Research Topics: Environmental Economics

Environmental Health

INTRODUCTION Arsenic exposure in food and drinking water is among the fastest growing environmental and health concerns in the United Kingdom, China and Bengal. In fact, arsenic exposure by itself has caused multi-million dollar losses and still a progressing dilemma in these countries. The arsenic exposure is among the major concerns of the 3 countries as it hinders growth and creation of job opportunities. The arsenic exposure phenomena has led to the unemployment of over a million workers who were distributed within various establishments were they were poisoned by arsenic, totaling to financial losses of billions of dollars. From these records, the arsenic exposure has indeed become one of the most feared health concerns in the world. Important changes in the understanding and management of arsenic exposure in food and drinking water have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that arsenic exposure can be conceptualized from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive program for the detection and further prevention of arsenic contamination have served effectively in lowering the prevalence of arsenic exposure among citizens of UK, China and Bengal. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings and countries also affected with arsenic exposure. Government leaders and officials of affected countries have recognized that some of their citizens do not appreciate so much the quality of service that they offer in trying to at least temporarily control the arsenic exposure situation. Hence, their citizens may have the tendency to shy away from knowing the grave impacts of continued exposure to arsenic because of this bad impression they have on their respective governments’ efforts. Background of the Problem              In the United Kingdom, China and Bengal, arsenic is one of the most prevalent sources of contamination. People from these countries are in the red zone in terms of alarming number of arsenic exposure cases. In spite of the increasing popularity of these countries as an urban tourist destination, news of prevalent arsenic exposure has affected the influx of tourist and the revenue acquired from this business. The problem on its containment for example, is one of the growing concerns of these countries. In addition, protecting their citizens from further exposure to arsenic by any means is one of the highly significant priorities of these countries. Government officials in these countries in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) are applying various strategies that will help contain the occurrence of arsenic exposure in their respective countries.             One of the main issues relevant to the need of assessing experiences of the arsenic exposed citizens of these countries is the new strategies introduced and implemented by the government of these countries in an effort to control the arsenic exposure. With the introduction of information and communication Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Environmental Health

INTRODUCTION Arsenic exposure in food and drinking water is among the fastest growing environmental and health concerns in the United Kin...

The Impact of Smoking Ban in Hong Kong to Ruby Tuesday

Franchisee Advantage             As a global company, Ruby Tuesday advocates a mission to provide better environment for its customers as well as employees.  The implementation of smoking ban in Hong Kong restaurants will serve as a conducive setting to integrate this corporate influence to franchisees.  Franchise owners can readily possess the advantage of gaining their reputation that they diligently follow the mind-set and features of the global company as reflected by complying with the mission.  As a result, they can exploit the customer base that serves as regular customers of Ruby Tuesday in other countries (global marketing).  This is in conjunction with the fact that Hong Kong is an international business hub so numerous foreign investors and businessmen go in the country.  In addition, local customers can also see added-value in the franchisee’s service as it respects laws that proportionally imply its social responsiveness (societal marketing).            Franchisee Support             The 32-year operations of the firm can provide franchisees with knowledge and systems on how to mitigate the effects of smoke ban.  For example, the smoking Hong Kong customers can take home their orders in the firm’s “To Go Curbside” service.  Second, with regards to the outcome of the total smoking ban proposal, the local franchisees can opt to seek the real estate support of the franchisor especially when designing a required floor space and ventilation.  Aside from complying with a law in the offing, this can improve global set-up of the store and provide cost-savings from consultancy and engineering.  Third, the provision for free consultancy services of the franchisor via the Director of Franchise Relations can ease the sales anxiety of franchisees in the future developments of the smoking ban.  The risk can be minimized through business consultancy that can lead to customer assurance and profitability regardless the outcome of the ban.   International Opportunities                         As stated, the smoking ban can serve as competitive advantage for a franchisee located in Hong Kong business hub due to numerous foreigners and businessmen.  In effect, the proliferation of Ruby Tuesday outlets in different countries can increase the benefit of network effect including ease of recognizing a Hong Kong outlet.  Advertising need not be explicit rather come from word of mouth of repeat customers or simply brand retention.  The passing of the smoking ban can also be inelastic with regards to foreign customers as they are expected to follow local laws and customs.  The chance of this idea occurring becomes large as most foreigners in Hong Kong are within the upper class, business and professional sectors of the international community.    Diagnosis (Weakness of Franchising with regards to the Ban)             The smoke ban posts high risk with regards to the future earnings of franchisees.  Hence, a proportional or higher future returns should compensate a franchisee investment.  However, with several financial constraints like required minimum liquid assets, net worth and corporate preference for franchisees that can maintain five stores in different locations, relatively small investors may find it difficult to survive in the business.  The franchisee adjustment when the ban is completely enforced may limit itself from obtaining its required sales that may fall short those required by the controlling and regulating franchisor.  As a last resort, the franchisee may sell the franchise which is allowable.  In the contrary, such sale may extend as the company would have the right to appraise the background and capability of the buyer which can aggravate the already loosing franchisee.               With regards to competition, the smoking ban can take away an option for franchisees to create advertising schemes that can differentiate their similar products with say T.G.I.Fridays.  They will not be able to integrate the firm’s motto of “To Be Chosen More Often” to smoking customers, thus, would have to intensely compete in menu rather environment with T.G.I.Fridays.  This strategy becomes blurred as the two has similar products.  Franchisees can select a strategic location (in its discretion) but the company has to approve it.  This can lead to modifications and other constraints that the franchisee did not expect which can also change his response to the risks involved with the compromise location and strategy.  Lastly, the company-tailored set-up of the stores that merges a restaurant and bar can result to negative network effect.  Although restaurants are less affected by the smoke ban, its adjacent bar is.  When customers of the bar are withdrawn in their right to smoke inside, they would rather choose different location which is detrimental to the restaurant.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Impact of Smoking Ban in Hong Kong to Ruby Tuesday

Franchisee Advantage As a global company, Ruby Tuesday advocates a mission to provide better environment for its customers as...

Impact of External Environment

Introduction             In recent years, companies have found relief with the use of Information Technology (IT) with its Information System (IS) especially when the Internet emerged. They have found ways on how to utilize IT to be able to address complexity with the vast information that are needed to managed effectively thus Information System emerged. Organizations have formulated different strategic IS that will address their needs depending on what kind of information a company has, and the strategies that will provide the company advantages in terms of engineering, research and development, internal communications, customer service and supplier communications. Over the past years, several technologies emerged aside from the internet such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, wireless communications and others.             With this study, the focus will be on the IS strategy of Ford Motor Co. During the past years, we have seen Ford to launch new strategies, some of these failed but some gave the company success. The paper examines the IS strategies being implemented by Ford, using appropriate and effective mode of enquiry. The paper also covers the company’s external environment that may affect Ford’s IS strategies and implementation. It investigates on the impact of the strategies using appropriate consequence analysis technique. The paper forecasts on the significant changes in the field of IT and IS over the next five years that has relevance on Ford Motor including the factors which may influence the changes in the Information system and use of information technology within the Ford Motor Co.   2. Modes of Enquiry             In researching, studying, investigating or examining on a particular topic, organization, person or process, the researcher has to collect data and gather relevant information about the focus of the study. There should be an organized way of gathering data or what is called enquiry. Enquiry is done to be able to produce the knowledge needed. This knowledge is basically the result of extracting different information from different reliable sources.             Knowledge and information are important bases when formulating strategies especially in a system where many interrelated processes or disciplines are dependent on each other. For example, before a company puts up a production system, there are information that need to be addressed first which may what type of products to be manufactured using the system; how can it contribute to productivity; how does the system works and for whom will it work, the advantages and disadvantages of using the system, and how long will it take to put up the system and how much does it costs.             Same is true with Information System; before a company creates its own IS, it should first enquire about the relevant information such as why the company needs it; what problems can it address; how can it contribute to production; innovation, design and engineering; can it provide the company and edge over the competitors, what advantages it can provide as well its downsides; what technologies support the system and what technology does the system supports and many other enquiries needed to be able to determine the usefulness of such system.             All the enquiries provided above are interrelated components collectively used to produce knowledge to solve a problem or problems, address issues or simply to improve some aspects of a business. The system of these interrelated components is known as enquiry system (ES).   An enquiry system consists of three components: the inputs which are the information collected that serves as the building blocks or bases of the knowledge needed to be obtained; the operator which transforms that the inputs into outputs and are basically the things needed to be done in order to achieve the knowledge needed; and the output which is the valid knowledge, the result of the enquiry, the aim of the enquiry which can be used for the advantage of an organization. These components are guaranteed to be correct by the ‘guarantor’ which is the influencing factor of the enquiry system itself. Enquiry is the acquisition of knowledge but people has different ways of how they acquire and perceive knowledge thus there are what are called the modes of enquiry: simple which includes the inductive-consensual and the analytic-deductive modes of enquiry; the complex which includes the dialectic and multiple realities; and the innovative which includes the unbounded systems thinking mode of enquiry. Inductive-consensual literally means an agreement made out of different principles from observed instances. In other words, in this mode of enquiry, there are different observers involved to acquire certain knowledge and together they will agreed on a conclusion and the agreed upon conclusion will be the output or the produced valid knowledge. This enquiry is basically used in making standards or in benchmarking since the data are obtained through comparison of the observed data from the historical data, from the data from a different process or situation, or/and data derived from averaging the data.   