The positive and negative effects of globalization free essay sample

Discuss the effective use of email and instant messaging in business communication. A vital factor in successful global business and economic development is the effective use of knowledge and information. Companies must not only provide the means for their workers to access important information and communicate it internally but also must provide them with the tools to communicate with audiences who have decided to pay attention via websites and electronic messages. As you read in Chapter 1, the continuous evolution of technology has expanded communication options. Email, instant messaging (IM), web communications, and voice and wireless technologies are important tools for accomplishing company goals. Advantages of Email Electronic mail, known as email, has quickly become the most used communication tool in many organizations. Its ready availability, convenience, and ease of use have resulted in its skyrocketing popularity over the last decade. The advantages of email are numerous: It facilitates the fast, convenient flow of information among users at various locations and time zones. We will write a custom essay sample on The positive and negative effects of globalization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mail service is often too slow for communicating timely information, and the telephone system is inconvenient and costly when communicating with people located in several locations and time zones. For these reasons, email is especially effective when sending a single message to several recipients and when needing to communicate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It increases efficiency. Email reduces â€Å"telephone tag† and unnecessary telephone interruptions caused when delivering messages that are unlikely to require a verbal response. It reduces costs. Sending email messages represents a substantial savings to companies in long-distance telephone costs and postal mail-outs. It reduces paper waste. Often, an electronic message can be read and immediately discarded without the need for a printed copy.  © Digital Vision/Getty Images View PDF Guidelines for Preparing Email Messages The principles of written style and organization that you learn throughout this book are applicable to email messages. Other techniques are specific to email. All of these tools will assist you in using informal communication channels more efficiently without jeopardizing the effectiveness of your message or damaging relationships with valued coworkers and outside parties. Back to Top P. 76 Bookmark Title: Top of Form Bottom of Form Standard Heading Email systems automatically show a heading format that includes To:, From:, Date:, and Subject: but the sender need only provide information for the To: and the Subject: lines. Sending an email message to multiple recipients simply involves keying the email address of each recipient into a distribution list and selecting the distribution list as the recipient. Useful Subject Line The subject line expedites the understanding of the message by (1) telling the receiver what the following message is about, (2) setting the stage for the receiver to understand the message, and (3) providing meaning when the document is referenced at a later date. Additionally, a well-written subject line in an email message will help a receiver sort through an overloaded mailbox and read messages in priority order. The following suggestions should be helpful in wording subject lines. Provide a useful subject line that has meaning for you and the receiver. Identifying key words will help you develop good subject lines. Think of the five Ws—Who, What, When, Where, and Why—to give you some clues for a useful subject line. Consider the following examples: View PDF Restate the subject in the body of the message. Opening sentences should not include wording such as â€Å"This is †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"The above-mentioned subject †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The body of the message should be a complete thought and should not rely on the subject line for elaboration. A good opening sentence might be a repetition of most of the subject line. Even if the reader were to skip the subject line, the message would still be clear, logical, and complete.  © Comstock Images/Jupiterimages View PDF Single Topic Directed Toward the Receivers Needs What do you hope to accomplish as a result of the message? Being clear in your purpose will enable you to organize and develop the content of your message and tailor your message to show how the receiver will benefit. An email message is generally limited to one idea rather than addressing several issues. If you address more than one topic in a single email message, chances are the recipient will forget to respond to all points discussed. Additionally, discussing one topic allows you to write a descriptive subject line that will accurately describe your purpose and effectively compete for the receivers attention—especially when the subject line appears in an overcrowded inbox. The receiver can transfer the single subject message to a separate mailbox folder for quick, accurate access. Lengthy messages may be divided into logical sections. Using headings to denote the divisions will capture receiver attention and simplify comprehension. Sequence of Ideas Based on Anticipated Reader Reaction Use empathy to determine a logical, efficient sequence of information that will gain the reaction you want from the receiver. As you learned previously, ideas should be organized deductively when a message contains good news or neutral information; inductive organization is recommended when the message contains bad news or is intended to persuade. In addition, email messages may use other bases for determining the sequence of ideas—for example, time (reporting events in the order in which they happened), order of importance, and geography. As a general rule of thumb, present the information in the order it is likely to be needed. For example, describe the nature and purpose Back to Top P. 77 Bookmark Title: Top of Form Bottom of Form of an upcoming meeting before giving the specifics (date, place, time). Otherwise, the receiver may have to reread portions of the email to extract the details. Careful Use of Jargon, Technical Words, and Shortened Terms You are more likely to use jargon and technical terms in email messages than in business letters. Because people doing similar work are almost sure to know the technical terms associated with it, jargon will be understood, will not be taken as an attempt to impress, and will save time. For the same reasons, acronyms, abbreviations, and shortened forms, such as info, rep, demo, pro, and stat, are more useful in email messages than in letters. In practicing empathy, however, consider whether the receiver will likely understand the terms. Remember that an international receiver or an external business partner may not understand your jargon or shortened language. Graphic Highlighting Graphical treatment is appropriate whenever it strengthens your