Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic management - Essay Example The organization has gained a successful name for its leadership in the management process. Right from its inception the company has shown accelerating growth over the years. William Procter and James Gamble; one being candle maker and the other being a soap producer started a partnership business long back in 1837 in Cincinnati named P&G. The company won a very fruitful contract during the American civil war. The organization was supposed to supply candle and soaps to the Union army during the civil war as per the contract. Gradually working systematically over time the company has gained its giant social appearance. It now engages in the production of beauty, grooming, food and drink and pet care, cloth and habitat care, baby and family unit care segments, health care. As estimated in 2012 the companies operating income is about $13.29 billion (P&G, 2012). It provides large employment opportunities in the economy. Objectives and Mission The company’s mission is to provide go od quality products to the people and improve the quality of their life. This is because by doing so they can achieve leadership sales, value and goodwill in the market. The mission of the company would help its employees and shareholders to prosper in their activities. The company attempts to provide good quality products to the consumers all over the world and help to improve their quality of lifestyle. They trust the fact that their profit, value and fame in the market can be automatically generated, if the consumers have faith in the quality of their manufactured goods (Mullerat, 2011). The company claims to recruit the best employees in the Globe. The employees are rewarded or promoted in the company only on the basis of their performance. This is the sole reason for which all the workers give their 100% to make the company work better over time. Thus one of the most important assets of the values of the company is to think their employees as their assets. The company has keen leadership and ownership qualities. It realizes every step of its business in a strategic pattern. The workers take the assets of the company as their own wealth. The company gives values to perform tasks with integrity and trust. The company works completely with empirical observations and intellectually advocates all its proposals and risks. The company always gives importance to the interests of all the individuals. At the same time the organization separates the interests of the individuals and the company. The company has always claimed to focus on its operations. P&G always gives maximum importance to innovations. The company is always focused externally; it constantly tries to build good customer relations and fine corporate populace. The company follows a motto of ‘be best the best’. They believe that communal interdependence is the best way of existence. The company wants to enhance their core business and make it a global leader. It wants to innovate new brand s. It wants to accelerate its growth all over the world, mainly in the western part of the globe. The organization desires to drive growth in the developing economies. Social Responsibilities of the Company P&G has continually enhanced the

Working with UNIX Text Editors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Working with UNIX Text Editors - Essay Example The writer mode allows the operator to enter the text on the system, the write mode uses the lower case letters, and this is because the visual editor is more sensitive to lower case letters (Peek, Peek, Robbins, Lamb, Rosenblatt & Dougherty, 2000). Two ways might be used to create or open the file using the Visual text editor (VI). Some of those ways include; typing the word VI on the computer command space and saving the file using the most appropriate name that one has chosen. The file might be open by tying the VI and the name that one used to save the document. The second way of creating and accessing the document is by typing the name VI, this is accompanies by the file name. For example, if one wants to create or open a file named as Joe, one may type vi/home/Joe to access that particular file (Peek, Peek, Robbins, Lamb, Rosenblatt & Dougherty, 2000). Some of the common navigation commands utilized by VI include but not limited to; b, 1, j, k, (,), W, 1G, W, U, B, F and D. The command implies that one should move left, while 1 means that there should move one character on the right, the character J means one line downward movement while k implies one line upward movement. The command, (, means the beginning of the sentence while,), means the quell of a sentence. The command w means a word should be written. On the other hand, the command, Ctrl>U make the screen to move the screen halfway while command B moves the entire screen upwards. Command F moves the screen downwards and finally command D makes the screen to move halfway (Sco Group, Inc, 2005). The VI has three modes of operation namely; input, command and line operation modes. The input mode is used for entering a text into a given file. This mode requires the user to type the word VI into the command prompt. The

