Research Topics: Optical Capital Structure

EXPANDING EXISTING BUSINESS TO CANADA

Executive Summary   This report tackles a survey study of QMX Support Services, Inc. in expanding its business operations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  It also presents the necessary factors affecting the business such as Canada’s geography, demographics, political structure, culture, business culture, economics, and overall business environment. This report was done in order to take a deeper understanding regarding the operational and organizational processes and issues that take place within QMX Support Services, Inc. and give recommendations for the improvement of the company and its operation. In order to facilitate the author’s understanding of the study, research was done regarding the aforementioned aspects of Canada in particular Toronto and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The major findings of this report include the significant facts about the prospective business location and the important characteristics that will affect the whole company’s operation. Further, the main recommendations of this report are sub-divided into two interrelated parts: competition and business plan. Competition remains the ultimate consideration in every business expansion. The growth of the company and its services/products offered is dependent on the amount of competition at hand and taking in control of the target market. Thus, market dominance and product superiority is secured. In business planning, it is always imperative to plan and project business management strategies, its implementations and its eventual results. Therefore, QMX Support Services, Inc. is a potential ICT service provider in Canada.   Introduction               Information has always been a critical factor to the success of a business. For this reason, every company in this age must realize the importance of information management and how this will blend with the corporation’s business strategies and techniques. One must examine its interaction with the world and economic, political and social issues that influences the business environment. This applies to business organizations that have been long operating as well as to firms and business enthusiasts who are thinking of putting up their own enterprise. The advances in technology and the fast modernization of the world, in general, opened new and very promising avenues of business abroad. A lot of business-minded individuals from different countries with different nationalities and cultural orientation have and continuously defied the geographic boundaries that exist between continents. This is evident in the growing number of internationally-operating business firms all over the world run by entrepreneurs of varying race and culture. Such is the globalization trend that has plagued the industries as the information man rebelled successfully against intercontinental borders. However, the complexities of the internationalization craze resulted to the downsizing and concentration among small and medium-scale businesses. The main purpose of this report is to determine and devise recommendations to expand the operations of QMX Support Services, Inc. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The essential information that will be gathered through this survey study will serve as the foundational basis for probable construction of recommendations for the company’s planned expansion for the next 6-12 months.      Geography               Canada is a multi-faceted country. It is one of the potentially effective businesses setting because it possesses one of the world’s richest markets. Technologically, Canada is highly advanced and can accommodate various developments in the said industry. Canada is the second largest country in the world that consist a variety of landforms and an abundance of diverse natural resources.             Demographics               The following table presents the demographical data of Canada as adapted from The World Factbook 2005 available at CIA webpage.   Political Structure               Canada is among the world’s established political structure. Generally, Canada is a democratic constitutional monarchy. It is also a federal state that consists of 10 largely self-governing provinces and three territories governed by the central administration. The federal government is in-charge of all the necessary engagements of the whole country ranging from inter-provincial and international trade, national defense, criminal law, banking and monetary systems, and the fisheries.             Canada is composed of a multi-party democratic system that is replaced by a new government elected within the span of 4-5 years. Today, there are four major political parties existing namely: Liberal; Conservative; Bloc Québécois; and New Democratic Party. The present administration that is ruled by the Conservative party was elected in January 2006 and has a minority government in Parliamentary. The Prime Minister is elected when he/she obtains the most number of elected seats while the cabinet is usually coming from the ruling party.             In the provinces and territories, they govern their own matters in education, property and the administration of justice, hospitals and municipalities. The municipalities are created under provincial laws and possess the liberty to make by-laws that deals with local issues.   Culture   In a multicultural setting, such as those of Canada, the customs, beliefs and practices of the native country the company has set up its business in, contributes to the overall development and success of the company. Alvesson states that:   “The concept of culture seems to lend itself to very different uses as collectively shared forms of for example, ideas and cognition, as symbols and meanings, as values and ideologies, as rules and norms, as emotions and expressiveness, as the collective unconscious, as behavior patterns, structures and practices, etc. all of which may be made targets to study (p. 3).”   Culturally speaking, Canada is a multicultural state. It encourages immigration of different people that contributes to its diversity. As a business environment, the cultural characteristics of this melting pot are necessary in identifying the factors needed in a latent business operation.     Business Culture   Specifically, the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry in Canada is progressive. The percentage of its nationwide utilization ICT services per household covered: over 98% in telephone, 28% in cell phones, and 51% home computer and Internet access. Canada is one of the world’s backbones in Internet providing as well as the most technology-savvy and connected countries with a remarkable fastest speed of 40Gbs. For the record, Canada’s ICT industry generated a total of $CND125 billion excess of revenue. From 1993 to 2000, the sector achieved a compounded annual growth rate of 9.9% and employment showed development at 5.7%. Today, Canada has developed a competitive but vibrant ICT industry such as telecommunications, wireless, network and optical technologies, semiconductor design, and software development. Furthermore, Stephenson identified the key factors in Canadian business opportunity. He states that: “Canada’s economic fundamentals and relative cost advantage provide a first-rate business environment. The country provides excellent economic fundamentals, easy access to market, cost-competitive business environment, an excellent place to live in, progressive foreign investment, and supports and promotes innovation.” In particular, Toronto is the country’s leading service sector and attracts a growing amount of high-tech businesses. It is also a major tourist center that welcomes the influx of many Arab, Asian, African, and Caribbean immigrants. These people have dramatically diversified the ethnic composition; roughly a tenth of the population is now ethnically Chinese. Furthermore, suburbanization and redevelopment of the downtown and waterfront have changed the city’s character.               Economics of Canada               As a member of G7 group of leading industrial countries, Canada embodies a high standard quality of living, outstanding infrastructure, highly educated and skilled workforce, and reputable and successful trading nation.              Canada takes pride of having a strong economy. Historically, it recorded a consistent performance characterized by growth, low inflation, stable unit labour costs, improved cost competitiveness, record exports, and a healthy level of business investment since 1994 up to present.             In terms of per capita purchasing power, Canada established its place among the G7 countries with most developed economies worldwide. It continues to maintain one of the world’s lowest inflation rates. Acknowledge as one of the longest and most stable expansions of the post-war era, Canada recorded the eight consecutive year of economic growth in 1999. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached 9.4 billion (or , 054 per capita). Its GDP accelerated to 4.2 percent from 3.1 percent in 1998.             The Canadian Dollar, as the country’s currency, continuously recovered from a historic low of US.638 in August 27, 1998 due to the global economic and financial crises. Today, it gains its progressive appreciation among other currencies in the world.             In the job market, the openness and free flow of trade and investment contributes to the remarkable increase of job creation. In 1999, job growth documented a significant figure of 3.0 percent and considered the highest rate since 1988. On December of the same year, unemployment dropped to 6.8 percent making the lowest level since April of 1976. Today, the job market is increasingly prosper and has not created the onslaught of inflation.             Specifically, Toronto falls under Ontario who has a diversified economy with potency across a variety of specified sectors. The Ontario economy marked its increased productivity when the slowed economic growth in 2003 (1.3 percent) rebounded to 2.3 percent in 2004. The real GDP is predicted to expand and accelerate from 2.0 percent on 2005 up to 2.8 percent in 2006. Employment in Ontario was 6,316,000 in 2004 with 108,000 jobs produced. Inflation was 1.9 percent in 2004 and forecasted to reach an average of 1.9 percent in 2006 as to compare with 2.1 percent in 2005. Canada’s superpower economy pushes a steady course as it goes onto most modern perspective of prosperity using new paradigms.   Overall Business Environment             Considering Canada as a prospective location for expansion is based on the nation’s identity as the lowest costs in the overall business costs by countries. Canada holds the record of lowest costs as to compare with United States and Europe. It is also same as true when it comes to various categories like electricity rates, industrial land and construction costs, and property taxes.               Generally, the recommendations are sub-divided into two segments namely: competition and business plan.   Competition   Competition is an important factor to consider before entering a business. Companies should have successful competitive strategies to be able attract, retain and grow customers. However, before the company can plan and execute these strategies, it should be able to pinpoint its sources of competitive advantage which can be differentiated through products, services, channels, people and image (Kotler & Armstrong 23). In the case of expanding the business operations, determining what the public has been willing to pay and spend their money with during the previous months such as similar properties offered by other companies is a factor that should be given importance especially in setting the prices of services at stake. The company management and other staff and employees who are hired for their knowledge and skills should have access to information such as comparative market analysis and other comprehensive data with information regarding successful buys and accounts as well as services that were not easily sold. This will provide an array of strategies that the sales representatives can learn from in order to sell the services and products offered by the company. It is important to know everything regarding the target market. Since the success of service sector is largely dependent on the social or people skills of the agents and their knowledge and wit in selling the company’s offering, it would be best if competitive people will make up the personnel of the establishment. Competition is dealt greatly and more seriously in learning about the competitors present in the market who are also willing to give their best in order to take a good share of the market. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, there are a number of ICT businesses that are operating at present. For this business enterprise to prosper, the products or services rendered by the company should be differentiated from that of the others. The image of the business firm in particular should be projected in the most pleasing way highlighting its reputation and accountability. This will induce some influence on how the target market will behave towards and perceive the company. Good business deals should be released to the public in order to advertise the company and the services or products on sale. Good business connections for the visibility of the agency among the communities and social gatherings of the target market. The services and properties that the business firm will make available to the prospective buyers should be clearly distinguished and described in the most appealing manner. Efficiency of services as well as in processing the needed papers and other documents should not be a worrisome burden to the clients.   Business Plan In today’s global marketplace, intense competitiveness and strong entrepreneurship is viable. Maintaining a good management strategy is crucial. In this study, assessment of modern business strategies of different countries will be elaborated. The diversity of management strategies of one industry will be compared to another to determine the behavior of such company to gain a larger market. Thus, to derive to an accurate analysis, theories and principles will also be included on the study. Every business is subject to factors that affect the firm’s function as a whole.  These factors are the ones attributed for the success or even the failure of a business.  In the light of this, there are certain ways or techniques that can be considered in order to emerge and continue to be competitive within the market place. Establishing a new business requires a number of resources in order to become successful. In addition, a number of internal and external factors must be first considered so as to adapt the establishment to current market and business trends. It is most important to decide first on the types of products and services that will be offered to the target market. The company should be clear in the type of business transactions it will handle for the clients. Classifications or categorizations of products and services will help enumerate the business transactions that the establishment will make available. This is considered as a start up plan for the owner or head of this kind of business. Through this illumination, the owner or owners of this particular business endeavor will be able to locate and hire the staff and employees for the business to be operational. The business then should be able to construct the internal business structure of the establishment as a business enterprise which will include the delegation of tasks and responsibilities to its team members. This will clarify the responsibilities of the people working in the agency and will enhance efficient and effective business transactions and communication within the business firm. The company should be likewise sensitive to the finances of the business. The capital or the amount of money that the owner or owners will invest on should be strategically and wisely allocated to the different expenses that the establishment will be confronted with. This will directly influence the type and extent of the products and services that the firm will offer. Exhausting and maximizing the potential of material, social and human resources available will help the business to set it goals. Processing the legality of the business and obtaining the proper documents to start the company should be realized as soon as possible to make it operational. Marketing strategies should be formulated taking into account the market trends and competition in the industry and locale. It is best to set the agency or company into something that the public, especially the target market, will recognize. Advertising and promotional endeavors will be important in order to gain clients from whom the firm will profit. Historical market analyses, projections and other relevant statistics will be helpful in conceptualizing market strategies that will put the agency in the best light. It is also important for every member of the company to be aggressive when it comes to the stakes of the agency. External connections or networking will likewise prove beneficial when the agency has started its operations. This will assist and facilitate efficient and lucrative deals from where the agency can benefit from.    Conclusion   In general, it is better to understand that businesses and companies are better able to market their products to consumers if they have a good understanding of the consumers and the basic purchase decision process. By understanding the consumer and the type of purchasing behavior associated with different products, public relations managers are more likely to create a campaign that positively impacts the consumer’s purchasing decision. As Stephenson stated Canada is “strong in economic performance”, geographically outstanding as business operation, “NAFTA provide easy access to the world’s most prosperous market, large stock of skilled workers, low start-up costs, competitive tax system, strong technological environment, positive business climate, superb quality of life”, and FDI that doubled since 1990. Thus, these characteristics are considered as advantage to QMX Support Services, Inc. intended operation for the next 6-12 months.                                       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

EXPANDING EXISTING BUSINESS TO CANADA

Executive Summary This report tackles a survey study of QMX Support Services, Inc. in expanding its business operations in Toronto, On...

Management Support Systems

Change management can be defined as the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary after takeover or merging of one or more companies or organizations. Change management focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in the gradual adjustment of the “new” management and its workforce. More often than not, the newly merged or acquired business entities don’t really have an easy time adjusting to the changes brought about by the acquisition or take-over. As a result, these entities engage in activities that are somehow resisting to changes. Therefore, the major activities of the company such as the manufacturing of products, product development, production and distribution become severely hampered. However, change management deals with all operations done within companies and organizations. Activities such as the management of purchases, the control of human resources, logistics and evaluations are often the focus of change management. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, change management includes the analysis and management of internal processes. Companies today have to be efficient, flexible and profitable. Without these factors, it would be very difficult to compete in the global economy. Aside from participating in strategic alliances to fully enhance the resources they need to become competitive, many companies now evolve and expand through mergers or acquisitions. Among the most important merger and acquisition deals in recent years are Daimler-Chrysler, Chase-J.P. Morgan, SKB-Glaxo, NationsBank-Bank of America, and Deutsche Telekom-Voice Stream. Although global economic and market conditions are unpredictable, the future provides the best conditions for the continuation of merger and acquisition processes. Some businessmen argue that the fast pace of mergers and acquisitions ultimately becomes the driving force behind the formulation of agreements and rules for business conduct. Merging and acquisition deals may have the potential to create enormous economic and social consequences. They can easily drive away the major competitors within a country. They can also determine how and where people should work. However, earning the approval of the government for merging and acquisition deals would never be easy. Change management undergoes through a series of stages. At every stage, the effective management of human resource (HR) and cultural issues is critical. This is initiated by the identification of the HR issues and their significance for the company’s activities. If not handled properly, this could lead to the further downfall of the organization instead of going upward towards the ladder of success. Positive Impacts of Effective Change Management Among the competitive advantages enjoyed by most companies upon reinforcement of effective change management include the following: ·        Economies of Scale and Scope in manufacturing and research and development. ·        Unique Quality Technology owing to heavy emphasis on research An organization’s commitment to research & development activities has always been one of the top strategies to remain competitive in the market.           ·        Differentiated Products Through the production and marketing of differentiated products originating from their research and development activities, the company is able to create its own firm-specific advantages. The continuous pursuit of research and development processes enables the company to produce a steady stream of originally differentiated products which makes it difficult for competitors to find substitutes. Because of this differentiated approach, the company is able to market their products worldwide, which enables them in turn to maximize the returns on research and development expenditures. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE & LEADERSHIP The aftermath of most resistance to change cases among organizations and companies often leads to the implementation of a somewhat autocratic type of leadership and management. Because of the adjustments that the newly combined workforce would have to endure, it is not surprising that at first the new management would hold so much power and decision-making authority.  The management would have the tendency to seldom consult its employees especially in making crucial decisions. As a precautionary measure, the change management would include having a perfectionist type of management to make sure that the new reporting system would remain consistently efficient. The motivation environment is often characterized through the establishment of a new structured set of rewards and punishments. However, as time goes by the workforce and the new management gets to jive with each other. Along with this is the changing of leadership type from autocratic to a democratic type. This way, the participation of all key stakeholders especially the workers will be more encouraged. If they feel something is right or wrong, or if they want to tell something important to the management, they can now be free do so without any worries. Also, a democratic leadership approach allows the management to have a feedback regarding the policies and regulations being implemented. They will immediately know if there is any tension going on between or among the stakeholders involved. Thus, immediate action can be planned and implemented by the management to keep matters from getting worse. Advantages of Democratic Leadership and Transparent Communication 1)     Improved Company financial control – the capability of the company to gain profit will be very evident because all units are virtually converted into profit centres. Thus, the company will be able to operate an internal capital market more efficiently. 