Taiwan: Business Environment and Investment Opportunities

Taiwan: Business Environment and Investment Opportunities AN ANALYSIS OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN TAIWAN HISTORY Pre 20th Century History Little archaeological evidence remains from Taiwans early history. People probably from Austronesia are though to have inhabited the island since 10,000 BC with migration from China in the 15th century. In 1517 Portuguese sailors reached Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island). The Dutch invaded in 1624 and built a capital at Tainan two years later they lost the island to a Spanish invasion but returned the favour by booting the Spanish out in 1641. During the 1660s the Ming and Manchu (Qing) dynasties arrived on the scene, kicking out the Dutch and wrestling one another for control of the island. The Manchus eventually won, making Taiwan a county of Fujian province and triggering a flood of Chinese immigration. At the end of the 19th century, the Japanese decided to weigh in as well: Taiwan was ceded to them in 1895 following Chinas defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese quashed a republican rebellion organised by the local Chinese population and went on to establish a military base on the island and to promote education and economic development. After Japans defeat in at the end of WWII, Taiwan was handed back to China. Modern History When Communist forces took control of China in 1949, the president, General Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang (KMT), fled to Taiwan to plan their reconquest of the mainland. Theyre still planning. One and a half million Chinese also left the mainland for Taiwan when Mao took control. The leaders of both Communist mainland China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) claim to be the voice of all China, but the international community has, almost without exception, chosen the mainland. In 1971 the KMT lost the Chinese United Nations seat, and in 1979 the USA withdrew its recognition of the Republic. When Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975 and was replaced by his son Ching-kuo, Taiwanese started muttering the word dynasty, and criticism of the one-party system rose. In 1986, those opposed to Chiang formed the Democratic Progressive Party and were granted seats in the legislature. Two years later Chiang died and was replaced by the first native-born president, Lee Teng-hui. Taiwanese politics is divided among those who want reunification with China (the KMT line), those who want Taiwanese independence, and those who want the status quo preserved. In 1995 relations between the two Chinas, always chilly, plummetted to a new low. Lee Teng-huis high-profile visit to the United States brought mainland China out in a rash of nervous jealousy. Determined to isolate Taiwan and sway the minds of its voters, China held intense military exercises near the Taiwanese coast. In response, the United States donned its global cop hat and sent a couple of warships to monitor the situation. Despite the regions sudden high concentration of itchy trigger fingers, the first direct presidential election was held without incident, and Lee Teng-hui was returned to office. Taiwans fortunes took a turn for the worse in September 1999 when a massive earthquake hit the island, the largest in its history, leaving over 2000 islanders dead and a rubble-strewn country. Even in this time of crisis, however, the snippy relationship between mainland China and the wannabe republic continued. A defiantly sulky China demanded that any country entering Taiwan to offer earthquake relief get permission from the Chinese government first: a demand that was met with less-than-hearty agreement from humanitarian organisations and other countries around the world. Recent History In March 2000, Taiwan elected its next president Chen Shui-bian, the candidate of Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party, who believe in a formal declaration of independence for the island. The upset ended 55 years of Nationalist rule and alarmed China, which regards Taiwan as a rebel province. In 2004, Chen Shui-bian was re-elected by a narrow margin following a possibly-dubious assassination attempt on him only hours before the election. In a concession to political opponents and a country fearful over its constant Chinese threat, Chen Shui-bian vowed to forge closer relations with China and leave the volatile issue of Taiwans sovereignty off the political reform agenda. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN TAIWAN To adjudge whether or not a country is suitable for investment opportunities we must use certain parameters these can range from descriptive tools like reports available from various established organizations like The World Bank or The IMF. Else we can make use of diagnostic tools like PEST analysis which we will employ to analyse the business environment of Taiwan and look at the possibility of investment opportunities. PEST ANALYSIS (P)OLITICAL SCENARIO The political status of Taiwan is a controversy over whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of Taiwan. Taiwans political status is complicated by the controversy over the Republic of Chinas existence as a state. Currently, Taiwan, Kinmen (Quemoy), Wuchiu (Wuciou) and Matsu off the coast of mainland Fukien, and Taiping (Itu Aba) and Pratas in the South China Sea effectively make up the entire state known as the Republic of China. The ROC government has in the past considered itself to be the sole legitimate government over Taiwan, as well as its former territories on the continent that include mainland China, Outer Mongolia and Tannu Uriankhai (part of which is present day Tuva). This position started to be largely ignored in the early 1990s, changing to one that does not challenge the legitimacy of PRC rule over mainland China, although the ROCs claims have never been renounced through a constitutional amendment. Different groups have different concepts of what the current formal political situation of Taiwan is. In addition, the situation can be confusing because of the different parties and the effort by many groups to deal with the controversy through a policy of deliberate ambiguity. The political solution that is accepted by many of the current groups is the following perspective of the status quo: that is, to unofficially treat Taiwan as a state and at a minimum, to officially declare no support for the government of this state making a formal declaration of independence. What a formal declaration of independence would consist of is not clear and can be confusing given the fact that the Peoples Republic of China has never controlled Taiwan since its founding and the fact that the Republic of China, whose government controls Taiwan, considers itself a de jure sovereign state. The status quo is accepted in large part because it does not define the legal status or future status of Taiwan, leaving each group to interpret the situation in a way that is politically acceptable to its members. At the same time, a policy of status quo has been criticized as being dangerous precisely because different sides have different interpretations of what the status quo is, leading to the possibility of war through brinkmanship or miscalculation. Hence we can say that Taiwan has a volatile political situation but is stable currently. (E)CONOMIC SCENARIO Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the worlds third largest. Agriculture contributes less than 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia. China has overtaken the US to become Taiwans largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment al so reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans; and the essentially vibrant economy pushed ahead in 2003-04. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor, e.g., exports to China of parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries. A FEW RELEVANT STATISTICS GDP purchasing power parity $576.2 billion (2004 est.) GDP real growth rate 6% (2004 est.) GDP per capita purchasing power parity $25,300 (2004 est.) GDP composition by sector agriculture: 1.7% industry: 30.9% services: 67.4% (2004 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.7% (2004 est.) Labor force by occupation agriculture 8%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 est.) Unemployment rate 4.5% (2004 est.) Budget revenues: $67.41 billion expenditures: $76.