Government Sales and Auctions

Government Sales and Auctions What does the U.S. government have going for it when it comes to public sales and auctions? Diversity. From Treasury bills to wild horses and houses, you name it and a government agency probably sells it.Best of all from the consumers standpoint, the government is not out to make a profit, so most items are sold at or below cost or fair market value.Plus, purchasing from the government helps to defer ​the  cost of running the government, which saves taxpayers dollars. Personal Property Sales Some of the best buys available can be found in government sales of personal property. Boats, cars, planes, jewelry, mineral rights, animals and more. Be sure to visit the GSAs Auction SuperSite. Auto Sales Its easy and economical to purchase a pre-owned vehicle from the U.S. government. Join the thousands of people who buy at government auto auctions. Real Property/Real Estate Houses, land, apartments and commercial buildings, farms and ranches. Includes links to information on buying homes from HUD. Into the money market? Financial Assets Treasury bonds, savings bonds, securities, etc. Miscellaneous Sales and Auctions Stamps, coins, jewelry, collectables, souvenirs and more. Buying Advice Before you whip out the plastic, there are  some important basic tips and information you need to know about buying merchandise or property in government sales and auctions: Guide to Federal Government Sales This document from the General Services Agency (GSA) delivers the factual information you need to participate in the Federal Government’s various sales and auction programs. It also helps combat the many misleading advertisements that offer to sell consumers inside information about Federal Government sales and auctions. Buying Raw Land As the Interior Department says, homesteading is a thing of the past, and you will not find free land or land for A-Dollar-an-Acre, but the federal government does sell land. Lands identified as excess to the publics and Governments needs or more suited to private ownership are sometimes offered for sale. The federal lands sold by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are generally unimproved rural woodland, grassland or desert parcels located mostly in the western states. The parcels are typically not served by utilities like electricity, water or sewer, and may not be accessible by maintained roads. In other words, the parcels for sale are truly â€Å"in the middle of nowhere.† Buying Used Government Property When items are no longer needed by the federal government, The General Services Administration (GSA) stretches your tax dollar by offering them for sale to the public. GSA sells a wide variety of items that would interest both individuals and businesses. Look here for details and addresses of GSA sales facilities across the nation. How to Buy Surplus Military Property Various commercial firms sell literature regarding the sale of Department of Defense (DoD) property and/or advertise sales of DoD property, and suggest that DoD sells real estate, jeeps, confiscated and seized properly. DoD does not sell these items. The type of property DoD does sell, how it may be purchased is explained in this pamphlet.

Conditions Often Mistaken for Plantar Fasciitis

Conditions Often Mistaken for Plantar Fasciitis Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition affecting feet that you can feel with every step you take.  The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is pain in the arch of your foot. Its usually localized at the sole of your foot, but the pain can be perceived as radiating throughout parts of your foot, ankle, and lower leg. That means plantar fasciitis might be confused with other conditions affecting your foot. A number of conditions can cause foot pain and be mistaken for plantar fasciitis. These conditions typically must be evaluated and ruled out before a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis. Ruptured Plantar Fascia In plantar fasciitis, the plantar fascia has micro-tears throughout the tissue. With a ruptured plantar fascia, the tears are larger and represent a significant injury. The two conditions have similar symptoms, but they are differentiated by the severity of pain and cause of the injury. A ruptured plantar fascia is almost always significantly more painful than plantar fasciitis. It also usually has a precursor, either plantar fasciitis or significant trauma. If you suffer from plantar fasciitis, it could worsen, weakening the plantar fascia to the point that it ruptures. If your foot is otherwise healthy, then it usually occurs during trauma or significant impact to your foot. Rupturing your plantar fascia is usually accompanied by a â€Å"pop† resulting in severe pain and an inability to bear weight on that foot. Swelling and bruising often soon follow. Surgery and other medical procedures might be needed to help the plantar fascia mend. Arthritis Arthritis is a common condition many people suffer from somewhere in the body. When arthritis occurs in the lower leg, ankle, or some part of the foot, the pain can be perceived the same way as pain from plantar fasciitis. Not only can the location of pain from arthritis be confused with plantar fasciitis pain,  but also the occurrence of pain can be similar. Arthritis pain usually is worse when the arthritic joint is being used. When the joint is at rest there might be no pain, the same pattern you see in plantar fasciitis. So you might have arthritis in your heel and not notice it until you take a step. Arthritis can be more painful when the body part is cold. The first step in the morning might be the most painful of the day with both plantar fasciitis and arthritis of the foot, simply because the anatomy is cold and tight and has not warmed up. The pain may dissipate with either as the foot warms up and blood flows more robustly. To diagnose plantar fasciitis, arthritis must usually be ruled out. Arthritis can be diagnosed with a more thorough workup by your doctor. Imaging tests might be needed. Stress Fracture Another condition commonly mistaken for plantar fasciitis is a stress fracture. A stress fracture is normally a partially broken bone. Instead of being broken all the way through, the bone is only cracked along a surface. Stress fractures usually are shallow along the surface of the bone but might be deep. Some stress fractures are a single crack in the bone, while others might be an  interweaving of small cracks, like the cracked shell of a hard-boiled egg. If the stress fracture is in your heel, toe, or metatarsal, then the pain might seem to be coming from the same spot as plantar fasciitis and feel like an injured plantar fascia: The more pressure you put on it, the more pain you feel. A stress fracture usually is distinguished from plantar fasciitis by pinpointing the location of the pain. Pain from a stress fracture also doesnt tend to dissipate the same way that pain from plantar fasciitis does as the fascia gets warmed and loosened up.   If the pain comes from the top of the foot, it is more likely to be a stress fracture in the metatarsal, which is prone to developing such fractures. If the pain is in the bottom of the foot, it is more likely to be plantar fasciitis. Pain from a stress fracture in the heel bone often seems to be coming from the same place as does plantar fasciitis. An x-ray typically can identify or rule out a stress fracture as the cause of your pain, even if the probability of it being plantar fasciitis is much higher. Circulatory Issues Issues with your circulatory system, such as bad circulation or cardiovascular problems, can cause symptoms similar to plantar fasciitis. Your feet are the body parts farthest from your heart and tend to feel the effects of poor circulation first. Are your feet ever cold while the rest of you is warm, and not because youre walking on a cold floor? Gravity and weight are also factors. Your blood pressure is higher in your lower body, especially in your feet, than it is in your upper body because theres  more pressure on it. Inflammation in your feet and lower legs- from being on your feet for a while, for example- can further constrict blood vessels. Not only does blood flow down to your feet, but it also must be pumped back up. The weakening of those support systems, the one-way valves in your veins, results in varicose veins. All this can lead to pain, which can be caused by weaknesses in the blood vessels resulting in a backup of blood flowing, creating painful pressure. Pain may also be caused by a lack of oxygen and nutrients getting to the tissue in your feet because of poor blood flow. Instead of your foot falling asleep, you might feel a deep, throbbing ache. Pain also can be caused by blood clots, which can lead to life-threatening situations. Because circulatory issues are serious, they should be thoroughly vetted and ruled out if youre having pain in your foot, even if you think its probably plantar fasciitis. This is especially true if you have varicose veins, tingling or swelling in the foot, or the same symptoms in both feet because plantar fasciitis is typically  a single-foot injury. Your doctor can evaluate your cardiovascular health by monitoring your blood pressure and blood oxygen level. The doctor might also suggest an EKG and a cardiovascular stress test to find out whats going on. Nerve Entrapment Nerves can cause extreme pain when compromised. The pain might not be felt where the nerve is compromised but at the end of the nerve structure, where the nerves chemical signals are parsed out to the cells that receive them. Nerve entrapment syndrome sometimes is confused with plantar fasciitis. In nerve entrapment syndrome, pressure is placed on a nerve by some other body part, such as a bone, muscle, or cyst.  When a nerve is trapped or pinched by other tissue, that tissue squeezes it and the nerve sends out a pain signal. This can happen to many nerves in your body, but the one most commonly mistaken for plantar fasciitis is the tibial nerve, which runs down the back of your leg. When the tibial nerve is pinched or entrapped near the ankle, it is called tarsal tunnel syndrome. The tibial nerve is most often entrapped there because its a mass of nerves, ligaments, and muscles squeezing through a skeletal structure called the tarsal tunnel, similar to the wrists carpal tunnel. If the tibial nerve is pinched, then you feel pain in the bottom of your foot much like with plantar fasciitis. Unlike plantar fasciitis, you might also feel tingling or numbness in the bottom of your foot. You should be able to replicate the symptoms without placing weight on your foot. If you can perform the same motions and pinch the nerve with your foot elevated, then the pain is most likely not coming from the plantar fascia. Sciatica Sciatica is another nerve-induced pain that can be mistaken for plantar fasciitis. Sciatica comes from farther away than tarsal tunnel syndrome, however. Sciatica is a pinching or irritation of the nerve in your spine. Your spine is composed of a number of bones, or vertebrae. Between each vertebra is a disc, similar to a gel pad, that cushions the vertebrae against each other and allows for flexibility of the spine. A disc might get irritated and, like most irritated body parts, become inflamed. The inflammation usually results in swelling in one small part of the disc, which makes the disc act like an old rubber inner tube. If there is a weak spot in the wall of an inner tube, it will bulge when you inflate it. The disc bulges, and if it takes more damage, it can rupture.  This is a herniated disc. The main nerve column in the body runs along the spine. The sciatic nerve, one of the body’s largest nerves, runs in this nerve bundle. When the disc bulges or ruptures, it can put pressure on part of the sciatic nerve, resulting in sciatica. This often sends a shooting pain down your leg, but the pain might be felt in your foot. As with other nerve pain, you might also feel a tingling or numbness, which can differentiate sciatica from plantar fasciitis. Fat Pad Atrophy Atrophy of the heels fat pad also might be confused with plantar fasciitis. As you age, this fat pad becomes thinner. Other factors might affect the thinning, but science doesnt fully understand whats happening. This fat pad is the first cushion for your gait. The pad can become so thin that it doesnt cushion the heel bone, and the heel suffers from repetitive trauma that can result in painful irritation, inflammation, a bone bruise, or a stress fracture. The pain often occurs in the same location as pain from plantar fasciitis. The pain might also be worse in the morning and dissipate as you loosen up. A doctor usually can determine if this is causing the pain by examining the thickness of the heel’s fat pad. Achilles Tendon Rupture Like a ruptured plantar fascia, an Achilles tendon rupture may create symptoms similar to plantar fasciitis. A ruptured Achilles tendon is a major tear in the thick tendon that runs along the back of your ankle from your calf to your heel. With a ruptured Achilles tendon, you have difficulty bearing weight on the foot. The pain can be severe and doesnt necessarily dissipate when you are off your feet. Another difference between a ruptured Achilles tendon and plantar fasciitis is that the pain with a ruptured Achilles usually is felt along the back of the heel; with plantar fasciitis, pain is more likely to be felt along the front of your foot. Tendonitis Tendonitis is similar in nature to plantar fasciitis, as the tissue that makes up the plantar fascia is the same type of tissue that makes up a tendon. Tendonitis can occur in any tendon within your body, and there are several tendons in your foot. Tendonitis in any foot tendon can result in pain when you step and stretch the tendon. The pain also should dissipate as the tendon warms and loosens up. The tendon in the foot most likely to develop tendonitis is the Achilles tendon along the back of your foot. You can usually distinguish between Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis by the location of the pain.  Achilles tendonitis generally results in pain along the back of the heel, while plantar fasciitis generally means pain in front of the heel.   Bursitis Bursitis is another repetitive stress injury that can occur throughout the body. Bursae in the foot can become inflamed and develop bursitis like their more commonly stricken brethren in the knee, elbow, shoulder, and wrist. An inflamed bursa is tender and exudes pain when its compressed. If this occurs in the foot, especially in a bursa at the bottom of the foot, it can present symptoms similar to plantar fasciitis. Bursitis can be differentiated from plantar fasciitis by direct pressure. Since an inflamed bursa is tender and plantar fascia has little sensitivity, massaging it without much pain would indicate plantar fasciitis. If massaging  or just touching it causes a lot of pain, then it is more likely to be bursitis.

