Impact of Technology on Business free essay sample

Impact of Technology On Business Q) What is the impact of technology on business? Explain with the suitable example of financial service sector. Ans) Introduction Technology affects almost every aspect of our lives. Just look around you and youll see how wired we are. Thanks to the Internet, virtually anything you desire can be delivered to your door in a matter of days. You can even trade stocks or file taxes online. But as much as our personal lives have changed, the business world has revolutionized almost beyond recognition in the past few decades. Technology and the advances in communication and information technology have changed the face and the pace of business. As communication and information travels faster and faster, the world seems smaller and smaller, and this has large implications for the way we conduct business. Storing important in files on a computer rather than in drawers, for instance, has made information easily accessible. We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of Technology on Business or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Using e-mail allows businesses to communicate and send these files quickly to remote locations outside of an office. Wireless Internet, Video Conferencing and BlackBerries have made it easy to work from home or for that matter, from the beach. The fact that its easy to work from the home compels people to do so. In this way, technology has made life easier. So, exactly how has technology changed the way we do business? In countless ways, but well highlight the major ones as under. Effects of Technology on Business Businesses have been at the forefront of technology for ages. Whatever can speed production will draw in more business. As computers emerged in the 20th century, they promised a new age of information technology. But in order to reap the benefits, businesses needed to adapt and change their infrastructure.

Political parties goal and interest group goals essays

Political parties goal and interest group goals essays One of the Democrats goals is to support abortion rights as a fundamental constitutional liberty for all women. Second, they also oppose eliminating the affirmative action program. Third, they support balancing the budget by 2012. Furthermore, the Demarcate party endorses more charter school and more public school choices. However they do not support issuing vouchers for private school. Therefore, The National Education Association (NEA) interest group does have the same goals as the Demarcate party because they think that voucher would not help the Public School system. The NEA is supporting other programs like smaller class size of 15 students. On environmental issues the Democrats supports tax credits to preserve open spaces and create parks and to improve water quality. The Greenpeace an independent campaigning organization is suggestion that action is taken regarding genetically engineered food. I think this interest groups listed about try to influence public policy as a w ay to protect or advance their groups issues. I think sometimes their issues are to intense or to narrow to really impact all citizens. The Republican goal is to oppose abortion rights because the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life. They also feel that affirmative would be achieving equality on the job by stressing equal opportunity without quotas or other preferential treatment. They support a constitutional amendment to require a balance budget. On education would like parents to take a share of federal education money to a school of their choice. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) also supports focuses on academic achievement, student behavior and smaller classes. So the Republican get little support from educational interest group whose common causes is listed above. On the environmental issues the Republican would allow oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. So his support from Sierra Club grassr ...

Choose a global business and critically analyse the organisational Essay

Choose a global business and critically analyse the organisational structure adopted by the company since 2008. Investigate the - Essay Example Some of the key products of the company are pointer telegraph, electric train, electron microscope, automation system, the most powerful gas turbine of the world as well as cardiac pacemaker. Siemens has been named the largest electronics company in the Europe by Bloomberg (Thiel, 2007). Strong labour resource acts as one of the major strengths for the company and it heavily depends on its workforce. The structure of the organization has undergone a major change in the last decade. Initially, the company was segmented into five primary divisions, such as Industry, Energy, Infrastructure and Cities, Healthcare and Siemens Financial Services (SFS) (Siemens, 2013b). All these divisions were administered by the CEO of the company. Each of the primary divisions has a large number of subsidiaries operating in nearly 190 countries in the world, both developed nations and underdeveloped nations. The global presence of the company is the basis of its competitiveness in the industry (Siemens, 2013c). Siemens has maintained organizational value on the grounds of quality standard of the products offered by the company, technological excellence of the production process, reliability and trust on the employees and its undeviating focus on international expansion. With expansion of business organizational structure had become complex due to long hierarchies and large number of corporate units under each of the five segments of the company. In the last decade, the company has come across a rough business terrain. During 2007 Siemens was accused of a huge bribery case. Corruption was rooted deep into the transactions of the company. This has given rise to considerable public scrutiny on the company and drew the company into controversies. It hampered the smooth functioning of the company which led the organizational leaders to adopt a major structural change in the organization. The new organizational structure has been aimed at making the organizational framework lean and flex ible. This paper presents a detailed study of the new organizational structure of the company and the positive and negative impacts this change has cast on the company’s strategic management, its corporate culture and functional aspects. Methodology This paper looks into the effects of organizational structural change on the management of the company and its long term performance. The study has focussed on the structural change made by Germany based multinational Siemens. This is a qualitative study made on information collected through review of existing literature as well as information available on company website. Only secondary sources of information have been used for this study. Sources of information include books, articles published in journals and working papers and online sources of information. The changes made in the organizational structure have been presented at first followed by the investigation of positive and negative aspects of these changes on different f actors affecting organizational performance. Main Findings Siemens has brought about major changes in the company and has adopted an altogether new structure. The management of the company has decided to maintain prime focus on three sectors. These are the industrial sector, the energy sector and the healthcare sector (Siemens, 2007). The company aims at staying close to the customers and acknowledge customers’ feedback at all levels of decision making of the company. The strategy focuses on