Death Anxiety and Stress Levels With Different Age Groups

Death Anxiety and Stress Levels With Different Age Groups q Introduction This research will be about studying the relationship between human’s age group with life stress level and also death anxiety. According to Peter, Cant, Payne, O’Connor, McDermott, Hood, Morphet and Shimoinaba (2013), death anxiety is the morbid, abnormal or persistent fear of ones own death or the process of his/her dying. Death anxiety is also a feeling of dread, apprehension or anxiety when one thinks of the process of dying. According to Angela Morrow (2011), stress is the bodys reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response. Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists  Jeff Greenberg,  Tom Pyszczynski, and  Sheldon Solomon. The theory was inspired by the writings of cultural anthropologist,  Ernest Becker. The basic idea of the theory is that humans are motivated to control their potential for terror inherent in the human awareness of vulnerability and mortality by spending in cultural belief systems that imbue life with meaning, and the individuals who subscribe to them with self-esteem. Since its inception, the theory has generated empirical research into not just the nature of self-esteem and prejudice, but also a host of other forms of human social behavior (Cox and Arndt 2006).Self-esteem is showed to be an important anxiety-buffering function in the face of death-related thought, leading individuals with high levels of self-esteem to exhibit attenuated mortality salience effects. Thus, an attorney concerned with mortality salience-related factors which advers ely affecting his or her case may want to use pretrial surveys to identify and challenge jurors who show to be experiencing situational or dispositional factors that could be associated with low self-esteem (Lieberman and Arntd 2009). General Adaptation Syndrome was founded by Scientist Hans Selye(1907-1982). He showed 3 phases what the supposed effects of stress has on the body which was alarm stage, resistance stage and exhaustion stage. Throughout his work, he developed the theory that stress is a main cause of diseases because chronic stress causes long-term chemical changes. He observed that the body would respond to any external biological source of stress with a predictable biological pattern in an attempt to restore the body’s internal homeostasis. This early hormonal reaction is yourfight or flight stress response and its purpose is for handling stress very quickly! The process of the whole body’s struggle to maintain equilibrium is what Selye had termed, the General Adaptation Syndrome. Pressures, tensions, and other also stressors can greatly influence your regular metabolism. Selye determined thatthere is a limited supply of adaptive energy to deal with stress.That amount declines with c ontinuous exposure. (Richard J.) (2008). Therefore, our research statements would be â€Å"do different age group influence one’s stress level?† and â€Å"do different age group influence one’s death anxiety? Aim: To study the death anxiety and stress level with different age group. Variables: Independent: Age groups (Young adulthood, middle adulthood and older adulthood). Dependent: Stress level and death anxiety level. Hypothesis: As age level increase, the level of death anxiety increases. As age level increase, the stress level increase. Literature review A study by Harrawood, White and Benshoff(2009) was conducted to examine the relationship between the level of death anxiety among a national sample of United States funeral directors with varying levels of death exposure, age, and sex among 203 funeral directors working in the United States. The main results showed a significant but weak negative relationship between levels of death anxiety and the participants’ reported number of funerals attended per year. One of the limitations of this study is that conducting a survey through mail is not the best method because the researchers cannot be sure that the survey packets will be received by the participants. The recommended method would be interviewing the participants personally. Another relevant study by Chan and Yap (2009) was aimed to examine the influence of religion, religious orientation, gender, and age on death anxiety in a culturally diverse country like Malaysia. In this study, there were 320 participants ranging in age from 17-70 years. The results supported hypothesis C which is female participants would have lower death anxiety and death anxiety levels would not differ between young adults and older adults. However, it is stated in the research paper that participants recruited were obtained from the Klang Valley area. Limited in only one area is not a good sampling method, because the population outside of KlangValley is not included, therefore it would influence the results. A study by Mroczek and Almeida (2004) was conducted to examine whether stress reactivity becomes stronger or weaker with age. There were 1012 participants ranging in age from 25-74 years were took part in this study. The main results showed that there was a stronger association between daily