Why enroll in the Doctor of Business Administration Program (DBA) Essay

Why enroll in the Doctor of Business Administration Program (DBA) - Essay Example This determination has made strong in life and helped me in taking decisions which I have not regretted. Choosing the path of success in my professional life has become an aim for me because of this very strong determination and I think if I utilize it in the correct manner I’ll be able to achieve what I aim to. But as said by Christopher Moore "Nobodys perfect. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him....". It clearly depicts that I personally have my own weaknesses in achieving my goals. All over these years I have realized that learning something is not easy for me. It takes time for me to learn things which others learn in a while. But this weakness can easily be overcome if I give all of my attention to my goals. This attention helps me to not only learn and understand things but also to excel in these things. International business is one of the main driving forces behind the molding face of today’s world. For me, a graduate business degree is the first step towards an entrepreneurial position in a fascinating organization with global working circle. Interacting with multiple cultures for mutual benefits, while accepting the challenges associated with this process has always been a source of fascination for me. Graduate business degree will increase my career options manifolds with the passage of time and will also prepare me with knowledge and skills required to attain a job which fits my goals, thus providing maximum satisfaction. After completing graduation, I will have the chance of focusing on a particular field of work, because I’ll be ‘specialized’ to do this work. Keeping in view my aims and the level of competence that I intend to achieve, I believe that Abu Dhabi University is one of the institutions which can provide me with ample opportunities for the fulfillment of my aims. The world has turned into a global village and it is for this reason that I

Gay Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gay Marriage - Essay Example The ban on gay marriage is not different from preventing women from voting or denying African-American’s access to public places. One of the most potential arguments for gay marriage is that it enhances the marriage rate. Since 1991, there was a sharp decline in marriage rates world wide. In some countries, the marriage rates were down over 20%. This declining marriage rate clearly reflected deterioration in social as well as cultural values since premarital sexuality and sexual promiscuity were the root causes of the decrease in marriage rates. In addition, this worse condition also persisted to be a threat to the existence of family relationships. However, a steep rise in marriage rate is observed as the gay marriage was legalized. For instance, 4000 couples married in San Francisco in just one month when the city legally validated same sex marriages. While comparing with the marriage statistical data of many other countries, it is evident that gay marriage boosts marriage r ates. There were 12,348 same sex marriages registered in Canada from June 2003 (date of same sex marriage legalization in Ontario, a province of Canada) to October 2006 (‘Re-opening the debate’). Similarly, divorce rates have increasingly risen for the last two decades. As specified in the ‘Gay Marriage Facts & Statistics Tips, United States statistics show that 60% of all opposite sex marriages ended in divorce during the first decade and the figure rose to 80% in the first 20 years. Although, government and religious institutions have taken initiatives towards the safety of family relationships, the divorce rate still continues to be unsatisfactory. At this time, the family bonds of same sex couples... The researcher of this essay states that since 2001, ten countries and a number of jurisdictions have legally approved same-sex marriage and they consider it as a matter of civil, moral, social, political, and religious issue. Despite the legal validity of the gay marriage, limited rights are granted to gay marriage as compared to heterosexual marriage. In fact, the same sex marriage does not hurt the institution of marriages because homosexuals enjoy a pleasure that is obtainable from a traditional marriage. Obviously, romance is the most profound feeling that determines the intensity of relationship especially between adolescents. To be more specific, the different choices in romantic relationships have a profound influence on their aspirations. Each and every individual has the basic human right to express themselves without depending on the approval of any authority. While prohibiting same sex marriage, this condition questions the personal integrity of homosexuals and hence this governmental act do separates the gay people from the mainstream of the society. In total, the ban on gay marriage is a clear case of gender based discrimination, which will have far reaching consequences in the society. In fact, sexual outlook and individual choices are the key factors that determine the agreement or conflicts between partners. In conclusion, the researcher mentions that same sex does not inevitably ensure same gender, for example if the individuals involved maintain opposite gender desires.

The link between motivation and organizational performance Essay Example for Free

The link between motivation and organizational performance Essay Citing example from the Palm Toy tutorial case study, and with reference to academic literature, discuss the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to my understanding of work motivation and evaluate critically the extent to the link between motivation and organizational performance. Work motivation is an ensemble of internal and external forces which could initialize the work behavior, determining its direction,form, intensity and duration which is concerned with positive incentives and avoid negative incentives in the workplace (Pinder 2008). There are an array of theories that were put forward by organizational scholars. For instance, Maslow’s Need-based theories which focus on fulfilling employees’ needs, Vroom’s Expectancy theory which is related to the function of individual’ expectation, Herzberg’s TWO-FACTOR theory which is known as Motivation-hygiene theory and Adams’ Equity theory which demonstrates the relationship between equity and motivation (Hellriegel 2004). Additionally, the correlation between motivation and organizational performance has always been an unresolved discussion. Research shows that motivation is related to individual performance which directly affect the outcomes of companies and can be influenced positively or negatively (Micle 2009). While on the other hand, other researchers have suggested that there is negligible relationship between motivation and organizational performance(Bolton 2005). Taking the example of the Palm Toy tutorial case study, this essay firstly illustrates intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors in terms of work motivation, then focuses on the close relationship between motivation and organizational performance. There are a variety of factors which contribute to comprehend work motivation. This paper divides factors into two parts- intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors. First of all, with regard to internal aspects, in the case of the Palm Toy company, workers are motivated at a high level when they have access to provide their suggestions and make plans by themselves.To be precise, employees tend to show more initiative and possess self value achievement which is the highest level of Maslow’ hierarchy of needs(Maslow 1943). Then, based on the Expectancy theory studied by Victor H. Vroom in 1964, it can be understood that if workers  harbor the idea that they have competence to finish their work objectives they will perform effectively with high motivation because they know that there is high probability to achieve the goal (Bandura 1986). That is to say, workers in Palm company decide the speed of belt according to their expectancy and valence so that they work with enthusiasm and as a result, production increased. Moreover, turning to the external factors, firstly, working conditions are a significant aspect. Precisely, working conditions are closely bound up with job satisfaction,when people work in a comfortable working environment they are willing to contribute more (Babic and Bakotic 2013). For example, according to tutorial case after buying fans the sense of happiness of workers boosted, consequently, employees were motivated with satisfaction. By contrast, according to the theory by Herzberg in 1968, working conditions,as hygiene and contextual factor, should be attended to as a way of minimizing job dissatisfaction instead of increasing satisfaction (Rusu 2013). Meanwhile, equity should be considered as an indispensable part of motivation (Traupmann 1978). Based on the Adams Equity theory, it can be seen that employees strive for fairness and justice by comparing adequate rewards and the compensation for their contributive inputs (Kinicki and Kreitner 2001). And workers are inclined to be motivated working in a fair circumstance by a sense of equity otherwise they tend to become anxious (Kinicki and Kreitner 2001). To be precise , as it is mentioned in Palm Toy company ,workers in other plants may feel unfair because of different earnings which can be regarded as negative inequity. In conclusion, work motivation contains intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors which can help me understand it. As to the correlation between motivation and organizational performance. Performance is linked to motivation. Research shows that performance = motivation * ability which presents that performance is affected by motivation and ability (Norman and Clifford 1974). Meanwhile, ability is generally fixed so that motivation would play an important role to performance. In other words, there is a positive correlation between performance and motivation. However, there are a large number of other crucial variables which have an impact on the outputs, weakening the influence from motivation. For instance, task design, technology,  environment factors and other social factors(Kinicki and Kreitner 2001). In addition, based on the Goal setting theory studied in 1968 by Locke, it can be understood that setting a reasonable and appropriate goal facilitates individuals in focusing their efforts in a specified direction efficiently and consequently intensifying the organizational productivity. Preci sely, motivation will be generated when goals are acceptable and individuals tend to make more efforts to achieve the goals. Furthermore, research shows that 90% of field studies and laboratory involving challenging and specific goals lead to high performance and productivity ( Locke and Shaw 1981). By contrast, anxiety would be presented when employees are confronted by a high degree of challenging and difficult goals or the equivalents. In other words, although individuals work with a high level of motivation high performance could still not be guaranteed (Kleinbeck 1900). Moreover, payment could be regarded as an essential motivation which could lead to high performance (Heneman 1988). That is to say, workers are willing to contribute more as a result of monetary incentives which are regulated in a complete payment system. Conversely, studies shows that paying an worker too much may have adverse effects on their work performance. As a matter of fact they tend to generate less output than fairly paid employees (Sundheim 2013). To recapitulate, motivation is closely bound up with organizational performance. In conclusion, need of self-actualization, employees’ expectancy,working conditions and equity in the workplace contribute to a relatively profound and deep understanding of work motivation which could be divided into external factors and internal factors. Then, even though there are some other variables(task design, technology, environment factors and other social factors) which would affect the influence of motivation (Kinicki and Kreitner 2001), the performance formula (performance = motivation * ability), the goal-setting theory and payment system could support that there is a strong link between motivation and organizational performance. In the future, taking good advantages of the correlation between motivation and organizational performance effectively, organization productivity would be enhanced significantly. Reference: Pinder, C. 2008. Work motivation in organizational behavior . New York: Psychology Press. Hellriegel,D. 2004. Organizational Behavior. London: Thomson. Micle,M. 2009. Organizational climate,progress factor in motivation-performance relationship. Bucharest: Romanian Academy Publishing House. Bolton, S. 2005. Emotion Management in the Workplace. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Maslow,A. 1943. A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review [Online] Available at: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm [ Accessed: August 2000]. Bandura, A. 1986. Social foundation of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Bakotic, D and Babic, T. 2013. Relationship between Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Business and Social Science 4(2), pp 206-213. Rusu,G.2013. Human resource motivation: an organizational performance perspective,Phd Thesis, Technical University of Iasi. Traupmann,J. 1978. A longitudinal study go equity in in timate relationships. PhD Thesis, University of Wisconsin. Kinicki, A. and Kreitner, R. 2001. Organizational Behavior. New York: Mc Graw Hill. Norman, A. and Clifford,A. 1974. Performance=Motivation*Ability: An integration-theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology [Online] Alailable at: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuyid=1975-07303-001 [Accessed: November 1974]. Locke, E. and Shaw,K. 1981. Goal Setting and Task Performance. Psychological Bulletin. [Online] Available at: http://datause.cse.ucla.edu/DOCS/eal_goa_1981.pdf [ Accessed: 29 September 1981]. Kleinbeck,U.1990.Work motivation. Hillsdale:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Heneman, R.1988. The relationship between pay-for-performance perceptions and pay satisfaction. PhD thesis, The Ohio State University. Sundheim,K. 2013. What Really Motivates Employees? [Online].Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensundheim/2013/11/26/what-really-motivates-employees/ [Accessed: 26 November 2013].