For example, a company wants to determine the most probable projected sales next year. To obtain this knowledge, the company usually based the projected sales from the past 5 to 10-year sales, considering variations based on the average change and predictions of marketing experts, and project the sales the following year with an aim to outperform the sales of the competitor. This mode of enquiry has been widely used and accepted but its limitations include inaccuracy since it depends on historical data and predictions of experts and may be unreliable when the external environment that can affect the projected sales is not taken into consideration. Moreover, analytic-deductive is basically the use of logical reasoning to come up with a model on how to solve a problem or improve something. It commonly uses mathematical formula to make complex situations appear to be simple. An example of a complex situation is a manufacturing process which usually starts with design, followed by prototyping, then procurement of materials, assembly, quality control, inspection, and then the final output or the product itself. Without a model with its variables given, it would be very hard to proceed from one step to another. A model is produced through logical assumptions; that is it should answers enquiries such as what if procurement is done first before the design, or what if one step such as the quality control was omitted out of the system, will the model still produce the same kind of product. The guarantor with this mode of enquiry, which guaranteed that the output will be correct, is the logical reasoning of the people involved.             The weakness of the analytic-deductive mode of enquiry is that it gives extreme emphasis on logical consistency that anything that arise as illogical will be dismissed in the analysis when in fact, the more logical way to solve a problem is to consider anything that arises within the problem because in a problem, there could be more than one possible solution.             Multiple realities mode of enquiry combines gathered data and model or theory as the inputs and assume that can be multiple way to define or solve problems. In a multiple reality enquiry system, the observed data (like the one gathered with the use of inductive-consensual enquiry) is placed against a model or theory (like the one formed using the analytic-deductive enquiry) thus, this mode can be considered as a combination of inductive-consensual enquiry and analytic-deductive enquiry.   The result, using the multiple reality enquiry, is a range of different solutions. The best possible solution will be decided upon, thus this mode of enquiry is risky that the chosen solution might not be the best one.                 Dialectic mode of enquiry is also called conflict, which is basically an investigation of truth, or discussion intended to resolve conflict between two contradictory ideas. With this mode of enquiry, there are two contradictory ideas available and these ideas will be debated or compared against each other to determine which is better. An example of this is to decide whether an organization needs to be reorganized or not; or deciding which between two product design should be approved. There should be two teams debating, one against the other, each team should have supporting ideas in order to defend their side.             The last mode of enquiry is the Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST). The term itself signifies that this mode of enquiry means that it considers everything that may affect the system, internally and externally. A good example of UST is when formulating strategy wherein a company conducts an internal analysis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the company. It also conducts external analysis wherein PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) factors are considered to determine the opportunities and threats to the company. With the data gathered from these analyses, the company can now formulate the possible strategies that can enhance its strengths, address the weaknesses, take advantage on the opportunities and prevent the threats.             Comparing the modes of enquiry, Inductive-consensual enquiry and Analytic-deductive have the same limitations in a way that both consider only one output which may be inaccurate or insufficient to solve problems or to provide enough needed knowledge. Multiple realties mode of enquiry on the other hand addresses the limitations of inductive-consensual and analytic-deductive because it provides multiple possible solutions. However, it imposes risks since it depends on the decision-maker on to which solution should be chosen.    The Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) seems to be the best among the modes of enquiry since it considers all the elements that can possibly affect the output. Using UST will provide more valid building blocks of knowledge since there are many possible sources of knowledge. However, UST requires in-depth analysis elements affecting the system and as the term systems thinking implies, this mode of enquiry looks at the system as a whole, that is the interrelatedness of the elements comprising the system.             The following sections use the Unbounded Systems Thinking mode of enquiry to discuss the strategic Information System of the Ford Motor Co. This mode of enquiry is used because Ford Motor moves in a global market wherein the strategies that the company formulates are affected mostly by its external environment, especially the IS strategies which are driven primarily by technologies.   3. Company Profile Ford Motor Company is an American-based leading manufacturer of automobiles; boasting automotive brands such as Ford Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and automotive service brands like Motorcraft and Hertz. Each brand has a unique personality and holds a distinct place in the Ford Motor Company family. It was established on 1903 and has a great contribution to automotive manufacturing by developing the first moving assembly line that uses interchangeable parts, making it possible for the company to put the cars together at much lower cost and with greater reliability and repeatability, a technique that has been proven to be efficient and has helped the company increase production levels, surpassing their competitors and making vehicles more affordable. 4. Internal Analysis             The company operates primarily in the US, Mexico, South America, Canada and Asia Pacific.  Ford is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan and has 327,500 employees. In 2004, Ford has increased pre-tax profit, from .4 billion in 2003 to .8 billion; has cost reductions of almost 0 million and in total has improved automotive cost performance by more than billion over the last two years. It also improved its revenues in North America and its market shares have increased in Europe, South America and Asia.  Half of its worldwide market is in North America and lesser in Asia (ABR, 2005). In recent years, the automobile industry has been revolutionized due to the emergence of various types of information technology (IT). IT has given companies the ability to operate more efficiently and effectively. Special interest has been given by large companies to information technology, as either producers or the large consumers of IT (Allen & Morton, 1994). Ford is one of those companies that belong to the category as large consumer of IT. The utilization of technologies such as the internet, has given Ford a competitive advantage by decreasing the overall time needed to manufacture cars, better share ideas through real time programs, advertise more appropriately targeting demographics and the desires of customers, reinforced product innovation and new technologies, and ultimately to find other ways to gain an edge over the competition.               Ford has been very dependent on its Information System (IS), that IS is incorporated with every operations of the company, from design to manufacturing, from internal communication to customer services and external communications such as advertising. Ford has utilized technology using effective and strategic Information System. 5. Ford’s IS Strategies             Information technology, which is being utilized by most companies today, can be defined as the use of knowledge to make and implement commercial decisions, thus organizations need an established system called information system that will collect, store and manage these knowledge and data and enable them to make the best decision in different situations (Tansey, 2002). As a company involving engineering and manufacturing, all the computing and telecommunications technology, which are classified as IT have application in Ford’s business such as in vehicle and engine research, product engineering techniques, manufacturing automation, and business computing that reaches out to dealers and suppliers (Earl, 1988). Ford was one of the companies who first took advantage of the internet technology as its primary IS strategy to improve and solve problems in operations of the business. For a car manufacturer like Ford, the most common use of IT is the employment of robot on production lines particularly in the areas such as paint spraying where great precision is required (Tansey, 2002). Ford was also able to link the input and output of production lines to suppliers and customers with its just-in-time manufacturing system with the employment of IT that has lowered the company’s production costs through reduced holdings and wastage stocks (Tansey, 2002).             Product innovation is a key factor in Ford’s success, with many products to keep up with the current technology, from its assembly line back in the 1900’s that has revolutionized vehicle production, to the most innovative solutions it is using today. Ford has been exceptional in the area of product innovation using technological innovation driven by IT in order to offer more diverse automobiles and to make manufacturing more efficient. In 2000, Ford partnered with Qualcomm to launch the telematics service called the WingCast in order to rival General Motor’s Onstar (Gilroy, 2000). Wingcast was going to offer an in-vehicle communications and navigation system (Wrlostad, 2002). However, Wingcast was dissolved in 2002 primarily due to buyers were turned off by pricey markups (Eisenstein, 2003) and driven by the combination of the changing technology and changing customer desires (MobileInfo, 2002). Ford is still using telematics with its delivery fleet to monitor fuel costs making its fleet maintenance cost decreased (Eisenstein, 2003). Ford set up a wide area network linking manufacturing plants, dealers and suppliers to be able to communicate through standardized electronic forms which is a system known as electronic document interchange (EDI) (Tansey, 2002). Despite of these, Ford was still slow in quality improvement that in 2002, its product quality improved by only 13 percent, while its rival companies, GM and DaimlerChrysler improved by 30 and 27 percent respectively (Eisenstein, 2003). To address this challenge, Ford launched the Project Execution which is a project involving a quality verification system, a wireless monitoring system that tracks, via barcoding, software and sensors, a vehicle as it makes its ways through assembly, making it sure that no assembly steps are left undone and that each vehicle passes a series of quality tests (Eisenstein, 2003).             Ford also created a business analytics system to gather and analyze data from various sources such as the company’s warranty processing offices, emergency call centers and dealers to be able to determine problems and identify such problems before the assembly process (Eisenstein, 2003).             Ford has also speed up the time it takes to produce cars using the C3P system which is a Product Information Management (PIM) knowledge database that integrates three areas: computer aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing and engineering for improved quality, productivity and communication (Leong, 1998). PIM is an intranet-supported technology where specific information from the three areas is accessible to Ford’s car divisions and suppliers during any stage of design, engineering and manufacturing (Leong, 1998). With this strategy, Ford was able to reduce development time, and improved collaboration among employees to improve the quality of Ford cars. C3P allows Ford to do more tests electronically than wasting time and money on testing cars conventionally; a prototype car that is usually tested, costs around 0,000 (Teresko, 1998).              Part of Ford’s IS strategy is its internet marketing. It had the online ConsumerConnect unit before that was replaced by FordDirect today. FordDirect (“Ford: Using E-Commerce…” 2006) is the collaboration of dealership websites with the main company sites. Through the FordDirect website, a customer can explore the many available vehicles Ford is offering, eliminating the use of the dealer as an information source.  