stress and negative affect for persons high in neuroticism as compared to those low on the trait. In addition, there was also a stronger association between daily stress and negative affect for older as compared to younger adults. In this study, researchers should also include the age population below 25 and above 74 of years in order to get a more comprehensive result. Lastly, a study by Birditt, Antonucci and Tighe (2013) was carried out to investigate whether enacted support (emotional or instrumental) varies by relationship quality and stress appraisals among middle and older adulthood. There were 152 participants(principal respondents, PRs)who had experienced recent stressful life events and 180 participants as their identified supportive ties ranging in age from 8-98 years were took part in this study. The main results showed that thehigh quality relationships tended to enact consistently high levels of support irrespective of stress appraisals whereas low quality relationships enacted higher levels of support when PRs were more highly stressed.In this study, researchers should increase the number of participants in order to get a more accurate result. Methodology Participant Participants will be approached and filter to 3 different groups, young adulthood (20-39 years old), middle adulthood (40-64 years old) and older adulthood (65-74 years old). Each group will consist of 20 participants. The participants will consist of both women and men. Materials (Questionnaire) The Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS) by Lonetto Templer was designed to determine one’s death anxiety level. It is a self-conducted 15-item scale where participants rate themselves on the true-false scale. The instrument is recorded by allocating 1 point to every item which is answered correctly and then will be summed up all the items at the end of the process. High scores on this scale show high death anxiety level while low scores indicate low death anxiety level. The TDAS has good validity whereby it correlated 0.74 with the Fear of Death Scale. Besides that the TDAS is capable of significantly unique between psychiatric patients who have high death anxiety level and a control group. The TDAS also has an internal reliability of 0.76 and a three-week test-retest reliability of 0.83. (Lonetto, R., Templer, D. I. (1983). (The nature of death anxiety.In C. D. Spielberger and J. N. Butcher (Eds.), Advances in personality assessment, Volume 3 (pp. 14-174). The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was developed to measure of the level to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.It is a 14 item instrument that predicts both unbiased biological markers of stress and increased risk for disease among people with higher distinguished stress levels. For example, those with the higher scores (suggestive of chronic stress) on the PSS tend to be worse on biological indicators of aging, cortisol levels, immune markers, depression, infectious disease, wound healing, and prostate-specific antigen levels in men. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), designed to determine the level of situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful. The European Spanish version PSS (14-item) demonstrated adequate reliability (internal consistency, = .81, and test-retest, r = .73), validity (concurrent), and sensitivity. Additional data indicate adequate reliability (à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  = .82, test-retest, r = .77), validity, and sensiti vity of a 10-item short version of the PSS (Remor, 2006). (Remor, E. (2006). (Psychometric properties of a European Spanish version of the perceived stress scale. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 86-93.) Procedure A total of 60 participants will be recruited randomly through random picking at Sunway Pyramid shopping center and at the same time select by presuming their age group in order to complete 20 participants per age group. Participants will then be briefed about the objective of this experiment and the instructions they need to follow. Next, participants will be given the first questionnaire by the researchers, which is the Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS). In this section, participants are required to fill in their details as provided in section A (socio demographic) and proceed to section B which is the questions of the death anxiety questionnaire. Then, the researcher will collect back the questionnaires from the participants. After that, participants will be given the second questionnaire which is the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). In this section, participants are required to fill in their details once more as provided in section A (socio demographic) and proceed to section B whic h is the questions to assess their stress scale. Then, the researcher will collect back the questionnaires from the participants. Both questionnaires collected will be used for data collection to be then converted into results. Design Cross sectional method will be used in this research because age group division will be involved. It will be a study based on data gathered at one