Critically evaluate the statement that the objective of portfolio Essay - 1

Critically evaluate the statement that the objective of portfolio investment is to minimise risk with examples, and discuss the differences between systematic and unsystematic risk - Essay Example Unsystematic risk on the other hand is specific to a particular industry and can only b controlled through proper diversification or portfolio management strategy. The following pages describes the two types of risks and critically analyzes the statement that objective of portfolio diversification is to minimize risk. Systematic risks are the macro risk and affect all sectors and all industries in a market (Back, 2010). This risk cannot be minimized by an investor through portfolio diversification. From the company’s view point this risk cannot be controlled by the company. This type of risk is both unavoidable and impossible to predict (An, 2007). Such type of risk is impossible for the company to control. Another type of risk is the unsystematic risk. Systematic risks are the risks that arise due to the influence of external factors that are beyond the control of an organization (Chance and Brooks, 2015). Since these types of risks are beyond the control of an organization so these risks do not affect a particular organization but affects all types of organization that are present in the market. The organization cannot plan in advance for such type of risks. Such types of risks are macro in nature and have its impact across the market spectrum irrespective of the industry or sector types (Fouque and Langsam, 2013). The systematic risks can be of various types and can be further subdivided into Interest rate risks, Purchasing power risk and Market risk. Interest rate risk: Interest rate risk is mainly associated with debt instruments and refers to the variability of interest rates from time to time. Interest rate risks can be further subdivided into price risk and reinvestment rate risk (Gai, 2013). Price risk as the name suggests is the risk that is associated with the probable fall in the price of shares or any other commodity in the future. Reinvestment risk is the risk that is

Team Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Team Development - Research Paper Example After a few practices, I was beginning to question whether I was right to take on the role of the leader of a dance group. The initial few meetings with the group can best be described by Woodcock’s analysis of team development. During this time, the objectives of the group were unclear and feelings were not expressed among group members. This stage of team development is otherwise known as the â€Å"Undeveloped Team† (Woodcock 1979). The group members were more interested in checking their cell phones or simply chatting with each other. Because of this, everything that I said had to be repeated more than once so that everyone could follow along with the lesson plan. This inevitably led to two, three, or four-hour classes instead of just the usual hour. I was the one responsible for making the decisions of the group, and I felt like I wasn’t getting through as I would have liked. The experience that I had with this group was in direct contrast to the work of Wheelan et al. (2003), who state that the first stage of group development is dependency and inclusion (p. 224). In this theor y, group members are unsure of where they are heading and rely on the leader to provide direction. The first part of this statement is true except that the group that I was working with had no interest in performing at any great level; if they had the motivation to achieve highly, then I am sure that they would have warmed to me at the beginning. As time progressed, I began to grow weary at my attempts to try and get the group to take hold of what I was teaching them. Before the lessons began, many of them seemed interested in taking the class; there weren’t any other youth activities in the church for them to participate in. Perhaps it was simply that they took dance lessons for granted because there was nothing else to interest them. However, for me personally it felt as though I was banging my head against a brick wall. I knew that I had to do something to

Oceanic Bank International PLC Training Methods and Practice

Oceanic Bank International PLC Training Methods and Practice INTRODUCTION The importance of training in the human resource management efforts of any organisation cannot be overemphasised. That is why training is key to the survival of every human resource strategy of any given organisation. Employee training is becoming a necessity to every organization nowadays as training enables them to carryout roles and responsibilities efficiently and also learn new things, which will prepare them to take up higher responsibilities in the future (Karthikeyan, Karthi Graf 2010). Human relations management training, broadly conceived, is a popular means by which numerous public organizations seek to enhance productivity. Public managers consume prodigious quantities of management training and should be seriously concerned with the effectiveness and success of such intake (Gerald, 1989). Traditionally, training and development was not seen as actively that could help, organizations create value and successfully deal with competitive challenges (Oludairo, 2006). According to Cascio (2003), many organizations both small and large shy away from training their employed because they think that by improving the skills of their workforce, their employees will be more marketable to competitors. And where there are well training programmes, there are poorly implemented, like too much fine wine, may actually impede rather than invigorate a robust organizational health (Gerald, 1989). Operational definitions of key concepts The Concept of Training Trainings focus has broadened in the past few years (Bernadin, 2003). Training used to focus mostly on teaching technical skills, such as training assemblers to solder wires or teachers to device lesson plans. However, technical training