What should be the nature of the relationship between the business plan and the IS plan?

Business Plan

Before knowing the nature of the relationship between business plan and IS plan, let's first define the two for better understanding. According to wikipedia, business plan is is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals. For my understanding, upon hearing business plan, it is planning about the business. Meaning, plan to which pertaining to attain certain goal for the company. The business goals may be defined for for-profit or for non-profit organizations. For-profit business plans typically focus on financial goals, such as profit or creation of wealth. Non-profit and government agency business plans tend to focus on organizational mission which is the basis for their governmental status or their non-profit, tax-exempt status, respectively—although non-profits may also focus on optimizing revenue. In non-profit organizations, creative tensions may develop in the effort to balance mission with "margin" (or revenue). Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, tax-payer, or larger community. A business plan having changes in perception and branding as its primary goals is called a marketing plan.

In the hyper-competitive environment of today, there is perhaps nothing more important than planning and specifically developing a business plan. In any organization, there are many different types of plans – financial, human resource, marketing, production and sales.These plans may be short-term or long-term, strategic or operational, and varying greatly in scope. In spite of the differences in scope and coverage, each plan has a common purpose: to provide guidance and structure on a continuing basis for managing the organization in a rapidly changing hypercompetitive environment.

In this era of planning and intense competition among nonprofits for funds and market share, increasing competition between for profits and nonprofits, and increasing opportunities and pressures for nonprofits to collaborate with other non-profits as well as with business corporations, a business plan becomes an integral part of strategically managing an organization. By describing all the relevant external and internal elements involved in managing the organization, the business plan integrates the functional plans such as finance, human resources, and marketing, providing a road map for the future of the organization. There are various types of nonprofit ventures that may require a business plan such as a commercial venture attempting to raise net revenues for the nonprofit as well as ventures that directly address the mission of the organization and may not generate profits from sales but still need adequate support.

A business plan is usually read by a variety of stakeholders, and often has many different purposes. It needs to be comprehensive enough to address the issues and concerns of advisors, bankers, funders, community members, foundations, corporations, individual donors, government program officers, and affected client groups. Generally, the purpose of a business plan is to: obtain financial resources; obtain other resources; develop strategic alliances; and/or provide direction and guidance for the organization. While a business plan can serve several purposes, its most frequent use is to obtain financial resources. A well developed business plan then is important as it: (1) provides guidance to the organization in decision making and organizing the direction of the company; (2) indicates the viability of an organization in the designated market; and (3) serves as a vehicle in obtaining financing.

Given the importance and purpose of a business plan, it is imperative that it be comprehensive and covers in depth all aspects of the organization. The plan will be read by a variety of individuals, each of who is looking for a certain level of detail. The business plan can be divided into three primary areas, each of which has several sections. The first primary area, while the shortest, is perhaps the most significant, particularly when the purpose is to secure financing. This area consists of the title page, table of contents, and executive summary. The title page should contain the following information: (1) the name, address, telephone, fax, and e-mail numbers of the organization; (2) the name and position of the principle individuals in the organization; (3) three to four sentences briefly describing the nature of the organization and the purpose of the business plan; and (4) a statement of confidentiality such as “this is confidential business plan number which cannot be reproduced without permission.” This statement is important, as each numbered business plan needs to be accounted for by recording the person and organization of the individual receiving it and the date of receipt. The table of contents is perhaps the easiest part of the business plan to develop. It should follow the standard format with major sections and appendixes (exhibits) indicated along with the appropriate page numbers. The final part of the first primary area of the business plan – the executive summary – is the most important and most difficult to develop. This no more than three page summary is frequently used to determine if the entire business plan is worth reading and analyzing. The executive summary then affects if more detailed attention will be given to the plan. Given its importance, the executive summary should be written last and be written and rewritten until it highlights the organization in a concise, convincing manner covering the key points in the business plan. The executive summary should emphasize the three most critical areas for the success of the organization. In order of importance, these are the characteristics, capabilities, and experience of the management team; the nature and degree of innovativeness of the product or service and its market size and characteristics; and the expected results over the next three years. The second primary area of the business plan is the essence of the plan which contains the following sections: description of the organization, description of the area of service, marketing plan, financial plan, organization plan, operations plan, and summary. This area should be self contained, flowing smoothly from the description of the organization section to the summary section. The first section in this second primary area – the description of the organization – describes in detail the past, present, and future of the organization. The person reading the business plan needs to understand the history of the organization, its present size and scope, and its future over the next three years. The mission statement of the organization needs to be stated and show how this guides the organization. It is also important to clarify the tax status of the organization and especially if there is IRS approval for tax-exempt status. Following the organization section comes the description of the area of service. This section is important as it puts the organization in its proper context and competitive position. This section gives a historical overview of the service area, its present situation in terms of size and offerings, and its future outlook. A particularly important part of this section is competitive analysis, which should describe the strengths and weaknesses of each major competitor with respect to the corresponding strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This section should conclude with a forecast of the size and future outlook of the service area. The fourth section begins the three parts dealing with the important functional aspects of the organization. The first, the marketing plan describes the nature of the product or service and how it will be distributed, priced, and promoted to achieve the amount of activity indicated each year for the next three years. Since everyone realizes that marketing is involved in achieving the necessary sales, each marketing aspect should be discussed in detail in as comprehensive terms as possible. Given the close relationship, the financial plan follows logically. This section revolves around the preparation of four basic statements: the sources and uses of funds statement, the pro-forma income statements for at least the next three years, the pro-forma cash flow statements for at least the next three years, and the pro-forma balance sheets for at least the next three years. If the organization has already been in operation then past income statements and balance sheets should be in the appendix and discussed in the financial plan section The sixth section – the operational plan – describes overall how the organization will operate. This section should focus on the flow of work enabling the reader to understand the process that occurs from the time an order is received until the resource is delivered. This provides understanding of the overall operation of an organization. Primary area two concludes with a summary. This short section merely summarizes the preceding sections by highlighting the most important points and concludes with any requests of the reader. Following this core of the business plan comes primary area three – the appendices or exhibits. These provide supporting and additional information amplifying the material presented in primary area two. Typical appendices include: resumes of principals, markets statistics, market research data, competitors brochures and price lists, and leases and contracts.

