steps for "critical success factors" approach

Assign 6: Identify and discuss the steps for "critical success factors" approach? (at least 1,500 words)

Types of Critical Success Factor
There are four basic types of CSF's
They are:
1. Industry CSF's resulting from specific industry characteristics;
2. Strategy CSF's resulting from the chosen competitive strategy of the business;
3. Environmental CSF's resulting from economic or technological changes; and
4. Temporal CSF's resulting from internal organizational needs and changes.

Things that are measured get done more often than things that are not measured.
Each CSF should be measurable and associated with a target goal. You don't need exact measures to manage. Primary measures that should be listed include critical success levels (such as number of transactions per month) or, in cases where specific measurements are more difficult, general goals should be specified (such as moving up in an industry customer service survey).

Definitions
Critical Success Factor

>> an element of organizational activity which is central to its future success. Critical success factors may change over time, and may include items such as product quality, employee attitudes, manufacturing flexibility, and brand awareness. This can enable analysis.

>> any of the aspects of a business that are identified as vital for successful targets to be reached and maintained. Critical success factors are normally identified in such areas as production processes, employee and organization skills, functions, techniques, and technologies. The identification and strengthening of such factors may be similar.

>> is a business term for an element which is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. For example, a CSF for a successful Information Technology (IT) project is user involvement.

Using the term

The term “Critical Success Factor” is used differently, due to ambiguity of the word “critical”,
back and forth translations into other languages and interpretation when analyzed in portfolios:

1. Definition 1: “critical” = important, key, determining, vital, strategic, etc.
2. Definition 2: “critical” = alarming, anxious, etc.





Step One: Establish your business’s or project’s mission and strategic goals.

Step Two: For each strategic goal, ask yourself “what area of business or project activity is essential to achieve this goal?”

MAIN ASPECTS OF Critical Success Factors and their use in analysis CSF's are tailored to a firm's or manager's particular situation as different situations (e.g. industry, division, individual) lead to different critical success factors. Rockart and Bullen presented five key sources of CSF's:

1. The industry,
2. Competitive strategy and industry position,
3. Environmental factors,
4. Temporal factors, and

5. Managerial position (if considered from an individual's point of view). Each of these factors is explained in greater detail below.

Step Three: Evaluate the list of candidate CSFs to find the absolute essential elements for achieving success - these are your Critical Success Factors. As you identify and evaluate candidate CSFs, you may uncover some new strategic objectives or more detailed objectives. So you may need to define your mission, objectives and CSFs iteratively.

Step Four: Identify how you will monitor and measure each of the CSFs.

Step Five: Communicate your CSFs along with the other important elements of your business or project’s strategy.

Step Six: Keep monitoring and reevaluating your CSFs to ensure you keep moving towards your aims. Indeed, whilst CSFs are sometimes less tangible than measurable goals, it is useful to identify as specifically as possible how you can measure or monitor each one.

Thus, this information I had gathered through my data mining about critical success factor are summarized, though it was quite ambiguous in first place to define what best approaches to identify CSF’s because there are a lot of resources and information about CSF in the internet. But the one I had given in this page identify the most simplest way about critical success factor however there would be much to define about what is critical success factor and there would be lessen if would sum it all but on the other hand CSF identify key areas of activity in which favorable results are absolutely necessary to reach goals. Where areas must be flourishing and aiming for the business success factor that would be critically directed for the success of the organization and it should be constant and carefully plan from the management and team, in addition to every single detailed should be listed and focus for it might be a factor for the success of the company.
It was quite hazy to define what best approaches to identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) because there are lot of resources and information that are available in the books and in the internet. The data that I had given about CSFs above is one of the simplest ways. CSFs are used by organizations to give focus on a number of factors that help define its success. They help the organization and its personnel to understand the key areas in which to invest their resources and time. Ideally, these CSFs are observable in terms of the impact on the organization to allow it to have guidance and indications on its achievement of them. Other hand CSF identifies key areas of activity in which favorable results are absolutely necessary to reach goals. But these keys also have their limitation. There is a significant degree of variability that could result from the qualitative input required. Thus, there could be significant differences in what various people consider CSFs in industries and organizations to be, necessitating considerable effort and discussion in determining them.

References:
http://rapidbi.com/created/criticalsuccessfactors.html#WhatareCSFs
http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/essays-and-dissertations/critical-success-factors.php

nature of the relationship between the business plan and the IS plan

What Is a Business Plan?
A business plan is any plan that works for a business to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key points, and prepare for problems and opportunities.
Unfortunately, many people think of business plans only for starting a new business or applying for business loans. But they are also vital for running a business, whether or not the business needs new loans or new investments. Businesses need plans to optimize growth and development according to priorities.
What’s a startup plan?
A simple startup plan includes a summary, mission statement, keys to success, market analysis, and break-even analysis. This kind of plan is good for deciding whether or not to proceed with a plan, to tell if there is a business worth pursuing, but it is not enough to run a business with.

Business planning is often conducted when:
• Starting a new venture (organization, product or service)
• Expanding a current organization, product or service
• Buying a current organization, product or service
• Working to improve the management of a current organization, product or service
There are a wide variety of formats for a business plan. The particular format and amount of content included in a plan depends on the complexity of the organization, product or service and on the demands of those who will use the business plan to make a decision, eg, an investor, funder, management, Board of Directors, etc.

Overall, the contents of a business plan typically aim to:
1. Describe the venture (new or current organization, product or service), often including its primary features, advantages and benefits
2. What the organization wants to do with it (buy it, expand it, etc.)
3. Justification that the plans are credible (eg, results of research that indicate the need for what the organization wants to do)
4. Marketing plans, including research results about how the venture will be marketed (eg, who the customers will be, any specific groups (or targets) of customers, why they need the venture (benefits they seek from the venture), how they will use the venture, what they will be willing to pay, how the venture will be advertised and promoted, etc.)
5. Staffing plans, including what expertise will be needed to build (sometimes included in business plans) and provide the venture on an ongoing basis
6. Management plans, including how the expertise will be organized, coordinated and led
7. Financial plans, including costs to build the venture (sometimes included in business plans), costs to operate the venture, expected revenue, budgets for each of the first several years into the future, when the venture might break-even (begin making more money overall than it has cost), etc.
8. Appendices (there are a wide variety of materials included in appendices, eg, description of the overall organization, its other products and/or services, its current staff, etc.)

Is there a standard business plan?

A normal business plan (one that follows the advice of business experts) includes a standard set of elements, as shown below. Plan formats and outlines vary, but generally a plan will include components such as descriptions of the company, product or service, market, forecasts, management team, and financial analysis.
Your plan will depend on your specific situation. For example, description of the management team is very important for investors while financial history is most important for banks. However, if you’re developing a plan for internal use only, you may not need to include all the background details that you already know. Make your plan match its purpose.

What is most important in a plan?
It depends on the case, but usually it’s the cash flow analysis and specific implementation details.
• Cash flow is both vital to a company and hard to follow. Cash is usually misunderstood as profits, and they are different. Profits don’t guarantee cash in the bank. Lots of profitable companies go under because of cash flow problems. It just isn’t intuitive.
• Implementation details are what make things happen. Your brilliant strategies and beautifully formatted planning documents are just theory unless you assign responsibilities, with dates and budgets, follow up with those responsible, and track results. Business plans are really about getting results and improving your company.

Business planning, also known as strategic planning or long-range planning, is a management-directed process that is intended to determine a desired future state for a business entity and to define overall strategies for accomplishing the desired state. Through planning, management decides what objectives to pursue during a future period, and what actions to undertake to achieve those objectives.
Successful business planning requires concentrated time and effort in a systematic approach that involves: assessing the present situation; anticipating future profitability and market conditions; determining objectives and goals; outlining a course of action; and analyzing the financial implications of these actions. From an array of alternatives, management distills a broad set of interrelated choices to form its long-term strategy. This strategy is implemented through the annual budgeting process, in which detailed, short-term plans are formulated to guide day-to-day activities in order to attain the company's long-term objectives and goals.
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, the first step in successful business planning involves creating a formal business plan, of the type commonly used to attract investors and secure bank loans. Careful preparation of this document forces a small business owner to examine his or her own goals as well as the market conditions in which the business operates. It also includes a detailed financial analysis, a look at current staffing levels and future needs, and information about management's expertise. "All the elements can be folded together to formulate a strategic plan that focuses on where you want your company to be in the long run, and how you plan to get there," Vince Maietta wrote in The Business Journal. "That also helps entrepreneurs focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the firm, as well as opportunities and threats."