Asher Levs Crucifixion Paintings as an Act of Disrespect Towards His P

Asher Lev's Crucifixion Paintings as an Act of Disrespect Towards His Parents Asher Lev paints against the values of his family and community. He disregards Jewish traditions and observance by pursuing his passion for art. His individuality has him disobeying the Rebbe, the mashphia, his mythic ancestor as well as his parents. Asher does not intend for his artwork to be harmful, but that they convey truths and feelings. Yet, the Brooklyn Crucifixions cause shame for his observant Jewish parents. In that way, he disrespects their teachings and wishes. He challenges the Jewish belief on modesty in creating nude works and disturbs the Hasidic community in his Christian imagery. Worst of all is the reflection of the life-like representation of his family in the paintings. This causes a shocked and angry reaction from the public. The climax evolves towards the last chapter of My Name is Asher Lev, when Asher's parents react hurtingly after the paintings are exposed to them in the New York Museum. Chaim Potok writes their reaction as happening slowly in a step-by-st ep movement; in silences; building up readers' expectations of a negative outcome. Guilt and fear of disobedience induces a silence from Asher. "They're not the truth, Papa; but they're not lies either". Asher appears to be speaking in his mind while thinking of the memories that the pictures portray. He disregards his father's lesson on how 'one Jew can cause the rest of the Jews to suffer'. Asher feels his disrespect as a son and justifies himself in his mind, but does not speak to his parents about the Cruxifixion paintings at all. Disrespect for his parents makes Asher scared. He anticipates their disappointment and hurt. Readers sympathize in acknowledging his inner suffering as he struggles to communicate freely with them. Asher fears his father's reaction more than his mother's reaction for it is his father that disapproves of Asher drawing in the first place. The father appears to be the one who should be feared the most. Other characters suggest this, for example, Asher's teacher who says,"What will your father say if he saw this?" in regards to the picture of the Rebbe Asher drew in his Chumash. His mother is more supportive of Asher and just wants him and his father to get along. After finishing their journey for the Rebbe, she says " I want you and your father to be friends", The te... ...an ugly sickening picture of the boy at school. Asher and his art is an ultimate form of disrespect towards his parents and perhaps the Jewish community. They warn him of the day of hurt and resent like the opening day of Asher's paintings in the New York Museum. Asher's father returns from Russia, and says "Do not forget your people Asher" It is the same as if one Jew aches, the whole community hurts, Asher's mythic ancestor haunts him in his dream, and indicates that his art is a waste of time at the end of Chapter 4. It is Asher's 'gift' that separates him from the Jewish community. He causes so much pain for his parents and the community that the only resolution is too send Asher away, which the Rebbe does at the end. Like the father and the mother, Asher is journeying for him to prevent Jews from suffering. The conclusion ends with Asher's parents watching in silence as Asher's cab pulls away. Similarly, at the museum, he had watched his parents, who did not utter a voice or a glance at him, pull away in a cab. In his parents' eyes, Asher has crossed the boundary of obedience and disrespect, with such immense rage and hurt that it causes a deadly silence between them.