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2004 est.) Industries electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals Industrial production growth rate 12.2% (2004 est.) Oil consumption 988,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) Agriculture products rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish Exports $170.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) Exports commodities computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) Exports partners China, including Hong Kong 37%, US 16%, Japan 7.7% (2003) Imports $165.4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) Imports commodities machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) Imports partners Japan 26%, US 13%, China, including Hong Kong 11%, South Korea 6.9% (2003) Debt external $55.5 billion (2004 est.) Investment (gross fixed) 18% of GDP (2004 est.) Public debt 32.4% of GDP (2004 est.) Current account balance $21.16 billion (2004 est.) Reserves of foreign exchange gold $246.5 billion (2004 est.) Hence after having a look at the economic structure we can say that a few indicators like the availability of labour forces, growth rates, inflation rates point to the fact that Taiwan is a stable economy and hence suitable for investment opportunities. (S)OCIAL SCENARIO Although the majority of the people residing in Taiwan (84%) are descended from 17th century migrants from China, the political power (and a substantial part of the economic power) of the island has been, until recently, almost exclusively held by less than one-fifth of the population. A population who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the communist takeover of the mainland. Almost a half-century of co-residence has seen an integration of these two populations to some degree, with both pride in Chinese heritage and culture and national pride in being a resident of Taiwan, combining successfully to date. Taiwan is a society that supports strong Confucian values, reflecting the islands predominantly Chinese heritage (the native aborigines of Taiwan make up only 2% of the population). European influences have also made their mark, in the form of trading links (and some colonial aspirations) from the Spanish and Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. Japan has also had a more recent influence over the character of Taiwan: the island was occupied by Japan from 1895 to 1946, but this occupation although repressive at times was also a period of prosperity for Taiwan. Taiwan today is a vibrant and prosperous patriarchal society, which maintains the family as its basic foundation. Multi-generational households are the norm, with age being respected and children prized. The people are reserved, respectful and humble, although individual achievement and a hearty entrepreneurial attitude is found throughout the Taiwanese society. The practice of religious tenets, more so than pure belief alone, influences the Taiwanese character. Approximately 24% of the population is Buddhist, 16% is Taoist (Confucian) and 3% Christian. Much like other Chinese societies, respect and formality mark social relationships, and guanxi (guanji) is quite strong in Taiwan. Open conflict or direct criticism is avoided, as is any other action which could create embarrassment. Boasting or loud behaviour is to be avoided, although compliments are appreciated but usually denied. While many educated Taiwanese speak English, the national (and commercial) language is Mandarin Chinese, with many also speaking the local Taiwanese (Chinese) language. Varying degrees of English is spoken by many of the younger generation and the internationally educated. Taiwan is one of the most urbanised nations in Asia with over 60% of the population living in cities. Taipei, the capital, houses nearly 13% of the population, or approximately 2.75 million. Other major cities include Kaohsiung and Keelung. The people of Taiwan are well educated and have relevant knowledge of subjects like English and science. The society is a peaceful one and not very different from other South East Asian countries. The cities are well developed and the working conditions are conducive to conducting business. Hence investments with respect to the social structure will be a safe bet. (T)ECHNOLOGICAL SCENARIO Measures accompanying Science Technology (ST) development include the four main aspects of educating, training, recruiting, and rewarding ST manpower; the ST research environment; technology diffusion, intellectual property rights, and standards; and international ST cooperation. The goal of manpower training is to establish superior ST research and development manpower, which may be considered a RD software input. The goal of common research facilities is to provide the infrastructure needed for research, and this infrastructure may be considered a RD hardware input. Superior RD outputs can be obtained only after these two inputs are appropriately matched with funding. 1. Manpower education and training The education and training of ST development manpower includes the three aspects: (1) education in colleges and universities, (2) advanced studies in Taiwanese institutions and overseas for personnel selected by government agencies, and (3) training by vocational and professional training institutions. In addition, the Executive Yuans Implementation Regulations for Commendation of Outstanding Scientific and Technological Personnel, Executive Yuan and the Academia Sinicas Topical Research and High-level Manpower Training Program both serve to actively promote key ST research and train ST manpower. Apart from education in universities and colleges, the government also promotes the training of ST manpower via advanced studies or research in Taiwan and overseas for personnel selected by government agencies, and training by vocational and professional training institutions. A total of 37,945 students received Ph.D. or masters degrees in the natural sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture, or the humanities and social sciences from domestic universities during the 2003 academic year. This number represented an increase of 16.3% over the 2002 academic year from this total 35,981 persons, or 94.8%, received masters degrees. See Table VI-1 for an overview of the various advanced ST manpower training and technical skills education training systems and their results in 2004. 2. Manpower recruiting In order to meet shortages of ST manpower, the government has implemented a number of policies and programs to train domestic high-tech manpower and recruit outstanding overseas manpower to work in Taiwan. It has established long-term targets for ST manpower recruiting, training, and utilization. The government has adopted simultaneous long- and short-term approaches to the recruiting of ST manpower. The Academia Sinica recruits overseas post-doctoral research personnel, foreign consultants, specialists, and scholars, and the NSC funds the recruiting of ST manpower, the hiring of post-doctoral researchers, the recruiting of research scholars, and the invitation of scientific and technological figures from China to participate in research in Taiwan 3. Rewarding Personnel The government offers a variety of grants and awards aimed at encouraging ST personnel to engage in academic research, technology development, and invention. Relevant honors include the Outstanding Achievement in Science and Technology Award, Academic Award, National Lectureship, Outstanding Research Award, and the Ta You Wu Memorial Award. Hence we can say that technologically also Taiwan is very superior and backed by Government. Technologically there should be no problems with investments in Taiwan. Therefore after doing a PEST analysis we can conclude that weighing all options Taiwan is a relatively safe place to invest resources. Now let us have a look at the various industries in Taiwan and try to zero in on an industry or a sector where a investments are a possibility.