efforts to communicate. Enumerated or bulleted lists, tables, graphs, pictures, or other images may be either integrated into the content of the email or attached as supporting material. The email message in Figure 5-1 illustrates guidelines for using this informal communication channel effectively in a professional setting. The director of loan compliance begins her email message to the loan officer with a short sentence alerting the loan officer to the new mortgage policies. The short paragraphs that follow include timely information and refer to the attachment. The message Figure 5-1 Good Example of an Email Message View PDF Back to Top P. 78 Bookmark Title: Top of Form Bottom of Form closes by inviting the reader to stop by the directors office if she has any questions. While email offers various advantages in speed and convenience, problems arise when it is used inappropriately. The following guidelines will direct you in the effective use of email messages. Effective Use of Email Established standards of online behavior have emerged to help online communicators send and receive email messages that are courteous while enhancing communication effectiveness and productivity. Learning fundamental netiquette , the buzzword for proper behavior on the Internet, will assure your online success. Check mail promptly. Generally, a response to email is expected within 24 hours. Ignoring messages from coworkers can erode efforts to create an open, honest, and cooperative work environment. On the other hand, responding every second may indicate that you are paying more attention to your email than your job. Do not contribute to email overload. To avoid clogging the system with unnecessary messages, follow these simple guidelines:  © Dino Ablakovic/iStockphoto. com View PDF Be certain that individuals need a copy of the email, and forward an email from another person only with the original writers permission. Never address an email containing action items to more than one person to ensure a response. This practice supports the old adage â€Å"Share a task between two people, and each takes 1% responsibility. †1 Avoid sending formatted documents. Messages with varying fonts, special print features (e. g. , bold, italics, etc. ), and clip art take longer to download, require more storage space, and may be unreadable on some computers. In addition, enhancing routine email messages does not support the goals of competitive organizations, and employees and clients/ customers may resent such frivolous use of time. Edit the original message when you reply to email if the entire body of the original message is not needed for context. Instead, you can cut and paste pertinent sections within a reply that you believe will help the recipient understand your reply. You can also key brief comments in all caps below the original section. Follow company policy for personal use of email, and obtain a private email account if you are job hunting or sending many private messages to friends and relatives. Use email selectively. Send short, direct messages for routine matters that need not be handled immediately (scheduling meetings, giving your supervisor quick updates, or addressing other uncomplicated issues). Do not send messages when you are angry. Email containing sensitive, highly emotional messages may be easily misinterpreted because of the absence of nonverbal communication (facial expressions, voice tone, and body language). Sending a flame , the online term used to describe a heated, sarcastic, and sometimes abusive message or posting, may prompt a receiver to send a retaliatory response. Email messages written in anger and filled with emotion and sarcasm may end up as evidence in litigation. Because of the potential damage to relationships and legal liability, read email messages carefully before clicking â€Å"Send. † Unless a response is urgent, store a heated message for an hour until you have cooled off and thought about the issue clearly and rationally. When you must respond immediately, you might acknowledge that your response is emotional and has not been thoroughly considered. Give this warning by using words such as Back to Top P. 79 Bookmark Title: Top of Form Bottom of Form â€Å"I need to vent my frustration for a few paragraphs† or â€Å"flame on—Im writing in anger. †2 Exercise caution against email viruses and hoaxes. An ounce of prevention can avert the problems caused by deadly viruses that destroy data files or annoying messages that simply waste your time while they are executing. Install an antivirus software program that will scan your hard drive each time you start the computer or access external devices, and keep backups of important files. Be suspicious of email messages from people you dont know that contain attachments. Email text is usually safe to open, but the attachment may contain an executable file that can affect your computers operations. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, are also common sources of viruses and spyware. Additionally, be wary of computer hoaxes— email messages that incite panic typically related to risks of computer viruses or deadly threats and urge you to forward them to as many people as possible. Forwarding a hoax can be embarrassing and causes inefficiency by overloading email boxes and flooding computer security personnel with inquiries from alarmed recipients of your message. If a hoax is forwarded to you, reply to the person politely that the message is a hoax. This action allows you to help stop the spread of the malicious message and will educate one more person about the evils of hoaxes. Develop an effective system for handling email. Some simple organization will allow you to make better use of your email capability: Set up separate accounts for receiving messages that require your direct attention. Keep your mailbox clean by deleting messages you are not using and those not likely to be considered relevant in a lawsuit. Set up folders to organize messages for quick retrieval. If you receive many messages, consider purchasing an email handler to sort and prioritize messages, send form letters as replies to messages received with a particular subject line, automatically forward specified email, and sound an alarm when you receive a message from a particular person. Instant Messaging IM or chat, represents a blending of email with conversation. This real-time email technology allows you to maintain a list of people with whom you want to interact. You can send messages to any or all of the people on your list as long as the people are online. Sending a message opens up a window in which you and your contact can key messages that you both can see immediately. Figure 5-2 illustrates a sample IM conversation that occurred as a follow-up to the loan compliance directors email message in Figure 5-1.  © Bulent Ince/iStockphoto. com View PDF Back to Top P. 80 Bookmark Title: Top of Form Bottom of Form Figure 5-2 Good Example of an Instant Message View PDF Business use of IM has experienced phenomenal growth. Analysts estimate that in 90 percent of companies some employees use IM, whether to close a sale, collaborate with a colleague, or just trade pleasantries with a colleague. 