information Environment (MIS ass9)

Information Environment

There is now a critical mass of digital information resources that can be used to support researchers, learners, teachers and administrators in their work and study. The production of information is on the increase and ways to deal with this effectively are required. There is the need to ensure that quality information isn’t lost amongst the masses of digital data created everyday. If we can continue to improve the management, interrogation and serving of ‘quality’ information there is huge potential to enhance knowledge creation across learning and research communities. The aim of the Information Environment is to help provide convenient access to resources for research and learning through the use of resource discovery and resource management tools and the development of better services and practice. The Information Environment aims to allow discovery, access and use of resources for research and learning irrespective of their location.

The Essay

As a student, I think my role in the specified environment which is the information environment is to recruit and challenge my fellow to what they can contribute for better. We know that we need or we can say that we have to engage to activities which are needed to have a better system of life.

I will propose principles for good representation of information applicable to six categories of communication: speeches, written texts, presentations, Web pages, movies/videos, and source programs. For each of these categories, many tips have been proposed for creating good information representation. The meaning of good information representation can be interpreted in two ways: as attractive or impressive, and effective in conveying facts and opinions. Although these two ways cannot be said to be independent of each other, I focus here only the latter. The need to establish explicit principles for good information representation is urgent, because information must be transmitted accurately (without loss of fidelity). Bad information representation is proliferating at a rapid pace because of the Internet Information representation

The challenges that could come up in this role are the lacked of innovative experiences to have a way of presenting it.

SONA 2009 (HRM ass8)

The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have -- and are aware of -- personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.
As a part in the SONA in July 2009 these are the part which I think related to our topic:

“Compared to the past we have built more and better infrastructure, including
those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac
Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as
the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.”

“We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports,
built seaports and the roll-on-roll-off system. I ask Congress for a Philippine
Transport Security Authority Law.”

“This year they gave the largest increase in Internal Revenue Allotment to local government units (LGUs) of P40 billion, imparting strength throughout the country at every level of government.”

This shows that our president did her job. This things can help improve our quality of life because of the jobs that they can offer.

HR personnel (HRM ass9)

We will first define the meaning of Human resource managementHuman resource management is resource-centred activity providing and deploying human resources catering to management needs. It is aligned to management interest being a management activity. Demand rather than supply is the focus of the activity. HRM emphasised on planning, monitoring and control. Human resources issues and problem solving is undertaken with other members of the management. Management of human resources is similar to other aspect of management in the organisation and an integrated part of it.As we interview the human resource personnel of DLPC (Davao Light Power Company) she narrates the following:

Nature of Human Resource Management
1.Ogranisations is the people who manage.
2.HRM involves acquisitioning, developing, maintaining
3.Decisions relating to employees must be integrated.
4.Decisions made must influence the effectiveness of an organisation.
5.HRM functions are confirmed to Non-business organisation also.
1.Ogranisations is the people who manage.
2.HRM involves acquisitioning, developing, maintaining
3.Decisions relating to employees must be integrated.
4.Decisions made must influence the effectiveness of an organisation.
5.HRM functions are confirmed to Non-business organisation also.

Scope of Human Resource ManagementProspects
Industrial Realization
Remunation
Motivation
Maintenance
Nature of HRM
Employee Hiring

Role of Human Resource Management
•To assist employees in achieving their personal goals, these goals enhance the individual’s contribution to the organisation.
•To maintain the department’s contribution at a level appropriate to the organization's needs
•To recognize the role of HRM in bringing about organizational effectiveness.
•To be ethical and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of the society.
•Minimizing the negative impact of such demands on organisation.

Reflection:In my own opinion, the scope, role and nature of the Human resource management of DLPC is good, because the coincide with each other in order to have a firm way ofmanaging,

Seminar-workshop (MIS ass8)

If the Dean of the Institute of Computing will invite me to attend a seminar-workshop these are the things that I will present in my evaluation:

First I will share my insights and knowledge about outsourcing;
Outsourcing involves the transfer of the management and/or day-to-day execution of an entire business function to an external service provider. The client organization and the supplier enter into a contractual agreement that defines the transferred services. Under the agreement the supplier acquires the means of production in the form of a transfer of people, assets and other resources from the client. The client agrees to procure the services from the supplier for the term of the contract. Business segments typically outsourced include information technology, human resources, facilities, real estate management, and accounting. Many companies also outsource customer support and call center functions like telemarketing, CAD drafting, customer service, market research, manufacturing, designing, web development, print-to-mail, content writing, ghostwriting and engineering. Offshoring is the type of outsourcing in which the buyer organization belongs to another country.
Outsourcing and offshoring are used interchangeably in public discourse despite important technical differences. Outsourcing involves contracting with a supplier, which may or may not involve some degree of offshoring. Offshoring is the transfer of an organizational function to another country, regardless of whether the work is outsourced or stays within the same corporation/company.
With increasing globalization of outsourcing companies, the distinction between outsourcing and offshoring will become less clear over time. This is evident in the increasing presence of Indian outsourcing companies in the United States and United Kingdom. The globalization of outsourcing operating models has resulted in new terms such as nearshoring, noshoring, and rightshoring that reflect the changing mix of locations. This is seen in the opening of offices and operations centers by Indian companies in the U.S. and UK. A major job that is being outsourced is accounting. They are able to complete tax returns across seas for people in America.
Multisourcing refers to large outsourcing agreements (predominantly IT).
Multisourcing is a framework to enable different parts of the client business to be sourced from different suppliers. This requires a governance model that communicates strategy, clearly defines responsibility and has end-to-end integration.
Strategic outsourcing is the organizing arrangement that emerges when firms rely on intermediate markets to provide specialized capabilities that supplement existing capabilities deployed along a firm’s value chain (see Holcomb & Hitt, 2007). Such an arrangement produces value within firms’ supply chains beyond those benefits achieved through cost economies. Intermediate markets that provide specialized capabilities emerge as different industry conditions intensify the partitioning of production. As a result of greater information standardization and simplified coordination, clear administrative demarcations emerge along a value chain. Partitioning of intermediate markets occurs as the coordination of production across a value chain is simplified and as information becomes standardized, making it easier to transfer activities across boundaries.
After sharing my knowledge about outsourcing, I will discuss why do we need to outsource or the reasons for outsourcing:
Organizations that outsource are seeking to realize benefits or address the following issues:

Cost savings. The lowering of the overall cost of the service to the business. This will involve reducing the scope, defining quality levels, re-pricing, re-negotiation, cost re-structuring. Access to lower cost economies through offshoring called "labor arbitrage" generated by the wage gap between industrialized and developing nations.

Focus on Core Business. Resources (for example investment, people, infrastructure) are focused on developing the core business. For example often organizations outsource their IT support to specilaised IT services companies.
Cost restructuring. Operating leverage is a measure that compares fixed costs to variable costs. Outsourcing changes the balance of this ratio by offering a move from fixed to variable cost and also by making variable costs more predictable.
Improve quality. Achieve a step change in quality through contracting out the service with a new service level agreement.
Knowledge. Access to intellectual property and wider experience and knowledge.

Contract. Services will be provided to a legally binding contract with financial penalties and legal redress. This is not the case with internal services
Operational expertise. Access to operational best practice that would be too difficult or time consuming to develop in-house.
Access to talent. Access to a larger talent pool and a sustainable source of skills, in particular in science and engineering.
Capacity management. An improved method of capacity management of services and technology where the risk in providing the excess capacity is borne by the supplier.
Catalyst for change. An organization can use an outsourcing agreement as a catalyst for major step change that can not be achieved alone. The outsourcer becomes a Change agent in the process.
Enhance capacity for innovation. Companies increasingly use external knowledge service providers to supplement limited in-house capacity for product innovation.

Reduce time to market. The acceleration of the development or production of a product through the additional capability brought by the supplier.
Commodification. The trend of standardizing business processes, IT Services and application services enabling businesses to intelligently buy at the right price. Allows a wide range of businesses access to services previously only available to large corporations.
Risk management. An approach to risk management for some types of risks is to partner with an outsourcer who is better able to provide the mitigation.
Venture Capital. Some countries match government funds venture capital with private venture capital for startups that start businesses in their country.
Tax Benefit. Countries offer tax incentives to move manufacturing operations to counter high corporate taxes within another country

SONA 2009 (ICT) (MIS ass7)

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.
Every year, the President of the Republic of the Philippines gives Congress and the people an update about the national situation through the SONA or the State of the Nation Address. This SONA has been practiced by all the Philippine presidents since 1936.

State of the Nation Address was originally mandated by Article VII, Section 5 of the 1935 Philippine Constitution, which states: “The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

This provision was copied from the United States Constitution, the Philippines being under American rule at the time. The US provision, however, talked of the state of the union.