Strategic Role Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Strategic Role Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay The CIMB Bank Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper describes the whole of MSF Sales Force policy position on cloud computing. The strategy will states that the MSF Sales Division can choose a cloud-based service if it show clearly and deliberately value for money, fitness for purpose and are adequately secure; provides guidance for MSF Sales Force on what cloud computing is; and some of the issues and benefits of cloud computing that MSF Sales Force need to be aware of. Our investigation focused on three areas such as IT infrastructure and related problems, business processes and Environmental issues. Result of our analysis has lead to several recommendations. The paper recognises that the public cloud is still undergoing a gradual change, particularly in areas such as security and privacy. These issues need to be adequately resolved before critical MSF Sales Division can be transitioned to the cloud. As a result, the paper outlines three streams of work: Stream One provides the sales division with guidance and documentation. Stream Two encourages sales division to adopt public cloud services for public facing unclassified government services and to undertake proof of concept studies to fully understand the risks of the cloud environment. Stream Three encourages a strategic approach to cloud. This work is dependent upon greater clarity around projects commissioned under the Data Centre Strategy. 1. INTRODUCTION CIMB Group is the leading Asean Universal banking franchise, offering full range of financial products and services covering consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, Islamic banking, assets management, wealth management, insurance and Takaful and private banking. However, we are writing report based on one of CIMB Bank sales division known as Mobile Sales Force. Mobile Sales Force or more known as MSF is the largest sales channel in CIMB Bank. Comprising more than 2,000 staffs, promoting and distributing CIMB Bank key products such as mortgage loan for private and corporate, personal loan for government sector and credit cards. MSF was established backed in 2006 with the vision to be the best-in-class sales organization with a passion for exceeding expectation. Prior approval and consent from MSF head of department had been obtained in conducting research. CIMB GROUP PROFILE CIMB Group is ASEANs leading universal banking franchise. We offer a full range of financial products and services covering consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management, wealth management, insurance and takaful, and private banking. With over 37,000 employees, CIMB Group reaches 81% of the ASEAN population, representing 89% of the regions gross domestic product. Our retail network of over 1,000 branches is the widest in the region. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, CIMB Groups main markets are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia. Our presence in 13 countries covers ASEAN and major global financial centres, as well as countries in which our customers have significant business and investment dealings. In addition, we extend our reach and range of products and services through strategic partnerships. Our partners include the Principal Financial Group, Aviva plc, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Standard Bank plc, Daishin Securities and the Kanoo Group, among others. CIMB GROUP As the leading ASEAN universal banking franchise, CIMB Group offers a full range of financial products and services covering consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management, wealth management, insurance and takaful, and private banking. We operate our businesses on a dual banking leverage model, giving customers a choice of both conventional and Islamic financial solutions. Our main markets in which we offer full universal banking facilities are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We also have a presence in other countries where our customers have significant business and investment dealings. CIMB BANK Our Consumer Banking business offers a full range of conventional and Islamic financial products and services to meet the borrowing and financing, wealth management and transaction needs of our individual customers and businesses. Our spectrum of banking services include credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and financing, commercial banking services for Small Medium Enterprises and mid-sized corporate customers, insurance and takaful, investment and wealth management services. We have an extensive retail network across the region in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia that serves over 11 million customers The rest of this report is as follows : Section 2 : IT Infrastructure and Ecosystem. Explained the IT infrastructure and Ecosystem of the organisation. Section 3 : Cloud computing and its business benefits. Provided cloud computing and its benefits and costs. Section 4 : Recommendation of cloud computing adoption/adaption. Recommended a suitable cloud that MSF could adopt. Section 5: Conclusions. Summarises the key points from the analysis and provided recommendation 2. IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECOSYSTEM CIMB IT infrastructure today consist of seven major components that must be coordinated to provide the division with a coherent IT infrastructure and the major vendors within each category INTERNET PLATFORMS Microsoft, Unix, Java DATA MANAGEMENT STORAGE IBM, DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase COMPUTER HARDWAREPLATFORMS Dell, HP IT INFRASTRUCTURE CONSULTANT SYSTEM INTEGRATOR IBM, EDS, Accenture ECOSYSTEM OPERATING SYSTEM PLATFORMS Microsoft Window NETWORKING TELECOM-MUNICATION Microsoft Window Server, Linux ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE PLATFORMS Oracle, Microsoft CIMB CORPORATE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE: Issues and Challenges Securing Information System MSF are faced with challenges of data and information security. We need to have users security procedures guidelines. At the moment, there is no such policy guidelines. As MSF is a firm providing financial services, MSF must comply with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, better known as the Gramm-Leach Billey Act (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 337) Malicious Software Malware (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 328) will be another hurdle for implementation of cloud computing as there is no IT department within MSF. All IT issues and problems will have to be refer to CIMB Group IT. This will cause time, delaying as the problem cannot be solve in-house and need to wait for IT department action. MSF will have no control as to when CIMB Group IT will react to the reported problem. Absent of Transaction Processing Systems MSF did not have TPS a systems that keep track of the elementary activities of the organisation such as sales for all products such as personal and enterprise mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, customers information like age, annual income, employee, and credit decisions like common rejection reason and best customer