time from groups of participants who represents different age groups. Each subject will be measure and tested only once and the results give us information about differences between the groups. Discussion Limitation of the research would be the amount of participants. Therefore it doesn’t represent the whole society. Future researchers are recommended to recruit more participants to get a higher accuracy results. Other than that the way to approach participants as planned would be a little time consuming. It is also not that efficient. Future researchers are recommended to approach participants in a more efficient way. Reference Angela Morrow, R. (2011, 1 19).Stress definition. Retrieved from http://dying.about.com/od/glossary/g/stress.htm Cathy, C., Jamie, A. (2008, 1 2).Terror management theory. Retrieved from http://www.tmt.missouri.edu/ Daniel K., M., David M., A. (2004). The effect of daily stress, personality, and age on daily negative affect.Journal of personality and social psychology,72(2), 355-378. JOEL.D, L., JAMIE , A. (2009, 7 1).Terror management theory and jury decision-making. Retrieved from http://www.thejuryexpert.com/2009/07/terror-management-theory-and-jury-decision-making/ Kira S., B., Toni C., A., Lauren, T. (2013). Enacted support during stressful life events in middle and older adulthood: An examination of the interpersonal context.27(3), 728–741. doi: 10.1037/a0026967 Laura K., H., Lyle J., W., John J., B. (2009). Death anxiety in a national sample of united states funeral directors and its relationship with death exposure, age, and sex.58(2), 129-146. doi: 10.2190/OM.58.2.c LI CHUIN, C., CHIN CHOO, Y. (2009). Age, gender, and religiosity as related to death anxiety. Lonetto, R., Templer, D. I. (1983). The nature of death anxiety.in c. d. spielberger and j. n. butcher (eds.).Advances in personality assessment,3, 14-174. Peters , L., Cant , R., Payne, S., OConnor , M., McDermott, F., Hood, K., Morphet , J., Shimoinaba, K. (2013). How death anxiety impacts nurses caring for patients at the end of life: a review of literature.7, 14-21. doi: 10.2174/1874434601307010014 Remor, E. (2006). Psychometric properties of a european spanish version of the perceived stress scale.The Spanish Journal of Psychology,9(1), 86-93. Richard, J. (2008).Hans selye’s general adaptation syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.essenceofstressrelief.com/general-adaptation-syndrome.html Appendix A Death Anxiety Scale Indicate whether each item is usually true or false for you most of the time. Scoring for death anxiety: T FI am very much afraid to die.T T FThe thought of death seldom enters my mind.F T FIt doesn’t make me nervous when people talk about death.F T FI dread to think about having to have an operation.T T FI am not at all afraid to die.F T FI am not particularly afraid of getting cancer.F T FThe thought of death never bothers me.F T FI am often distressed by the way time flies so very rapidly.T T FI fear dying a painful death.T T FThe thought of life after death troubles me greatly.T T FI am really scared of having a heart attack.T T FI often think about how short life really is.T T FI shudder when I hear people talking about a World War III.T T FThe sight of a dead body is horrifying to me.T T FI feel that the future holds nothing for me to fear.F Appendix B

Environmental Science Essay

Gagandeep Rai Period 3/4 Criteria air pollutants assignment​ Multiple Choice 1. A pungent reddish ­brown gas often associated with photochemical smog. (C) NO2 2. A corrosive gas from burning coal often associated with industrial smog. (d) SO2 3. A dangerous indoor air pollutant. (A) CO 4. Emitted from diesel and burning fuel. (E) PM10 5. All of the following are examples of primary air pollutants except. (c) tropospheric ozone 6. The greatest emission of sulfur dioxide comes from (C) Industrial processes 7. The least amount of nitrogen oxide emissions comes from (A) on ­ road vehicles 8. The accumulation of tropospheric ozone at night depends mainly upon the atmospheric concentrations of (B) volatile organics 1. What are they? The six criteria air pollutants are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides,lead,particulate matter and tropospheric ozone. These six pollutants significantly threaten human health, ecosystems and/or structures. 2. How is each produced? Sulfur dioxide is mostly produced from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. It can also be released during volcanic eruptions. Nitrogen oxides are produced from vehicles as well as stationary fossil fuel combustion. Some is also released through lightning and forest fires.Carbon monoxide is formed by incomplete combustion of most matter. Vehicle exhaust and many other combustion process produce Carbon monoxide. It is also a indoor pollutant when exhaust systems on natural gas heaters misfunction. Carbon dioxide is produced from complete combustion of most matter such as biomass and fossil fuels. Particulate matter is released when fossil fuels and bio fuel is burned. Also it is released with activities that involve movement of dust or sand. Lead is released from old paint, gasoline additive and combustion of fossil fuels.