like that is no longer sufficient (Oludairo, 2006). In recent time, organization has had to adapt to rapid technological changes, provide quality goods and services, and increase revenue to stay competitive. Improving quality required remedial education training. Similarly, employees today need skills in team building, decision making, and communication as well as technological and computer skills (Oludairo, 2006). According to Fajana (2002), training is the process that involves developing skills and learning concepts, rules or attitudes in order to increase effectiveness on a particular job. Casco (2003) sees training consisting of planned programme designed to improve performance at the individual, group and/or organizational level. Ubeku (1975) in his own contribution, defines management training as the process of developing managers knowledge, skills and attitude through instruction, demonstration, practice, and planned experience to meet the present and future needs of the business. This management training is the same as development or management development. Development refers to the process of teaching managers and professional employees that knowledge, skills needed for present and future task accomplishment. Considering the above definitions, one can conclude that training and development involve the systematic and continuous developing skills, learning concepts, attitudes and knowledge needed by employees to perform effectively and efficiently at work. Oceanic Bank International PLC Oceanic Bank International Plc is regarded as one of banks that brought new revolution in the banking sector to Africa. Incorporated in on March 26, 1990, the bank commenced business on June 12, 1990. The bank has been growing from strength to strength since then. Its shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on June 25, 2004, having achieved a public liability company status. The bank is second to none in excellent deliveries and world class banking technologies in Africa. According to the banks website, the bank has a strong presence in asset management, commercial banking, health management, insurance, investment banking, pensions, registrar services, savings loans and trustee services, as well as over 370 business offices spread across Nigeria, Cameroun, the Gambia and Sà £o Tomà © Prà ­ncipe, Oceanic Bank is one of the most recognized financial services brands in West Africa. The rational for choosing Oceanic Bank for this essay is hinged on the fact that the author is an insider who has been working with the bank for years and have undergone series of training within the bank. Currently on the banks study leave, the author has unfettered access to the training methods and practices of the organisation and is able to specifically assess and examined the banks training methods and practices as demanded by the question at hand. Brief review of literature Various scholars and researchers have contributed to training especially in the banking sector. Among them is Richards (1997) who posits that during a management trainee programme, the real objective is to focus on the individual manager and not the position in the company. Richard contributed to training needs analysis, vis-a-vis; about core competencies, job profiling and identification of competencies gaps-either against core competencies for individuals or against job profiles for generic roles. Another important work that focuses on training in the banking industry is that of Niki Glaveli and Stella Kufidu (2005). The authors jointly analyzed the changes that took place in the Greek banking industry in three good years. The author also looks at the impact of the changes on the role of employees training and development for strategic implementation and success, using four case studies to investigate the effect of the environmental changes on these particular banks and the role of their training and development strategies in adjusting themselves to the changing industry environment (Glaveli Kufidu 2005). In a more related work to this study, Rainaye (2004) empirically examined the training policy in two commercial banks. The banks are the State Bank of India and Jammu Kashmir Bank Limited. The aim was to study some kind of training styles including Managements attitude towards training, training inputs, quality of training programmes and transfer of training to the job. The study found out that the training scenario is to a large extent satisfactory. The study also evaluates the opinions of the employees of two cadres of both banks and in particular that it can be made fully effective only when the training needs assessment and transfer of training to the job are considerably improved, besides bringing in finer improvements in other dimensions (Rainaye 2004). Badhu and Saxena (1999), in their work titled Role of Training in Developing Human Resources proved that an organization should have well-defined training policy as well as training manual and training should be made an ongoing process. The duo also proved that the executive development programmes have been found to be useful in improving the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of managers. In their research, Karthikeyan, Karthi Graf evaluated the effectiveness of training in six banks and how training contributes for growth of the banks. The study which carefully focussed on three public sector banks and three private sector banks has core objectives of analyzing the effectiveness of Training in selected banks in Tiruchirappalli District, South India and also to find the association between effectiveness of training and growth and result of banks. Assessing Training Needs Organisations spend over $200 billion annually on employee training and development (Wexley and Latham, 1991). They rely upon this training to help develop employee skills that are critical for success in todays fast-changing, competitive environment (Guthrie and Schwoerer, 1994). There training programs are a dubious investment, however, unless they are based upon a sound training needs