2)     Improved Strategic Control – management will be able to concentrate on planning and refining corporate strategy since they are assured that the workers are working efficiently. 3)     Enhanced Growth – This type of leadership would be able to overcome a limit to growth because it allows the company to take control of many business operations without having risks of overload in information. 4)     Improved Internal Efficiency – since the performance of every worker can be easily monitored under a democratic type of leadership, the management will be able to realize that corporate managers can detect their inefficiencies, and this will motivate them to aspire for excellence. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR It is normal that when the new management starts to assume its post, it will have to implement stricter rights and privileges for its workers. There is a possibility that the once strong and transparent relationship that existed between the management and workers prior to the acquisition or merger would be replaced by frustration and hatred. When this happens, the performance of the new workforce will surely be severely affected and their efficiency will decline. This is because of concentrating on their work, they will now be more concerned about the diminished benefits they would be possibly be getting. These worries and anxieties will pave the way for them to inhibit frustration and anger towards their new supervisors and the management as a whole, feeling they are already taken for granted. It is a well known fact that human resources play a crucial role towards differentiation and a potent source of competitiveness for any organization or company. Therefore, any organization must take care and constantly invest in human resource development especially during these periods of adjustment to a new management and environment. However, the determination of the extent to which an organization can invest in terms of human resources development depends on the financial capabilities of the company or organization. The rights and privileges of the workers must be carefully studied under the change management program of the company, because it should jive with the basic policies of an organization’s human resource development strategy. Common Resistance to Change related Organizational Behaviour Concerns 1)     Formation of the divisional-corporate authority relationship – the problem here is in making the decision as to how much authority would be needed to centralize at the corporate level and how much authority would be also needed to decentralize at the divisional level. 2)     Information Distortion – if the corporate centre will pressure the divisions too much, then the divisions might be encouraged to radically change the information they normally supply to their corporate managers. 3)     Competition of Resources – since corporate divisions are normally evaluated on return of investment (ROI) criteria, this might cause them to start competing for resources). 4)     Transfer Pricing problem – when corporate divisions engage in competition, it would become extremely difficult to set fair prices for trading resources between them. This is because each division will try to set the highest price it can to maximize its own ROI. However, these efforts can undoubtedly alter the corporate performance and ROI. 5)     Short-term focus on research and development – if the corporate divisions will be evaluated on the basis ROI target, this might put pressure on research to improve their financial performance. IMPLEMENTING CULTURAL CHANGE A. Cultural Change Planning Cultural change planning is a necessary function within companies and organizations undergoing change management. In most companies and organizations this process is often very difficult because of the fast rate of cultural change and the occurrences of unplanned events. Therefore, companies and organizations must use several methodologies to prevent further unnecessary resistance to change by the workforce. Nevertheless, the objectives of the organization for cultural change planning do not change: efficiency and effectiveness in the long run. Cultural change planning is being implemented by most organizations and companies in order for their workforces to coordinate together to be able to do their activities and resources in time. This enables the organization to achieve its goals with minimal resource utilization while providing opportunities for the new and old employees to bond together as a new workforce. Cultural change planning also enables the company or organization to monitor the progress of their plans at regular intervals and maintain their control over operations. Cultural change planning within most companies and organizations involves four elements: cultural change scheduling, labor planning, and cultural change cost planning. <ul type="disc" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Cultural change scheduling involves the specification of the beginning, the length or the duration, and end of the planned cultural change activities. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Labor planning involves allocating the necessary personnel and delegation of responsibilities and resources during the process of cultural change. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Cultural change cost planning involves determining the costs and the possibility of their occurrence during the process of cultural change.</li> </ul> B. Cultural Research Analysis The occurrence of cultural research within the organization or company reflects the growing difficulty in the management of organizations that require the effective use of valuable resources, especially their people. This is the reason why cultural research analysis is being done by most organizations and companies in order to determine the most effective ways to coordinate their newly acquired human resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies such as mathematics, science, and engineering . Through this process, culture-related problems among the old and new employees are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the company’s management. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their goals. More often than not, cultural research analysis is concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy and human resource allocation. Culture research analysis actually may vary according to the structures and philosophy of the company. But normally, most companies centralize cultural research analysis in one department at a time. Cultural research analysis may also have the possibility of working closely with top level managers in order to identify and solve a variety of culture-related problems. No matter what the type or structure of the company is, culture research analysis operates under similar sets of methodologies in order to carry out the analysis to support the company’s goal to improve the overall performance of their newly established workforce. The process is started by the description of the symptoms of a culture-related problem, followed by the formal definition of the problem. For example, a culture research analyst for an organization might be questioned regarding the most effective bonding activity for every department. Also, the analyst might be asked to determine the optimal number of employees needed to be kept in a department while taking into consideration the differences of the cultures of the people involved. Cultural change planning within the organization determines the best ways to utilize on of its basic factors of production, the human resources. Cultural change planning is the bridge that links the goals of management and operational performance of the workforce. It is concerned with the increase in productivity through the proper management of people and choosing the appropriate methods of business organization. The organization’s management performs the careful analysis of the culture of their employees and their behavior. In this process, they make use of various methods in its culture research to meet the requirements. They also develop systems of cultural management control in order to aid in the planning of finances and cost analysis in the process of cultural change. These systems are eventually subjected to improvements for the effective distribution of goods and services. Critical Cultural Change Implementation Factors For the organization to be able to implement successful cultural changes, the following implementation factors are critical: ·        Financial Stability Financial stability is crucial especially in the pursuit of cultural change management and development activities. In any industry, it is important to remain updated with the latest cultural change management developments to be able to stay competitive in the market. ·        Workforce Performance The production of the best products and services in spite of cultural differences among the employees comes as a result of well-funded cultural change management and development activities. The strong performance of the workforce could also be linked to their willingness to succeed. However, the organization has to be aware of the cultural changes in their workforce so as to maintain satisfactory profits margin and remain competitive in the market. IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE A. Technology Change Planning Technology change planning would serve as the link between the established standards and practices in the company. It would be able to articulate, organize, and most importantly integrate the content and processes of the company policies with integration of appropriate technologies. It would facilitate multiple levels of company policies and decision making. In general, the technology change planning is an ongoing process that would translate organizational, public policy, and technology needs of a company or organization into concrete actions. It allows the company to take advantage of the latest technology innovations while at the same time minimizing the negative impacts of unexpected challenges. Technology change planning provides a clear pathway for the implementation of the various Information Systems and E-business technologies which could result into a more efficient expenditure of the company’s resources and an improvement in company performance. The Technology Change Plan should reflect the policy and environment of the company. However, the technology change plan cannot guarantee the needed changes. The technology change plan must ensure that the processes of technology change plan development, implementation, and evaluation are included as the integral components of the implementation of the necessary Information Systems and E-business technologies. A well-designed Technology change plan would be a dynamic tool that will serve as a guide for the company’s innovations. This technology change plan would also represent opportunities for dialogue and professional development that enhance company decision making. The Technology change planning should: <ul type="disc" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Be an organized and continuous process, utilizing a simple yet direct planning model, and resulting into a document which would improve how the various technologies are used for the company’s management, assessment, and communications. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Take into consideration the mission and philosophy of the company or organization, its management and employees. While outside assistance, such as those that can be provided by consultants, can inject broader perspectives to the technology change planning process, the process requires the total commitment of the company or organization’s management and staff. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Be broad but realistic enough in terms of its scope. The technology change plan must also include economical and technically feasible solutions. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Involve all the stakeholders—including the management, employees, staff members, clients, and technology experts–with experience in technology change.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company or organization and how each will impact the implementation of technology change.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Make a formalization of the company procedures and methods for making technology change decisions, which should include also the setting of priorities and the evaluation, upgrading, and uses of technologies. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Be driven by the goals and objectives of the company or organization rather than by technological developments. </li> </ul> B.  Information Systems for Effective Technology Change Most companies and organizations implement these specific information systems to improve their business operations and induce an overall effective technology change. Transaction Processing System This information system is tasked to collect and organize operational data of the company’s activities). For example, a typical banking operation by a company involves transferring 0 from the account of their client to the company’s checking account. This would seem like a single operation to the company, but in reality this transaction consists of two steps: debiting the clients account by 0, and crediting the company’s checking account by 0. If the debit operation succeeded and the credit did not, then the 0 would disappear. The transaction processing system will combine these two operations and group them into a single transaction. This will be done through the production of copies of the data in question, and these copies are then made to run the operations on the copied data. When both commands have successfully completed, the changed data is written back to the system in a single operation. If one of the operations fails, the copied data is simply discarded, and an error is reported. For many years transaction processing was the domain of information systems, especially since they these information systems were able to guarantee that any changes to the database would be completed. This worked well for most companies, and they could all even run on top of a database with a single client-server. However, in recent years this model has also become more difficult to maintain. As the number of transactions grew in response to various online services, a single database proved to be very inefficient. Also, most online systems consist of a whole suite of programs operating together, as opposed to a strict client-server model where the single server could handle the transaction processing. Nevertheless, this type of information system will significantly bolster the business operations of the company or organization when successfully implemented. Management Support Systems 1) Decision Support System This information system goes beyond one-way presentations and sharing of applications to enable a focused exchange of ideas over the Internet or an Intranet. Researches have proved that electronic brainstorming is able to generate more and better ideas. This is brought about by the combination of parallel idea generation and the utilization of focus group discussions and tools for the organization of ideas. Therefore, decision-making is done with a higher degree of consensus and a higher likelihood of implementation success. Meetings within companies and organizations would only take less than a fraction of time as expected. But more importantly, the employees walk away with the minutes of the meeting in hand, regardless of where they are. Also, because the tools are web-based, the company management can choose the proper setting for the meetings, whether to place the clients in a conference room, set up a distributed meeting or a mixture of both. The management can decide whether the meeting should be done in real-time or whether the clients can participate and contribute their ideas only when their schedule allows them to. Either way, the company or organization can be assured of getting the same focus and productivity while at the same time having a significantly greater flexibility in terms of scheduling. 2) Executive Information System (EIS) The Executive Information System begins with the identification of problems. These include the gaps between the desired and actual states that cannot be easily closed easily because of the new knowledge that needs to be produced to support the decisions and actions needed to close them. There are generally three (3) classes of such problems: ·         problems occurring in the business processes; ·         problems occurring in the knowledge processes; and ·         problems occurring in the Knowledge management processes. Problems occurring in the business processes cannot be resolved through the use of Knowledge management solutions, but through knowledge processing solutions. The other two classes of problems, however, can be solved through the use of Executive Information System services. This Information System will identify, formulate, and evaluate the knowledge processing and knowledge management problems This is the most important service that the EIS could provide. Failure to solve a business process problem within a company or organization, for instance, may not be caused by a problem in the organization and structure of their organizational knowledge processes. Instead, it may be possibly caused by a failure in solving an extremely difficult business process problem, even though available knowledge processes are working just fine. There are certain instances, however, that it is not always very clear what the nature of the problem is, even if a knowledge processing problem exists. For example, the fact that the knowledge needed to support a particular decision is not there may be possibly caused by the fact that the knowledge exists, but is currently unavailable because of a poorly operating knowledge sharing process. Another possible explanation is that it could be caused by the fact that the process of the development of new knowledge claims is not open to most organizational participants. The bottom line is the process on how the problem is formulated and diagnosed. Because of its experience in the development of the underlying conceptual foundations of Knowledge Management, the Executive Information System will be able to identify, formulate and evaluate knowledge processing and knowledge management problems within the company. 3) Expert System The Expert System is meant to solve real company problems which normally would require hiring a human expert to solve them. Building the Expert system therefore first involves the extraction of the crucial information from a human expert. Such knowledge is often characterized as heuristic in nature. However, the extraction of relevant information from an expert in a way that can be used by a computer is generally a difficult task. Therefore, a knowledge engineer is needed to do the job of extracting this knowledge and building the expert system knowledge base. The first attempt in the construction of the Expert System would unlikely be very successful. This is partly because the human expert generally would find it very difficult to express the necessary knowledge and rules needed to solve the problem. Much of it is almost subconscious, or appears so obvious that most human experts don’t even bother mentioning it. Knowledge acquisition for the Expert System would involve a big area of research, with a wide variety of techniques that also need to be developed. However, it is important for the company to first develop an initial prototype based on the relevant information extracted in the interview of the human expert, then make some refinements on it based this time on the feedbacks coming from both the human expert and from the potential users of the Expert System. In order to do such refinements from the prototype it is important that the Expert System must be written in such a way that it can easily be inspected and modified. The system should be able to explain its reasoning and also be able to answer questions regarding the solution process. The system updating must not involve rewriting a whole lot of codes. It must include simply the addition or deleting localized chunks of knowledge. The most widely used knowledge representation scheme for expert systems is rules. Typically, the rules do not have certain conclusions, but there is some degree of certainty that the conclusion will hold if the conditions hold also. Statistical techniques are often used to determine these certainties. Rule-based systems, with or without certainties, can be easily modified, thus making it easy to provide helpful traces of the system’s reasoning. These traces can be further used in providing explanations of what it is doing. Expert systems have long been used to solve a wide range of problems in domains which include medicine, mathematics, engineering, business, law and education. Within each domain, they have been used to solve problems of different types. Types of problem involve diagnosis (e.g., of a system fault or student error); design (of computer systems); and interpretation (of, for example, geological data). The necessary problem solving techniques tend to depend more on the type of the problems rather than on the domain. Office Automation System The Office Automation System would provide the incorporation of important company documents of all types through the integration of images into the Automation System. The Office System would include applications such as word processing, database, and mail, all of which are able to access image documents. The storage of document images is made possible through the utilization of a variety of storage media such as microfilms and optical disks. An image access subsystem, on the other hand, provides to each of the Office Automation applications the uniform access to images stored on all of the media. The image access subsystem can then be used as a hardware controller to handle some of the complex events in the retrieval of images from the image storage devices. A relational database system must be used in order to organize the stored images so as to provide flexible access to the images and to isolate any effects of reconfiguration of the image storage system. CONCLUSION The results of the analysis carried out on the modern knowledge regarding change management of most companies and organizations indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the change management of organizations could still be expected to improve faster than average. The review of the relevance of leadership in resistance to change revealed very little inconsistencies regarding the existing knowledge regarding change management. This is coherent with the traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now. The analysis of the effects of resistance to change on the elements of organizational behavior revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options. Also, organizations and companies have to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement an effective change management policy. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Management Support Systems

Change management can be defined as the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary after takeover or ...

