Pirates of Silicon Valley movie

PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY: Not bad for a 12 –year old movie

I found the movie quite ugly. The movie was made 12 years ago. What do you expect? However, the main idea of the movie was quite interesting though. You will see that the ones that have control to computers are the richest in the world. What the movie foresaw is happening today. Bill Gates is the living proof. He may not be the richest but he is one of the most influential people in the world today. Even a kids and old people know about him and his Microsoft. This is what I love the most about this movie. It made me think that the director was good enough to have thought of the possibilities and made something that was most likely what is happening today which was the future that they are speaking of before. If you ask me, don’t watch the movie if you are expecting something like Tron Legacy or ironman because you will be very disappointed. But if you want to be entertained in a manner that new movies can’t do, try this one out and you will see for yourself what I am talking about.

Eagle Eye Movie

EAGLE EYE: No chance of being real?

Eagle eye is such a creative movie. The story was very impressive. It will l always give you something to think about which is one thing that I like in movies. On the other hand, you will continually be guessing just to find out that you are wrong. The movie was so unpredictable that I missed the part that the actor will end up shooting in front of convention. On the other hand, this movie can happen today but I doubt if a computer as powerful that exist now. It is true that super computers nowadays can have enough processing sped to almost do anything in unison but no computer today has the power to decide on their own. If you come to think of it, the computer even controlled cameras and other things that are electronic even though there is no way for it to access them. This is very creepy especially if we think that the computer controlled a vehicle in the part where they are chased by the police. Although this movie can be possible there are some things that will make you think about its possibility to happen in real world. First, the computer is so cool. Nothing can be compared to it now and even for the next years to come. Second, you can see that the bomb used was a crystal that can explode in a certain tone which is something tat is too good to be true. That would be the best bomb if that is true. This technology may be possible but it will be in the form of a mechanical bomb that will explode given a certain pitch or any kind of signal. Lastly, I am also wondering why it is in present setting. It is quite awkward with such advancements in computer and bomb technology that other forms of technology are untouched. Even their cellular phones are just the normal ones. It should be better if some wonderful technologies were also introduced.

I, Robot movie

I ROBOT: Learning for it

This movie is not only good because of its wonderful graphic effects but most importantly the lesson that you can get form it. The scene can be possible in the near future because at present robots are being used by several companies to aid them in manufacturing and even deciding with regards to their business processes. And in no time, there will be some breakthrough in robot technology that will lead us to a world where every family has a robot slave. But this is still unthinkable today because the main component that should be developed first and foremost is the brain which will control the robot. The human brain is sophisticated to even comprehend and copying the logic behind it will be a great challenge for us. It might be possible but it will take some time and I am quite sad I may not be around to witness it. Not only did the movie made some good points about the possible design and function of future robots, it also because am eye-opener to all of us that the greatest threat to man’s extinction is ourselves. We are destroying ourselves. And at some point in the movie, I find the main robot core having some point about what he calculated. The robot had his conclusion based on fact s and you can deny the fact that he is saying truths. We are destroying ourselves as of the moment but then again, there is still hope and as long as we have the right to decide on our won for the better that hope will never fade out.

Wall-E Movie

WALL-E:Robot overload

This is one movie that I am very happy about after watching. This is because I can see the real world turning into this situation centuries form now. People are getting lazier and the movie might exaggerate it but it is more like a wakeup call to use that we should not always place ourselves in too much laziness as we rely on technology to help us in everything that we do. And wall-e is not a complicated robot. He have those tank like wheels that are not that hard to make with our present technology and I can say that a few years from now, men will start developing some robots that can be quite close to wall-e. However, it will take some time for people to make robots think like humans. The brain is so complicated and making a machine think like us is unthinkable. They might decide but how can they feel? Feeling is part of the brains work and even loving a certain person is a hard thing to imagine if we speak of robots doing it like we do. However, the movie entertained me a lot and that is the only thing important now.

Surrogates movie

SURROGATES: Is this the possible future we might be in?

