Avoiding Alignment Trap Essay Example for Free

Avoiding Alignment Trap Essay This case analysis discusses the findings in the article ‘Avoiding the Alignment Trap’, where even though most companies are aware that IT must be aligned with business strategy in terms of aligning IT expenses with revenue growth, over 11% of companies that align IT with business strategy spend more than 13% on average on IT expenses with a resulting of less than 14% average in revenue growth. The objective of this case analysis is to recommend a governance arrangement that will lead most companies that are currently have less effective IT alignment with business alignment to IT-enabled growth where the cost of IT more than compensates with the revenue growth of the company. The recommendation is to adopt a Duopoly governance arrangement where both the CEO and CIO make decisions, form a committee to oversee IT decisions and business strategy decisions made by these leaders, and ensure adequate decision making and monitoring of performance based on IT and business-related decisions. The ISO 38500 can be used as a framework to monitor these decisions and evaluate IT decisions based on their effectiveness, alignment with overall strategy and the value they bring to the organization. CURRENT SITUATION According to the article, almost every company is aware that IT and business strategies must be aligned in order to gain competitive advantage in their industry. This means their IT spending must be matched with their growth strategies. To test this notion, the authors of this article surveyed 452 companies and received 504 responses. The survey determined the companies IT spending and 3-year sales compounding to determine annual growth rate. In their survey, they have found the following: 1.74% of these companies do not align IT to their business strategies. Companies allocate enough funds to their IT necessary to keep the systems running. It is not meant to add value to the business. As a result, their growth rate is 2% below on average on a three-year span 2.11% of these companies have highly aligned IT with business strategy, but not highly effective. Their IT spending was 13% higher than average and their revenue growth rate was 14% below average  3.8% of these companies spent 15% lower than average on IT that resulted in an 11% above average revenue growth rate. 4.7% of these companies spent 6% lower than average on IT that resulted in more than 35% above average revenue growth rate. To apply these findings against the different governance models, the 74% of companies that do not align IT to their business strategies have a Federal Model of Governance Arrangements. Federal Models are decisions made by leaders from different functional departments and in this type of Governance Model, they mostly pay more attention on Business Application Needs and less on IT Principles, IT Architecture Infrastructure Strategies. 11% of companies that are highly aligned and yet incur more spending than revenue growth fall to the Business Monarchy Governance Model. In this type of governance arrangements, decisions are made by senior business l eader. In the Charles Schwab example in the article, their governance arrangement is IT Monarchy. Their decisions were made by IS leader and put more emphasis on IT Architecture, Infrastructure strategies and have resulted in worst business application needs. CRITERIA To put an organization in an IT-enabled growth quadrant, an organization should adopt a Duopoly Model of governance arrangement where senior business leaders and IS leaders make decisions jointly. In other words, the CEO and CIO must work closely together to formulate the best IT principles and align it with the firm’s business strategy as a whole. Also, they must implement information technology that is less complex. In the words of Leonardo Da Vinci per the article ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’ By reducing complexity, the company builds simplified, standardized infrastructure rather than extensive customizing of information technology. With these 2 put together, it can result in effective IT governance which will enable growth in revenue in the future. Alternatives and Recommendations With respect to the article, the 85% of the companies that fall to the less effective quadrant in IT governance can start adopting a Duopoly Governance Arrangement where both the CEO and CIO work together and make decisions  jointly. With Duopoly, a committee can be formed to oversee IT decisions, rate the IT leadership by the CIOs continuous monitoring managers within the organization in their decision making oversight. However, some organizations do not adopt a duopoly governance arrangement due to its size. Therefore, the next governance arrangement that can be adopted by the organizations is the Business Monarchy where decisions are made by senior business leader. With this model, the business leader can ask for the financial manager’s help to identify the kinds of information and system the organization needs, perform cost-benefit analysis, evaluate options based on priority setting and needs assessment and determine what’s important and upgrade as benefit. Most of all, there must be adequate communication throughout the organization of the decision. The article suggests that to achieve an effective IT governance, companies must keep their IT environment simple. Although achieving a simple IT environment and standardizing it within the organization requires investment of time and money, in the future this can lead to lower costs. Even though complexity can still creep in, it is suggested that the company have an early-warning indicator that will keep track of IT spending with product development. If this ratio starts to increase, it is a sign that it’s time for another simplification. Down the road, companies can reach th e IT-enabled quadrant where costs are less and revenue growth is more. RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN To avoid the alignment trap, the best governance arrangement that can help an organization change its status from being trapped in aligning IT with business strategy to IT-enabled growth is to adapt a Duopoly governance arrangement where senior business leaders and IS leaders make decisions jointly-meaning the CEO and the CIO work closely together. Both these decision makers can form a committee to oversee IT decisions and ensure managers are monitored in their decision-making and oversight. They must also adapt a simple IT application; eliminate add-ons and replacing legacy systems. For guidance in decision making by the committee, the organizations can adopt ISO 38500 where the following 6 principles focuses on 3 main tasks. These 6 principles are: 1.Responsibility – everyone involved in the  committee should understand responsibilities and have the authority to meet those responsibilities 2.Strategy – aligning IT Strategy Organizational Strategy and analysing the current and future situations of the organization and consider both the needs of organization and those that can be done within its own IS department 3.Acquisitions – can be made after both careful and rational analysis. The acquisition decision must be transparent and justified 4.Performance – information systems are implemented such that service levels and quality levels meet the organization’s needs both now and in the future 5.Conformance – compliance with regulations legislations 6.Human Behaviour – ensures respect for current and evolving needs of all individuals involved The 3 main tasks are: 1.Evaluate current and future needs on a continual basis – focuses on continual improvement incorporates the principles above both now and in the future 2.Preparation and Implementation of investment plans – the committee needs to make sure that responsibilities for plans and policies are clearly being assigned 3.Monitor performance and conformance to policies against the plans – crucial in monitoring expected service levels being met. If this is not done properly, then there won’t be appropriate information for decision making. Reaching the IT-enabled quadrant is not easy and it involves a big investment in simplifying the IT used within the organization. This is why most organizations focuses temporarily on effectiveness of IT implementations within the organization more than alignment of IT with organizational strategy. This means giving up specific applications customized on a particular division in order to achieve its desired performance and centralizing and simplifying a good part of the IT function.