Expansion of a Software firm in to New Asian Markets

Introduction             People are constantly on the look out for innovations that will allow them to tackle difficult and complicated tasks with ease. The need to develop methods or processes that will allow people to complete difficult and complicated tasks is important. The need aroused in order to reduce margins for errors.  If people can develop methods or process that will enable them to complete tasks with as little error as possible, they will be able to save both time and resources. This means that more tasks can be completed for lesser costs. This is especially important for businesses where both time and resources are invaluable.   As time progress, people were able to develop tools that will help them achieve this goal. With the invention computers and the development of the internet, human intervention seemed to become less and less. In due time, businesses were able to appreciate the value of computers in their business activities. Soon enough, computers were standard office equipments. People taught themselves to work with machine in order to be more efficient and productive.   However, people and their activities evolve with the passing of time. Business activities required more from the systems that they were using. They deemed that their business would be more productive if their systems were specialized. Thus, the need to develop software that would meet the demands of the market grew and grew into an industry. This industry became the support of business organizations. They provide business with tools that would allow them to improve the products of services that they provide to their respective markets.   Upon entering the twenty-first century, people and organizations alike began to recognize the role that information and technology will play in their present and futures. More and more individuals and organization are realizing the power of technology specifically information technology. People saw that the world can be at the palm of their hands with just a click of a button. Business organizations experienced the efficiency of information technology in the aspects of sales, operations and finance to name a few. True enough, technological innovations are sweeping the world off its feet.               Some examples of specialized software being used by various business organizations include customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and supply chain management. These softwares allow business organizations to determine trends in specific aspects of their business. In turn, these trends pave the way for the formulation of programs or policies that needs to be implemented in order to maintain or improve the performance of the company.               A concrete example of some of the uses of technology that helps in enhancing the performance of the business organization can be illustrated with the use of both internal and external networks. Communication is very important when conducting business activities. Every aspect of the transaction must be clear in order to avoid costly mistakes. The installation and use of internets and intranets will allow employees to communicate in real time without leaving their workstations and thus saving time. It is also the case that               In light of the globalizing market, business organizations see the importance of having and maintaining a reliable information system that will allow them to consolidate their business activities around the world. However, in the same way that the world and its inhabitants evolve, software that makes the system run gets outdated or obsolete. This means that business organizations must be on a constant look out for innovations that will give them more edge over the competition.               This also implies that the demand for software will be around as long as businesses and individuals see them as important parts of their activities. In this light, software firms have great chances of experiencing growth now as compared to previous years. As technology is being integrated into the daily routines of people and organizations, the need to support these technologies with software is and will still be evident.               Therefore, opportunities for expansion will be available to software firms. As the demand for the products and services being offered by software firms, they will be able to experience growth that will opportunities to venture forth and just domestically but internationally as well. It has stated earlier that markets are going global. This suggests that businesses around the world are being introduced to the methods and processes being used in the west. The opening of the eastern market will prove to be both fulfilling and challenging.               It has been noted for many years that countries in the Asian region are no stranger to technology. Some have the capacity to develop their own technologies and offer it to the world. Japan is one of these countries. The presence of the tradition of innovation paired with the perceived importance of technology in Asian countries can prove to be an obstacle for businesses who wish to expand their operation in the region.               On the other hand, Asia is home to the biggest markets in the world like china and India. The possibilities can be endless for business organizations that will be able to successfully enter these markets and establish a stronghold on the region. Being able to enter big markets and create a consumer base will assure a company of significant profits. These reasons are just some of the points that need to be considered by a software firm that wishes to expand its operation in new Asian markets.               These general characteristics of the Asian market can prove to be helpful in arriving at a decision to enter the Asian Region. Nevertheless, the risks involved in doing so is still evident. The weight of the advantages and the disadvantages of entering the Asian markets seems to be equal, this is the reason why there is a need to dig deeper in order to uncover more specific traits that will ultimately lead to the decision to expand to the Asian region.               The following sections of this chapter will be presenting the aspects that software firms need to be familiar with if they intend to expand their business operations in the Asian region. The general characteristics of the software market in the Asian region will be presented to give an overview of the nature of the market. It will document the claim that opportunities abound in the region for software firms. In addition, the demand for software products and services will be reiterated in order to strengthen the claim.               Furthermore, entry strategies will be discussed. This will serve as the platform in which the discussion of the appropriate steps to be taken will be launched. It was stated earlier that the various entry strategies would be discussed in order to determine the best possible strategy to be used by software firms once they decided to expand their business operation in the Asian region. At the end of this chapter a discussion of the traits of the Asian software market will be used the criteria for determining the appropriate entry strategy for software firms.             Information Technology and the Development of an Efficient Information System               Information technology is spreading like wildfire and it is not just a phenomena being observed in developed countries. Newly industrialized economies in the Asian region are also witnessing the dawn of information technology and its impacts on the business community. Majority of the businesses, operating in the industrial world needs computers and software to compete and survive the tight competition. Information technology has become a crucial part of the services and products made available to the consumers.               Therefore, the need to update software and systems must not be taken lightly by any company that wishes to integrate itself into the global business community. In order to compete with rivals, business organization must understand the role of technology in advancing the position of a business. New services and products that are highly dependent on technology are being introduced to the market, which entails that they are also dependent on softwares. To illustrate the point the statements are trying to express, the case of Harrison-Keyes will be presented.               Harrison-Keyes is well-known and established publishing company. They have been around for more than 100 years. In light of the innovations that has been occurring right and left, the company decided to get into e-publishing in order to tap into the internet based consumers. With this, they have implemented an e-publishing initiative. However, early on, they were met with a number of problems that threatens to end their hopes of digitizing their products.   The technologically significant problem that they had to face was the inadequacy of current Harrison-Keyes hardware to support the loads of e-commerce software that will allow them to sell their titles directly from their website. If the problem is not resolved as soon as possible or before the set time of e-book title release, the company will have no other option but to resort to posting or selling their titles through established online booksellers such as Amazon.               This means that the company will once again need to provide the necessary expenditure to pay the third party retailer and to be able to fix the technical difficulty that they are experiencing at the moment. Even though, the option to sell their title through a third party vendor, it is still the case that the expenses for such decision has not been projected prior to the launch of the e-publishing initiative. This can send the signal that a disaster is looming in the horizons.               The case of Harrison-Keyes presented a company who is ready to taken on the challenges of the digitizing market. They recognize the need of the consumers for products and services that are more convenient for them. However, the company itself is not technologically ready to launch such a project. The case showed how failure to maintain both hardware and software can foil a good business project and cost the business organization financial damages.                    Harrison-Keyes also presented that as businesses grow, the need to integrate information technology becomes greater.  Today, the growth of the business is tied with the growth of their information system. In turn, information technology is developed by business organization along with their information system. There are six identified stages of information technology growth.   -          Initiation -          Expansion -          Control -          Integration -          Data administration -          Maturity   It is believed that as businesses pass through the six stages of Information technology growth, they also experience transformation. This transformation affects their business operations both internally and externally. It can also lead to redesigning the business network and the redefinition of the scope of business. This means that information technology does not affect the production process alone but it also influences the structure of a business.   Therefore, the development of an information system is crucial in the realization of the perceived benefits of information technology. Systems analysis is one of the most important processes that need to be undertaken to develop an efficient information system. Systems analysts begin by identifying a problem or an opportunity. Afterwards, the systems analysts along with the stakeholders will have to determine the terms of reference. This is needed in order to establish the boundaries of the investigation. It is also important that the objectives of the system to be developed be defined.   In addition, feasibility studies and cost analyses must be completed. These will allow the systems analysts to investigate the various options available to them relative to its costs. It is also the case that the mentioned studies and analyses will determine the benefits of the available options. Upon the implementation of the new system, the transformation can take place as stated above.   During the analysis of the cost of the new system to be implemented, software is one of the focuses. Along with the hardware, softwares are needed to support or enhance the performance of the new hardwares. Computer software includes the operating system, application packages and programs to name a few. Software provides the detailed instructions or codes needed to guide the operation of a computer system. This means that as newer and newer hardware becomes available to businesses, software must also be updated to maximize the performance and capacity of the hardware.   This brings us to the point that business development in various industries brings about opportunities to software firms. It has been stated above, that information technology has become a huge part of business activities around he world. This means that the progression of businesses from one information technology stage to another brings about the demand for software products and services. In turn, these demands for new software products and services will result to additional business for software firm and thus the opportunity to expand their operations will be around the corner, so to speak.   The next section of this chapter will be presenting the status of the software industry. This will allow the research to present the status of the industry. In addition, the traits that marks the industry will also be presented in order to determine the aspects that affect the operation of businesses within the industry. An example of the aspect that will be presented is competition. This will also give a glimpse of what the future holds for software firms.    