I have see Surrogates just now and I find it quite interesting not because it has an awesome cast or the lighting and other movie factors are good but mainly because of the topic which is very interesting. It is set in world where people are not physically living the world. They will just lie down and let their surrogates do the job for them. It was a good idea and if we speak of security, nothing can beat a clone that will represent you in the real world. You will be away from accidents and you do not need to worry about different kinds of sickness that you might acquire as you go along. It is more like playing an online game where you have full control of your character. However, I do not find it as a future that we will be having in the next century because first and foremost, it is not ideal. You will be very unhealthy if you will lie down for the rest of our life. How can your muscles be strengthened and how can you be in such a good shape without even moving a bit for the rest of your life? I would expect this kind of technology to happen but it will not be applied to all. Maybe these surrogates can be more useful in the military because soldiers need not to die and they will just let their surrogates face all the risks in dangerous place. These surrogates can also be handy if they can use in space and in other places that we failed to explore because of the possible dangers on it.

Why do We Need to Study Technology

We are at the age were technology is the one spinning the world. All of the things that makes our lives comfortable nowadays; from the tiniest microscopic robot doctors to enormous space shuttles going to the unknown space in search for information are made through technology. Technology is science is the application of the sciences. Centuries of researches and countless ideas made every technology that we are enjoying today.

We need to study technology mainly because of the important role that it plays in our lives. Without it we would still be living in the Stone Age. Without it centuries of hard work and enormous research activities done by several intellectual men and women will be put to waste because as we all know facts and theories alone will not directly be of help to us. Technology plays a vital role in almost every aspect in the society. It gave birth to cellular phones, telephones and other ways of making communication a lot easier; thus making distance not a hindrance in business and trades. Medical milestones were also achieved through the use of technologies like powerful microscopes, scanners and robotic equipments that made procedures impossible to men not long ago doable today. The computer and its various types that are everyone’s best friend nowadays are also one of the greatest children of technology. Computers not only boosted the business process but also mobile. You can do business almost anywhere as long as you have your laptop at your side. Computers were made to be very versatile and can be of use from gaming, sports, sea navigation, simulations, and other things beyond your wildest imagination. Technology also gave breakthroughs in building and road constructions. The development of high grade cements made it possible to make skyscrapers and bridges that literally crossed oceans. To sum it all, technology is like a virus that infected our society. But unlike typical viruses, this virus is not harmful unless used in wrong ways.

It has been said by some analyst that men will destroy themselves in the future. That the genius minds behind the different technologies that we are having today will soon create a community that will destroy themselves in search for power and greed. In my opinion technology will have a great role in the continuing existence or the destruction of men. If technology will be used properly, our society will benefit from it and man will continue to exist and face the challenges that time brings but if technology will be abused then we are like making the sharpest knife just to stab our own heart.

What are the two most frequently experienced causes of frustration of IS professionals and users while working on an IS plan? note: you are required to interview an IS professional/s for your answer ...(at least 3000 words)


On this matter we interviewed Mr. Nilo Ricafort, MIS Manager in EMCOR Davao, Bajada Branch. He gave brief but precise answers. He said that these two would definitely be misconceptions about IS effects in the users’ point of view and misunderstanding between the users’ needs and the developers’ knowledge on how things must be done in standard.

Moreover, I'll discuss the two causes of frustrations:


Misconceptions about IS effects

Misconceptions arise in the part of the users because unlike the developers usually users do not have enough knowledge about how these systems are developed and what are its possible effects. And because of these misconceptions, users tend to expect more from the system and later on they will be frustrated if the effects that the system cause where less than what they have expected. On the other hand, if the systems effect will also be too good, the users will also be overwhelmed and will be start to be conscious about their capabilities to support and use a very good system which may also lead to poor performance in their case. There a re a lot of misconceptions about IS and these are some of them:

--> Implementation of IS will speed up the process

A lot of people think that if we speak of IS implementation or improvement it means a lot of process will speed up instantly. But if we come to think of it, definitely the positive effects of the said actions will not be seen or felt in an instant. And there are a lot of possible reasons behind the delay of the effects that an IS may bring upon a company. And I found this article that gave some of the examples and also discuss some ways to give it some remedy.
IT professionals face unique challenges when it comes to managing their problems. They know that when hardware/software/client interface produces problems, dynamics are set in motion that can quickly cascade into nightmare proportions:
• Pressure to immediately reestablish service to the customer
• An already existing backlog of trouble tickets
• A relentless daily flow of in-coming trouble tickets
• A reality that sees a problem quickly affect thousands of clients

--> Users are not involved in IS development

Unlike what they think, users need to be involved in the process of IS development. The IS that will be done must be incorporated with what the users are complaining about there previous system or process. With the help of the users negative or positive feedback about there experience in using their previous system, the developers will be aware on what to areas change or to improve. Moreover, I found an article discussing how the users take a vital role in IS development.
The importance of involving users of enabling technology in all phases of the development and provision of these aids has gradually been focused, and eventually become established, during the last few years. It is, however, far from self evident how to make these ideas and ambitions really come true in the hectic daily activities of Research and Resource Centre, especially when it comes to more profoundly and multiply impaired users. Thus a very small number of such users are actually involved in any long term perspective. Apart from the lingering lack of awareness of needs and possibilities several other factors can be identified, such as:
• A lack of suitable organizational and work settings, flexible enough to offer realistic conditions for multiply disabled to participate and develop together with professionals in this field.
• Lacking working life experience, social networks and self confidence, and a related need for continuous educational programs, among the potential interested users.

--> IS improvement means job loss

There a re a lot of people who thinks that a conversion from an old system to a more IT involved system would definitely mean job loss. This may be true on some cases but this happens rarely. But because of this misconception, users tend to be passive and will not likely give their full support on the development of the new IS. They tend to hinder the developers from crucial information that would build up the success of the new system. They are thinking that if the new system fails then the old system will be retained and they will still have their jobs. They do not realize that IS development does not always mean job loss. This is because it is more convenient for most of the companies to train their old employees for the new system rather than hire new ones. The reason behind this is that companies will not take the risk in giving up on their trusted and proven employees for the sake of hiring new ones that may have the qualities for the new system. Training the present employees will also be less expensive than hiring new ones. If the companies opted to hire new employees they will face the burdens of advertising, interviews and other personality checks and backfires that the new employees may bring because of their need to adopt in the working environment.

Misunderstanding between the users’ needs and the developers’ knowledge on how things must be done in standard

This problem depends on the type of software development that developers choose. I’ll give some examples about the different ways of software development and on what strategies this problem can be seen.

--> Interactive and Incremental Development

The basic idea behind iterative enhancement is to develop a software system incrementally, allowing the developer to take advantage of what was being learned during the development of earlier, incremental, deliverable versions of the system. Learning comes from both the development and use of the system, where possible key steps in the process are to start with a simple implementation of a subset of the software requirements and iteratively enhance the evolving sequence of versions until the full system is implemented. At each iteration, design modifications are made and new functional capabilities are added.

The procedure itself consists of the initialization step, the iteration step, and the Project Control List. The initialization step creates a base version of the system. The goal for this initial implementation is to create a product to which the user can react. It should offer a sampling of the key aspects of the problem and provide a solution that is simple enough to understand and implement easily. To guide the iteration process, a project control list is created that contains a record of all tasks that need to be performed. It includes such items as new features to be implemented and areas of redesign of the existing solution. The control list is constantly being revised as a result of the analysis phase.

The iteration involves the redesign and implementation of a task from the project control list, and the analysis of the current version of the system. The goal for the design and implementation of any iteration is to be simple, straightforward, and modular, supporting redesign at that stage or as a task added to the project control list. The level of design detail is not dictated by the interactive approach. In a light-weight iterative project the code may represent the major source of documentation of the system; however, in a mission-critical iterative project a forma lSoftware Design Document may be used. The analysis of iteration is based upon user feedback, and the program analysis facilities available. It involves analysis of the structure, modularity, usability, reliability, efficiency, & achievement of goals. The project control list is modified in light of the analysis results.
This method of software development also provides the user the opportunity to participate in the evaluation of the system. But then again, the process is very time consuming because of a lot of iterations and would cause backfires due to the delay in the making of the system.

