Implementation of SQA tools in an Organization Free-Samples

Question: Discuss about the Implementation of Software Quality Assurance. Answer: Introduction Software Quality Assurance (SQA) is a set of processes that are applied in association with a particular project to validate and verify the adherence of the project components and activities with the defined quality standards and specifications. It is a process that enhanced the quality of a particular procedure or a product. Correct Procedure for the Implementation of Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Implementation of SQA tools and processes in an organization requires detailed planning and analysis. It is necessary to make sure that the implementation process is well-planned in advance to avoid any loopholes and errors in the later stages. SQA tools were decided to be implemented in the ABC organization. However, it was found that the implementation process was associated with numerous issues. These issues that were listed after the in-house evaluation were categorized in the categories as assistance training, resistance, time, automation, initiation implementation communication, process, tool layout, tool analysis and verification, governance and management (Scarpino and Kovacs 2008). The correct procedure should have used more focus on the process that was required to be followed. For instance, the implementation of any of the new tools and concepts leads to many changes for the employees in terms of business activities and operations. The case was the same with ABC as the manual activities around quality assurance were now being converted to their automated counterparts. It was necessary to make sure that a detailed planning around the processes was involved and a gradual transition was made rather than following the big-bang approach for implementation of the tools. Once the planning and procedures were in place, the next step should have been in association with the trainings. Training is an activity that is often overlooked and not paid due attention. However, in case of ABC organizations attempt to implement SQA tools, training would have played a significant role. For instance, there are resources that are engaged with the organization that do not have a pr ior experience on SQA tools and automation testing. Instructing such resources to perform their business activities using these tools without any sort of training is sure to cause errors and deterioration of productivity levels (Parthasarathy and Sharma 2016). It was therefore required for the organization to develop a training plan and a training schedule for the end users. Also, the layout of the tool and its underlying features were required to be set up in such a manner that the user experience with the same was enriched. There were issues in the tool layout as well that led to confusions and ambiguities. The training procedure should have therefore included the explanation of the tool layout along with the navigation associated with the same. As stated earlier, a step by step approach should have been adapted instead of a big-bang implementation of the SQA tool. It would have provided the resources with the required timeframe to adapt to the behavior and functionality of the to ol along with its usage. Every organization has its own set of activities and departments along with their respective needs and requirements (Khaddaj and Horgan 2015). The level of automation along with the applicability of the tool therefore varies from one organization to the other. In case ABC, there are 40 different departments and a few require and some of the departments do not require an enhanced level of automation in terms of quality assurance. However, there was no analysis done in this aspect and it was assumed that automation would fit to the needs of one and all. The correct procedure would have included a detailed analysis on the level of automation required along with analysis of the tool. There were also several risks that could have emerged during the implementation of SQA tools in terms of technical and operational errors or security concerns. Governance and risk management was therefore required as a procedure to be applied to the same (Huang 2014). The order of procedures that should have been used and applied in ABC organization include planning and processing, training plan and schedule, estimation of automation levels, UI and navigational aspects of the tool, reviews and evaluations in the same order. In-House and External Evaluation There are numerous evaluation methods and these methods and processes can be carried out either externally or with the utilization of the in-house resources and entities. A comparison of the in-house and external evaluation is summarized in the table below. Parameters In-house Evaluation External Evaluation Entities Involved Quality Assurance team of the organization along with senior managers and leaders Technical and quality experts having specialization in the field Major areas of focus Integration with the rest of the systems, adherence to the organizational policies and standards, fulfillment of the provided specifications Level of customer satisfaction and ease of usability, fulfillment of the functional and non-functional aspects Level of Independence The evaluators are required to report their findings to the organizational departments and several heads of the departments (Winkler and Biffl 2014) The evaluators have statutory obligations and are not dependent upon any of the internal entities Costs There are several hidden costs that emerge in case of in-house evaluation in terms of the cost of tools, reporting and resources The costs in this case are fixed as per the contractual terms agreed upon by both the parties Incident Reporting Reporting of the findings and incidents are quicker and organized in case of in-house evaluation as there is a complete knowledge of the correct person to report the incident to There may be delays in the reporting of the incidents that are identified due to the presence of the intermediary channels in between Risk Management It is easier for the internal evaluators to suggest measures for control and management of the risks that may emerge in association with the activity or a process These evaluators are specialized in their fields but have a limited knowledge regarding the organization. The management of the risks may or may not fall in line with the organizational policies Reports Detailed reports