SONA continues to this day. The 1987 Philippine Constitution requires the President to address the Congress at the opening of its regular session on the fourth Monday of July (Article VII, Section 23 and Article VI, Section 15), which is July 27 for this year, 2009.
Pres. Gloria Arroyo on July 27made a final push for the creation of DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) in her last State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Speaking before members of both chambers of Congress, the chief executive urged the country to “have a Department of ICT” as she highlighted the huge role that the BPO sector has played in the local economy.

A proposed law calling for the creation of DICT has been pending in Congress for the last five years. This even if Malacanang has certified the bill as urgent.

Arroyo made the endorsement as she noted in her Sona that the Philippines is now starting to create wealth with the development of the BPO industry as an engine of growth.

“Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity,” she said.
The president’s call for the creation of DICT, however, was less urgent compared to the appeal she made to revise consumer laws as she underscored her directive to the National Telecommunications Commission to act on complaints against dropped calls and lost cellphone load.
“We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now,” Arroyo declared.
In an earlier interview, CICT (Commission of Information and Communications Technology) chair Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua said there’s time left and that the government is still hoping that Congress would pass the DICT bill.
“Unlike a full-fledged department, the problem with CICT just being a commission is that it can be easily demolished by the next administration. All that is needed by the next president is to sign another EO. That would be the end of the programs we’ve put up over the years,” he said.
These are the articles I found relate to the topic.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/213088/gma-sona-bats-dept-ict
The three areas related to ICT that can improve our quality of life are
Ø BPO or Business Process Outsourcing industry as an engine of growth and innovations for us IT professionals. Through outsourcing we can broaden are knowledge and we can follow the trends of our technology. Through this, it is easy for us to engage to different profitable activities that could help to the improvement of our lives.
Ø Additional engines of growth-when we say additional engines fir growth, this would help every individual to improve they way of leaving. For example additional recruitment or hiring for any job.
Ø Philippine Transport Security Authority Law- I think it would be good to have this kind of law so that we can secure to our selves the existence of martial law and to have a fair treatment to all kinds of people. In this way we can improve our way of leaving, were there is fair and non abusive treatment to humans.

University Consultant (MIS ass6)

Technology is moving forward now, it is a way in which human develop their way of living. They try to practices new facilities and they try to engage to different way of developing their learning andapply it in their works.
There are so many aspects that can cause hindrance or barriers in implementing Information System or Information Technology. Before we discuss about how do the companies or organization comes up with those barriers, we will first define the meaning of it:
A barrier is an obstacle which prevents a given policy instrument being implemented, or limits the way in which it can be implemented. In the extreme, such barriers may lead to certain policy instruments being overlooked, and the resulting strategies being much less effective. For example, demand management measures are likely to be important in larger cities as ways of controlling the growth of congestion and improving the environment. But at the same time they are often unpopular, and cities may be tempted to reject them simply because they will be unpopular. If that decision leads in turn to greater congestion and a worse environment, the strategy will be less successful. The emphasis should therefore be on how to overcome these barriers, rather than simply how to avoid them.
I will base my discussion on two companies the GH Office Depot and the Davao Light Power Company.
These are the some Barriers I found:
Common Barriers
Studying the problem too long without acting
On GH Depot

In the case of GH they have only one IT personnel that’s why he cannot do many tasks at the same time. He cannot easily handle two different things at the same time.
On DLPC (Davao Light Power Company)
On DLPC it takes long time to study their problem when it comes to implementing IT/IS practices because the company needs a thoroughly analysis due to sensitivity of data.
Trying to get everyone's agreement first
On DLPC
The IT department of DLPC was divided into 4 that’s why they need to communicate constantly so that they can have the views and opinions of each team so that they will agree on the same idea, imagine a company without union, it will be hard for them to implement and promote new IT and IS practices.
Educating without changing structures or expectations
On GH Depot
The IT personnel says that if he develops a new software or anything that is related to IT, some of the employees will expect that it will be hard for theme to adopt it.
Tackling everything at once
On both companies, they have a briefing with their employees. These briefing can minimize the different complications they will encounter.
Measuring nothing or everything
Before implementing the different Information Technology and Information Systems practices the companies will first encounter the measuring or analyzing the right way how to implement it and measure the capacity of the services they can offer.
Assuming that the status is OK
Some times they assume that the implemented Information Technology and Information System practices are good enough to answer the needs of their employees, but the truth is it’s not enough.
More Barriers to Change
Lack of such resources as time and commitment
Due to limitation of time, the implementation of those practices can increase the problems of the companies systems. In DLPC sometimes they cannot do or practice it perfectly because they were given limited time.
Resistance to change
It’s been a long year when DLPC change there way of implementing different IT and IS practices, they resist to change because it may help the company or it may cause a problem to company’s daily transactions. But there was a time that they really need to change it, because they see that it will help. They try it first, and then they continuously develop it. Until now they are trying to develop it for better usage of their employees.
On GH Depot, they are practicing it for more than 5 years now, their IT personnel said that it a big help for them. But some of the employees would prefer to use the older way because they have grown to that way of working.
Reflection:
Due to the increasing demand of our day to day needs, and the desire of the person to ease their way of working, we IT person tries to make and develop different Information Technology and Information Systems practices so that it can help us in our day to day activities. The barriers that had been discussed are just some of the barriers that are develop and exist during the time that they are practicing the IT and IS practices that they conclude.
The better way to have good and manageable employees is to have a unity in a company. As what I have said, how could you implement the changes in a company if you cannot control your employees.
http://www.mywhatever.com/cifwriter/content/22/4481.html