--> Adaptive Software Development

Adaptive Software Development is a software development process that grew out of rapid application development work by Jim Highsmith and Sam Bayer. ASD embodies the principle that continuous adaptation of the process to the work at hand is the normal state of affairs.
ASD replaces the traditional waterfall cycle with a repeating series of speculate, collaborate, and learn cycles. This dynamic cycle provides for continuous learning and adaptation to the emergent state of the project. The characteristics of an ASD life cycle are that it is mission focused, feature based, iterative, time boxed, risk driven, and change tolerant.

The word “speculate” refers to the paradox of planning – it is more likely to assume that all stakeholders are comparably wrong for certain aspects of the project’s mission, while trying to define it. Collaboration refers to the efforts for balancing the work based on predictable parts of the environment (planning and guiding them) and adapting to the uncertain surrounding mix of changes caused by various factors – technology, requirements, stakeholders, software vendors, etc. The learning cycles, challenging all stakeholders, are based on the short iterations with design, build and testing. During these iterations the knowledge is gathered by making small mistakes based on false assumptions and correcting those mistakes, thus leading to greater experience and eventually mastery in the problem domain.

This type of software development is very good in having the users cooperate with the development process. This is because the development process will adopt on what the situation is. The users may also be a factor on these situations; thus the system development will also adapt to what the users want.

Overall this frustration depends on the method that the developer will use in software development. It is up to the developers correct planning and assessment on the companies’ situation to ensure that the product system will comply on the standards that the users and the company want.


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Software_Development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iterative_and_incremental_development

list of questions...(asSign 8)

fast forward ..., you were hired and have been tasked to develop a strategic information systems plan for a company. The company officers have extended an invitation for you to meet with them to discuss the direction of the company. Before this meeting, they have asked that you provide a list of questions with some explanation about the "why" of the question so they can be prepared, thus maximizing the output from this meeting.

Develop a list of questions you would ask the officers of the company and give an explanation and justification for each question. (1000 words)


Is the company ready for IS improvements or replacement?
This question for me is the most important one that must be placed into priority in the said meeting. In this question the company representatives are expected to deliver their thoughts, facts and evidences that will show if the company is ready for the said IS modification. And if we speak of the readiness of the company, we will deal on these aspects.

Funds
Accept it or not but the all IS modifications requires a lot of funds. Funds are needed to purchase of upgrade IT equipments. It is also needed in trainings if it’s necessary. The software that will be used in the IS development and usage is also not free and these software are really expensive especially if the company that is intended to use it scopes a lot of processes. Without the necessary funds to cope up with the expenses, planning to have the said IS development or modification will be a waste of time and will just cause negative backfires to the company.

Employee capabilities
The success of the IS deployment will also be determined on how the direct users of the system can use it to its fullest. Even if the software and the hardware that make up the system are considered with high standards but if the user has no capabilities in using it, the systems capabilities will also be limited. This factor can be cured if the company have enough funds to train their employees. If the employees are all equipped with enough knowledge about what they are about to do in the system, the system will be used at most.

Time
Time is also essential for a successful IS development and deployment. If the company do not have enough time for it, they better not invest for it at all. Even though the company will definitely aim for a less time in the doing the said project because time itself is vital in the operations of the company. But then again, IS development cannot be rushed, a lot of factors must be properly dealt upon to make sure that the product system will greatly fit the company and give it lots of advantages.

Acceptance
Will the company and the people that support it accept it? Even though the company will give trainings and do other necessary steps to make the transition convenient for the direct users there will still be some resistance in learning new things and exploring to areas that they are not familiar with.

Who will be involved in the IS?