Labor Laws of Vietnam Essay

I. Overview Vietnam is known for being a disciplined, hard-working, and fast-learning population. Traditions emphasizing learning and respect for authority as well as low wages and a high adult literacy rate are often cited by investors as among one of the most attractive aspects of the country’s investment environment (Treutler &Kien, 2010). The Labour Code of Vietnam serves as the main legal base for all the labour matters. It applies to both employees and employers including foreign organizations employing local and foreign staff working on regular basis in Vietnam (Chee &Le, 2008). On the other hand, there are also a number of implementing regulations such as Decrees, Decisions, and Circulars, which provide detailed guidelines for implementation the Code. These regulations play useful and significant roles in the Vietnamese legal system, as the government authorities would often refer to them in practice. In this Code, employment in all business entities, including foreign-invested en terprises, should be based on a written employment contract, which contains sections relating to: * The scope of work * Working hours * Rest/breaks * Recreation time * Wages * Place of work * Terms of contract * Occupational safety and hygiene, * Social and medical insurance II. Preamble â€Å"Labor is the most important activity of man. It creates the material wealth and spiritual values of society. High-productivity, high-quality and high-efficiency labor is the determinant factor of national development. Labor legislation defines the rights and obligations of the employee and the employer, the labor standards and the principles for labor use and management, thus contributing to the promotion of production. Therefore, it plays an important role in social life and in the legal system of the country. Inheriting and developing the labor legislation of our country since 1945, the Labor Code institutionalizes the renewal line of the Communist Party of Vietnam and concretizes the provisions of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on labor and on the use and management of labor. The Labor Code protects the right to work, the interests and other rights of the employee. At the same time it protects the legitimate rights and interests of the employer, thus creating conditions for the establishment of harmonious and stable labor relations, helping to develop the creativeness and talent of the intellectual and manual workers as well as of the labor managers, in order to achieve high productivity, quality and social progress in labor, production and service, efficient use and management of labor, thus contributing to the industrialization and modernization of the country in the cause of bringing prosperity to the people and strength to the nation and building a just and civilized society.† III. Main Sources of Labor Law * The Labor Code * The Law on Sending Vietnamese Laborers to Work Overseas * Government decrees, ministerial circulars and decisions, provincial decisions and guidelines * Collective labor agreements, company rules, individual contracts * The Supreme Court’s annual practice summaries and guidelines IV. Special Hiring Considerations A. Hiring Non-Citizens * Generally, if an expatriate wants to work in Vietnam for three months or longer, he/she must obtain a work permit. Vietnamese employers are required to provide support and submit application documents for the work permit. B. Hiring Specified Categories of Individuals * Employers are prohibited from employing female employees, pregnant employees, child employees, and old employees for hazardous and hard work that may cause health problems. * Normally, the minimum working age is 15. There is no restriction on the maximum working age. The daily working hours of senior workers (over 60 for men or over 55 for women), however, should be reduced. C. Outsourcing and/or Subcontracting * The Labor Code contains an inflexible provision stating that a labor contract must be directly entered into by an employer and an employee. In addition, the tasks stipulated in the labor contract must be carried out by the employee under his/her labor contract; the transfer of such tasks to another person must be approved by the employer. In practice, if an employer wishes to use a labor outsourcing service, he/she will not enter into a direct labor contract with workers, but will enter into a labor outsourcing service agreement with the service provider. Therefore, there is no clear definition of outsourcing or subcontracting under the Vietnamese Labor Code. V. Basic Employment Terms * A labor contract must be written in Vietnamese or in both Vietnamese and the foreign language that is applicable to the employer and employee. Contracts for temporary jobs lasting less than three months or for domestic helper work do not need to be in writing and can be oral. A. Working Hours and Rest Hours * The maximum working hours are eight hours per day or 48 hours per week for normal working conditions. Daily working hours must be reduced by one or two hours for employees subject to extremely heavy, dangerous, or toxic working conditions. Employees must take a rest period of a minimum of 24 consecutive hours per week. There are also various compulsory daily and weekly rest periods and breaks that must be observed. B. Wages * Employees may not earn an amount below the minimum salary level, which is reviewed from time to time. Different minimum levels exist and depend on the location of the workplace. C. Working Place/Location * An employee’s place of work must be stated in the labor contract. Mobility clauses can be included in employees’ labor contracts, if necessary. Where a job requires travel to other temporary locations, it is normal for employers to reimburse all reasonable travel expenses. D. Duration of the Contract * Under the Labor Code of Vietnam there are three types of labor contracts: * An indefinite-term labor contract * A fixed-term labor contract with duration of 12 to 36 months * A labor contract for a specific or seasonal job of less than 12 months E. Conditions on Occupational Safety and Hygiene * Employers are required to provide employees with sufficient protective equipment to ensure occupational safety and hygiene and to improve working conditions in the workplace. Employees must comply with occupational safety and hygiene regulations and the internal labor rules of employers. VI. Social Insurance and Leave * Compulsory Social Insurance applies to enterprises, entities, and organizations that employ employees under indefinite-term labor contracts or under definite-term labor contracts with a duration of three months or more. Both employees and employers are required to contribute to the social insurance fund at statutory rates. The social insurance fund pays allowances for sick leave, maternity leave, work-related accidents, occupational disease, and pensions. A. Sick Leave * Employees who suffer from illness and/or disability or take leave in accordance with a doctor’s order receive an allowance paid by the social insurance fund, provided that they submit the required documentation evidencing their leave. The sick leave allowance is based on the employee’s salary used to calculate the social insurance premium. The maximum entitlement is: * 30 days per year (if the employee contributes to the social insurance fund for less than 15 years) * 40 days per year (if the employee contributes to the social insurance fund for between 15 and 30 years) * 60 days per year (if the employee contributes to the social insurance fund for more than 30 years). B. Maternity Leave * Employers must allow pregnant workers to have their health checked regularly. A female employee (who works in normal working conditions) is normally entitled to take four months’ maternity leave. If the female employee works in heavy and/or harmful working conditions or works in a remote location, she is entitled to take up to six months’ maternity leave. Where an employee gives birth to more than one child at one time, she is entitled to take an additional 30days’ leave for every additional child calculated from the second child onwards. The employee will receive a maternity allowance from the social insurance fund during maternity leave. C. Accidents at Work * Work-related accidents are defined as accidents that injure any bodily parts or functions of an employee or cause the employee’s death during the process of working and closely relate to work performance or labor activity. An employee who is injured in a work-related accident must be immediately treated and be fully attended to. The employer must take full responsibility for the occurrence of the work-related accident. During the period in which an employee is absent from work for medical treatment related to a work-related accident or occupational disease, the employer must pay the employee his/her full salary and expenses for the treatment. After the treatment, the employee will be examined and assigned a category of injury, which depends on the reduction of his/her ability to work due to the work-related accident or disease. The employee will be entitled to a social insurance benefit paid as a lump sum or in monthly installments by the social insurance fund. D. Pension Plans * There is no scheme for pension plans under Vietnamese Labor Law. Both employers and employees are required to contribute to the compulsory social insurance fund that payspensions to employees when they retire. E. Absence for Military or Public Service Duties * Employees are entitled to suspend performing their duties under labor contracts if they are required to carry out military service or other public civic obligations. Employers are required to reemploy the employees at the end of the suspension period. VII. Rights of the Employees A. Harassment/Discrimination/Equal Pay * Employees have the right to work without being discriminated against on the basis of their gender, nationality, social class, beliefs, or religion. Moreover, employers are strictly prohibited from discriminatory behavior toward female employees or conduct that degrades female employees’ dignity and honor. Employers must implement the principle of gender equality in regard to recruitment, utilization, wage, and wage increase. B. Work Councils or Trade Unions * Employers are required to facilitate the establishment of a trade union organization within their company. A company’s trade union should be established within a company within six months after the company is set up and put into operation. The obligation for establishing a trade union organization within a company falls on the local trade union or industry trade union, not the employer. The main function of a trade union organization is to represent and protect employees’ legal rights and interests. Therefore, most decisions relating to employee benefits should involve the trade union representative, such as execution of a collective labor agreement, decisions regarding labor discipline, and termination of labor contracts. Any act that obstructs the establishment and activities of an enterprise’s trade union is strictly prohibited. C. Employees’ Right to Strike * Employees may voluntarily go on strike. However, strikes must be organized and led by the executive committee of the company’s trade union or representatives of employees. Employees must also adhere to statutory procedures and steps for the organization of strikes. Strikes are prohibited at businesses that supply certain types of products and services and at enterprises that are essential for the national economy or for national defense and security. D. Employees on Strike * Employers are not required to pay salary or other benefits to employees who participate in a strike. Employers are prohibited, however, from terminating labor contracts or applying labor disciplinary penalties to employees or to organizers of strikes or transferring employees or strike organizers to do other jobs or to work at other locations because of their preparation for or participation in a strike. VIII. Terminating the Employment Contract A. Procedures for Terminating the Agreement * Proper legal grounds must exist in order for an employer to terminate a labor contract with an employee, such as performance issues, prolonged illness, a force majeure event, or winding up of the company. Employers are required to follow a number of statutory steps such as sending a warning letter to employees and/or sending advance written notice regarding the termination of employment to employees within a statutory time limit. If an employer fails to prove that there are legal grounds for the termination or fails to follow the proper statutory procedure, a termination may be declared wrongful. In the event of a wrongful termination, employers may be required to reinstate the employee, pay their salary for the period that they were not allowed to work, and pay two months of the employee’s salary as a penalty for the wrongful termination. B. Types of Termination i. Employee’s Resignation * An employee may resign from his/her job without giving any legitimate reason, so long as the employee gives advance notice to the employer (30 working days for termination of a fixed term labor contract or 45 working days for an indefinite labor contract). ii. Instant Dismissal * Dismissal is the severest labor disciplinary measure. Employees may be dismissed when they commit an act of gross misconduct such as theft, embezzlement, disclosure of business or technology secrets, or repeatedly commit acts in violation of the employers’ work rules or policies. A disciplinary hearing meeting must be held and a number of statutory procedures must be followed. iii. Termination on Notice * An employer may terminate a labor contract by serving advance notice of 30 working days for termination of a fixed term labor contract or 45 working days for an indefinite labor contract. Note that employers must have proper legal grounds for termination (see the above section onprocedures for terminating the agreement). iv. Termination by Reason of the Employee’s Age * There are no specific provisions governing the termination of labor contracts based on an employee’s age. The normal retirement age is 60 for men and 55 for women. A retired person will receive his/her pension and/or allowance from the social insurance fund. The Vietnamese Labor Code allows employers to extend labor contracts or enter into a new labor contract with a retired employee. v. Automatic Termination in Cases of Force Majeure * Force majeure is one of the legal grounds for employers to terminate labor contracts with employees. Employers are required to send advance notice to employees and a number of procedures should be followed. Employers are also required to pay severance to their employees due to the termination of employment. vi. Termination by Parties’ Mutual Agreement * The parties are entirely free to agree to terminate an employment contract on any grounds they desire. Where the parties agree, they are not required to give advance notice of termination. The parties may also waive certain procedures. All the necessary terms, such as employment termination, severance payments, personal income tax, and social insurance, should be finalized and addressed in a document and should be signed by both parties. C. Severance Payments * Employers must pay severance to employees who have continually worked for the employer for 12 months or more. There are certain cases in which employers are exempted from paying severance, such as dismissal or retirement. If employees have made contributions to the unemployment insurance fund, employers are not required to pay severance for the duration of time that the employees paid their unemployment insurance premium. i. Special Tax Provisions and Severance Payments * Any income earned by an employee in the form of salary, wage, allowance, and bonus is subject to personal income tax (PIT). Severance payments at the minimum statutory level are not subject to PIT, whereas any extra payments are subject to PIT. Employers are required to withhold and pay PIT to taxation authorities. ii. Allowances Payable to Employees after Termination * Employers are not required to contribute to any allowances after termination, unless otherwise agreed by the parties in the labor contract and so long as all required severance payments are paid in full. iii. Time Limits for Claims Following Termination * The statute of limitations runs one year from the date of the conduct that any party claims breached its rights or benefits, where the claim arises from: * Disciplinary measures resulting in dismissal * Unilateral termination of a labor contract * Compensation for loss and damage or payment of allowances Reference/s: Duc Manh, N. (n.d.). The Labor Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Retrieved on February 24, 2013 from http://www.dncustoms.gov.vn/web_ english/english/luat_pl/LABOR-CODE.htm Chee, P & Le, D. (2008). Overview of Labour Law in Vietnam. KhattarWong. Retrieved on February 24, 2013 from http://www.khattarwong.com/index.php/knowledgemanagement/articles/41-vietnam/205-overview-of-labour-law-in-vietnam.html Treutler, T. J. & Kien, T. T. (2010). An overview of Vietnam Labor Law. Tilleke & Gibbins. Retrieved on February 24, 2013 from http://www.tilleke.com/sites/default/files/Overview%20of%20Vietnam%20Labor%20Law.pdf (2008). Labor in Vietnam. Vietnam Trade Office in the USA. Retrieved on February 24, 2013 from http://www.vietnamustrade.org/index.php?f=news&do= detail&id=35&lang=English