3 The best-known IM programs are free and require no special hardware and little training. With some programs, users can exchange graphics and audio and video clips. Many of the guidelines that apply to the use of email for business purposes apply also to IM. With IM, however, spelling and grammar matter less when trading messages at high speed. IM users often use  shorthand for common words and phrases. IM and telephone communication also share common challenges: being sure that the sender is who he or she claims to be and that the conversation is free from eavesdropping. Some managers worry that employees will spend too much work time using IM to chat with buddies inside and outside the company. They also emphasize that IM is not the right tool for every business purpose; employees should still rely on email when they need a record and use the telephone for the personal touch. Email and the Law Remember that you are responsible for the content of any electronic message you send. Because  © iStockphoto. com View PDF email moves so quickly between people and often becomes very informal and conversational, individuals may not realize (or may forget) their responsibility. If a person denies commitments made via email, someone involved may produce a printed copy of the email message as verification. Email communicators must also abide by copyright laws. Be certain to give credit for quoted material and seek permission to use copyrighted text or graphics from printed or electronic sources. Unless you inform the reader that editing has occurred, do not alter a message you are forwarding or re-posting, and be sure to ask permission before forwarding it. The courts have established the right of companies to monitor the electronic mail of an employee because they own the facilities and intend them to be used for job-related communication only. On the other hand, employees typically expect that their email messages should be kept private. Email has often become the prosecutors star witness—the corporate equivalent of DNA evidence, as it and other forms of electronic communication are subject to subpoena in litigation. Several perils of â€Å"evidence† mail that companies must address are illustrated in these cases:4 Including inappropriate content can humiliate and lead to conviction. Emails such as the one sent by a JPMorgan Chase banker Back to Top P. 81 Bookmark Title: Top of Form Bottom of Form  © ImageState-Pictor/ImageState/Jupiterimages View PDF warning a colleague to â€Å"shut up and delete this email† or the emails exchanged by Wall Street investment houses discussing increasing stock ratings to â€Å"please investment clients† are likely to be used in court as evidence of inappropriate business behaviors. Failing to preserve or destroying email messages in violation of securities rules is a sure path to destruction. Arthur Andersens destruction of Enron-related messages led to a criminal conviction and eventually to Enrons implosion. Using inability to locate emails and other relevant documents demanded by the courts (negligence) is unacceptable to the courts. Penalties have included monetary fines assessment of court costs or attorneys fees and dismissal of the case in favor of the opposing side. On the other hand, evidence mail can protect a company from lawsuits. A company being sued by a female employee because a male executive had allegedly sexually abused her retrieved a trail of emails with lurid attachments sent by the female employee to the male executive named in the case. 5 To avoid the legal perils of email employees must be taught not to write loose potentially rude and informal email messages; to avoid casually deleting emails; and to take the time to identify and organize relevant emails for quick retrieval

Methods of Attribution †Psychology Research Paper

Methods of Attribution – Psychology Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Subtitle: Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of ‘traditional’ compared to ‘critical’ social psychological approach on attribution There are a lot of questions that people want to know the answer, most probably because human beings are curious at everything. Due to curiosity, people always want to know how other people think and why others think that way. Laymen try to explain others behaviour by ‘guessing’, they think it is a rather common sense thing to do; but psychologists try to generate theories to explain and predict attributions by scientific methods. Attribution generally means beliefs about the causes of behaviour that attributing causes to certain events which it is an important part of language. And attribution theory is a conceptual framework within social psychology dealing with lay, or common-sense, explanations of behaviour. Traditional social psychologists use experiments to ascertain how particular stimuli would affect causal attributions for particular events. There are several theories of causal attribution which Heider was seen as the founding father of attribution theory. He made crucial foundation towards attribution theory that he argued it was essential to know what people believed as it would guide ones behaviour. He viewed layperson as a naà ¯ve scientist seeking to find an explanation for everything. Heider classified two types of attribution: personal attributions (dispositional) and impersonal (situation attributions) ones. The theory suggested that it is all about motivations whether one should be responsible for their behaviour or their behaviour is caused by external factors. Heider’s work was built upon Jones and Davis (1965)’s correspondence inference theory which they suggested people interpret behaviour or acts in terms of stable underlying qualities, or characteristics, of the actors. There are several reasons for correspondent inference: free will, non-common effect, social desirable action, hedonic relevance, and personalism. Though this theory has significant historical impact, its impact has been limited. Kelley (1967, 1973) assumed that there should be different factors that cause a behaviour and she tried to separate out which effects are to be attributed to which of several factors. She claimed if two events repeatedly occur together, then we are more likely to infer that they are causally related. Kelley suggests people consider three variables when making attributions. The first one is distinctiveness which refers to the extent that people behaves in the same way to other stimuli. Secondly, she mentioned about consistency that refers to the extent to which people has behaved in the same way in the past towards the stimulus. Lastly, it is consensus which refers to the extent that other people behave in the same way towards the same stimulus as people whose behaviour we are trying to explain. People who weigh up those variables above make either a dispositional or situational attribution. There was also theory like fundamental attribution error that suggest there are bias in attributing other’s behaviour more to internal factors than to situational factors because of focus of