It is necessary to make something like map to know who are involved in the system. We will discuss what departments, the users, and other things including computers and networks that will be possibly have something to do with the system. The said information will be important to know because the ones that are involved in the system must be properly checked if they are ready for the IS. If not, certain adjustment can be done to improve what is missing or what things that can be done to improve it.

What do the company expects to achieve or accomplish after the IS deployment or improvement?

In everything we do, it is important to know what our goals first before making some actions to do it. The said goals will become our target and will make us pointed to one road and will serve as our guide. By making these goals we will be rest assured that our future actions will be aligned to it and will make the process a lot manageable and easy.

10 years from now...

Think about yourself worthy to be called as IT professional, how do you see yourself 10 years from now, what are your strategies to get there? (at least 3000 words)



I see myself ten years from now as a fully capable network administrator. I mentioned the phrase “fully capable” because nowadays I observed that there are a lot of employees whose job descriptions are for network administrators but does not function as to what he/she is supposed to do. This path is really not easy. Being a fully functioning network administrator not only requires knowledge from researches and readings but also needs vast experience in the said field. It is also a fact that this job is not in huge numbers in developing countries like ours, that’s why finding the job itself is a pain. And because the job is very limited there will be a lot of other qualified applicants like me that would be my rivals.

Considering this goal as a very big challenge for me, I have come up with these strategies to at least give me a better chance in achieving this goal.


1. Read wide arrays of related articles and books

Knowledge is not limited on the things that our professors in school teach us. Our generation is very blessed because information nowadays is in the grasp of our hands. This privilege gave each one of us the capacity to be better every day, to surpass the boundaries of distance and time, and to learn more by just sitting in front of your computer while browsing the net. Though this fact is very good to know, sad to say, the advantage that our generation is experiencing is up to us to put into good use. Even though vast significant information are in our reach, it is still worthless if we instead reach on those senseless things or not even bother to reach a hand.

Knowing this, I’ll make sure that the opportunity that the current information era is giving us will be put into good use. I will read relevant articled everyday focusing on IT related subjects. I will take advantage of different forums and activities that our college will give us and listen to the things that speakers will share. If I have some spare cash I will buy some IT related books especially those that focuses its topics on computer networking. This stage will be an information gathering one. I’ll make sure that I will meet new terms, new algorithms, new definitions and theories every day. In this manner I will be better and more knowledgeable every day. I may not feel the relevance of some readings that I may encounter for now but this will help me be familiarized in this subjects thus they will not be foreign to me as I meet them in the near future. And besides, we have a saying that prevention is better than cure. Prevention from ignorance is better than treating it in the future.


2. Grab every chance of IT and Networking experience
I have my own personal computer. And there was one time when I needed to link up with my classmates’ laptop. A beginner myself, I was quite confused on how to do things. So I browsed the internet and found a lot of ways on directly connecting two computers using a single networking cable.

The scenario that I have mentioned was a networking experience itself. Though it may not be that hard for networking professionals it’s a very healthy experience for me. These circumstances are the things that cannot be thought in school. As some say, experience is the best teacher. And in order to be thought by the best teacher, I must be open for them. I will make sure that I will grab any possible IT related experience that I can have. From upgrading/fixing my own computer to networking and diagnosing others computers.

There are a lot of things that is easier said than done. This situation is same with IT related instructions and procedures. For example, it is very easy to enumerate the steps on how to change a CPU. First, you take out the CPU fan, unbolt it if have some bolts. If the motherboard is a new version, pull the lever to unlock the metal that is enclosing the CPU. After that gently lift the CPU and replace it by the new one. Make sure that it is properly in place then lock it using the lever. Then put some thermal paste, about a pea-size. Then install the CPU fan and it’s done. Looks very easy but it will be a pain if it’s your first time to do this step. Getting the CPU fan out of the motherboard is not that easy, a lot of wires and main board parts are just beside it and you need to be careful not to bulge them or your motherboard will be broken. Applying the thermal paste is also better to be learned through experience. If the thermal paste is too much, it will overflow and penetrate to the CPU and the results will be not so good. That’s why experiencing these instructions rather than reading them will be much more significant. You may not get good results at first, but as you continue to do the process, you will have familiarity over it and assuming you have been doing this for a long time, it is expected that you have encountered almost all possible circumstance that might happen during the process. This will help you give fast and relevant solutions to them.