Barriers in IT/Is Implementation (MIS ass5)

Technology is moving forward now, it is a way in which human develop their way of living. They try to practices new facilities and they try to engage to different way of developing their learning andapply it in their works.

There are so many aspects that can cause hindrance or barriers in implementing Information System or Information Technology. Before we discuss about how do the companies or organization comes up with those barriers, we will first define the meaning of it:

A barrier is an obstacle which prevents a given policy instrument being implemented, or limits the way in which it can be implemented. In the extreme, such barriers may lead to certain policy instruments being overlooked, and the resulting strategies being much less effective. For example, demand management measures are likely to be important in larger cities as ways of controlling the growth of congestion and improving the environment. But at the same time they are often unpopular, and cities may be tempted to reject them simply because they will be unpopular. If that decision leads in turn to greater congestion and a worse environment, the strategy will be less successful. The emphasis should therefore be on how to overcome these barriers, rather than simply how to avoid them.

I will base my discussion on two companies the GH Office Depot and the Davao Light Power Company.

These are the some Barriers I found:
Common Barriers

Studying the problem too long without acting

On GH Depot

In the case of GH they have only one IT personnel that’s why he cannot do many tasks at the same time. He cannot easily handle two different things at the same time.
On DLPC (Davao Light Power Company)
On DLPC it takes long time to study their problem when it comes to implementing IT/IS practices because the company needs a thoroughly analysis due to sensitivity of data.
Trying to get everyone's agreement first

On DLPC
The IT department of DLPC was divided into 4 that’s why they need to communicate constantly so that they can have the views and opinions of each team so that they will agree on the same idea, imagine a company without union, it will be hard for them to implement and promote new IT and IS practices.
Educating without changing structures or expectations

On GH Depot
The IT personnel says that if he develops a new software or anything that is related to IT, some of the employees will expect that it will be hard for theme to adopt it.
Tackling everything at once

On both companies, they have a briefing with their employees. These briefing can minimize the different complications they will encounter.
Measuring nothing or everything
Before implementing the different Information Technology and Information Systems practices the companies will first encounter the measuring or analyzing the right way how to implement it and measure the capacity of the services they can offer.
Assuming that the status is OK
Some times they assume that the implemented Information Technology and Information System practices are good enough to answer the needs of their employees, but the truth is it’s not enough.

More Barriers to Change
Lack of such resources as time and commitment
Due to limitation of time, the implementation of those practices can increase the problems of the companies systems. In DLPC sometimes they cannot do or practice it perfectly because they were given limited time.

Resistance to change
It’s been a long year when DLPC change there way of implementing different IT and IS practices, they resist to change because it may help the company or it may cause a problem to company’s daily transactions. But there was a time that they really need to change it, because they see that it will help. They try it first, and then they continuously develop it. Until now they are trying to develop it for better usage of their employees.
On GH Depot, they are practicing it for more than 5 years now, their IT personnel said that it a big help for them. But some of the employees would prefer to use the older way because they have grown to that way of working.