In the FordDirect website, clients are provided with all the information they need including the price, the inventory of local dealers and the features of the cars available as well as special offers and options. Clients can also customize their chosen Ford vehicle with its Build-your-vehicle feature: customers can choose the color, interior, wheels, and other feature of the car he chose and the website will quote the price of the customized car. This strategy is a good way of attracting customers making Ford increased its retail sales by 9% or sold 210,000 vehicles (FordDirect). FordDirect has been an informational website enabling its customers become informed of Ford’s products and making them become more interested with them.     6. Impact of External Environment             The external environment of Ford Motor plays an important role in the IS strategic decision-making of the company. External environment has impact on the IS strategies of every company since companies especially global companies such as Ford Motor, are parts of the system called macro-environment. Unlike the microenvironment (internal environment), macro-environment includes factors that are uncontrollable by the company such as the political trends, demographics, economics or business conditions, social and technological trends. Since Ford moves in a macro-environment, its strategic planning must involve the use of unbounded systems thinking enquiry to determine the interconnectedness and impact of the factors mentioned in the IS strategies of Ford Motor. 6.1 Socio-Political Factor Ford and other automotive manufacturers are affected by government rules and regulations which were created to ensure that quality and safe automobiles are being manufactured. This means that the design and engineering of the cars Ford should make should meet the quality standards set by the government. Safety standards should also be considered when designing automobiles as well as environmental protection standards such as emission regulation and pollution control. There are also other laws affecting Ford such as workplace safety, wages and work hours. The C3P may reduce development time but it may also cut the working hours of some employees and get underpaid for it. The manufacturing process should also consider the safety of the workplace. Some technologies might emit radiation that may harm workers. There are also energy conservation policies that set standards for mileage per gallon an automobile must get, and standards on what particular energy source a company must used. Social factors that influence the strategic IS of Ford include the people’s demands for vehicles such as safety, environmental-friendly and social perceptions. People also want convenience in ordering cars as well as excellent customer service which might include customized services.  Some customers also want to know as much information about the cars, the brand, the features and the benefits they can get so they demand for available information especially now that the use of the internet is very rampant. 6.2 Technological Factors             Technology affects the IS strategic decision making in various ways. First, due to the shorter life cycle of different technological products today such as computer, laptop, robots and automation products, companies are hesitant to engage in technological innovation. The use of telematics of Ford’s Wingcast is now being replaced by the Bluetooth Technology. Production is the Ford’s operation that is mostly influenced by technology. Technological advances made possible the C3P, and other technological innovation such as rollover protection or the Safety Canopy air curtain system, Roll Stability Control (RSC) and Air Bag Technology. Technological advances have also allowed Ford to offer customers Variable Cam Timing, a 3-valve technology that improves modular V-8 efficiency and performance.  GPS antennas, navigation systems, satellite radio and the SecuriLock Passive Antilock system are just some of the many new technologies used by Ford.             The introduction of the new Hy-wire prototype, a car that unites fuel cell propulsion and drive-by-wire systems with a unique new kind of chassis, has made a name for Ford as the industry leader in product diversity. Additionally, IT such as the wireless real-time locating system that allows Ford to track inventory using low-power radio frequency tags and a communications network has enabled Ford to have critical information right at their fingertips.                        Technology also allows Ford to enhance customer service with its FordDirect website. The Internet is also a way of acquiring customer information. Technology made possible videoconference of Ford’s leadership team worldwide. 6.3 Economic-Geographical Factors             Ford and the entire automobile industry are influenced by economic trends such as the cost of raw materials, and the fluctuation of the costs of steel and oil that affect the buying behavior of consumers. Economic trends vary from different locations: half of its worldwide market is in North America and lesser in Asia (ABR, 2005). This might be because there are more developing countries in Asia than in North America that Asians tend to buy cheaper cars like Toyota. Therefore, Ford’s IS strategy is to manufacture cheaper cars for the Asian market. Also, people in other place still prefer the traditional way of buying cars. This factor influenced the internet marketing strategy of Ford. This also means that the data collected in North America is for that place only and may not be applicable to Asians. People’s socio-economic status, preferences, tastes, marketing channels and buying behavior vary depending on the geographical locations and the economic trend on that certain location. This implies that Ford’s IS strategy planning and decision making should also vary depending on the location.             Geographical factors also affect other factors such as political, social and technological factors.  Regulations in USA may be very different from the regulations in China and other Asian countries. Technology may also be underdeveloped in some countries so they may not appreciate some of the modern and latest technology. Demographics also varies from one place which are all influencing factors in Ford’s IS strategy planning.             Globalization affects Ford’s IS decision making to be able to stay competitive in the global market. Since it is a global player, it is affected by exchange rate and tariff. Therefore, before all these factors should be considered in IS strategic planning and decision making to ensure that the problems and issues in relation to IS strategies will be addresses before the strategy is implemented and to ensure its effectiveness. It can also be recommended that IS strategies are designed to adapt to changes in the macro-environment. 7. Consequence Analysis             In analyzing the consequence of the IS strategies of Ford Motor, we use the Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability or CIA which is a widely used benchmark for evaluation of information systems (IS) security, focusing on the three core goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Data confidentiality exists when only the authorized people are allowed to access electronic data while integrity refers to data that are not tampered with since its creation and the data really did originate from the original creator of such data (Chudwick and Mundy, 2004). Availability of data means that the electronic data are available to the authorized users whenever and wherever they need to access them (Chudwick and Mundy, 2004).             Applying CIA to the analysis of IS strategies of Ford Motor, it is noticeable that Ford may not achieve all the requirements of CIA. Analyzing Ford, data from the C3P are and should be accessible to the designers, engineers and some workers involved in the manufacturing as well as to the suppliers to ensure integration of the three areas. Once specific data can not be accessed in the PIM database, both the production operation and design will be affected and may be delayed. It is also required that data from PIM database will only be accessible to the designers, engineers and production managers because designs of car models as well production process are critical and important assets of Ford Motor.             Accessibility to the PIM database also affects the integrity of the design. That is, unauthorized access to the designs may result to alteration or copying of designs which is intended to be exclusive for the Ford Motor.              Moreover, data presented on its website should be protected against hackers and viruses to ensure that they only present reliable data to customers. Also, customers’ data such as email address, telephone numbers, address and others especially credit card number and account number acquired via online transactions are required to be protected to ensure that customers’ data remain confidential. Hackers may also deface the website and may corrupt data. It is also noticeable that with the IS strategies of Ford, they utilize intranet within the company to be able to share information such as customer demands and problems that should be address in the design and production, thus some employees are authorized to access information, add, update or change the data as the need arise. Therefore, security, ethical and legal issues should be address and integrated in the IS planning and decision making. The more complex the information system of a company, the more the problems associated with it and the more it should be protected. Furthermore, Ford’s IS should have back-up system especially the PIM database used in the C3P system. Back up system will ensure that production will not be interrupted in case the IS system was corrupted. Another consequence of the strategies of Ford is its being prone to intruders, unauthorized access, viruses, and Spyware. Thus Ford’s IS needed protection such as Firewall software, access control system, anti virus software, encryption system, and anti-spyware. 8. Potential Negative Impact of the Consequences             The potential negative impact of the consequences of Ford’s IS strategy can be classified into two: technical and non technical. Technical impact concerns on the hardware and software assets of Ford while non-technical impact concerns on business process or human issues. Technical Negative Impact             As mentioned above, the technical negative impact may include modified data resulting to unreliability and non-integrity of data as well as inaccessibility to other important data in the database. The availability of the hard disk and the computer system itself may also result from virus attacks. Viruses may also erase important software containing important data. Serious virus attacks may infect all the computer system connected in the intranet causing system failure within the entire company. When unreliable data were transfer from the database to the C3P system, the products that can be manufactured especially when the data were altered may have defects. All these impact the company’s financial and physical resources. Non-Technical Negative Impact             Most human issues involved in the negative consequences may not be the result but the cause of such negative impact. Modified data and unauthorized access may be caused by unsatisfied employee or misinformed ones.             On the other hand, the most negative impact of the consequences will be distrust of the customers to the company due to the distorted company’s credibility, impacting the company’s profitability.             Therefore, company’s IS strategies should be aligned with the company’s mission and objectives as well as with its organization. So far, Ford has not yet encountered such negative impacts but the company did experience, over the past years, too much spending on IT and IS instead of making good automobiles in an attempt to provide the customers excellent services via online websites (Eisenstein, 2003) but Ford bounced back when it changed its CIO. This means that in IS strategy planning and decision making, a company should have the resources needed not only financial as well as the resources provided by humans such as leadership. 9. The Next Five Years             Ford Motor was and still very much center on utilizing information. According to its CIO Marv Adams, Information is central to Ford’s strategy (Eisenstein, 2003). However, Ford should learn how to capitalize on the technology and information. Over the next five years, automotive companies are likely to be more reliant with the use of internet due to the cost savings and fast communications that can get out of the internet. Chrysler is replacing its old dealer communications systems with a web-based communication system where all the ordering, warranty, nuts and bolts of communication, service manuals and training come in via the internet while GM ha its GMAC SmartAuction, a technology that notifies customers when to bring a car in for an inspection, before the lease expires; all the information about the cars are logged into the system and are electronically auctioned where only the GM dealers are allowed to participate (Eisenstein, 2003). This means that over the next years, Ford should still formulate effective IS strategies that may give tem advantages and provides profitability while maximizing the use of technologies available.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Impact of External Environment

Introduction In recent years, companies have found relief with the use of Information Technology (IT) with its Information Sys...