Given the amount of time and effort needed to develop a good business plan, it is important that the plan be carefully implemented and used to provide guidance for the organization in all areas of its operation. The business plan will be most effective when controls are simultaneously implemented and the progress toward the established objectives is reviewed on a regular basis. Since the organization is operating in a competitive, changing environment, it is important that the organization be sensitive to changes in its field or industry, and market, and make the appropriate changes in the business plan as needed.
This will allow the business plan to be most effective in successfully guiding the organization over time.

ref: http://www.nationalcne.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/feature.display/feature_id/56/index.cfm?CFID=34311&CFTOKEN=48125333

IS Plan

IS plan for me is a plan in which it focuses on the improvements of the system in a certain organization. It is a process for developing a strategy and plans for aligning information systems with the business strategies of an organization. Most organization's survival now depends on IT. Planning of its effective use is a matter of organizational life and death. A variety of approaches, tools and mechanisms available for IS planning. In a traditional view, it is determining what decisions to make in the future. While in a better view, it is developing a view of the future that guides decision making today. Planning is different from making a strategy but I think it is also good over planning. Strategy making is stating the direction in which you want to go and how you intend to get there. Now, there are different types of planning. Strategic, tactical and operational. Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ), PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological), STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors), and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatic, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal). Strategic planning is the formal consideration of an organization's future course. All strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions:

1. "What do we do?"
2. "For whom do we do it?"
3. "How do we excel?"

In business strategic planning, the third question is better phrased "How can we beat or avoid competition?". In many organizations, this is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or more -typically 3 to 5 years, although some extend their vision to 20 years.
In order to determine where it is going, the organization needs to know exactly where it stands, then determine where it wants to go and how it will get there. The resulting document is called the "strategic plan." It is also true that strategic planning may be a tool for effectively plotting the direction of a company; however, strategic planning itself cannot foretell exactly how the market will evolve and what issues will surface in the coming days in order to plan your organizational strategy. Therefore, strategic innovation and tinkering with the 'strategic plan' have to be a cornerstone strategy for an organization to survive the turbulent business climate.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning


Tactical Planning is the process of taking the strategic plan and breaking it down into specific, short term actions and plans. The relative length of the planning horizon will vary from one market to another but typically the strategic plan will cover a period greater than three years while the tactical plan covers the period from today through to the end of year three. The content of any business plan will depend on why the plan is being produced. Some plans are for internal use only and act as a common reference during the preparation of budgets and appraisals. Some plans are basically sales documents aimed at persuading banks to provide loans and investors to provide equity. The process of producing a useable tactical plan is not easy as some flexibility is required to allow response to unplanned events. There are a large variety of strategic planning models and organisations that provide strategic planning consulting. Some of these are useful and can be used a check lists to ensure completeness and as facilitators to ask the awkward questions that people would prefer to leave unanswered. It is important that the tactical plan should be checked to ensure it is aligned with the strategic plan and that all activities are aimed at moving closer to the goals defined in the strategic plan. It is very easy for the tactical plan to diverge at a tangent because of someone's interests or disagreement with the strategic plan.

ref:http://www.businesscoachingexecutive.com/tactical_planning.html

An operational planning is a subset of strategic work plan. It describes short-term ways of achieving milestones and explains how, or what portion of, a strategic plan will be put into operation during a given operational period, in the case of commercial application, a fiscal year or another given budgetary term. An operational plan is the basis for, and justification of an annual operating budget request. Therefore, a five-year strategic plan would need five operational plans funded by five operating budgets. Operational plans should establish the activities and budgets for each part of the organisation for the next 1 – 3 years. They link the strategic plan with the activities the organization will deliver and the resources required to deliver them. An operational plan draws directly from agency and program strategic plans to describe agency and program missions and goals, program objectives, and program activities. Like a strategic plan, an operational plan addresses four questions:

* Where are we now?
* Where do we want to be?
* How do we get there?
* How do we measure our progress?

The OP is both the first and the last step in preparing an operating budget request. As the first step, the OP provides a plan for resource allocation; as the last step, the OP may be modified to reflect policy decisions or financial changes made during the budget development process. Operational plans should be prepared by the people who will be involved in implementation. There is often a need for significant cross-departmental dialogue as plans created by one part of the organisation inevitably have implications for other parts.

Operational plans should contain:

* clear objectives
* activities to be delivered
* quality standards
* desired outcomes
* staffing and resource requirements
* implementation timetables
* a process for monitoring progress.

ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_planning

In all the things we do, planning is a part of an activities for it guides every steps that can give satisfaction to our work. And we can't deny the fact that planning is so difficult. Here comes now the relationship between business plan and IS plan. It's because business goals and systems plans need to align.Strategic systems plans need to align with business goals and support those objectives. It will be difficult if CIO is not part of senior management. Technologies are rapidly changing. And continuous planning based on monitoring and experimenting new technologies. Certain companies need portfolios rather than projects. It is for the evaluation on more than their individual merit. On h.ow they fit into other projects and how they balance the portfolio of projects. In planning, infrastructure is included in which the infrastructure development is difficult to fund. It is often done under the auspices of a large application project. One of the challenge for this is to develop improved applications and improve infrastructure over time. Systems planning has become business planning, not just a technology issue.Responsibility needs to be joint. It is better done by a full partnership of C-level officers. Other planning issue is planning culture in which the systems planning must fit.

After reading the question that is needed to answer in at least 3000 words, I don't know what to put for its too long and a very long thinking is really needed to be able to answer the question's made.

Well, 10 years from now, I will be in the age of 30. Not bad coz it's not too old though.hehe....But you know what?I can't imagine what would be my life in that stage. Either be a successful one or not , it will depend on how I will handle my career and life. Of what will be happening from this day onwards would really rely on my own hands.

