. 52-67). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Min, B., Varadharajan, V., Tupakula, U., Hitchens, M. (2014). Antivirus security: naked during updates.Software: Practice and Experience,44(10), 1201-1222. Pavel, C. (2013). Bitdefender, the award-winning provider of innovative antivirus solutions.Romanian Distribution Committee Magazine,4(1), 20-24. Shiravi, H., Shiravi, A., Ghorbani, A. A. (2012). A survey of visualization systems for network security.IEEE Transactions on visualization and computer graphics,18(8), 1313-1329. Sikorski, M., Honig, A. (2012).Practical malware analysis: the hands-on guide to dissecting malicious software. no starch press. Skopik, F., Ma, Z., Bleier, T., Grneis, H. (2012). A survey on threats and vulnerabilities in smart metering infrastructures.International Journal of Smart Grid and Clean Energy,1(1), 22-28. Stallings, W., Tahiliani, M. P. (2014).Cryptography and network security: principles and practice(Vol. 6). London: Pearson. Suh, M., Park, S. H., Lee, B., Yang, S. (2014, February). Building firewall over the software-defined network controller. InAdvanced Communication Technology (ICACT), 2014 16th International Conference on(pp. 744-748). IEEE. Vaishnavi, V. K., Kuechler, W. (2015).Design science research methods and patterns: innovating information and communication technology. Crc Press. Verlinde, E., Verlinde, H. (2013). Passing through the firewall.arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.0515.

Argentina (Pollution) Essay Example

Argentina (Pollution) Essay Example Argentina (Pollution) Paper Argentina (Pollution) Paper Argentina: Like other countries Argentina suffers from environmental degradation. The main threats to its biodiversity and landscapes are deforestation and pollution. In Argentina, there are many environmental issues that include air pollution, inaccessibility, dissatisfaction with garbage disposal, dirtiness, water pollution etc. One of the biggest factors of pollution in Argentina would be air pollution, which to a certain extend is caused by the society. Despite knowing that transport vehicles such as private vehicles, taxis, and buses can cause urban IR pollution, we still need it by which the society is somewhat responsible. In Argentina aging diesel buses may be the primary culprits in deteriorating urban air quality. Another factor is factories with their subsidized smokestacks. Air pollution in Buenos Aries comes from residential, commercial and small industrial combustions and emissions from the domestic airport. The next issue is Deforestation in Argentina, which is due to agricultural expansion of soybean. Corrode has the highest level of deforestation in Argentina. All that remains is five percent of the 12 million hectares of native ores that the province had at the start of the 20th century. And fires that broke out in August and September devoured 40,000 more hectares of forests and grasslands in the hills. The Cardboard Environment Agency which is the government body in charge of environmental matters in the province, drew up a controversial bill that was voted into law this month. The new law bans clear-cutting over the next 10 years, but allows sustainable logging in native forests. One of the biggest pollution problems in Argentina is Polluted Rivers. The heavy polluted Montana-Reaching river basin. This river meanders for 40 miles through Buenos Aries. The people there can be partly blamed for the cause of this pollution, as the polluted rivers have been polluted for years by industrial waste, sewage, and everyday garbage. This has had a negative impact on the seven million people who are living near or along the river. As they get dirty water, dirty air and many more health problems. Polluted rivers have always been a problem in Argentina, and for nearly 200 years, the government is struggling to find a resolution to keep rivers clean. According o a report from the executive committee for the environmental management plan, that an average of 82,000 cubic meters of industrial waste enters the river daily. Zinc, lead, copper, magnesium and many more have a constant presence in the water. Its known that the area called Villa Inflammable, 50% of the children have lead in their blood, and some had chrome, and benzene in their urine. Benzene can impact the immune system, which can cause cancer. This shows how the polluted rivers have effected the environment in a negative way, that its becoming dangerous for people. How is Argentina helping? Due to the pollution in the rivers, residents have complained. In response to the lawsuit by residents affected by the pollution, the Argentine high court summoned 44 companies to report on the waste they dump into the Reachable River. The government has present a management plan called for a public hearing for all parties. Also the national supreme court said that companies must report in 30 days about the liquid waste they dump in the water, its treatment and if they insurance required by the environmental law o that they can respond if harm is caused. Soy is a key crop and major source Of income for Argentina, but to ensure its not at the expense of vulnerable natural areas such as the Atlantic Forest excretion, WFM is working along with businesses, government agencies, and Nags to develop alternatives. International standards to regulate air pollutants and make fuels cleaner are already practice in Argentina, but also around the world. Cleaner modes of transportation and energy generation using sustainable, renewable resources are growing in the region already.

Free Essays on M505

Palm m505 The Palm m505 is a new PDA that, unlike many PDA’s, comes with a color screen, a Motorola Dragonball VZ processor, 8MB of memory, a 160x160 pixel color display with over 65,000 colors. This PDA is one of the first in a new breed of color displays. Palm has also incorporated two expansion slots, one for memory, and one for extra peripherals. This is one of the first color PDA’s out on the market. The unit is capable of displaying pictures with great quality. The smaller expansion slot is for multi media expansion cards and secure digital SD expansion cards, which are used for backup purposes. Soon Palm will release a SD card that will hold 256MB. These SD cards are only the size of a postage stamp. Programs like a dictionary and games will be available in the small expansion card form. The large expansion slot at the top of the Palm will be for the Secure Digital Input Out put (SDIO) devices. Some of these devices include a modem, digital camera Global Positioning System, barcode scanner, bluetooth module, and an MP3 player. This unit connects links up with a PC using a HotSync cradle, and also uses an infrared port for data and software sharing. The m505 is leading us into the future of PDA’s. Any store or retailer with a barcode system could easily use this device to help calculate inventory. With the camera attachment an insurance adjuster could quickly take photos necessary for processing a claim. With mobile connection, the pictures and any notes could be instantly uploaded to a server at any location. It could come in handy to businesses that send employees on business trips. With the GPS attachment a person could easily find their way around a new area with little trouble. In the picture below you can see some of the SDIO devices mentioned. The Palm m505 has a reflective screen which makes it easy to view outside in sunlight. It also has a backlit screen for visibility in da... Free Essays on M505 Free Essays on M505 Palm m505 The Palm m505 is a new PDA that, unlike many PDA’s, comes with a color screen, a Motorola Dragonball VZ processor, 8MB of memory, a 160x160 pixel color display with over 65,000 colors. This PDA is one of the first in a new breed of color displays. Palm has also incorporated two expansion slots, one for memory, and one for extra peripherals. This is one of the first color PDA’s out on the market. The unit is capable of displaying pictures with great quality. The smaller expansion slot is for multi media expansion cards and secure digital SD expansion cards, which are used for backup purposes. Soon Palm will release a SD card that will hold 256MB. These SD cards are only the size of a postage stamp. Programs like a dictionary and games will be available in the small expansion card form. The large expansion slot at the top of the Palm will be for the Secure Digital Input Out put (SDIO) devices. Some of these devices include a modem, digital camera Global Positioning System, barcode scanner, bluetooth module, and an MP3 player. This unit connects links up with a PC using a HotSync cradle, and also uses an infrared port for data and software sharing. The m505 is leading us into the future of PDA’s. Any store or retailer with a barcode system could easily use this device to help calculate inventory. With the camera attachment an insurance adjuster could quickly take photos necessary for processing a claim. With mobile connection, the pictures and any notes could be instantly uploaded to a server at any location. It could come in handy to businesses that send employees on business trips. With the GPS attachment a person could easily find their way around a new area with little trouble. In the picture below you can see some of the SDIO devices mentioned. The Palm m505 has a reflective screen which makes it easy to view outside in sunlight. It also has a backlit screen for visibility in da...