Effective Strategic Shift will Drive the Company towards Profitable

1. Context for the Chosen Topic Companies employ detailed business plans and strategies in order to gain several benefits from its competitors such as increased profits and enhanced customer relations as company objectives. The application of strategies directed towards the achievement of these objectives naturally requires reviews on the internal operations and general environment of the business organization. In today’s fast and technological modern world, the challenge that the Information Man faces is time’s nature of putting things in order and in place in the best and most effective way. Life has changed since the invention of the computer which dictated man to deal with things in the most efficient way possible. In the world of big international business industries where transactions and other business operations are governed by law, cultural differences and mutual trust, efficiency counts largely as a common entrepreneurial aim.   The modern age of digital electronics made it possible for business and corporate organizations to keep up with the demands of their industries. At present, most business organizations are equipped with the latest information technology (IT) systems that enable them to function fully and effectively. IT has given everyone an opportunity and has provided every person with the ability to communicate and perform tasks which were impossible to do before the arrival of the 21st century. As such, modern information technology has been considered the result of a crucial connection between digital and communication technologies. It has been declared as the fundamental core of an information system, which involves various interactions between data, the users, software, hardware, business corporations and their environment.  Along with these technological revolutions of doing business, human resources managers will have to face new challenges concerning the productivity of each and every employee to sustain competitive advantage. The economy and markets are different from those of a decade ago and as paradigms have changed, the characteristics affecting human resources management must also be revised in terms of organizational structure and functions in order to keep pace with relevant and latest trends and strategies in the international business setting. Most of the successful business endeavors depend greatly on good interpersonal communication and relationship between the service or product providers and their clients. Persuading customers on trying the offered services and products is only a start on putting up a successful entrepreneurial activity. Gaining the trust of the clients and maintaining patrons is very important to ideal business transaction flows to achieve a common goal – that is, continuous profitability. Research Objectives. Unisys Corporation provides services that are centered on creating secure business environments for its clients. Specifically, its expertise includes consultating services, outsourcing, infrastructure development, producing enterprise class servers as well as systems integration. Among the major markets serviced by the company include commercial, transportation, media, financial services, public and communications sectors. Despite a strong global presence, the firm has been encountering some strategic issues resulting in major profitability reduction. While the company has pointed the decreasing demand for technology as the cause for this problem, analysts have noted that competitors, particularly IBM and Accenture, are the primary causes.   The traditional strategic approaches of the company appear to lack effective, allowing stronger competitors to dominate the industry. In order to ensure continuous progress and more years of successful operations, the causative factors leading to the company’s declining profitability were identified since the identification of the direct causes of this problem can enable the development of new and appropriate business strategies that the company could use. This proposed project mainly aims to investigate the current strategic moves of Unisys and to identify problem areas that cause its profitability to decline. Among the objectives of the study include the following:   1.      To address its problem on business competition and develop new and appropriate business strategies for the company.   2.      To enumerate the causative factors leading to the company’s declining profitability.   3.      To identify whether similar profitability issues and causative factors are encountered by a single company operating in different locations.   4.      To concentrate on the profitability status of the Unisys offices from the Greater China Cluster including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.   5.      To develop useful strategic recommendations that would boost the company’s profitability.   The recommended strategies will be based on the analysis of the company’s strategy and survey data. Unisys offices are found in Greater China Cluster including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The researcher aims to concentrate on the profitability status of the Unisys offices from these three countries which will be useful in identifying whether similar profitability issues and causative factors are encountered by a single company operating in different locations. The results and findings of the study will hopefully serve as benchmark for the evaluation and assessment of other Unisys offices in other countries in order to enlighten the management of the issues on profitability that beset the company at present.   Since Unisys is a service-oriented business organization that provides technological assistance to other companies through its products and services, its strategic management framework was evaluated as one of the major and primary drivers of competitive advantage in the business industry it belongs to. The researcher hopes to provide useful data and information that may alleviate the issues on profitability that the company faces.   Unisys Corporation. Unisys Corporation provides services that are centered on creating secure business environments for its clients. Specifically, its expertise includes consulting services, outsourcing, infrastructure development, producing enterprise class servers as well as systems integration. Among the major markets serviced by the company include commercial, transportation, media, financial services, and public and communications sectors  But despite a strong global presence, the firm has been encountering some strategic issues resulting in major profitability reduction. Since the company is a customer-oriented business organization, it is then important to undertake investigations and studies regarding the human resources of the company as its primary driving force to profitability and success.    For one hundred and thirty years, Unisys has been helping businesses and governments apply information technology to achieve new levels of competitiveness and success. The company’s long history and technical innovation can be illustrated by presenting the infrastructure developments that occurred within the organization for over a century. Unisys Corporation manufactured and sold the very first commercially viable adding and listing machine under the name of American Arithmometer Co. Unisys was also the Remington Typewriter Co. who first introduced the “noiseless” typewriter and the Sperry Gyroscope Co. that manufactured the sell navigational equipment   Along came other technological innovations such as the portable adding machine that weighs twenty pounds, the artificial horizon and the aircraft directional gyro, the ENIAC which is world’s first large-scale, general-purpose digital computer developed at the University of Pennsylvania by J. Prosper Eckert and John Mauchly, the UNIVAC that enabled quick counts of statistical information, the B5000 Series which was the first dual processor and virtual memory computer, the first cache memory disk subsystem, the first mainframe based on complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology (2200/500) under the Unisys name, the first Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server’s support for 32-processor scalability, and the Intelligent Processing Solutions Limited (IPSL) that positioned the company as one of the major providers of outsourced financial services in the world .   Unisys is a worldwide enterprise with clients in more than a hundred countries. Strong alliances with industry-leading companies allow the company to move quickly and confidently across a full range of advanced technologies and services and deliver solutions for secure business operations. The alliances allowed the clients to achieve exceptional performance, control costs, competitive advantage and effective risk management. The company focuses on the alliances with proven success in helping meet the specific needs of organization’s clients. These alliances include Cisco Systems, Dell, EMC2, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, Oracle, and SAP Technology .     Moreover, Unisys understands that social responsibility enhances the reputation and strengthens the long-term relationships of the company with clients and partners particularly the communities where it has business operations. The company has earned place in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) for four consecutive years recognizing Unisys’ proactive policies in responsibly managing the economic, environmental and social aspects of doing business. Unisys believes in conducting business with respect and concern for the environment by promoting recycling programs worldwide and frequently incorporating recycled materials into in to the company’s products in which more than 24.8 million pounds of obsolete products have been collected and processed since 1997 through Unisys parts-recovery facilities and third parties. Unisys supports diversity councils, composed of employees, whose leadership spans gender, ethnicity and cultures to foster diverse and inclusive environment that maximizes the potential of every employee.    2. Literature Review Business administration and management characterizes the process of leading and directing the systems within an organization by exhausting available resources extensively so as to achieve the objectives of the business operation. It most of the time includes the conceptualization of business plans and monitoring its execution for assessment and evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the business transactions. Making a business successful in a particular setting demands crucial and detailed studies and examination of the factors that will generate the best results that will serve the aims and objectives of the company. Hence, a shift of focus and interest from the local market to the international setting has demanded innovation not just in corporate leadership as new information, forms of communication, and technology (Kim & Weaver, 2000).   Hardy and Clegg (1996) believe that modern organizations passed by the guild structures and as organizations grew larger, skills become increasingly fragmented and specialized and positions become more functionally differentiated. Multi-business organizations and firms are constantly facing pressures brought about the varying unpredictable factors that hinder efficient and effective business operations. This results to graver responsibilities faced by the business executives as board of directors; capital markets and shareholders push for effective and powerful corporate strategies. As Cohen and Moore (2000) emphasized, a balance between enhanced company processes and renewed objectives should be critically appraised in order to ensure the success of the company.    