Social Networks: Advantages and Disadvantages

Social Network Sites: Advantages and Disadvantages I. Introduction a. Attention Getter: Imagine being stripped of your privileges to have access to social network sites such as facebook, twitter, myspace, and/or instagram†¦How would you reach out to family and friends you don’t get a chance to communicate with often? b. Name: Hello my name is Kenyatta Stephens c. Topic: Social Network Sites: Advantages and Disadvantages (SLIDE) d.Relevance: Social network sites are sites that majority of us, if not all of us, engage in on a daily basis – â€Å"According to the 2012 Statistic Brain Research Institute, members located in The United States use social network sites approximately 7. 8 hours per month. † www. statisticbrain. com e. Credibility: Personal Experience & Research f. Preview Statement: Today I will be informing you all about what social network sites (SNSs) are, their advantages and their disadvantages. g. Transition Statement: First, I would like to ta lk to you about what social network sites are and a few statistics.II. What are social network sites (SNSs)? h. Define – (SLIDE) – â€Å"SNSs are web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. † Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2007. www. Onlinelibrary. wiley. com i. – â€Å"According to the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, the first recognizable social network site was launched in 1997. † www. Onlinelibrary. wiley. om j. (SLIDE) – Different social network sites i. SixDegress ii. Classmates iii. Ryze iv. Tribe v. Myspace vi. Facebook vii. Instagram viii. Twitter k. (SLIDE) – Social Networking Statistics ix. Billions of users worldwide x. 98% of users are between the ages of 18-24 xi. The United States is among the top ten countries most engaged in social networking with an average of 7. 8 hours per month. Internal Summary: Now that I have defined SNSs and I have briefly discussed the different sites and statistics, I will tell you about the advantages that come along with SNSs. III. Advantages – (SLIDE) . Keep in touch with friends, classmates, and relatives m. Send/receive messages and upload/share photos and videos n. Not bound by any geographical and cultural differences o. Build a network of contacts and interact with a lot of people p. Promote business, services, products, and parties Internal Summary: Now that I have discussed some of the advantages of SNSs, I want to inform you about the disadvantages. IV. Disadvantages – (SLIDE) q. High rate of scams/fraud r. People waste valuable time s. Online harassment t. Personal secrets/information become public u.Employers and Government Agencies access Transition Statement: Now that I have told you what Social Network Sites are, their advantages, and their disadvantages, I would like to conclude my speech with a word of advice. V. Conclusion – (SLIDE) v. Be aware of the information you put out on any social network site. w. My take away – Using a bit of concern with your profiles in social media networks can help you in your personal and professional life. Sharing experiences and communicating with others has never been a crime, but it would be wise to think about the consequences of your action.

Definition and Examples of a Lingua Franca

A lingua franca (pronounced LING-wa FRAN-ka) is a language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different. It is from the Italian, language Frankish and also known as a trade language, contact language, international language, and global language. The term English as a lingua franca (ELF) refers to the teaching, learning, and use of the English language as a common means of communication for speakers of different native languages. Examples and Observations Where a language is widely used over a relatively large geographical area as a language of wider communication, it is known as a lingua franca--a common language but one which is native only to some of its speakers. The term lingua franca itself is an extension of the use of the name of the original Lingua Franca, a Medieval trading pidgin used in the Mediterranean region. (M. Sebba, Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles. Palgrave, 1997) English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) The status of English is such that it has been adopted as the worlds lingua franca for communication in Olympic sport, international trade, and air-traffic control. Unlike any other language, past or present, English has spread to all five continents and has become a truly global language. (G. Nelson and B. Aarts, Investigating English Around the World, The Workings of Language, ed. by R. S. Wheeler. Greenwood, 1999)Even though everybody around the world speaks English--sort of--in their dealings with American media and business, politics, and culture, the English that is spoken is a lingua franca, a Bodysnatched English to be carefully scrutinized as to its meanings when it is used by a foreign culture. (Karin Dovring, English as Lingua Franca: Double Talk in Global Persuasion. Praeger, 1997)But what do we mean by the term English as a lingua franca? The term lingua franca is usually taken to mean any lingual medium of communication between people of different mother tongues, for wh om it is a second language (Samarin, 1987, p. 371). In this definition, then, a lingua franca has no native speakers, and this notion is carried over into definitions of English as a lingua franca, such as in the following example: [ELF] is a contact language between persons who share neither a common native tongue nor a common (national) culture, and for whom English is the chosen foreign language of communication (Firth, 1996, p. 240).Clearly, the role of English as the chosen foreign language of communication in Europe is an extremely important one, and one that is on the increase. . . . It is important to note that this means that both in Europe as well as in the world as a whole, English is now a language that is mainly used by bi- and multilinguals, and that its (often monolingual) native speakers are a minority. (Barbara