Software Industry             The software industry is highly competitive. Software firms are driven by the need and desire to innovate their own products and services. This is the case since innovation is the foundation of the industry itself. Firms who are able to release new products and services in the market have the chance of starting a new trend within the industry. This means that being innovative can catapult a software firm as an industry leader.              This is the reason why software firms are investing more on their research and development. In turn, this focus on research and development causes the industry to be characterized by rapid changes of both new and emerging technologies. The fierce competition and rapid changes where highlighted by the development and proliferation of the internet and intranet for businesses.   There are two economic characteristics of traded software contributes to the dynamics of competition within the industry.  The first characteristic is economics of software production. The production and distribution of software is in the same way like that of records or movies. They are ruled by costs of developments that are fixed. Since most software can be sold to the market without or little customization based on market segments, it is very profitable.   The software industry is very lucrative due to the fact that the population of mainframes is less than the installed based of microcomputers. This means that free lance software developers have the encouragement to offer the microcomputer market with application programs that are standardized. In addition, a large market for standardized software was formed due to the diffusion of low-cost microcomputers and potentials for higher profits as well as the association of low entry barriers to software development.   In the past, it is evident that the promises that the software industry holds true in western countries.  In the United States for example, computer producers, independent software vendors as well as users have encouragements to produce software. Computer producers saw that software complement their main products and thus the encouragement to develop software. This means computer producers doubles their profits since they were able to create the need for another product.   However, countries in Asia are not far behind their western counterparts. One of the forerunners of information technology in the Asian region is Japan. In fact,  commented that they are more productive than their American counterpart. Despite the fact that the Japanese software industry has many aspects that differ from the western software industry in terms of structure and performance, they still manage to become players in the world software market.   Parts of the success of the software industry in Japan can be attributed to the help that they get from their government. In the beginning, it was observed that the growth of the Japanese software industry was relatively slow and not as innovative as the software industry in America. Nevertheless, the software indsuty in Japan was estimated to be at 3,457,947 million yen in 1990 and this numbers only reflect the external activities of the software firms (Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 1990).    By 1993, a number of bankruptcies led the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to declare that the Japanese software industry was affected by the recession. In order to help the industry recuperate, they offered special subsidies and preferential treatments.   If one is compare the quality of Japanese software with American made software, it is important to distinguish the product areas. Some of the product areas are defense, telecommunications, finance, gaming, science, and technology to name a few. In the areas of finance, Japanese software is said to be comparable to American software. This may have been brought about by the increasing demand from Japanese banks.   It is also the case that in the area of gaming, Japanese software is showing strength. Some of the major producers of gaming consoles are based in Japan. As stated in the case of the US software industry, computer producers saw the opportunity to double their profits by introducing specific software for their computers. This also happened with the major gaming console manufacturers in Japan. They made sure that their products have unique specifications, which means that only specific or compatible software will run on them.   Because the shares of hardware depends on the sales of software, these companies had to invest on research and development. This move is only natural since gaming console is also proving to be very profitable. For example, since the first family computer was released in 1983, the sales for gaming consoles skyrocketed.   Up until today, the market of gaming consoles as well as their corresponding software has a market base composed of both young and adult around the world. This is a good thing for gaming console producers since some researches have shown that both generations have the purchasing capability to keep the wheels of businesses turning.   On the other hand, it is being recognized that on other product areas like operating systems, US software are the ones dominating the market. One of the examples of this is the widespread use of Windows as operating system for most computer. Windows is developed and distributed by Microsoft by Bill Gates. Nevertheless, Japanese software firms are working to catch up once again. They are in the process of developing some original programs. One of these original programs being developed is the real-time operating nucleus or TRON. It might take some time before the Japanese can be even with the Americans since most of their original programs are still in the experimental stage.   Despite, the degree success attained by the software industry, it is still plagued by issues that threatens to hamper both profitability and further growth of the industry. This is especially true for small and mid-sized software firms. It is important to know the various risks present in the software industry. This is the case since risks are part of the considerations that need to be taken when a firm intends to expand their business operations internationally.   On Survival               As abovementioned, most of the issues surrounding the software industry tends to affect small and mid-sized businesses. This is the case since the small business sector is very unstable and it is a continual failure. Since small business directly affects the combined growth of employment, then it must mean that for every company that failed, along with its’ jobless former employees, new small businesses will take over its place creating yet another employment opportunity.               Furthermore he also concludes that the failure of a small business is inversely related to the size of the business. Bates states, “A straightforward measure of firm size the logarithm of total firm assets-had great explanatory power for delineating failed black-owned businesses from survivors.”               There is also a relation between the business’ size and age; researchers believe that a business that is older and bigger has more chances of surviving. Naturally, it will only follow that if a business or firm has established its self for quit sometime and was able to make the firm grow, it only means that it is already doing a good job. It only a matter of holding on to what has already been set-up. To be more exact according to the finding of Bates, firms that have been in operation for three years or less are more at risk of failing than older firms are.               This also proves that small businesses are following a learning curve of sort. There seems to be an unwritten rule that a certain number of years must be completed before a small business can be cleared of the risks of failing.In addition, there might be some truth to these since as a firm gets older it acquires more knowledge and skill in handling and overcoming obstacles. The Jovanovic model of business growth and survival suggests that firms learn their own efficiency as they operate in there industry. The longer the firm stays in business the more experiences it can gather as well as lessons from those experiences.               In the case of the software market, experts have hypothesized that the increase in product range in order to compete better will also drive software firms to consolidate. This means that the business organizations within the industry will be considering combinations more than ever, since this idea would have been dismissed a few years back. This combinations or mergers will usually happen between small or midsized company and larger more established firms.               According to market observers, since the chances of smaller start-up companies to go public on the stock market, they would have to think of an exit strategy. The natural move that these smaller companies take entail merging with larger companies or establishing close partnerships. In today’s software industry, this trend is very much alive and observable. This is case since new technology solutions have been narrowed down because there are lesser big problems to be solved.               In addition, customers have the tendency to keep the suppliers that have been tried and tested.  This means that firms who have been around for a relatively longer time and have managed to establish a customer base have greater chances of growing. Moreover, already large firms will get larger. This suggests that the cycle of merging and establishing partnerships between small and larger firms will continue. When larger firms dominate the market, start-up companies will have lesser opportunities to make a name for themselves and establish their customer own base. Therefore, they would have to resort to creating and maintaining close association with larger firms.               The trend of consolidations that are happening within the software industry is said to be the result of an aging industry. It was stated that the software industry is comparable to the pharmaceutical industry where a few large firms dominate the market. In addition, the matured software industry is characterized by difficult entry for small start-up companies since the control is in the hands of more established firms whose names are resonating in the minds of the large portion of the market.               Another characteristic of the aging software market is the decrease of new licensing revenues. Earlier, it was stated that customers tend to keep tried and tested suppliers, this also mean that they tend to keep tried and tested applications. Therefore, activities that generate income for large software firms are becoming, if not already dependent, on maintenance and consulting services. This shift of focus to maintenance and consulting services makes less valuable entities and thus makes them more prone to mergers.               However, there is no need to fret over the waves of consolidation being observed in the industry as well as its aging. There are actions that the industry can take in order to counter the problems that they are experiencing. One of these actions involves bringing their focus back on developing new technologies and market in order to make customers feel the need to acquire them. In the previous section of this chapter, it has been stated that hardware and software must support each other in other to maximize their performances. This means that software companies can use this as an opportunity to push for their new products.             In addition, to developing new technology for existing customers, it is also important that new markets be created and thus new technology for new customers. Software firms must be able to identify sectors that are yet to be digitized, so to speak, or sectors that do not have the adequate systems based on their needs. Examples these sectors or industries are health care, transportation and security. The creation of new markets will allow the industry to broaden the new technology solution. In addition, the bulk of software vendors will note be concentrated on specific market segments and thus competition will be less fierce. This will also give opportunity for smaller start-up companies to establish themselves within the industry. Breakthroughs have proven themselves as ways to ease the entry of new companies. For example, the development and widespread use of the web as well as the client/server allowed new companies to create their own customer base. If a shift is not seen in within the industry, the wave of consolidations will not be ending anytime soon.   On the Issue of Piracy             Software piracy is the illegal production and distribution of software. It infringes copyright laws since software are produced and distributed without the permission of the copyright holder. The presence and persistence of software damages the software industry economically. In 2003, it was estimated that around billion worth of software packages were sold and were installed on personal computers. However, billion worth of software were actually installed on computer worldwide. This means that for every of software purchased, worth was brought illegally.         