The use of formal business planning has increased significantly over the past few decades. The increase in the use of formal long-range plans reflects a number of significant factors:
• Competitors engage in long-range planning.
• Global economic expansion is a long-range effort.
• Taxing authorities and investors require more detailed reports about future prospects and annual performance.
• Investors assess risk/reward according to long-range plans and expectations.
• Availability of computers and sophisticated mathematical models add to the potential and precision of long-range planning.
• Expenditures for research and development increased dramatically, resulting in the need for longer planning horizons and huge investments in capital equipment.
• Steady economic growth has made longer-term planning more realistic.

Why Prepare A Business Plan?

Your business plan is going to be useful in a number of ways
• First and foremost, it will define and focus your objective using appropriate information and analysis.
• You can use it as a selling tool in dealing with important relationships including your lenders, investors and banks.
• Your business plan can uncover omissions and/or weaknesses in your planning process.
• You can use the plan to solicit opinions and advice from people, including those in your intended field of business, who will freely give you invaluable advice.

Benefits of Planning
Planning provides a means for actively involving personnel from all areas of the business enterprise in the management of the organization. Company-wide participation improves the quality of the plans. Employee involvement enhances their overall understanding of the organization's objectives and goals. The employees' knowledge of the broad plan and awareness of the expected outcomes for their responsibility centers minimizes friction between departments, sections, and individuals. Involvement in planning fosters a greater personal commitment to the plan and to the organization. These positive attitudes improve overall organizational morale and loyalty.
Managerial performance also benefits from planning. Planning focuses the energies and activities of managers in the utilization of scarce resources in a competitive and demanding marketplace. Able to clearly identify goals and objectives, managers perform better, are more productive, and their operations are more profitable. In addition, planning is a mental exercise from which managers attain experience and knowledge. It prepares them for the rigors of the marketplace by forcing them to think in a future- and contingency-oriented manner.

Steps in the Planning Process
The planning process is directly related to organizational considerations, management style, maturity of the organization, and employee professionalism. These factors vary among industries and even among similar companies. Yet all management, when applying a scientific method to planning, perform similar steps. The time spent on each step will vary by company. Completion of each step, however, is prerequisite to successful planning. The main steps in the planning process are:
• Conducting a self-audit to determine capabilities and unique qualities
• Evaluating the business environment for possible risks and rewards
• Setting objectives that give direction
• Establishing goals that quantify objectives and time-frames
• Forecasting market conditions that affect goals and objectives
• Stating actions and resources needed to accomplish goals
• Evaluating proposed actions and selecting the most appropriate ones
• Instituting procedures to control the implementation and execution of the plan.

WHAT is ISP?
• ISP is the planning of information systems for an organization.
• Information system planning is assessing the information needs of an organization and defining the systems, databases and technologies that best satisfy those needs.

Why Planning is Important?
• Systematic approach in dealing with future uncertainties.
• It focuses efforts and resources on long-term, general objectives and yet provides a foundation for short-term activities
• Provides a framework for action.

ISP Key Activities
1. Describing current situation: it includes a listing of the manual and automated processes, listing of manual and automated data, technology inventory and human resources inventory.
2. Describing future situation: includes blueprints of manual and automated processes, blueprints of manual and automated data, technology blueprints and human resources blueprints.
3. Describing scheduling of the project: includes scheduling of manual and automated processes, scheduling of manual and automated data, technology of scheduling and human resources scheduling.

ISP Planning Types
• Top-Down Planning: A generic information systems planning methodology that attempts to gain a broad understanding of the information system needs of the entire organization.
• Bottom-up Planning: generic information systems planning methodology that identifies and defines IS development projects based upon solving operational business problems or taking advantages of some business opportunities.

Components of ISP
• The Process of Information Systems Planning
• Strategic Alignment of Business and IT
• Selecting Systems to Invest In
• Project Management Issues

ISP Process
• What is an Information System Plan?
• Challenges in IS Planning
• Principles for IS Planning
• Planning Role of the IS and User Departments
• Allocating Resources between New and Old Information Systems
• Project Roles of IS Professionals

Why do we need to plan for IS?
• To ensure that IS both complements and assists in the achievement of our business goals.
• To ensure that the use of scarce resources are maximized within a business.
• To maximize the benefits of changing technology.
• To take account of the different viewpoints of business professionals and IT professionals.

Who Perform ISP?
• IS Planners / System Analyst
• Variety of stakeholders (i.e. sponsor, users)
• Top management commitment à successful ISP.

Where & When ISP?
• Any organization that has interest in getting the best out of its IT investments.
• Facing problems
• Grabbing opportunities.
• Information Systems (IS) fail to satisfy huge, diverse and complicated information requirements of their users.

HOW?
• Look at business structure, function, processes, culture
• Look at existing IT
• Look at available technology.
• Carry out interviews.
• Develop policies.
• Develop application portfolio.
• Plan schedules for migration, implementation etc.

Characteristics of a Quality ISP
A quality ISP must exhibit five distinct characteristics before it is useful. These five are presented in the table that follows.

Characteristics of a Quality ISP
1. Timely
The ISP must be timely. An ISP that is created long after it is needed is useless. In almost all cases, it makes no sense to take longer to plan work than to perform the work planned.
2. Useable
The ISP must be useable. It must be so for all the projects as well as for each project. The ISP should exist in sections that once adopted can be parceled out to project managers and immediately started.
3. Maintainable
The ISP must be maintainable. New business opportunities, new computers, business mergers, etc. all affect the ISP. The ISP must support quick changes to the estimates, technologies employed, and possibly even to the fundamental project sequences. Once these changes are accomplished, the new ISP should be just a few computer program executions away.
4. Quality
While the ISP must be a quality product, no ISP is ever perfect on the first try. As the ISP is executed, the metrics employed to derive the individual project estimates become refined as a consequence of new hardware technologies, code generators, techniques, or faster working staff. As these changes occur, their effects should be installable into the data that supports ISP computation. In short, the ISP is a living document. It should be updated with every technology event, and certainly no less often than quarterly.
5. Reproducible
The ISP must be reproducible. That is, when its development activities are performed by any other staff, the ISP produced should essentially be the same. The ISP should not significantly vary by staff assigned.

Relationship between the Business Plan and the Information System Plan
Information systems planning is a major change for organizations, from planning for information systems based on users’ demands to those based on business strategy. And it changes the planning characteristics in major ways. For example, the time horizon for planning changes from 1 year to 3 years or more and development plans are driven by current and future business needs rather than incremental user needs. Increase in the time horizon is a factor which results in poor response from the top management to the strategic information systems planning process as it is difficult to hold their attention for such a long period. Other questions associated with strategic information systems planning are related to the scope of the planning study, the focus of the planning exercise – corporate organization vs. strategic business unit, number of studies and their sequence, choosing a strategic information systems planning methodology or developing one if none is suitable, targets of planning process and deliverables. On the other hand, business plan (Business Systems Planning) serves as a blueprint to guide the firm's policies and strategies, and is continually modified as conditions change and new opportunities and/or threats emerge. Its methodology combines top down planning with bottom up implementation. The methodology focuses on business processes which in turn are derived from an organization’s business mission, objectives and goals. Business processes are analyzed to determine data needs and, then, data classes. Similar data classes are combined to develop databases. The final BSP plan describes an overall information systems architecture as well as installation schedule of individual systems. Because BSP combines a top down business analysis approach with a bottom up implementation strategy, it represents an integrated methodology. It requires a firm commitment from the top management and their substantial involvement and also requires a high degree of IT experience within the BSP planning team. Because of this there is a possibility of having a problem of bridging the gap between top down planning and bottom up implementation, especially when it does not incorporate a software design methodology. Thus, business plans and IS plans written primarily for the use of the company that generally stress the benefits that will result from implementation of the plan. Business plan and IS plan generally involves planning of thinking ahead and designing future action.




Reference:
http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/5262
http://articles.bplans.com/writing-a-business-plan/what-is-a-business-plan/33
http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~nkm/sisp/CONTENTS.html
http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/bus_plan/bus_plan.htm

organizational change (most radical type of change)

Assign 5: In the spectrum of organizational change, which is the most radical type of change: automation, rationalization of procedures, business reengineering, or paradigm shifts? (you are expected to read an article about this question) ..