compatible with the documentation structure of the organization are provided by the in-house evaluators Reporting is brief and to-the-point in this case In-house evaluations often comprise of the exact requirements as per the organizational policies and requirements. Evaluation are carried out with an integrated approach which often goes missing in the case of external evaluations since there is just a component or a system provided for the evaluation. Evaluation of assurance of the performance in the integrated environment therefore cannot be carried out by the external evaluators. On the other hand, external evaluators are more equipped in terms of the skills sets and expertise to understand the customer expectations and requirements as they have an elaborated view of the entire process and external environment (Lee 2014). The case is not the same with internal evaluators as they are restricted to a limited environment. Also, there are certain defects and issues that may be identified by in-house evaluators only such as the incompatibility of the system or process with the systems in other departments or the non-adherence to the particular standard or policy followed in the organization. Similarly, there are certain issues that can be evaluated only by the external evaluators that include the required levels of customer acceptance and satisfaction along with the accepted usability requirements (Voas, 2013). Project Progress Control Regimes There are several control regimes that may be applied to the ABC organization and its procedure for the implementation of SQA tools in its architecture. The first and the foremost shall include the development of plans and baselines for the procedure to stick to in order to avoid any of the deviations and errors in the path. It would control the risks and uncertainties that may be associated with the procedure and would therefore result in the successful outcomes (Bhuiyan and ElSabbagh 2014). The second control regime that may applied shall include the use of automated tools such as resource management, information management along with incident reporting to have a detailed account of the activities that are carried out along with the tracking of the same at any point of time. It is also necessary to have an adequate level of governance in the organization in order to control the flow and implementation of the processes and procedures that are implemented. The regime shall be followed in case of ABC organization as well with a dedicated governance bodies set up comprising of managers and system experts (Yiannakos 2011). These resourc es shall carry out audits and reviews to highlight the areas of improvement along with the loopholes that may be associated with the processes. Training is another method that may be applied in order to have a better progress of the project of the implementation of SQA. Trainings would provide the resources and the end users with the ability to adapt to the functionalities and features of the tool. Also, it would provide an opportunity to execute the features with much ease and convenience without any errors which would lead to enhancement of the productivity levels (Radlinski, 2011). Documentation and reporting is another method that would control and put a check on the deviations associated with the implementation procedure. Documentation of the project activities along with frequent reporting of the progress shall be made mandatory to allow the senior management and leadership to have the knowledge of the exact status and the issues associated with the project. Also, these report s and documents shall be placed on a shared location such as SharePoint or a shared folder. It would provide the resources and leadership with the ability to review the activities accomplished at any point of time. This practice would prove to be fruitful in case of the occurrence of a risk or the changes made by the client (Collofello 2006). Conclusion Software Quality Assurance (SQA) is a process that can enhance the quality of the system and procedures if implemented correctly. However, there are several mistakes that are given shape by the organizations during the implementation of SQA that range from incorrect estimation of requirement, inadequate governance and trainings along with insufficient planning and analysis. It is required for the organizations to therefore avoid such loopholes and carry out detailed planning and analysis for the implementation process. References Bhuiyan, Nadia, and ElSabbagh, Habib. 2014. "A Quality Assurance Model For Airborne Safety-Critical Software". Journal Of Software Engineering And Applications 07 (03): 162-176. doi:10.4236/jsea.2014.73018. Collofello, Js. 2006. "Software Quality Assurance For Maintenance". IEEE Software 4 (5): 46-51. doi:10.1109/ms.1987.231418. Huang, Ai Ming. 2014. "Study On CMM-Based Software Quality Assurance Process Improvement - A Case Of The Educational Software Quality Assurance Model". Advanced Materials Research 1049-1050: 2032-2036. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1049-1050.2032. Khaddaj, Souheil, and Horgan, Gerard. 2015. "A Proposed Adaptable Quality Model For Software Quality Assurance". Journal Of Computer Science 1 (4): 482-487. doi:10.3844/jcssp.2005.482.487. Lee, Ming-Chang. 2014. "Software Quality Factors And Software Quality Metrics To Enhance Software Quality Assurance". British Journal Of Applied Science Technology 4 (21): 3069-3095. doi:10.9734/bjast/2014/10548. Parthasarathy, Sudhaman, and Sharma, Srinarayan. 2016. "Impact Of Customization Over Software Quality In ERP Projects: An Empirical Study". Software Quality Journal. doi:10.1007/s11219-016-9314-x. Radlinski, Ukasz. 2011. "A Conceptual Bayesian Net Model For Integrated Software Quality Prediction". Annales UMCS, Informatica 11 (4). doi:10.2478/v10065-011-0032-5. Scarpino, John J., and Kovacs, Paul. 2008. "An Analysis Of A Software Quality Assurance Tool's Implementation: A Case Study" IX (2): 146-151. Voas, J. 2013. "Assuring Software Quality Assurance". IEEE Software 20 (3): 48-49. doi:10.1109/ms.2003.1196320. Winkler, Dietmar, and Biffl, Stefan. 2014. "Guest Editorial: Special Section On Software Quality Assurance And Quality Management". Software Quality Journal 22 (3): 467-468. doi:10.1007/s11219-014-9244-4. Yiannakos, Andrew. 2011. "Quality Assurance And Quality Control In The Software Development Process". ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes 9 (2): 130-132. doi:10.1145/1012467.1012480.