3. Be involved in the IT society

It is a good thing to learn by yourself but it does not mean that you will not allow others to have a share of what you have known. Sharing knowledge is a very good opportunity for development. There are a lot of IT practitioners out there that also have goals like me. Some of them are far ahead of me in terms of experience and researches. It is a good idea to learn from them. The IT society aims to further give the IT industry in our country a boost in practice and relevance. By helping them reach this goal, IT will be rampantly practiced here in the Philippines in the near future, thus, IT specialist will be very in demand. This situation will be very good for us and will give us a lot of opportunities to practice and develop our craft and earn what we sown.


4. Get a college degree

Every good job nowadays requires a college degree, how much more in the future. It is necessary for me to graduate to an IT related to be closer to my goals and give me some good credentials on the future. Studying on an IT related course will also lead me closer to experience and knowledge opportunities that will help me be competitive in the future.


5. Be employed on an IT related job

After finishing my studies, it will not be likely for me to be a network administrator right away. I need to seek for further job experience. And having an IT related job will greatly help me. It is a good thing if it has to do with computer networking, but if not, at least it has something to do with computer hardware. This is because as a competitive network administrator you must not only be good in the software end of networking, but you must also know hardware installation, maintenance, troubleshooting and repair. Having these capabilities will give me an edge in other applicants that are also interested for the job.


6. Focus on Network Administration in future studies

Unlike the first step where I gathered any possible IT facts and information, on this stage I will focus on information related to networking and administrating it. Experience will continue through my present job. On this stage I will train myself for future opportunities that my dedication to my craft will carry me. And through enough hard work and prayers I will reach my goals soon.


7. Be a network administrator

After all my hard work and struggling paid out. I am a network administrator at last. On this stage I will use all the things from experience to my researches to be a competitive network administrator. I will make sure that all those hard work will not put in to waste and give everything that I can do to give justice to my job.


8. Continue research and studies

My life doesn’t end here. After having my goal as a network administrator I will continue to grab opportunities of experience and knowledge to be closer to my dream in having the most secured and fastest network in the world.


9. Help the IT society
It’s not a bad idea to help others that have the same call like me. The world needs IT. And in order for IT to be helpful, IT needs us; a group of individuals who continue to practice and develop IT for it to suite in the needs of the people. By helping others and sharing my knowledge, this time I will be a part of their own success and give the IT industry a little hand in its endeavor.

3 changes involving IT in the next 3 years..

The pace of change seems to increase relentlessly, especially changes involving information technology. Using your crystal ball, identify and discuss three changes likely to have substantial impact on your school services in the next three years. (1500 words)

Change is very likely to happen nowadays because of a fast changing environment. Even we belong in the 3rd world country we still encounter changes through the help of new technologies introduced to us. Many institutions have change from manual operations to automated one.

I enrolled in University of Southeastern Philippines as one of the lucky students of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology in the year 2005 but I was not able to continue my 2nd year in 2nd semester in the said school. Within that period of time, I was not able to encounter many changes in terms of facilities or even the services offered by the university. But I’m not also expecting much either since it is a state university. Luckily, I was also given a chance to study again after a year. I was a bit surprised because the enrolment system is not the same anymore. It was quite difficult not just for me but also for the other schoolmates because that was the first implementation of the new enrolment system of the university. In terms of acquiring information anything about the university a new website was also introduced for the convenience of anyone. With regards of the facilities, the only change that I noticed was the new units of our laboratory room, at least. I also consider this as a change and also a hindrance when the administration produced a memo forbidding the students and faculties to use the electricity of the university. We cannot deny the fact that they cannot provide enough facilities to the students, yet they are also the ones who are inhibiting us to use ours. And I consider this as one of the hindrances of learning especially in our case. These are some of the many changes in our university for 5 years now. Some are substantial enough, and some are not.