The right decision Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The right decision - Research Paper Example However, the experiences of teenage life despite its bitterness have imbued me with right concepts perhaps at a later stage. The most vital advantage evolved from the past failures includes my acquired ability to make a self assessment. Today I am well acquainted with the possible ups and downs of life, and can easily envisage the outcome of each personal decision I would make. To begin with, my decision flawed for the first time as I dropped my studies. After I finished my high school, I joined a college for further studies with half-assed ideas of a career life. Since I did not have a proper goal or strategy, I could not pursue my studies well. I was in a hurry to get involved in some sorts of business activities though my situation was not very favorable. It was not because I wanted to win bread for my family, but just thought of proving my mettle in front of my friends and relatives at a very younger stage. Obviously, the academic life was of little relevance to me for I found no relevant things taught in my classes. Subsequently, I quit the studies just after the first semester, thinking that I would better seek some jobs that best fitted my age and interest. As far as the education of my home land is concerned, since the founding of the UAE in 1971, section 17 of the constitution ensures free education at all levels and mandatory primary education. The UAE constitution emphasizes on the significance of education in the overall development of the nation. In addition to free education, all associated requirements including books, uniforms, transportation, and all study equipments are free for students. Education is one of the most important areas of governmental concern that frequently undergoes several policy improvements. The concerned authorities of education include The Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) and The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR). In fact, I cannot blame anyone for my discontinued study. Despite all the ab ove said viable social conditions, I suspended my studies; and that eventually resulted in my getting humiliated by my employer. Soon after my retrieval from college I got employed in a regional bank where I was the youngest among all employees. In addition, I was the individual paid least; and that soon became the part of my identity in my workplace. I spent two years working for the bank expecting better chances in future. Although I requested the manager for increment, he did not heed genuine concern to my need. He said that I did not have sufficient educational qualifications for a better pay or promotion. To add to my grief, I found my friends in better positions earning handsome salaries from their employers. This was indeed the turning point in my life because I decided to leave the job with intent to resume my studies. I was well convinced of the significance of a university degree for the first time in my life. As a result of my sincere effort, I got a scholarship to study in USA. This is the most rewarding challenge I would get because I have been very much curious about visiting the States since my schooldays. Now I have got the chance to visit and stay there until I complete my studies. I am confident that the new academic environment in the States would offer me better educational aspirations. At this juncture, it is important to evaluate the characteristics of the

WiMax A Technology for Tomorrow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

WiMax A Technology for Tomorrow - Essay Example The penetration of ICT, and broadband as a means of access, are assessed for the GCC Countries and constraints facing these countries in reaping the full benefits of the modern technology identified. Means to address these problem areas are also suggested. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has inundated our lives and every day makes inroads into new areas. Use of broadband to access the internet and other facilities enabled by ICT has become fairly common all over the world, as also in the GCC countries. Till now only T1, DSL or cable based modem connections were possible for broadband access to the internet. Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) offers the new standard for providing access to the benefits of the new age technologies. The speeds at which data and voice and video transmissions can be made with the WiMax connections is unmatched by any of the conventional systems. This essay attempts to provide a brief overview of the WiMax standards being developed for wireless connectivity to broadband services. It also provides an assessment of the penetration and use of ICT in the GCC at present, and identifies the major constraints to rapid deployment of the use of this technology and suggests the ways in which these problems may be addressed in the immediate future. If the region is to keep pace, with the development and use of ICT by other countries, then action has to be initiated now to bring in wireless broadband connectivity, make it available to all citizens and sectors of the economy and above all, to train its people in the operation and use of the fantastic tool provided to us by modern technology. WiMax - A brief description WiMax is a set of evolving standards for point-to-multipoint wireless networking. For many years now point-to-multipoint microwave networks have been in operation. Provided by companies such as Alcatel and Siemens, these were based on proprietary technology, WiMax offers a standardised technology for enabling wireless broadband access to the internet [1]. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) described wireless connection to broadband services in its standard 802.16. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute lays down specifications, similar to IEEE 802.16, for the High-performance Metropolitan Area Network (HiperMAN). Development of standard specifications, covering both IEEE 802.16 and HiperMAN, was considered vital to the promotion of WiMax in order to ensure inter-operability and connectivity of networks provided by different providers. A non profit organisation 'The WiMax Forum' was formed and nearly all companies that are into wireless technology are members, this forum targeted to provide standards and commercialise this technology. The WiMax forum has nearly 100 members at present and represents the vast majority of bodies, commercial and otherwise, involved in developing the wireless protocol for access to the internet. (The term internet is used here and elsewhere in this paper for convenienc e and includes all transport technologies such as IPv4, IPv6, Ethernet and asynchronous transfer modes). The latest step in wireless computer networking, WiMax has the capability of covering an area having a radius of 30miles, which represents the size of a fairly large metropolis, and that is why

Marketing Debate 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Debate 2 - Essay Example Their focus is to attract cost conscious shoppers, and thus they compete on price. On the other end of the spectrum there are high end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales whose business model is not to compete on price, but rather to sell high quality, designer merchandise that focuses on the image of the consumer. Designer labels such as Ralph Lauren and Pierre Cardin are likely to be found in these stores that are associated with a higher price point and oriented toward image-based shopping. To be sure, it would generally not be possible to find these kinds of labels in discount store chains because they are priced at a point that would not be attractive to the category of shoppers that find discount retailers appealing. It would have an impact on the image of those labels if they were to associate with a store that utilizes a price-based business model as opposed to an image based model. Brand image is a crucial business asset. Any decisions made by a manufacturer that affect that image for better or worse must be carefully considered in order to avoid squandering a competitive advantage and associated profits that are tied to the brand. â€Å"A strong brand image offers an organization several important strategic advantages. A brand distinguishes the goods and services of one seller from those of competitors. A powerful brand identity creates a major competitive advantage; a well recognized brand encourages repeat purchases. Thus, a brand acts as a signal to consumers regarding the source of the product and protects customers and manufacturers from ‘me-too’ products that may appear identical† (Porter and Claycomb, par. 6). The question of whether a store’s image affects a brand’s image works in reverse as well. The brands a store chooses to carry go a long way toward impacting the image of that store. As

Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) One of the major challenges facing Human Resource Management is the introduction and management of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). In dyads or tryads produce a group briefing paper for either; Directors of a company or a specific trade union, of your choice, regarding the changes taking place in the UK labourmarket and economy regarding the impact of outsourcing and/or offshoring. INTRODUCTION The current economic climate is forcing organizations to explore tactics to remain competitive. According to the traditional ‘make or buy decision framework, the fundamental value proposition behind BPO is cost reduction. The recent economic downturn forced HR departments to do more with less. Many HR organisations were asked to increase the scope of their capabilities without increasing overall headcount. As a result, some organisations viewed outsourcing as a way of combating current economic situation and achieving competitive advantage. In spite of the recent economic slowdown, Gartner Group stated that, the worldwide business process outsourcing (BPO) market, is continuing to grow by approximately 9.5. Organisations are increasingly seeking standardization as part of a re-emphasis on strategic business initiatives. They realise that they need to standardize HR processes and policies as a first step in their HR transformation. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve basic services while allowing HR professionals time to focus on issues vital to the businesss strategic initiatives, instead of being burdened with HR administration. Chaffey (2003) defines BPO as â€Å"the contracting out of specified services to a third party with a controlled, flexible relationship†. Lee (2002) refers to BPO as the ‘outsourcing of different managerial and operational functions. Specifically in HR, BPO is designed to ensure that a companys HR system is supported by the latest management information systems, with self-access and HR data warehousing options. The Business Issues (1995) further views BPO as ‘the delegation of one or more business processes to an external provider, who then owns, manages and administers the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metric. The CIPD defines off-shore as ‘the process of outsourcing business activities or services overseas, as a direct or indirect employer. Off-shore does not always involve the services of an external provider . According to the Oxford Dictionary it means: ‘made, registered or situated abroad. The concept of outsourcing centres on David Ricardos theory of Comparative Advantage (cited in Mullins 2001) which states that even if a country could produce everything more efficiently than another country, it would still reap gains from specialising in what it was best at producing and trading with other nations. AIM OF BRIEFING The aim of this briefing is to brief the Directors of Name of our company the effect of outsourcing the HRM function and will encompass its influence on organisational performance and culture; and concurrently its impact on the UK Labour market and economy. The team will carry out a case-study on BT and will critically evaluate, analyse and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of HR outsourcing with the intention of reviewing the outcomes and where necessary suggest solutions where likely problems can be encountered. An analytical review will be carried out of the major HRM problems which can arise from organizational change and where required recommendations made. The team will use British Telecommunications as a case study to establish the impact of BPO. This briefing aims to provide a reasoned critique of existing literature based on surveys, textbooks, journals and official trade data. BACKGROUND British Telecommunications (BT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group Plc, a public limited company registered in England and Wales and listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges . BT is one of the worlds leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. It principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services.Its main activities are web hosting, IT solutions, Internet services, telecommunications and broadband networks. In the fiscal year ended 31 March 2007 BT had a net turnover of  £9,499 billion. In the UK alone it has pool of 87,000 employees and 180,000 pensioners, whilst on a global scale it has 10,000 employees spread over the countries it operates within. For years, British Telecom ruled the UK market as a monopoly. It was the British Telecommunications Act of 1981 that brought this to an end and put in its place a duopoly, where BT competed with Mercury. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable Wireless, mainly to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom. The privatisation of British Telecom in 1984 opened the industry to full competition and in 1991, this effectively brought the duopoly share by BT and Mercury to an end. With the liberalisation and opening up of the phone market to global competition came renewed pressure on BT from the telecoms watchdog Oftel to open up more of its network to competitors and cut its prices. The pressures on BT became greater than ever. The stiff competition in the telecoms market, the huge cost of paying for third-generation (3G) mobile phone licences, pressure from the industry regulator Oftel to lower its prices and informed, discerning customers meant BT had to deliver even higher levels of quality and service, at competitive prices in order to stay afloat. All these pressures necessitated mindset change and BT was forced to review its business processes. In order to meet up with the arrival of new competitors and the quickening pace of technological change in the industry, speed of action and reaction became critical success factors. With the competition that flooded the UK market in the 1990s, BT started considering cost reduction that will maximise efficiency without compromising quality. One of the major steps taken was to outsource the transactional side of its human resources operation to Accenture HR Services, which in turn off-shored to its India branch. BT believed that the competitive edge for any global communications provider is human capital and to survive and thrive, it requires world-class human resource (HR) competencies and the processes for managing them. Youndt et al. (1996) highlights that a HR system focused on human capabilities is directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance. Huselid and Becker (1997) describe that a firms effectiveness is associated with HR capabilities and its attributes. ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING / OFFSHORING Outsourcing enables an organisation to improve its focus on its core values allowing it to remain competitive on the market (Morello, 2003) . Prahalad and Hamel 1990 state that firms must concentrate on core competencies to gain competitive advantage. Through outsourcing specialist skills can be drawn out from a pool of expertise when and where needed whilst opportunities for enriched career development exist for the remaining staff. Organisations are able to turn over certain classes of risks to their suppliers, such as demand variability and capital investments. Unlike the buyer, the outsourcing buyer can spread these risks over multiple clients. Profitability can be achieved as outsourcing increases a businesss cashflow by creating cost reductions through cheap labour and reduced operational expenses i.e. office space, utility. Funds which would have been used for large capital investments can be released for other uses. Contracting out operational functions reduces the competition on capital as the outsourcing company provides the capital investment as part of its overheads. Companies can create an integrated market as it is a cost effective way of globalisation particularly when it selects the best available resources and labour. Figure [rumbi insert appendix] reflects the changes to operational costs which BT experienced when it outsourced. According to Som Mittal, former Managing Director of Compaq India has claimed that payroll processing to countries like India companies can achieve a 20-25% gain in productivity. Outsourcing can increase the service level given to clients. With offshoring an organisation has the ability to have a 24-hour a day workforce resulting in a more timely service which would not be possible if the organisation operated in once country. BT gained flexibility through outsourcing to Accenture as agility or quick response to business demands was made. Competitive advantage can be attained through cheaper prices. When the product prices cannot come down further operating in a highly skilled, low-wage labour area will be advantageous. (Frubel, Heinrichs and Kreye 1980) . As the product price falls consumers are willing to demand a larger amount of goods. The off-shored countries receive economical benefits. Nasscom Chairman Som Mittal remarked ‘Its a win win situation for countries which allow outsourcing and the countries which receive outsourcing (Ahmed 2004) . DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING: When outsourcing to a third party resentment can occur between permanent and contracted staff. Contract/temporary staff may fail to have a sense of belonging whilst permanent staff can remain aloof in order to protect their works hindering teamwork. Offshoring particularly on the outsourcing of work to India as the UK labour force believes that they are losing out on career opportunities. However the McKinsey Global Institute Report states that there are actually too many jobs and not enough people in the UK to fulfil them. Therefore fears of a widespread unemployment are unlikely and thus this resentment could be seen as unnecessary (Lander 2006) . The lack of direct communication between the organisation and the client can hinder the development of solid relationships and can result in the main organisation lacking control of the outsourced project. One of the key aspects of motivation is social interaction and self actualisation (Maslow cited in Mullins, 2001). Another perceived drawback of off-shoring is the decrease in levels of communication. When English is not the native language of the source area, poor command of the English Language leads to prominent resentment of offshored services (Ahmed,2004). Results of a survey carried out by the Nationwide building in 2005 reflected that 91% of UK adults would prefer their calls to be handled by UK-based call centres (Lander (2006). A major drawback is the expense of regaining a customer once lost, because it could cost up to 6 times more in marketing costs to gain a replacement. Cultural differences can be a disadvantage of offshoring i.e. Ryan Kinzy of K3 Group a large outsourcing company states that there are 3 months which are viewed as the most auspicious time for weddings in India, for example half the staff are out of the office. Ryan highlights that building up teamwork is a difficult challenge as employees may lack intuition due to their culture, Indian workers require a lot of direction. Their relationships are hierarchal, family and caste dependent and they have an educational system that emphasises routine learning over independent research. Outsourcing can prove expensive as payment of redundancy packages for the laid off staff can be a major drawback. As the number of companies offshoring to India rises, employee retention becomes a challenge due to the fact that as market competition increases, salaries are required to be competitive. Organisations will have to decide whether the cost-savings outweigh the revenue generated. Risks can be encountered due to the socio-economic conditions which can hinder the