attention (people’s attention on the situation have generally found greater level of situational attributions) and differential forgetting (tend to forget situational causes more regularly). In contrast to casual attribution theories, Semin and Manstead (1983) argue that research into attribution lacks ecological validity as experimental research into attribution sets out to explicitly ask someone why they believe people chose a particular course of action. However, it does not necessarily they will make causal attributions in the same when they are not called upon to explicitly explain their answers. And this suggestion contradicts Kelley’s co-variation model where it seems difficult to imagine that we always take different factors into account when making quick decisions. On the other hand, majority of the research has been conducted in Western cultures that imply the theories suggested may not take cultural variations into account. Critical social psychologists argue that attributions are rarely made solely at an individual level. They are the result of cultural and social forces which provide different information based. Traditional attribution theories underestimate the extent to which attributions are articulated through the uses of language and discourses especially. Besides, mass media play a big part in analyzing relationships that may affect our understanding of relationships which traditional social psychologists do not take into account, nevertheless, critical psychology places a greater emphasis on the role of discourse and attempt to engage more with the content and nature of conversation than traditional social psychologists. Recent research has been conducted in different areas such as relationships which have yielded more complex models of attributions. Fincham and Bradbury (1988) claim when a relationship is sound, people are less motivated to engage in engaging in sophisticated thought when making attributions and vice versa yet this does not take into account the cultural and historical variability in couple relationships. Smith and Harris-Bond (1993) so suggest that the difference between individualist and collectivist cultures leads to different attribution styles as the role in a relationship is different between two cultures. Traditional social psychology places emphasis on the fact that people often make attribution errors and suggests that the way people view the social world can occasionally be flawed. Critical social psychology on the other hand stress that people are quite realistic who rarely make mistakes because they use strategies and personal experience to interpret an attribution. Moreover, traditional social psychology fails to take into account the emotional factors behind attribution. Human beings have feelings, thoughts and emotions which all influence the attributions that one make. In conclusion, stresses the uniqueness of each individual failing to take into account how culture mediates understanding the world. On the other hand, it also fails to take into account other social processes such as social influences and the construction of knowledge by more powerful groups in society. People do not draw upon just their own personal constructs when making decisions. They actually use knowledge from a range of other sources such as books, experience, other family members and friends etc. People do not just use alternative constructs from within our own cognitive systems. Research Papers on Methods of Attribution - Psychology Research PaperThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseResearch Process Part OneRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andHip-Hop is ArtBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

The Itnerarium Pereginorum et Gesta Regis Ricardis (The Chronicle of Research Paper

The Itnerarium Pereginorum et Gesta Regis Ricardis (The Chronicle of the Third Crusade) - Research Paper Example The paper is also meant to inform the readers of the figures that were behind the crusade and how each of them contributed to the struggle of rescuing and maintaining the ruler-ship of Jerusalem. The genre with which this work is written is kind of a narrative with blends the illustrations and examples that vividly make the reader grasp every element of the author’s thought. The text is elaborate and the evidences given are backed by references from other works thus authenticating it beyond doubts. The text though seems to be biased towards its analysis and projection of the opponent, the Muslim, who is the occupant of Jerusalem. Their leader Saladin is portrayed as a bad person yet to some extent the things that he did were much similar to those that Richard of England did. Richard is defended in the text for his deeds and he is showered with praises all through the text. Firstly, Richard is portrayed as a leader and a warrior who is a schemer with great intelligence. He thin ks ahead of time and he takes due consideration of his subject. During the initial stages of the third crusade, he knew and he had a feeling that it was very possible to conquer Jerusalem, but it needed more than that1. In his wisdom, there was a possibility of the win but maintaining the city after the conquest would pose a great challenge for him. This is because the soldiers and the crusaders would have loved to go back home to their people who had missed them. As the King, he had the authority of forcing the soldiers to take guard of the city but instead, his understanding stood open and in that consideration, he laid further strategies of laying the attack without offending his people both at home and in the battlefield. In the effect of this, Richard upon the in-depth analysis and understanding of the situation. He came to the realization that the dual combination of the Saladin’s powerful control of Egypt and Syria permitted him to in effect take control and surround t he crusaders. Because of his deep concern for others and the loyalty that he enjoyed, he had the stamina of power and humor of love that made him a powerful man in the crusade. He had the audacity to face danger and even in the farce face of defeat, he lost no hope and with resilience, he often snatches victory from the hand of defeat. This made his people believe in him. It is a natural thing that people would always follow the leader who assures them victory even in the face of confusion. His strategies were clear and even when there was uncertainty in the direction to follow, he promised victory by offering clear formula and methods of war and attacks2. Richard is further portrayed to have human attitude. He is empathetic and never had he wanted to put people to death. This is a thought which is quite paradoxical. When he was faced with conflicting situations, he had no choice but to slay a number of people. At the time, he wanted to make advances to the south, he was faced with a situation. He had two options; to set the war prisoners free or to leave a section of his soldiers in the guard or to kill them. As a rational thinker and a competent soldier, leaving a section of his soldier to take captive the prisoners would weaken his force.