assessment TNA (Goldstein, 1993). According to Burton and Thakur (2003), a good training program should identify: (i) the specific skill areas that are to be strengthened as a result of the training; and (ii) the resources that is available to support the training. They posit that an effective training process must begin with a thorough need analysis to clearly identify the learning to be achieved, and it must end with an objective training program evaluation. A comprehensive training needs assessment provides information on organization needs- the organizational units in need of training; task needs- the knowledge and skills trainees must acquire for effective job performance; and person needs-the individuals in need of specific types of training (Wexley and Latham, 1991 Guthrie and Schwoerer, 1994). As shown in the figure below, the first step of training process is the assessing of training needs and providing answers to the following questions: (i)Who needs the training?(ii) Exactly what do they need to know or be able to do? (iii)What do they already know or are now able to do? (Burton and Thakur,2003). The other steps deal with identification of training objective which should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound, implementation of training program, evaluation, and adjustment if necessary. Assess training needs Who need to be trained? What do they need to know? What do they already know? Set training objectives (specific, measurable etc.) Plan training evaluation Did trainees like the training? Can they meet the training objectives? Do they perform better on the job? Develop training program: content, location, methods, trainers, duration Conduct Training Evaluate Training Modify training program based on evaluation Training methods and practices at Oceanic Bank International PLC Oceanic bank places great importance on its training and thats why the bank is known as a workplace where staff can really learn and work at the same time. Training at oceanic bank intl plc has been an important task or function to be completed by the human resources department. Whichever level an employee enters the organization; it is mandatory for such new employee to go through series of training both on- the- job and off- the- job. The Oceanic Leadership Academy The oceanic Leadership Academy is the training school for the bank. It is the first port of call for every new staff of the bank. The new staff members resume rigorous academic studies in the Academy for five weeks where their success is chiefly determined by written and oral examinations. The Academy goes a long way to determine whether a new staff will be retained in the bank or sent packing as staff who failed the short course will be asked to leave the employment of the bank. The Academy has very reach curriculum and work modules, most of which are packaged to deliver the peculiar nature and businesses of the bank. The Oceanic Academy, being the learning arm of the bank is run by the Human Resource department. According to the Banks websites, the department is responsible for all capacity building and training interventions aimed at developing the skills and capabilities of employees, thus improving their competencies on the job, their overall productivity and the competitiveness of Oceanic Bank Group. Induction courses After the graduating from the Academy, the induction processes of the bank follows. Induction training is conducted to newly employed staffs of oceanic bank within the branches of the bank. The programme is intended to improve the financial literacy of participants whilst strengthening their knowledge and competencies. This is carried out both on-the -job and off- the-job which enables the new entry level officers to understand the business and development of skills needed to carry out their job functions required by the organisations standard and practise. A one-week induction course for experienced new hires and a three-day induction course are available to certain grade levels. In addition, desk-to-desk induction is structured specifically for senior management staff. Off-the-job training in Oceanic Bank This is a training programme outside the organization which is encouraged by the bank. The bank usually sponsors and support their staffs for specialised training in various fields especially in the area of the modern day technology, credit and mortgage. Staffs are been sent on training in different training programmes such as (core banking application) finacle training in Indian and other European countries. Such staffs have come back more enlighten and are able to pass done such knowledge to subordinate and co- workers. On-the-job training in Oceanic bank Oceanic bank make most use of on-the-job training by assigning a trainer to the newly employee to put such employee through by learning the practical aspect of the job on-the-job. Job rotation is also an important training method employed by the bank where staff members are been moved from different department to gain more experience and familiarise themselves with all areas of banking, from marketing, credit, operations and application of core banking software. Oceanic bank staff members gain a lot through job rotation as given employees opportunity to work in different department of the bank is helpful. This initiative also helps staff members to move round different department which enable them bring in new ideas to other departments to enhance employee performance. Job rotation of staff also reduces boredom on the job because of diverse task to be carried out by employees. This also enables the staff to understand all the core aspect of banking as well as working with different people and senior managers across the business. Knowledge sharing section: This is a training programme designed by oceanic bank to be conducted by each branch on weekly basis. It is anchored by designated staff of the bank on a rotation basis. The aim is to bridge learning gaps on the operations of the bank. This is done specifically to update each staff of the bank on