Seidlhofer, Common Property: English as a Lingua Franca in Europe. International Handbook of English Language Teaching, ed. by Jim Cummins and Chris Davison. Springer, 2007) Globish as a Lingua Franca I want to draw a distinction between a language which is spread through nurture, a mother tongue, and a language that is spread through recruitment, which is a lingua franca. A lingua franca is a language that you consciously learn because you need to, because you want to. A mother tongue is a language that you learn because you cant help it. The reason English is spreading around the world at the moment is because of its utility as a lingua franca. Globish--a simplified version of English thats used around the world--will be there as long as it is needed, but since its not being picked up as a mother tongue, its not typically being spoken by people to their children. It is not getting effectively to first base, the most crucial first base for long-term survival of a language. (Nicholas Ostler quoted by Robert McCrum in My Bright Idea: English Is On the Up but One Day Will Die Out. The Observer, October 31, 2010) Cyberspace English Because the cyberspace community, at least at the moment, is overwhelmingly English speaking, it is appropriate to say that English is its unofficial language. . . .The colonial past, imperialistic stealth, and the emergence of other language blocs in cyberspace as it grows will minimize in due time the preeminence of English as the de facto language of cyberspace. . . .[Jukka] Korpela sees another alternative to cyberspace English and a constructed language. He predicts the development of better language machine translation algorithms. Such algorithms will result in efficient and sufficient quality language translators, and there will be no need for a lingua franca. (J. M. Kizza, Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age. Springer, 2007)

Management Challenges Posed By the Role of Information Systems in Organisations - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2466 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Review Level High school Did you like this example? Management Challenges Posed By the Role of Information Systems in Organisations Throughout the 20th century, businesses thrived by making their production methods more and more efficient by improving production processes and developing better ways for making things. However, efficiency in production methods is no longer the only success factors in todays business world. The excellence of 21st century lies in Information management i.e. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Management Challenges Posed By the Role of Information Systems in Organisations" essay for you Create order having the right thing, on the right time, in the right quantity. Information is one of the most critical elements for the success of a business. Information has become one of the most significant assets for a business. The performance of a business depends on how it manages this asset like every other assets such as finance, humans, buildings, products, customers, etc. (Ward, 1995). The advancements of Information and Communication technology have provided various tools to effectively manage information. Using information and communication technologies, businesses and organizations nowadays rely largely on Information systems to store and manage and analyse data. Information system is a combination of various subsystems that coordinate with each other to collectively gather, store, manage, retrieve, distribute, and transfer information. Information systems help businesses to enhance their productivity by increasing the efficiency and value of business processes (Porter Millar 1985). Using information technology tools for managing information in conducting business is referred to as E-Business. E-business is a very wide concept comprising of different aspects of business transaction or transferring information by means of Internet. E-business can be classified into three categories. It can be within an organization which may include of various information systems such as Accounting Information System, Knowledge management system, Decision support system, Executive support system, etc. This type of communication technology is called Intranet. The standards used for Intranet are the same as for Internet communication. Accessibility to the Intranet is limited to organization-specific applications or web sites. These web sites and applications are protected against any unauthorized personal by firewalls and other security measures. The second category is involves business-to-business (B2B) communication conducted via Extranet. The Extranet integrate s two Intranets which are inter-connected to each other via Internet, which facilitates two separate organizations to communicate and share confidential data. Thirdly category is the business-to-consumer (B2C) communication which occurs over the Internet. The business-to-consumers activity is the most prominent feature of e-business (Amor, 2001). Purpose of Information Systems The purpose of an information system is to empower its users. There is a wide difference in a simple database which stores data and return it to its users upon request. A database can be created in a way that manages and retrieves information in a sorted manner. This information can help make decision at various levels within an organization. Information system recognize that there are different levels of workers in an organization who have their specific duties and thus provides them information is different ways (Heinrich, 2002). Its purpose is to make sure that the users of the system are quickly able to access, comprehend, and react to the information provided to them. Wiseman (1985) mentions that the information system improves business functionality by automating some of the fundamental information procedures. He further mentions that the information system increases the effectiveness of the management by satisfying their information demands. Information demands of b usinesses vary at different organizational