Amazon Companys Marketing Managment

Discuss the reasons for Amazon’s evolution of supply chain and distribution systems in the US. Use diagram or otherwise to illustrate and discuss Amazon’s current distribution network in the US. It would be useful if you can extend the discussions to two-tier network distribution where possibleAdvertising We will write a custom case study sample on Amazon Company’s Marketing Managment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Amazon succeeded due to the benefits derived from simplicity and speed in the US market. These two benefits are instrumental towards the consumer base of its products. Amazon emerged as a very successful bookstore across the globe within a very short time. One of the factors that boosted the company’s supply chain in the United States was the low level of inventories. In addition, the task of carrying out supply and stock books were left under the care and request of wholesalers. As a resul t, publishers were also linked closely with the company. The latter were awarded higher discounts than the wholesalers although their efficiency seemed to be rather low. Moreover, it took a relatively short time to make order fulfillment for customers. The time taken for this procedure was less than one week in most cases. The company also expanded the capacity of its distribution centers in order to facilitate prompt movement of stock from one region to another. The stock of the company in terms of the number of title also grew steadily within the first three years. Moreover, the logistics department of Amazon also grew rapidly due to additional investments. As already mentioned, the time taken to effect deliveries was significantly reduced due to the expansion that had taken place. However, the fast pace of competition in the online book selling stores prompted Amazon to devise better growth strategies that were in tandem with the market needs. Hence, more distribution centers wer e established in order to improve the physical infrastructure of the company. On the same note, supplier agreements of the same nature were initiated in order to boost the product range. The desire to optimize the operations of its networks was yet another important area of focus for Amazon. In any case, both the shipping and stocking activities experienced cost reductions within three years after the above initiatives were adopted. Moreover, there was marked improvement in the delivery of quality services to customers. The current distribution network of Amazon in the US makes use of distribution fulfillment space. It has been expanded by forty percent to a total of 53 centers. Other six distribution facilities that were added recently have improved efficiency of delivery. Besides, it has improved the market presence of Amazon due to large fulfillment centers as shown in the diagram.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get yo ur first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Q # 2: What is Amazon’s inventory management policy? Do you think that this is the best policy? Give two other inventory management strategies Amazon could use as part of its inventory management policy. The inventory management policy focuses more on the best method that customers can use to manage their orders. For instance, the company uses refined software that can be used to offer forecasts for demand in the market so that it can meet the expected needs of consumers. This policy is necessary in order to avoid excess supply that may not be bought within the anticipated time. The allocation of certain amounts to direct vendors and wholesalers has also been established as a buying rule. The supply management systems have been integrated in such way a way that the systems that handle importation, warehousing and inventory programs are separate, but work as a unit. The best price from suppliers is also an important policy consi deration for Amazon. Therefore, it has executed cascading rules of buying. These rules enable the company to determine the best options that can be adopted to fetch the best price and delivery options for suppliers. Although the above inventory management policies have been used successfully for a long time, there are other management systems that the company can still adopt in its online marketing business. For instance, Amazon can opt to use a barcode system in managing its inventory.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Amazon Company’s Marketing Managment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This system of inventory management system has been proved to be effective due to its high level of accuracy. It has a computerized cash register located at the point of sale. The data obtained from the inventory sales are transferred immediately in the system and later used in the maintenance of user statistics. The data obtained from the system can then be used to make investment decisions. It is imperative to note that warehouses can also adopt the use of barcode inventory system. The entire incoming inventory can be controlled using a radio frequency identification (RFID) signal installed in the barcode. The flow of inventory within a warehouse is also by a barcode system. Q # 3: Identify and discuss some of the supply chain management issues Amazon faced in its European markets. What were some of the potential risks faced in its European market supply chain, and how were they mitigating the risks? There were myriads of challenges that were faced in Europe before the close of 2003. For instance, the desire to reorganize its distribution network was a real cause of concern bearing in mind that the growing demand for its products needed an urgent action to be taken. The management at Amazon saw the significance of embracing business structure and market positioning. There was still a lot of sp ace for improving the supply chain management although the latter had been optimized in most parts of Europe. The operations of Amazon in Europe were still lagging behind by 2003. In other words, the volume of sales in Europe was far much below the similar operations in the United States. Hence, the product offering was to be expanded and realizing better marketing activities as it was the case with the United States. However, it was a difficult task to assess the degree of centralization required in adopting new services. For example, it would not be easy to group tasks that were being done separately. Putting these tasks together would require thorough planning. As a result, the operations of the supply chain management in Europe could not easily merge market sufficiency and flexibility within the required time. Moreover, there was prevailing challenge in the European market in terms of the system of product offering, stocking technicalities in order to attain effective submission to customers and also the methods to use in improving the relationship with suppliers.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Finally, it was also challenging the degree of centralization or de-centralization to adopt. These risks were mitigated by employing strategies used in the US market. However, slight modifications were carried out on the strategies used in the US so that they could be compatible with the case in Europe. Q # 4: Briefly discuss what are PRM and CRM. Discuss how Amazon used EDI to successful implement its PRM and CRM. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in an organization serves the purpose of assisting in the process of controlling and planning activities that deal with the both the post sale and presale tasks. CRM aims at improving the overall relationship between customers and an organization. Some of the important components of a CRM include field service, technical support, marketing; sales force and call center activities. Hence, CRM assists in understanding the behavior and needs of customers. On the other hand, Amazon has used the Professional Risk Management (PRM) to valida te its skills portfolio in managing its risks in the operations of the supply chain management. In other words, the company uses PRM to assess the risk factor in terms of supply and demand of its products. In addition, PRM is instrumental in assessing price levels in the market so that the company does not run at a loss. Q # 5: What is a push strategy? What is a pull strategy? How would you characterize Amazon’s US and global supply chain strategy? What were the key drivers for Amazon to select the appropriate supply chain strategy in the US, and for the global market? When products move from one party to another, it is called a push strategy. This term is sometimes linked with the pull strategy to denote exchange of goods between two parties. Both of them can either receive or send goods to the other party. It is common knowledge for consumers to pull products toward themselves in order to satisfy their needs. On the other hand, pushing of goods and services to the end user s by supplies for the sake of optimizing production and volume of sales usually takes place. Hence, the net effect generated is known as the push-pull strategy. The global and the US supply chain strategy for Amazon indeed follow the push-pull strategy in spite of slight modification. For instance, there are suppliers on one side who push the products to Amazon. In this case, they do not sell directly to customers in the market. After coding and pricing of these products, selling process to consumers takes place. The company can as well deploy an effective logistics system that can cater for speedy delivery of sold products across the globe. Besides, concurrent engineering can be integrated with supply chain design in order to boost performance. Q # 6: Identify and discuss the facilitators in the Amazon’s supply chain. Explain how Amazon can apply cross docking strategy with the delivery of its product to its warehouse, or directly to its customers. The Amazon’s supply chain has several facilitators. Although it has a competitive pricing strategy compared to its market rivals, its facilitators in the supply chain have indeed led to massive growth and profitable of the company. For instance, Eddie Bauer is a retailer who is critical in the supply chain of Amazon because Amazon takes care of its inventory. In addition, the company also liaises with shipping companies for logistics purposes. Amazon uses drop shipping with certain assigned shipping companies. There are also wholesalers who are key suppliers to Amazon stores. Moreover, Amazon also cooperates with direct manufacturers who sell new products at the huge discount prices. When goods from a different location are offloaded and immediately loaded into transport vessels without facilitating any system of storage, it is known as cross-docking. Hence, no storage arrangements are organized whenever cross docking is carried out. Hence, Amazon can opt to deliver goods directly to customers without storage in warehouses. This will significantly reduce delivery time and storage costs. This case study on Amazon Company’s Marketing Managment was written and submitted by user Santiago Stein to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Essay about Asim Partial Assignment

Essay about Asim Partial Assignment Essay about Asim Partial Assignment Memo Date: December 29, 2014 To: David Brown, President From: Asim Mehboob, VP Information Technology Subject: Advisory Committee – System Development I am writing this memo regarding the discussion we had that number of legacy system still in place which cause issues when data from different sources need to be combined. As a result, a new integrated system should be developed, in order for the company to contribute in operations, improve financial reporting and increase productivity. As VP of Information Technology have formed an advisory committee which will support the planning and development of the new system and will also act as the liaison between the development team and the rest of the organization. The committee will be structured so that the needs and asks of all areas in the business will be brought to the discussion and planning phase of the system. I would like to present advisory committee members which have been selected based on their potential skill and knowledge of the business in the organization and I am sure they will focus that the planning, development, implementation of the new system is achieved with the required level of effectiveness and efficiency. The members of advisory committee are as follows, VP of Information Technology The VP of IT role at Spa works is important because the effectiveness of the system development will require appropriate technical and business knowledge of the current system in order to plan and develop the new system and transition from the old one without a substantial and material disruption in the operations. As VP of IT I have the required skill and background about business to provide the requirements and support in planning, organizing, assigning and controlling the setup of the new integrated systems. Director of Operation One of key post is director of operation that lead the business from the front, the person I selected for monitoring day to day operation of all spas and has been with our organization for thirteen years. He has thorough knowledge of the everyday activities of the spas and is also accountable for keeping all the managers informed on all operational modifications. His knowledge and expertise will help us in the planning and implementation of the new system. Director of Finance/Accounts The director of finance/accounts will perform a prime role in budgeting and cost control on this project. He also has a comprehensive and required knowledge of the current financial reporting system and requirements. He was selected for prompt financial reporting and sound analyses for all financial decision. He will assure that this project is completed in the most cost effective manner also provide major input in the development of the new system. HR Manager HR manager chooses â€Å"right man for right place in right time† .Also the latest expansion will mean hiring additional employees, need training and development, incorporate the payroll and the record keeping for employees. HR will also help in making sure the right skill set is hired for the roles required. The person I decided is jack of all and will also play an important role in planning the new system and requirements. Marketing Manager The marketing manager is a well-trained person who has substantial experience in understanding Spa Works, customers and also its competition. The most important roles of the marketing manager are market research, development of marketing strategy and wide range plan, marketing mix and CRM. The accomplishment of the system development depends on the involvement of each member of the Advisory Committee. I am confident that you will agree with the selection of the members of the committee. I will arrange a meeting with the committee members upon your approval on this proposal and for further discussion .They all will be able to respond to any questions or concerns you might have .I hope this project would drive Spa Works towards better reporting, better

Evaluating Vision And Mission Statements At Harley-Davidson Essay

Evaluating Vision And Mission Statements At Harley-Davidson - Essay Example As the discussion stresses  the statement falls short of describing the geographical territory of operations but mentions that the organization offers its products/services in selected market segments. The third characteristic of unique benefits/features/advantages offered is also present as the mission statement declares that Harley-Davidson fulfills dreams through the experience of motorcycling.  From this paper it is clear that the mission statement mentions ‘an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products’ alluding to the characteristics of technology used in production/distribution and fundamental concern for survival through growth and profitability.   It is however important to mention that there is no specific information on the technology used by the organization. Likewise, the growth and profitability plans have not been explicitly stated. The mission statement of Harley-Davidson does not specify the values and beliefs and therefore does not bring o ut the managerial philosophy of the organization. The characteristics of public image sought and self concept are also conspicuous by their absence in Harley-Davidson’s mission statement.  Harley-Davidson’s vision statement is lengthy and difficult to remember by heart so it does not possess the first characteristics of being brief. The achievement of the aspirations can be verified by checking the annual reports, sustainability reports, website and press releases of the organization.   