operations of the bank, the position of the bank, introduction of new products as well as knowledge outside the banking operations Short courses in Oceanic bank The bank periodically organizes Open Courses which cover diverse areas of development including Leadership, Communication, Health and Wellness, Credit Skills, Marketing Skills and Soft Skills. Mostly the bank sends mails to staffs to indicate there interest whenever the organisation organises open courses for staff The bank encourages the staff to register and monitors their progress for professional courses. In line with this the Oceanic Academy partners with various organisations like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) in the area of Continuous Professional Development Programmes. They also encourage personal development of each staffs by allowing staffs to go on study leave for further studies, and opportunity the writer of this essay is currently enjoying. E- learning: This is the bank internet training facilities provided to the employees of the bank for training purpose. There are various materials on this site which employees can read and download to enable them broaden their knowledge on the core banking subjects as well as non-banking related areas of study. Effectiveness of Oceanic Bank Training programmes The oceanic bank training scheme is by far one of the best in the banking sector as attested to by staff of other banks. The programme is well structured in such a way that it makes it easy for every member of staff to undergo it without any stress. This is desirable as it makes the staff to love and appreciate their work. This in turn encourages efficiency and increased productivity. Because staff had gone through certain training processes, they are confident in doing their job and they build up work ego and pride in delivering stated task. Shortcomings of the Oceanic Bank Training programmes While it is good to have a formal training school for staff training like the Oceanic bank leadership academy, it is somewhat unfair to based performance of new staff on classroom examinations, worstill, that those who failed the examination are shown the way out of the employment. This is hinged on the commonly known assertion that examination is never the best way of testing human knowledge. A very good staff that has sound practical knowledge of the banking system might be unable to successfully pass written examination for one reason or the other. For this reason, the mode of determining whoever successfully passed through the academy is put to question. Another shortcoming observed from the Oceanic Bank Training programmes is the management of the delivery of the on-the-job training. More often than not in the department where this author work, the pressure of work and overwhelming customer demands and queries do not allow room for teaching someone else on the job. The implication is that most new staff spend longer than usual in learning new skills while working. Often, those doing the training may have no experience in training, no time to do it, and no desire to participate in it. Under such conditions, learners essentially are on their own, and training likely will not be effective. Another problem is that on-the-job training can disrupt the flow of regular work. Unfortunately, on-the-job training can amount to no training at all in some circumstances, especially if trainers simply abandon the trainees to learn the job alone. Also bad habits or incorrect information from supervisor or manager can be transferred to the trainees. Conclusions and Recommendations for Improvement Owing to the complex nature of jobs in the banking sector, the importance of employee training has increased. In a rapidly changing society, employee training is not only an activity that is desirable but also an activity that an organization must commit resources to, if it is to maintain a viable and knowledgeable workforce Karthikeyan ,Karthi Graf (2010) Because of the enormous advantages of training to an organisation, the amount spent should be seen as an investment rather as a cost to the organisation. Training has been a very formidable part of every organisation. In fact it is a prerequisite for effective employees performance and growth on their jobs. Logically speaking, the higher the quality of training an employee receives, the higher the quality of productivity and vice versa. It must be stressed therefore, that training and development improve quality, customer satisfaction, morale, profitability, business expansion and development i.e. overall organizational productivity. Hence, it gives organizations competitive advantage. This essay recommends an informal approach to accessing staff performance in the training school, vis-avis, the Oceanic Bank Leadership Academy. In this way, emphasis should be laid on assessing the delivery of practical tasks assigned to the new staff rather than just asking them to write written examinations. Also, new staff should not be laid off for failing the written examinations in the academy. It is also recommended that on-the-job training should be more formalise such that pressure and workload would be reduced from the shoulder of the trainer. Such trainer, as a matter of fact, should be allowed concentrate more on the trainee rather than the customers during the period of the induction. It is also advisory that Oceanic bank introduces a kind of personality development programmes such as role play, group discussion and business games. By this, the senior, management and other lower staff can build synergy and the superior and subordinate relationship can be strengthened for the overall productivity of the bank. In General, the Human Resources department should enhance their training programmes in line with latest demands in the banking sector, especially in this age of online bank and sophisticated fraud. This is because every organization that want to survive in this very dynamic world of banking needs to have well-trained and experienced people to perform the activities that have to be done.