Mexico Current Issues: Drug War

?Stefan Tian Period 2 War in the Cities Recently, Mexico has been facing a horrendous civil war. This internal conflict is coming from the country’s powerful drug leaders. This epic drug war was been taking place ever since these â€Å"cartels† relocated from the South American nation of Columbia to Mexico in the mid 1980s. since then , this bloody conflict has arose several issues in Mexico. Mexico’s new president, Felipe Calderon, just recently launched an all out military campaign against these drug lords in 2007. This campaign included increased military personnel stationed in locations of intense combat. These increased troops eventually ammounted to more than 25,000 troops stationed throughout Mexico(1). But still, this drug war rages on and has dramatically affected Mexico in negative ways. If not stopped, this drug war will continually drag down the Mexican economy as well as the continued corruption of the Mexican infrastructure. One of the more shocking results of this ongoing drug war is its diminishing effect on the Mexican economy. This horrendous civil war, unfortunately takes place on Mexican soil. Specifically, it takes place in the bustling urban cities that make up Mexico’s tourism and industrial trade. For example, one of the most heated spots of this drug war is at Tijuana. This is obviousley due to its close proximity to the United States. Tijuana faces constant suburban warfare between the cartels and the mexican military. This conflict in Tijuana climaxed on April 26, 2008 when a major battle took place and ended up in the deaths of 17 people(2). Because of this extreme violence , the citizens, as well as factories of Tijuana are scared to go out of their homes or begin to operate. They have reached a mere standstill. This is a huge problem because Tijuana is Mexico’s sixth largest city and its annual GDP is higher than the nation’s average by 35,000. Its GDP is the 3rd highest in the country, closely trailing Cancun and Mexico City(3). These conflicts have been immobilizing whole cities, such as Tijuana, the whole state of Michoacan, Morelia, and Tijuana. These battles have not only been a direct detriment to the economy, but they have also provided many indirect factors. Because of all the crime and violence occuring in Mexico, foreign investors are beginning to worry about their investments. They are starting withdraw some of the money that they had put into Mexico in fear of governmental collapse. According to Mexican Finance Minister, Agustin Carstens,†the deterioriating security level is reducing gross domsetic product annually by 1 percent in Latin America’s second-largest economy. †(4) This one percent decrease is from the withdrawal of investors alone, not including the immobilization of cities and slowing of production. Now, some may argue that the drug industry has been beneficial to the Mexican economy. They claim that the illegal drug trade has been a vital part of Mexico’s international trade. According to the United Nations, the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry is at 400 billion dollars. (6) This money is in turn introduced to the Mexican economy, giving it substantial stipulus. While, this may be true, we have to look at the fact that in the process of acquiring this money, people’s lives were held in danger. In the process of this war, over 7768 people’s lives have been lost. (5) Also, the money that the Mexican federal government put in to counteract these illegal practices is also substantial. The 400 billion dollars gained from this trade is not worth the thousands of lives sacrificed for it. The economy has been lowering in a drastically sharp manor due to this drug war. Another major consequence of this raging drug war is that it’s corrupting affect on the Mexican infrastructure. The drug cartels have infiltrated the core of the Mexican government. They have been able to corrupt the very federal police that is supposed to combat them. Their vast influence has been able to penetrate the supposed upholders of the law. The Attorney Geenral of Mexico did a scan of his federal police force and found that 1/5 of all federal officers are now put under investigation for criminal activity. Also, 1500 AFI’s are also put under criminal activity. (7) This creates a severe unresting feeling in the mexican population as to whether who they can trust. If the drug cartels had already infiltrated the system to the point that they had influences in the very law enforcement department, that is an extensive amount of corruption. The reasons for this corruption is that these cops and federal agents see the kind of money that these cartels generate in the course of a year and they flock to them. They have a considerable amount of revenue, and these cartels know that bribing these officers would help in their peration by ten-fold. The mexican government needs to be careful of their law enforcement department and purge their systems regularly in order to get rid of the corrupted officers. This Mexican drug war has become more than just a nation wide epidemic. Its influences have begun to spread farther, into the United States as well as other South American nations. Once we do settle this conflict with the cartels, a system wide purging is needed too of the government infrastructure. What would probably work better is a whole reorganization of the sytem in order to make sure that no corrupt officers hold any power. Mexico needs to keep this situation under control in order to become one of the top world powers that it currently has the potential to be. 1. http://www. iht. com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Drug_Violence. php 2. http://www. reuters. com/article/newsOne/idUSN2639514820080427 3. http://www. inegi. gob. mx/lib/buscador/busqueda. aspx? s=est&textoBus=tijuana&e=&seccionBus=bieb 4. http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601087&sid=akDCw. fUKYOc&refer=home 5. http://www. eluniversal. com. mx/notas/560074. html 6. http://www. dpft. org/hernandez/ 7. ttp://ftp. fas. org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215. pdf Annotated Bibliography Cook,Colleen â€Å"Mexico’s Drug Cartels† CRS Report for Congress 2007, Oct 17. http://ftp. fas. org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215. pdf Epstein, Jerry â€Å"Esquiel Hernandez Killing† Drug Policy Forum 1998, March 15 http://www. dpft. org/hernandez/ Unknown â€Å"Ejecuciones rompen record: van cinco mil† El Universal 2008, December. http: //www. eluniversal. com. mx/notas/560074. html Gould, Jens â€Å"Mexico’s Drug War turns into Terrorism† Bloomberg 2008, Oct 20 http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601087&sid=akDCw. UKYOc&refe r=home Unknown â€Å"Banco de Informacion Economica† Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Geografia 2005, Jun 4 http://www. inegi. gob. mx/lib/buscador/busqueda. aspx? s=est&textoBus=tijuana&e=&seccionBus=bieb Diaz Lizbeth â€Å"Seventeen Killed in Mexico’s Drug War† Reuters 2008, Apr 26 http://www. reuters. com/article/newsOne/idUSN2639514820080427 Unknown â€Å"Mexican Government sends 6500 troops to state scarred by violence,drugs, and beheadings. † Herald Tribune 2006, Dec 11 http://www. iht. com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Drug_Violence. php

Evaluating the information system needs and requirement for golden fleece hotel and developing strategic information system plan The WritePass Journal