Competitive advantage. The competitive business environment within particularistic industries intensifies the need of business organizations to diversify the operation systems of the company recognizing the importance of the conglomeration of assets, skills, and capabilities of the available resources that the company has in order to be successful. All these will be realized through the intervention of the corporate parent organization to increase the value of its subsidiary businesses in the international market environment (Jayne & Dipboye, 2004).  In this light, owners of big business organizations operating in a competitive business environment should be in constant look out with its competitors and the overall status and events in the industry. Taking advantage of the opportunities and intensifying the strengths while minimizing the risks and weaknesses of a business firm greatly helps in predicting the success in business enterprise (Goshal, 1997).   Most companies find it impossible to create any kind of sustainable competitive advantage based on product alone. It is common knowledge that every one of the successful companies sought and found a precise understanding of how it could create a customer-centered competitive advantage. Hessan and Whitely (1996) emphasized the idea to take advantage of the competitive situation not just by being better in how that product gets sold, serviced, and marketed at the customer interface. It requires that companies create breakthroughs in how they interact with customers, and design a way of interacting that makes an indelible impression on customers, one that so utterly distinguishes them from others that it becomes a brand in itself.   Firms respond to conditions in their marketplaces by modifying their competencies such as internal capabilities and linkages with suppliers and associates and the ways in which they position themselves in relation to their competitors specifically their strategic direction (Beyers & Lindahl, 1999). Each of these components is intricately related and ultimately contributes to firm competitive advantage. The goal is to deliver maximum value for the least possible total cost.  Examination on the business strategies and plans in order to answer to the demands of clients and customers through efficient delivery of such needs will not only increase the profit of an organization but will likewise gain the trust and competence of the clients and customers. Moreover, efficient management of delivery options in a particular company and looking into the problems encountered in operating the business may enhance the likelihood of a business corporation to attain its goals as enterprising organization (Porter, 1990).   Similarly, one of the core characteristics of a successful organization is focus. Since the business environments are fast becoming more and more complex added to the fact that it changes rapidly and dynamically, businesses need to concentrate on a few key elements that are most important to their organizations survival. Thus, it is not surprising the critical success factors keep the organizations from straying too far with external issues not relevant to their company’s success. Critical success factors (CSFs) in business, are the limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory can ensure that successful competitive advantage for the company (Thierauf, 2001). Determining these factors is an old concept in business because there were great leaders throughout history who have identified and addressed key factors to achieve their successes. There is no one definition of CSF but it is considered that these are the areas which the company needs to concentrate on to flourish. Therefore, the activities should be carefully monitored and guided by the management.   Chung (1987) defined critical success factors as managerial factors that create a competitive edge for a company in its respective industry. There is no specific process in identifying and executing critical success factors in strategic management planning. This is the reason why Thierauf (2001) asserts that different companies which have similar structure can conduct its market entry forming different strategies which lead to the development of various critical factors. As the primary means for an organization to achieve its strategy, critical success factors must take into account the differences in the environment and organization that exists.   Porter’s Five Forces Model highlights the interplay between the suppliers, buyers, new entrants, substitutes, and industry competitors in order for a business entity to gain competitive advantage. When it comes to suppliers, an organization that offers products as well as services also depends on suppliers that deliver the company’s raw materials. This condition leads to the buyer-supplier relationships within different industries. Such relationship is directly influence by the changes in the supply and demand variables based on the existing needs of the consumer population. The influence of the supplier is defined by its ability to dictate price and influence availability of materials and their ability to (a) increase prices without suffering from a decrease in volume, (b) reduce the quantity supplied, (c) organize in a formal or informal manner, (d) compete in an environment with relatively few substitutes, (e) provide a product/material that is a critical part of the end product or service, (f) impose switching costs on their customers when they depart, and (g) integrate downstream by purchasing or controlling the distribution channels (Porter, 1989).   The power of buyers describes the impact customers have on an industry. When buyer power is strong, the relationship to the producing industry becomes closer to market conditions wherein the buyer has the most influence in determining the price. As such the bargaining power of buyers increases when they have the ability to (a) make agreements with other companies providing similar products and services, (b) purchase a product that represents a significant fraction of the expenses incurred by the company, (c) purchase of a product that is undifferentiated, (d) incur low changes in costs when they change vendors, (e) be price sensitive by bearing in mind the options available, and (f) integration to purchase the goods of the suppliers (Porter, 1989).   Meanwhile, the possibility of new companies entering the industry influences the pace of the competition. Thus, the key is to evaluate the methods of entry and exit for a new player to the industry. Although any company should be able to enter and exit the sector, each industry presents different levels of difficulty influenced by economics. These unique characteristics of the each industry are referred to as barriers to entry which may come from different aspects of the business ranging from supplies to technology. They seek to reduce the rate of entry of new entrants which leads to maintenance of a level of profits for the existing players (Porter, 1989).    “Substitute products” as those that are available in other industries that meet an identical or similar need for the end user. As more substitutes become available and affordable, the demand becomes more elastic since customers have more alternatives. The treat of substitutes often impacts price-based competition since substitute products may limit the ability of firms within an industry to raise prices and improve margins. Other concerns in assessing the threat of substitutes include the presence of new technologies that can contribute to competition though more diverse and economical substitute products and services. A segment is unattractive when there are actual or potential substitutes for a product (Porter, 1989).   Lastly, firms strive to secure a competitive advantage over their rivals. The intensity of rivalry varies within each industry and these differences can be important in the development of strategy. Industries that are “concentrated,” versus “fragmented,” often display the highest level of rivalry. In pursuing an advantage over its rivals, a firm can choose from several competitive moves: (a) changing prices, (b) improving product differentiation, (c) creatively using channels of distribution, and (d) exploiting relationships with suppliers (Porter, 1989).  Understanding the dynamics of the competitors in the industry helps assess the potential opportunities of every business venture by differentiating the similar products or services offered by the company against other business organizations. As such, it is necessary to realistically assess potential levels of profitability, opportunity and risk based on five key factors within an industry so as to determine the long-term profitability of a market or market segment (Porter, 1998). According to Vella and McGonagle (1987) competitive intelligence (CI) is the process by which organizations gather actionable information about competitors and the competitive environment and, ideally, apply it to their decision-making and planning processes in order to improve their performance. CI links signals, events, perceptions, and data that appears unrelated into sensible patterns and trends concerning the business environment to which an organization’s decision-makers act upon. Moreover, public sources are normally used to find and develop information on competition, competitors, and the market environment (Vella & McGonagle, 1987). With regards to ethics CI is legal (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2003).  Strategic Management. But the reliance to the external resources of the organization will not do if internal considerations of the company are not likewise considered. These include the significant market characteristics that directly and indirectly influence and dictate the strategic business implementation and sound decision-making from the options available. The forecast of subsequent political, economic, and social implications that change will result to also needs to be identified and enumerated in order to ensure the success and development of the organization and the welfare of the public in general. This highlights the need for strategic management practices within organizations particularly those operating in the international business environment. Strategic management is the process of identifying and enumerating the aims of the organizations in order to come up with sound business policies and plans from which the profit of the business organization will be fully maximized (Appelbaum, St. Pierre & Glavas, 1998).   Total Quality Management is a planned procedure for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and come through with advancement, growth, and safeguarding the cycles while changing organizational culture. Furthermore, TQM is an array of management system throughout the organization, geared to ensure that the organization to continuously attain or surpass customer requirements. Total Quality Management is a philosophy of management that is driven by the constant attainment of customer satisfaction though the continuous improvement of all organizational processes (Robbins, 1998). It is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions such as marketing, finance, design, engineering, production, customer service, and others to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives (Hashmi, 2000).   