What about the changes for the next three years? Is information technology change good? How can IT help the organization in responding to the challenges of an increasingly complex and uncertain environment? How can IT help the organization achieve the flexible organization structure? Will this change be substantial for everybody or not? Change is the only constant thing in this world. And change is really important especially if the goal will be for the good of everybody or at least, for the good of the majority, the students.

In one of the survey article in The Economist, John Browning (1990) wrote: "Information technology is no longer a business resource; it is the business environment." His statement is not far from truth. Ongoing advances in information technology (IT), alongwith increasing global competition, are adding complexity and uncertainty of several orders of magnitude to the organizational environment. There are also factors to consider in an IT change especially in our case since we are a state university.

As what I have observed, there are many researches regarding information technology that are considerable for the progress of the university. I also think that only few knew that these researches exist. The sad part is they are not implemented and only remain in papers. In recent time, we are doing our documentation for our proposed system concerning the university. And hopefully in the next school year, we will be able to produce an efficient and functional product. And if not at least it will be implemented in three years time. Personally, I am really hoping that one day this will be implemented. I am saying this because being in this field is really not an easy thing. And it will really take time doing a particular system that will only come to a useless end.

For me, one the significant change involving information technology in the next three years is to have more hardware facilities like computers that are capable of handling a multi tasking jobs. These hardware facilities should have a higher standard of specs so that it will give convenience to the users. This may sound expensive but it will be beneficial in the long run. We cannot deny the fact that not all students of the university can afford to have a personal computer and there are some that are only relying in the school facilities and services they offered just like the free access of the internet. And it is quite disturbing that the students have to “paunhunay” or really have to run so that a student can have a unit, a good unit in order to be served first. I am able to relate to this because I was also one of these students before. This change could also help the students to enhance their abilities and skills regarding graphics design, multimedia, or anything that can’t be done with the facilities that we have now because of its limited capabilities. It is also very important to have a good hardware facility because no matter how good and efficient a software product is and there is no appropriate hardware facility it will only result to a failure.

With regards to the software side, it would be extensive to have an id that has a multiple use or an all purpose school id. This id has a barcode or something that can be detected electronically. This will serve as a gate pass and because of this, man power will be lessen. Another thing is for the library, this id will also serve as a login system whenever a student wants to access the internet or borrow a book. This can also be a locator of the owner of the id. For example, if you want to know where a particular student is, you just have to input his name and the locate him. These are just some of the few functions of the all purpose school id that can be a convenient way not just to the students but also with the users.


Conclusion:
IT and New Organizational Structures of Interdependence: Benjamin and Levinson (1993) emphasized that for IT-based change to be effective, technology, business processes, and organization need to be adapted to each other. Comparing the present information revolution with the Industrial Revolution, Malone and Rockart (1993) indicated that the latest changes in IT would lead to the evolution of new technology-intensive organizational structures. They project that the advances in IT would result in dramatic decline in the costs of "coordination" which would lead to new, coordination-intensive business structures. Rockart and Short (1989) suggest that IT would enable the firms to respond to the "new and pressing competitive forces" by providing for "effective management of interdependence." Interorganizational relations that are based upon trust and conditions of unstructured authority (Litwak and Hylton, 1962) would be created using newer types of coordination mechanisms. Malone and Crowston (1991) believe that in light of these new possibilities there is need to reassess our current theories of organizations, of markets, and of management.

I merely agree about the statement above from BRINT Institute's Book on Knowledge Management because it clearly stated that in order to attain an Information Technology change the first one that should adapt and accept the change is the organization itself. It has to adapt the changes that the environment has. It has to consider the cost of the possible change. And must also consider the cause and effect of a particular change if it these changes likely to have substantial impact in our university services in the years to come.