Evaluating the information system needs and requirement for golden fleece hotel and developing strategic information system plan Executive Summary Evaluating the information system needs and requirement for golden fleece hotel and developing strategic information system plan Executive SummaryIntroductionBackgroundReview of Problem EvaluationBenefits of IS Strategic PlanConclusionRecommendationsWhy SWOT Analysis?Why Critical Success Factor (CSF) Analysis?Recommendations on IT InfrastructureRelated Executive Summary This project is designed to get in detail from survey and past relevant literature the impacts of Information System(IS) adoption in sponsoring company and be able to produce a report that will help in advising the   management and the owner of Golden Fleece Hotel (GFH) on the feasibility of the IS in their business and proffer a recommendation on the adoption of the IS strategy. Currently, the sponsoring company has not employed any form of IS strategy in their business activities. They currently depend on the traditional (face-to-face) business means. However, the management have decided to take step forward in expanding their business, on that process this project has been requested by GFH owner and the manager with the aim of getting decision management support. The data gathering of this project will be through survey such as research of relevant academic literatures such as journals and books. Subsequently, the collected data will be analyse and produce a clear and relevant management supporting report which will help to solve the real life problem. Introduction In the history, the relationship between an organizations strategic plan and information systems (IS) was of little importance to the organizations management as information systems were seen as the same with data processing concerning corporate issues and it was systematical placed as a back-room operation for the running of everyday tasks. However, in current times, information systems has become an essential part for the management of organizations, thus there has been an increasing realization for the incorporation of information systems into the strategic planning of organizations. This is because, information systems and information technology (IT) enable organizations flourish – as it helps organizations grow in scope, offer improved services and innovative products. However, the development of a strategic IS plan concentrates on identifying the most appropriate IS for an organization and the implementation plan with its main objective to ensure the alignment of the current business strategy with a new IS strategy (Earl, 2003). Additionally, a strategic IS plan can be interpreted as a formal exercise, where successions of consistent steps are embarked on, which results in the definition of IS requirements as well as the identification of a lasting strategy.   This project will avail Golden Fleece Hotel (GFH) the case study of this project, with a framework focused on enhancing GFHs future and at the same time, provide GFH with technological infrastructures that will support the business to cope with business changes. Thus, the next chapter comprises of a review of certain aspects of this project, such as the sponsor’s details, overview of research chapter, the objective, scope and structure of the project. Background The project sponsor is Golden Fleece Hotel; a privately-owned Hotel (Medium Enterprise) that provides full hotel services such as reservation, restaurant and client services. The hotel was founded in the year 1999 in South Yorkshire and provides catering to customers in two basic group- business people and pleasure travelers that wanted a more personal hotel experience. The hotel’s top management team comprises of two (2) persons – the owner and the Manager. The hotel has four (4) main Units: Restaurant/Catering, Housekeeping, Reservation and Client Services.   Despite the size of the hotel, GFH still operates business in a traditional manner with poor information technology (IT) infrastructure for their business processes. The hotel does not have any form of electronic commerce (e-commerce) system like website and online transaction support system. However, they always fill a paper card any time they need to get their customers details as a means of making reservatio n and showing of their business services. In order to fit well in today’s dynamic information era, GFH plans to increase its business operations and services so as to respond to the needs of their customers and the changing situation of their business. Review of Problem Currently, GFH is not conducting business in modern way, they still work manually. This shows that majority of their business with customers are always carried out in person or through paper works. However, GFH have a substantial amount of customers that want to contact or make reservations with them in modern way (via internet), but GFH do not have the technological infrastructure to connect with its clients. They have a number of employees that are lacking significantly in IT and technical skills, for this reason this made GFH ability not to achieve its desired goals and objectives. Finally, GFH has no formal IS strategic plan to define its management activities that will enable the business achieve its business objective. Additionally, the research into the development of IS strategic plan will be evaluated and reviewed to allow the selection of the suitable methodology(s) for the development of the plan for GFH. However, the next chapter covers the evaluation of the project succe ss. Evaluation From the literature, different development methodologies have different foci and structure; hence leading to different planning or development methodologies for SISP. For instance, Porter’s Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and Critical Success Factors (CSF) methods; the VCA focuses on events that concern adding direct value to an organization while CSF ensures the concentration of the vital requirements concerning the IS need of an organization. Both methods have different structure and focus. However, as VCA focuses on adding direct value, it consequently puts IS straight into the domain of adding value to the organization instead of cutting cost. Practically, VCA simply offers organizations a model that covers advanced level information, but on the other hand, fails to tackle issues concerning the development and application of the plan. Nonetheless, Porter (2001) argued that in order to ensure success in the application of the plan, organizations need to formulate their business strategy in a way that integrates either cost leadership, market differentiation or focus in an appropriate way to attain a viable long-term competitive lead in their preferred market area. However, Kim and Mauborgne (2005) argued that Porter’s value chain model is not the only alternative for organization, as it concentrates solely on internal processes as an alternative to data, thus it does not properly outline the data structure required by the organization. They argued further that an alternate way to achieve the SISP implementation success with profits and high growth as well as gaining a competitive edge, is for organizations to create a Blue Ocean Strategy that goes beyond Porters model by concurrently pursuing both the low cost and differentiation strategy at once. For instance, DELL Computers had an initial strategy to sell directly to the customers at a lower price, thus making their service distinctive from other competitors. They also provided a toll-free telephone number and special (online) features or enhancement in their services as they allowed direct interaction with their clients which helped them understand their client requirements better. However, Pant and Hsu (1995) advised that it is essential for Porter’s VCA to be implemented in combination with selected methods that will tackle issues concerning the development and application of the plan as well as outline the right data structure. Similarly, the CSF is thought to be useful, as it enables the development of IS around the success factor and is a method extensively used (Seddon, et al. 2002), but conversely a comprehensive strategic IS plan cannot be performed with it – as there is no definition for the data architecture (Pant Hsu, 1995). Nonetheless, this is not to say that the CSF method cannot be used for SISP development, because in the case of GFH, it could serve its purpose as CSF analysis is easily performed as well as conducted with little resources. Similarly, the SWOT analysis requires little resources and typically reflects an individuals current position and perspective of the organization involved in the analysis. However, this perspective can be misrepresented to explain an earlier decided course of action instead of being used as a method to uncover new possibilities. Also, the threats from a SWOT analysis could be seen as opportunities, however, it depends on the persons or groups involved in the analysis. However, in the case of GFH, the synergy of strategies will not guarantee success for the organization, but in accordance with Mentzas (1997) viewpoint of SISP development, a multi-phase study of GFH business should be conducted before the implementation of a strategic IS plan – so that the synergy of strategies can enhance the organization. Basically, the multi-phase studies are considerations that concern the environment of an organization as well as the alignment that should accompany the configuration of GFHs environment with the business strategy of GFH. However, the stages of the multi-phase study suggested by Mentzas does not cover difficult organizational phenomena that are swayed by human factors; thus it scarcely covers the human aspects, underlying forces and contextual realities concerning the development of a strategic IS plan (Lindsay, 2003). Nevertheless, this is not to imply that the strategies/models in this literature cannot be used for the development process of a strategic IS plan. They can be used in an organized way that enables each strategy look after the lapses of the other strategies; just as Earl’s advocated the use of multiple methodologies for the development an information systems strategy; and in accordance with the findings from Meckel et al., (2004) survey, Small Medium Enterprises use a combination of methods/methodologies to develop their strategies for the enhancement of their business. Thus, developing an IS strategy for GFH may involve the use of multiple methodologies, with the aim of evolving IS into the products/services of GFH as well as creating new strategic opportunities through the use of IS. However, the level and type of strategy to implement is normally determined by the significance of information systems to the organization, the nature of the organization, and the organizationâ €™s current environment (Robson, 1997). Consequently, the formation of an IS strategy for GFH will involve essential factors for instance organizational structure, culture, the business strategy, technical infrastructure containing the availability of technical skills as well as the perceptions and prospects of employees; thus, highlighting the dynamic nature and requirements of an information systems strategy. However, the formation of an information systems strategy is subjected to continuous modification as the interest and perceptions of the main groups and actors involved in the development process changes (Walsham Waema, 1994). Nonetheless, the methodology(s) that will be used to develop a strategic IS plan for GFH will focus not only on being conceptual or managerial but on the environment and suitability of IS in GFH. Benefits of IS Strategic Plan Brown (2005) suggested that recognizing and understanding the importance of information systems for an organization is essential to ensure that information systems are implemented strategically. However, an important benefit of IS strategic plan for GFH will be novelty, because it will create value for the business. Fundamentally, introducing new technologies in an organization is simply associated with novelty (Power, 2006). Furthermore, Information System strategic plan will assist GFH to develop new standards for their business, increase the throughput of employees, reduce operations costs, and encourage collaboration within and outside the business plus improving customer satisfaction and services (Shore, 2006). Practically, integrating IS into GFH will bring benefits of effectual communication between them and their customers, because it will conquer the concerns of culture, time and distance. Furthermore, with the help of databases, the business associates of GFH will enhanced consistency and support in relation to collaboration. Essentially, the reason why most organizations adopt Information System is to move their business into the international space of competitiveness, since information systems helps and supports such ambitions (Ward Peppard, 2003; Applegate et al., 2008). Though, information systems benefits can be categorized as tactical, strategic and operational where measurements concerning tangible and intangible are classified under operational (Turban et al., 2005). But, the tangible benefits GFH will achieve from implementing IS strategic plan which comprise – the inventory reduction and improvement in productivity. Whereas the intangible benefits include innovative or enhanced processes and standardization in relation to systems integration (Turban et al., 2005). Nevertheless, GFH will also achieve some strategic benefits like there will be increased in growth; market share and leadership will improve competitive advantage. Conclusion The aim of this project was to develop a strategic IS plan for GFH. However, the SWOT and CSF analysis was used to critically evaluate both the internal and external environment of GFH. Additionally, in relations to the theories and processes of IS strategic plan discussed in the literature review, a good integration was developed to ensure that the literature review theories and processes were implemented in the practical elements of the project, as the processes and methodologies for developing a strategic IS plan was followed. Also, GFH’s business operations were evaluated and its business plan aligned with the recommended IS strategies by means of the CSF analysis. Moreover, the content of the literature review served as a guideline for the development of the entire strategic IS plan. Therefore, this goes to prove that the content in the literature review was comprehensively integrated into the project’s practical elements. Nonetheless, the information systems were basically recommended to completely support the business strategies of GFH, as detailed implementation plan was proposed. Nevertheless, the SWOT and CSF analysis was used to significantly evaluate both the internal and external environment of GFH and therefore, one can say that the product delivered to GFH satisfied the scope of GFH’s requirements. Recommendations Practically, todays’ operational effectiveness and efficiency in most organizations can be seen as a strategic plan. This means that it’s possible for an organizations strategic plan to arise from anywhere, anybody, or from comprehensive planning as well as from trial and error. However, strategic thinking is the best way of doing things as strategic planning and the synthesis involved are simply contributors of the entire strategic development phenomenon. Nevertheless, from the literature covered, selecting methodology for an organization like GFH is determined through the suitability of the methodology into the organizations situation. Additionally, the literature in this chapter has shown that it will be difficult for one methodology to completely support the full analysis, development and implementation of a strategic IS plan. Therefore, I will apply or use the strategy that allows the use of multiple SISP methodologies. In other words, I will choose a number of methodologies used by SMEs from the findings of Meckel et al., (2004) survey to formulate a strategic IS plan for GFH. Moreover, during the selection of methodology, it is important to think through the amount of resources made accessible for the development phase. Thus, a resource issue for the development phase of is the confinement of time and man power for the SISP development. As a result, the SWOT analysis will be used in the formation of an IS strategy for GFH, as it requires little man power and the time duration required for its development is minimal. In