Principles of Organizational Change
Written by Jack Welch & Suzy Welch
Thursday, 15 October 2009 20:22

Change is an absolutely critical part of business. And yes, your company does need to change—preferably now and not later, when you have no other choice.
The problem is that people hate it when their bosses announce a “transformation initiative.” They run back to their cubicles and start frantically e-mailing one another, complaining that the changes are going to ruin everything.
People love familiarity and patterns. They cling to them. The phenomenon is so entrenched it can only be chalked up to human nature. But while managing change can sometimes feel like moving a mountain, it can also be incredibly rewarding, particularly when you start seeing results.
Ultimately, implementing change comes down to embracing the following four practices:
1. Attach every change initiative to a clear purpose or goal. Change for change’s sake is stupid and enervating. Change should be a relatively orderly process, but for that to occur, people have to understand why change is necessary and how changes will affect them. This is easier, of course, when the problems are obvious—earnings are collapsing or a competitor has dropped prices 20 percent.
But sometimes the need for change isn’t immediately apparent. Competitive threats seem to be emerging, but you don’t know for certain, and still, you have to respond. In those cases, relentless communication about the business rationale for change, reinforced with lots of data, is the best ammunition you have.
The larger your company, the more challenging it will be to communicate the need for change. In big companies, calls for change are often greeted noncommittally. After all, if the company has been through enough change programs, employees will assume you’ll go away if they just wait long enough.
Stick to your guns—your solid, persuasive business case. Over time, logic will win out.
2. Hire and promote only true believers and get-on-with-it types. Everyone in business claims to like change. To say otherwise would be career suicide. But by my estimate, less than 10 percent of all businesspeople are true change agents. Once the next group—about 70 to 80 percent of people working in business—is convinced that change is necessary, they’ll say, “OK already, get on with it.” The rest are resisters.
To make change happen, companies must actively hire and promote only true believers and get-on-with-it. But with everyone claiming to like change, how can you tell who is for real?
Luckily, change agents usually make themselves known. They’re typically brash, high-energy and more than a little paranoid about the future. They often invent change initiatives on their own or ask to lead them. Invariably, they are curious and forward-looking.
These people have a certain fearlessness about the unknown. If they fail, they know they can pick themselves up, dust themselves off and move on. They’re thick-skinned about risk, which allows them to make bold decisions without a lot of data.
3. Ferret out and remove the resisters, even if their performance is satisfactory. This is the hardest of the four practices to implement. It’s tough to let anyone go, but it’s particularly difficult to fire people who are not actually screwing up and may in fact be doing quite well.
But in any organization, there are people who will not accept change, no matter how sound your case is. They are so invested—emotionally, intellectually, or politically—in the status quo that they cannot see a way to improve anything. These people usually have to go.
That may sound harsh, but you’re not doing anyone a favor by keeping resisters in your organization. They foster an underground resistance and lower the morale of the people who support change. They’re wasting their own time: They’re working at a company where they don’t agree with or share in the vision, and they should be encouraged to find one where they do.
4. Look at car wrecks. Most companies capitalize on obvious opportunities. When a competitor fails, they move in on their customers. When a new technology emerges, they invest in it and create product line extensions.
But to be a real change organization, you also have to have to look at bolder, scarier, more unpredictable events, assess the opportunities they present and make the most of them. Fostering this capability takes a certain determination, but the rewards can be huge.
Take the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Currency traders certainly capitalized on this awful event; they live on exploiting change. But they’re not the only ones who should do this. GE had real success buying undervalued Thai auto loans in this period. Others prospered by buying real estate at fire sale prices.
Bankruptcies are another type of calamity that reveals all kinds of opportunities. Of course, they’re tragic to the employees. Jobs are lost, and pensions disappear into thin air. But jobs and futures can also be created from the cinders.
With all the noise out there about change, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused. But these are the only four practices that matter. That’s it. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

What is organizational change?
Organizational change is any action or set of actions resulting in a shift in direction or process that affects the way an organization works. Change can be deliberate and planned by leaders within the organization (i.e., shift from inpatient hospital focus to outpatient primary care model), or change can originate outside the organization (i.e., budget cut by Congress) and be beyond its control. Change may affect the strategies an organization uses to carry out its mission, the processes for implementing those strategies, the tasks and functions performed by the people in the organization, and the relationships between those people. Naturally, some changes are relatively small, while others are sweeping in scope, amounting to an organizational transformation. Change is a fact of organizational life, just as it is in human life. An organization that does not change cannot survive long Ð much less thrive Ð in an unpredictable world. Several factors may make organizational change necessary, including new competition in the marketplace or new demands by customers. These types of external forces may create expectations of improved efficiency, better service, or innovative products. When organizational change is well planned and implemented, it helps assure the organizations continued survival. It can produce many tangible benefits, including improved competitiveness, better financial performance, and higher levels of customer and employee satisfaction. These benefits may take some time to achieve; however, and the transition period that accompanies major organizational change usually is a time of upheaval and uncertainty. Not every individual in the organization will benefit personally from change; some will be casualties of change, especially if jobs are cut or realigned. But change should make the organization as a whole stronger and better equipped for the future.
Organizational change occurs when a company makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization, while also maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort.
Today's business environment requires companies to undergo changes almost constantly if they are to remain competitive. Factors such as globalization of markets and rapidly evolving technology force businesses to respond in order to survive. Such changes may be relatively minor—as in the case of installing a new software program—or quite major—as in the case of refocusing an overall marketing strategy. "Organizations must change because their environments change, " according to Thomas S. Bateman and Carl P. Zeithaml in their book Management: Function and Strategy. "Today, businesses are bombarded by incredibly high rates of change from a frustratingly large number of sources…. Insidepressures come from top managers and lower-level employees who push for change. Outside pressures come from changes in the legal, competitive, technological, and economic environments."
Organizational change initiatives often arise out of problems faced by a company. In some cases, however, companies are encouraged to change for other, more positive reasons. "Change commonly occurs because the organization experiences some difficulty, " Bateman and Zeithaml wrote. "But sometimes the most constructive change takes place not because of problems but because of opportunities." The authors used the term "performance gap" to describe the difference between a company's actual performance and the performance of which it is capable. Recognition of a performance gap often provides the impetus for change, as companies strive to improve their performance to expected levels. This sort of gap is also where many entrepreneurs find opportunities to begin new businesses.
Unfortunately, as Rick Mauer noted in an article for HR Focus, statistics show that many organizational change efforts fail. For example, 50 percent of quality improvement programs fail to meet their goals, and 30 percent of process reengineering efforts are unsuccessful. The most common reason that change efforts fail is that they encounter resistance from employees. Change appears threatening to many people, which makes it difficult to gain their support and commitment to implementing changes. Consequently, the ability to manage change effectively is a highly sought-after skill in managers. Companies need people who can contribute positively to their inevitable change efforts.

SPECTRUM OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

• AUTOMATION: Using technology to perform tasks efficiently / effectively
• RATIONALIZATION OF PROCEDURES: Streamline SOPs; eliminate bottlenecks
• BUSINESS REENGINEERING: Radical redesign of processes to improve cost, quality, service; maximize benefits of technology
• PARADIGM SHIFT: A new perspective on things.
:Is a complete mental model of how a complex system functions.

:Involves rethinking the nature of business, the organization; a complete reconception of how the system should function.

Areas of Organizational Change
Bateman and Zeithaml identified four major areas of organizational change: strategy, technology, structure, and people. All four areas are related, and companies often must institute changes in the other areas when they attempt to change one area. The first area, strategy changes, can take place on a large scale—for example, when a company shifts its resources to enter a new line of business—or on a small scale—for example, when a company makes productivity improvements in order to reduce costs. There are three basic stages for a company making a strategic change:1) realizing that the current strategy is no longer suitable for the company's situation; 2) establishing a vision for the company's future direction; and 3) implementing the change and setting up new systems to support it.
Technological changes are often introduced as components of larger strategic changes, although they sometimes take place on their own. An important aspect of changing technology is determining who in the organization will be threatened by the change. To be successful, a technology change must be incorporated into the company's overall systems, and a management structure must be created to support it. Structural changes can also occur due to strategic changes—as in the case where a company decides to acquire another business and must integrate it—as well as due to operational changes or changes in managerial style. For example, a company that wished to implement more participative decision making might need to change its hierarchical structure.
People changes can become necessary due to other changes, or sometimes companies simply seek to change workers' attitudes and behaviors in order to increase their effectiveness. "Attempting a strategic change, introducing a new technology, and other changes in the work environment may affect people's attitudes (sometimes in a negative way), " Bateman and Zeithaml wrote. "But management frequently initiates programs with a conscious goal of directly and positively changing the people themselves." In any case, people changes can be the most difficult and important part of the overall change process. The science of organization development was created to deal with changing people on the job through techniques such as education and training, team building, and career planning.