Philosophy-Licensing Parents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy-Licensing Parents - Essay Example The process of licensing individuals would inevitably hassle or perhaps devastate individuals seeking to participate in such an activity. However, LaFollette argues that this is the cost of protecting innocent victims from actions that Frisch classifies into four broad categories: (1) risks arising out of ignorance, (2) risks arising through physical or mental incapacity, (3) risks arising from willful misconduct, and (4) risks arising through negligence or inability to exert self-control over behavior (Frisch, 1981, p. 173). LaFollette’s case relies on proving two criteria for regulatory licensing: that â€Å"parenting is an activity potentially very harmful to children† and that â€Å"a parent must be competent if he is to avoid harming his children† (LaFollette, 1980, pp. 184-5). These two claims cannot be disproved: they are clear facts, as both LaFollette and Frisch acknowledge. Frisch also acknowledges the strength of LaFollette’s claim that regulation is â€Å"a fundamental task of any stable society† (Frisch, 1981, p. 173). Nevertheless, the dispute originates from whether parenting is analogous to other activities, or if it can be controlled by regulation. It may be that parenting cannot be modified or changed by any amount government control. LaFollette argues the prior restraint of licensing for drivers or physicians is â€Å"not terribly onerous† but that the â€Å"restricted activity is one which could lead easily to serious harm† (LaFollette, 1980, p. 189). These are the risks (that could happen) Frisch believes societies undertake licensing to reduce. Frisch proceeds to develop, based on his four categories of risks, a non-arbitrary distinction between parenting and other regulated activities. With respect to ignorance, there is no empirical reason to believe that with more knowledge of parenting (knowledge that can be taught descriptively anyway) parents will be more competent to raise a child in the same way

Social Model of Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Social Model of Disability - Essay Example It has multi-dimensional concept with both objective and subjective characteristics. Interpreted as an illness or impairment, Disability can be seen as fixed in an individual's body or mind. Whereas interpreted as a social context, Disability can be seen in terms of the socio-economic, cultural and political disadvantages resulting from an individual's exclusion by the non-disabled society he/she is in. Different stakeholders like persons with disabilities; Social advocacy groups, Medical practitioners, Social workers and the General public all have a different view of disability. And the meaning of Disability has evolved over the years through various perspectives such as a moral perspective, a medical perspective as well as social and human rights perspectives. The core definition of the British social model comes in the UPIAS document, Fundamental Principles of Disability. Let me quote from an edited version of the document reprinted in Oliver (1996), " In our view, it is society, which disables physically impaired people. Disability is something imposed on top of our impairments by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society. Disabled people are therefore an oppressed group in society. To understand this it is necessary to grasp the distinction between the physical impairment and the social situation, called 'disability', of people with such impairment. Thus we define impairment as lacking all or part of a limb, or having a defective limb, organism or mechanism of the body and disability as the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by a contemporary social organization which takes little or no account of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes them from participation in th e mainstream of social activities." (Oliver, 1996, 22). The British social model contains several key elements. It claims that disabled people are an oppressed social group. It distinguishes between the impairments that people have, and the oppression, which they experience. And most importantly, it defines 'disability' as the social oppression, not the form of impairment. The Social approach to Disability has its roots in British history. The social model is much more developed in UK. It has been called 'the big idea' by the British disability movement (Hasler, 1993). Developed in the 1970s by activists in the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS), it was given academic credibility via the work of Vic Finkelstein (1980, 1981), Colin Barnes (1991) and particularly Mike Oliver (1990, 1996). The social model has now become the ideological litmus test of disability politics in Britain, used by the disabled people's movement to distinguish between organizations, policies,

Critical Analysis of Business and IT (BIT) Alignment

Critical Analysis of Business and IT (BIT) Alignment Abstract This paper is a critical analysis of two academic papers from peer-reviewed journals, each investigating the Business and IT (BIT) alignment topic that has been a top concern for IT practitioners for two decades (Cahn, 2000). The papers have been selected as they adopt contrasting research strategies qualitative and quantitative. The objective of this analysis is to highlight the positive/negative points in both papers in terms of the researchs aim, objectives, design, and method and to propose an alternative research strategy for each paper. The investigation concludes that both papers had positive and negative points, regardless of their philosophical positions and design strategies. Choosing between qualitative and quantitative methods or mixing them depends on the studys questions; both methodologies have their strengths and weaknesses. The main issue for any research is the credibility of its findings, regardless of the researchers philosophical position. Introduction and Analysis Structure This paper is a critical analysis of two academic papers from peer-reviewed journals, each investigating the Business and IT (BIT) alignment topic that has been a top concern for IT practitioners for two decades. (Cahn, 2000) For many years, a number of researchers have emphasised the importance of BIT fit in organisations to achieve competitive advantage (Luftman et al., 2005). Reich Benbasat (1996) define alignment as the degree of IT strategy necessary to support a businesss mission, objectives and plans. Many studies have been conducted to understand and assess the relationship between business and IT in organisations, most of which have adopted a quantitative methodology to validate empirically the relationship between IT investment and organisational performance and to provide credible evidence of the positive impact of aligning IT strategy to business strategy. Therefore, it was difficult to find a good qualitative research paper in this area (Cahn, 2000). The first paper (paper 1), entitled Understanding the business-IT relationship (Coughlan et al., 2005), follows a qualitative methodology and the second paper (paper 2), entitled Factors affecting IT and Business alignment: a comparative study in SMEs and large organisations (Gutierrez et al., 2009), follows a quantitative methodology. It is important to note that this work is not a comparison of the two papers; therefore, the papers are analysed separately to achieve a clearer picture. This paper is organised in the following way. Section 3 covers paper 1, highlighting its positive/negative points in terms of the researchs aim, objectives, design, and method. In addition, an alternative research strategy is proposed. Section 4 covers paper 2 in a similar way. The conclusions and implications of adopting different research strategies are discussed in section 5. Paper 1 Introduction This paper provides an insight into the Business and IT (BIT) relationship (alignment) in organisations taking a communication-based view on the concept of BIT