addition, the SWOT analysis is simpler and straightforward when compared with Porter’s Five Forces analysis. In addition, the CSF analysis will also be used for integrating the business-IS strategy and the identification of information systems requirements. This method will be used, as it focuses on the information necessity, which is required by GFH. Why SWOT Analysis? This methodology SWOT analysis was carefully chosen to enable the evaluation of GFH’s strength and weakness as well as their opportunities and threats. Basically, in relations to the strength and weakness, emphasis will be on the internal environment while for the opportunities and threats, emphasis will be on the external environment. However, the primary aim of the SWOT analysis is to attain continuous competitive advantages for GFH through the implementation of strategies that use the internal strengths of GFH, by reacting to the environmental opportunities, and simultaneously reducing the effect of external threat as well as circumventing the internal weakness of the company. Consequently, enabling SWOT analysis to produce a comprehensive plan, as the threats and weaknesses established in the SWOT analysis will be prevented. On the other hand, SWOT analysis can allow an organization to use a lazy course by looking for strengths that fit opportunities and overlook the oppo rtunities that they feel cannot be used to their advantage. However, in order to avoid this lazy approach, the SWOT analysis would be used to identify the best opportunities for GFH and then plans will be in place to stretch GFH to ensure that they meet these opportunities. Nonetheless, the assessment area in relation to SWOT analysis is greater than that of Porters Value Chain Analysis for the reason that SWOT concentrations on both the internal and external environment of an organization, whereas Porters Value Chain concentrates only on the internal environment; thus offering more advantages when compared with Porters Five Forces. Furthermore, the assessment area of SWOT concerning the internal environment of GFH will lead to the identification of certain areas that will lead to exceptional accomplishments as well as critical failure features in GFH. This analysis will aid GFH maximize the strong elements/factors they have and avoid areas of weakness during decision making. Also, the assessment area in relation to the external factor will provide GFH the ability to analyze the external openings and threats concerning their competitors as well as creating a better understanding of customers needs, thus allowing GFH to assert itself properly in the mar ketplace and encourage the exploration of prospective strategic options (Robert, 2004). However, to portray a perfect picture of the SWOT analysis, Robson (1997) developed the SWOT matrix together with four kinds of exposures for risk that are incorporated into the SWOT matrix. The matrix shows the kind of reactions that may well be suitable to cope with every risk. A sample SWOT matrix and likely reactions are presented in Figure 6. Practically, from figure 1, the use of the SWOT matrix makes SWOT analysis easier to decide which task should be prioritized when compared to Porters Value Chain analysis or Five Force. Basically, the SWOT matrix makes it possible to identify possible risks visible in information systems and recognize ways to reaction to the risk. Why Critical Success Factor (CSF) Analysis? This methodology, CSF analysis consists of a set of factors that include expertise and responsibilities that are considered as very important factors for the continuous success of an organization. Basically, CSFs are a small number of things that need to work aptly to make certain of an organization’s continued existence and success in the marketplace (Turban, et al., 2005). However, in the case of GFH, CSF analysis will help GFH enhance its business – as it will ensure information systems aid the business strategy of GFH by determining essential information requirement and activities that for the IS plan. According to Peffers and Gengler (2003), the CSF analysis of an organization centers on the fundamental scopes of anticipated performance of the organization. Hence, the CSF analysis will provide GFH with an improved understanding of the required strategic information for the future of the business. Practically, the CSF analysis of GFH will examine the business objectives and ascertain the necessary elements that are needed for every objective. Afterwards, the necessary IS required to help the CSFs sustain GFHs business growth and success is identified. Consequently, by achieving the CSF analysis, GFH will be able to position itself properly in the marketplace (Ward Peppard, 2003). Therefore, it is essential for GFH to constantly monitor all the CSF, to make certain their performance is up to standard. In addition, the CSF analysis will provides real support for the development of a strategic IS plan, as it focuses on key activities for business success as a result preventing any focus on trivial activities. Furthermore, it enables proper allocation of resources to key areas of the business during the development of a strategic IS plan (Avison Fitzgerald, 2003). Recommendations on IT Infrastructure The recommendations and design of the functional structure of the future information technology (IT) department and conceptual technical architecture of the future information technology (IT) department of GFH was proposed to help GFH overcome the difficulties they face. As stated in the case study, the main concern at the moment is incorporating networking functions into the business activities of GFH to lessen their manual processes. Basically, GFH will use the strategy of e-vision opportunities, e-marketing and e-operations. As implementing the e-vision opportunity will entail using innovative business ideas like changing their normal manual processes of manually booking from customers and keeping physical records of customers. They should be able to automate these processes by using a computerized system electronic booking processing system for booking accommodation. This way, GFH will be able to generate a method of understanding the needs of customers and it will also ensure t hat there is a surge in the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes at GFH. Similarly, GFH can also implement the e-marketing strategy by moving most of it business activities to the internet, so that they will be able to maximize customer interaction at GFH. This is achievable, since the automated systems in place. Practically, with the automated system, it will change certain functions at GFH and drive GFH towards web-based creativity; hence the e- marketing opportunity will be applied in the process as it’s connected to customer interaction that centers on the use of web-based creativity to change the strategic technique used to interact with customers. Lastly, the e-operation opportunity should be used to transform GFH strategy for business by using web technology to enhance the operations of GFH. In addition, GFH will be able to develop an electronic database for customer to amass details or information concerning their booking. Thus the recommendation for this aspect of the network an activity of GFH is that a new and dedicated server should be installed to sustain better and faster networking activities. The system should be able to monitor the speed of the network and the network usages as well as the number of users at any particular time. Furthermore, for security purposes, the installation of firewall is a must to ensure that the network packages are filtered. Also, a firewall will stop any outside virus from attacking the new network system. Furthermore, GFH will be saving or cutting operations cost by adopting a printer sharing strategy; where the printers will be programmed to run as network printers, therefore supporting any printing requirement from different departments within GFH. However, the future functional structure for the IT department will be designed to ensure that GFH is able to deliver reliable services on a regular basis to its customers. The new functional structure will allow GFH practice appropriate configuration management in supporting all of its IT applications/services. Evaluating the information system needs and requirement for golden fleece hotel and developing strategic information system plan Executive Summary Evaluating the information system needs and requirement for golden fleece hotel and developing strategic information system plan Executive SummaryIntroductionBackgroundReview of Problem EvaluationBenefits of IS Strategic PlanConclusionRecommendationsWhy SWOT Analysis?Why Critical Success Factor (CSF) Analysis?Recommendations on IT InfrastructureReferencesRelated Executive Summary This project is designed to get in detail from survey and past relevant literature the impacts of Information System(IS) adoption in sponsoring company and be able to produce a report that will help in advising the   management and the owner of Golden Fleece Hotel (GFH) on the feasibility of the IS in their business and proffer a recommendation on the adoption of the IS strategy. Currently, the sponsoring company has not employed any form of IS strategy in their business activities. They currently depend on the traditional (face-to-face) business means. However, the management have decided to take step forward in expanding their business, on that process this project has been requested by GFH owner and the manager with the aim of getting decision management support. The data gathering of this project will be through survey such as research of relevant academic literatures such as journals and books. Subsequently, the collected data will be analyse and produce a clear and relevant management supporting report which will help to solve the real life problem. Introduction In the history, the relationship between an organizations strategic plan and information systems (IS) was of little importance to the organizations management – as information systems were seen as the same with data processing concerning corporate issues and it was systematical placed as a back-room operation for the running of everyday tasks. However, in current times, information systems has become an essential part for the management of organizations, thus there has been an increasing realization for the incorporation of information systems into the strategic planning of organizations. This is because, information systems and information technology (IT) enable organizations flourish – as it helps organizations grow in scope, offer improved services and innovative products. However, the development of a strategic IS plan concentrates on identifying the most appropriate IS for an organization and the implementation plan – with its main objective to ensure the alignment of the current business strategy with a new IS strategy (Earl, 2003). Additionally, a strategic IS plan can be interpreted as a formal exercise, where successions of consistent steps are embarked on, which results in the definition of IS requirements as well as the identification of a lasting strategy.   This project will avail Golden Fleece Hotel (GFH) – the case study of this project, with a framework focused on enhancing GFHs future and at the same time, provide GFH with technological infrastructures that will support the business to cope with business changes. Thus, the next chapter comprises of a review of certain aspects of this project, such as the sponsor’s details, overview of research chapter, the objective, scope and structure of the project. Background The project sponsor is Golden Fleece Hotel; a privately-owned Hotel (Medium Enterprise) that provides full hotel services such as reservation, restaurant and client services. The hotel was founded in the year 1999 in South Yorkshire and provides catering to customers in two basic group- business people and pleasure travelers that wanted a more personal hotel experience. The hotel’s top management team comprises of two (2) persons – the owner and the Manager. The hotel has four (4) main Units: Restaurant/Catering, Housekeeping, Reservation and Client Services.   Despite the size of the hotel, GFH still operates business in a traditional manner with poor information technology (IT) infrastructure for their business processes. The hotel does not have any form of electronic commerce (e-commerce) system like website and online transaction support system. However, they always fill a paper card any time they need to get their customers details as a means of making reservatio n and showing of their business services. In order to fit well in today’s dynamic information era, GFH plans to increase its business operations and services so as to respond to the needs of their customers and the changing situation of their business. Review of Problem Currently, GFH is not conducting business in modern way, they still work manually. This shows that majority of their business with customers are always carried out in person or through paper works. However, GFH have a substantial amount of customers that want to contact or make reservations with them in modern way (via internet), but GFH do not have the technological infrastructure to connect with its clients. They have a number of employees that are lacking significantly in IT and technical skills, for this reason this made GFH ability not to achieve its desired goals and objectives. Finally, GFH has no formal IS strategic plan to define its management activities that will enable the business achieve its business objective. Additionally, the research into the development of IS strategic plan will be evaluated and reviewed to allow the selection of the suitable methodology(s) for the development of the plan for GFH. However, the next chapter covers the evaluation of the project succe ss. Evaluation From the literature, different development methodologies have different foci and structure; hence leading to different planning or development methodologies for SISP. For instance, Porter’s Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and Critical Success Factors (CSF) methods; the VCA focuses on events that concern adding direct value to an organization while CSF ensures the concentration of the vital requirements concerning the IS need of an organization. Both methods have different structure and focus. However, as VCA focuses on adding direct value, it consequently puts IS straight into the domain of adding value to the organization instead of cutting cost. Practically, VCA simply offers organizations a model that covers advanced level information, but on the other hand, fails to tackle issues concerning the development and application of the plan. Nonetheless, Porter (2001) argued that in order to ensure success in the application of the plan, organizations need to formulate their business strategy in a way that integrates either cost leadership, market differentiation or focus in an appropriate way to attain a viable long-term competitive lead in their preferred market area. However, Kim and Mauborgne (2005) argued that Porter’s value chain model is not the only alternative for organization, as it concentrates solely on internal processes as an alternative to data, thus it does not properly outline the data structure required by the organization. They argued further â€⠀œ that an alternate way to achieve the SISP implementation success with profits and high growth as well as gaining a competitive edge, is for organizations to create a Blue Ocean Strategy that goes beyond Porters model – by concurrently pursuing both the low cost and differentiation strategy at once. For instance, DELL Computers had an initial strategy to sell directly to the customers at a lower price, thus making their service distinctive from other competitors. They also provided a toll-free telephone number and special (online) features or enhancement in their services as they allowed direct interaction with their clients which helped them understand their client requirements better. However, Pant and Hsu (1995) advised that it is essential for Porter’s VCA to be implemented in combination with selected methods that will tackle issues concerning the development and application of the plan as well as outline the right data structure. Similarly, the CSF is thought to be useful, as it enables the development of IS around the success factor and is a method extensively used (Seddon, et al. 2002), but conversely a comprehensive strategic IS plan cannot be performed with it – as there is no definition for the data