Resistance to Change
A manager trying to implement a change, no matter how small, should expect to encounter some resistance from within the organization. Resistance to change is a normal reaction from people who have become accustomed to a certain way of doing things. Of course, certain situations or tactics can increase resistance. "Individuals, groups, and organizations must be motivated to change. But if people perceive no performance gap or if they consider the gap un-important, they will not have this motivation. Moreover, they will resist changes that others try to introduce, " Bateman and Zeithaml explained.
The authors outlined a number of common reasons that people tend to resist change. These include: inertia, or the tendency of people to become comfortable with the status quo; timing, as when change efforts are introduced at a time when workers are busy or have a bad relationship with management; surprise, because people's reflex is to resist when they must deal with a sudden, radical change; or peer pressure, which may cause a group to resist due to anti-management feelings even if individual members do not oppose the change. Resistance can also grow out of people's perceptions of how the change will affect them personally. They may resist because they fear that they will lose their jobs or their status, because they do not understand the purpose of the change, or simply because they have a different perspective on the change than management.
Fortunately, Bateman and Zeithaml noted, there are a number of steps managers can take to help overcome resistance to change. One proven method is education and communication. Employees can be informed about both the nature of the change and the logic behind it before it takes place through reports, memos, group presentations, or individual discussions. Another important component of overcoming resistance is inviting employee participation and involvement in both the design and implementation phases of the change effort. "People who are involved in decisions understand them better and are more committed to them, " Bateman and Zeithaml explained. Another possible approach to managing resistance to change is through facilitation and support. Managers should be sure to provide employees with the resources they need to make the change, be supportive of their efforts, listen to their problems with empathy, and accept that their performance level may drop initially.
Some companies manage to overcome resistance to change through negotiation and rewards. They offer employees concrete incentives to ensure their cooperation. Other companies resort to manipulation, or using subtle tactics such as giving a resistance leader a prominent position in the change effort. A final option is coercion, which involves punishing people who resist or using force to ensure their cooperation. Although this method can be useful when speed is of the essence, it can have lingering negative effects on the company. Of course, no method is appropriate to every situation, and a number of different methods may be combined as needed. As Bateman and Zeithaml stated, "Effective change managers are familiar with the various approaches and capable of flexibly applying them according to the situation."

WHAT IS THE HUMAN SIDE OF CHANGE AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT ?
Organizational change is about people changing. Organizational change, then, is a highly complex process that must take into account how people respond psychologically when asked to make major changes at work. Their reactions inevitably vary. While some people embrace change, others will resist it Ð sometimes passively, giving the impression that they support it. A small number of people are energized by change, but many others feel threatened and anxious. This is particularly true if, under the change initiative, people may be transferred to new positions or work sites or even lose their jobs. The human side of change is frequently ignored or handled inadequately despite managers’ best intentions or their intellectual understanding of how difficult change is. Recognizing the pain and insecurity that change can cause in the workplace is not enough; managers must devise ways for responding effectively to these feelings. This may involve engaging employees more actively in change efforts, communicating with them more frequently and comprehensively about new developments, creating a forum for them to vent their frustrations and fears, or simply maintaining an "open door" environment, where employees can approach their managers individually to discuss concerns.

Amongst the spectrum of organizational change identified above, the most radical type of change is automation, rationalization of procedures, business reengineering, or paradigm shifts. Yes, all of these fields can be treated as a major change in an organization. As what I have read from the article written by Jack Welch & Suzy Welch in the Principles of Organizational Change, “The problem is that people hate it when their bosses announce a “transformation initiative”.” And it is merely true; there is really a resistance in every act of change. And the vital factor of this change is people, the ones that will apply the change.


References:
http://www.zturk.com/edu/zagreb/podiplomski/slides/02-1-short-IT-strategies.pdf
http://www.answers.com/topic/managing-organizational-change
http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/internal/organizational_change_primer.pdf
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/pf/17334-principles-of-organizational-change.html

steps in order to expedite the implementation of the IS Plan

You were invited by the university president to prepare an IS plan for the university, discuss what are the steps in order to expedite the implementation of the IS Plan. (at least 5000 words)

An Implementation Plan is a detailed project management tool for a specific policy measure or package of measures, designed to assist agencies to manage and monitor implementation effectively. These are intended to be scalable and flexible, reflecting the degree of urgency, innovation, complexity and/or sensitivity associated with the particular policy measure. Agencies are expected to exercise judgment in this area; however, the level of detail should be sufficient to enable the agency to effectively manage the implementation of a policy measure.
Implementation plans should be:
• succinct, but not to the point that important information is buried
• jargon free – they should be capable of being understood by everyone using them
• based on a sound programme logic, presenting a clear line of sight from the original proposal and the government’s expectations, to the inputs and how they will contribute to the achievement of those expectations; the outputs to be delivered; why and how those outputs are expected to deliver the outcomes sought, and the assumptions made about those links; and how this delivery chain and its supporting assumptions will be evaluated
• clear on timeframes and project phases, especially where there are interdependencies with other programmes or measures or critical requirements such as the passage of legislation or negotiations with the States and Territories
• clear on the decision pathways forward – often both the objectives and the means to achieving those objectives are uncertain. Implementation plans need to recognise the unknowns as well as the known’s, and explain how and when the unknowns will be addressed.

We all know that planning is a critical phase in the adoption of technology initiatives that affect not just the students and the teachers but also an entire community (wikibook Technology Planning: the educator's guide - Implementation plan and timeline, 2008). November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996) contended that an effective technology plan is based on the shared vision of educators, parents, community members, and business leaders who have technological expertise. They also suggested that in order for a technology plan to be successful, it must promote meaningful learning and collaboration, provide for the needed professional development and support, and respond flexibly to change. According to Whitehead, Jensen, and Boschee (2003), most school administrators know that computers and advanced-information technologies are touching the lives of students at school and at home. They suggested the following important factors that must be addressed in a technology plan.


Guiding Questions for Implementation Plan
How Will You Use Technology to Support Yo u r Vision of Learning?
Technology lends itself well to learning and instruction (Massachusetts Software Council, 1994) because it is a powerful tool that, when properly implemented, improves student learning and achievement. However, teachers have little incentive to tackle the technical and scheduling problems associated with technology unless they have a clear idea of how it can improve teaching and learning (Means, Blando, Olson, Middleton, Morocco, Remz, & Zorfass, 1993). Exactly which educational goals a technology plan should address and attempt to accomplish must be determined before the technology plan is implemented (Holmes & Rawitsch, 1993). Technology should not drive educational decisions or learning. Rather, decision making should be based on the learning and teaching needs of the student. Technology cannot prescribe for a teacher which students should use the technology, how often it should be used, or how to integrate technology into existing instructional practices. Unless teachers start out with specific technology goals that support their vision of learning, technology will most likely be used to reinforce the status quo (Cohen, 1988; Cuban, 1986). There is evidence that when learning and technology goals are not decided upon before technology implementation, technology can become a drain on resources and add to the burdens of teachers who are already trying to do too much (Piele, 1989). This problem can be avoided by formulating a vision for learning that connects to educational goals, values, and objectives for technology use. Once the stakeholders involved understand the vision and see how technology will make their lives better, they are likely to become more open to technology planning and implementation. The following questions should be addressed when planning how to use technology to support a vision of learning.