Now, the question is "Who am I 10 years from now?"And since IT is my course, I would love to be one of the IT professional. But there are so many jobs related in IT just like a programmer, system analyst and etc. Now, "What will be my job/position?"That is a big and difficult question for me to answer. But, in order to answer the assignment, and of course to know what i want to be is to dream of beacoming a programmer.(charing...har3)

Many people are attracted to the field of computer programming because it pays well and there are many jobs available in the field. While this is certainly true, there are also some drawbacks as well; long anti-social hours at the computer, frustration and the difficulty of the job on a consistent basis are but a few. If you’re attracted to the field of computer programming regardless, following the steps below can put you on the right track to establishing your dream career.Programming for me is very hard. And there are many PLs or programming languages now. One is java. To become a programmer, here are some instructions to get there:

First,learn about what a programmer does. A computer programmer is one who designs and maintains computer programs and applications that users use on a daily basis at home and / or at work. They create programs, make adjustments to programs already created and/or fix programs by manipulating the code that the program runs.
Second, learn about the qualities necessary to become a successful programmer. Many people assume that to be a good programmer one must be a mathematical genius. This simply is not the case. There are many more qualities that are characteristic of good programmers, most of which are more important than being a math wiz. The ability to think laterally and logically, the ability to work alone for extended periods of time, patience, and design skills are a few of the qualities needed to be a good programmer.
Third, decide what type of programming interests you. There are many types of computer programming. Some types of programming include: Game Programming, Analyst Programming and Applications Programming.
And fourth, seek education that is programming related. A college degree is not necessary to become a programmer, but will certainly help you find employment when you leave college. Many employers will want prospective job candidates to be certified in specific computer programming languages. While you can do this on your own, a college or university degree program in IT or Computer Programming will ensure you are adequately prepared for certification evaluations. Those who do not have college degrees can expect to work for less than those that do.


ref: http://www.ehow.com/how_2304308_become-programmer.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

Currently, I am studying in University of Southeastern Philippines for the purpose of wanting to graduate and to make my parents proud. Also, to have a stable job in the future.Programming is our major subject and we have already encounter lots of programming language. It includes java, and c++. To be honest, taking up this course is maybe a wrong choice of mine. Since in my high school years I don't know what to take for the college. All of us can't deny the fact that before going to college we are all not sure what to take in college.A lot of things I want to do. Like I want to travel around the world. And there's coming into my mind that I want to have job only in office. Also I want to be a nurse, a teacher. But we have to decide what we will be wanted to be and what to do for the future needs and living. When I take the the entrance exam here in USEP, there's a blank that is provided for the course you want to take. I don't know what to write coz I've decided that time that I will take accountancy or commerce but unfortunately, either of the two courses I mentioned offered here in school. So I took the advise of some students to take the BSIT even though I don't know what's that all about because they said that this course is in demand. You can get a job fast after you graduate. So, I took it and write it.

During my first year in college, I heard lots of humors that those who take IT, after 1 or 2 years they 've decided to shift to another course and few are left. And it is true. I felt afraid because if I shift to another course, back to first subject and I don't want it. So, I took this course as a challenge and a problem that I have to face to test my faith to GOD. And so thank GOD coz until now I'm here standing and fighting even though lots of problems and challenges comes into my life.

In my 3 and a half years I think in this course, I should be 4th year right now and a graduating a student. But due to some expected and unexpected things, I am only 3rd year now. Suffering from all the subjects that is loaded to me..hehe...Well, not only this year but all the years Iv'e been here in college and school. That's the life of the student though. I just have to accept that fact. And as a student, strategies are part of it to make things go in your way. Just like what will be your strategies and plan to be able to graduate in school.

Well, to be able to be one of an IT professional someday, I have to graduate first and receive my college diploma. We all know that every time you want to apply in a large company for a certain job you have to be a college graduate to be accepted except if you are a very genius person. And to graduate, you have to have strategies and plans. First, you have to think of what are your priorities in life. And the very first priority of mine is my family. Not only a priority but also an inspiration. They are the reason why I am pursuing my goal to study and graduate. To make them proud of me and to help them if I have my job someday. Of course, I have also to prioritize my subjects so that I can do all the tasks and solve all the problems in order to pass it. I should try to concentrate only in my subjects and not in some other enjoyment like facebook and friendster. I want to focused myself to complete my projects. By having priorities especially your family, you have the urge in your heart to fulfill your dreams in life.

Another thing that I should keep in mind is my attitude towards my subjects. Every time we have to do I get easily sleep. Especially in coding. I get easily tired.One way of achieving your goal is to discipline yourself. Discipline in a way of refraining from negative habits in which it lets you make you feel your downfall or failure. Another bad attitude of mine is doing an assignment or project in last minute. I should try to vanish it if I want to graduate coz that is one of the reason why sometimes i can't make and pass my assignments and projects.

And of course, in every journey of our life GOD is with us all the time. In every trials we encounter HE always guide us and give us strength to face and fight all the challenges we have. Without GOD, we are NOTHING!