How Reference Groups Exert Influence on Consumer Behavior Essay Example for Free

How Reference Groups Exert Influence on Consumer Behavior Essay Component Attitude Model An attitude is the psychological response to a person, an object, to a situation, to society and to life itself that generally influence our behaviors and actions. Attitudes are either positive or negative. However our attitudes are not always dictated by our values and beliefs. Other factors in a given situation may influence our behavior. We can also have different attitudes towards the same thing depending on whom we are dealing with, the actual context of an exchange or an event or occurrence. Three major components of attitude are : 1) Affective: emotions or feelings. (2) Cognitive: belief or opinions held consciously. (3) Conative: inclination for action. Cognitive Component The cognitive component refers to the knowledge, beliefs, and opinions the person has about the Nike product. The cognitive component is the individual’s information and knowledge about an object or concept. A person’s cognition is the knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a combination of direct experience with the attitude-object and related information from various sources. This knowledge and resulting perceptions commonly take the form of beliefs; that is, the consumer believes that the attitude-object possesses various attributes and that specific behaviors will lead to specific outcomes. Beliefs are the cognitive component of consumer attitude. Positive brand associations enhance brand equity and are achieved through a number of positioning strategies. The beliefs about an object tend to control the change that may take place in an attitude. Affective Component The affect component of an attitude reflects feelings (â€Å"affect† is the technical term for positive or negative feelings), evaluation, or emotions regarding the attitude object. Affect refers to the way a consumer feels about an attitude object. It relates to the emotional content and arouses either likes or dislikes of a particular object. A consumer’s emotions or feelings about a particular product or brand constitute the affective component of an attitude. Conative Component The conative component reflects behavioral tendencies toward the attitude object. Conation refers to the act of attempting something. Conation is concerned with the likelihood or tendency that an individual will undertake a specific action or behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude-object. This conative component of attitude may include the actual behavior itself. In marketing and consumer research, the conative component is frequently treated as an expression of the consumer’s intention to buy. Buyer intention scales are employed to assess the likelihood of a consumer purchasing a product or behaving in a certain way. Examples of Intention-to-Buy Scales: I definitely will go I probably will go Behavior involves the person’s intentions to do something with regard to an attitude object. The behavioral component of an attitude is one’s tendency to respond in a certain manner toward an object or activity. Consumers are asked to make a subjective judgment on the likelihood of buying a product or brand or taking a specific action in the future.