progression of operations i.e. maintaining trade risks. The chance of off-shore fraud also exist as the use of funds can be diverted. There is also the risk or data loss. BT faces the risk of fraud emanating from HR outsourcing as off-shore workers have full access to personnel details ranging from bank account numbers, home addresses and other personal details. Non-automated transactions and processing responsibilities enable off-shore workers to have access to highly confidential information. There is an increase in foreign organised crime groups who have targeted foreign off-shore enterprises to gain access data which they process. Organisiations can face compliance risks and their reputation being damaged due to negative publicity resulting from the third party being inconsistent in meeting ethical standards and internal policies. The organisation needs to carryout thorough audits to ensure control . Expertise levels need to be measured to ensure that required service levels of service are met. {Figure xxRumbi to appendix 2} reflects results of problems faced by several companies which have off-shored. The main problem met appears to be low control of performance and data. Offshoring has the limited disadvantage in that the core function of an organisation cannot be accomplished if passed onto an external source . A business which outsources a department still requires in-house technical experts to monitor activities (Greco 1997) Political infrastructure such as changes in government can affect can impact the outsourcing company. Shortly after the election of Sonia Ghandi stock markets plummeted on fears that her leftist allies would roll back fundamental economic reforms. Erratic power grids inexperienced officials and unmotivated employees can also prove to be a disadvantage. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE BTs management believes organisational culture is innovative with teams that are strategically aligned to BTs operations. Advances in technologies have been applied to benefit BT and its customers to improve processes. Culture can be an object which is manipulated to achieve productivity and organisational improvements, and change over time (Tran, 2008) . In this context, culture is the character of an organisation. However if culture is accepted as being â€Å"†¦.the basic, taken- for- granted assumptions and deep patterns of meaning shared by organisational participation and manifestations of these assumptions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Johnson, 2007) then in this respect culture can be difficult to change. In order to explain the content of cultural context in BT after HR outsourcing, the cultural web will be used. The table below shows the content of the organisational culture with HR outsourcing. Rumbi to appendix 1] According to the above table the organisational culture hinders collective learning in the organisation. Individuals see each other as rivals, rather than a partners. This paradigm creates various obstacles for learning within the organisation, that usually arise due to rivalry, power conflicts and absence of network communication channels (Mullins, 2001). The disadvantage of this power structure is explained by Mullins (2001) who claims that such approach decrease the effectiveness and efficiency of operations management, as participants are detached from the decision-making. BTs new organisational structure is bureaucratic, with the emphasis on standard procedures and operational routines. It might slow down the communication process, with the absence of feedback channels and unnecessary layers that might increase obstructions and cause various distortions in the communication process( Graham Bennet, 1998) . BT has placed its employees after revenues. The management has failed to take into account individual needs of each employee hence developing a coercive rather than participative approach. Within this approach people are being treated as liabilities rather than the core elements of the operations management process, where people become the primary determinant of the outcome quality (Armstrong, 2003) . The organisational culture implies for traditional type of performance appraisal system, which utilises various types of monetary techniques. Wright (2007) argued that the utilisation of monetary tools does not provide the development of a higher level of effective commitment or higher degree of intrinsic motivation and provides a blurred understanding of the relationship between their performance and corresponding appraisal. The communication component forms an important of the above mentioned changes. According to McGregor (1960, cited in Mullins, 2001) in order to get people to direct their efforts towards organisational objectives, management must tell them what to do, judge how well they are doing and reward or punish accordingly. There is also an informative and a motivational purpose. He claims that a clear and thorough description of individual duties and rights within the framework of the organisation may prevent the rise of unmet expectations. As it shows on the table, the communication in the company is of a top-down nature, without proper feedback. This type of communication scheme is good for conveyer-type organisations and not ideal for innovative market-led companies. CHANGE MANAGEMENT The new requirements for adaptation made it necessary for the company to undertake the reengineering of the whole business process, including both â€Å"hard â€Å"and â€Å"soft† elements. According to Senior (1997) â€Å"hard system† change implies â€Å" an attempt to use the benefits of a scientific method whilst recognising that in the real world of business where thing are happening fast, there may not be time to be as scientific as one would like†. In BTs case, â€Å"hard system† change referred to the introduction of new operations management systems, equipment and business facilities, designed to speed up existing operations and reduce the cost per a single transaction. It was designed to maximise the efficiency of every single operation within the business process. Senior (1997) indicates that â€Å"Soft System† changes imply for the change of the organisational culture. The main idea of this approach is listening to the organisation, good communication, developing a shared, vision, gaining real commitment to the change and the vision, education and training, and understanding the tools and techniques for the process. William et al.(1993) indicates that to facilitate effective adaptation of the employees to new working conditions, managers shall reduce restraining forces and reinforces driving forces. However, it shall be considered, that not all measures are equally effective. As Hetzbergs maintainance theory ( cited in Mullins, 2001) shows , the presence of certain factors may act as a powerful motivating factors, while the absence of other elements may produce slight dissatisfaction. At the same time strategic priorities shall reflect the current organisational aims. Under such conditions in order to improve the situation and meet objectives (create a better customer focus) the high involvement of senior managers, who acts as a link between operational and business levels of the organisation, is required. Senior managers shall act as major change agents. Taking the role of change agents, it is important for senior managers not to ignore employees natural resistance to new systems, but to create appropriate incentives to fasten the transactional process from resistance to commitment (Graham and Bennet, 1998). The ignorance of or resistance to changes will introduce different open conflicts, which will significantly worsen the organisation environment affecting its performance level and flexibility. This could result to failure to raise performance and attract or retain customers, which may lead to significant costs and even reduce the companys chances to survive and succeed in changing market conditions. According to Mintzberg Quinn and Ghoshall (1995) the overall rationale for any outsourcing activity is that outsourcing provides, greater economies of scale, flexibility, increase in levels of expertise, cost effectiveness, reduced costs and added value to any organisation. The rationale of BT outsourcing its HRM functions were to increase shareholder value, sustain progress and cope with the pace of change. Outsourcing of parts of the HR function has become more common. Lonsdale and Cox (1998) argue that outsourcing decisions can be classified under the following three headings: 1 outsourcing for short-term cost and headcount reductions; 2 core-competence-based outsourcing, where peripheral activities are passed to third parties and core activities are retained in-house; 3 iterative and entrepreneurial outsourcing, where periodic reviews of critical market activities are undertaken, with subsequent decision to retain or outsource. IMPACT ON UK LABOUR FORCE Human capital is emphasized as the most valuable asset of the 21st century business. The primary effects of outsourcing/offshoring on HR and Labour Relations are related to managing transition in HRM such as personnel changes, managing layoff, downsizing issues, and the costs/dynamics of actually managing an off-shore contract. The laying off of UK employees as a result of restructuring to effect the outsourcing contracts can have a negative impact on employees. Layoffs cause major morale problems among in-house ‘survivors and may lead to dissatisfaction and reduced delivery speed. Some UK companies experienced productivity dips and potential legal action from laid off employees resulting in costs of severance, retention bonuses and retraining being encountered. According to a survey by Deloitte and YouGov (2006) revealed that fear of job losses was prevalent in the UK with 82% of public perceiving offshoring as a threat . 