1984 and Brave New World Essay -- 1984 Brave New World

1984 and Brave New World Undoubtedly, the thought of living in, or forming a utopian society has flashed through nearly every person’s mind. A few people have even tried to make this ideal dream society a reality. Unfortunately, within the pursuit of these societies the leaders become corrupt and begin to become paranoid with the fear of rebellion. Hundreds of people were murdered during the reigns of Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin in what they considered measures to maintain peace and stability within their respective â€Å"perfect† society. One must also consider the hardships that the citizens were forced to endure while living under these oppressive governments. This dream of forming and maintaining a utopian society was immortalized in two novels dealing with the same basic ideas, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Both of these novels deal with the lives of main characters that inadvertently become subversives in a totalitarian government. These two books differ greatly however with the manner in which the government controls the population and the strictness of the measures taken to maintain this stability. This essay with compare and contrast the message and tone of each novel as well as consider whether the utopia is a positive or negative one. In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds. They willing follow their government without contest for the duration of their meaningless lives. The government controls all forms of the media (thus denying the people the basic right of free speech) and use it to personify the government (known as â€Å"big brother†) .The government therefore seems omnipotent, or all knowing and always correct. Forecasts are changed from one week to the next always proving the g overnment was correct. As was mentioned before, many of the rights that present day Westerners take for gran... ...nly contemplate living as an alpha or beta because we cannot contemplate living without being able to formulate ideas or basically think. No one considers living as one of the lower castes and only working throughout life until death. Thus, it seems that Huxley intended to portray an acceptable society on the surface with undesirable traits hidden deeper. In conclusion, both of these novels portray an attractive life in a utopian society, if one can conform to the rules. When people cannot conform to the societies in which they dwell (as the main characters of both novels cannot) they are branded as subversives and punished as traitors. Life in 1984 would be almost too unbearable to live. Life in Brave New World is only acceptable if one is willing to live a life of the caste one is in, that is to produce (as a lower caste) or consume (as a higher caste). This essay has compared the differences between the societies in these two novels. There is one great similarity however that both make me thankful for having been born into a freethinking society where a person can be truly free. Our present society may not be truly perfect, but as these two novels show, it could be worse.

Increasing Productivity in SMEs Essay

Introduction The literature indicates that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute a significantly to a country’s GDP. In addition, they employ large numbers of people. According to the Bank of England Quarterly Report on Small Business Statistics (2001), almost 99.8% of businesses in the UK, one for every 10 workers, are SMEs, employing less than 250 people. This means that one out of eight workers is self-employed. Similarly, according to Cole (n.d.), the World Bank believes that one significant difference between high and low income countries is the percentage of SMEs in each. In a typical high-income country about 57% of employment comes from the SME sector, while in a typical low-income country only 18% of employment comes from the same sector. An example of a high-income country is the US, with 85% of companies designated at SMEs, contributing 50% of the GDP and employing 50% of the labor force (Cabello, 2010). Another example of a high-income country is Japan with 99.5% of bu sinesses designated as SMEs employing fully two-thirds of the entire labor force (Cabello, 2010). Given the sizeable contributions SMEs make in terms of employment and adding to a country’s GDP, it is tremendously important they increase their competitiveness in a globalized economic environment. Unfortunately, there is significant evidence that SMEs lag in productivity—the reasons vary based on what line of business the SME is in. For example, in a small factory, low worker output may be due to problems with the machines or low morale because of bad worker-manager relations (Calzado, 2003). However, another reason that SMEs are unproductive is their inability to effectively utilize Information and Communication Technology (ICT), sometimes simply referred to as Information Technology (IT) (Calzado, 2003). According to Qureshi and York (2008), Ho, Kauffman, and Liang (2008), and Bharadwaj (2000), there is a large consensus among scholars and policymakers that the adequate use of ICT increases the competitiveness of employees and strengthens the position of companies in the global economy (as cited in Millis, 2008). This literature clearly shows that companies who integrate ICT in a proper way score significantly better than their competitors in the field of cost control and profit. In fact, a high level of computerization and networking is perceived as a crucial factor to enhance the efficiency of employees and thus to remain competitive, which is one reason that governments around the world have responded to these