Business Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Communication - Essay Example An in-depth study of women in management settings, conducted by Korac-Kakabadse and Kouzmin revealed several insights into how communication is often a key factor in women not achieving the same level of power as men in the workplace. It explored the differences in their manner of communication and the way that these differences lead them to have less power. He pointed out, for example, that even the terminologies used in a workplace used to be male-oriented. (Korac-Kakabadse and Kouzmin, 1997, pp. 190-193) As researchers have observed, several positions in an organization would have titles such as â€Å"chairman† or â€Å"salesman†, making them seem like jobs that are designed for males only. Furthermore, women occupied some positions so often that these job titles were associated only with women. Some of the most well known examples of this are â€Å"secretary† and â€Å"manager’s assistant. The reason why this point is essential to this critique is tha t these job titles, both the ones associated with males and the ones associated with females, were altered around the same time that the role of women in the workplace started gaining more power. Women, whom these stereotypes had suppressed for a long time, stood up and fought for change, and achieved it. They had the male associated positions changed to â€Å"chairperson† and â€Å"salesperson†.... In addition, the women-associated job titles now stand replaced by more male-oriented titles such as â€Å"office manager† or â€Å"assistant manager† (Pringle, 1992, pp. 127-60). Even generic terms like â€Å"mankind† now stand replaced with less sexist words like â€Å"humankind†. This is an indicator of how women who seek power started by altering the communication strategies in the world around them, in both the workplace and otherwise. Thus, this supports the theory that communication strategies have a large bearing on the power that women possess in the workplace. Another important area in communication that affects the power that women have in the workplace is nonverbal communication. As researchers have found, even the difference in tones that women and men use often affects their power disparity in the workplace, regardless of the content of their speech. Due to the different roles men and women adopt in their lives, they often develop tones of sp eech accordingly. A man will more likely have a strong and confident voice whereas a woman will have a soothing and comforting tone (Willis, 1990, pp. 40-72). This difference makes it appear that the man is more capable of taking charge in the workplace, whereas the woman is more suited for a less power-oriented career. It would also explain why men are more likely to be trusted with managing and leading large workforces, while women are employed to work for them. This again supports the view that women need to alter their communication strategies if they wish to have more power in the workplace, even if it is their non-verbal communication. A few more studies have observed the communication strategies used by men and women, and have found some startling differences when

The Business Model Of The BBC

The Business Model Of The BBC The business model of the BBC is quite complex as it is funded by the government through TV licence fees, however, it is expected to be many things:  [3]  private and public, profit and non-profit making, a respected and responsible national institution as well as a nimble entrepreneurial entity. The BBC could be defined as an  [4]  intersect organization which demonstrates its conflicting objectives. The BBCs mission is to  [5]  enrich peoples lives with programmes and services that entertain, inform and educate through its various forms of media communication, that is to say, its purpose is to provide a value for money service to the public. It provides value for money through a variety of shows, for example, regarding ethnic minorities which other channels would not consider and also there are a wide range of channels which are dedicated to specific age groups such as CBeebies for kids and BBC Four focuses on documentaries whilst there are different radio stations for various genres of music thus conveying the diversity of the BBC appealing to all kinds of people including minorities through radio, television and internet. This value is also extended through the use of BBC iPlayer which enables viewers to catch up on watch again episodes such as Top Gear. The BBC prides itself on delivering innovative and informative programmes through the revolutionary technology of internet, digital and satellite communications. The BBC claim their vision is to be  [6]  the most creative organisation in the world and their goal is clear which is to be a global icon. They also wish to represent an independent view point on issues such as politics and be a proud representation of Britain. Their main objective is not to earn significant profit but to be globally recognized as a top quality producer of innovative programmes and services via a wide range of mediums and offer the best news coverage in the world. The BBC provides a wide range of shows from entertainment to sports coverage to educational programmes. It is also committed to earning profit through the sale of educational books and TV shows whilst also doing charity work. In addition, the cooperation is dedicated to research and development which has lead to a strong presence on the internet and BBC radio and television are available in over  [7]  99.4% of UK homes. It is mainly based in London, however, through the leadership of  [8]  Mark Thompson he has decided to diversify and move employees to Manchester to change the stereotype of their image as a London cooperation. I think that the present situation is viable; however, a few changes could be made which I will mention later. I believe that the current situation is tenable as the BBC is universally renowned for its productions which will generate cash flow though the sale of programmes and the sheer number of people who watch their news coverage which covers sport to politics. The BBC has done very well as it moulds itself to different areas and markets of the world to appeal to certain people through e.g. BBC world or releasing a BBC channel in Arabic. The cooperation has also divulged itself into the technology side making all its information and programmes easily and readily accessible which will hopefully meet the demands of the people in the ever evolving technology based world we live in. The BBC have the upper hand over BSkyB in the sense that their brand image is internationally recognized and their unique selling point is the originality of its programmes which must carry on as they enri ch peoples lives. Also the plan to go digital must stay on course as when this is complete they will be able to compete with BSkyB as the BBCs services do not need a satellite box and dish. Due to the current situation, the BBC must make slight changes to their business model because of the emergence of BSKYB which has dominated the UK market recently. They are now competing with hundreds of channels thus resulting in less guaranteed viewers because the BBC has  [9]  traditionally taken programmes from internal or external sources and fitted them into their schedule via their