• How will technology be used to provide and support a challenging curriculum through engaging instructional practices (e.g., collaborative learning, problem-based learning, problem solving, critical thinking, constructivist classrooms, project-based learning, and so on)?
Consider:
 Learning tasks that are authentic, challenging, and multidisciplinary
 Assessments that are performance-based, generative, seamless and ongoing, and equitable.
 Instructional models that are interactive and generative
 Learning contexts that are collaborative, knowledge building, and Empathetic.
 Grouping strategies that are flexible, equitable, and heterogeneous
 Teacher roles as facilitators, guides, colearners, and coinvestigators
 Student roles as explorers, cognitive apprentices, teachers, and producers

• What educational technology skills will be a part of your curriculum and how will teaching them to students and staff enhance and support your broader instructional goals?
• How will technology be used to support an articulated prekindergarten to adult learning program for all students?
• How will technology be used to support changes in the roles and responsibilities of students, teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and others in order to achieve your vision?
• How will technology be used to support organizational and governance structures that are consistent with your vision of learning?
• How will technology be used to support and provide meaningful professional development experiences for staff?
• How will technology be used to support your school’s accountability and assessment system?
• How will technology be used to support positive home-school-community collaborations?
• How will technology be used to support the provision of comprehensive services (e.g., school-based, school-linked health and social services)?
•
Developing a Supportive Infrastructure
The infrastructure consists of two parts: human resources—which deals with professional learning and support—and technology—which deals with hardware, software, and facilities. With technological change occurring at a rapid pace, purchasers of new technology sometimes feel hard pressed to keep up (Fine, 1991). School districts, due to limited budgets and technical expertise, have a difficult time choosing and buying technology. Often they lack adequate information about the newest technologies and how to use them; or they do not take into account the level of training and staff development needed to use the technology. The key to technology planning is to make informed decisions. Without good information about the nuts and bolts of technology (i.e., the hardware and software) planners are at a disadvantage. The best way to overcome this problem is to take a broad view of technology and educate planners and staff about current and emerging technologies and their benefits and then realize that implementing technology is not a one-time thing but an ongoing and continuous process that requires a supportive infrastructure that is flexible enough to deal with the rapid pace of technological change. The following questions should be addressed when planning for a supportive infrastructure:

Professional Development,Training,Technical Support
• How will you find out what skills your staff and students currently have and what skills they will need to fulfill your plan’s objectives?
• How will you design and implement a professional development and training strategy that meets the needs of your staff?
• How will you use technology to provide professional development, training, and ongoing technical support, and to support teachers as they integrate technology into the curriculum?
• Who will be responsible for ensuring and coordinating professional development?
• Who will be responsible for providing technical assistance and support?
• How will you build technical support capacity within your staff so that equipment will be maintained and kept reliable?
• What are your contingencies for providing just-in-time services when the technology breaks down?

Networking, Hardware, Software, Facilities
• What level of networking will be required to support your vision of learning?
• What hardware specifications are needed to support your vision of learning?
• How will you deal with obsolescence, maintenance, and amortization?
• How will you make use of existing technology?
• What software is required to support your vision of learning?
• How will software be reviewed and purchased?
• What building facilities exist or are needed, and what modifications must be made to support your vision of learning?
• How will you implement, maintain, and sustain the equipment, software, and the network for extended periods, and who will be responsible?

Garnering Public Support
Public support is essential to ensure the success and longevity of planning implementation. The following questions should be addressed when developing strategies to garner public support:

• What kinds and levels of public support are necessary to make the implementation of your technology plan successful and sustainable?
• What public relations activities will you engage in to promote the effective long-term implementation of your technology plan?
• How will you create opportunities for school staff and the community to share information in order to foster positive relationships?
• How will you garner support from community and business leadership, for example, in long-term public and private partnerships?
• How will you connect and interact with related organizations (museums, libraries, adult literacy programs, higher education, community-based organizations, and so on) to improve student learning?
• How will you leverage investments (e.g., provide training and support for parents and community members) to provide technology access and service to the wider community?
• What other human and community resources exist, including businesses and libraries, to support the plan?
• What funding policies and opportunities exist for implementing your plan?
• How and when will you report results to stakeholders?

Implementing Your Plan
Many planners believe their job is complete after a plan is written, but in actuality it has only begun. Awritten technology plan has direction and long-term technology goals. However, for each new technology introduced to an organization, there will be stages of implementation that include resource development (budget), evaluation, selection, installation, training, pilot projects, mini-implementations, and, finally, full implementation. These stages should all be reflected in a technology plan. It is also important to remember not to judge technology as ineffective when it is not implemented according to the plan (Holmes & Rawitsch, 1993). Flexibility, patience, and adaptability are essential for any kind of change process and certainly for implementing technology. The following questions should be addressed when planning the implementation of your plan:

• What is the timeline for meeting the goals of your plan?
• Who is responsible for achieving milestones on the timelines?
• What professional development strategies will you use?
• How will you provide time for ongoing staff development, including time to practice and learn new technologies?
• What is your plan for networking, acquiring hardware and software, and updating the facility?
• How will you deal with the rapid changes in technology?
• What funding is available currently?
• How will funding be provided over the life of the plan?
• How will you coordinate and leverage a variety of funding resources to support your plan?
• How will you deal with contingencies such as changes in leadership and changes in budget?
• How will you determine which program area, discipline, or staff will receive highest priorities for receiving technologies?
• Who (or what group) will be responsible for implementing the t e c h n o l o g y plan?
• What incentives and sanctions will you implement to ensure that everyone achieves a high level of technological proficiency?
• How will you ensure equity of access to technology and engaged learning experiences for all students?
• How will your instructional use of technology address district, state, and federal mandates including curriculum, special needs, minority populations, and equity issues?
• What new policies are needed to support implementation of your plan?

Evaluating the Implementation of Your Technology Plan
Technology implementation is a continuous process that adapts to the organization’s changing circumstances and includes ongoing evaluation. Effective evaluation will force planners to rethink and adapt objectives, priorities, and strategies as implementation proceeds. Continuous evaluation also facilitates making changes if aspects of the plan are not working. Evaluating the implementation of a technology plan can be conducted by various means. Simple observations, both negative and positive, that have been made by students and teachers using the technology are the most helpful. Interviews and informal meetings with both instructors and students can draw out the lessons that both groups have learned from using the technology. A simple written survey can assist in measuring the extent to which the plan has met its original objectives and expected outcomes. The following questions should be addressed when planning the evaluation of the implementation of your technology plan:

• How and when will you evaluate the impact your technology plan implementation has on student performance?
• Who will be responsible for collecting ongoing data to assess the effectiveness of the plan and its implementation?
• What windows of opportunity exist for reviewing the technology plan? (For example, the plan might be reviewed during curriculum review cycles.)
• How will accountability for implementation be assessed?
• How will you assess the level of technological proficiency gained by students, teachers, and staff?
• How will you use technology to evaluate teaching and learning?
• nWhat is the key indicator of success for each component of the plan?
• How will you analyze the effectiveness of disbursement decisions in light of implementation priorities?
• How will you analyze implementation decisions to accommodate for changes as a result of new information and technologies?
• What organizational mechanism will you create that allows changes in the implementation of the technology plan and in the plan itself?