profile. (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 75) Decision Support Systems (DCS) Executive Support Systems (ESS) Due to absent of TPS no proper management information systems (MIS) to enable DCS ESS DCS is useful in providing support non-routine decision making for middle management and ESS for senior management (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 78 81) Data management Systems (DBMS) As MSF have multiple products, all data given will be in different formats and all users will have their own preferred format of reporting thus creating double work when each product user need to extract and reformat the data into meaningful information. (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 240) Establishing an information policy Although there are numerous CIMB Banking Acts like, Banking Financial Institute Act1989 (BAFIA) section 97 secrecy, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) GP7 confidentiality, CIMB Group Code of Ethics governing the information policy, there is still a need for drafting information policy for MSF sales division. More specific guidelines, rules and penalties in controlling MSF information policy for sharing, disseminating, acquiring, standardising, classifying and inventorying information systems are needed. (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 259) 3. CLOUD COMPUTING AND ITS BUSINESS BENEFITS AND COSTS Cloud computing represent a sea of change in the way the computing performed by corporations as business computing shifts out of private data centers into `the cloud (Carr, 2008). For a huge company and having a complex proprietary systems supporting unique business process, we are mostly likely to have a hybrid computing model where firms will use their own infrastructure for the essential core activities and adopt a cloud computing for a less critical systems. 3.1 Benefits of Cloud Computing Reduced cost Cloud technology is paid incrementally, saving organizations money. The organization is able to plan the needed expenses more wisely. By cloud computing the cost is proportion to the requirement. Increased Storage Organizations can store more data than on private computer systems. Highly Automated No longer do IT personnel need to worry about keeping software up date and backup. Cloud computing will automatically do the update and backup the system giving the organization more time to do business than fixing the problems on its own. Flexibility Cloud computing offers much more flexibility than past computing methods. More Mobility Employees can access information wherever they are, rather than having to remain at their desks from morning till evening which is tiring and sometimes a boring job. The cloud made the business go mobile. Allows IT to Shift Focus No longer having to worry about constant server updates and other computing issues, organizations will be free to concentrate on innovation and research and development. This help business and product growth in the long run. 3.2 Cost of Cloud Computing Today, many large firms are burden with redundant, incompatible hardware and software because departments and divisions have been allowed to order and purchase their own technology. This make the cost of owning technology assets are relatively high. The cloud concept is paying what you use and no minimum fee required. The users are paying either on a monthly subscription fees or per transaction basis which are composed of the following mandatory components:. Management Interface at $6.25 per month Platform creation cost Application template Release Low usage (one time fee) Average Usage (one time fee) Frequent Usage (one time fee) SAP ERP 6.0 Eh P4 $29 $179 $679 SAP Enterprise Portal 7.0 Eh P1 $19 $169 $669 SAP Solution Manager 7.0 Eh P1 $49 $199 $699 SAP Business Intelligence 7.0 (BI Cont 7.05) $39 $189 $689 SAP Ides CRM 7.0 $39 $189 $689 Computing infrastructure cost This cost will only be charged when you operate your platform. Operational support and the used computing infrastructure as cpu, memory, a static network address and network traffic are included. Configuration Set CPU Memory Low Usage (per hour) Average Usage (per hour) Frequent Usage (per hour) 1-5 users 4 core 8 GB $1.99 $1.68 $1.49 6-10 users 4 core 12 GB $2.68 $2.37 $2.18 11-15 users 4 core 16 GB $3.37 $3.06 $2.87 16-25 users 8 core 18 Gb $3.98 $3.67 $3.48 4. RECOMMENDATIONS OF CLOUD COMPUTING (briefly described cloud computing recommendations) 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5. CONCLUSIONS The following summarises the findings and recommendations as outlined below. 5.1 Summary of key findings The Study leads to the conclusion that cloud computing has the potential to transform IT, not necessarily through its impact on an agencys core business systems, but through commoditizing routine services such as e-mail, web servers, and data storage. Cloud computing can also easily deliver services that are common across government, such as accounting, procurement, and collaboration tools. If CIOs can increase their reliance on commodity computing, they will then have more time and resources to focus on the strategic management of ITand provide leadership and value for their agencies. We hope that this timely and informative report will be useful to profes ­sionals and executives across government who are seeking innovative approaches in order to leverage the new technology of cloud computing in their effort to reform and improve ITprograms and the delivery of services to both government itself and to citizens. 5.2 Recommendations 5.3. Limitation of Studies LIST OF REFERENCES Department of Finance and Deregulation 2011,  Cloud computing strategic direction paper: opportunities and applicability for use by the Australian Government  , viewed 5 April 2011, . Mell P Grance T 2011, The NIST definition of cloud computing (draft) , viewed 19 March 2011, . Wyld, DC 2009, Moving to the cloud: an introduction to cloud computing in government , viewed 19 March 2011, . Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, Management information systems: managing the digital firm, 11th edition. Cirrus cloud computing : Price list, viewed on 30 April 2011 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Journal Appendix 2: Cost and Benefits Appendix 3: Cloud Computing Benefits Appendix 4: Problems With Data Centre Power Consumption Appendix 5 : Power Consumption For Each Computer Appendix 1: Journal (390 words) Thomas 24 March, 2011 Thursday: Conducted informal interview (9:30am) with Sim, Customer Service Engineer. Obtained basic information of MSF IT infratructure Thomas 03 April, 2011 Sunday: Visited report writing presentation by Adrian Stagg Lindy Kimmins (11:00pm) Thomas 03 April, 2011 Sunday: Seek permission from MSF Head (10:30pm), Mr. Daniel Cheong on selecting MSF Department for assignment 4 Thomas 04 April, Monday: Approval obtained by Mr. Daniel Cheong at 12:06am Thomas Janet 04 April, 2011 Monday: Both of us arranged to communicate through phone and email as we are from different parts of the country after office hours at 7.30pm. We discussed briefly on which of the organization intended to work on to our assignment report. In the end, after much discussion we decided to select either one of our company which we are currently employed for our assignment report after which we have discussed