Reflection:
Due to the increasing demand of our day to day needs, and the desire of the person to ease their way of working, we IT person tries to make and develop different Information Technology and Information Systems practices so that it can help us in our day to day activities. The barriers that had been discussed are just some of the barriers that are develop and exist during the time that they are practicing the IT and IS practices that they conclude.
The better way to have good and manageable employees is to have a unity in a company. As what I have said, how could you implement the changes in a company if you cannot control your employees.
http://www.mywhatever.com/cifwriter/content/22/4481.html

Personnel Management and Human Resource Management (HRM ass10)

Definitions of Personnel Management:

· Administrative discipline of hiring and developing employees so that they become more valuable to the organization. It includes (1) conducting job analyses, (2) planning personnel needs, and recruitment, (3) selecting the right people for the job, (4) orienting and training, (5) determining and managing wages and salaries, (6) providing benefits and incentives, (7) appraising performance, (8) resolving disputes, (9) communicating with all employees at all levels.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personnel-management.html

· Personnel Management is responsible for the provision of specialist personnel and human resource management advisory services to departments, and the development and implementation of a relevant, coherent and modern framework of employment policies and practices throughout the University.
Each member of Personnel Management is responsible for the provision of these services to a number of departments. This distribution is known as the Personnel Management Portfolio.
Personnel Management is also responsible for the delivery of the Human Resource Strategy and associated programmes of work.
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/uniservices/personnel/management/index.php

Personnel Management is responsible for recruiting and hiring qualified individuals to deliver city services, administering the pay classification plan to insure competitive wages. Through the personnel policies, Personnel Management administers guidelines for employee behavior, hiring & terminations, disciplinary actions, tuition reimbursement and employee leave.
http://www.ci.palm-coast.fl.us/government/departments/employment/personnelmanagement.aspx

Personnel Management Services understands that the right people help businesses run efficiently, and it is critical you have them in place when you need them. Whether you are a company in need of a trainer for proprietary software, technicians to set up computer equipment, electronic locks devices installed or just IT support, we can help you find that perfect candidate
http://www.personnelmgmt.net/home.htm

Personnel management is concerned with the effective use of the skills of people. They may be salespeople in a store, clerks in an office, operators in a factory, or technicians in a research laboratory. In a business, personnel management starts with the recruiting and hiring of qualified people and continues with directing and encouraging their growth as they encounter problems and tensions that arise in working toward established goals.
Read more:

http://www.zeromillion.com/business/personnel/personnelmangement.html#ixzz0SVyoMO3Q

Human resource management definition:
· The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have -- and are aware of -- personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.
http://managementhelp.org/hr_mgmnt/hr_mgmnt.htm

· Humans are an organization's greatest assets; without them, everyday business functions such as managing cash flow, making business transactions, communicating through all forms of media, and dealing with customers could not be completed. Humans and the potential they possess drive an organization. Today's organizations are continuously changing. Organizational change impacts not only the business but also its employees. In order to maximize organizational effectiveness, human potential—individuals' capabilities, time, and talents—must be managed. Human resource management works to ensure that employees are able to meet the organization's goals.
"Human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in organizations. It is responsible for bringing people into the organization, helping them perform their work, compensating them for their labors, and solving problems that arise" (Cherrington, 1995, p. 5). There are seven management functions of a human resources (HR) department that will be specifically addressed: staffing, performance appraisals, compensation and benefits, training and development, employee and labor relations, safety and health, and human resource research.
http://www.answers.com/topic/human-resource-management

· The Human Resource Management major is designed for those who have an interest in working in the functional areas of HRM, and for everyone who wants to become a member of management in any profession at any level. The faculty integrates the theoretical with the practical to produce the highest quality graduates.
A Business Administration degree Major in Human Resource Management prepares the graduate for entry level professional positions ultimately leading to promising careers in HRM including employment, compensation, training and development. Career paths lead from technical HR jobs to positions in senior HR management, such as VP of Human Resources, Director of Compensation, VP of Labor Relations, Director of Employment and others. Graduates will have a strong functional HRM perspective with the behavioral skills to work effectively as HR professionals. Also, the degree prepares graduates for challenging management careers in any field.
http://www.hpu.edu/index.cfm?contentID=178

Human resource management is a balancing act. At one extreme, you hire only qualified people who are well suited to the firm's needs. At the other extreme, you train and develop employees to meet the firm's needs. Most expanding small businesses fall between the two extremes -- i.e., they hire the best people they can find and afford, and they also recognize the need to train and develop both current and new employees as the firm grows.
http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_pubs_eb_pdf_eb4.pdf

The streamlining of many routine functions in HR has created a growing need for highly trained professional managers with skills to plan for, hire, manage, retain, and develop tomorrow’s workforce. Human Resource Management professionals must understand and be involved in the strategic planning processes, understand compensation and employee development, handle legal and ethical issues, manage complex finances, serve as in-house consultants on organizational behavior, and serve as change managers. This career studies certificate program provides a core of courses addressing the functional areas of human resources. The program also offers a selection of elective courses that give students the opportunity to broaden their skill base.
http://www.cvcc.vccs.edu/Academics/Programs/PDF/HumResour_0707.pdf