Now, after graduate find a stable job. Working to support family. To be a competent IT professional, you must know what the expectations of your colleagues, your industry, your clients and the general public are. Meeting these expectations is what qualifies you to call yourself a professional, and what gives you recognition as a professional.
In today's world the role of the IT professional is crucial. IT has become an essential resource for most organizations. The evolving scenario is one of a growing complexity of computer systems and businesses dependence on them. Qualified and competent IT professionals are needed to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of computers.
Professionals work in areas such as Programming, Engineering, Database Administration, Networking, Web development and E-Commerce.
IT professionals create, operate, maintain and program computers. An IT professional must have the skills and knowledge required to carry out specialized tasks in a recognized field of IT. This is the minimum requirement. But IT skills demand far outstrips supply. Current IT skills shortage worldwide is enormous.
Knowledge (intellectual and conceptual) can be acquired through formal education sources such as private training institutions, colleges, institutions of higher learning, as well as E-learning on the Internet. The focus is on the intellectual, i.e. understanding concepts, generating ideas. Skills however, can be acquired and improved from work experience and practical training. The most effective form of skill building is through practical exercises.
Training and certification assists in improving skills, increasing knowledge and gaining recognition. Certification exams identify the necessary skills for an individual to perform their job competently and most important, successfully. For example, A+ certifies the competency of service professionals in the computer industry. Anyone who wants an internationally recognized credential as a competent computer service professional can take the A+ examination.
Because Certification is becoming the vogue in the IT industry today, more and more potential and working IT professionals want to get certified. It makes sense. Certification gives an IT professional, a valued credential that is recognized in the IT industry. Not only that, it is a powerful tool for providing job and business opportunities and for meeting challenges on the field. Improved income and enhanced professional credibility are powerful motivators for becoming IT certified.
Popular certification programs are Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE), A+, Oracle DBA, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Sun Certified Programmer (Java 2).
Does having a popular certification make you a competent and recognized IT professional? Is certification part of your career development plan? If it is, this must be based on a solid understanding of what certification entails and how certification fits into your personal work / career goals.
But as noted earlier, certification is only one way of ensuring you have the required skills and knowledge for IT professionalism. Formal education and Work experience, i.e. practical and relevant work experience, are also essential for IT skill and knowledge achievement.
However, does having superior IT skills, knowledge and certification make you a true professional? "Administrators and network engineers do not live by Windows 2000 alone. " I have personally come in contact with IT certified individuals who I cannot dare to call professionals. Or what would you call an individual who has no regard for ethics and is ever ready to sacrifice professionalism at the altar of money? As a professional what is your attitude to the public, your work, your colleagues, or your clients?
What is your attitude towards business ethics? In today's fast and slick business environment, how relevant is ethics when you can take the easy way out? Everybody wants to be "fast and smart". To a professional, money is important but it is not everything. Money should not be your master. To maintain this attitude can sometimes be difficult, with the attendant daily pressures. But that is no excuse. If you want to be a true professional that is the price you must pay. IT professionals need to ask themselves: "Am I in IT for quick, short profit or am I in IT for the long distance?" The choice is yours.
Is the CCNA certified individual who defrauds his employers an IT professional? What about those who use their skills and knowledge for anti-social and destructive activities? Are they professionals too? The most notorious are hackers and Virus developers. These are highly skilled individuals but what they use those skills for are not in the interest of society. The same goes for IT fraudsters. If you have all certifications in this world and you use your knowledge and skills to steal and destroy you are nothing but a thief.
Is it truly ethical, for example, for a professional to take longer than necessary to perform a job? To say that he/she is sick in order to take a day off for leisure? To fail to report rule violations by a co-worker?
The public expects the IT professional to be socially responsible and disciplined and should be a role model for the youth.
IT professionals must also address is the issue of currency. Professionals must find ways of staying current on IT and IT related issues. This requires continuous self-development on the part of the IT professional. Simply because you are certified, or you have many years of experience, does not mean you should go to sleep. The IT field is one of the fastest developing fields worldwide. You cannot afford to be outdated or allow your skills to stagnate. You cannot serve your clients or employers well if you only have outdated ideas and information. As an IT professional, you cannot be relevant to your society if you are not current.
Luckily with the digital age, there are many information, and learning opportunities available for serious and career-minded IT professionals. The Internet can be used for education and continuous self-development. Other tools that can be utilized for staying up to date include: books, publications, training, software, etc. But the presence of all these tools is not enough; as a professional you must have the ability and desire to update yourself on a continuous basis. We must never stop learning. This is especially crucial in IT. There must be a readiness and hunger to learn. Yesterday's knowledge may not be able to handle today's opportunities and challenges.
In conclusion, one can state that IT professionalism doesn't end with getting certified and earning a fat pay. It isn't simply about being a skilled expert. Just as professionalism is about skills and knowledge, it is also about responsibility and duty. It is about using your skills and knowledge in a responsible and humane manner. It is about using your privileged status to bring about positive change in society.
The right attitude also extends to how you treat your clients or employers. Are you dependable and trustworthy? There are many examples of so-called professionals who talk down to clients, and who cheat their clients or employers.


ref: http://www.jidaw.com/article2.html

Dreaming is what you want to be in the future and there's nothing wrong about it. We have all the right to dream. I just hope that GOD will guide me always and will give me knowledge, wisdom and strength to face all the challenges in life.

Hello everyone! Welcome to myself in this forum! I want to introduce my myself,again I'm ILYN P. MAPALO taking up Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. I'm 19 years old. Well, what I am expecting in this subject which is MIS 2 is that it will be one of the challenging and pressure subject in this semester.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED! :-)

October 1, 2009

We were here again to discuss the biometrics that we had researched from Dctech. He discussed his opinion and gave his choice. This time we asked his signatory.

September 28, 2009

It was our third visit for further clarification and asked some information necessary for the proposal we planned to make.

August 15, 2009

It was our second interview with the corporation. Before the interview had done we already forwarded our questions via email and do updating with their system. We asked about the Information System that the company had.

July 3, 2009

After receiving the confirmation we immediately formulated related questions. We arrived at the Lapanday Foods Corporation at 3:00pm and ended the interview at 5:00pm. We met the MIS Manager and started interview with him. We have a nice conversation with him.

We are now in an information age in which new discoveries and inventories of technology are being introduce to us which can give to the people of the world a very big help. Like in most organizations in which it makes all the transactions faster and easier.
Our last assignment is to find an information environment of our choice and what could be our role in that certain environment. Let's first define information environment. First to define is information. Information as a concept has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation. While environment is the surroundings which we belong. When we combine the two meanings, it result in area in which all the professional people are working together and of course uses their skills for the success of their organization. In information environment, it consists of each department to work for which specify your skills. Either in making programs or an analysts and many other departments.

Ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information

There is now a critical mass of digital information resources that can be used to support researchers, learners, teachers and administrators in their work and study. The production of information is on the increase and ways to deal with this effectively are required. There is the need to ensure that quality information isn’t lost amongst the masses of digital data created everyday. If we can continue to improve the management, interrogation and serving of ‘quality’ information there is huge potential to enhance knowledge creation across learning and research communities. The aim of the Information Environment is to help provide convenient access to resources for research and learning through the use of resource discovery and resource management tools and the development of better services and practice. The Information Environment aims to allow discovery, access and use of resources for research and learning irrespective of their location.