two channels to meet the needs of the audience therefore they could make more specific channels like BBC education. Firstly they need to do this because it will be able to compete against the plethora of new channels but also to convince people that satellite television is not necessary as the BBC has it all. However the BBCs income is fixed as the licence fee is set by the government so as its other main competitors are using this profit to expand and increase their range of services whilst the BBC is falling behind therefore the BBC must find new ways of generating more of a cash flow to keep up with its competitors possibly through online advertising. In addition, thanks to the growth of broadband one is now able to stream TV through their computer and access content easily which provides a further threat to the BBC but to which they have taken to their advantage whereby they have introduced BBC iPlayer which has attracted 41 million requests in December 2008 alone. With regard to the future, the BBC cannot carry on being all things to  [10]  everyone this is not viable as they are mainly government funded hence they cannot expected to meet the needs of everyone. I think this does not allow it to focus as there is no clarity because you cannot be all things to all people it is virtually impossible and it is not viable at all due to the increasingly competitive market but needs to be careful as its budget is very limited. The BBC needs to be efficient and the job cuts might be justified as they need to ensure their financial stability and future ambitions. Michael Porter highlights three generic positions which can be implemented to create a competitive and profitable advantage: Cost leadership, focus and differentiation. Cost leadership strategy underlines the fact that the company must become the lowest cost producer but produce a given level of quality which the consumers are happy with. This strategy is illustrated via  [11]  Toyota which supplies quality cars which are low in cost but have marketing skills to use a premium pricing policy. A differentiation generic strategy offers a product or service to consumers which are unique whereby they believe it is better than their rivals. This can be done through creative programmes, strong sales team and developing brand strength. The focus strategy is a middle ground line taken whereby the organization cannot take on either strategy therefore they focus on a narrow and elite market. This will create a relationship in the long term with specific consumers and the organization must provide whenever needed. Out of these three strategies the BBC does have a bit of each strategy; nonetheless, I believe that the main strategy utilized by the company is differentiation with a hint of cost leadership. The main strategy is differentiation because the BBCs brand image is internationally recognized and is well known for its quality programmes. The hint of cost leadership is that they have attempted to minimise cost as much as possible through mainly redundancies and also through the TV licence only costing  £142.50 per year, although an increase, is relatively cheap in comparison with rivals. Through the culmination of these strategies this would provide customers real value for money as well as discouraging potential entrants. 12Porter claims that the main ingredient needed is clarity in combination with one of these strategies. He goes on to say that the companies that do not follow this model do not necessarily fail, however, they fail to maximise and optimise their resources hence this does not put them in a comfortable situation which could have been avoided. Due to the fact that everyone must have a TV licence for their television sets the licence the BBC must provide good value for money and cater to peoples needs. Through differentiation strategy the company is able to grab a hold of the market through customer loyalty and if the quality is to the consumers satisfaction will discourage potential entrants. I believe this is the generic strategy as the BBCs main income comes from TV licence fees so it needs to be unique and this strategy can be only maintained if the BBC carries on offering creative and innovative programmes. There are five industry forces in a competitive market according to Michael Porter: Barriers to entry, Buyer power, Supplier power, Threat of substitutes and Rivalry. With regard to the five industry forces mentioned, the entry barriers of differentiation strategy gives the opportunity to deter potential entrants through customer loyalty in the hope that you gain some kind of monopoly in the market. Buyer power is a strength of differentiation because large buyers have less power to negotiate due to fewer alternatives. The cooperation will also find it easier to pass on supplier costs to consumers as they are willing to pay that bit extra. The company will be well protected from the threat of substitutes due to the consumers attachment of the differentiated company. The brand loyalty will keep consumers from rivals and put the company in a strong position. Overall the strong points of differentiation strategy are that it ensures customer loyalty with guaranteed quality which will discourage and one can pass on costs to the consumer because of their affiliation to the service. From the companys point of view of the company it guarantees consumers and secures stability in the long term. Leadership plays a key role in providing the vision and direction that structures the way in which the company will work in terms of strategy.  [13]  Leaders are expected to deliver and achieve what they set out to do and they also are expected to establish standards and motivate the employees to achieve maximum potential whilst also being totally committed. A leader must act in the interests of everyone and achieve quality communication between all staff. Taking this into account I will now analyse the leadership of the BBC with regard to Mark Thompson. The director-general, Mark Thompson, has decided to pull out of the so called ratings war but as the BBC is a public service broadcaster this should not be its priority. I see this as a strength as it will allow the BBC to make original and refreshing programmes that will offer a range to viewers. As the BBCs revenue comes through the governments implementation of the TV licence this again gives the BBC an advantage because it provides it with assured revenue and stability which guarantees job security for the staff and also ensures that BBCs priority are the viewers and not to gain profit. Another positive is that the government does not intervene in affairs of the BBC which permits the BBC to work in its own way and be unconstrained. Thanks to the leadership of Mark Thompson the BBC is to become more diluted through the  £200 million investment in the new BBC base in Salford Quays which will diversify and dilute its London influence in the hope that it will be seen as more Britis h. The BBCs commitment to technological advancement is a major strength as the demand is growing and it has certainly provided through the launch of BBC iPlayer and the completion of the switchover to digital throughout the whole country. The technology will also enable the need for fewer job requirements and possibly render some staff to leave which will ease the financial situation. The