Reflection on the statement (HRM ass7)

"Human beings are the most important, potent and critical, resource of any organization, and yet the least understood and the worst managed of its resources" (1500words)

Due to the fast changing status of our technology, some organizations as of now are dependent to computers. The existence of a human is vital to overall productivity and efficiency of the strong workforce in any thriving company. In most professional organizations, the role of the human resources department is not sidelined or eclipsed by other departments. In fact, good human resources can be one of the most valued and respected departments in an organization; their job is people, and people are the company's most important asset.
To broadly understand the importance of human beings in an organization, let me give you a brief and concise meaning of what human is:
It is important to understand what we are as human beings. The present state of knowledge of the human being is one which has been informed by the materialistic reductionist thinking of modern technological science. It is commonplace for people generally to think of the human body as being merely an elaborate machine, with all the non-material aspects of the human being- thinking, feeling, attitudes, emotions, mores, imagination, etc., etc, as being merely the result of the physico-chemical activities which take place in the physical body. However, the human organism is not a machine and does not operate under the aegis of chemical and physical laws
importance implies a value judgment of the superior worth or influence of something or someone.
Potent-powerful, having or exercising great power or influence.
Reflection on the statement:
We can say that "Human beings are the most important, potent and critical, resource of any organization, and yet the least understood and the worst managed of its resources" because without human technology would be useful. They are the most important in an organization because it is the human who involves their self in different transactions in the society. In an organization, human beings are the basic component of it. They are also called the critical ones because if human beings are lost or does not exist or agreed in one aim and if there is no unity between them the organization will fall.
From those reflection we come up with a conclusion that an organization would be senseless and useful without the help of the human beings like us.

http://www.alchemycalpages.com/human.html

21st -century corporations (HRM ass6)

What does corporations really mean? Or what is it for and its components?
In forming a corporation, prospective shareholders exchange money, property, or both, for the corporation's capital stock. A corporation generally takes the same deductions as a sole proprietorship to figure its taxable income. A corporation can also take special deductions. For federal income tax purposes, a C corporation is recognized as a separate taxpaying entity. A corporation conducts business, realizes net income or loss, pays taxes and distributes profits to shareholders.
The profit of a corporation is taxed to the corporation when earned, and then is taxed to the shareholders when distributed as dividends. This creates a double tax. The corporation does not get a tax deduction when it distributes dividends to shareholders. Shareholders cannot deduct any loss of the corporation.
In 21st century, the world has encountered many problems which are caused by different factors.
As the world starts to globalize, it is accompanied by criticism of the current forms of globalization, which are feared to be overly corporate-led. As corporations become larger and multinational, their influence and interests go further accordingly. Being able to influence and own most media companies, it is hard to be able to publicly debate the notions and ideals that corporations pursue. Some choices that corporations take to make profits can affect people all over the world. Sometimes fatally.
Today we know that corporations, for good or bad, are major influences on our lives. For example, of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations while only 49 are countries, based on a comparison of corporate sales and country GDPs .In this era of globalization, marginalized people are becoming especially angry at the motives of multinational corporations, and corporate-led globalization is being met with increasing protest and resistance.
Corporations, as we tend to think of them, have been around for a few centuries, the earliest of which were chartered around the sixteenth century in places like England, Holland etc. Technically speaking, a corporation is what Robbins describes as a “social invention of the state” (Robbins: p.98). That is, a state grants a corporate charter, permitting private financial resources being used for public purposes. As Arrighi points out, this initial creation of private finance and merchants, etc was to aid in the expansion of a state to which it belonged, and as Arrighi and Smith detail, served to expand colonial and imperial interests to start with, as well as help in war efforts between empires.
Some suggestions that could more improve our economic status:
Sustained economic growth as the way to human progress
Free markets without government “interference” would be the most efficient and socially optimal allocation of resources
Economic globalization would be beneficial to everyone
Privatization removes inefficiencies of public sector
Governments should mainly function to provide the infrastructure to advance the rule of law with respect to property rights and contracts.
I think the corporations and infrastructures as of our time which is the 21st century are more advance and expensive.