But along with the changing business world, customers change as well, becoming more demanding and knowledgeable than before. In turn, company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business. This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centered. Every business wants to have a regular customer base because customers dictate profits and how the customer is treated will reflect on whether the customers will remain loyal with the company or not. Gaining customer loyalty is also a key corporate challenge today especially in this increasingly competitive and crowded marketplace because of the eventual profitability it will provide (Chow & Holden, 1997).   Business firms invest on researches that will define their target customer groups that they believed they could serve best. Every business person is determined to know what kind of work they would and would not do for their customers and, in turn, they carefully learn how to fulfill the needs of each kind of customer in their target markets. In effect, if consumers somehow become better customers — that is, more knowledgeable, participative, or productive — the quality of the service experience will likely be enhanced for the customer and the organization (Bowers, Martin & Luker, 1990). Rather than going after every potential source of revenue, companies eliminate useless assets that do not add value for customers’ satisfaction. As such, business organizations implement bureaucratic policies and procedures for the benefit of the staff, customers and the company in general.   Service delivery is an interactive and dynamic process that from the consumer’s point of view is much more than a passive exchange of money for a particular service. Characteristics of services (e.g., intangibility, heterogeneity, simultaneity, and perishability) often require customers to be actively involved in helping to create the service value — either by serving themselves or by cooperating and often working collaboratively with service personnel. In high-contact systems customers can influence the time of demand, the exact nature of the service, and the quality of service (Chase, 1978; Lovelock & Young, 1979). In this regard, the company needs to strengthen relationship with suppliers and increase market share. This effort will result to parallel business interests that will contribute to the company as well as the suppliers’ business objectives. Contract agreements and other business transactions should present advantages and benefits for both parties. Efficient delivery of products and services through premeditated and tactical supply chain management initiatives should be prioritized.               A growing number of companies are deploying supply-chain management (SCM) systems to enhance efficiency across the product lifecycle by streamlining procurement, production, fulfillment, and distribution processes. To help ensure that an SCM solution provides the intended return on investment, the enterprise network infrastructure must work together seamlessly since its effectiveness depends on the ability of users to access up to the minute information across the supply chain. The supply chain is traditionally characterized as a stable system in which components and goods move smoothly from supplier to assembly customers. In addition, supply chain refers to the suppliers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers that involved in manufacturing a product and getting it to consumers (Lee & Billinton, 1995). Supply chain is also defined as a network of independent or semi-independent corporation bodies collectively accountable for procurement, developing and or manufacturing and distribution scheme connected with one or more groups of related products (Janyashankar et al, 1996).    However, while the company is capable of providing a budget, the outcomes should be able to recover these allocations in order to prevent capital losses. Thus, the company should employ strategies and create objectives that are compatible to the capacity of the company and what it intends to achieve. As such the company must also be able to determine the concept of Cost Management as an important strategic weapon for a business. External purchases of products and services account for more than 50 percent of total costs (Degraeve & Roodhooft, 1999). Without sacrificing quality, services must create a reliable, cost effective supply chain or operational system to be competitive in the marketplace. Technology has increased the reliability of cost management systems through the use of computer packages designed for specific companies (Anderson & Katz, 1998).   Since management involves the skillful planning and execution of business strategies, it is concerned with creating important decisions that affect the long-term goals of an organization (Gilbert, 1996). Normally, organizations focus on the external characteristic of the business environment. Top management or the stakeholders of the company usually focus on their aggressive competitors and the constant change in supply and demand. However, the internal area in the organization should be taken into account since it is where they get the services or products for the consumers. Areas such as human resource planning, quality assurance and operations management are some of the essential fields an organization should be taken into account during the decision-making process.   Stakeholders are defined as the individuals or organizations which can either gain or lose from the success or failure of a system (Boutelle, 2004). The stakeholder analysis was first introduced by Freeman (as cited by Boutelle, 2004, par.5) to remind management that it is important to evaluate the interests of the individuals or organizations who can influence or can be affected by the activities of the company. The steps to stakeholder analysis are the following: identification of the stakeholders; prioritization of the stakeholders; understand the stakeholders’ perspectives and incorporate the stakeholders’ perspectives to the future plans of the company. The stakeholder analysis is an effective tool in strategic planning because the different perspectives of the stakeholders are taken into account. The strategic plan will then be more likely to achieve the business goals as conceived by the stakeholders, especially those with higher interests as well as higher influence.   Furthermore, according to Hulnik (2002), the private sector intelligence and security is necessary in order for companies to profit for the interest of the owners, shareholders, and mangers. The marketplace intelligence or the competitive intelligence is the most significant area of the private investigation sector that focuses on the knowledge management and information utilization for the benefit of the business organization. The market intelligence has been popular due to the drive of the Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) to encourage the members of the private industry to make use of intelligence in undertaking their business processes. In this regard, competitive intelligence will contribute to the business decision-making of the stakeholders of the company through access to important information outside the organization.   The current business environment demands the need for newer business systems in the form of business intelligence systems (BISs) in order for business organizations to grow. Business intelligence systems require vision, money, and patience for their development as well as implementation. Business intelligence focus on full understanding of knowledge and information derived from data through effective way of access and synthesis processes using data mining tools. These tools allow organizations to sift through fundamental information for business intelligence use particularly those that provide data about customers, supplier, internal transactions, and other aspects of the business transactions. Data warehouse applications such as catalog, index, and cross-referencing systems are used for the convenient archiving, retrieval and use of collected information. In this regard, basic business data are needed to be transformed into “actionable business intelligence in order to assist decision-makers of the company on what to do (Thierauf, 2001).   Among the information systems that are directly related to business intelligence include (1) knowledge management systems, (2) on-line analytical processing systems, (3) decision-support systems, and (4) executive information systems. All these facilitate comparisons, analysis trends and business patterns, and current and historical information presentation to the decision-makers of a particular organization. Hence, theses systems help decision-makers to make informed decisions that will affect all aspects of the operations of the company by providing thorough information and understanding of its long-term goals and objectives (Thierauf, 2001).    The business intelligence model (BIM) highlights the collection of business information from existing information systems in the operations, work management, procurement, inventory, customer satisfaction, and human resources of the business organization. More than establishing relationships between entities and assets of the company, BIM summarizes and aggregates incoming data for immediate processing to be provided in an accessible format along with numerous and multi-level critical reviews and analyses of the new data to provide in-depth understanding to the people who will use them in the company. The model combines multiple, predetermined data structures and metadata in relational database in which the standardized data warehouse model combines entities, attributes, relationships, and business rules in order to give enterprises ready access to assets, facts, dimensions, events, real time information, and organizational hierarchies necessary to facilitate timely business decisions (Obvient Strategies, 2004).   3. Procedures and Methodologies The methodology provides information on the description of the methods and procedures that were conceptualized and constructed in order to obtain the needed data and information that will be most useful to the study. Details on how the accumulated data will be analyzed and interpreted as well as how the conclusion will be drawn is discussed in full extent in this section.  This provides justification of the means in which the study will be accomplished and at the same time helps in giving purpose and strength to the validity and reliability of the collected information that makes this particular research practice truthful and analytic. Specifically, this research methodology will cover the following discussions: the research design, the methods used in accomplishing the study, the sampling technique utilized, the statistical treatment used, the validity and reliability of the collected data, and the logical and systematic data presentation and analysis.   Research design. This study operated under the quantitative paradigm wherein the survey method will be utilized in order to elicit the relevant information needed to complete research (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 1992). Besides, quantitative research plainly and distinctively specifies both the independent and the dependent variables under investigation (Matveev, 2002). It also follows resolutely the original set of research goals, arriving at more objective conclusions, determining the issues of causality and eliminates or minimises subjectivity of judgment (Kealey & Protheroe, 1996).   The research variables were primarily analyzed in order to provide description on the factors that concerns the topic of the study. The variables of the study imply quantitative research wherein the data, situations, or other facts collected will be explained or correlated with other data.  Basically, this research based its findings through quantitative research methods because this permits a flexible and iterative approach. Through this method, qualitative elements that do not have standard measures such as behaviour, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs are analyzed. As such, the information that the informants of the study shared to the researcher will be accordingly examined, analyzed and interpreted to answer the research questions presented.    