References:
http://www.brint.com/papers/change/conclusions.htm

Google’s business model (Assignment 7)

Google is a highly successful Internet business. Recently they have broadened their scope with a multitude of new tools. Research Google’s business model and answer the following questions below. You may add additional information not included in these questions.

Questions :
Explain Google’s business model.
1. Who are their competitors?
2. How have they used information technology to their advantage?
3. How competitive are they in the market?
4. What new services do they offer?
5. What makes them so unique?
6. How competitive are they in the international market?

Google is known to be as a web search engine. And as I have searched the net, these are their competitors in this said field. I have included brief information about them that I also browsed from the internet.

Who are their competitors?
--> Ask.com

Ask.com had a personality change in 2008 as it re-focused itself on being a question-answering service. It's actually reasonably good at coming up with answers through web search and being able to gather questions and answers through its Q&A. Some semantic technology is involved that goes beyond merely matching on keywords. It has a variety of search tools that includes web search, news, images, video, blogs. Maps and directions are provided from Microsoft.

--> Yahoo.com
Yahoo! Search is one of the best for search aids. It has Search Assist at the top with related searches and suggested concepts to explore, as well as top sites from the search results in the left side panel. Yahoo signed-in account holders save page and keep notes in the new Search Pad. Search results are enhanced with deep links and thumbnails of images and videos. All in all, Yahoo is pleasant to use.

--> Cuil.com

"Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge, ask Cuil"
Cuil was launched in 2008 as the world's biggest search engine. Its founders included some from Google. Its edge was going to be an ability to examine the context of words to establish their relevance to a search query. Initially it didn't do this well, but that has changed.

Today categories provide context and specifics: they are well developed and include sub-categories with examples. Scroll over the links to get previews of top results. Try this with arctic exploration. But it doesn't do well with more specific queries such as where did john franklin die.

--> Exalead.com
Exalead is a small alternative search engine. It is based in France and may have somewhat better coverage of European content. The index has been 8 billion pages for a couple of years. Most notably, Exalead has function that all other engines abandoned: accepts wildcard characters; and has a NEAR operator to require that words be within 16 words or a number you set.

With regards on how they used information technology to their advantage it is clearly seen that the backbone of the business that Google decided to enter is directly associated to information technology. This is because without a computer, without knowledgeable people browsing the internet, google will not exist at all.

They used information technology wisely. They continue to find ways to improve on giving fast and relevant response to every possible queries that a user may come about. In fact, they developed different algorithms and methods to make their answers significant and reliable.

They also did not rely only in desktop. As a respond to the rapidly developing technologies, they expand there services in cellular phones and other devices that supports internet access.


As I browsed the net for new services that they are offering aside from being a search engine, as I was not surprised seeing a lot. But these new services are mainly under a broad project that they developed which they called "Google Business Solutions".

These are the following services they marked as new:
--> Google Ad Manager
Sell, schedule, deliver, and measure your directly-sold and network-based ad inventory.

--> Google enterprise search solutions
Maximize website ROI and internal productivity with Google-powered search for your website or intranet.

--> Postini services
Protect your email infrastructure with hosted spam and virus protection, archiving, and encryption.

In my personal perspective, google is unique because of its simplicty. Simplicity in terms of its interface and the way the search engine gives its response. This is a good thing for a lot of users especially to those who are not familiar in navigating websites.

Simplicity can be clearly seen in there main page, where you will only see the google logo, a texfield for input, and some options. Unlike from other search engines that i have tried, google focuses on the relevence of their answers and not on how their sites attractive look.

Aside from that, google is also unique in terms on their business oriented services. I am not sure if they are the first in this field but i am pretty much confident that they are leading it. I can say this because I browse the internet a lot and almost every site have there ads on and there advertising power has been very powerfula and in demand nowadays.

Google is very competitive in international market. infact they rank one of highest among the different search engines available based on advancedwebranking.com and other website rankings survey that i have browsed. Because their field is directly independent to internet connectivity, they are able to reach almost every part in the world which made there company very influencial in terms of advertising and business solutions.


Reference:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/competing_with_google_search.php

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