alignment (Coughlan et al., 2005:303). In other words, it provides contextual insight into the BIT relationship, with particular reference to the organisational communication process. The authors noted that organisations need to develop and sustain a strong BIT relationship to benefit from the value-added development in todays demanding economy. BIT alignment is a complex process that involves creating many crossover links between different parts of the organisation and requires a strong BIT relationship. However, this relationship has suffered a divide that stems from the failure to justify high IT expenditure compared to business benefit. According to Coughlan et al. (2005), communication problems are the main contributor to the BIT relationship divide; therefore, a social-oriented approach was proposed to understand the flo w of information in organisations. This is an interpretive research paper adopting a case study strategy with which to collect and analyse qualitative data via semi-structured interviews, in order to achieve an in-depth understanding of the communication process in the BIT relationship context. The lack of the literatures attention to communication issues in the BIT relationship context was the driver for this inductive approach (Saunders et al., 2007). Research Purpose The research aim is to provide insight into the Business and IT (BIT) relationship in organisations via the following objectives: Identifying the areas and issues that affect communications in organisations (Coughlan et al., 2005:307). Categorising communication issues in organisations (Coughlan et al., 2005:306). Mapping the connections between organisational issues to the way in which they relate to IT (Coughlan et al., 2005:306). Investigating how different facets of the communication process interact in real life (Coughlan et al., 2005:307). Rationale for conducting this study The importance of the research topic was well justified by addressing the following points: Communication problems within the BIT relationship context are a major concern for both researchers and practitioners (Coughlan et al., 2005). Communication problems are a main contributor to the BIT relationship divide (Coughlan et al., 2005). Poor BIT communications are normal in the financial sector; therefore, the banking industry has created a new organisational role the Relationship Manager (RM) to deal with relationship communication problems (Coughlan et al., 2005). Despite the importance of communication within the BIT relationship and implications for the RMs role, there has been little attention given in the literature (Coughlan et al., 2005). Previous social studies (structuration theory and actor network theory) have provided theoretical analyses of the complexity between an organisation and its IT infrastructure, therefore a more practical approach required to empower practitioners with solutions. Research design A four-dimensional communication framework (PICTURE), based on Shannon Weavers (1994) classic model of communications, was used to guide the study. PICTURE was originally devised to improve IT system design: The acronym PICTURE represents real life communication components and their application: (1) Participation and selection; (2) Interaction; (3) Communications activities; (4) Techniques Used for Relationship Establishment. (Coughlan et al., 2005:306). The framework was used to guide the identification of important areas in the complex communication process. A clearly articulated conceptual framework is an important tool for guiding semi- structured interview themes, and provides a structured approach to interpreting the findings (Smyth, 2004). The study was conducted on a major high street UK bank, referred to as FinCo for reasons of confidentiality. Furthermore, the study was conducted at one point in time, focusing on two key areas of the organisation retail banking and IT. The retail banking division was chosen specifically because it is the biggest customer of the IT division, and research suggests that retail banking has deep organisational divisions (Coughlan et al., 2005). FinCo is an informative case for the following reasons: It has a rapid and extensive uptake of IT. IT is closely integrated into the organisation to support its information management processes. FinCo starting a relation management programme to facilitate BIT communications. FinCo has separated BID activities, creating a divide. Yin (2003 34-14) defined a case study as an empirical inquiry which investigates a phenomenon within its dynamic real life context to allow researchers to understand complex issues, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. A case study strategy with underlying interpretive philosophical assumptions was an appropriate choice for this study, since the aim of this work is to provide insight into the Business and IT (BIT) relationship in organisations (Coughlan et al., 2005:303), adopting a behavioural and social-oriented view, with communication difficulties featuring as a major determinant (Coughlan et al., 2005:304). The authors addressed the framework limitation by noting that the framework was used in this study to identify areas that affect the communication process and not as a measurement tool. Recognising and noting the research limitations is always good practice, as it gives future researchers a starting point to continue the study in this area. Research Method and Data Collection According to Coughlan et al. (2005), the communication process is dynamic and complex, involving individuals with different perspectives. A qualitative data collection method was adopted to provide deep understanding of the processs state, with reference to FinCos retail and IT relationship. This method is appropriate because it focuses on uncovering participants perceptions and experiences, which are difficult to uncover with a quantitative method (Ghauri Gronhaug, 2002). Coughlan et al. (2005) used semi-structured interviews to collect data, which were conducted with top-level managers from both retail banking and IT to capture their perceptions of both organisational areas. Each interview session lasted an hour based on a set of prepared questions and extra questions to expand on the relevant question. The questions were designed to probe for experiences, thoughts and opinions relating to BIT relationship perceptions. There was no explanation as to why the semi-structured interview methodology was chosen over unstructured interview or focus group methodologies, which are better suited as unstructured interviews are often used in case studies to uncover information without limiting the field of inquiry (Punch, 2005). Although Coughlan et al. (2005) noted that the interviews covered the spectrum of top-level managers, there was no mention of the sampling method used to justify the chosen number of interviews. My assumption is that the judgemental sampling method was used, since it is a very popular choice in qualitative research and involves the choice of participants who are in the best position to provide the required information (Saunders et al., 2007). The authors did not discuss reliability, which is a common criticism of qualitative researches. However, qualitative researches argue that reliability is not an issue in qualitative methodology because research replication is not feasible due to the complexity of the research topic and context. Nevertheless, credibility could have been promoted through any of the following: audio recording of the interviews to reduce interviewer bias during data analysis (Ghauri Gronhaug, 2002); providing the interviewees with a list of interview themes to allow them to gather supporting organisational documents that could be used as secondary data (Triangulation); using a respondent validation technique by submitting research findings to the interviewees to confirm that the findings represent the social reality (Bryman Bell, 2007). Alternative Research Strategy The research problem should always drive the research method (Cryer, 2006). As discussed earlier, the aim of the study is to provide insight into the Business and IT (BIT) relationship in organisations identifying relevant areas and the issues (variables) that affect communications in organisations. A pure quantitative strategy is not an option for this study, as this can only be used when the studys variables are identified clearly. In other words, researchers generally have a very clear idea on what is being measured before they start measuring it. Nevertheless, a mixed methodology can be used to improve confidence in findings and to overcome qualitative strategy limitations. Mixed method studies attempt to bring together methods from contrasting research strategies. The authors could have started with a qualitative research method, e.g. in-depth interviews with BIT managers from different organisational levels followed by a thematic content analysis of the transcribed interview ma terial to help understand and identify communication issues in the organisation. Once they identify the communication areas and issues with reference to the BIT relationship in this organisation, they can test the credibility of the findings by conducting a questionnaire survey of other BIT managers in other organisations. An online questionnaire with close-ended questions is best here for ease of administration. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be complementary when used in sequence (Bryman Bell, 2007). Summary The research objectives and questions were not explicitly or clearly exhibited in this paper. In a well structured research paper, a research objective should be clearly defined and expressed within the research purpose section, and it is very important to clearly define the research questions to help form research objectives (Saunders et al., 2007). A comprehensive literature review was conducted to justify the importance of the research topic. A case study strategy with unstructured interviews would have been more suitable for an interpretive approach, but the research method section was very short, which affected transferability; qualitative researchers are encouraged to provide a detailed description of their methodology and findings to give others the option of adapting these findings to their environment. For example, a clear mapping between PICTURE components and the semi-structured interview questions would add more credibility to the study (Bryman Bell, 2007). Paper 2 Introduction The main aim of this study is to identify the organisational size impact on the way they perceive Business and IT strategic alignment and the relationship between the alignment factors and their planning integration strategy (Gutierrez et al., 2009). Gutierrez et al. 2009 noted that IT alignment remains one of the top issues for top-level IT managers, and for the past two decades many studies on Business and IT alignment have been conducted, starting with alignment definition, how to achieve it, factors affecting it, and its value to organisations. Most of these studies provided a theoretical understanding of this process, and a few of them provided practical solutions to measure alignment; however, these models could not be generalised as they were case-specific. According to Gutierrez et al. (2009), various alignment factors have been identified, e.g. prior IS success, the communication level between business executives, domain-shared knowledge and planning integration. Most of these studies were based on large organisations. The research approach is positivistic, seeking to identify and measure the importance of the business and IT alignment factors (variables) with reference to organisational size. It utilises an appropriate quantitative methodology, i.e. conducting a survey of a sample of top-level management respondents to collect data via an online questionnaire (Saunders et al., 2007). Research Purpose A positive aspect of the study is that the objectives were clearly depicted as below: To identify whether small, medium and large enterprises have different perceptions as to which of the factors described by Luftman (2000) in the strategic alignment model (SAM) are more relevant to attain alignment (Gutierrez et al., 2009:198). To identify whether there are any correlations between the factors and the planning integration strategy adopted in the organisations (Gutierrez et al., 2009:198). Although the research objectives were clearly defined in this paper, the research questions were not explicitly or clearly exhibited. Clear research questions leave the reader in no doubt as to exactly what the study seeks to achieve (Saunders et al., 2007). Research design Gutierrez et al. (2009) analysed many scholarly alignment assessment models systematically, which were categorised to identify practical models that used data analysis to score factors affecting alignment. The analyses helped to identify four sets of authors Reich Benbasat 2000, Hussin et al. (2002), Chan et al. (2006) and Sledgianowski et al. (2006) whose models are appropriate for the context of the study (see Appendix1). The latters work was based on Luftmans Strategic Alignment Model (SAM). The authors demonstrated that a critical literature review was conducted to justify the choice of Luftmans SAM and to include organisational size and planning integration factors, as they were not explored in enough detail. Justifying the above measures is a positive aspect of the paper (Saunders et al., 2007, p.54). Gutierrez et al. (2009) chose SAM as an assessment model for this research for the following reasons: It can be used to assess any level of alignment in an organisation. It has been validated via Sledgianowski et al. (2006)s extensive study. It covered most of the alignment factors used in the other three models (see Appendix A). The study adopted a comparative cross-sectional design to collect quantitative data from a large number of cases (managers) at a single point of time; the data were related to predefined variables (factors and attributes) (Bryman Bell, 2007). Research Method and Data Collection An initial questionnaire with twenty-one questions was tested by twenty-two professionals to assess the participants understanding of it. The feedback resulted in changing the questionnaire to include only twelve relevant questions to map to SAM factors: communication, competency/value measurement, governance, partnership, scope and skills (Gutierrez et al., 2009:203). In addition, the analysis of the pilot test data confirmed the importance of planning integration and its three stages independent, sequential and simultaneous. Pilot testing is crucial to a self-administered questionnaire in order to ensure there are no problems with the questions. Furthermore, it enables the researcher to assess the questions validity and the reliability of the collected data. An additional short questionnaire could have been used to obtain structured feedback (Saunders et al., 2007). Gutierrez et al. (2009) explained that conducting an online survey with a standardised set of questions was appropriate for this study, as there is no room for individual interpretation and it provides easy access to a large number of participants in different geographical locations. This is a positive point in terms of justifying the choice of the research method, but there was no explicit explanation as to the relationship between this method and the implicit positivistic research approach. This is a general criticism of quantatative papers. While Gutierrez et al. (2009) discussed the reasons for choosing executives, managers and top managers as targeted participants, it was not clear as to whether they were business or IT managers. This distinction should have been made very clear, as the questionnaire was designed to measure both IT and business peoples perceptions of the alignment factors importance, e.g. in the communication factor section of the questionnaire, participants were asked to rate two attributes. The first question rated the understanding of business strategies