with our relevant IT department in our next meeting. Thomas Janet 04 April, 2011 Monday: We communicate again at 8.30pm. After much exchange informations of our survey on our IT department, we decided to select company, CIMB Bank Bhd as the organization to work on for our assignment report due to the good support from his company IT personnel. Next we discussed about the plan on how to complete our assignment through allocation of jobs. As we have selected my company to work on for our assignment report, Thomas 05 April, 2011 Tuesday: I log into CIMB Group website www.cimb.com/index.php?tpt=cimb_group and started my introduction part of my report (11:00am) Janet 06th April, 2011 Wednesday: I visited a few website : www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/cloud-computing.htm,    www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/Research/Documents/Cloud-Computing-28Oct09-Research.pdf  and www.startupbizhub.com/business-benefits-of-cloud-computing.htm which give me some information on opportunities of adoption by the Australia Government Thomas 08 April, 2011 Saturday: Sent email (8:30pm) to MSF Head personal assistance, requesting for MSF organisation chart, MSF IT infrastructure Eco system Janet 11 April, 2011 Monday: Visited the Australia Department of Finance and Deregulation 2011 again and started to complete the Executive Summary for our assignment. Thomas 16 April, 2011 Saturday: Visited USQ study desk for assignment 4 resources (9:00pm) http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=trueid=391393 Visited Wikipedia for pseudonym http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudonym (9:20pm) Reading assignment 4 mock up report (10:00pm) Reading CIMB Group Rules for Business Conduct (11:00pm) Janet 25 April, 2011 Monday: Compute the company IT Infrastructure Ecosystem diagram provided by Loudon Loudon 11e (page 203) and visited http://www.intek.net/a/images/netdesign.gif for fictitious diagram on corporate network infrastructure Janet 30 April, 2011 Saturday: Compute the cloud computing benefits and it cost Thomas 09 May, 2011 Monday: Checking and resizing fonts size for assignment paper (12:00pm) Browse CIMB Group website http://www.cimb.com/index.php?ch=g2_aupg=g2_au_leadercat=bodtpt=cimb_group for CIMB Group CEO profile. Browese USQ website http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=trueid=409613 for plagiarism check Appendix 2 : Cost and Benefits: Appendix 3 Organisation Chart of CSD Sales Channel Appendix 4 : Organisation Chart of Mobile Sales Force

Essay About Odysseus, Adonis, And Thor :: essays research papers

Essay About Odysseus, Adonis, and Thor Section I: "Odysseus Is The Most Cunning Man in the World" Odysseus, son of Procris and Cephalus of the Royal House of Athens, played a major role in the Trojan War. However, the legends of Odysseus do not begin until after the great war. At the end of the war he was separated from the rest of the Greek armies and was forced to wander for ten years until he was reunited with his family. His journeys in those ten years were very similar to Jason's journey in his search for the Golden Fleece. Also, in the course of Odysseus' adventures, he proved himself to be not only a great hero but also a cunning and resourceful man, worthy of the title the most cunning man in the world. There are many similarities between the adventures of Jason and those of Odysseus'. Both heroes proved themselves to be mighty warriors; Jason, when forced to battle against the soldiers of the dragon teeth and Odysseus during the long battles of Troy. Both heroes showed extreme courage in the face of danger and neither shied from doing what was necessary to complete their quest. Both men were also very modest and were able to except help when needed, either form gods or from other mortals. Jason did not hesitate to ask for help from the princess Medea. Odysseus accepted help from a simple sheep herder in order to reclaim his home. Although these two heroes had similar adventures and shared similar qualities, they were very different. The first difference we notice between these two heroes is their lineage. Like most Greek heroes, Jason was a direct descendant of the gods. Odysseus on the other hand was not. He was a member of the Royal House of Athens and not divine as were many of his peers and relatives. Odysseus was also more compassionate than Jason. Jason used people to his own end and then disregarded them. An example of this would be his relationship with Medea. She made him into the hero he was, saved his life many times, and left her homeland to follow her love Jason. Jason, however, upon reaching home with the Golden Fleece, decided to marry a princess to gain more political power. He made this decision with no thought towards Medea's feelings and her love for him. Odysseus, in contrast, was far more loyal to his family and followers. He placed their happiness and safety on an equal or greater level then his own. For instance, when he was on

Teens Must be Educated About the Consequences of Drinking :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

As binge drinking continues to increase every year so does the fatalities caused by car accidents, teen pregnancy, rape, and homicides. Obviously there is no way to completely stop binge drinking but if we could decrease the occurrence then we could make a difference. I strongly believe that in order to do this we need to make the consequences more severe. Teens get off too easily and that’s why they continue to drink irresponsibly. I also think that if teens knew about it before hand they would think twice about binge drinking. Billboards are a good way of sending out this message. If they appear on major highways with a catchy phrase or maybe even a picture of what could happen it would get people’s attention. I know that if I was to see what a fatal accident caused by alcohol can do to a person it would definitely affect me. There are always numbers under the billboard signs that you can call so you can make your own billboard and you can also look in the phone book. Many have already taken action on the subject by covering our highways with warnings about the consequences of drinking and with the holidays approaching the issue of teens drinking illegal is bound to increase. Billboards are seen by many people everyday and I think that one about a serious issue would make a huge difference. I believe that kids need to be informed about binge and underage drinking before hand. I would suggest that they be required to take a class about it in junior high and in high school. This way they are more educated on the outcomes of it and not that it’s just an adrenaline rush. The way I could spread the idea would be through flyers. Flyers are a real easy to make and with shocking information and real life stories and pictures I think the word will definitely get out. I could hand them out almost anywhere, such as the mall, a sporting event, at school, etc. the more that agree with my opinion the better the chances are of passing the law. And even if it doesn’t get passed it would at least get people thinking about it and maybe parents can inform their children about it before they get in a situation that is encouraging them to drink. There was recently a commercial on TV about a girl that got hit by a drunk driver.