Director-General has also highlighted the need to have no imitation programmes and the return to in depth current affairs coverage which will please viewers as they want something unique. The BBC must also ensure it keeps its coverage of certain sports which attract a wide range of viewers and are extremely popular such as Wimbledon tennis championship, Formula 1 coverage and Match of the Day. Mark Thompson has been a great leader to the BBC as he always sent out emails to staff to underline his aims and objectives which give employees a sense of unity demonstrating his clarity of objectives and communication. When the salaries of executives at the BBC were revealed, Thompson immediately proposed the pay of the top 20 executives to be frozen for the next three years including his salary but also the suspension of bonuses for managers. He has done extremely well when the BBC has received so much abuse and attempted to resolve the issue without kicking up a fuss and enforcing absol ute standards: the sign of a leader. Mr Thompson is courageous and is not afraid to do what others might not, he recognized that redundancies were needed and so that is what he did this could be perceived as ruthless or rather, putting the companys interests at heart. The decision to dilute and diversify from London is in my opinion a weakness of leadership of the BBC as London has always served as an excellent hub to the company and is at the centre of everything. In a way Mr Thompson has contradicted himself because he claims that he wants to dilute the London influence by relocating staff to ensure there is evenness (2004) but a year later he decided that substantial job losses (6,000) were in order from different regional offices then why did he not make redundant those 1,800 going to Manchester. In reality Mark Thompson is a great journalist, however, one cannot expect him to be a great leader as well and this has been exposed during his time through various incidents, Brand-Ross incident and reporting of the war in Iraq, which have put the BBC under some serious pressure and abuse from the media. In 2007, the BBC were faced with losses and shortfalls of up to  £2 billion thus announcing the speeding up of the relocation of staff to Manches ter, nevertheless, I cannot understand how this ploy is supposed to help the situation and further the announcement of up to 3,000 redundancies is clearly not going to help the situation. I think that this is bad decision making and shows the desperation and weakness of the leadership of the company. As well Mark Thompson has shown a lack of control with the regard to the pay of executives at the BBC, it is  [14]  claimed that top 47 paid executives salaries range from  £190,000 to more than  £600,000 which is astonishing even though the BBC has had to lay off more than 2,000 staff. This shows real weakness on behalf of Mark Thompson including the running and decision making in the cooperation as well. I think Mark Thompson is a very direct leader and always has clear objectives or solutions. His main strengths are arguably communication, although, not in person and acting in the interests of the company exhibited by the restructuring of pay and focus on technology. In my opinion, his main weaknesses are his lack of experience and enthusiasm which sometimes leads to uncertainty and does not boost morale of staff. On the basis of what I am told, the priorities of the leadership should be to resolve the job redundancy levels before strikes might severely cripple the company. As the BBC have decided to divulge more into technology they must ensure that it is fully functioning with no problems due to the fact that they have a history with these sort of issues: electronic accounting system which deletes invoices. Probably the most important priority is to complete the move to Manchester to convey that they are serious and committed to diluting the London influence. I believe that there are two main priorities which are key to resolving the BBCs future and ensuring its stability. There needs to be a restructuring of the wage bill at the top of the company the salaries that have been quoted regarding executives and performers are excessive due to the BBC being a public service broadcaster. Through restructuring the wages this will free up some funds and put the interests of the company at heart. Also more attention is needed towards staff as they are at the hub of what the company does and by creating a sense of unity will hopefully move towards optimum performance because without the staffs capabilities and willingness nothing can be achieved. The relocation to Manchester must be completed as soon as possible because this will demonstrate the devotion and the ability to achieve their objectives. In addition, the BBC must stick to its aim to go digital which will help with their increase in the use of technology and provide consumers with a wide variety of ways to keep up with programmes and watch them in the highest quality possible. The BBC has had to deal with an array of issues over its time and there are situations which could have been handled differently. The slowness of the relocation to Manchester is a problem because firstly it shows that the BBC are not serious about diluting their London influence and also if the staff are not onboard then the move will not reap its expected rewards. In addition, the magnitude of redundancies that are occurring at the company does not reflect well on the situation and creates an unpleasant vibe with staff possibly leading to strikes causing turmoil. When the BBC releases technology it must be fully functional because people lose confidence and trust. If there are any issues that give consumers an excuse to purchase an alternative and then the cooperation will acquire a bad reputation. The other issue is the pay and behaviour of executives and presenters. The executives pay is outrageous and upsets the public as their licence fee money is being wasted on the salaries of overpaid executives further damaging the BBCs image. It is clear that one of the main problems that could have been tackled in a different way is that of the relocation to Manchester. There is no problem with the idea itself, however, there seems to be a lack of drive and determination to progress by Mark Thompson and the move only seems to lead to further redundancies. In summer 2008, it seemed as if the BBC were not serious about relocating which gives us a reflection of the ambition of Thompson to complete this move of certain departments. I believe the relocation should have been completed by now and this is a sign of weakness for the BBC because they have been funded by  [15]  millions of public and private money so there should be no excuses. Also the fact that they are now offering  [16]  generous relocating packages to London staff is absurd because they are employees of the company hence they should either agree to it or not. On the face of it, it seems a pretty desperate move by the BBC as employees should be excited about moving into a modern base and that is the way I believe the BBC should have tackled it in order to convince employees to move through the excitement factor of being a part of something special. Culminated with all this there are lay-offs occurring in order to save money and then we see them offering these charitable