levels. Various business functions at strategic, tactical and operational level have different types of subsystems of information system to serve their information demands. Some of the commonly used subsystems are as follows: †¢ Management Information Systems (MIS) †¢ Decision Support Systems (DSS) †¢ Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) †¢ Expert Systems (ES) †¢ Executive Information Systems (EIS) †¢ Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) †¢ Accounting Information Systems (AIS) E-commerce An important component of the information and communication technology and indeed one of its most momentous impacts is the provision and empowerment of electronic commerce. Electronic commerce is a process of buying and selling of products or services by means of electronic systems involving the Internet and e-mails (Graham 2008). Commercial activities performed through e-commerce are either business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumers (B2C). E-commerce is a very cost-efficient mode of conducting business-to-consumers commercial activities (Graham 2008). E-commerce allows economic agents to reduce the transactional cost to a great extent (Porter 2001). Instead of internal hierarchies, it empowers the market itself to organize economic activities, which in turn increases the efficiency of the not just the business but across the entire commodity chain (Malone et al. 1987). E-commerce creates a dimension of ‘spacelessness for economic activities which is one o f its most distinctive features. Since the emergence of the Internet and increasing use of e-commerce, the imminent â€Å"death of distance† and creation of an ‘eight continent has been highlighted by researchers which is spurred by the increasing trade and commerce activities conducted electronically. They assert that constraints such as space and distance are becoming less significant for conducting economical activities (OBrien 1992; Cairncross 1997). A large literature exits regarding various firms having used e-commerce to achieve competitive advantage by finding new and distant customers (for example see Daniel and Grimshaw 2002; Hamill and Gregory 1997; Kim and Mauborgne 1999; OKeefe et al. 1998; Poon and Swatman 1999). Thus information systems also serve the purpose of communication with external business entities for trade and commerce activities. Analysis of the problems of gathering data and analysing information Information systems are a vital tool in achieving competitive advantage for a business by properly managing and analysing the information. However there are many security concerns that have being in the corporate agenda since its early usage. Today organizations are challenged by various and complex information security matters for handling distributed computer networks. Large amount of e-commerce activities, increased usage of internet, and ever changing technologies means new threats and risks and vulnerabilities for businesses as more and more business functions and procedures are becoming paperless. For this purpose, right controls are required within an organization to reduce the risks and ensure effective functioning of the information systems (Sushil Leon, 2004). Information Systems requires certain controls to be implemented for its smooth and effective functionality (Boczko, 2007). Information security managers can put these controls in place to ensure the system is secure against threats, exposure, and risks. (Gertz, 2003). †¢ A threat can be any possible unwanted occurrence or event that could harm the Accounting Information System or the business. †¢ The exposure is the possible loss of money that would occur as a result of the threat becoming a reality. †¢ The risk is the chance that the threat will become reality. The controls that secure information systems against unfavourable outcomes are as follows: †¢ Preventive Controls †¢ Input Controls; Input controls checks upon the information that is being entered into the system. †¢ Processing Controls; Processing controls checks whether the data is processed properly after it is entered in to the system. †¢ Output Controls; The output controls ensure the completeness, validity, and accuracy of the data in various output mediums. †¢ Storage Controls; The storage controls ensures that the data in stored in such a manner that it cannot be tampered with. †¢ Files Controls; Files controls reduce the errors that occur due the improper storage of files. †¢ Hardware Security; Hardware security control is very important as any damage or harm to the hardware would mean that the failure of the system therefore the hardware for the information system must be kept in a secure place and with only reliable and relevant personal having access to it. Proper protection against high temperature or power failures and incidents should be made along with backup support. †¢ Standardization; Standardization controls involves usage of already laid down standards by the developers and operators for the methodology of the system development and operation respectively. (Basset, 1993) †¢ Detective controls †¢ Testing; Testing is required to detect any problems occurring in the system and is thus performed before it is made operational. Testing can shows problems that can occur in the processing and any other errors. It is recommended that testing should be performed on a routine basis or after any new developments. †¢ Training; the training of the data processing staff ensures proper functioning of the system. The awareness of the staff also helps in pointing any defects in the system which could then be resolved. †¢ Operation Controls; Operation controls in Dean Plc are controls which record what computer systems and the employees have been doing. The operational controls can include tasks such as rotation of shifts, duty logs, manual of operating instructions, attendance controls and computer logs, etc. which can referred to whenever a problem is reported. (Basset, 1993) †¢ Corrective controls †¢ When any problem in the system is detected, the management along with the help of