1 in 3 people stated that UK companies should be forced to bring back jobs to the UK. Chief economist of the Work Foundation, Ian Brinkley commented ‘Fears have been stoked by claims that the Chinese and Indians are coming to get your lunch to describe the insecurity that offshoring has caused. With regards to knowledge transfer there is concern that some of the job experience is being exported. If low-level skill tasks are sent off-shore then so is the experience gained from performing those tasks. When the time comes to perform higher-level tasks where previous experience is mandatory, there is no alternative than to go off-shore because that is where the experience will available. In some instances company plans imply that higher-level tasks will remain performed on-shore, the lower-level tasks are performed miles away. The knowledge and experience of those ‘low-level jobs will be gone forever, and may impact the proper development of the ‘higher-level jobs. Forrester a US research group released a study that by 2015 Europe will have lost a collective number of 1.2 million jobs to off-shore locations increasing its reliance. Alan Blinder a US economist and former advisor to Bill Clinton has supported this thesis by stating that offshoring will lead to a ‘third Industrial Revolution. He views that off-shore is now a man-made comparative advantage and that workers will be forced to seek employment in personal services which remain non-tradable. There is a long-term impact on the types of jobs that people are training for, as well as the ‘transfer of knowledge relating to many job structures in the workplace such that there is a ‘domino effect. Steve Loy feels that these ‘outgoing tide of jobs could threaten fundamental technology research as well as jobs. The astute students will recognise the rapidly dwindling job opportunities in HRM and will choose other programs of study thus loss will be encountered in HR leading to a labour-force that has inadequate HRM knowledge to compete in a high knowledge based economy. The evaluation of the impact of off-shore is mainly based on estimations of collective data. Jobs most at risk are non-client facing and low knowledge content jobs those which use a lot of Information technology, creating outputs that can be transmitted via IT. An analysis by the CPRP concluded that 20% of non-client facing jobs are likely to be moved abroad. The potential is apportioned as a function of international trade and investment, the industrial structure of the economy, human capital, employment indicator, product market regulations indicator. Not all jobs created off-shore by UK companies automatically translates to job losses in the UK labour market. Employees are increasingly demanding services hence time difference plays a role in off-shore, offering them extended services. The lower price makes it possible for instance to offer services which would not be available otherwise i.e. 24 hr call centres. The information collated by the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) s hows that job loss due to offshoring is in fact very small. During the first quarter of 2007 ERM recorded 420 restructuring cases in Europe. They announced 137,762 job losses and 184,511 job gains. Only 5.5% of all jobs lost were due to offshoring activities. For the year 2005 the percentage of job losses due to offshoring was only 3.4% of the total job losses. To measure the extent of job loss due to restructuring we can use redundancy notification, the effects of offshoring does however vary with the country. In France, national Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies estimates in its 2007 report on the French economy that offshoring has been responsible for the destruction of 15,000 jobs per year between 2000 and 2003. This is to contrast with a job creation in the private sector of 200,000 per year . In the UK there is no significant decline as per the results of the LFS Redundancy Tables ‘Employment growth in the occupations considered susceptible to offshoring has been very strong. The redundancy levels for these occupations, although high relative to the whole economy, have been falling in the last four years. The overall employment rate for these occupations has also shown an increase showing the cost of moving low-skilled jobs abroad is either falling or positive job creation is highly prevalent in the IT enabled occup ations. This does not mean that jobs are not being off-shored, and it is entirely possible that in the absence of offshoring, employment in these areas might have been higher. The adverse impact is entirely triggered by much larger changes in domestic demand for such services, the UK in particular has been extremely successful in developing as a world leader in knowledge based international trade. Jobs created through the expansion of exports of services are likely to outweigh the contraction of jobs caused by import of services. According to a report by Amiti and Jin Wei (2005) job growth at divisional levels has not been negatively related to service outsourcing but has had a negative impact on the demand for unskilled labour. In the UK outsourcing has had no reflected effect on the labourforce. The Deloitte and Recruitment Employment Confederation Report states that both permanent and temporary staff billings continue to rise. National press recruitment advertising in the UK went down by 11.3% in July 2005 in both public and private sectors reflecting a positive direction in the labour market and no relevant changes in the economy. Outsourcing is increasing consultancy work in the United Kingdom hence is beneficial as it offers flexible working hours / days for UK employees. This is particularly favorable for women who are raising children as is allows them to earn a salary whilst at the same time having adequate time with their children. There is also the flexibility of home-working. Structural changes can occur in the economies of both the outsourced/sourcing companies and due to the debate on who is benefiting/losing racism can be allowed to rear its head. A report prepared for the Department of Trade Industry by Ovum (2006) concludes that even though the actual impacts of an increase in trade and the expansion of global sourcing have been quite modest to date, offshoring can change the skills structure of labour demand, increasing the vulnerability of low-skilled workers in particular. ECONOMIC IMPACT Concern over off-shoring has become a surrogate for wider issues about economic insecurity, said Work Foundation chief economist Ian Brinkley. An interesting corollary benefit of outsourcing is the benefit to the economy. Indias National Association of Software and Services Companies commissioned a report by Evaluserve that stated that for every $100 worth of work sent abroad by US companies, $130 to $145 will be reinvested in the US economy. Cost savings are said to create value in the UK economy. Ahead of monetary capital, knowledge economy has become a focal point in the policy of outsourcing and off-shore. Strategies have been devised i.e. the Lisbon Strategy centres to promote, research, innovation in the development of human capital. In the future, human capital is the only way that Europe can remain prosperous. The main beneficiaries in the UK are the educated high skilled workers and the losers will be semi/low skilled workers. The UK government needs to investment more in education to continue pushing towards a leading knowledge based economy to avoid vulnerability. It needs to investment in human capital and focus on domestic policy choices for the losers of rapid structural changes within the UK. As a result of off-shoring the UK government is losing funds which could possibly be raised by corporate and income tax. However, it has stated that it does not have plans in place as yet to prevent outsourcing. The Department of Trade Industry has stated ‘it is a commercial decision for companies to decide where to locate their business operations such as call centres. The absence of official statistics on off-shore outsourcing leads to speculation and there is also misinterpretation of indirect measures/evidence. The experience of an individual company may or may not select a trend in a specific sector but does not allow conclusions to be made on the economy as a whole. It is possible that the rise in rice prices caused by lower production could be a result of a shift by the working population in India from working in the agriculture moving to the services sector. A great deal of knowledge is tacit and therefore difficult to transfer. Its reproduction can be extremely costly and requires an environment in which it can be harnessed effectively. According to a recent World Bank publication India is at the bottom end ranking 98 out of 128 countries of an index that measures the ability to create, absorb and diffuse knowledge therefore its threat is minimal to the UK economy. The economy-wide measures such as a countrys balance of payments can assist us in understanding the patterns of cross border trade and establish the impact of offshoring. If the outsourcing of tasks by UK based companies to off-shore locations i.e. India is soaring then the UK should be importing more of these services from India. The CBI has stated that the UK companies have benefited from off-shore as they are now receiving improved work-force skills at a low rate making their enterprises more profitable. According to results obtained from the Office for National Statistics the redundancy rate for the three months to January 2008 was 4.4 per 1,000 employees, down 0.9 over the quarter and down 1.1 over the year. These figures on the redundancy rate reflect that though a large number of organizational services have been off-shored services this has not had a significant impact on the UK economy. The UK has emerged as a world leader in ‘knowledge services and between 1995 2005 exports of its services grew by over 100% compared to its exports of traditional service exports such as transport. India is ranked 6th for global ‘insourcing behind the US, UK, German France and the Netherlands who appear to be the top rec Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) One of the major challenges facing Human Resource Management is the introduction and management of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). In dyads or tryads produce a group briefing paper for either; Directors of a company or a specific trade union, of your choice, regarding the changes taking place in the UK labourmarket and economy regarding the impact of outsourcing and/or offshoring. INTRODUCTION The current economic climate is forcing organizations to explore tactics to remain competitive. According to the traditional ‘make or buy decision framework, the fundamental value proposition behind BPO is cost reduction. The recent economic downturn forced HR departments to do more with less. Many HR organisations were asked to increase the scope of their capabilities without increasing overall headcount. As a result, some organisations viewed outsourcing as a way of combating current economic situation and achieving competitive advantage. In spite of the recent economic slowdown, Gartner Group stated that, the worldwide business process outsourcing (BPO) market, is continuing to grow by approximately 9.5. Organisations are increasingly seeking standardization as part of a re-emphasis on strategic business initiatives. They realise that they need to standardize HR processes and policies as a first step in their HR transformation. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve basic services while allowing HR professionals time to focus on issues vital to the businesss strategic initiatives, instead of being burdened with HR administration. Chaffey (2003) defines BPO as â€Å"the contracting out of specified services to a third party with a controlled, flexible relationship†. Lee (2002) refers to BPO as the ‘outsourcing of different managerial and operational functions. Specifically in HR, BPO is designed to ensure that a companys HR system is supported by the latest management information systems, with self-access and HR data warehousing options. The Business Issues (1995) further views BPO as ‘the delegation of one or more business processes to an external provider, who then owns, manages and administers the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metric. The CIPD defines off-shore as ‘the process of outsourcing business activities or services overseas, as a direct or indirect employer. Off-shore does not always involve the services of an external provider . According to the Oxford Dictionary it means: ‘made, registered or situated abroad. The concept of outsourcing centres on David Ricardos theory of Comparative Advantage (cited in Mullins 2001) which states that even if a country could produce everything more efficiently than another country, it would still reap gains from specialising in what it was best at producing and trading with other nations. AIM OF BRIEFING The aim of this briefing is to brief the Directors of Name of our company the effect of outsourcing the HRM function and will encompass its influence on organisational performance and culture; and concurrently its impact on the UK Labour market and economy. The team will carry out a case-study on BT and will critically evaluate, analyse and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of HR outsourcing with the intention of reviewing the outcomes and where necessary suggest solutions where likely problems can be encountered. An analytical review will be carried out of the major HRM problems which can arise from organizational change and where required recommendations made. The team will use British Telecommunications as a case study to establish the impact of BPO. This briefing aims to provide a reasoned critique of existing literature based on surveys, textbooks, journals and official trade data. BACKGROUND British Telecommunications (BT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group Plc, a public limited company registered in England and Wales and listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges . BT is one of the worlds leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. It principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services.Its main activities are web hosting, IT solutions, Internet services, telecommunications and broadband networks. In the fiscal year ended 31 March 2007 BT had a net turnover of  £9,499 billion. In the UK alone it has pool of 87,000 employees and 180,000 pensioners, whilst on a global scale it has 10,000 employees spread over the countries it operates within. For years, British Telecom ruled the UK market as a monopoly. It was the British Telecommunications Act of 1981 that brought this to an end and put in its place a duopoly, where BT competed with Mercury. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable Wireless, mainly to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom. The privatisation of British Telecom in 1984 opened the industry to full competition and in 1991, this effectively brought the duopoly share by BT and Mercury to an end. With the liberalisation and opening up of the phone market to global competition came renewed pressure on BT from the telecoms watchdog Oftel to open up more of its network to competitors and cut its prices. The pressures on BT became greater than ever. The stiff competition in the telecoms market, the huge cost of paying for third-generation (3G) mobile phone licences, pressure from the industry regulator Oftel to lower its prices and informed, discerning customers meant BT had to deliver even higher levels of quality and service, at competitive prices in order to stay afloat. All these pressures necessitated mindset change and BT was forced to review its business processes. In order to meet up with the arrival of new competitors and the quickening pace of technological change in the industry, speed of action and reaction became critical success factors. With the competition that flooded the UK market in the 1990s, BT started considering cost reduction that will maximise efficiency without compromising quality. One of the major steps taken was to outsource the transactional side of its human resources operation to Accenture HR Services, which in turn off-shored to its India branch. BT believed that the competitive edge for any global communications provider is human capital and to survive and thrive, it requires world-class human resource (HR) competencies and the processes for managing them. Youndt et al. (1996) highlights that a HR system focused on human capabilities is directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance. Huselid and Becker (1997) describe that a firms effectiveness is associated with HR capabilities and its attributes. ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING / OFFSHORING Outsourcing enables an organisation to improve its focus on its core values allowing it to remain competitive on the market (Morello, 2003) . Prahalad and Hamel 1990 state that firms must concentrate on core competencies to gain competitive advantage. Through outsourcing specialist skills can be drawn out from a pool of expertise when and where needed whilst opportunities for enriched career development exist for the remaining staff. Organisations are able to turn over certain classes of risks to their suppliers, such as demand variability and capital investments. Unlike the buyer, the outsourcing buyer can spread these risks over multiple clients. Profitability can be achieved as outsourcing increases a businesss cashflow by creating cost reductions through cheap labour and reduced operational expenses i.e. office space, utility. Funds which would have been used for large capital investments can be released for other uses. Contracting out operational functions reduces the competition on capital as the outsourcing company provides the capital investment as part of its overheads. Companies can create an integrated market as it is a cost effective way of globalisation particularly when it selects the best available resources and labour. Figure [rumbi insert appendix] reflects the changes to operational costs which BT experienced when it outsourced. According to Som Mittal, former Managing Director of Compaq India has claimed that payroll processing to countries like India companies can achieve a 20-25% gain in productivity. Outsourcing can increase the service level given to clients. With offshoring an organisation has the ability to have a 24-hour a day workforce resulting in a more timely service which would not be possible if the organisation operated in once country. BT gained flexibility through outsourcing to Accenture as agility or quick response to business demands was made. Competitive advantage can be attained through cheaper prices. When the product prices cannot come down further operating in a highly skilled, low-wage labour area will be advantageous. (Frubel, Heinrichs and Kreye 1980) . As the product price falls consumers are willing to demand a larger amount of goods. The off-shored countries receive economical benefits. Nasscom Chairman Som Mittal remarked ‘Its a win win situation for countries which allow outsourcing and the countries which receive outsourcing (Ahmed 2004) . DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING: When outsourcing to a third party resentment can occur between permanent and contracted staff. Contract/temporary staff may fail to have a sense of belonging whilst permanent staff can remain aloof in order to protect their works hindering teamwork. Offshoring particularly on the outsourcing of work to India as the UK labour force believes that they are losing out on career opportunities. However the McKinsey Global Institute Report states that there are actually too many jobs and not enough people in the UK to fulfil them. Therefore fears of a widespread unemployment are unlikely and thus this resentment could be seen as unnecessary (Lander 2006) . The lack of direct communication between the organisation and the client can hinder the development of solid relationships and can result in the main organisation lacking control of the outsourced project. One of the key aspects of motivation is social interaction and self actualisation (Maslow cited in Mullins, 2001). Another perceived drawback of off-shoring is the decrease in levels of communication. When English is not the native language of the source area, poor command of the English Language leads to prominent resentment of offshored services (Ahmed,2004). Results of a survey carried out by the Nationwide building in 2005 reflected that 91% of UK adults would prefer their calls to be handled by UK-based call centres (Lander (2006). A major drawback is the expense of regaining a customer once lost, because it could cost up to 6 times more in marketing costs to gain a replacement. Cultural differences can be a disadvantage of offshoring i.e. Ryan Kinzy of K3 Group a large outsourcing company states that there are 3 months which are viewed as the most auspicious time for weddings in India, for example half the staff are out of the office. Ryan highlights that building up teamwork is a difficult