Abiotic And Biotic Characteristics Environmental Sciences Essay

Abiotic And Biotic Characteristics Environmental Sciences Essay San Francisco Bay has maintained a magnificent body of water and use to sustain the economy of Western United States and San Francisco Estuary in Bay in is of great importance because through this a large number of water draining becomes possible. Its Estuary from where fresh water meets to sea water. There are many pollutants that we face in our daily life e.g. dirt, sediments, oil, grease, fertilizes pesticides chemicals etc. the water running from the land carrying these pollutants to underground and ultimately this reach to the Estuary of san Francisco. These pollutants when reach in river and sea water can pollute the whole water and prove harmful for aquatic life as it can be cause harm for wetland creatures like fish, and can prove very dangerous for other habitats of water. It can destroy the aquatic system and can be major threats for the living organism living under water. As San Francisco Estuary considered as a very important region and has much economic importance so for prevention of pollution and keep safe this region from other different factors restoration and conservation is used. Abiotic and biotic characteristics of the San Francisco Estuary Many of environmental factors affect the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the San Francisco Estuary these include both abiotic and biotic characteristics. These factors effects the life in Estuary in great extends. Non-living factors are called abiotic factors which include concentration of oxygen and nutrients, salinity of water and amount of sunshine. As these factors have the major impact on the life in estuary. All living factors that affect the estuary are called biotic factors. That includes producers consumers and predators as producers are of basic importance for consumers. Consumers rely on producers and predators rely on consumers. So these are depend on one another to maintain the balance of estuary, Population growth in the San Francisco Bay area affected the estuary Increasing trend of population in San Francisco Bay area affected the estuary as increasing trend of population cause a rush in urban as well as on village areas. More the people are using the recourses more the waste is creating and much use of water and water waste from its use create pollution as much of the polluted water is drained through the underground ways to Estuary that is a great threat for the marine life. More over in recent years 40,000 metric tons of pollutants enter the Bay annually from agriculture and urban runoff. Rivers, atmospheric fallout, municipal sewage treatment plants, industrial facilities, natural and artificial erosion, illegal clearance, dredging and dredged material disposal, marine vessel discharges, accidental spills, and landfill seepage are also causing problems as well. (1) Habitat fracture in the San Francisco Estuary been increased by human behavior Estuaries is of great importance for us as these are used for food, trade and for shelter and in this case Sans Francisco Bay has great importance as it is used as harbor for many ships of this regions. There are large number of plants and animals found in Estuaries and the most of population of San Francisco Bay depend on these marine lives for their food. But due to the pollution spreading by increase in population cause harm to these plants and animals. This pollution can cause damage to the lives of these plants and animals found in estuaries. Heavy load of silt, trash, and sediments by erosion and chemical contamination cause can prove to be harmful for these plants and animals and can create suffocation for them. Due to increase in irrigation or by making more dams by the people can cause problems as more the salty water will move upstream as compare to normal routine that can cause destructive consequence for species living in the water. The most important impact of human population in estuaries habitat in San Francisco is the development of estuaries. People are trying to get expand the area of estuaries for development purpose as they are quite interested to use the land for housing and business purpose as they want to want to utilize the region of estuaries for industrial development. Economically estuaries are very beneficial for these purposes but this can caused the lost of large number of habitat found in these estuaries. So it is harmful for the water species and become the cause of Habitat fracture in the San Francisco Estuary. Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) is transporting the organism across America and around the globe. This phenomena is increasing that cause harm to native fish and wild life in different ways as it disturb the entire food web and cause problems for human life activity as well e.g. disrupting the water delivery and effecting the agriculture as well. Conservation being used to promote and maintain the biodiversity of plants and animals in the San Francisco Estuary Biodiversity of plants and animals means range of organisms including different plants and animals, present in ecological system. It is very important to promote and maintain the biodiversity of plants and animals to get the wide variety of organism that will be beneficial and use to fulfill human needs. San Francisco Estuary is of great importance for the habitat of this region as they get important benefits from them so to save this and to survive from the loss of species found in these estuaries it is very important to properly mange and develop the system to escape from the loss of marine species as well. Estuary of San Francisco Bay is of great importance in all over the world. To secure it from un exceptional phenomena and extend the productive use of it The San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) is playing very important role as they have used different approaches to reduce the impact of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS). They have start to consider species management plan I order to recover the species of Estuary from harmful effects. Fish in the estuary need oxygen to survive so the estuary where there is increased pollution thats causing lost of marine life , Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) produces oxygen for fish breathing and to reduce the pollution. The Sans Francisco Bay conservation and development commission (2) prepared a plan to make and implement the policies for the development of Bay and to utilize the maximum benefits from them. The Sans Francisco Bay plan is created and implemented by this commission in 1968. The important conversation of this plan was related to shore line and coastal areas to utilize it to their maximum potential. Conservation of fish and other aquatic organism is most importantly depend on the oxygen that is provided to these organisms, fresh water, availability of food for these organisms, sufficient area of breeding and quality of water. If these factors are organized in proper way then it became possible to maintain and improve the biodiversity of plants and animals of Sans Francisco estuary. The Sans Francisco Bay conservation and development commission has taken important steps to restore these components in order to ensure the benefits for the future generation of these fish, and other wild life of estuary. This commission also provides recommendations in Bayland Ecosystem habitat Goal Report about the diversity of habitat o enhance the variety of aquatic plants and animal species. The Baylands Ecosystem habitat Goal Report works to provide the important information about the types, amount, and distribution of wetlands and its habitats that are needed to maintain a healthy eco system. Conclusion San Francisco Estuary is of great importance as this is a transition zone between watershed and ocean and economically this system has great importance for that region thats the reason of restoration of this estuary. Many action plans has made for the development, promotion and maintenance of these Estuary and many more action plans are expected in near future for further development of this ecosystem.

