Business Driven Information Technology - Term Paper Example

? Business Driven Information Technology Chapter 4 IBM is regarded as one of the leading transnational organizations operating in the technology and consulting services industry. Since 1995, IBM has been maintaining a specific set of ethical standards regarding accountability, dependability and protection for managing its security services. These services are designed in order to improve its information security position along with lowering its overall cost of ownership. IBM is fully committed in order to follow certain guidelines regarding business ethics as well as lawful conduct. IBM strictly follows the laws and regulations regarding corruption, bribery and unethical business activities. By taking into consideration of these policies, IBM effectively secures its information assets in quite an ethical manner. The company delivers two types of services one is ‘Managed Security Services (MSS)’ and the other one is “Cloud Security Services (CSS)’. Through MSS, IBM offers ‘single management console’ by which IT department team frequently monitors its overall information infrastructure. With the help of CSS, the company provides an advanced technological platform called ‘IBM Virtual-Security Operations Centre’ by which it delivers high value services to its customers which does not require low cost security devices and maintenance (IBM, 2012). Apart from these two services, IBM also offers application & data security services, identify and access management services and IT & network infrastructure security services. With the help of these services, the company has been ethically capable to secure its information assets. Since the initiation, IBM has followed certain business conduct guidelines in quite an ethical way by which it has been able to maintain confidentiality among its service software, application and information assets. The company ensures that every level of personnel should comply with IBM directives, polices and mentioned guidelines. For instance, employee who expertise in specific areas such as procurement, tax, imports and export must also obey certain kinds of guidelines. IBM has extensive precious assets which comprise huge proprietary information such as the company’s intellectual property, confidential information assets, system software and physical property. The company’s wide variety of services helps to strengthen its abilities in order to ethically manage, digitize and secure its valuable assets (IBM, 2012). Recommendations for Additional Types of Ethical Practices and Security By taking into concern regarding IBM’s business code of conduct, it has been observed that the company secures its information assets in quite an ethical manner. However, it is necessary for the company to understand employees’ issues and satisfaction levels regarding business policies and working environment. IBM should assess whether or not the employees are comfortable with the specified laws and policies. IBM’s top level must understand and analyze every employee’s issues, behaviors and attitudes towards the workplace and should justify them in quite an ethical manner. Contextually, the security issue for IBM can be strengthened further with the frequent changes in passwords by the employees related to intellectual assets of the company such as project related blueprints among others. Upgradation of security software to track malpractices such as hacking of confidential organizational data can be ensured through use of firewall and augmentation of network security. Chapter 5 Steps taken by Popular Technology Manufacturers to Reduce E-Waste ‘Electronic Waste’ or ‘E-Waste’ is one of the rapidly developing problems all over the world. E-waste primarily consists of a huge amount of various components such as toxic materials and hazardous materials among others which create undesirable impact upon human health and environment if it is not dealt with adequately. The United Nations, non-governmental organizations and private IT sector companies have agreed to take serious initiatives in order to minimize the human health and environmental impacts that have emerged from electrical and electronic wastes. At present, most of the organizations are employing waste minimizing techniques and are following sustainable product related designs within their manufacturing units. Advanced technology manufacturing companies have started to take various initiatives such as effective inventory management, use of advanced production procedures and reduction of production volume. Moreover, sustainable product design comprises utilization of renewable materials and energy sources; adoption of advanced electronic equipments and machineries for packaging and manufacturing. In addition, the technology manufacturing companies are aiming to always maintain green packaging system and utilization of minimum amount of materials for packaging (Industry Leaders Magazine, 2012). At present, several organizations such as IT companies are trying to maintain proper control regarding the minimum utilization of raw materials. If a company produces e-waste then it ensures that on-site recycling is done through ‘inter industry trade’. These companies always maintain effective review and analysis of purchased raw materials in order track inventory system regarding the minimization of the