Factors to consider
According to the OECD (2000)it is necessary to have coherent and comprehensive policies for planning and evaluation. They suggested to include the definition of clear objectives, the identification of priorities and strategies, the ability to envisage future scenarios, the design, implementation and evaluation of pilot projects. In addition, they recommended that planning must be rigorous but not inflexible, allowing refinement in the light of experience.
According to November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996), the first step in developing a technology plan is convening a 'planning committee' or team to review the school improvement plan already in place and research the district needs. They also suggested that an effective team enlists educators but also takes advantage of the expertise of community members and the input of parents and students. They proposed that the planning team becomes responsible for the development of an overall technology plan. Further, they concluded that the team members are responsible for developing a vision for the plan, determine the goals that must be met to reach it, and create steps to implement those goals.
Whitehead, Jensen, and Boschee (2003) stated that planning addresses the who, what, when, where, why, and how aspects of the project. In addition, they assured that quality leadership must prevail at all times. Furthermore, they recommended technology coordinators to envision what the completed project will look like and what it will do for teaching and learning. This underlying mental picture is necessary to provide focus for the entire enterprise. Furthermore, they also advise administrators to consider the possibility of having to modify school practices or even upgrade regulations. This may even result in an adjustment of the school's philosophy and mission statements (wikibook Technology Planning: the educator's guide - Vision, 2008) to align with the technology initiative being proposed. If necessary, the use of surveys allows administrators to probe stakeholder viewpoints. In addition, they emphasized that every person involved must know both sides of the issue. They suggested the use of research that both supports and counters the major assumptions on which the technology project is based. Furthermore, they advised administrators to consider how students and staff members would be affected by the technology changes and develop appropriate support structures like training, changes in classroom layout, inclusion into curricula, and revision of school programs.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), for public education to benefit from the rapidly evolving development of information and communication technology, leaders at every level - school, district and state - must not only supervise, but provide informed, creative and ultimately transformative leadership for systemic change. They recommend districts to invest in leadership development programs to develop a new generation of tech-savvy leaders at every level. Further, they suggested to retool administrator education programs to provide training in technology decision making and organizational change. They also recommended districts to develop partnerships between schools and higher education institutions, in addition to encouraging creative technology partnerships with the business community.
Community Awareness and Support
According to Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2003), community support is necessary during the planning stages of a technology initiative. They contended that neither parents nor community members are likely to be idle bystanders when costly reforms are about to change the way significant portions of children's education are delivered. For this reason, they suggested the schools and districts to evaluate community willingness to fund such initiatives in schools. Further, they proposed to show community members how teachers will adopt technology in the classroom and how it would enhance student learning and achievement. They also advised the institutions to develop guidelines for presenting information to the public under the supervision of a public relations director.
According to the OECD (2000), social participation is essential for the successful development of ICT initiatives in education, the active involvement of the private sector and the local communities being critical. They also stated that much effort has to be expended in strategies that enable communities to take advantage of the new technologies, so that local populations become fully acquainted with their potential.
Student Needs
November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996) suggested team members to generate a collective vision which supports meaningful engaged learning for all students.
Whitehead, Jensen, and Boschee (2003) suggested that in any technology initiative, the needs of the students must be placed above any other factor being considered. It is very common to see cases in which administrators and committee members make decisions about technology that really don't acknowledge the needs of the people who will use it.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), there has been significant growth in organized online instruction (e-learning) and "virtual" schools, making it possible for students at all levels to receive high quality supplemental or full courses of instruction personalized to their needs. They also stated that traditional schools are turning to these services to expand opportunities and choices for students and professional development for teachers.
Teaching and Learning
According to Whitehead, Jensen, and Boschee (2003), teaching and learning must be considered simultaneously when deciding how technology will be brought into the classroom. They suggested to have a 'purpose' that reflects teaching and learning when bringing technologies into the school. In addition, they recommended to evaluate hardware purchases and coordinate them to student needs. Hence, features like user-friendliness, dependability and speed need to be taken into account. With respect to software, they advise technology coordinators to carefully determine which programs will best complement, support, and expand classroom teaching and learning. It is important to flatten the learning curve by using user-friendly applications to help ensure that programs will be used by teachers and students. With respect to the teachers, they recommended that dialogues need to be established to evaluate classroom space and decide on computer locations. In addition, they requested technology coordinators to determine the amount of use teachers make of the new technology.
November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996) recommended the technology planning team to encourage teachers to seek opportunities to work in teams in order to design technology-supported projects. They also suggested the team to develop objectives that describe appropriate technology goals for students at each grade level. They contended that instead of emphasizing higher order thinking skills, complex problem solving, and cognitive research, sometimes the technology may be used to teach merely the same old curriculum. They believe that using technology effectively in education requires shifting the focus from teaching to active learning. Further, they suggested teachers to develop proficiency in technology through not only in-service professional development activities but also through collegial support.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), a perennial problem for schools, teachers and students is that textbooks are increasingly expensive, quickly outdated and physically cumbersome. They suggested that a move from reliance on textbooks to the use of multimedia or online information (digital content) offers many advantages, including cost savings, increased efficiency, improved accessibility, and enhancing learning opportunities in a format that engages today's web-savvy students. For this reason, they encouraged ubiquitous access to computers and connectivity for school children. They also requested to consider the cost and benefits of online content, aligned with rigorous state academic standards, as part of a systemic approach to creating resources for students to customize learning to their individual needs.
Staff Development
Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2003) considered staff development to be one of the most important aspects of the initiative. In order to succeed in staff development efforts, they also suggested administrators to formulate detailed plans for staff development and implementation which should be developed well in advance of the actual implementation of technology in the classrooms. They recommended the appointment of the person in charge of leading staff development programs as well as evaluating each stage of the implementation based on a detailed working schedule. They emphasized the importance of pertinent staff development activities as well as in-house technical consultants who would help teachers promptly.
November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996) suggested that staff development activities should help teachers become comfortable and proficient with the technology and give them the opportunity to devise ways to use it in their classrooms. They also contended that the uniqueness of each teacher and class must be acknowledged and used to build specific teaching strategies to meet the goals outlined in the technology plan.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), every teacher should have the opportunity to take online learning courses. In addition, they suggested that institutions ought to ensure that every teacher knows how to use data to personalize instruction. This is marked by the ability to interpret data to understand student progress and challenges, drive daily decisions and design instructional interventions to customize instruction for every student's unique needs.
Financial Management
is important to understand that most determinations about finance are generally dealt by the people in top management positions. Nonetheless, the impact of these decisions are critical to the success of the project. Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2003) contended that it was important to determine the financial resources for in-house projects and equipment. They also suggested to itemize equipment resources owned by the school or district with the idea of reducing unnecessary duplication in new purchases. Further, they recommended the institution to appoint someone who will be responsible for handling the recommended purchases locally or from a national distribution company. They suggested that a thorough review of all costs needs to be made to ensure the technology project is affordable in all of its phases. Finally, they suggested the canvassing of civic organizations for financial or equipment support.
According to November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996), technology is changing so quickly that it is impossible to know what advances will be available in five years. They proposed that plans ought to be reviewed each year during the budget process to make sure the district is purchasing the most current equipment or to take advantage of new and lower cost technology. They also proposed the development of strategies to meet the funding challenge which also included the investigation of federal, state, and other grant opportunities and funding sources for educational technology.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), educational institutions ought to consider a systemic restructuring of budgets to realize efficiencies, cost savings and reallocation. This can include reallocations in expenditures on textbooks, instructional supplies, space and computer labs. In addition, they recommended to consider leasing with 3-5 year refresh cycles. Finally, they proposed the creation of a technology innovation fund to carry funds over yearly budget cycles.
Infrastructure
Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2003) related infrastructure to the basic facilities and the mechanical and electrical installations found in a school. They contended that it is important to decide how existing equipment and infrastructure can be integrated into the project. They suggested that network wiring needs to accommodate the instructional configuration required by teachers. Further, they recommend getting assistance from professionals to handle remodeling or other infrastructure necessities. People with greater experience can provide a better insight on the space and remodeling required to ready the infrastructure for implementation. Finally, they suggested technology coordinators to visit other schools to evaluate successful programs for structural adaptations that could be taken into account using unique ideas to solve local problems.
According to OECD (2000), it is essential to have a sound and adequate telecommunication and computer network infrastructure that can support and deliver diverse educational models.
Evaluation and Assessment
Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2003) concluded that the work of leaders is not done when computers or other learning technologies are networked in schools and classrooms. Contrary to what is a common belief, they contended that a very important part of the work remains in the form of program evaluation and assessment. For this reason, they recommended the appointment of someone who would evaluate the overall project following a plan with dates. In addition, they suggested that an outline be presented of how changes or revisions will be handled. In order to succeed, they advised reviewers to use the most appropriate evaluation and assessment methods available for sharing information with the community. According to November, Staudt, Costello, and Lynne (1996), educators, parents, and community members are more likely to support technology if they are able to see proof of its value in helping students learn. They also contended that it is important to review and update the technology plan at least once a year to provide evaluation of its usefulness.
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), integrated, interoperable data systems are the key to better allocation of resources, greater management efficiency, and online and technology-based assessments of student performance that empower educators to transform teaching and personalize instruction. They also recommended the use of data from both administrative and instructional systems to understand relationships between decisions, allocation of resources and student achievement. Finally, they suggested to use assessment results to inform and differentiate instruction for every child.

Conclusions
Administrative involvement and leadership are crucial to the technology planning and implementation process. If organizational leaders do not understand and support the technology plan, it will be difficult to implement and can be either intentionally or inadvertently sabotaged. Many people perceive that without a technology champion or advocate who will take responsibility for promoting the planning process and implementing the plan, there will be no major push to make technology an integrated part of the organization. If the plan relies on only one person, however, it will almost certainly be unsuccessful. Implementation is best when tasks and duties are shared and delegated, and when individuals across the organization buy into the use of technology and the planning process. Effective implementation of technology requires a change in culture—one that encourages people to think differently about the teaching and learning processes and the possibilities for technology use. Training and positive role modeling are important for helping to facilitate the change in attitudes and culture. Also, attention to internal and external marketing (garnering support) can help to change attitudes and build enthusiasm and participation. This kind of marketing should be based upon showing how technology will enhance the organization’s purpose and goals and solve organizational and educational problems.
Flexibility is also a key ingredient of the technology planning process. Planners should set priorities, follow a timeline, and continue to evaluate progress. Yet, day-to-day demands will intervene, priorities will change, and resource availability is likely to be inconsistent. It is therefore important to be flexible, to expect the unexpected, and yet to remain committed to pushing forward the technology planning and implementation process.