Research method. In order to gather the necessary data, the research employed two research methods – survey and interview. The survey was carried out to identify the possible factors that led to the decline of the company’s profit. The interviews on the other hand, were conducted in order to gain information that the survey cannot provide. These would include data collection and analysis for specific issues faced by the company. The management group and the employees from the company’s strategic and marketing divisions are the target respondents for these processes. As this focus on the Greater China Cluster, Unisys offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan will be used.   The survey method was implemented in three successive data collection procedures. These included the pretest of the questionnaire, the actual survey, and the back-checking after the analysis of the data. The pretest of the survey was necessary in order to identify possible shortcomings of the instrument that may hinder the efficient collection of valid and reliable data. On the other hand, the back-checking that was implemented to provide assurance that the results of the analysis are consistent with that of the available information and facts in the field. The researcher gathered secondary data and collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from business journals.   This research project was accomplished by conducting a questionnaire survey using a sample of at least 30 respondents in which inferential statistics was used in organizing and summarizing the findings of the study. Descriptive statistics was used to provide and present the background of the industry in a logical manner. To analyze the findings of the survey, the researcher made use of the Likert rating scale along with computation of the weighted mean of each survey item. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire that based on Likert scale. A Likert Scale is a rating scale that requires the subject to indicate his or her degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement. By rating scale we mean the scales that are usually used to measure attitudes towards an object, the degree to which an object contains a particular attribute, (Like or dislike), toward some attribute, or the importance attached to an attribute (Barnett, 1991).   The equivalent weights for the answers will be: Range                                    Interpretation                                     4.50 – 5.00                            Strongly Agree 3.50 – 4.00                            Agree 2.50 – 3.49                            Uncertain 1.50 – 2.49                            Disagree          0.00 – 1.49                            Strongly Disagree   Moreover, the use of survey is efficient since copies of the questionnaire could reach a considerable number of respondents through efficient personal distribution. It will serve as an effective and efficient research tool to elicit and exhaust the information that the respondents perceive regarding the topic of the research project at hand. The questions included in the questionnaire are composed mostly of close-ended queries for easy manipulation of the data during analysis and interpretation. The respondents were asked to fill out the self-administered questionnaires until such time that the researcher was able to complete the number of samples for the study. The researcher will tally, score and tabulate all the responses in the provided questionnaires for the subsequent presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data that were accumulated. Responses from the interview as well as information from secondary resources will be used to support the calculated values.    Sampling technique. The use of stratified random sampling technique was grounded on the need to ensure the represenativeness of the respondents in the survey method. This particular sampling technique ensures the validity and reliability of the data based on the number or quantity of the respondents who filled out the survey questionnaires. Stratified random sampling technique operates by classifying the target population into group classifications as set by the researcher. The samples are chosen through several selection procedures that usually take several stages depending on the complexity of the characteristics of the possible respondents and the interest of the researcher (Trochim, 2001).   Since there is a possibility that several of the accomplished questionnaires will not pass the standards of validity set by the researcher, 5 other individuals who have the same characteristics as that of the defined target samples of the study will also asked to accomplish the questionnaire as reserved samples. Such incidents include half-finished survey form, inconsistent answers, untruthful information and forms of the respondent who did not answer the questionnaire seriously. Upon the completion of the required number of respondents for the survey method, the valid questionnaires will still be included in the presentation and analysis of the findings and results of the study.   Basically, Guilford and Fruchter (1973) initiated that it is advisable to use the Slovin’s formula in choosing sample sizes. Thus, the sample size of the population in this paper was determined by Slovin’s formula. The formula of Slovin is given as follows: Where:       n = a sample size      N= population size e= desired margin of error (percent allowance for non-precision                             because of the use of the sample instead of the population).      Data presentation and analysis. Generally, responses to a questionnaire are objectified and standardised and these make tabulation easy. But more importantly, the respondents’ replies are of their own free will because there is no interviewer to influence them. This is one way to avoid biases, particularly the interviewers’ bias. The answers of the respondents will be first encoded and subsequent tests will be applied to produce quantitative and descriptive data used to complete the research project. Frequency values and percentages of the answers of the respondents compose some of the findings and results of the study.   Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire                  n       % = ——– x 100  ;           n – number of responses                  N                            N – total number of respondents             The statistical analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel where the quantitative data are tabulated, graphed and evaluated. The relationships of the variables were then analyzed and collated with other findings of the study. The extent and magnitude of the relationship between variables were presented for the systematic analysis of the collected information. The researcher used graph and charts for data presentation. Tables, on the other hand, are the summary numbers and figures indicated in rows and columns normally used to present quantitative data and results of the statistical tests. Tables facilitated the systematic presentation of all the collected data and information from the survey method. Each table was provided with proper title, number, caption, text and explanation that will comprise most of the results and findings section of the research study.      Validity and reliability of data. Ensuring the validity of the accumulated data is considered to be the most crucial stage of the research endeavor. Since a methodology is always employed in the service of a research question, validation of the inferences made on the basis of data from one analytic approach demands the use of multiple sources of information through validation study built into the design (Kaplan & Duchon, 1998; Foss & Ellefsen, 2002; Mingers, 2001). The triangulation research strategy in which the use of multiple sources to enhance the rigor of the research (Robson, 2002) helps in the in-depth case analysis of the paper. Stake (1995) stated that the protocols that are used to ensure accuracy and alternative explanations are called triangulation. The need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the processes. In case studies, this could be done by using multiple sources of data (Yin, 1984).   The data and information gathered in using the secondary data analysis were used to support and rebut the claims of the study wherein critical examination and analysis of the findings were compared and contrasted with each other.   The secondary data were critically analyzed based on the credibility of the authors, the methods used and the sampling procedures made in order to accomplish the said previous research studies. Secondary data analysis is composed of the reviews of references and sources in this study to either support or rebut the claims and findings of this particular research endeavor. This enabled the researcher to compare and contrast the results that were accumulated by other researchers who investigated the same topic of research. These include published and available unpublished research studies, case studies, journal articles, and books that have concerned on the investigation and analysis of different concepts, variables and factors that relate to the principal idea of the study’s investigation.     Project Plan A data or information analysis plan was prepared to organize the information collected orderly so as to make the presentation of the results more comprehensive as well as to make sure that research objectives are achieved and the research questions were answered. In summary, the researcher undergone four major phases to complete the study:   Phase 1: Problem Identification for Research This involves reviewing existing theory, research, and practices from professional literature. This process helped integrate theoretical perspectives and empirical findings with the own understanding of the problem, and discern the aspect of the problem the researcher want to research and learn more about.   Phase 2: Administration of the Instrument. After reviewing literature, the researcher formulated questions for the survey and makes a set of guide questionnaires for the interview. These were then presented to the adviser for validation purposes. After this the researcher initiated a process of building collaborations with the respondents who participated in the study.   Phase 3: Data Collection and Analysis. In the third phase, the researcher collected and analyzed data for the purposes of identifying critical contextual variables specific to their setting. These data enabled the achievement of a specific understanding of the problem.   Phase 4: Data Synthesis and Generation of Recommendations. The researcher synthesized the findings from the previous phases and relevant previous research to modify existing hypotheses and account for different factors that transpired during the analysis, as well as generate recommendations based on new understandings. During this phase, practice-based recommendations for action were generated.   