challenge as employees may lack intuition due to their culture, Indian workers require a lot of direction. Their relationships are hierarchal, family and caste dependent and they have an educational system that emphasises routine learning over independent research. Outsourcing can prove expensive as payment of redundancy packages for the laid off staff can be a major drawback. As the number of companies offshoring to India rises, employee retention becomes a challenge due to the fact that as market competition increases, salaries are required to be competitive. Organisations will have to decide whether the cost-savings outweigh the revenue generated. Risks can be encountered due to the socio-economic conditions which can hinder the progression of operations i.e. maintaining trade risks. The chance of off-shore fraud also exist as the use of funds can be diverted. There is also the risk or data loss. BT faces the risk of fraud emanating from HR outsourcing as off-shore workers have full access to personnel details ranging from bank account numbers, home addresses and other personal details. Non-automated transactions and processing responsibilities enable off-shore workers to have access to highly confidential information. There is an increase in foreign organised crime groups who have targeted foreign off-shore enterprises to gain access data which they process. Organisiations can face compliance risks and their reputation being damaged due to negative publicity resulting from the third party being inconsistent in meeting ethical standards and internal policies. The organisation needs to carryout thorough audits to ensure control . Expertise levels need to be measured to ensure that required service levels of service are met. {Figure xxRumbi to appendix 2} reflects results of problems faced by several companies which have off-shored. The main problem met appears to be low control of performance and data. Offshoring has the limited disadvantage in that the core function of an organisation cannot be accomplished if passed onto an external source . A business which outsources a department still requires in-house technical experts to monitor activities (Greco 1997) Political infrastructure such as changes in government can affect can impact the outsourcing company. Shortly after the election of Sonia Ghandi stock markets plummeted on fears that her leftist allies would roll back fundamental economic reforms. Erratic power grids inexperienced officials and unmotivated employees can also prove to be a disadvantage. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE BTs management believes organisational culture is innovative with teams that are strategically aligned to BTs operations. Advances in technologies have been applied to benefit BT and its customers to improve processes. Culture can be an object which is manipulated to achieve productivity and organisational improvements, and change over time (Tran, 2008) . In this context, culture is the character of an organisation. However if culture is accepted as being â€Å"†¦.the basic, taken- for- granted assumptions and deep patterns of meaning shared by organisational participation and manifestations of these assumptions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Johnson, 2007) then in this respect culture can be difficult to change. In order to explain the content of cultural context in BT after HR outsourcing, the cultural web will be used. The table below shows the content of the organisational culture with HR outsourcing. Rumbi to appendix 1] According to the above table the organisational culture hinders collective learning in the organisation. Individuals see each other as rivals, rather than a partners. This paradigm creates various obstacles for learning within the organisation, that usually arise due to rivalry, power conflicts and absence of network communication channels (Mullins, 2001). The disadvantage of this power structure is explained by Mullins (2001) who claims that such approach decrease the effectiveness and efficiency of operations management, as participants are detached from the decision-making. BTs new organisational structure is bureaucratic, with the emphasis on standard procedures and operational routines. It might slow down the communication process, with the absence of feedback channels and unnecessary layers that might increase obstructions and cause various distortions in the communication process( Graham Bennet, 1998) . BT has placed its employees after revenues. The management has failed to take into account individual needs of each employee hence developing a coercive rather than participative approach. Within this approach people are being treated as liabilities rather than the core elements of the operations management process, where people become the primary determinant of the outcome quality (Armstrong, 2003) . The organisational culture implies for traditional type of performance appraisal system, which utilises various types of monetary techniques. Wright (2007) argued that the utilisation of monetary tools does not provide the development of a higher level of effective commitment or higher degree of intrinsic motivation and provides a blurred understanding of the relationship between their performance and corresponding appraisal. The communication component forms an important of the above mentioned changes. According to McGregor (1960, cited in Mullins, 2001) in order to get people to direct their efforts towards organisational objectives, management must tell them what to do, judge how well they are doing and reward or punish accordingly. There is also an informative and a motivational purpose. He claims that a clear and thorough description of individual duties and rights within the framework of the organisation may prevent the rise of unmet expectations. As it shows on the table, the communication in the company is of a top-down nature, without proper feedback. This type of communication scheme is good for conveyer-type organisations and not ideal for innovative market-led companies. CHANGE MANAGEMENT The new requirements for adaptation made it necessary for the company to undertake the reengineering of the whole business process, including both â€Å"hard â€Å"and â€Å"soft† elements. According to Senior (1997) â€Å"hard system† change implies â€Å" an attempt to use the benefits of a scientific method whilst recognising that in the real world of business where thing are happening fast, there may not be time to be as scientific as one would like†. In BTs case, â€Å"hard system† change referred to the introduction of new operations management systems, equipment and business facilities, designed to speed up existing operations and reduce the cost per a single transaction. It was designed to maximise the efficiency of every single operation within the business process. Senior (1997) indicates that â€Å"Soft System† changes imply for the change of the organisational culture. The main idea of this approach is listening to the organisation, good communication, developing a shared, vision, gaining real commitment to the change and the vision, education and training, and understanding the tools and techniques for the process. William et al.(1993) indicates that to facilitate effective adaptation of the employees to new working conditions, managers shall reduce restraining forces and reinforces driving forces. However, it shall be considered, that not all measures are equally effective. As Hetzbergs maintainance theory ( cited in Mullins, 2001) shows , the presence of certain factors may act as a powerful motivating factors, while the absence of other elements may produce slight dissatisfaction. At the same time strategic priorities shall reflect the current organisational aims. Under such conditions in order to improve the situation and meet objectives (create a better customer focus) the high involvement of senior managers, who acts as a link between operational and business levels of the organisation, is required. Senior managers shall act as major change agents. Taking the role of change agents, it is important for senior managers not to ignore employees natural resistance to new systems, but to create appropriate incentives to fasten the transactional process from resistance to commitment (Graham and Bennet, 1998). The ignorance of or resistance to changes will introduce different open conflicts, which will significantly worsen the organisation environment affecting its performance level and flexibility. This could result to failure to raise performance and attract or retain customers, which may lead to significant costs and even reduce the companys chances to survive and succeed in changing market conditions. According to Mintzberg Quinn and Ghoshall (1995) the overall rationale for any outsourcing activity is that outsourcing provides, greater economies of scale, flexibility, increase in levels of expertise, cost effectiveness, reduced costs and added value to any organisation. The rationale of BT outsourcing its HRM functions were to increase shareholder value, sustain progress and cope with the pace of change. Outsourcing of parts of the HR function has become more common. Lonsdale and Cox (1998) argue that outsourcing decisions can be classified under the following three headings: 1 outsourcing for short-term cost and headcount reductions; 2 core-competence-based outsourcing, where peripheral activities are passed to third parties and core activities are retained in-house; 3 iterative and entrepreneurial outsourcing, where periodic reviews of critical market activities are undertaken, with subsequent decision to retain or outsource. IMPACT ON UK LABOUR FORCE Human capital is emphasized as the most valuable asset of the 21st century business. The primary effects of outsourcing/offshoring on HR and Labour Relations are related to managing transition in HRM such as personnel changes, managing layoff, downsizing issues, and the costs/dynamics of actually managing an off-shore contract. The laying off of UK employees as a result of restructuring to effect the outsourcing contracts can have a negative impact on employees. Layoffs cause major morale problems among in-house ‘survivors and may lead to dissatisfaction and reduced delivery speed. Some UK companies experienced productivity dips and potential legal action from laid off employees resulting in costs of severance, retention bonuses and retraining being encountered. According to a survey by Deloitte and YouGov (2006) revealed that fear of job losses was prevalent in the UK with 82% of public perceiving offshoring as a threat . 