Critique of the Novel Our Town Essay -- Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder was born on April 17, 1897, and died on December 7, 1975. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin to Amos Wilder, an American diplomat, and Isabella Wilder. Thornton Wilder started writing plays in The Thacher School in Ojai, California, and graduated from Berkeley High School in 1915. He served in the Coast Guard in World War II. After the war he attended Oberlin College, then Yale University where he earned his B.A. in 1920. His writing was honed at Yale where he was a part of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity which is a literary society. In 1926, he earned his M.A. in French from Princeton University. Wilder won Pulitzer Prizes for The Bridge of San Luis Rey in 1928, Our Town in 1938, and The Skin of Our Teeth in 1942. He also won the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1957, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, and the National Book Award in 1967 for his novel The Eighth Day. Form, Structure, and Plot The novel is organized into three acts, each one representing a different period of time. There are only two flashbacks in the book. The first takes place in act two, after George and Mr. Webb have a conversation. They both leave the stage and the Stage Manager introduces the flashback of when Emily and George had their first date at Mr. Morgan’s drugstore. The second flashback is not so much a flashback as it is time travel. It occurs in act three after Emily Webb joins the rest of the dead. She, as well as the Stage Manager, goes back in time to revisit her twelfth birthday. The first act is of George Gibbs and Emily Webb as teens, the second act is of their marriage, and the third act is of Emily Webb’s funeral. In the play a total of twelve years is covered. Throughout the play, the tone becomes more and m... ...out that Emily is dead. Additional Comments I was not thrilled with this book, but I did not hate it. The book’s strengths are that it has good, applicable themes that are easy to understand. Another strength that the book has is that it is not written in formal diction, so it is easy to read and understand. One of its weaknesses is that it is sometimes hard to follow the plot because of the lack of narration. The reader can get confused because of sudden scene or time changes. The book does leave one lingering question: What happens to George Gibbs? Although this is not my favorite book, it will have lasting effects on me. The transience of human life is a universal theme that can be observed by anyone. Bibliography Thornton (Niven) Wilder (1897-1975). . Our Town. Wikipedia. .

A Man of Innovation: Sam Walton

When Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in 1962, it was the beginning of an American success story that no one could have predicted. A small-town merchant who had operated variety stores in Arkansas and Missouri, Walton was convinced that consumers would flock to a discount store with a wide array of merchandise and friendly service. Hence, Wal-Mart's mission is to deliver big-city discounting to small-town America. From humble, hard-working roots, Sam Walton built Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. into the largest, fastest-growing, and most profitable retailer in the world. A child of the Depression, Sam always worked hard. He would milk the cows, and by the age of eight, he started selling magazine subscriptions. When he turned 12, Sam took on a paper route that he continued well into his college days to support himself. Walton began his retail career at J.C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa in 1940 making just $75 per month. In 1945, Sam borrowed $5,000 from his wife and $20,000 from his wife's family to open a Ben Franklin five and dime franchise in Newport, Arkansas. In 1950, he relocated to Bentonville, Arkansas and opened a Walton 5&10. Over the next 12 years they built up and grew to 15 Ben Franklin Stores under the name of Walton 5&10. Sam had plenty of new ideas. He liked to deal with the suppliers directly so he could pass the savings on to the customers. He later brought a new idea to Ben Franklin management that they should open discount stores in small towns. They rejected his idea. Sam and his brother James (Bud) opened their first Wal-Mart Discount City store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962. Walton and his wife Helen had to put up everything they had, including their house and property to finance the first 18,000 square-foot store. With gradual growth over the next eight years, they went public in 1970 with only 18 stores and sales of $44 million. While other large chains lagged behind, Wal-Mart soon grew rapidly in the 1970's, due to their highly automated distribution centers and computerization. By 1980, they were up to 276 stores with revenues of over $1.2 billion. Sam Walton's guiding philosophy for his stores from the beginning was to offer consumers a wide selection of goods at a discounted price. The company saved money by keeping low advertising costs and located stores in small towns where residents had few options for retail shopping. On one level, Sam Walton was â€Å"just folks†, the guy with the red dented pickup with the bird dogs in back. On another, he was the flinty entrepreneur, there to peer as deep into the salesmen's souls as into their sample kits and persuade them to give a deeper discount for Wal-Mart's bulk and massive purchases. Wal-Mart's success in small towns led to criticism that the stores took business away from small, hometown merchants. Nevertheless, the company managed to successfully market the stores as friendly, local businesses. In the Wal-Mart spirit, employees often greet shoppers at the store's entrances. Since their early days, Wal-Mart stores have paid careful attention to specific community needs and wants, often selling local merchandise along with items sold throughout the chain. In addition, the company honors selected graduating high school seniors with college scholarships, and the stores hold charity fund-raisers and sponsor various community events. Wal-Mart's corporate community spirit began to exert an influence on public policy in the 1990s. After the record industry established a parental advisory system of â€Å"stickering† music albums containing potentially offensive material, Wal-Mart decided to ban the stickered albums altogether from their stores. The company subsequently has succeeded in influencing many record companies to release clean versions of stickered albums. Wal-Mart has considerable impact in the music industry, largely because about one-tenth of all compact disks sold in the United States are sold at Wal-Marts. Today, Wal-Mart has over 728,000 Associates worldwide with 3,500 stores, sales of over $104 billion, is in operation in all 50 states and it's still growing. In an average week, approximately 60,000,000 customers will shop at Wal-Mart throughout the world. In his autobiography â€Å"Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story,† Sam shares with us, â€Å"If you believe in your dreams, there's no limit to what you can do.† In 1992, American legend, Sam Walton left us with these words, â€Å"I would like to be remembered as a good friend to most everyone whose life I've touched; as someone who has maybe meant something to them and helped them some way.