by the IT department (this should be answered by IT people to accurately represent the reality), while the second question rated the understanding of IT capabilities by the business department (this should be answered by business people) (Gutierrez et al., 2009:205). This is a two-way measurement and requires participants from both sides this is an extremely negative point that could affect the findings reliability and validity and could have been avoided by either describing the targeted participants in more depth, i.e. justifying this choice in terms of their suitability to provide representative answers, or by redesigning the questionnaire so that some questions could be answered by different respondent categories. Neither the limitations nor the sampling process are discussed. It is important to follow a sampling process that includes the following sequential activities: defining the population, choosing a sampling frame, selecting a sampling method, determining sample size, specifying an operational plan, and finally executing the plan. Following this process will help in achieving a representative sample and consequently help the researcher to be confident about the studys findings. Another positive outcome of this process is the ability to calculate the response rate, which is a decisive factor in evaluating the reliability of survey results, i.e. findings are seen as more accurate if the response rate is high. The response rate was mentioned very briefly: organisations around the world were requested to participate in the survey by telephone to achieve a better response rate (Gutierrez et al., 2009:206). In addition, the data collection section mentioned that a total number of 161 response s were collected and only complete questionnaires were used for data analysis. The questionnaire design was appropriate in terms of including the studys identified alignment factors. It had two parts, the first of which contained questions with regards to the respondents organisational profiles and the level of planning integration. The second part covered the factors prioritisation. Another positive aspect of the research design is that organisational size was defined to achieve consistency when referring to a small, medium or large organisation. Data Collection The data collection section was very brief; hence it would be very difficult to replicate the study. Moreover, the phrase organisations around the world (Gutierrez et al., 2009:205) is a very weak description of the population. According to Gutierrez et al. (2009), a total number of 161 responses were collected and only 104 complete questionnaires were used for the data analysis. The data collection section should be detailed to allow for replication, which provides some assurance of the results validity, reliability and generalisability. In addition, Gutierrez et al. (2009) used the term survey instead of questionnaire on more than one occasion throughout the paper. It should have been noted that there is a clear distinction between a survey and questionnaire the first is a method and the second is a tool used for this method (Saunders et al., 2007). Alternative Research Strategy The research strategy should always be driven by the research aim. An interpretive qualitative strategy is not applicable in this study, as the main objective of this study is to measure the relationship between well-defined variables. Qualitative methods are used mainly to study human behaviour and behaviour changes, and are more applicable if the research topic is new and there is not much in the literature to guide the researcher. As discussed earlier, many studies on Business and IT alignment factors have been conducted for the past two decades, during the process of which the alignment factors have been identified. Summary This paper is well structured in general and the research objectives clear. However, the research questions did not explicitly present the research strategy. The research design had a few negative points, e.g. a targeted population and the size were not defined clearly. Ideally, research papers should include a measure and measurement section to address the targeted population, concept indicators and instrument reliability and validity. However, not all researchers follow the recommended practices, e.g. some rarely provide information about stability tests and measurement validity and only 3% of research papers provide measurement validity information (Bryman Bell, 2007). The data collection method is appropriate for achieving the research objectives, as conducting a survey is a popular choice amongst positivist methods. Nevertheless, a clear justification for the choice of this data collection method in the light of the research design would add more credibility to the paper. No at tention was given to error control, e.g. sampling-related and data collection errors. The best part of the paper is the abstract section, which is very structured and clear. Additional structured interviews with Business and IT executives in other similar organisations, utilising the same questions used in the questionnaire, would help in overcoming the above gaps and confirm the studys findings. Conclusion Two research papers that followed contrasting research methodologies were analysed critically. Both papers had positive and negative points, regardless of their philosophical positions and design strategies. In any credible research paper, well-defined and clear objectives are vital, as they should lead the research design and, consequently, the method. Hence, defining the research problem is the first and most important step of the research process, as it is highly likely that an unsuitable research design and method will be selected if the research problems are not defined clearly. Choosing between qualitative and quantitative methods or mixing them depends on the studys questions; both methodologies have their strengths and weaknesses. For example, qualitative research provides complex textual descriptions of peoples behaviour that cant be provided by a contrasting methodology, since quantitative research focuses frequently on the study of meanings in the form of attitude scales. The main issue of any research is the credibility of its findings, regardless of the researchers philosophical position. This can be achieved by utilising multi methods (data collection triangulation within the same research strategy) or mixed methods (qualitative followed by quantitative and vice versa) (Saunders et al., 2007). Researchers are trying to find effective ways to incorporate elements of the contrasting strategies to ensure the accuracy of their studies. As a result, mixed, or combined, methodology research is becoming increasingly popular in the business and management field (Bryman Bell, 2007).

eli whitney Essay -- essays research papers

Eli Whitney   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before the invention of the cotton gin, Americans would remove cottonseed by hand. Slaves were hired to complete this procedure. This would take a very long time and something had to be done. Later on, a man named Eli Whitney invented a device called the cotton gin. The cotton gin is a machine for removing the seeds from cotton fiber. His invention could produce up to fifty pounds of cotton each day.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eli Whitney was born in Westboro, Massachusetts in the year 1765. As a child, he was very talented in machinery. He worked as a blacksmith and invented a nail making machine. Whitney had a dream to go to Yale College, and worked extremely hard to achieve his goals. He finally got accepted and graduated at the age of 27. When he graduated, he found that there were no jobs in engineering and decided to take on teaching. This also didn’t work out so he stayed on his friends’ cotton plantation. He found that the plantations were soon going to go bankrupt because of the high cost of producing cotton at such a slow pace. Many people realized that a device was ne...