Finally, while financial resources are likely to be scarce, the plan should not be budget driven. Rather, the learning vision and organizational, technological ,and educational objectives should drive the plan. Budgeting activities should complement and follow the planning process. They are more likely to be successful when an organization knows clearly where it is headed in terms of technology use and has a written plan outlining that use. The familiar maxim holds true for technology planning: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re likely to end up somewhere else” and conversely: “If you know where you’re going, you’re likely to get there much more quickly.”



References:
http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/guidepdf/guide.pdf
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Directing_Technology/Plan

(aSsigN nO.9) iNformAtiOn enviRoNment

The first thing that came to my mind when I read the term working environment is an animation studio., Even before when I was just a kid I was always fascinated on how the animation s where made, on how the drawings move, and especially on the machines that they used to create the incredible works of art. Since I don’t even know what a computer is before and how it contributed to the animation industry, eventually I gave up with those thoughts.

In the past years of my college life and even at present, slowly, I became aware about the involvement of the computers in the development of the animation industry. The common software that the animation companies used in their products where introduced to me. Software like adobe multimedia studio, toon boom, audio converters and video edit pro are some of them. These software were not directly introduced to me and where not even brought up in class. I came up with these software when we were task to make different systems. These applications were used especially when it comes to the design part of the system. It may be not that important but still the design of the system offers some additional points.

Before I put the concentration of my topic on what my position will be most likely in this environment and on what I could contribute to its growth, let me have a little background about this working environment.

Cave paintings

The earliest examples derive from still drawings, which can be found in Palaeolithic cave paintings, where animals are depicted with multiple sets of legs in superimposed positions, clearly attempting to convey the perception of motion.

Pottery of Persia

A 5,200-year old earthen bowl found in Iran in Shahr-i Sokhta has five images painted along the sides. It shows phases of a goat leaping up to a tree to take a pear. However, since no equipment existed to show the images in motion, such a series of images cannot be called animation in a true sense of the word.

Egyptian murals

An Egyptian mural, approximately 4000 years old, shows wrestlers in action. Even though this may appear similar to a series of animation drawings, there was no way of viewing the images in motion. It does, however, indicate the artist's intention of depicting motion.

Zoetrope

A zoetrope is a device which creates the image of a moving picture. The earliest elementary zoetrope was created in China around 180 AD by the prolific inventor Ting Huan (丁緩). Driven by convection Ting Huan's device hung over a lamp. The rising air turned vanes at the top from which were hung translucent paper or mica panels. Pictures painted on the panels would appear to move if the device is spun at the right speed.

The modern zoetrope contraption was produced in 1834 by William George Horner. The device is basically a cylinder with vertical slits around the sides. Around the inside edge of the cylinder there are a series of pictures on the opposite side to the slits. As the cylinder is spun, the user then looks through the slits producing the illusion of motion. No one thought this small device would be the initial beginnings for the animation world to come. As a matter a fact, in present day beginning animation classes, the Zoetrope is still being used to illustrate early concepts of animation.

Leonardo shoulder study (ca. 1510)

Seven drawings by Leonardo da Vinci extending over two folios in the Windsor Collection, Anatomical Studies of the Muscles of the Neck, Shoulder, Chest, and Arm, show detailed drawings of the upper body (with a less-detailed facial image), illustrating the changes as the torso turns from profile to frontal position and the forearm extends.

The magic lantern

The magic lantern is the predecessor of the modern day projector. It consisted of a translucent oil painting and a simple lamp. When put together in a darkened room, the image would appear larger on a flat surface. Athanasius Kircher spoke about this originating from China in the 16th century. Some slides for the lanterns contained parts that could be mechanically actuated to present limited movement on the screen.

Thaumatrope (1824)

A thaumatrope was a simple toy used in the Victorian era. It was a small circular disk or card with two different pictures on each side that was attached to a piece of string running through the centre. When the strings were twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to combine into a single image. The creator of this invention may have been either John Ayrton Paris or Charles Babbage.

Phenakistoscope (1831)

A phenakistoscope disc by Eadweard Muybridge (1893).
The phenakistoscope was an early animation device, the predecessor of the zoetrope. It was invented in 1831 simultaneously by the Belgian Joseph Plateau and the Austrian Simon von Stampfer.

Praxinoscope (1877)

The praxinoscope, invented by French scientist Charles-Émile Reynaud, was a more sophisticated version of the zoetrope. It used the same basic mechanism of a strip of images placed on the inside of a spinning cylinder, but instead of viewing it through slits, it was viewed in a series of small, stationary mirrors around the inside of the cylinder, so that the animation would stay in place, and provide a clearer image and better quality. Reynaud also developed a larger version of the praxinoscope that could be projected onto a screen, called the Théâtre Optique.

Flip book (1868)

The first flip book was patented in 1868 by a John Barns Linnet. Flip books were yet another development that brought us closer to modern animation. Like the Zoetrope, the Flip Book creates the illusion of motion. A set of sequential pictures flipped at a high speed creates this effect. The Mutoscope (1894) is basically a flip book in a box with a crank handle to flip the pages.

Stop motion

Stop motion is used for many animation productions using physical objects rather than images of people, as with traditional animation. An object will be photographed, moved slightly, and then photographed again. When the pictures are played back in normal speed the object will appear to move by itself. This process is used for many productions, for example, clay animations such as Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, as well as animated movies which use poseable figures, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Sometimes even objects are used, such as with the films of Jan Švankmajer.

Stop motion animation was also commonly used for special effects work in many live-action films, such as the 1933 version of King Kong and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

CGI animation

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) changed animated films forever. The first film done completely in CGI was Toy Story, produced by Pixar. The process of CGI animation is still very tedious and similar in that sense to traditional animation, and it still adheres to many of the same principles.

A principal difference of CGI Animation compared to traditional animation is that drawing is replaced by 3D modeling, almost like virtual version of stop-motion, though a form of animation that combines the two worlds can be considered to be computer aided animation but on 2D computer drawing (which can be considered close to traditional drawing and sometimes based on it).

Animated humans

Most CGI created films are based on animal characters, monsters, machines or cartoon-like humans. Animation studios are now trying to develop ways of creating realistic-looking humans. Films that have attempted this include Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001, Final Fantasy: Advent Children in 2005, The Polar Express in 2004, and Beowulf in 2007. However, due to the complexity of human body functions, emotions and interactions, this method of animation is rarely used. The more realistic a CG character becomes, the more difficult it is to create the nuances and details of a living person. The creation of hair and clothing that move convincingly with the animated human character is another area of difficulty.

Cel-shaded animation

Main article: Cel-shaded animation
A type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon. It is a somewhat recent addition to computer graphics, most commonly turning up in console video games. Though the end result of cel-shading has a very simplistic feel like that of hand-drawn animation, the process is complex. The name comes from the clear sheets of acetate, called cels, that are painted on for use in traditional 2D animation. It may be considered a "2.5D" form of animation. True real-time cel-shading was first introduced in 2000 by Sega's Jet Set Radio for their Dreamcast console. Besides video games, a number of anime have also used this style of animation, such as Freedom Project in 2006.

Film animation

The history of film animation began in the 1890s with the earliest days of silent films and continues through the present day. The first animated film was created by Charles-Émile Reynaud, inventor of the praxinoscope, an animation system using loops of 12 pictures. On October 28, 1892 at Musée Grévin in Paris, France he exhibited animations consisting of loops of about 500 frames, using his Théâtre Optique system - similar in principle to a modern film projector.

The first animated work on standard picture film was Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) by J. Stuart Blackton. It features a cartoonist drawing faces on a chalkboard, and the faces apparently coming to life.

Fantasmagorie, by the French director Émile Cohl (also called Émile Courtet), is also noteworthy. It was screened for the first time on August 17, 1908 at Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris. Émile Courtet later went to Fort Lee, New Jersey near New York City in 1912, where he worked for French studio Éclair and spread its technique in the US.

The first puppet-animated film was The Beautiful Lukanida (1912) by the Russian-born (ethnically Polish) director Wladyslaw Starewicz (Ladislas Starevich).

The first animated feature film was El Apóstol, made in 1917 by Quirino Cristiani from Argentina. He also directed two other animated feature films, including 1931's Peludopolis, the first to use synchronized sound. None of these, however, survive to the present day. The earliest-surviving animated feature, which used colour-tinted scenes, is the silhouette-animated Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) directed by German Lotte Reiniger and French/Hungarian Berthold Bartosch. Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), often considered to be the first animated feature when in fact at least eight were previously released. However, Snow White was the first to become successful and well-known within the English-speaking world.

The first animation to use the full, three-color Technicolor method was Flowers and Trees (1932) made by Disney Studios which won an academy award for this work.