packages. Also I believe there is a contradiction because the majority of these redundancies are to come from different regional offices so the idea to become more British by relocating to Manchester will not work as other offices will have fewer employees. If they want the BBC to become more British then they should employ people from other regions rather than relocating London based staff but the BBC defend this  [17]  position claiming they need their experience and ironically some of them will not even move. I believe that the redundancy issue should have been tackled by more London based staff facing the sack. In my opinion, the BBC are taking the relocation in the right direction in the sense that this move needs to be completed as soon as possible and they need their experienced London staff to ease the transition. It is now paramount to complete this move and if the relocation package speeds things up then it is a positive move. The desired outcome would be that everything is up and running by 2011 because it has taken too long. Despite the BBCs previous track record regarding technology which has caused them numerous problems the release of BBC iPlayer sparked several issues and frustrated viewers all over the country.  [18]  100,000 people registered for the iPlayer during its first weekend of release which demonstrates the popularity of BBCs media and this problem could have easily been remedied through applying various tests and ensuring a pretty much flawless version. I believe if it had been fully functional when released the BBC would have gained applause and restored the confidence of the nation in them. The desired outcome of this case is very simple which is to have a fully functioning media player which provides viewers with what they want and the ability to carry out any function that was promised. The BBC has become shrouded lately in controversy and has been accused of bias which affects their global iconic image and their supposed independent view point on issues. Taking the Brand and Ross incident, this has damaged the BBCs integrity and generated massive media attention once again denting their image. This issue should have never arisen in the first place if the BBC had been more stringent and set out the rules with these two presenters the idea would have never popped into their heads as it clearly was unprofessional and uncalled for. It was a very daft and unnecessary incident which has smeared BBC radio twos reputation. The BBC would hope now that this sets a precedent and is now a warning to those others to not generate such extreme media pressure needlessly. Last of all, the BBC must now tackle the issue to do with salaries of executives and presenters which it has dealt with to a certain extent. The issue initially begun because Mark Thompson himself is earning an incredible amount,  [19]  Ã‚ £647,000 basic salary, which sets the standard that other top executives can as well. The BBCs way of tackling this issue was to publish the salaries to show their cautiousness with licence payers money because once the MPs expenses came to the light they were bombarded with complaints. This could have been tackled by completely restructuring the pay of the whole company which is unlikely to occur or simply not revealing the salaries. The second option is the easiest and seems sensible because the BBC should have known that when they released these figures it would cause mass uproar as they are a public service broadcaster. Taking into account everything, the best but not easiest solution is to restructure the pay of executives as they have don e with certain presenters such as  [20]  Graham Norton who earned  £2.5 million a year before agreeing to a pay cut and Bruce Forsyth. This will certainly ease the financial pressure on the BBC by reducing the magnitude of redundancies and manage the  £3.6 billion budget to maximum efficiency. Overall, the BBC has had its ups and downs but that is possibly down to the management and leadership of Mark Thompson. He is a respected journalist, however, this does not mean that he will be an implausible chief executive and this has been reflected in some of his decisions. The main two issues that must be resolved are the completion of the move to Salford Quays and the financial structure of the company with regard to executives and presenters. If both of these are achieved the BBC will be able to do what it does best which is to provide innovative and informative programmes and ensure value for money for licence fee payers.

Luddites, Neo-Luddites, and Technophobes: Confused by Technology :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Luddites, Neo-Luddites, and Technophobes: Confused by Technology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In today’s fast-paced society, there are many who wish we could just go back to the â€Å"good ‘ol days,† a magical time, possibly in the fantastic cultural memory of the 1950s, where we weren’t surrounded by computers and pagers and cell phones and all manner of surveillance and recording.   Many say that these things add hassle to our lives, and that the digital revolution is simply incompatible with our analog minds and souls.   Such people are often condescendingly called â€Å"old fogies† when they are, typically, older, confused by technology, and fearful of change of any sort.   There are, though, hearty subcultures which embrace a return to a less complicated time with intelligence and reason, generally known as â€Å"Neo-Luddites,† after the early 19th century English protesters who destroyed industrial machinery.   This, however, is a misnomer, as the many groups claiming ideological ancestry seldom refer to anything other than the popular anti-technology belief.   And, while the wealthy industrialists put down the Luddite rebellion, their ideals have survived, and probably will survive as long as technology continues to be so totally complex and separate from nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The original Luddites were technological guerillas who, from 1811 to 1813, and sporadically in the next three years, broke machines (most often knitting machines) throughout Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leistershire, the three Midland counties in England, as well as starting riots and specifically terrorizing machine owners (Bailey 111-114, 18-19).   Machine-breaking was not a new form of rebellion, and the Luddites did little to modify it; there were many copycat breakings, but there were also many unconnected breakings, in the same time (11).   The chief distinguishing characteristic of the Luddites was their name, and that they had one:   rebelling â€Å"textile workers in the Midlands and north of England† used the invented name â€Å"Ned Ludd†Ã¢â‚¬â€-or â€Å"General Ludd† or â€Å"King Ludd†Ã¢â‚¬â€-in place of a leader, becoming known as followers of that name:   Luddites (x, 139). Sadly, the growing popularity of this name opened up a new area of problems.   The Luddites’ standard machine-breaking eventually inspired others to commit acts of violence in their name, which Luddite purists apparently detested enough to cease their breaking to prove the distinction (144).   Although in the thick of the machine-breaking fervor, though, there were many who took the chaotic opportunity to commit unrelated crimes in their name,