Ref:http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/themes/informationenvironment.aspx

My course is BSIT or Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. Information Technology as defined by wiki, is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware."IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.
Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems. When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or "infotech". Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.

When I entered this course, I don't know how to use computer. During the entrance examination, I don't know what to write in the preffered course. And because of “computer” word, I write the BSIT as my course without any knowledge about it.

An information environment of my choice:

Well, we all know that a graduate of a BSIT course is an intellect one because IT has something to do with software applications program which needs to be analyze first, and then program. I'm not sure if i'm able to finish this course but i'm hoping I can face all the challenges and difficulties in this course. For me, I want to be in the IT department of a certain company. IT department as I know has different divisions. Like for example, a department for all the professional system analyst. A systems analyst is responsible for researching, planning, coordinating and recommending software and system choices to meet an organization's business requirements. The systems analyst plays a vital role in the systems development process. A successful systems analyst must acquire four skills: analytical, technical, managerial, and interpersonal. Analytical skills enable systems analysts to understand the organization and its functions, which helps him/her to identify opportunities and to analyze and solve problems. Technical skills help systems analysts understand the potential and the limitations of information technology. The systems analyst must be able to work with various programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms. Management skills help systems analysts manage projects, resources, risk, and change. Interpersonal skills help systems analysts work with end users as well as with analysts, programmers, and other systems professionals.
Because they must write user requests into technical specifications, the systems analysts are the liaisons between vendors and the IT professionals of the organization they represent. They may be responsible for developing cost analysis, design considerations, and implementation time-lines. They may also be responsible for feasibility studies of a computer system before making recommendations to senior management.

A systems analyst performs the following tasks:

Interact with the customers to know their requirements
Interact with designers to convey the possible interface of the software
Interact/guide the coders/developers to keep track of system development
Perform system testing with sample/live data with the help of testers
Implement the new system
Prepare High quality Documentation

A software analyst is the person who studies the software application domain and prepares the software requirements and specification (Software Requirements Specification) document. Software analyst is the same between the software users and the software developers. It conveys the demands of the software users to the developers. A software analyst is expected to have the following skills:
Working knowledge of software technology
Computer programming experience and expertise
General business knowledge
Problem solving and problem reduction skills
Interpersonal relation skills
Be flexible and adaptable

ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analyst

Another is web designer. Web design is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of a Web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients, microblogging clients and RSS readers.
Web design is a kind of graphic design intended for development and styling of objects of the Internet's information environment to provide them with high-end consumer features and aesthetic qualities. The offered definition separates web design from web programming, emphasizing the functional features of a web site, as well as positioning web design as a kind of graphic design.
Web design is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of a Web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients, microblogging clients and RSS readers.
Web design is a kind of graphic design intended for development and styling of objects of the Internet's information environment to provide them with high-end consumer features and aesthetic qualities. The offered definition separates web design from web programming, emphasizing the functional features of a web site, as well as positioning web design as a kind of graphic design.
Web pages and web sites can be static pages, or can be programmed to be dynamic pages that automatically adapt content or visual appearance depending on a variety of factors, such as input from the end-user, input from the Webmaster or changes in the computing environment (such as the site's associated database having been modified). With growing specialization within communication design and information technology fields, there is a strong tendency to draw a clear line between web design specifically for web pages and web development for the overall logistics of all web-based services.

Another is system design engineering. Systems engineering (also known as Systems design engineering) is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more difficult when dealing with large, complex projects. Systems engineering deals with work-processes and tools to handle such projects, and it overlaps with both technical and human-centered disciplines such as control engineering and project management.

A programmer is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to programming may also be known as a programmer analyst. A programmer's primary computer language (Lisp, Java, Delphi, C++, etc.) is often prefixed to the above titles, and those who work in a web environment often prefix their titles with web. The term programmer can be used to refer to a software developer, software engineer, computer scientist, or software analyst. However, members of these professions typically possess other software engineering skills, beyond programming; for this reason, the term programmer is sometimes considered an insulting or derogatory oversimplification of these other professions. This has sparked much debate amongst developers, analysts, computer scientists, programmers, and outsiders who continue to be puzzled at the subtle differences in these occupations.[
A game programmer is a software engineer who primarily develops video games or related software (such as game development tools). Game programming has many specialized disciplines; practitioners of any may regard themselves as "game programmers". A game programmer should not be confused with a game designer; many designers are also programmers, but not all are, and it is rare for one person to serve both roles in modern professional games.

From those mention above some IT jobs, I rather be a programmer.There are many kinds of programmer and either of it i'm willing to work.

Principles of information organization:

As I searched the internet, I found three principles and these are:
Knowledge needs to be organized for communities
In designing tools to support the organization of knowledge, guiding principle must be that of user orientation and predominant usage
Standardization and networking provide infrastructures, which facilitate effective and efficient access to information and documents

For the first principle, needs of the community for information, documents, education and recreation are established through user studies, service delivery, committees ('focus groups'), involvement with stake holders in the community and other interactions with the community. Similarly the producers of databases, who organize knowledge embedded in document and databases, do so with the understanding of the marketplace, and the type and format of information that is likely to cultivate and maintain a loyal customer base. Portals could be viewed as the electronic agency that tailors document access and information services for specific communities. Nature of communities varies with the type of portal - public, commercial, internal, etc. However, the imperative to develop a community is clear. Public service needs to be offered to an identifiable community for resources to continue to support the portal .Commercial portals need to be convinced that their Internet activities are having a positive effect on awareness, reputation and trade .Creation of communities cannot be left to chance .E-organisations need to go beyond defining relationships with the customers, to taking a lead in the definition of the culture and values of the community they are seeking to create .This definition will assist consumers to identify with a community to which they can contribute. For user orientation, in the design of access points, index terms, search keys, and, more traditionally, headings, the principles of user orientation and reference to the user's cognitive and semantic frameworks has been long established. Traditional classification schemes were hierarchical in nature, as are the menu structures embedded in many web sites. Limitations of classification schemes has become evident with the growth of knowledge - resulting in cross-classification (location of a topic in multiple hierarchies). And for the last principle, global L&I community has achieved great success in international networks and networking activities .Support exchange of bibliographic data and documents and a host of other services.Demonstrate the sharing of expertise and perspectives in relation to the organization of knowledge. Use of these standards also leads to standardization in the interfaces offered to the user.