In addition, the worldwide piracy rate in 2003 was computed at 36 percent. By region, the highest piracy rate was recorded in eastern where piracy rate was at 71 percent. It was followed by Latin America at 63 percent. The piracy rates in Asia Pacific and Middle East/Africa are at 53 percent and 56 percent respectively. Eastern Europe has the second lowest piracy rate at 36 percent. The region with the lowest piracy rate was the United States and Canada with only 23 percent.               It is also the case that many local software firms are being overthrown by imported pirated software. This is the case since imported pirated software are high-quality and can go head to head with locally produced original software. As a result, tax revenues are also being lost to pirates. Job opportunities in the locality are also being affected due to the absence of a legal market. This means the that it is not only the businesses that are affected by piracy but also the society and its people.               The ability of the global pirate industry is being attributed to the fact that there is an overwhelming surplus of optical discs available in the market. The figure below shows that the combined legal demands for all disc formats in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Poland and Russia is only 1,675 units. However, the estimated capacity of optical discs manufacturing plants in the said countries amount to 17,400 units. This means that there is a huge nominal difference of 15,725. This means that the estimated capacity of the manufacturers’ exceeds the legitimate demand by 20 percent.             One can only wonder where these surplus optical discs would end up. Unfortunately, some people managed to put them into a not so good use. With the continued over production of optical discs and the growing popularity of CD burners, the surplus products are being sold to the public.  In turn, this resulted to the proliferation of unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted data, commonly known as piracy. In addition, over production of optical drives resulted to the decrease of the selling of the product. This factor made piracy even more profitable since the cost of production is minimal. With this continuing trend, it can be hypothesized that the global piracy market still has room to grow.                Many of the presses that are overproducing are located in the Asian region. It was also previously stated that the Asian Pacific region was fourth in the list of regions with high piracy rate. It may come as a surprise that the Asian region only landed in the fourth spot. This could be highlighted by the fact that thee of the top four pirating countries are located in Asia; these countries are Vietnam, Indonesia and China. The may be explained by the fact that two countries with the lowest piracy rates are also located in the region, Japan and Australia.  This offsets the high-piracy rates of Vietnam, Indonesia and China.               It was also explained in the First Annual BSA and IDC Global Software,  that various factors are contributing to the regional differences of piracy rates. For example, the prices of the software available in relation to the strength of intellectual property protection being offered in the region, is one of these factors. In addition, cultural differences also affect the scope of piracy. Poverty, for example, is the excuse by many when asked about there patronage of pirated software as well as video and music.   The proliferation of online piracy is parallel to the development of the internet and other information technology programs and equipments. The promise of a digitized world that the world will shrink with just a click of a button sure went overboard. It is undeniable that the internet has many uses.   However, it is also a fact that the internet is now home to a number of illegal activities including music piracy. Millions of people, on a daily basis, are engaging in piracy over the internet. Sad to say, copyright and other regulating legislations are falling short of monitoring these illegal transactions.  The issue of online piracy became well known when numerous individuals as well as known companies are battling it out in the courtrooms.  Charges and counter-charges were filed in the hopes of minimizing if not stopping the proliferation of online piracy.   The problem with online piracy was also heightened by the wide utilization of peer-to-peer file sharing. It is the common notion that peer-to-peer file sharing is being used to download music or videos over the internet. However, it can also be used to access programs. This is also the case with compact discs. It is being used to pirate music, videos and applications. Original applications are being copied onto blank discs and sold to consumers at a cheaper rate. This makes them more appealing to the consumers. This is the case since computers are seen as a luxury most especially by people residing in underdeveloped countries where the benefits of computerization are yet to be explain and experienced.   Decision to Expand               The previous discussion discussions showed that there are indeed many opportunities for software firms. It is just a matter of identifying them and planning the appropriate action to be implemented. Even though, the industry is experiencing set backs from problems such as the narrowing the market and piracy on a global scale, there is still hope that this obstacles can be overcome and the industry will once again post limitless possibilities for business. The case of the software industry is just a matter of tapping into hidden resources.   In this case, the hidden resources may very well be the creation of new markets. Earlier, it has been identified that market niches such as health care, transportation and security can bring about new business opportunities for software firms. It is also the case that the ever changing face of hardware would eventually result to current software being obsolete. This will again give software firms to introduce new software to the market. As many people are being introduced to the technology of computer, internet and the web, it is inevitable that the market will grow bigger.   The western market has been saturated with software products and services given that most of the software being used the world over comes form software developers in western countries. It is also the case that computers have already been integrated in almost all aspect of life from refrigerators to cancer treatment machines. On the other hand, the eastern market is just beginning to integrate computers into their systems. For example, most households in the east are not yet equipped with computers for business or personal use.   This means that countries in the east can offer opportunities for both hardware and software firms. If companies in the information technology industry can tap into these potentials then they will be able to create new markets that will allow them to distribute their surplus products and services that the western market can no longer accommodate. In addition, the size of the market in the east most especially in Asia will give them the chance to increase their distribution and eventually production of software products and services.   In line with this, the realization of this promise lays at expanding the software business overseas. Overseas business expansion opens many options for a business organization. All of the options that will be available to the business will come with its own risks, costs and exercisable control, which varies from case to case. The variety of options available to businesses wishing to enter a new market gives the business a sense of freedom in choosing the entry strategy that is appropriate for their case. However, this freedom should not be taken astride. Careful review of the options available must be made in order to ensure that the entry strategy to be implemented is the best for the business.               There are basic issues that need to be resolved before unveiling international expansion. The first basic issue is            marketing. This issue pertains to the manner of managing and implementing managing efforts. It is also in this stage that the country or region and market segments are determined. The second basic issue is sourcing. As suggested by the name, this issue focuses on how the products will be obtain; will they be bought from other producers or will be business manufacture them. The third basic issue is investment and control. The resolution of this basic will determine how the business will actually present itself in the international market; will be entering the market through acquisition or as joint or global partners?               As stated earlier, it is important to resolve issues or study the decision before actually making it. This way the business will be able to complete a risk analysis. In turn, they will be able to lessen the costs if any problems arise in the course of implementing the decision. Being able to prepare for the possible problems before they even show signs of affecting the business will pave the way for the formulation of contingency measures that can be readily implemented when needed.               There are five strategies being used by firms when entering new foreign markets. These strategies allow businesses to become familiar with the new business territories. These will also tell them the resources they will need in order to make a successful entry. The five strategies are as follows:   1.)   Technical Innovation Technical innovation pertains to determining the existing products available in the market. As such, companies who wish to make an entry into foreign markets must be able to determine any existing competition. They must know where their products and services stand in relation to the competition. The perception of the market of the competitors’ products and service is also important since this helps in creating brand equity. However, along with the perceived strength of the competition’s products and services, actual performance of competitors must also be investigated. This will show patterns and trends currently applicable in the market.   2.)   Product Adaptation Products adaptation is needed in order to ensure that the existing products of the company entering the new foreign market fit the demands of the consumers. In the case of software firms, it has been stated standardized software are often offered. If a company wants to make an impact into the new market they must be able to offer something new for the consumers. This means that they must make modifications on their applications based on the target market segments as well as the general demand of the foreign software market.   3.)   Availability and security strategy The importance of risk management has been stated earlier. The availability and security strategy is one strategy where risk management is most important. This is the case since availability and security strategy pertains to ability of companies to counter transport risks. This means that before entering a foreign market, businesses must be aware of the available infrastructure in the region. It is important that the existing infrastructure support the need of the business regarding distribution of the products and services that they will be offering. If not, the business may run into issues that will result to the failure of the expansion.   4.)   Low price strategy One of the problems that the software industry faces is that of piracy. Consumers tend to buy products that they perceive gives value to their money. Since most of the pirated software available are of high quality and are comparable to the original, consumers can easily be persuaded to buy the pirated one since it is more cost efficient than the original. The thinking that they only be using the CD, for example, only once, upon installation, adds to the perceived value of the illegal copy.   Therefore, businesses who wish to expand their business into a new foreign market must think of programs that will allow them to introduce their products and services in terms of prices. However, at the same time, they must also be able to make the market realize that the extra price they will be paying, as compared to pirated software, will actually give them more value in terms of quality.   5.)   Total adaptation and conformity strategy   As connoted by the name of the strategy, total adaptation and conformation strategy pertains to the strategy that allows the business to conform to the new foreign market.   All of the strategies presented above, will permit a business to investigate all of the aspects of their target foreign market, in which, the investigation to the thorough studying of all the factors that will determine the success of the expansion or cause it to fail. Business organizations must learn to look for ways to ensure that the conditions will allow easier implementation of the strategies.    Knowing the Competition               It has been stated a number of times in the various discussions above that the software industry is characterized by fierce competition. This is one of the reasons why software firms needs to take their business elsewhere, meaning they would need to leave the saturated western market or expand their scope in order survive. Therefore, it is important that businesses analyze the movements of their perceived competition so that they will know how to contend with them.               Competition is important since it affects the success of a business venture. Proctor added that competition is more than just producing and distributing products and services that matches the needs of the consumers. Competition is about the company’s capability of positioning itself in the market so that they will stand out among the rest in the perception of the consumers.               