HR Downsizing (HRM ass5)

A distressing 80 percent of downsizers admit that the morale of their remaining employees has been mugged. These sullen, dispirited, hunkered-down folk, lest we forget, are the very people who are supposed to revitalize your enterprise and delight your customers.
Ronald Henkoff in Fortune, January 10, 1994
Companies are like human, they have their strengths and weaknesses. I can say that the worst weakness of the company is when it decides to have their downsizing.
Before we discuss about company’s downsizings we will first define and elaborate the meaning of down sizing.
These findings was based on the downsizing experience in America.
Study Findings
Following are some of the highlights of the Downsizing Study Team's findings from our investigation of benchmarked organizations:
Senior leadership plays a vital role in downsizing.
We found that successful downsizing resulted when senior leadership became involved early on in the process and continued to participate actively, remained visible and accessible, and was perceived by employees to be their source of communications concerning major downsizing actions.
Causes of Downsizing
Downsizing causes resentment and resistance in surviving employees
Downsizing if not handled carefully will cause financial set backs
HR management must handle employees, both survivors and former, with

Over communication is impossible during downsizing.
We found that honest and open communication of what was happening to the organization during the downsizing is what employees most want from their organization's leadership. Moreover, the communication flow must be two way, with management listening to employees as well as the converse.
Planning for downsizing begins with getting the right people together.
This includes senior leadership, human resource executives, and labor representatives; all of whom play key roles in strategic downsizing planning.
Information not normally required in an organization's day-to-day operations becomes critical during downsizing.
For example, management requires information for planning and monitoring the staff reduction, and employees need information to help them decide on a course of action. Most of this information is supplied internally by human resource offices; additional information can be obtained from other organizations that have successfully downsized.
Successful planning for downsizing includes the development of business plans from various departments within the organization.
Requiring each department within an organization to develop a business plan helps ensure that the managers of those departments are involved in the planning; it also builds support for the effort.
Identification of work processes that will not be needed in the future organization is vital to the success of the downsizing action.
This identification effort also helps protect those processes that are key to the organization's future from being affected by the downsizing.
Incentives such as early retirement and buyouts work well and are popular with employees. Early retirement incentives allow employees to retire with either full or reduced pension benefits at an earlier age than normal; buyouts provide a lump sum payment to employees in exchange for their leaving the organization voluntarily, regardless of whether they are eligible for early or regular retirement.
The use of multiple strategies and techniques to accomplish goals for downsizing helps to leverage the outcome.
Our partners found that not all downsizing strategies worked exactly as planned, with some not working well at all and others exceeding expectations. The concurrent use of multiple strategies, therefore, helps ensure the success of the downsizing process.
Organizations that have successfully downsized provided career transition assistance to both separated and surviving employees.
Among the services provided are career counseling, personal counseling, career/skill and career transition training, relocation assistance, outplacement assistance, resume­­writing assistance, access to office equipment, paid time off, child care, financial counseling, and access to job fairs and to Internet job placement sites.
Monitoring progress is a chief component of successful downsizing.
Those organizations that took the time to periodically review their procedures, learn from their mistakes as well as their successes, and incorporate what was learned from these periodic assessments into their downsizing procedures found that they could minimize adverse impact in ongoing downsizing processes and complete future downsizings in a more streamlined fashion.
Successful Downsizing Depends on the Survivors
A key conclusion of this report is that the success or failure of a downsized organization depends on the workforce remaining after the downsizing. A well-planned and -managed downsizing process, which the survivors perceive as having been fairly and humanely administered, promotes trust and faith in management and in the future of the organization among these employees and empowers them to provide improved service.
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/papers/benchmrk/downsize.html

COMDDAP 2009 we've been there..:-)