† While Walton's management techniques over the years were hardly the stuff of an MBA program, it represents the kind of grassroots common sense that many entrepreneurs readily acknowledge-but too seldom heed. (People have a knack for making business more complicated than it needs to be.) What Walton showed the world, but especially the retailing world, was that success was rooted in a mindfulness of a few basic principles. These principles consisted of constantly being mindful of; customer service and satisfaction, always take advantage of the competitions ideas, diversify, employee satisfaction, and give back to the community. Couple this with a relentless drive to put these principles into practice. Sam Walton understood better, it seems, than anyone else that no business can exist without customers. He lived by the creed of, make the customer the centerpiece of all your efforts. In addition, in the process of serving Wal-Mart's customers he served Wal-Mart associates, shareholders, and communities. He accomplished this almost without parallel in American business. Walton knew what the customer wanted. The customer wanted everything: a large assortment of quality merchandise; low prices; satisfaction guaranteed; friendly service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience. His motto was, â€Å"always exceed the customers expectations†. In the 1950's and 1960's the great migration from the inner cities and from the rural areas to the suburbs had begun. The big retail giants stayed put, around the large populated suburban and urban areas. Small town and rural America either had to travel to the big city to buy cheaper or buy from the local merchant at a higher price. These merchants seemed to think that since they had a captive audience they could stick with their 35 to 45 percent mark-ups. There seemed to be an ever widening or let me say, vacuum occurring. Walton has been accused of single handily driving the small town merchants out of business. Reality shows though that the small town merchants brought about their own demise, by being greedy and only trying to monopolize their small piece of the market. They also viewed that raising the mark-up on their goods could only solve their loss of revenue, declining because of people moving out and people driving to the urban areas to shop. Sam saw just the reverse of this. Buy in tremendous volume, mark the goods up less than 30% and carry a large variety of goods. â€Å"Every day low prices† is a hall mark of Wal-Mart and Sam credits a manufacturer's agent from New York, Harry Weiner, with his first real lesson about pricing: â€Å"Harry was selling ladies' panties for $2 a dozen. We'd been buying similar panties from Ben Franklin for $2.50 a dozen and selling them at three pair for $1. Well, at Harry's price of $2, we could put them out at four for $1 and make a great promotion for our store. â€Å"Here's the simple lesson we learned †¦ say I bought an item for 80 cents. I found that by pricing it at $1.00, I could sell three times more of it than by pricing it at $1.20. I might make only half the profit per item, but because I was selling three times as many, the overall profit was much greater. Simple enough, but this is really the essence of discounting. By cutting your price, you can boost your sales to a point where you earn far more at the cheaper retail. Sam's adherence to this pricing philosophy was unshakable, as one of Wal-Mart's first store managers recalls: â€Å"Sam wouldn't let us hedge on a price at all. Say the list price was $1.98, but we had paid only 50 cents. Initially, I would say, ‘Well, it's originally $1.98, so why don't we sell it for $1.25?' He'd say, No. We paid 50 cents for it so mark it up 30 percent, and that's it. No matter what you pay for it, if we get a great deal, pass it on to the customer.' And of course that's what we did.† Moreover, that's what we continue to do – work diligently to find great deals to pass on to our customers. Some will argue that Walton†s plan was, and Wal-Mart's plan even today, is to drive all competition out and raise prices for even larger profits. In essence, become a monopoly similar to the previous small-town merchants. The argument is mute because a true free market will not allow this to occur. Someone will come in to fill the new vacuum that will be in existence. Just like Sam Walton did with Wal-Mart. Walton also saw a large segment of the country, although widely dispersed in small towns, being totally inconvenienced by the big retailers. Yet the treatment by the people who owned the small-town stores who were neighbors, and sat in the same pew on Sundays was even worse in Sam's eyes, it was unconscionable. He could not understand how neighbors could treat one another in such a way over profitability. It was not right and he would make sure people were treated like friends and family when they came into a Wal-Mart. Sam Walton from the very beginning would scope out his competitors. When he would go to a competitor's store, it was always tempting to see how dumpy it was, how small it was, or any other negative aspect that would make his stores seem better. He would never tolerate those types of thoughts. When he and whomever came back from visiting the competition, he would force them to focus on what the competition did better than their stores did. Once he went into a store in Tennessee and the place was awful. The produce smelled, and it was just a disaster. In addition, his associates were kidding each other wondering what Sam was going to say about this situation. Sam looked at the back of the store and saw a cigarette rack and said, â€Å"You know, that's the finest cigarette merchandising I've seen in a year.† Sam's view of his visits to the competition was that you have to see what they do better than you and learn from them. You must never have the arrogance to take your competition for granted, because that can come back and hurt you. Sam Walton felt that a business should always diversify, spread their risk. While Walton may have had his fortune tied up in one business, he still sold everything and anything he could get a good price on. Sam Walton felt that if you want anything bad enough, you could find a way to do it. Sam Walton said, â€Å"There's a steep price you pay for success, and successful people in business know that.† Sam's philosophy on leverage was that you couldn't spend more than you're taking in, that leverage will always come around and bite you. Conversely, Walton also felt that tough times magnify opportunity for those who avoid debt. He always said that there will come a time when big opportunities will be presented to you, and you have to be in a position to take advantage of them. Sam Walton told a story about how back in the late 1970s, when Wal-Mart had about 250 stores, when he received a call from the chairman of Kmart offering to buy Wal-Mart. Walton replied, â€Å"Gee, that's funny. I thought we'd buy you.