architecture (Pant Hsu, 1995). Nonetheless, this is not to say that the CSF method cannot be used for SISP development, because in the case of GFH, it could serve its purpose as CSF analysis is easily performed as well as conducted with little resources. Similarly, the SWOT analysis requires little resources and typically reflects an individual’s current position and perspective of the organization involved in the analysis. However, this perspective can be misrepresented to explain an earlier decided course of action instead of being used as a method to uncover new possibilities. Also, the threats from a SWOT analysis could be seen as opportunities, however, it depends on the persons or groups involved in the analysis. However, in the case of GFH, the synergy of strategies will not guarantee success for the organization, but in accordance with Mentzas (1997) viewpoint of SISP development, a multi-phase study of GFH business should be conducted before the implementation of a strategic IS plan – so that the synergy of strategies can enhance the organization. Basically, the multi-phase studies are considerations that concern the environment of an organization as well as the alignment that should accompany the configuration of GFHs environment with the business strategy of GFH. However, the stages of the multi-phase study suggested by Mentzas does not cover difficult organizational phenomena that are swayed by human factors; thus it scarcely covers the human aspects, underlying forces and contextual realities concerning the development of a strategic IS plan (Lindsay, 2003). Nevertheless, this is not to imply that the strategies/models in this literature cannot be used for the development process of a strategic IS plan. They can be used in an organized way that enables each strategy look after the lapses of the other strategies; just as Earl’s advocated the use of multiple methodologies for the development an information systems strategy; and in accordance with the findings from Meckel et al., (2004) survey, Small Medium Enterprises use a combination of methods/methodologies to develop their strategies for the enhancement of their business. Thus, developing an IS strategy for GFH may involve the use of multiple methodologies, with the aim of evolving IS into the products/services of GFH as well as creating new strategic opportunities through the use of IS. However, the level and type of strategy to implement is normally determined by the significance of information systems to the organization, the nature of the organization, and the organizationâ €™s current environment (Robson, 1997). Consequently, the formation of an IS strategy for GFH will involve essential factors – for instance organizational structure, culture, the business strategy, technical infrastructure containing the availability of technical skills as well as the perceptions and prospects of employees; thus, highlighting the dynamic nature and requirements of an information systems strategy. However, the formation of an information systems strategy is subjected to continuous modification – as the interest and perceptions of the main groups and actors involved in the development process changes (Walsham Waema, 1994). Nonetheless, the methodology(s) that will be used to develop a strategic IS plan for GFH will focus not only on being conceptual or managerial but on the environment and suitability of IS in GFH. Benefits of IS Strategic Plan Brown (2005) suggested that recognizing and understanding the importance of information systems for an organization is essential to ensure that information systems are implemented strategically. However, an important benefit of IS strategic plan for GFH will be novelty, because it will create value for the business. Fundamentally, introducing new technologies in an organization is simply associated with novelty (Power, 2006). Furthermore, Information System strategic plan will assist GFH to develop new standards for their business, increase the throughput of employees, reduce operations costs, and encourage collaboration within and outside the business plus improving customer satisfaction and services (Shore, 2006). Practically, integrating IS into GFH will bring benefits of effectual communication between them and their customers, because it will conquer the concerns of culture, time and distance. Furthermore, with the help of databases, the business associates of GFH will enhanced consistency and support in relation to collaboration. Essentially, the reason why most organizations adopt Information System is to move their business into the international space of competitiveness, since information systems helps and supports such ambitions (Ward Peppard, 2003; Applegate et al., 2008). Though, information systems benefits can be categorized as tactical, strategic and operational – where measurements concerning tangible and intangible are classified under operational (Turban et al., 2005). But, the tangible benefits GFH will achieve from implementing IS strategic plan which comprise – the inventory reduction and improvement in productivity. Whereas the intangible benefits include innovative or enhanced processes and standardization in relation to systems integration (Turban et al., 2005). Nevertheless, GFH will also achieve some strategic benefits like there will be increased in growth; market share and leadership will improve competitive advantage. Conclusion The aim of this project was to develop a strategic IS plan for GFH. However, the SWOT and CSF analysis was used to critically evaluate both the internal and external environment of GFH. Additionally, in relations to the theories and processes of IS strategic plan discussed in the literature review, a good integration was developed to ensure that the literature review theories and processes were implemented in the practical elements of the project, as the processes and methodologies for developing a strategic IS plan was followed. Also, GFH’s business operations were evaluated and its business plan aligned with the recommended IS strategies by means of the CSF analysis. Moreover, the content of the literature review served as a guideline for the development of the entire strategic IS plan. Therefore, this goes to prove that the content in the literature review was comprehensively integrated into the project’s practical elements. Nonetheless, the information systems were basically recommended to completely support the business strategies of GFH, as detailed implementation plan was proposed. Nevertheless, the SWOT and CSF analysis was used to significantly evaluate both the internal and external environment of GFH and therefore, one can say that the product delivered to GFH satisfied the scope of GFH’s requirements. Recommendations Practically, todays’ operational effectiveness and efficiency in most organizations can be seen as a strategic plan. This means that it’s possible for an organizations strategic plan to arise from anywhere, anybody, or from comprehensive planning as well as from trial and error. However, strategic thinking is the best way of doing things as strategic planning and the synthesis involved are simply contributors of the entire strategic development phenomenon. Nevertheless, from the literature covered, selecting methodology for an organization like GFH is determined through the suitability of the methodology into the organizations situation. Additionally, the literature in this chapter has shown that it will be difficult for one methodology to completely support the full analysis, development and implementation of a strategic IS plan. Therefore, I will apply or use the strategy that allows the use of multiple SISP methodologies. In other words, I will choose a number of methodologies used by SMEs from the findings of Meckel et al., (2004) survey to formulate a strategic IS plan for GFH. Moreover, during the selection of methodology, it is important to think through the amount of resources made accessible for the development phase. Thus, a resource issue for the development phase of is the confinement of time and man power for the SISP development. As a result, the SWOT analysis will be used in the formation of an IS strategy for GFH, as it requires little man power and the time duration required for its development is minimal. In addition, the SWOT analysis is simpler and straightforward when compared with Porter’s Five Forces analysis. In addition, the CSF analysis will also be used for integrating the business-IS strategy and the identification of information systems requirements. This method will be used, as it focuses on the information necessity, which is required by GFH. Why SWOT Analysis? This methodology – SWOT analysis was carefully chosen to enable the evaluation of GFH’s strength and weakness as well as their opportunities and threats. Basically, in relations to the strength and weakness, emphasis will be on the internal environment while for the opportunities and threats, emphasis will be on the external environment. However, the primary aim of the SWOT analysis is to attain continuous competitive advantages for GFH through the implementation of strategies that use the internal strengths of GFH, by reacting to the environmental opportunities, and simultaneously reducing the effect of external threat as well as circumventing the internal weakness of the company. Consequently, enabling SWOT analysis to produce a comprehensive plan, as the threats and weaknesses established in the SWOT analysis will be prevented. On the other hand, SWOT analysis can allow an organization to use a lazy course by looking for strengths that fit opportunities and overlook the opportunities that they feel cannot be used to their advantage. However, in order to avoid this lazy approach, the SWOT analysis would be used to identify the best opportunities for GFH and then plans will be in place to stretch GFH to ensure that they meet these opportunities. Nonetheless, the assessment area in relation to SWOT analysis is greater than that of Porters Value Chain Analysis – for the reason that SWOT concentrations on both the internal and external environment of an organization, whereas Porters Value Chain concentrates only on the internal environment; thus offering more advantages when compared with Porters Five Forces. Furthermore, the assessment area of SWOT concerning the internal environment of GFH will lead to the identification of certain areas that will lead to exceptional accomplishments as well as critical failure features in GFH. This analysis will aid GFH maximize the strong elements/factors they have and avoid areas of weakness during decision making. Also, the assessment area in relation to the external factor will provide GFH the ability to analyze the external openings and threats concerning their competitors as well as creating a better understanding of customers needs, thus allowing GFH to assert itself properly in the marketplace and encourage the exploration of prospective strategic options (Robert, 2004). However, to portray a perfect picture of the SWOT analysis, Robson (1997) developed the SWOT matrix together with four kinds of exposures for risk that are incorporated into the SWOT matrix. The matrix shows the kind of reactions that may well be suitable to cope with every risk. A sample SWOT matrix and likely reactions are presented in Figure 6. Practically, from figure 1, the use of the SWOT matrix makes SWOT analysis easier to decide which task should be prioritized when compared to Porters Value Chain analysis or Five Force. Basically, the SWOT matrix makes it possible to identify possible risks visible in information systems and recognize ways to reaction to the risk. Why Critical Success Factor (CSF) Analysis? This methodology, CSF analysis – consists of a set of factors that include expertise and responsibilities that are considered as very important factors for the continuous success of an organization. Basically, CSFs are a small number of things that need to work aptly to make certain of an organization’s continued existence and success in the marketplace (Turban, et al., 2005). However, in the case of GFH, CSF analysis will help GFH enhance its business – as it will ensure information systems aid the business strategy of GFH by determining essential information requirement and activities that for the IS plan. According to Peffers and Gengler (2003), the CSF analysis of an organization centers on the fundamental scopes of anticipated performance of the organization. Hence, the CSF analysis will provide GFH with an improved understanding of the required strategic information for the future of the business. Practically, the CSF analysis of GFH will examine the business objectives and ascertain the necessary elements that are needed for every objective. Afterwards, the necessary IS required to help the CSFs sustain GFHs business growth and success is identified. Consequently, by achieving the CSF analysis, GFH will be able to position itself properly in the marketplace (Ward Peppard, 2003). Therefore, it is essential for GFH to constantly monitor all the CSF, to make certain their performance is up to standard. In addition, the CSF analysis will provides real support for the development of a strategic IS plan, as it focuses on key activities for business success – as a result preventing any focus on trivial activities. Furthermore, it enables proper allocation of resources to key areas of the business during the development of a strategic IS plan (Avison Fitzgerald, 2003). Recommendations on IT Infrastructure The recommendations and design of the functional structure of the future information technology (IT) department and conceptual technical architecture of the future information technology (IT) department of GFH was proposed to help GFH overcome the difficulties they face. As stated in the case study, the main concern at the moment is incorporating networking functions into the business activities of GFH to lessen their manual processes. Basically, GFH will use the strategy of e-vision opportunities, e-marketing and e-operations. As implementing the e-vision opportunity will entail using innovative business ideas like changing their normal manual processes of manually booking from customers and keeping physical records of customers. They should be able to automate these processes by using a computerized system – electronic booking processing system for booking accommodation. This way, GFH will be able to generate a method of understanding the needs of customers and it will also ensure that there is a surge in the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes at GFH. Similarly, GFH can also implement the e-marketing strategy by moving most of it business activities to the internet, so that they will be able to maximize customer interaction at GFH. This is achievable, since the automated systems in place. Practically, with the automated system, it will change certain functions at GFH and drive GFH towards web-based creativity; hence the e- marketing opportunity will be applied in the process as it’s connected to customer interaction that centers on the use of web-based creativity to change the strategic technique used to interact with customers. Lastly, the e-operation opportunity should be used to transform GFH strategy for business by using web technology to enhance the operations of GFH. In addition, GFH will be able to develop an electronic database for customer to amass details or information concerning their booking. Thus the recommendation for this aspect of the network an activity of GFH is that a new and dedicated server should be installed to sustain better and faster networking activities. The system should be able to monitor the speed of the network and the network usages as well as the number of users at any particular time. Furthermore, for security purposes, the installation of firewall is a must to ensure that the network packages are filtered. Also, a firewall will stop any outside virus from attacking the new network system. Furthermore, GFH will be saving or cutting operations cost by adopting a printer sharing strategy; where the printers will be programmed to run as network printers, therefore supporting any printing requirement from different departments within GFH. However, the future functional structure for the IT department will be designed to ensure that GFH is able to deliver reliable services on a regular basis to its customers. The new functional structure will allow GFH practice appropriate configuration management in supporting all of its IT applications/services. References