finding by launching initiatives to encourage companies to adapt ICT more aggressively (Millis, 2008). However, while there is agreement that SME productivity must be increased and that this can be achieved by the successful integration and use of ICT, the literature also indicates that SMEs are not successful at acquiring, utilizing or integrating ICT. Therefore, while large corporations have successfully integrated ICT so as to generate more output with fewer resources, SMEs have been left behind (Wielicki & Arendt, 2007). Therefore, this paper seeks to investigate the reasons why SMEs do not utilize technology effectively and possibly provide some recommendations for dealing with this situation. The Problem with Technology Integration and Utilization in SMEs Why Government Initiatives Fail In an analysis of policy measures designed to advance the computerization levels of SMEs, Millis (2008) indicates that governments around the world have launched initiatives to encourage companies to adapt ICT more aggressively. However, while this has met with success in larger companies, adaptation of ICT in SMEs has not yielded the same return on investment. He found the following reasons for this lack of success: Inadequate standards. Generally, hardware expenses are used as a benchmark standard to measure level of computerization in companies. However, this does not work well in SMEs because some companies rent rather than own hardware, and ownership does not equate with effective usage. This has resulted in a lack of empirical data by which to assess the effectiveness of government initiatives (Millis, 2008). Oversimplified assumptions and underestimation of SME diversity. All initiatives to encourage the adaptation of ICT are based on a model that assumes a structured sequential process for optimal use of new technology. The model oversimplifies the complexity of the process and overlooks the individual differences between SMEs. For example, some SMEs with an export component are better positioned to computerize faster than companies that do not have an export component. As a result of the diversity of SMEs, government initiatives are too bureaucratic to be effective. Moreover, they lack in SME engagement. This results in many initiatives missing their goals (Millis, 2008). Mismatched expectations. It is ultimately the SME manager’s decision to adapt ICT. This means that each manager must be well informed about the opportunities and threats of the market that they are operating in. In addition, they need to have some knowledge of how to integrate the technology effectively. Oftentimes SME management is suspicious of government initiatives. That, coupled with the lack of engagement between government agencies and SMEs, results in mismatched expectations between managers and government bodies (Millis, 2008). Integration of IT Alone does not Guarantee Increased Performance Francalanci and Morabito (2008) took an in-depth look at the literature regarding the relationship between Information Technology (IT) and business performance. They concluded that integrating IT does not automatically guarantee increased business performance, unless the organization completes the learning curve associated with the integration of data and applications, also known as Information Systems (IS). The authors, labeled this integration of IS as the organization’s â€Å"absorptive capacity† and claimed that it plays an intermediary role between IS integration and business performance, where IS integration is the degree to which data and applications have become routine in the day to day activities of an organization. Therefore, the authors hypothesized that â€Å"IS integration leads to greater business performance through absorptive capacity, that is, that absorptive capacity has a mediation role [in how a business performs]† (Francalanci & Morabito, 2008, p. 298). The hypothesis was tested on 466 Italian SMEs who lacked economies of scale in the business setting; exhibited a general lack of IT literacy; and were led by management that was rarely IT-oriented. Absorptive capacity defined. Cohen and Levinthal (1990) and Zahra and George (2002a) defined â€Å"absorptive capacity† as an SME’s ability to first identify/recognize knowledge from external sources, then to assimilate this knowledge in relation to its needs, and finally to exploit this knowledge to its advantage (as cited in Francalanci & Morabito, 2008). This might include the ability to imitate competitors’ products or processes, or to exploit less commercially focused knowledge (e.g., scientific research or IT solutions). Integrating anything external requires a learning curve on the part of the entity attempting its integration. Since IT is a complex technology, it too requires a learning curve so that data and applications may be effectively integrated with the company’s day to day functioning. If this is achieved, IT will have a positive impact on business performance. However, if this is not achieved, then the company not only does not perform better, but also fails to achieve a return on its investment in the IT. Francalanci and Morabito (2008) found that in order for IT to be successfully absorbed, the company first needed to align its processes with the new IT in order for it to result in the desired increase in efficiency. Next, the company needed to make sure that all IT users were sufficiently trained in its uses and applications. In addition, management must ensure that the organization is ready to embrace the change that IT integration and use will bring. And finally, the organization needs to display flexibility in adapting to the new IT integration so that there is little loss of time and cost. However, if