Impact of Sociological Theories on Education Essay -- Education

Impact of Sociological Theories on Education Sociologists and educators argue the function of education in society. Historically speaking, education was very informal; formal education was only for the elite. Whether education serves a political or an economic agenda can be best viewed within three perspectives. These perspectives are the functionalist, conflict and interactionist perspective. We will explore the differences and similarities in functionalist, conflict, and interaction theories of education; as well as their effect on individual views, approach to social change, and views of society within education. The functionalist theory focuses on the ways that education serves and contributes to the needs of society. â€Å"Functionalists first see education in its manifest role: conveying basic knowledge and skills to the next generation (CliffsNotes.com).† From a functionalist perspective, education is an interrelated yet independent element that benefits society as a whole. Functionalist Talcott Parsons says that education prepares and selects individuals for their future roles in society, therefore benefiting the individual as well as society. Looking from the functionalist’s perspective, education is positive in helping society to function because it provides a value consensus and social solidarity. Functionally speaking, education serves as a venue to transmit culture and skills. â€Å"Schools supplement the family by passing on to youngster’s important elements of their culture, (Sullivan, T.J., 2007).† Functionalists see this as equipping the individual with the skills necessary to function in society and to promote success. Not only does it establish a soci... ...am, Martin Nystrand, Mark Berends, and Paul C. LePore. 1995. â€Å"An Organizational Analysis of the Effects of Ability Grouping.† American Educational Research Journal 32:687-715. Higginson, Z. (2003-2004). University of Leicester School of Education: Social Science Resources. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2008, from Interactionism and Education: http://www.le.ac.uk/education/resources/SocSci/zoe.html Long, R. (2008, Mar. 09). Introductory Sociology: Social Organization. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2008, from SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, Russ Long's Lecture Notes: http://www.delmar.edu/socsci/rlong/intro/org.htm Structural functionalism. (2004, July 22). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functionalist_perspective Sullivan, T. (2007). Sociology: Concepts and applications in a diverse world. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