Challenges:

One of the challenges that I might encounter is having no experience.It means lack of experience or of the knowledge or skill resulting from experience. In real world situation, we can't deny the fact that a certain company or organization would hire person whom with experience. They just concern about their company's welfare. And if ever I am hired even though I don't have any experience, I will do my very best to do my job well. And how can I do that? I will just keep on learning what to learn and just keep on reading that is relevant to the job. And if ever there's something that I don't know, I should not be hesitant to ask to my colleagues. By that, I'm gaining information/knowledge.

Information systems are what the companies, organizations and even schools need to understand deeply for it is very needed and important in order to have an organize and well managed business. And in that matter, to make a certain system be effective, efficient and especially friendly user, the system should be well define and proven to be trusted to avoid leakage.

Let’s first define the two, outsourcing and in-source. Says from wiki that outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. Out sourcing in the information technology field has two meanings. One is to commission the development of an application to another organization, usually a company that specializes in the development of this type of application. Meaning, a certain company or organization is purchasing a software usually a package one with services free like maintenance depending on their services. But some software companies are providing a 24 hour services so that everytime there's something wrong with the software, they can contact and ask for an advice what to do.The other is to hire the services of another company to manage all or parts of the services that otherwise would be rendered by an IT unit of the organization. The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering cost or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the competencies of a particularbusiness , or to make more efficient use of land, labor, capital, (information) technology and resources.

As you evaluate your choices and decisions in outsourcing different components of your operations, you will need to consider the advantages of outsourcing. When done for the right reasons, outsourcing will actually help your company grow and save money. There are other advantages of outsourcing that go beyond money. Here are the top seven advantages of outsourcing.

1. Focus On Core Activities
In rapid growth periods, the back-office operations of a company will expand also. This expansion may start to consume resources (human and financial) at the expense of the core activities that have made your company successful. Outsourcing those activities will allow refocusing on those business activities that are important without sacrificing quality or service in the back-office.
Example: A company lands a large contract that will significantly increase the volume of purchasing in a very short period of time; Outsource purchasing.
2. Cost And Efficiency Savings
Back-office functions that are complicated in nature, but the size of your company is preventing you from performing it at a consistent and reasonable cost, is another advantage of outsourcing.
Example: A small doctor’s office that wants to accept a variety of insurance plans. One part-time person could not keep up with all the different providers and rules. Outsource to a firm specializing in medical billing.
3. Reduced Overhead
Overhead costs of performing a particular back-office function are extremely high. Consider outsourcing those functions which can be moved easily.
Example: Growth has resulted in an increased need for office space. The current location is very expensive and there is no room to expand. Outsource some simple operations in order to reduce the need for office space. For example, outbound telemarketing or data entry.
4. Operational Control
Operations whose costs are running out of control must be considered for outsourcing. Departments that may have evolved over time into uncontrolled and poorly managed areas are prime motivators for outsourcing. In addition, an outsourcing company can bring better management skills to your company than what would otherwise be available.
Example: An information technology department that has too many projects, not enough people and a budget that far exceeds their contribution to the organization. A contracted outsourcing agreement will force management to prioritize their requests and bring control back to that area.
5. Staffing Flexibility
Outsourcing will allow operations that have seasonal or cyclical demands to bring in additional resources when you need them and release them when you’re done.
Example: An accounting department that is short-handed during tax season and auditing periods. Outsourcing these functions can provide the additional resources for a fixed period of time at a consistent cost.
6. Continuity & Risk Management
Periods of high employee turnover will add uncertainty and inconsistency to the operations. Outsourcing will provided a level of continuity to the company while reducing the risk that a substandard level of operation would bring to the company.
Example: The human resource manager is on an extended medical leave and the two administrative assistants leave for new jobs in a very short period of time. Outsourcing the human resource function would reduce the risk and allow the company to keep operating.
7. Develop Internal Staff
A large project needs to be undertaken that requires skills that your staff does not possess. On-site outsourcing of the project will bring people with the skills you need into your company. Your people can work alongside of them to acquire the new skill set.
Example: A company needs to embark on a replacement/upgrade project on a variety of custom built equipment. Your engineers do not have the skills required to design new and upgraded equipment. Outsourcing this project and requiring the outsourced engineers to work on-site will allow your engineers to acquire a new skill set.

Ref: http://operationstech.about.com/od/officestaffingandmanagem/a/OutSrcAdvantg.htm

Why outsourcing?
There are many reasons why a company may choose to outsource a particular function of their business. Most managers have the end-result-in-mind that they are going to save time and/or money. Other reasons include:
Resource Shortages Relieved by Outsourcing
A particularly strong reason to outsource involves a shortage of a critical resource. This can be available employees that possess knowledge in a certain area (e.g. engineers), availability of material (e.g. petroleum or minerals) and a labor force at a level and price that will offset the cost of higher prices alternatives.
Outsourcing Provides the Ability to Concentrate On the Core Business
Some necessary, but peripheral operations are outsourced most frequently. This gives the managers the ability to concentrate on the core business issues instead of getting distracted by required, yet minor matters. A good example is a major hospital in our area that outsources its security operations to a third party company specializing in security.
Outsourcing Yields Cost Savings
The prices of labor and/or materials keep increasing and competition keeps forcing prices lower. If there is an outsourcing solution that can save your company money and overcomes the disadvantages of outsourcing, these areas should be investigated.
Outsourcing Provides Flexibility
Seasonal or cyclical demands that ebb-and-flow put varying demands on the resources of the company. An outsourcing contract could provide the flexibility needed to stabilize these varying demands. Example: A business brings in extra accountants during tax season and when being audited by the holding company that owns the business.
Reduce Overhead Costs Through Outsourcing
Some functions require a large outlay of money just to get started. This expenditure could be avoided by contracting with a third party. For example, expanding your call center’s capacity to the point where it exceeds the capabilities of your telephone system.
Common Outsourced Areas
Although many areas and functions are outsourced, here are some of the frequently outsourced areas:
Information Technology Functions
Network and Telecommunications
Human Resources and Insurance Administration
Accounting
Marketing
Security
As you evaluate your outsourcing choices, keep in mind that there are advantages to outsourcing and disadvantages of outsourcing. Look at each one of the outsourcing disadvantages listed below and decide what impact that item would have on your business. If the outsourcing disadvantages outweigh the advantages of outsourcing, then you should avoid outsourcing those operations.