production of e-waste. Advanced technology manufacturing organization aim to focuses on the minimum utilization of materials which can be considered as one of the best possible ways for the reduction of e-waste. In many decades before, there were large computers which occupied the full space of a room. However, due to the technological advancements the size of the computers has reduced from taking huge spaces to desktops. Moreover, it has been observed that due to the reduction in size of such electronic devices, subsequently, there is also a decrease in the amount of raw materials which are necessary for the production. In the same way, when hardware size decreases then the amount of e-waste produced and disposed will automatically be reduced. In recent scenarios, companies like IBM, mobile technology manufacturers and several other IT companies have started to use raw materials quite consciously and purchase only the amount which is necessary for the production. Through these procedures, they are able to minimize the adversity of e-waste. In this way, the companies also are able to lower their production cost and the materials they purchase are quite low in price than the new materials. Moreover, all these companies’ operational activities have quite improved and they always maintain certain procedures by which they successfully enhance the efficiency of the production procedure along with manufacturing equipments. Contextually, these companies also have done effective maintenance sessions where they take serious initiatives regarding the maintenance of production equipments because equipment failure might cause e-waste production (Mathew, Christos, & Bijikumar, 2011). Noteworthy Venture of E-Waste Recycling Business In the year 2010, it had been observed that international e-waste market grew by 10% and this particular market was anticipated to expand more in upcoming times. In 2011, it was estimated that the e-waste businesses in India and China would attain large market share of about 22% to 24% respectively in terms of value in the next two years. The major factor which is contributing towards the improvement in the process of e-waste recycling and e-waste management is the utilization enhancement of electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Another crucial factor behind the enhancement of e-waste business is the utilization of valuable raw-materials such as copper, lead and aluminum which are considered as a few e-waste components. By taking into consideration these overall factors, it is feasible to state that e-waste recycling business can become quite successful in the upcoming years (Industry Leaders Magazine, 2012). New Alternatives That Companies Can Adopt Regarding Reuse, Recycle and Reduce E-Waste Reduce, reuse and recycle are the three crucial aspects that people as well as organizations are initiating to comprehend and implement into their everyday operational activities. Its guidelines are quite significant and also essential in order to uphold sustainable life for both people as well as organization. The importance of reuse is considered as a crucial aspect where a majority of the organizations are quite concerned. At present, most of the manufacturing companies provide trays to their personnel in order to collect as well as reuse ‘one-sided paper’. IT and other technologically advanced manufacturing companies influence their employees to save and collect the paper on the one side of their desk. This one-sided printed paper can be reused in Xerox and fax machines. Moreover, these organizations also encourage their employees to reuse large envelopes as well as file folders through offering centrally located trays for its collection. Companies have started to sent information electronically, such as via e-mail and faxes if hard copy of the documents is necessary. Companies always focus regarding less utilization of printing information. In this regard, organizations also avoid unwanted mails which might be hacked or corrupt the system by which e-waste can be produced. In terms of recycling, modern manufacturing companies have started to use recycled raw materials so that after disposing those materials they can be reused for the manufacturing of new products (California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, 2012). Chapter 6 How the Crunch Factory Can Turn Its Low-Quality Information into High-Quality Business Intelligence ‘Business Intelligence (BI)’ is considered as a technique which is utilized to recognize, remove and analyze the business data in order to provide organizations an ‘in-depth’ vision of its operations. These systematic techniques can comprise online logical processing, calculation through statistical tools, data processing mining and predictive analytics. Through BI, an organization can take quick and better business decisions. Moreover, organizations recognize potential scopes by which they generate huge revenues and also provide effective ways to mitigate the risks as well as to attain compliances (Ranjan, 2009). In order to develop high quality BI, it is necessary to evaluate data quality attributes of The Crunch Factory in terms of accuracy, completeness, validity, accessibility, timeliness, reliability and consistency. Through these seven aspects of data quality, it is quite easy to analyze the negative aspects regarding data