Therefore, it is important to know the factors that help in shaping the perception of the consumers towards certain products and services. On way to do this is to implement a PEST analysis. PEST stands for political, economic, socio-cultural and technological forces. These factors affect business through the consumers. Since these factors help in shaping the perception of the consumers, it suggests that it also affects the purchasing behavior of the market base.               For example, the economic damages brought about by piracy can be used to investigate the economic situation of the software industry. this is the case since the profits lost to piracy affects the flow and natural growth of business within the industry. Due to the significant amount of revenue lost to piracy, it cannot be helped if researchers and the legal software itself review the financial impacts of the illegal activities on their businesses. On the other hand, pirates are usually not concerned with the monetary effects of their activities on software firms. This attitude is fuelled by the notion that artists and record labels are already, so a few dollars would go unnoticed. However, if this line of thinking of most pirates, the accumulated “few dollars” that they were referring to would actually amount to billions.               Unfortunately, people are living in a world were everything is interconnected. Every action being performed is ultimately affecting others whether directly or indirectly. The music industry is not a separate entity operating outside the scope of the society. Therefore, the software industry is also subjected to this interconnectivity concept. Contrary to the notion that software firms are the only ones profiting from production and distribution of legal software, the software industry in itself is supporting a large number of jobs worldwide.             The next section of the literature review will be discussing the various entry strategies available to businesses who want to expand their operations overseas. The discussion of the entry strategies will pave the way for the evaluation of the entry strategies in the hopes of determining the best choice for software firms. The discussions will include the processes that need to be undertaken in order to implement each entry strategy. In addition, benefits and risks involved in implementing each entry strategy will also be presented.   Entry Strategies               Since the 1980s, marketing strategies have played key roles in planning to overcome challenges. It is believed that this line of thinking will continue to direct the activities of business into the 21st century . In addition, it is also believed that good managers have the ability to formulate and implement competitive strategies. This is the case since competitive strategies have the capacity to make the business organization stand out among the sea of competitors within the same industrial sector. Therefore, competitive strategies can ultimately aid business organizations in increasing their profitability and achieve their goals.               Strategy is defined as the art of harmonizing the resources to achieve the preferred result. This means that companies must be able to utilize available resources like capital and employees in such a way that they will be able to result in the company’s profitability and/or company growth.   Paley further defined strategy by dividing it into three levels. The first level is the higher level corporate strategy. The objective of corporate strategy is to be able to use   the resources to achieve the goals of the organization. However, the resources must not be exhausted in the process.   The corporate strategy is long termed since it being employed for the business organization’s sustainability.              The second level is the mid-level strategies. These strategies are being implemented for a period of three to five years. These strategies are more specific than corporate strategies. This is the case since they have specific targets that need to be reached. There are four definitive objectives to the mid-level strategies.   <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> enter present markets utilizing readily available products</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> spread out markets by utilizing readily available products</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> create new products for present markets</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> create new markets for new products      </li>   The last strategy is the lower level strategies or tactics. In Contrast with the first two strategies, tactics are short termed in nature, around a year. They are usually included in the agenda of the business organization’s annual planning. However, the nature of tactics must not result in non-conformation with long-term strategies and goals. Tactics cover aspects of the business such as.  5):   -          product launch -          product packaging -          selection of market segments -          pricing -          advertisements -          sales force deployment   These strategies are one of businesses’ most valuable tools in ensuring their survival in their respective industrial sectors.  This means that the formulation of the suitable strategies for the company can result to a competitive advantage. Therefore, it is important to know the aspects that need to be considered when formulating strategies.   Some of the most important strategies in the business world are entry strategies. The start of any endeavor is crucial in the life cycle of a business. Local office This type of entry strategy is as simple as setting up an office in the locality.  It primarily depends on the mere presence of the company in the area to attract clients.  This type of strategy can be related to the establishing a branch which is the basic premise of the strategy.             Local office is advantageous to the mother company in such a way that it will allow the mother company to have access to the capital of local business enterprise and the business will be closely working with the locals. However, it will also prove to be of a disadvantage once the cost of establishing the local office is taken into consideration.  Since the local office means that, the mother company must start from scratch in building their presence in the locality they would have to invest in space where the office is to be situated as well as filling the staff positions. Joint venture A Joint venture means that the mother company will be teaming up with a domestic company to form a new incorporated company.  This type of entry strategy may prove to be beneficial since the mother company will have the expertise of the domestic company in terms of the local market and the possible solutions to possible problems the incorporated may face.             However, as with all strategies, there are also some disadvantages in utilizing this kind of strategy.  By entering in a joint venture, partners have to deal with the fact that they will not full control over the company and that they may be difference in views and expectations that can result to future issues.             The decision process to enter in a joint venture is time consuming, messy and understudied. This results in delays in carrying out the decision. Furthermore, the lack of through investigation of the ventures results to lack of pertinent knowledge regarding opportunities and cost. Franchising Forging a business relationship is the key aspect in making a successful entry using the franchising strategy. By opting for this strategy, the investor is assured of a market base and a known product. In addition, the franchisee can expect some level of assistance from the franchisor, and in a stage where an investor is still trying to get use with the new market they would need all the help they could get. This means that all the investor has to do is maintain the business and acquire newer clients.              In relation to the entry strategies presented above, there are a few other strategies that can be incorporated with the main entry strategy to better outline the conditions under which the expanding company will operate as well as the chosen partner if applicable. These additional strategies include counter trade and licensing. Counter Trade             Counter trade is the largest indirect method of exporting. In this strategy, a business organization can expand to markets were competition is less fierce, like new foreign markets, but exchange based on currency is not possible. It is being used to stimulate industries or counter the effects of inadequate raw materials. Counter trade can be perceived as the modern day version of barter. The difference between counter trade and barter is that counter trade uses currencies to underpin the value of the commodities to ensure fair exchange. However, the contracts involved in counter trade are not legal and are not covered by GATT.             There are two forms of counter trade. The first one is the delivery and payment of products and the second one is the purchase and payment of the products. As stated earlier, exchange in  based on currency is not possible when counter trade is chosen to be implemented. This means that the payment for the purchased products will have to in other forms aside form money. One good example of counter trade is the case of  Albania. In 1996, Albania started to offer various products including chrome ore, spring water and tomato juice. In  exchange for the said goods, Albania demanded for million worth of fertilizers and the construction of a methanol complex.             As in any strategy, counter trade also has its disadvantages. Since GATT does not cover the agreements under counter trade, the chance of dumping is great.  It is also the case that the goods being offered in counter trade are not international quality; therefore, they will be more costly for consumers and traders. It is also difficult to set the prices of the products being offered as well as the quality of the services. Because of this, it may be difficult to revert to currency trade and hence after counter trading the products may be more difficult to market.             In order to counteract these disadvantages, proposed that the benefits of the trade will offset if not outweigh the disadvantages. Since one of the parties involved can be easily exploited through counter trade, it is important that the systems politics and regulations of the trading partner be thoroughly studied. Lastly, it must be made sure that the payments to be made are not under import controls.        Licensing                   Licensing is giving a trading partner in another country the permission to use the company’s expertise, trademark and skills in manufacturing and processing of a product or services. This means the products or services of the licensor will be manufactured and distributed legally by another company in another country. It is also the case that there is very little expense to be shouldered when entering a licensing, practically only the signing and implementation of the contract. Many known names in the business world is engaging in licensing. One of the best examples of these companies is Coca-Cola.             Licensing is a good way of entering a new market since the expanded operation will under a company who is emerged in the domestic market. This means that the licensee is familiar with the trends and factors that will affect the local operations of the licensor. This is similar to the advantages of a joint venture.             On the other hand, licensing is disadvantageous since there is limited participation on the part of the expanding company.  In addition, since licensing involves passing on knowledge and skill, it is possible that once the licensee acquires the needed knowledge they will become competitors.             All of the entry strategies presented above are available to business who wish ti enter the Asian software market. However, it is important that before choosing the strategy to be implemented, the resources and capacity of the expanding company be matched to the requirements of the entry strategy to maximize success rates. Summary                                                                                           In summarizing the discussion on the nature of the software industry, it is evident that fierce competition and narrowed market characterizes the industry. Companies in the western market are attempting to escape the vortex that is threatening to close the doors of the industry to new entrants as well as relatively small forms. Because of this, they have seen the need to look for opportunities off shore. This brings them to the potentials of the Asian market. Even though, competition is already present in the region, they are willing to risk some in order to gain some. Moreover, this confidence is partly because of the size of the Asian market.             In order for the entry into the new market to be successful, it is important that entry strategies be studied in relation to the resources and capacity of the expanding company. In addition, the specific conditions of the target market must be investigated in order to minimize the effects of the risks on the venture to be set-up.             In the end, it can be said that the end of the software industry is far from being realized. As long as people as innovative and demands are coming the industry will continue to exist to deliver expected services and products needed to improve various aspects of human living.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Expansion of a Software firm in to New Asian Markets

Introduction People are constantly on the look out for innovations that will allow them to tackle difficult and compli...