The first Japanese-made anime film was the propaganda film Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors (桃太郎 海の神兵) by the Japanese director Mitsuyo Seo. The film, shown in 1945, was ordered to be made to support the war by the Japanese Naval Ministry. The film's song AIEUO no Uta (アイウエオの歌) was later used in Osamu Tezuka's anime series Kimba the White Lion. Originally thought to have been destroyed during the American occupation, a negative copy survived and the film is now available in Japan on VHS.

The real deal in animation is entertainment. For years a lot of people in this field have dedicated their time and effort to develop this industry and as long as people continue to seek fun and happiness this business will eventually grow.

Base on my current learning and experiences I won’t be able to fit in to any job specification that any position in this business will require, but sooner or later if I will focus my attention in this craft I would be fitted to be a cinematic director/editor. I have a little talent in drawing but as an IT practitioner I would prefer to be in the editing department in the company. It would be very interesting to make astonishing effects that would add more life in the animation, to be the one to arrange the drawings and the scenes using an animation tool to make it more understandable and concise, to fill the drawings with colors and lighting effects that would definitely give it a boost in terms of attraction and fun for the viewers and most important of above all is to be the one to integrate the drawings with the sound effects and music. I came up to the idea that the latter is the most important one because music and audio is the soul of the animation. It gives the animation a great sense of reality and it makes it a lot more fun. The audio will also play a very important role for the animation to have a story. It will give the animation the spirit, the impact, and the ability to attract more viewers and patrons through funny and interesting dialogues
I have browsed the internet regarding the job description of this job and the qualifications that it requires. These are the results and the links to where I found these facts.

JOB DESCRIPTION: CINEMATIC DIRECTOR (38 STUDIOS)

Would you like to become part of the team that includes the creative visionaries behind Drizzt Do’Urden and Spawn? 38 Studios is currently seeking an experienced Cinematics Director to join our art department. This is a full-time time position with competitive salary, full benefits and 401k, and the chance to be part of online gaming history!

Position Responsibilities

• Creation of cinematic sequences to the highest quality standards for interactive gaming; this includes both story driven cinematics and elements of game play that require cinematic presentation.
• Overseeing all creative aspects of cinematic production, including the direction of the storyboarding process, workload estimates, blocking direction, and final cinematic presentation.
• Produce art that adheres to a unified studio art vision.
• Collaborate closely with Art Director, Animation Lead, Character Lead, Environment Lead, Design Department and Marketing Department to achieve the best possible fusion of storytelling and aesthetics.
• Establish cinematic production pipeline, protocols, and tools.
• Develop Cinematic Department staff, set and maintain schedules.
• Identify and address risks in the production pipeline.
• Work in conjunction with established pipelines and procedures for game art production, and help to identify additional processes and art tools necessary to do so efficiently.
• Promote a productive and energetic culture within the team and studio.

Knowledge, skills & ability requirements

• Knowledge:

Strong understanding of cinematic principles (camera direction, editing, lens, etc.). Knowledge and experience with a variety of 2D and 3D software packages, including expert knowledge of Photoshop, Maya, and Unreal. Skill in 3DStudio Max will be considered. Range of interests in cinematic style from live action to CG to 2D animation, etc. Must be able to demonstrate a strong, hands-on knowledge of art creation tools and production experience.

• Competencies:

Exceptional artistic abilities, ideally across a variety of media, both traditional and electronic. Animation and storyboarding skills a plus. Strong time management and organization skills with a proven ability to prioritize, solve problems, and meet deadlines. Able to collaborate with other game team leads in a deadline-driven environment. Effective self-tasker. Firm understanding of art production pipelines, ideally within a game development environment. Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Experience:

Expected minimum 4 to 6 years of applicable industry experience with at least two completed products as an Artist and one completed product as a Lead.

LINK: http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/viewjobrss.asp?cjid=18621&accountno=210

Job Title : Cinematic Designer

Job Category Artists Location Dallas, Texas, Texas, United States, North America Job Description This Dallas based independent development studio has made a name for itself creating award winning, blockbuster interactive entertainment for all major platforms. By employing the industry's most talented people and using proven production methods they consistently create games that are technologically advanced, creative, and above all, fun to play. They offer excellent benefits, generous profit sharing, and the opportunity to settle in a fun, affordable city.

They are currently seeking a cinematic designer and/or director to work on an upcoming high-profile sci-fi action title currently in development.

Required Skills:

- Understanding of cinematic principles and techniques for visual storytelling
- Be passionate about games and digital media
- Be able to follow direction and work well with a team

Desired Skills:

- Film school or amateur/professional film experience
- Familiarity with cinematic cut-scene setups and animation
- Familiarity with UnrealEd, Hammer/Worldcraft, and/or Q3Radiant
- Ability to design and/or draw rough storyboards
- Professional or published work is a plus Salary $HIGH Date posted 14/09/2007 Recruiter This job is advertised on behalf of Datascope USA using their internal reference DS12119.
LINK: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs/datascope-usa/texas/united-states/north-america/cinematic-designer-id13856
JOB PROFILE: CINEMATIC ARTIST
Job Category Artists
Skills Required 3D modeller, Animator, Character Artist
Location Alberta, Canada, North America
Job Description Cinematic Animators
Our Client has created some of the world's best-selling and award-winning title. They are hard at work on many projects including an epic fantasy RPG and unannounced projects including a highly anticipated massively multiplayer online game.

Their games have continually achieved critical and commercial success. All of their published titles are in the top 5% highest rated games. Today our client has more than 400 staff at its two locations and continues to grow. They have sold over 20 million games (including engine licenses) in the past ten years!

Our client is in search of Cinematic/Character Animators to enhance their animation team. Successful candidates must have at least 3 years experience in character animation for games, and a strong understanding of the fundamentals of traditional animation. Candidates must also have experience with game cinematics; creating storyboards, recording mo-cap, and putting final polish into a cinematic.

Education and Experience


- Post secondary program in computer generated animation is preferred.

- At least 3 years of experience in computer generated animation.

- 3+ years of game development experience would be an asset.

- In-depth technical knowledge of 3D Studio Max would be an asset.

- Experience with mo-cap would be an asset.


Skills / Abilities / Knowledge / Personal Suitability


- An understanding of character creation (model, texture, rig) is preferred.

- Complete knowledge of 3DSMAX's animation tools is required.

- Knowledge of Motion Builder and Motion Capture animation an asset.

- Must be able to work in team environments, and be able to share knowledge.

- Insight into animation pipeline is an asset.

- An understanding of human and animal anatomy is an asset.

- Leadership skills are an asset.

- Passion for animation and gaming is required.

- The ability to take initiative is required.


Duties


- Animate dynamic, believable and appealing characters for both in-game and cut scene environments.

- Be able to take responsibility for an animation or cinematic, seeing it through to completion, in a timely manner, to the highest quality possible.

- As a team player, you must be able to take direction, and both give and receive critiques on animation.

- Clearly communicate your progress to your supervisor, and work with that individual to achieve dynamic, believable, and appealing animation.


Portfolio Requirements


3D portfolio

- Examples of various animations applied to humanoid figures and animal figures

- Examples of cinematic work

- Character rigging examples


2D portfolio (no originals please)

- Storyboarding skills

- Figure drawing

- Color work

This industry has gone far, from the early days of black and white 2d animations to the present digital 3d high definition animations. With regards to what I can help in the development of this industry I would definitely have some great ideas in the future to further enhance my work. But at present I do not have definite suggestions but I have some ideas here that in some point could give the animation business a boost.

1. Realistic approach

Nowadays, animation with the use of the current graphic technologies that are usable, is going to the forefront of reality. I know that the current animations are almost at the verge of their goal but improvement is still possible. I do not know how to do it at present, but with the different experience and learning that I may encounter in the future maybe I will be able to develop a software that will be able to render realistic colors to the drawings and some image editing software that will fix the lines and curves that the artist may have overlooked. I will also give greater attention in the relationship of my animations scenes to its counterpart reality. With more and more developments in technology, sooner or later the concept of reality will definitely be upon the reach of the animation industry.

2. Unique Transitions

As a cinematic director it will be my job to manage and decide on how the scene transitions will work. Base on the animations that I have seen in the past years, their transitions are getting redundant. A common thing is a transition where it fades to black going to another scene or it lightens up. These transitions have been used for decades and are getting overused. Animation must evolve and must always be trendy. It must always give its viewer a new flavor. It must give them something to be excited for, something to look for, and something to make them interested, make them ask for more.