What does COMDDAP means?COMDDAP is an association of the country's top information technolgy businesses. Its primary objective is to promote the sustainable development of the of the country's information technology industry through voluntary collaboration of its member companies. It is the goal of COMDDAP to be able to provide its members general views and updates from different sectors - private and government, and highly regarded individuals to further uplift the morale and knowledge of its organization.The vision of promoting and elevating the standards of Information technology (IT) in the Philippines fueled a group of prominent computer companies to form the Computer Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines or COMDDAP. Its initial member-companies represent the world's leading makers and providers of computer products, solutions and peripherals.The Venue The activity was held at The Apo View Hotel at J. Camus Street Davao City. The Expo last for 3 days, it was scheduled last July 2-4, 2009. We registered 4 days before the event so that they can reserve a slot for us.The Discussions we have joinedWe join two discussions, the first presenter is Mr. Celmer L. Santos from Jupiter Systems, Incorporated. He discussed about their system, which is the ERP system. There company focuses on selling cars, example of it are Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi. The Jupiter system also has Service Management General Features which focus on Advance bookings or Customer appointments, Operation maintenance or FLAT rates, Repair order, Repair Estimates, Customer Service History, Technician Time-in or Time-out, Parts requisitioning and picking, Service invoicing, Warranty claims and processing, Field Service Actions(Campaigns).The second presenter was the Market Development Manager of the HP Philippines, Mr. Leonard Zapa. He discussed about their latest product, the Thin Client.The Thin client Thin clients are computing devices that function as an access device on a network. These solid-state devices connect over a network to a server where the bulk of the processing takes place. Thin clients have no hard drive, allowing for more secure storage of data and applications on the server. In fact, keystrokes, mouse events and screen images are all that is sent between the client and server. This makes the device much more secure than a standard desktop or notebook computerWith no hard drive, fan or other moving parts, thin clients have a much longer lifespan than standard computers and use significantly less power. Lower maintenance costs are another benefit as software application updates, virus scanning and patches can be executed on the server. Deployment costs are also reduced as thin clients can be remotely configured and do not need to be set up individually. Break-fix simply requires replacing the thin client.The thin client is very useful if we would consider this things that very important in a company:Desktop replacement costsNetwork securityData access to mobile or remote workersSupporting application software on diverse hardwareEnsuring your data remains accessible and secureBenefits of Thin client:Enhanced Security-Unlike a traditional desktop or notebook computer, no applications or data are stored locally on the thin client. This makes them easy to replace if lost, stolen or damaged. Easier manageability-Thin clients are managed at the server, located within the data center. The client hardware has fewer points of failure and lacks a hard drive for storage providing protection from viruses and malware. Thin clients connect to servers via web browsers or remote desktop software. Depending on the functionality the user needs.High reliability-Thin clients are ideal for environments unsuited for traditional desktop computers like dusty, remote or space-constrained environments. They can be mounted invisibly behind a flat panel monitor,Increased energy efficiency-Thin clients offer significant savings in power usage over traditional desktops.Lower total cost of ownership-The increased security, reliability and ease of management contribute to a lower total cost of ownership for your client computing devices. With a longer useful lifespan, thin clients contribute to cost savings.Reflection:The event for me was successful, it is my first time to join an exhibit like that and I was amazed of the new technologies that I have seen. The presenters were organized, and they impressed us with their products. If only I am rich, I would buy all their products (char lang…hehe). The product of HP which is the Thin Client is impressing because the product is small but it can do different tasks. The product is really useful for businesses to lower their cost in investing to CPU’s which will only last for a shorter time compared to the thin Client. The Jupiter Systems which presents about their systems also impressed us, when we looked at their system, it is simple but it has unique functionalities. Even though we can’t relate that much in the products that they are selling the focus is on their system. Their presentation is fun, they had distributed tokens for some students who can answer their questions. I was given a chance to answer too but I did not got the right answer, but its ok after all one of our classmate got some prize. After the presentation, we went out of the room to see the different booths of the different companies. They have different products that are really useful to us. I think the event was really successful.References:http://www.jupitersystems.com.ph/http://www.comddap.org/http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF04a/12454-12454-321959-338927-89307.htmlhttp://www.hp.com/sbso/solutions/pc_expertise/article/thinclients_consider.htmlhttp://www.hp.com/sbso/solutions/pc_expertise/article/thinclients_consider.html

Company's best IT Practices (MIS ass1)

The company I chose, GH Office Depot Company profile....

GH Office Depot is a company which sells different products specifically it is called as a supermarket-type of stationery store. It started as a small office stationery dealer in year 1967. The GH Office Depot carries in its inventory more than 12,000 items of office items to serve its clients. The company keeps on updating and upgrading its list of items to cope up with the current trend in office management. And to serve its client with the latest and most up-to-date office supplies and equipments.In Relation to our task:The company has only one IT personnel. He is the one who manages the system of the company. The company uses different kinds of systems example of those is the POS or Point of Sales System, I think almost all of company’s uses that kind of system especially those who cater big transactions. When we say IT practices what comes first to our mind is computer related works, well it’s true that all IT practices are related to computers. In GH the usage of Technology is very essential due to the increasing demand and to the development of the company. They use different facilities; some of those are the Biometrics Scanner and the Bundy Clock. The InterviewThe said interview that we had conducted is successful; their personnel answered all our questions related to their IT practices. He said that because of their It practices could help a lot in their day to day transactions. Reflections:Based on our interview, I think it is better for the company to be updated to the fast changing technology. If you would ask me why, it is because if the company is updated they could give the services needed by their customers. Technology can be a big factor to company’s success it can lessen the company’s burden when it comes to communication. As a matter of fact, the company uses the online monitoring of employees for their boss to know what is happening in his company while he is not around.References:http://ghofficedepot.com/about.htm