† The Kmart people were amused. After all, at the time Kmart had five times as many stores as Wal-Mart. However, Walton knew that internal and external problems were plaguing Kmart. The company was over leveraged and lacked focus. Kmart was a retailer in distress. Walton could see that, and he knew it was time to seize the moment and go for the jugular. In the sluggish, high-interest-rate economy of the early '80s, Kmart faltered and Wal-Mart ate its proverbial lunch. Sam is notorious for calling his employees, â€Å"as did J. C. Penney, ‘associates'† instead of clerks or workers. This may not seem like a large difference, however, it instills a feeling in each employee that he/she is responsible for the operations of the firm. Sam had never thought of using it at Wal-Mart until during a visit to England when he saw a storefront window. â€Å"It was the Lewis Company, J. M. Lewis Partnership. They had a partnership with all of their associates listed up on the sign. For some reason, that whole idea really excited me: a partnership with all our associates.† His openness to talk and listen to anyone of his employees made them feel that they were an integral part of the company. He would later on use his company's satellite system to communicate live to all of the stores at once to relay messages, which he thought, were vitally important. Although this practice is not copied from any company, the very concept of being close to all associates is being copied from his early mentor, J. C. Penney. Sam believes in opening the lines of communication, so they do not only flow from top to bottom, but from bottom to top. Mr. Penney also displayed this idea by spending as much time as possible in his stores. One author said, â€Å"Walton does a remarkable job of instilling near religious fervor in his people.† Sam borrowed this idea from Mr. Penney, the president of J. C. Penney, while Sam worked for him. â€Å"Then, of course, the icing on the cake was when James Cash Penney himself visited the store one day. He didn't get around to the stores as often as I would later on, but he did get around.† Sam made a point to be in the store as much as he could, unlike many managers of today. The reason for this was to allow his associates to really feel important with the president of the company coming to visit them. Few could argue with Adam Smith's statement that â€Å"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.† Those businesses that refuse to look after their own self-interests will not be businesses long enough to have any impact. At the same time, however, there can certainly be regard for a larger purpose. For some businesses, commitment to a larger purpose would be simply learning the difference between right and wrong, while others take a more responsible view of the role they play in the lives of their employees, their customers, and ultimately how they affect the world. Sam Walton's philosophies were and are fundamentally based on giving back some of the wealth that he and his family receive. Sam Walton, was not just one of the most successful and rich men in America, but prided himself and his family on giving something back. His family's gifts reflect a wide variety of interests, spread across numerous organizations, with a heavy emphasis on education. His programs continue after his death. Walton funded a special scholarship program that sends kids from Central America to college in Arkansas. Presently, there are about 180 of these children enrolled at three different Arkansas schools, and Sam paid about $13,000 a year per student. He also sponsored seventy scholarships of $6,000 each year for children of Wal-Mart associates. In addition to many educational institutions, recipients of Walton family gifts include church groups and community projects like zoos, libraries, and recreational facilities. He supported hospitals and medical research programs. He funded art groups and theater groups and symphonies. He gave to conservation and environmental causes and veterans' groups, as well as to economic development groups and free enterprise groups. Sam and his family also supported both private and public schools. Sam supported such groups as the Citizens Against Government Waste, Students in Free Enterprise, and the Arkansas Business Council. He conducted an aggressive United Way campaign. He was the largest single contributor to the Children's Miracle Network Telethon, donating $7.5 million. Sam donated his share of the proceeds from his book, Made in America, to the New American School Corporation, a private initiative started by business leaders who have pledged to raise $200 million for the development of â€Å"break-the-mold schools.† Most of the giving that Sam Walton has done has either been anonymously, or linked to strict requests for no publicity.

History of Mass Communication Essay

On June 19, 1965 Republic Act No. 4379 was passed, providing for the establishment of the University of the Philippines Institute of Mass Communication (UP-IMC). Dr. Gloria Feliciano was appointed director, and later dean, of the Institute. UP-IMC was formally established as an academic unit on August 23, 1966 offering journalism courses leading to the A.B. Journalism degree. In school year 1966-67, the A.B. Broadcast Communication and the M.A. programs were instituted. It was also in May 1967 that the Institute graduated its first batch of students—nine A.B. Journalism majors. By September 9, 1969, the Institute had transferred from the College of Arts and Sciences to Plaridel Hall. The third undergraduate program of IMC, the A.B. Communication Research, was instituted on April 7, 1975. Seven years later, in school year 1982-83, the Ph.D. in Communication program was instituted. It was also during this school year that the merging of the three undergraduate programs into one B.A. Communication program with major in any of the three old programs (journalism, broadcast communication, and communication research) was undertaken. Likewise, the three masteral programs were merged into one M.A. in Communication program and students could major in either broadcast communication, journalism or communication research. In school year 1984-85, the Film and Audiovisual Communication’s program was added to the Institute’s undergraduate course offerings. The following school year, Prof. Georgina R. Encanto was appointed new Dean of the Institute, succeeding Dr. Gloria D. Feliciano. December 1, 1987 marked the reactivation of the DZUP under the management of the institute. On April 28, 1988, almost 23 years after it was established, the UP IMC was elevated by the UP Board of Regents. Dr. Delia R. Barcelona then became the Dean in 1991. Prof. Luis V. Teodoro was dean from 1994 to 2000. During his term, the A.B. Communication program was divided once more into four distinct courses. Construction of the new Mass Media Center began in late 1996 during the term of Dean Teodoro, who conceptualized the Center to prepare the College for the 21st century, and raised the initial funds for its construction. In 1998, the Commission on Higher Education named the Journalism and Communication Research departments as its Centers of Excellence in the study of communication. The Broadcast Communication and the Film departments, meanwhile, are candidates for Centers of Development. In 2002, during the deanship of Prof. Ellen Paglinauan, a new MA Media Studies program was instituted with specializations in Broadcast Communication, Journalism, Film. The latter is considered to be the first (and only) graduate program in film in the Philippines. Dean Nicanor Tiongson, meanwhile, started two new Mass Communication institutions: the Plaridel Journal and the Gawad Plaridel.