The schedule of activities that the researcher needed to undertake in order to complete this particular research endeavor is illustrated below:    Table 1. Schedule of Activities Key Activities Time Scale Duration Resources Required Browse on Related Literature visit the library, check online resources, 3 weeks Books, Journals, company documents    consult Unisys for documents       Preparation of the proposal identification of the strategic problem, 4 weeks Secondary Resources,    development of research objectives,   Research-writing books    selection of methodology       Development of data-gathering tools designing of the questionnaire, 1 week Related previous researches,    development of interview schedule    paper, photocopier, word pad program Conduction of research proper selection of respondents, conduction of 3 weeks Interview and survey assistants,    interview and survey    tape recorder, paper, pens Data Analysis computation of survey result, encoding 3 weeks MSExcel program, word pad program,    interview responses, interpretation of findings,   research assistants, related literature    integration of relevant secondary resources       Preparation of the Final Dissertation formulation of conclusions and 2 weeks MSExcel program, word pad program,    recommendations, editing and formatting,   research assistants, paper, printer    Printing          4. Personal Development Plan  5. Findings China has done remarkably well since the beginning of the economic reform movement in 1978 (Wu, 1996). Between 1979 and 1995, China’s GDP grew at an average annual rate of 9.5 percent. China’s exports grew even faster and China now ranks among the world’s top 10 exporting economies. The government, in implementing the Coastal Economic Strategy, established four special economic zones in the coastal provinces of Guangdong and Fujian and 14 other coastal cities were opened in 1984 to attract trade and foreign direct investment. These economic zones and cities enjoyed relatively better tax treatments and preferential resource allocations (Litwack & Qian, 1998).   Moreover, China’s entry into the WTO will make China’s door even more open. Both foreign investment and foreign trade are expected to increase (Chow, 2000). Foreign firms will begin to penetrate China’s financial and telecommunication sectors. Trade will increase in both directions and Chinese tariffs will be lowered and Chinese goods will have better access to world markets open to members of the WTO. Using foreign competition to stimulate the domestic economy is a major objective in seeking to join WTO, as explicitly stated by Premier Zhu Rongji.   Problems on business competition.   Causative factors leading to the company’s declining profitability. The business offices of Unisys located in the Greater China Cluster has significant decrease in revenue and profit during 2006 compared to the financial report of the previous year. Among the reasons for such decline in profit and revenues were identified as the result of:   1.      Unanticipated slippages of key deals 2.      Changes in GCI projects implementation schedule    3.      Lack of high margin technology products sales from S&T.   The table below summarizes the comparison of orders, revenues, growth margin, SG&A, and profit of Unisys Corporation between the year 2005 and 2006 along with the forecasted accounts for the year 2007.   Table 2. Unisys Corporation Greater China Cluster Operations From Years 2005 – 2007   2005 Actual 2006 O/L 2007 OP Orders 123.0 98.0 113.6 Revenue 105.6 89.9 116.6 G Margin 21.5 16.3 27.0 SG&A 19.7 18.9 20.2 Profit -2.1 -10.1 7.0   GFS. In detail, Taiwan covers most of the Cluster’s financial sector business and is expected to decline in revenue and growth margin for the year 2007 relative to the achievements in the previous year due to lack of large Clearpath upgrade orders and the continuous merger and acquisition strategies between banks which will result to delay in IT purchases. Meanwhile, Hong Kong focuses on the upgrading of ICL check imaging and truncation system along with some enhancement services for existing base. On the pother hand, business in China is mainly on payment, Customer Relations Management and call centre services as opportunities in China insurance and financial institution markets are yet to be exploited. Hence, achieving order and revenue targets heavily relies on early closure of Taiwan upgrade deals while GFS forecast practice services margin improvement with least problem projects is expected to meet risky profit target as dictated by the margin brought about by the changes in the Clearpath sales.  GPS. The forecast reflects closure of several relatively small government projects in 2007 since the Cluster has inadequate local sales resources to support the forward movement of the business. With remote Asia sales support, emphasis will be accorded on China projects that are targeted to have a couple of strategic wins including e-ticketing, thus expecting to achieve the planned revenue and profit along with the Hong Kong Marine project revenue being pulled through since the fourth quarter of 2006.  GCI. The plan is being pulled together from a few of the Transportation projects in China in which the key project is to supply a new Dorado 380 system amounting to more or less 20M to Travelsky to support the expanded passenger load to meet the project completion on year 2008 for the Olympics hosting. The company is at ease with the plan based on the estimation that the Dorado project will generate sell and bill of 20M as well as backlog revenue of 4M from BCIA/Travelsky OMSE services. Meanwhile, the merger of Air China and China Eastern cargo services has delayed the execution of hosting services contract in which the date is yet to be confirmed. Moreover, IBM/Amadeus JV on GDS solution remains a thrust to Unisys while exploring GVC opportunity in Ports need to be considered.  GOIS. Revenue for the year 2007 is maintained flat year on year for the cluster while profit is on the downturn relative to the 2006 achieved revenue and profit goal. Majority of the planned revenue for 2007 is from the recurring businesses that cover CORE, TSM and DTS services as well as some small scale new ITO/BPO projects which are assumed in the plan keeping SG&A at 2006 at level since the plan does not split country projection appropriately to reflect business potential. The marketing partnership agreement with Easipass has been signed and UGSC/MCS has provided low cost offerings, advising further GOIS to stay focused in outsourcing business in the marketplace.   S&T. Meanwhile, the S&T plan has a relatively more aggressive revenue/profit target and is built on the assumption that ES7000 sales, Travelsky Dorado 380, CHB DR, BOC DR will be recognized. It is noted ES7000 margin is inflated and SG&A has increased by 0.8M as compared to the 2006 OL. However, reseller business in China is not convincing as there is exposure of ES7000 sales in the plan and corporate allocations of 15.6M has impacted S&T 2006 results. As allocations were made according to the previous year results, the company expects that by 2007 allocations will not be lower based on the sell of a few Clearpath systems in Taiwan in 2006 and there are risks in meeting the planned revenue and profit. Collaboration with business units on the Clearpath sales and revisiting the ES7000 program are the likely strategies for S&T to maximize sales and lower the profit breakeven point. Profitability status of the Unisys offices from the Greater China Cluster. Business operations in Taiwan which mainly cover the services business with local banks, the Unisys platform is being used to develop the GFS applications based on customer needs. Mergers and acquisition strategies between banks are likewise expected to continue for the year 2007 which will directly record significant impact on the closure of some of the Clearpath upgrade deals. Existing accounts on the merger and acquisition strategy plan will be proactively continued for a better position in IT purchase from the resulting new banks. The success of the Taiwan Clearing House payment system will be utilized for further business expansion along with the success of the E-Sun Bank call center solution project as well as the exploration of the BPO area with other local financial institutions. Since the Taiwan operations exceeded the 2006 targets, the same will be expected for the year 2007.  Meanwhile the streams of revenue in the Unisys office in Hong Kong are coming from recurring ITO, BPO and maintenance services/TSM & DTS. The GFS sector and operations focus on the application of support services with banks while the S&T sector prioritizes selling products to target accounts which include the Hong Kong Airport Authority and Sun Hung Kai. Currently, the office is at the final phase of closing a system integration project of the very first open source solution in the Greater China Cluster for Sun Hung Kai.  Products sales to SHK are likewise expected after closure of the open source SI deal to support the newly integrated system. The SHK deal set a good example on support alignment between business units wherein a SI engagement partner is contracted to oversee the project in order to minimize risks in the course of implementation. Furthermore, a simplified sales model on Unisys coverage is targeted for implementation across the Cluster countries.  With regards to China, it is expected to have a moderate growth in 2007 with which GCI is the main revenue source because the early closure of the Dorado 380 deal for 20M with Travelsky will eventually help China operations achieve revenue and profit targets. A review of S&T and GFS sales strategies is needed to secure closure of deals with target customers while the GPS is expected to record a breakthrough in the government sector.   Key accounts Travelsky Dorado 380 sale 20M is key to GCI making the plan no., plus OMSE services, this account will bring in some 22M revenue next year. This exclude the ES7000 open bid for 2.9M that we have a fair to close in Q4. BCIA T3 project implementation is on schedule with expected revenue of some 2.0M for next year based on milestone achievement. SHK is a system integration project for security related applications development based on J2EE open source. Expect to sign in Q4 for 3.8M covering 18 months project duration. Air China – contract execution of 10M for provsion of Cargo HIS migration services has been put on hold until completion of cargo merger activity between Air china and China Eatern. CHB DR system of 5.2M is included in the plan. Working to accelerate project completion to Q4. Starbucks – sucessful rollrout of managed services in China will lead to hugh business potential yers to comes.   Cluster view/realism on 07 OP                                   OP                      realism                 cluster view            comments Order                   113.6           3.0                             110.6                   China ES7000 reseller program issues Revenue         116.6           3.0                             113.6                           SG&A                    20.2                    0.3                             19.9                            savings on simplified sales model Profit                  7.0                     1.0                             6.0                             overstated ES and services margin              Similarities in profitability issues and causative factors encountered.   Differences in profitability issues and causative factors encountered. 6. Conclusions, Solutions and Recommendations Develop new and appropriate business strategies for the company.  Develop useful strategic recommendations that would boost the company’s profitability. Tighten control on costs Elimination of problem projects Simplification of sales model focusing on strategic accounts   Cluster has planned, in accordance with the Asia Pacific directive, trimmed down the organization and implemented an integrated sales model to support the focused accounts. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Effective Strategic Shift will Drive the Company towards Profitable

1. Context for the Chosen Topic Companies employ detailed business plans and strategies in order to gain several benefits from its com...