1. Loss Of Managerial Control
Whether you sign a contract to have another company perform the function of an entire department or single task, you are turning the management and control of that function over to another company. True, you will have a contract, but the managerial control will belong to another company. Your outsourcing company will not be driven by the same standards and mission that drives your company. They will be driven to make a profit from the services that they are providing to you and other businesses like yours.
2. Hidden Costs
You will sign a contract with the outsourcing company that will cover the details of the service that they will be providing. Any thing not covered in the contract will be the basis for you to pay additional charges. Additionally, you will experience legal fees to retain a lawyer to review the contacts you will sign. Remember, this is the outsourcing company's business. They have done this before and they are the ones that write the contract. Therefore, you will be at a disadvantage when negotiations start.
3. Threat to Security and Confidentiality
The life-blood of any business is the information that keeps it running. If you have payroll, medical records or any other confidential information that will be transmitted to the outsourcing company, there is a risk that the confidentiality may be compromised. If the outsourced function involves sharing proprietary company data or knowledge (e.g. product drawings, formulas, etc.), this must be taken into account. Evaluate the outsourcing company carefully to make sure your data is protected and the contract has a penalty clause if an incident occurs.
4. Quality Problems
The outsourcing company will be motivated by profit. Since the contract will fix the price, the only way for them to increase profit will be to decrease expenses. As long as they meet the conditions of the contract, you will pay. In addition, you will lose the ability to rapidly respond to changes in the business environment. The contract will be very specific and you will pay extra for changes.
5. Tied to the Financial Well-Being of Another Company
Since you will be turning over part of the operations of your business to another company, you will now be tied to the financial well-being of that company. It wouldn't be the first time that an outsourcing company could go bankrupt and leave you holding-the-bag.
6. Bad Publicity and Ill-Will
The word "outsourcing" brings to mind different things to different people. If you live in a community that has an outsourcing company and they employ your friends and neighbors, outsourcing is good. If your friends and neighbors lost their jobs because they were shipped across the state, across the country or across the world, outsourcing will bring bad publicity. If you outsource part of your operations, morale may suffer in the remaining work force.

Ref: http://operationstech.about.com/od/outsourcing/tp/OutSrcDisadv.htm
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsourcing

Insourcing is the opposite of outsourcing; that is insourcing (or contracting in) is often defined as the delegation of operations or jobs from production within a business to an internal (but 'stand-alone') entity that specializes in that operation. Insourcing is a business decision that is often made to maintain control of critical production or competencies. An alternate use of the term implies transferring jobs to within the country where the term is used, either by hiring local subcontractors or building a facility.Insourcing is widely used in an area such as production to reduce costs of taxes, labor (e.g., American labor is often cheaper than European labor), transportation, etc. Insourcing is loosely referred in call centers who are doing the work of the outsourcing companies.
What is Insourcing?
The opposite of outsourcing can be defined as insourcing. When an organization delegates its work to another entity, which is internal yet not a part of the organization, it is termed as insourcing. The internal entity will usually have a specialized team who will be proficient in the providing the required services. Organizations sometimes opt for insourcing because it enables them to maintain a better control of what they outsource. Insourcing has also come to be defined as transferring work from one organization to another organization which is located within the same country. Insourcing can also mean an organization building a new business centre or facility which would specialize in a particular service or product.
Organizations involved in production usually opt for insourcing in order to cut down the cost of labor and taxes amongst others. The trend towards insourcing has increased since the year 2006. Organizations who have been dissatisfied with outsourcing have moved towards insourcing. Some organizations feel that they can have better customer support and better control over the work outsourced by insourcing their work rather than outsourcing it. According to recent studies, there is more wok insourced than outsourced in the U.S and U.K. These countries are currently the largest outsourcers in the world. The U.S and U.K outsource and insource work equally.

Ref: http://www.outsource2india.com/why_india/articles/outsourcing-versus-insourcing.asp

What is best for an organization?
If an organization has a number of non-core processes which are taking plenty of time, effort and resources to perform in-house, it would be wise to outsource these non-core functions. Outsourcing in this case, would help save on time, effort, manpower and would also aid you in making quicker deliveries to the customers.
If an organization require expertise services in areas which do not fall under core competency, then outsourcing will be a good option as it can get access to expertise services. For reducing costs and making faster deliverables, outsourcing is again a good option.
If work involves production, then it would be more ideal for organization to opt for insourcing, as it can save on transportation costs and exercise a better control over your project.
It is not necessary to choose outsourcing over insourcing or vice versa. A certain organization can outsource and insource at the same time. By outsourcing and insourcing simultaneously, you can have the best of what both offers and business can get a competitive advantage!

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone.”

Let’s first define what is the meaning of telecommunication. From the wikipedia, telecommunication is the assisted transmission over a distance for the purpose of communication. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as the telephone, television, radio or computer. Telecommunication is an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry's revenue was estimated to be $1.2 trillion in 2006. One of them is the Globe Telecom. in which it has been famous this few days for some complains as what PGMA said in her SONA.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

BPO stands for Business process outsourcing. BPO is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. From the meaning itself, you can conclude that BPO enhances the flexibility of an organization.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_outsourcing


“In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress”

Automated elections is one of the things that you can say development here in Philippines. We all know that from the previous elections we used to do a manual system. And now, by implementing this kind of system it really helps in order to have an easy and fast elections.