My Personal Leadership Philosophy Essay -- Leadership Essays

According to Webster’s Dictionary, leadership is the power or ability to lead other people, the act or instance of leading. I believe that Leadership is an art, the art to get others to follow and accomplish a common goal or task in a harmonic manner. A leader can be shown in all kinds of shapes and forms. To be a great leader many people believe it consists of modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart. Over the course of me learning how to become a better leader and being in leadership roles, I’ve learned that all these are very necessary to be a great leader. The person you least expect can be a leader in their on right. We have great world leaders such as our President Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, but also we even have our small town leaders such has our sheriffs and mayors. Most importantly I’ve seen the greatest leader of them all and that’s been in my own household. My mother exemplifies all of these very great qualities she practices what she preaches, encourages me to be a better me, tends to my needs, and has ultimately won all of my trust to know she will never steer me in the wrong direction. Leading is a way of life, something that is a learning experience. With growth, lessons learned, and having confidence leadership is a task that all can obtain. My top five strengths include Faith, Integrity, leadership, teamwork, and communication. My number one weakness is ambition. I would have to say that my strength finder test was pretty accurate to what I already knew were my strengths and weaknesses. I actually found the test very helpful and it opened up my eyes to a lot of things. With anything you do in life you need faith. I have always struggled wi... ... we know it or not. Growth is inevitable and when there is growth there is new finding about life. Leadership is a growing process that is never ending. Even a leader is human. Learning from mistakes and showing ways to positively turn them around is one of the strongest leaders of them all. But one must realize you have to be follower in one time of your life to become a leader. The most creative geniuses are those who have followed. Stay humble, open-minded, and firm in your beliefs and know man should ever discredit you from being an extraordinary leader. Works Cited Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 13 November 2013. "Free Aptitude Test – Find Your Strengths & Weaknesses." Tools for Your Career Path. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. "Leadership." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Death of a Salesman Essay -- essays papers

Death of a Salesman In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy is both sympathized with and looked down upon throughout the story. Willy is a very complex character with problems and faults that gain both sympathy and also turn the reader off to him. Willy Loman is both the protagonist and the antagonist, gaining sympathy from the reader only to lose it moments later. The play begins with Willy as the antagonist, fighting with his wife Linda and a generally mean person. He insults his sons and scolds Linda for buying the wrong cheese. Willy shows his biggest personality flaws early on in the story; contradicting his own thoughts, being verbally abusive, and showing his over developed sense of pride. Willy loses the readers sympathy again in a flashback early on in the play when he goes off on a rant about the money he owes for things, almost blaming Linda for their hardship. During a conversation with Happy, Willy again loses his temper and yells at Happy for trying to be nice and saying "Pop, I told you I'm gonna retire you for life"(I,1300). As that is going on the next door neighbor, Charley, comes over because of the noise and strikes up a conversation with Willy. The two are playing cards and shooting the breeze when Willy once again starts with the insults, calling Charley ignorant, and telling him hes disgusting, as if to boost his own con fidence or make himself seem smarter or better than Charley. Soon after his arguement with Charley, Willy is in a flashback ordering Happy and Biif to steal lumber from a nearby building project, teaching his boys to steal to impress his brother Ben. Willy and Biff then get into an arguement over Biff's lack of effort in getting a job and keeping it, and about ... ...is off in his own little world almost ignoring Biff. The reader sympathizes with Willy due to his clouded mind, yet is turned away by his arrogance and showmanship attitude. In the begining of the story Willy is scolding his wife and bad mouthing his sons one moment, then the next hes saying how great his children are and telling his wife how much he loves her. Willy sends the audience on a roller coaster throughout the entire play, gaining sympathy and pity one minute, while the next turning the reader's sympathy and pity elsewhere. Willy Loman is both the protagonist and the antagonist, gaining sympathy from the reader only to lose it moments later. He is his own worst enemy, causing his life to be much harder than it needs to be. If only Willy had realized his faults and accepted life as it is, perhaps the reader would have been his sympathizer the entire play.

Who Inspires Me

Who Inspires Me? Seth has inspired me since the day we met. He is an amazing person and he has influenced me in a great way. He is sweet, loving, and caring. Seth is the kind of person that cares about everyone. He puts everyone before himself. Like the time I came home from school and I was really upset because something had happened. When I called Seth and told him what had happened he got really mad but, he hid the fact that he hid the fact that he was mad so I wouldn’t get upset. Seth loves everyone. The day we first met he came up and hugged me like I have known him my entire life. Seth doesn’t let the bad times get to him. He has had to deal with a lot of bad stuff in his life, but he still wakes up every morning with a smile on his face. Seth makes the best of everything. Seth knows how it feels to be upset because it is an often feeling for him, but even though he is upset h will put a smile on his face and act like nothing is wrong because he lives every day as if it were his last. Seth is an extremely funny person. He can make you laugh at the worst of times. Seth always has good advice. He always knows what to say to make you feel better. When I am around Seth it is nearly impossible for me to be upset. These are the reasons why in my eyes Seth is the most amazing boyfriend, brother, and friend. He is one of the most influential people in mylife.