Knowledge Representation - The true value of knowledge in an Essay

Knowledge Representation - The true value of knowledge in an organisation - Essay Example Learning as well as knowledge has been found to go together along with complimenting each other. It has also been learnt to involve numerous years for the comparatively developed nations to make approaches from agricultural form to knowledge-motivated and finally to industrial economies. This particular transformation is believed to keep constantly provoking the organizations towards enhanced performance (Benett & Benett, 2004). The notion of knowledge management was learnt to be quite fresh during the previous decade which resulted in creating significant degree of apprehension and enthusiasm. The subject of knowledge management also attracted noteworthy amount of attention and acknowledgment for its related prospective with regard to manipulate the freshly identified positive feature in terms of knowledge which in its course is believed to elevate the degree of effectiveness of the organizations. A definite notion was also deciphered during the century that organizations were competent of enhancing their proficiencies with the help of learning which was further observed as quite likely to lead towards dexterity as well as gaining enhanced competitive advantages (Benett & Benett, 2004). . From a similar perspective, this paper will intend to assess the significance of knowledge management in organizations with reference to its related strategies. This paper will also intend to focus on the imperativeness of knowledge management in organizations and the various strategies in relation to knowledge management. The idea of knowledge management is still regarded as a fresh field and thus, a noteworthy degree of learning in the way of trial and error is yet constantly taking place. However, knowledge management has been observed to emerge victorious in structuring quite an imperative number of processes that have proved to be successful and ascertained its worth in relation to quite a number of firms as they still keep exerting

Electronic Recruiting System Description Assignment

Electronic Recruiting System Description - Assignment Example EmployDIVERSITY, Inc. offer employers the job posting prices for members and non-members. A single job posting which will go online for 30 days is charged with $75.00. The company, however, offers more affordable packages for five or 10 or more job postings which charge recruiters $60.00 and $50.00 respectively for a one-month posting service (â€Å"Job Posting Rates,† n.d.). Basic and Plus membership plans, moreover, are offered for $199.00 and $499.00 per quarter accordingly with services like free 10 to unlimited jobs postings in the duration of four months as well as unlimited resume bank access, unlimited resume search agents, free corporate profile and a link to a corporate web site with specified user access for each (â€Å"Job Posting Rates,† n.d.). The site of JobMonkey, Inc., on the other hand, turns out to be more affordable for employers as it costs $5.00 less than the first company’s price and for a duration twice longer as the first while four and six-month-period single job postings are given for $117.00 and $156.00 respectively (â€Å"Post a Job,† n.d.). Additionally and on the contrary to the first, JobMonkey, Inc. offer non-standardized packages that are designed specifically to suit the individual company’s needs. Setting up of a company profile, banner advertising, and access to job seeker database services are also offered and for specified fees. Featured employer listing service which will be posted on their Featured Employer section which will be charged with a $300, $500, and $700-rate for a three, six and 12-month service period is also considerably advertised as the feature is seen to increase job seeker visits to the company’s employment webpage and thus, faster recruitment process (â€Å"Post a Job,† n.d.).