information. Contextually, with the help of these aspects, it is reasonable to relate the structure and the contents of data which are associated with poor quality of data information within Crunch Factory. It is also essential to assess data entry errors, duplicate records of the customer, mismanaged business policies and inaccurate data values. After considering the overall aspects, it is necessary to evaluate what actually is going wrong within The Crunch Factory. As a data quality expert, it has been observed that this company contains low quality of data-capturing standard, wrong data entry procedures and there is a lack of system interfaces due to which the company generally obtains low-quality business activity related information (TEK Systems Inc., 2012). In order to mitigate the problem regarding low-quality data information, it is necessary to initiate a data quality program for delivering high quality data to The Crunch Factory. This program should be conducted by the top level of management within the organization. The basic objectives of this program are ensuring decisions for obtaining fresh and accurate data and minimizing expenses which are incurred from unplanned services, unnecessary efforts and lengthened processing time. Moreover, this program delivers knowledge regarding the significance of quality data to the company, communicates to the employees regarding data quality improvement and provides information about the necessary elements of data that are essential to measure. Furthermore, this program also resolves the issues about the data quality of ‘cross-divisional’ enterprises and also defines the processes of reporting concerning the levels of data quality (Eckerson, 2011). Challenges Associated with Low Quality Information There are certain considerable challenges associated with low-quality information which were faced by The Crunch Factory. It has been observed that a few of the company’s system networks were unable to capture appropriate customers’ email addresses by which they created duplicate customers’ information within various system files. Inaccurate and low-quality information created a conflict regarding the sending of customers’ information from one gym center to another. Customers’ also created multiple accounts regarding membership and personal training sessions, due to which the company was unable to track the specific customer’s information. Benefits Associated With High-Quality Information High quality data information is a crucial aspect of a proficient supply chain network. Effective quality data information is not only essential for avoiding the errors within the supply chain but also it subsequently facilitates to increase the work efficiency, minimize the costs of operations and enhance customer satisfaction. Moreover, data quality also facilitates systematic approach by which an organization can successfully collaborate with its trading partners. Superior quality of products and reliable customer data information are essential in order to operate a business successfully. Business activities such as ‘Customer Relationship Management (CRM)’, ‘Supply Chain Management (SCM)’, ERP and e-commerce are comprehensively reliant upon accurate, reliable, consistent and valid data information in order to attain effective level of operational activities, huge volume of sales and customer services (The Global Language of Business, n.d.). Recommendations on How the Company Can Clean Up Its Data In order to clean up low-quality data, The Crunch Factory should implement data quality assurance program which would be conducted by the top level of management. Through this assurance program, the company can provide knowledge to its personnel regarding the utilization of high quality data in every aspect of its operational activities. Moreover, with the help of this program, the company can communicate with its personnel and show the way by which they can improve the data quality information. Chapter 7 New Wireless Devices That Entrepreneurs and Established Companies Can Use To Improve Their Business At present business scenario, the demand for accessing business applications through mobile technologies such as smartphones, tablets, Android running devices, Window 7 mobile phones and Wi-Fi technologies has transcended the business activities into a whole new generation. There is a massive adoption of these advanced technologies by which business managers across the world have efficiently positioned their organizations in order to attain successful competitive advantage. The up-gradation of mobile devices to tablet computers and smartphones along with updated version applications has been quite effective by which it has become convenient for the companies’ personnel to collaborate and communicate with staff, customers, suppliers and traders all over the world within quite a short period of time. At present, mobile technologies facilitate staff to use company resources and data with authentication at any part of the world. Advanced technologies such as Wi-Fi-enabled Toshiba’s UX600 LED TV, Wi-MAX technology of HTC EVO 4G smartphone, Samsung Galaxy Note 800 with Wi-Fi hot spot and Apple iPhone 5 among others can be frequently used by the entrepreneurs and established companies. All these advanced wireless communication devices help the user to manager in every aspect of business activities (Hayes, 2004). How Companies Can Use These Devices to Create Competitive Advantages, Streamline Production, and Improve Productivity Through these board ranges of wireless devices, such as Wi-Fi enabled smartphone or infrastructure, it can help business managers to inform its team members or trade partners regarding taken decisions and other business activities in any part of the world. These advanced technology based mobile devices and other wireless devices help companies to provide information regarding stock market at every point of time through pop up messages, by which managers are always aware regarding its company’s share price (AT&T Intellectual Property, 2012). Chapter 8 Difference between Product-Focused Business and Customer-Focused Business Product-focused business is considered as a type of business activity whose vision is to provide a unique set of resources to the team members, by which the team believes that they will successfully meet the market demands in any competitive situation. iPhone of Apple Inc is one of the superior instances of product-focused business where Steve Jobs developed a unique product that customers had not experienced before in their purchasing decision (TELUS Communications Company, 2006). Customer-focused business is an idea where decisions regarding the products are comprehensively based upon customer needs, wants and decisions which are effectively aligned with the overall objectives of an organization. This type of businesses is done through customers’ survey and by taking feedback from the customers regarding products and services. Organizations using customer focused businesses must provide strong performance in order to attain overall success of the business. Moreover, these organizations also need to ensure that entire performances and resources must provide first priority upon ensuring customer satisfaction (TELUS Communications Company, 2006). The Importance of CRM ‘Customer Relationship Management (CRM)’ is considered as a powerful and efficient approach in order to create and maintain effective customer relationship. In recent times, CRM is not only considered as the core of the business but is also an efficient aspect for building personal bonding among the customers or people. CRM is also a kind of successful business tool that facilitates an organization to communicate new ideas between its business and the customers. By taking into consideration today’s volatile business market situation and economic ambiguity, it is necessary for the organizations to keep its business on the right track and communicate with the customers which are considerably important aspects than previous business conditions. In past, the businesses needed contact book and an Excel spreadsheet to track the customers’ information, but today due to the advancements of technology, it is quite easy for the companies to communicate the customers through phone calls, via e-mails and personal meetings. All these crucial aspects are done through CRM tools which help a company to tackle market challenges effectively (Data Design Services Ltd., 2012). References AT&T Intellectual Property. (2012). The wireless advantage: business scenarios for mobile solutions. Retrieved from http://www.att.com/Common/merger/files/pdf/Wirelesscasestudies.pdf California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. (2012). Policy Considerations. Retrieved from http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/ReduceWaste/Business/officepaper/quicktip.htm Data Design Services Ltd. (2012). The importance of CRM in the current business climate. Retrieved from http://www.accuramis.com/pdf/sales/importance_of_crm.pdf Eckerson, W. W. (2011). Data quality and the bottom line. Retrieved from http://download.101com.com/pub/tdwi/Files/DQReport.pdf Hayes, I. S. (2004). Improving customer relationships using wireless technology. Retrieved from http://www.clarity-consulting.com/improving_customer_relationships_using_wireless.htm IBM. (2012). Managed security services. Retrieved from http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/en/it-services/managed-security-services.html IBM. (2012). Business conduct guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.ibm.com/investor/pdf/BCG_Feb_2011_English_CE.pdf Industry Leaders Magazine. (2012). Recycling E-Waste becoming big, profitable business. Retrieved from http://www.industryleadersmagazine.com/recycling-e-waste-becoming-big-profitable-business/ Mathew, B., Christos, E. A. & Bijikumar, R. (2011). Minimizing Electronic Waste using Infrastructure as a Service. International Journal of Computer Applications, pp. 7-12. Ranjan, J. (2009). Business Intelligence: Concepts, Components, Techniques and Benefits. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, pp. 60-70. The Global Language of Business. (n.d.). Benefits of data quality. Retrieved from http://www.gs1.org/gdsn/dqf/benefits TEK Systems Inc. (2012). Practical business intelligence strategies: getting the best ROI. Retrieved from http://www.teksystems.com/resources/thought-leadership/it-industry-trends/practical-business-intelligence-strategies TELUS Communications Company. (2006). Customer-Focused self-service: building the balanced business case. Retrieved from http://business.telus.com/en_CA/content/pdf/whyTELUS/Customer_Experience_Management/Customer_Focused_Self_Service.pdf Read More