a company has management that is not IT oriented or that is unwilling to train its employees in IT use, then the absorptive capacity of the company is low resulting in little or no increase in business performance even after an investment in IT. The Digital Divide Wielicki and Arendt (2007), agree with Francalanci and Morabito (2008) in their findings as to what barriers prevent the successful integration of IT. According to Wielicki and Arendt (2007), these barriers include a lack of elementary digital experience caused by lack of interest; computer anxiety and unattractiveness of the new technology; lack of computers and network connections; lack of digital skills caused by insufficient user friendliness and inadequate education or social support; lack of significant usage opportunities. These barriers are not dissimilar from the characteristics of the 466 SMEs chosen by Francalanci and Morabito (2008)—lack of economies of scale in the business setting; lack of IT literacy and management that was not IT-oriented. It is these barriers that, according to Wielicki and Arendt (2007), constitute the â€Å"digital divide† between SMEs and larger companies that have successfully and willingly adopted and absorbed IT to increase their competitive advantages. According to Wielicki and Arendt (2007), it is the failure to understand the digital divide which may have a profound impact on operations of business in this information-driven century. In other words, far from being a luxury, IT has become a necessity in this globalized economic environment. Without successful integration of IT, that is, moving beyond the basic use of the Internet and e-mail for basic communication purposes, a company might find itself unable to take advantage of e-commerce ventures due to the limited level of computer literacy of both employees and broad market participants. In particular, in developed and emerging markets, a company may find that the presence of the digital divide may prevent it from appreciating the benefits of technology-driven opportunities. As a result, the dynamic growth of the e-commerce economy could turn out to be somewhat deceiving unless we can move more businesses and more of society onto the right side of the divide. Implications and Recommendations Across the literature there is no doubt that integration of ICT has become a necessity for business success for SMEs. However, the literature also agrees that there are many barriers in the way of successful absorption and implementation of ICT in SMEs. In addition to the widespread agreement on these two points, the literature also provides proposals and recommendations for overcoming the barriers. One important factor in creating solutions is government involvement due to the lack of financial resources on the part of individual SMEs. However, one size does not fit all, and Millis (2008) provides the following suggestions about how government should proceed: * Creation of a proper standard for measuring the progression of ICT and e-technology adaptation * Taking into account the complexity of the reality and circumstances in SMEs that prevent computerization proceeding as a structured, sequential process. * Taking into account that a holistic approach to IT integration cannot work because of the large diversity between SMEs * Avoidance of high-level approaches and over-bureaucratized project structures * Avoidance of overestimating the impact of government initiatives on the behavior of participating SMEs * Provision of direct and specific support to SMEs designed to elicit concrete results * Creation of realistic and measurable goals and models that support the choices of the company rather than something generic that is imposed on the company be the government Another recommendation comes from Wielicki and Arendt (2007). Since the US is the most advanced country with regard to IT use and integration, they suggest that it be used as a model of study to determine how the barriers to successful IT integration be overcome in other countries. In addition, they counsel continued research to track the progress of SMEs in crossing the business digital divide, tracking the level of implementation of ICT-based solutions at the business process level and the role of ICT training in SMEs or of ICT in integrating business processes of SMEs. In an effort to successfully define these research objectives, Thurasamy, Mohamad, Omar, and Marimuthu (2009), have proposed an empirical study across 1500 Malaysian SMEs in order to determine the following: 1. To profile the type of technologies adopted by SMEs. 2. To profile the extent of usage of each of those technologies. 3. To develop an index for performance and technological adoption tracking of SMEs. 4. To investigate factors that encourage, as well as those that remain barriers to technology adoption. 5. To establish the extent of technology adoption and performance (financial and non-financial) plus Internationalization. As we can see, the objectives of this study mirror the suggestions of Wielicki and Arendt (2007) as to the nature of further research into IT integration in SMEs. Another reason cited for the unsuccessful adaptation of IT was lack of employee training. Therefore, government initiatives like the ones featured in a report released by the Directorate-General for Education and Culture in Belgium (2003), could be utilized towards increasing the effectiveness of employees in relation to the use and adaptation of IT. The report profiles 10 European employee training programs ranging from Worldwide web-based information and communication technologies training for manufacturing SMEs to a CD-Rom based program to help SMEs define their training needs. Conclusion As can be seen from the above discussion, there is a definite need to foster the integration of IT/ICT in SMEs in both developed and developing economies. While this need has been documented by the literature, it is also clear that there are many obstacles that stand in the way of the successful implementation of the technology. It would seem, therefore, that the stage is set for further investigation into the technological and educational needs of SMEs around the world. It would also seem that there are employment and business opportunities for those with the necessary know-how and skills to offer their services as consultants and trainers to SMEs desiring to integrate IT/ICT into their day to day activities. References Bank of England Quarterly Report on Small Business Statistics. (2001, January). Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JvJUI7yMYv8J:www.accaglobal.com/pdfs/smallbusiness/EESME.doc+SME+percentage+of+GDP&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us Cabello, N. (2010, March 1). Looking at some SME successes in developed countries. Manila Bulleting Publishing Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/node/245735/looking- Calzado, M. M. (2003). Productivity Management Guide for SMEs, 1, 25-28. Retrieved from http://www.ilofip.org/Documents/Module3-Causesforlowproductivity.pdf Cole, K. (n.d.). Technoserve and the Google Foundation spark Ghanaian economy through needed Small and Medium Enterprise development. Believe, Begin, Become. Retrieved from http://www.believe-begin-become.com/Ghana/morenews.asp?NewsID=23 Directorate-General for Education and Culture in Belgium (2003). Building Skills and Qualifications among SME employees. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier EBSCO database. Millis, K. (2008). Critical analysis of policy measures for the advancement of the level of computerization of SMEs. Information Technology for Development, 14(3), 253-258. Retrieved April 23, 2010 from Academic Search Premier EBSCO database. Thurasamy, R., Mohamad, O., Omar, A., & Marimuthu, M. (2009). Technology adoption among Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s): A research agenda. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 53. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier EBSCO database. Wielicki, T. & Arendt, L. (2007). ICT Training—Key to closing digital divide among businesses: Case of SMEs in central California. International Journal of Learning,organizational absorptive capacity in SMEs. Journal of Information Technology, 14(6), 181-186. Retrieved from EBSCO Host database.

Dystopia Essay

Dystopia is a Utopia gone wrong to create a society that rather than making people happy, makes people unhappy. That is exactly what the town in Fahrenheit 451 had become, a dystopia. The creation of this dystopia was the result of the government fearing the power given to the citizens through the knowledge in books so they took them away. The ban of books formed the dystopia, the people’s fear of being burned for reading made the social principles, and the people who didn’t fear to be burned rebelled and showed their society what was wrong with the way they were living.What started this whole dystopia in the first place was the government’s fear of being overpowered by the citizens who read and gained power from the knowledge they had collected. Because of the government’s fear, books were completely banned and anyone who decided to break the law was burned with the books inside the house. People called the firemen were the ones to start the fire which di ffers from their former job of putting them out.Everything changed when the books got banned whether it was as simple as people getting an urge to read even if they never wanted to before or as drastic as a worker who once saved people from fires was someone who killed people with fire. Because the penalty was so extreme, the law was followed in most cases and a lot of people were afraid of being burned. The only thing that kept this law in action was the fact that the people were afraid of the consequence which made society obedient as they quaked in fear. Because of the obedience, there always seemed to be routine.Nobody really knew how to feel about it because they didn’t want to know how to feel about it in fear that they would feel negatively towards it and be burned for the thought. The social principles throughout the whole novel, Fahrenheit 451, revolved around the fear of the people and the government as a whole. What really scared the government, however, were the p eople who were not afraid of the government or the consequences of reading. They were the ones that had the power in knowledge and could see the fault in the society.Rebels in society tried to make everyone see what was wrong but failed. In the novel, they had a plan that worked and put an end to the ban of books using the government’s war to get rid of the rebels against them. What the rebels showed the rest of the town was that the government took away power we had a right to and knowledge we created and were entitled to and that the government took it away from the people so that they would be the only one with power and the citizens were to always be the obedient ones.The realization of the dystopia is what destroyed the government with help from the rebellious ones. Within knowledge comes power and in that power, people are the welders. If you try to take away power that people are given and entitled to, you’re not going to get very far. That’s what happene d in Fahrenheit 451 that made it a dystopia. The government took away the power of the people and in the end, society rebelled. Making the novel, Fahrenheit 451, a dystopia.