Business Analysts and Expert can take relevant steps to correct the problems in the system. †¢ Certain procedure can be set for reoccurre nce of the problems. Apart from security concerns, there are several other challenges and issues associated with managing information systems. These are: †¢ Increase costs of a technological solution (developing, implementing and maintaining of the information technologies and systems) †¢ Reliability for certain processes (information systems require thorough testing before they could be used and are difficult prone to errors leading to potential losses) †¢ Software tools are not fixed but constantly evolving (information communication technology tools require timely upgrades to meet prevailing standards) †¢ Integrating digital and non-digital sales and production information (for e-commerce activities) †¢ Customer fear of personal information being used wrongly (privacy issues) †¢ Customer have high expectations regarding efficiency and real time responses †¢ Vulnerability to fraud and other crimes †¢ Higher emplo yee training required to effectively using the information technology. Another technological concern regarding information technology is the high volume of data generated from its use and its management. Organizations are required to create robust middleware application that are capable of handling the high amount of data and route it to the appropriate information systems in a timely manner (Ngain and Gunasekaran 2009). Major sources of relevant data used for management information systems As mentioned previously, businesses and organizations have a variety of information requirements. Executives at strategic level require information to help them with their planning and strategic decision making. They require a summarized form of information that can give an overview of the business. Middle management requires more detailed information in order to oversee and control business activities. Operational level employees need basic routine information to carry out their day to day duties. Therefore, businesses have several information systems working altogether at the same time. Different information systems have different sources of gathering data according their purpose. The following presents a list of most commonly used information system and their likely sources of data and users. Executive Support Systems Executive Support System helps the senior management of an organization in making strategic decisions. Executive Support Systems shows the status of all key business activities and involves large data analysis to help strategic decision making. Therefore, it is likely to have information from all the internal and external sources which is gathered, analysed and summarized for strategic decision making. Internal sources include information collected from other information systems. External information system can include external data gathered by e-commerce activities, external market analysis and etc. Management Information Systems Management information system is concerned with the summarized data of the business transactions that helps middle management to monitor business activities. Therefore it is likely to have information from all the internal sources such as transaction processing systems. It summarizes information into management reports. Decision-Support Systems Decision Support Systems are designed to assist middle and top level management in making decisions at uncertain conditions. It informs the user about the possible consequences of their decisions. It gathers internal information to analyse the available options and alternatives. It has a predefined set of logic which is part of its design. It uses complex tools spreadsheets, and databases for creating ‘what if models. Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge Management Systems are created to help organizations and businesses create and share information. The source of such information systems is typically the employees who create new knowledge through their own expertise and then share it along with others within an organization. This share pool of information is created to search new commercial opportunities. Examples of such information systems are web-portals and Intranet portals created by professional lawyers, management consultants and etc. these information systems categorize and distribute information efficiently among users. Information could be contained in any form and formats such as word processed documents, presentations, web pages and etc. Transaction Processing Systems Transaction Processing Systems are created to process daily repetitive activities and transaction in an automated efficient manner. The automation increases the accuracy of the information. A business usually involves several reoccurring transactions. Therefore, there are several Transaction Processing Systems such as Billing systems, Payroll systems, Inventory management systems, etc. The sources of these information systems are the employees at the operational level or the organization. Sometimes automated identifications are also used to input data to these systems such as Radio Frequency Identification. Office Automation Systems Office Automation Systems are tools that help improve the productivity of employees processing data. Such systems usually work as standalone programs and do not link data to other information systems. Examples of such systems include Microsoft Office Tools, and Computer Operating Systems. References Amor, D., (2001). Introduction to Internet Business. Available from :https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=165183seqNum=3 (cited on 22nd November, 2010) Basset P.H. (1993) Computerized Accounts, 3rd ed, Manchester : NCC Blackwell. Boczko, T., (2007). Corporate Accounting Information Systems. Financial Times Press Cairncross, F. (1997), The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution will Change our Lives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Daniel, A. (2001), Introduction to Internet Business. 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