The Relationship Between Mental Illness and Crime

The Relationship Between Mental Illness and Crime The relationship between mental illness and violence has long been a subject of debate and a general course of concern within the mental health profession, the public, correctional systems, and the criminal justice systems. As a result this has led to an increase in research being focused on the reasons why mentally ill people commit crimes. Debate about the need for, the nature of and care of people with mental illness is based on the idea that most of the individuals with mental illnesses are more likely to commit criminal and violent behaviors to themselves, their close family members, close friends and the public than those without mental illnesses, largely due to their state of mind. The relationship between mental disorder and violent acts cannot be exaggerated. Some researchers state that violence is linked to psychosis and that people who have mental illness also fall into the category and should reflect that connection (Lidz, Banks, Simon, Schubert and Mulvey, 2007). Some other researchers state that substance abuse accelerates violent acts among people with mental disorder (Lurigio and Harris, 2009). After a survey of researches the main question lies thus; what is the relationship between mental disorder and violence? How can you connect the dots between mental disorder and violent acts? In this paper, I shall review certain researches that buttress their points about the relationship between mental disorder and violence and after this, I shall also state researches that disagree with the idea that individuals with mental disorders engage in violent acts. I shall then put into consideration the Canadian Law in response to this issue. Then I shall draw a conclusion stating the relationship, if any, between individuals with mental disorder and violence or in the absence of any relationship state the need for further research. SUBSTANCE ABUSE, MENTAL DISORDER AND VIOLENCE. During the past decade, several researches have examined people with mental disorder and their participation in violence in order to see if there is any relationship. Out of all these, substance and alcohol abuse in relationship to mentally ill patients and their participation in crime have appeared to be pre-eminent. For example Lurigio and Harris (2009) proposed that substance abuse was a precondition for assaultive and violent acts among people with mental disorder; unemployment, perceived threats and past violent factors accelerated acts among people who were mentally ill. Although Felthous et al (2009) agrees with this relationship, they argue that in measuring the relationship between mental disorder and violence the nature of aggression should be put into consideration. In a study by Livingston et al (2003), carried out on individuals charged with the NCRMD in British Columbia, it was stated that 21.0% of their cohorts had previously committed an offence while under the influence of alcohol or non-prescription drugs. Furthermore, studies have shown that the association between mental illness and violence is often reduced or eliminated when substance and alcohol abuse is actually taken into account (Silver et al, 2008). If substance and alcohol abuse were the pre-determinants of violent beha vior among mentally ill patients, does it mean that the eviction of these two factors would reduce crime? Reports state that lifetime prevalence of severe domestic violence among mentally disordered patients ranged from 30%- 60% with higher rates reported for women than men in most studies (Howard et al, 2010). Felthous et al (2009) tells us to consider patients who act violently in response to commanding hallucinations and congruent delusions; this tells us that substance abuse may not always be a pre-determinant factor. PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, MENTAL DISORDER AND VIOLENCE The importance of psychological symptoms in explaining the criminal and violent behavior among individuals with mental disorder and their participation is an issue of major experimental complexity. Research has been conducted on the general population, incarcerated offenders, psychiatric patients and a cohort of new born babies. Yet these researches are still subject to questioning. A body of research has taken a stance that psychological symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, medication compliance and treatment adherence are predictors of violence among people with mental disorder (Teasdale, 2009). Teasdale (2009) took into consideration the psychological factors, recent findings consider the gender nature of coping with delusional beliefs and that women and men may respond differently to the experience of psychopathological symptomatology and this may affect their participation in violent acts (Teasdale, Silver and Monahan, 2006). However in a retrospective longitudinal study conducted on prisoners convicted on the count of mental illness, Silver et al (2008) disagreed with the above analysis stating that alcohol and drug use are particularly important control variables because of their strong association with violence and mental illness. In analyzing the role of psychological symptoms in determining violence among individuals with mental disorder, John M.W Bradford (2008) identifies comorbidity as a common factor in the association between mental disorders and violence and proposed that there is a significant possibility of reducing the levels of violence by improved risk assessment and treatment intervention. Also in a research of 282 male patients with schizophrenia and 261 male patients with affective disorders, Modestin and Wuermle (2005) found that 34% out of 282 patients with schizophrenia and 42% out of 261 patients with affective disorder had a criminal record and more than half of a total of 543 patients (52%) had co-occurring substance abuse. They concluded that individuals with schizophrenia without comorbid substance abuse were at an increased risk of violent criminality than their affective disorder counterparts who had a greater probability of committing property offenses; this suggests that there is a menial link between psychopathology, mental illness and violence. Research on the effects of specific psychotic symptoms has also yielded opaque findings, for example in examining the role command hallucinations have to play in the violent acts of mentally disordered people, studies have shown that it does not generally predict violence, but that auditory hallucinations involving command of violent acts increased the likelihood of violence (Frank Sirotich, 2008). However the need for further research is needed in this field to unwrap the role psychological symptoms have to play in crime ( Bradford, 2008). HISTORICAL, SOCIOECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, MENTAL DISORDER AND CRIME In considering the effect of historical factors such as parental violence, parental crime, delinquency in prior to adulthood has to play on crime, Frank Sirotich (2008) stated that a history of delinquency prior adulthood has been found to be a significant factor in relation to violence and criminality. After reviewing the samples of mentally disordered individuals, he said that among mentally disordered people, juvenile delinquency, early arrests and young age at index offense have been found to be robust predictors of criminality and violence among mentally disordered people. ÃÆ'-ncà ¼ et al (2007) conducted a study in the psychiatric unit of a general hospital in Turkey to array the effects socioeconomic and demographic factors have to play in the violence of psychotic patients. The study included 70 male psychotic patients (excluding delusional and shared psychotic disorder) that were hospitalized in a forensic psychiatry unit for compulsory treatment and was compared to 70 mal e patients (also treated at the acute clinics of the same hospital) with a psychotic disorder but without a criminal history. They found out that independent of having a job, having social security that provides treatment opportunity, using their parents security or getting pay by the government, protects the patient from committing a crime; social security that provides treatment is an independent protective factor against committing a crime among people with mental illness. In analysing the reason for recidivism rates among incarcerated mentally disordered offenders Sirotich Frank (2008) found that parental crime was found to be related to violent recidivism among mentally disordered offenders and to self-reported violence among psychiatric patients discharged from hospitals. Also a study sample carried out on 145 male and female psychiatric patients showed that out of all the 145 patients, after a follow-up was done, 31 were stable, 67 were hospitalized and only 47 were arrested, out of the arrested, 37 had a history of violence (Yates et al, 2009). In a study done by Livingston et al (2003) on individuals with mental disorder and their history violence, it was shown 63% of their cohorts were involved with the justice system prior to their NCRMD adjudication, 33.8% had 1 to 4 convictions, 13.8% had 5 to 9 convictions, and 15.4% were convicted of 10 or more offences. This shows that having a history of violence also accelerates crime among people with m ental disorder. However the need to show the relationship between historical, socioeconomic and demographic factors in relationship to mental disorder and crime is still open for further research, as research carried on it proposes an ambiguous result. CANADIAN LAW AND NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE ON ACCOUNT OF MENTAL DISORDER (NCRMD) As reinstated in this paper, people who have mental disorder are not criminally responsible for their crimes as they are suffering from mental illness. But how does the Canadian Law address this? The Criminal Code (NCRMD) pertaining to the crimes of the mentally disordered was an amendment to the law NGRI (Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity) reasons were because the NGRI was in violation of Sections 7 and 9 of the Canadian Charter Rights of Freedoms. Now under Section 16(1) of the Criminal Code, offenders are now considered to be not criminally responsible than not guilty (Livingston et al, 2003). In the Canadian criminal laws and practice, the issue of mental disorder can be raised prior to trial if there are doubts about the defendants fitness to stand trial or criminal responsibility. There is a 5-day limit placed by the Criminal Code on assessment orders unless the litigant and the defendant agree to a period of no more than 30 days. According to Section 16(1) of the Criminal Code 3 of Canada, (Roesch et al, 1997) Every person is presumed not to suffer from a mental disorder . . . until the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities(Roesch et al, 1997 p.510) For the NCRMD charge to be accepted as a defence the accused has to have committed the act and at the time of commission, be suffering from a mental disorder which makes it incapable for the offender to discern right from wrong i.e. the mens rea has to be absent. (Criminal Code, Part XX.1). But there are some suggestions that this law should be amended. For example, the criminal code does not authorize treatments for people with NCRMD, such treatment may or may not be provided under provincial law (Gray and OReilly, 2009) and there may be misconceptions or wrong application of sentence if the offender does not accept treatment. In a research done by Gray and Reilly (2009) on the Canadas Beautiful mind case, Scott Jeffery Schutzman, a.k.a. Scott Starson, diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, had a past criminal record before he was charged again with two counts of uttering death threats in 1998 and was charged with NCRMD, he refused anti-psychotic medications according to the Crimi nal Code, the judge may directà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a medical practitioner, that a specific treatment should be administered to the accused for the purpose of making the accused fit to stand trial (Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 672.58) After long years of court proceedings, Scott was not treated with drugs against his will. However he was still kept in detention because of the findings that suggested that he was not criminally responsible for making the death threats. This caused a lot of concern as to the amending of the Criminal Code concerning that field. Consider Scott who is now 52yrs old and has been detained in various institutions on the basis that he still poses a threat to normal safety. The Ontario Court of Appeal found that Scott still poses a real risk and psychological harm to members of the public by his threatening behavior which in the past included threats leading to death. It is also important to note that if he had been found guilty under the Canadian Criminal Code, his sentence would have been no more than 5yrs in prison yet because of the finding of the fact that he was charged with not criminally responsible, he has been detained in mental health institutions for more than 10yrs (McSherry, 20 08). This raises the debate, does the NCRMD support the mentally disordered offender, or is it better to be charged guilty for the actual crime? Cases like this have made researchers depict the importance of an amendment to be made concerning this law. In a follow up study carried out on persons found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder in British Columbia, Livingston et al (2003) stated that during a 1yr period following the Criminal Code amendments, only 25% of persons who were found NCRMD were given immediate conditional discharge by the courts. Most researchers (Roesch et al, 1997; Livingston et al, 2003; Gary and OReilly, 2009; McSherry, 2008) are of the opinion that the Criminal Code concerning NCRMD should be amended and slight changes should be made to the law as it does not recognize the fact that most mentally ill people who commit crimes are not in the right state of mind when they participate in crime. In the analysis of the relationship between mental disorder and violence, it can be observed that the relationship is opaque. For the mentally ill offender who has just been labeled a psychotic, the abuse of alcohol and other harmful substances or hard drugs might explain why he commits crime, for another mentally ill offender who is constantly suffering from command hallucinations suggesting violent acts and stress, he might be seen as an abnormal person if he does not respond to these commands, exceptions are very rare because his reasons for his participation in crime may be binding on forces beyond his control. Countless more cases would probably spring up. Though the Canadian law addresses all these issues adequately, further research could aid proper handling of cases as they arise.