1 in 3 people stated that UK companies should be forced to bring back jobs to the UK. Chief economist of the Work Foundation, Ian Brinkley commented ‘Fears have been stoked by claims that the Chinese and Indians are coming to get your lunch to describe the insecurity that offshoring has caused. With regards to knowledge transfer there is concern that some of the job experience is being exported. If low-level skill tasks are sent off-shore then so is the experience gained from performing those tasks. When the time comes to perform higher-level tasks where previous experience is mandatory, there is no alternative than to go off-shore because that is where the experience will available. In some instances company plans imply that higher-level tasks will remain performed on-shore, the lower-level tasks are performed miles away. The knowledge and experience of those ‘low-level jobs will be gone forever, and may impact the proper development of the ‘higher-level jobs. Forrester a US research group released a study that by 2015 Europe will have lost a collective number of 1.2 million jobs to off-shore locations increasing its reliance. Alan Blinder a US economist and former advisor to Bill Clinton has supported this thesis by stating that offshoring will lead to a ‘third Industrial Revolution. He views that off-shore is now a man-made comparative advantage and that workers will be forced to seek employment in personal services which remain non-tradable. There is a long-term impact on the types of jobs that people are training for, as well as the ‘transfer of knowledge relating to many job structures in the workplace such that there is a ‘domino effect. Steve Loy feels that these ‘outgoing tide of jobs could threaten fundamental technology research as well as jobs. The astute students will recognise the rapidly dwindling job opportunities in HRM and will choose other programs of study thus loss will be encountered in HR leading to a labour-force that has inadequate HRM knowledge to compete in a high knowledge based economy. The evaluation of the impact of off-shore is mainly based on estimations of collective data. Jobs most at risk are non-client facing and low knowledge content jobs those which use a lot of Information technology, creating outputs that can be transmitted via IT. An analysis by the CPRP concluded that 20% of non-client facing jobs are likely to be moved abroad. The potential is apportioned as a function of international trade and investment, the industrial structure of the economy, human capital, employment indicator, product market regulations indicator. Not all jobs created off-shore by UK companies automatically translates to job losses in the UK labour market. Employees are increasingly demanding services hence time difference plays a role in off-shore, offering them extended services. The lower price makes it possible for instance to offer services which would not be available otherwise i.e. 24 hr call centres. The information collated by the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) s hows that job loss due to offshoring is in fact very small. During the first quarter of 2007 ERM recorded 420 restructuring cases in Europe. They announced 137,762 job losses and 184,511 job gains. Only 5.5% of all jobs lost were due to offshoring activities. For the year 2005 the percentage of job losses due to offshoring was only 3.4% of the total job losses. To measure the extent of job loss due to restructuring we can use redundancy notification, the effects of offshoring does however vary with the country. In France, national Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies estimates in its 2007 report on the French economy that offshoring has been responsible for the destruction of 15,000 jobs per year between 2000 and 2003. This is to contrast with a job creation in the private sector of 200,000 per year . In the UK there is no significant decline as per the results of the LFS Redundancy Tables ‘Employment growth in the occupations considered susceptible to offshoring has been very strong. The redundancy levels for these occupations, although high relative to the whole economy, have been falling in the last four years. The overall employment rate for these occupations has also shown an increase showing the cost of moving low-skilled jobs abroad is either falling or positive job creation is highly prevalent in the IT enabled occup ations. This does not mean that jobs are not being off-shored, and it is entirely possible that in the absence of offshoring, employment in these areas might have been higher. The adverse impact is entirely triggered by much larger changes in domestic demand for such services, the UK in particular has been extremely successful in developing as a world leader in knowledge based international trade. Jobs created through the expansion of exports of services are likely to outweigh the contraction of jobs caused by import of services. According to a report by Amiti and Jin Wei (2005) job growth at divisional levels has not been negatively related to service outsourcing but has had a negative impact on the demand for unskilled labour. In the UK outsourcing has had no reflected effect on the labourforce. The Deloitte and Recruitment Employment Confederation Report states that both permanent and temporary staff billings continue to rise. National press recruitment advertising in the UK went down by 11.3% in July 2005 in both public and private sectors reflecting a positive direction in the labour market and no relevant changes in the economy. Outsourcing is increasing consultancy work in the United Kingdom hence is beneficial as it offers flexible working hours / days for UK employees. This is particularly favorable for women who are raising children as is allows them to earn a salary whilst at the same time having adequate time with their children. There is also the flexibility of home-working. Structural changes can occur in the economies of both the outsourced/sourcing companies and due to the debate on who is benefiting/losing racism can be allowed to rear its head. A report prepared for the Department of Trade Industry by Ovum (2006) concludes that even though the actual impacts of an increase in trade and the expansion of global sourcing have been quite modest to date, offshoring can change the skills structure of labour demand, increasing the vulnerability of low-skilled workers in particular. ECONOMIC IMPACT Concern over off-shoring has become a surrogate for wider issues about economic insecurity, said Work Foundation chief economist Ian Brinkley. An interesting corollary benefit of outsourcing is the benefit to the economy. Indias National Association of Software and Services Companies commissioned a report by Evaluserve that stated that for every $100 worth of work sent abroad by US companies, $130 to $145 will be reinvested in the US economy. Cost savings are said to create value in the UK economy. Ahead of monetary capital, knowledge economy has become a focal point in the policy of outsourcing and off-shore. Strategies have been devised i.e. the Lisbon Strategy centres to promote, research, innovation in the development of human capital. In the future, human capital is the only way that Europe can remain prosperous. The main beneficiaries in the UK are the educated high skilled workers and the losers will be semi/low skilled workers. The UK government needs to investment more in education to continue pushing towards a leading knowledge based economy to avoid vulnerability. It needs to investment in human capital and focus on domestic policy choices for the losers of rapid structural changes within the UK. As a result of off-shoring the UK government is losing funds which could possibly be raised by corporate and income tax. However, it has stated that it does not have plans in place as yet to prevent outsourcing. The Department of Trade Industry has stated ‘it is a commercial decision for companies to decide where to locate their business operations such as call centres. The absence of official statistics on off-shore outsourcing leads to speculation and there is also misinterpretation of indirect measures/evidence. The experience of an individual company may or may not select a trend in a specific sector but does not allow conclusions to be made on the economy as a whole. It is possible that the rise in rice prices caused by lower production could be a result of a shift by the working population in India from working in the agriculture moving to the services sector. A great deal of knowledge is tacit and therefore difficult to transfer. Its reproduction can be extremely costly and requires an environment in which it can be harnessed effectively. According to a recent World Bank publication India is at the bottom end ranking 98 out of 128 countries of an index that measures the ability to create, absorb and diffuse knowledge therefore its threat is minimal to the UK economy. The economy-wide measures such as a countrys balance of payments can assist us in understanding the patterns of cross border trade and establish the impact of offshoring. If the outsourcing of tasks by UK based companies to off-shore locations i.e. India is soaring then the UK should be importing more of these services from India. The CBI has stated that the UK companies have benefited from off-shore as they are now receiving improved work-force skills at a low rate making their enterprises more profitable. According to results obtained from the Office for National Statistics the redundancy rate for the three months to January 2008 was 4.4 per 1,000 employees, down 0.9 over the quarter and down 1.1 over the year. These figures on the redundancy rate reflect that though a large number of organizational services have been off-shored services this has not had a significant impact on the UK economy. The UK has emerged as a world leader in ‘knowledge services and between 1995 2005 exports of its services grew by over 100% compared to its exports of traditional service exports such as transport. India is ranked 6th for global ‘insourcing behind the US, UK, German France and the Netherlands who appear to be the top rec