The Use of Steroids in Major League Baseball Essays -- Expository Essa

The Use of Steroids in Major League Baseball He walked into his hotel bathroom and cautiously closed the door. Clanging his 60 lb. dumbbell against the floor, he set his travel bag full of needles on the counter. While filling his syringe with THG, he began to think about the consequences of his actions; it is a serious problem, but he doesn't have the willpower to give up the success rewarded from it. As the needle slowly penetrated through the skin and half way through his muscle, he unloaded the syringe and felt the steroids settle throughout his leg. He took a deep breath as he removed the needle, letting the last bit of steroids squirt out of the syringe. Mentally blocking the pain, he began curling his dumbbell to pump the steroids through his system. The next day, only two days after previously breaking the single season home run record, he broke his own record, again. Barry Bonds, the left fielder for the San Francisco Giants, shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, almost in disbelief at what he has accomplished that season, but he knew it wasn't just talent; he had to ruin history, and he cheated to do it. The previous paragraphs are a possible scenario for two athletes that have obviously been taking steroids: Barry Bonds, joined by Jason Giambi. Barry Bonds' personal trainer was personally connected with BALCO, the laboratory that created Tetrahydrogestrinone. Of course he is taking the steroids; his trainer took part in making THG. But, if that is not enough convincing information, Barry Bonds broke Roger Maris' home-run record by twelve home-runs. Roger Maris' record held for 27 years and was unable to be broken by some of the best athletes in baseball, and possibly all sports. It is unnatural for a ju... ...004. 18 Mar. 2004. . "Online Drug Test." Online-drug-test.com. 20 Mar. 2004. . "Players Ask Questions; Owners Wait for Counteroffer." Espn.com. 20 Jun. 2002. 17 Mar. 2004. 1397288.html>. "Report: Steroid Abuse Growing in Major League Baseball." Espn.com. 11 Oct. 2000. 19 Mar. 2004. 812487.html>. "Side effects of Using Anabolic Steroids." Steroids.com. 2004. 19 Mar. 2004. . Steroids. Steroids.org. 18 Mar. 2004. . Steroidtips.com. 20 Mar. 2004. . "What is Androstenedione?" Total Fitness Nutrition. Tfnutrition.com. 21 Mar. 2004. .