All of us know how useful is the internet. By using internet, whatever you want to searched it will give you the informations you need. As from the meaning that give by the wiki, the internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables wireless connections and other technologies. The Internet carries a vast array of information resources and services, most notably the inter-linked hypertext documents of world wide web(WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail, in addition to popular services such as online chat, file transfer and file sharing, online gaming, and voice over internet protocol(VoIP) person-to-person communication via voice and video. As you can see, in all the activities in everyday life, internet is part of us all the time even in the business world. Not only in business world but in all the aspects that comprises in this whole universe.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

Students nowadays are very lucky to have this kind of source of information for it helps them (we) in all situations. It is really a big help in researching all the necessary and needed information by all of us. It is also one way in which you can communicate to other places by just chatting to your loved ones. All of the people really influenced now by this kind of medium.

Now, all universities have computers and have internet connections for it is also introduced to all the students in order to know how to use it. Even kids now know how to use some products of technology.

In case to our university, the USEP, one of the problems is the internet connection. That problem occurred years ago but until now, didn't get a solution.

If I was hired as an IT consultant, that could be amazing...hehe! Well, in that situation, to help my university, after analyzing the problem I will think about the possible solutions to the addressed problem. And then I will tell them what is in my mind (he he...char). If you observed, every time we step on the line, there is what we called “orientation”. Orientation is the act of orienting a person. At Orientation you will have the opportunity to receive assistance in selecting your fall classes, tour the campus, and get to know other new students. Orientation is also a time to address any questions you have for University staff, faculty, and administration. And the universities always do that every year. Not only universities but also in the business world. It has the purpose of introducing a certain thing in order to be learned and understand. Back to the problem of the internet connection, I would initiate to do an orientation. In that orientation, I will be able to express my feelings, opinions and suggestions to all the students regarding the topic which is the low connection. I will be able also to introduce to them the new policies of using computers. I would suggest that it will be strictly given. And because it is of tight rule, there should be a person/or persons to look over the computers. And I hope he/she will do his/her part in order to have an organize way of using computers. Some policies that I hope to be followed are: a.) When entering the computer lab, virtual lib, students should log-in their names and leave their ID's either school id or library id. b.) One student per computer (the person assigned should always check that). c.) When inserting flash drive, they should first scan it.(students should cooperate...hope so!haizt)


Boost optimization
One way to improve internet speed is click boost where it is the one software for all your PC and Internet connectivity speed boosting needs. It is indeed the solution for great power and web speed as it is capable of installing tweaks that lead to improved connection speed regardless of its nature - Dialup, LAN or DSL. It also monitors your computer silently in the background for processes that have been ended improperly, offering methods to free up unused virtual memory.

Boosting can be very helpful in speeding up internet connection. Like active speed, which dramatically improves any home or office Internet connection, including dial-up modems of any speed, and high-speed connections such as cable modems, DSL, ISDN, T-1, LAN, etc. It works with all Internet services, including AOL and local ISPs. Active Speed’s patent-pending Intelligent Optimization Engine will continually monitor and optimize you connection so the more you use Active Speed the faster it gets. Another one is webRocket which is an Internet Optimizer that is powerful, easy-to-use program for Windows 95, 98, NT, Me 2000, and XP which boosts your Internet connection speed by up to 200%.
Dr Speed will boost your Internet connection up to 250%! This will 1.) Optimize your Internet connection 2.) Increase surfing speeds by up to 250%! 3.)Optimize your computer to reclaim lost memory 4.) Shorten download times for all files 5.) Speed up file sharing 6.) Increase computer performance 7.) Decrease wait times while applications work 8.) Run programs simultaneously, without slowing your PC 9.) Display complete information about your computer and much more.

Maybe by picking by just one of the mentioned above, or to prove it helps, the university should test them first in order to determine either which of them is very effective.

Another way to speed up internet connection is to update antivirus everyday. I think this is also one cause of having a low internet connection. It’s because it prone to viruses. Malfunction will possibly occur and we all know and experienced it every time we use the computer. It always hanged. Updating antivirus is not that difficult to do because it’s just need to find the update and then click. There should be one person assigned to update software everyday. It maybe the person whom assigned to look over the computers. By that, we have an updated antivirus.

Increased the bandwidth. A bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bit/s or multiples of it (kbit/s, Mbit/s etc). I think increasing in bandwidth and proper allocation can help improve internet connection.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing)

Maintenance of computer. In all situations, in order to have a well manage and organize environment, the word “maintenance” should not taken to be forgotten. It is always part of daily activities. Maintenance is the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained. Also the work of keeping something in proper condition. From the meaning itself, you can identify and understand that this word is very important in all activities in which it has something to do with keeping all the things that is meant to be kept or to last forever. That can be applied to computers. And like other things, computers also have some basic maintenance. Like Run Disk Defrag, a scan disk, a virus scan, a malware scan, and clear recycle bin. An unusually slow Internet connection experience is often the only sign that computer is infected with viruses or other malware. Delete old files and temporary files. Never allow the free space on C: drive to be less than 10% of the total size or twice the installed RAM (which ever is larger). A well maintained PC will operate much better than a PC that has never had any maintenance. You can google or your local computer repair store should be able to help you with this if you don't know how.

Ref: http://www.answers.com/topic/maintenance

Reset Network. Sometimes restarting home network if you have one will drastically increase the speed of the connection.

Optimize cache or temporary Internet files. These files improve Internet connection performance by not downloading the same file over and over. When a web site puts their logo graphic on every page, computer only downloads it when it changes. If you delete the temporary files it must be downloaded again. If you disable the cache, it must be downloaded every time you view a page that uses it. This can be done by opening Internet Explorer, clicking on "Tools" at the top and choosing "Internet Options". On the General tab, click the "Settings" button next to Temporary Internet Files. Set Check for newer versions to "Automatically". Set amount of disk space to use to 2% of your total disk size or 512 MB, which ever is smaller. On Fire fox, click "Tools" then "Options," and go to the privacy tab. Then click on the Cache tab within this.

Never bypass router. A router is a networking device whose software and hardware are usually tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding information. Most routers include a firewall that is very difficult for hackers to defeat. Routers connect two or more logical subnets, which do not necessarily map one-to-one to the physical interfaces of the router. If you don't need to use Wireless then hook your computer directly to your router. Routers will only slow down your connection by a few Milli-seconds. You won't notice the difference but the hackers will.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router

Call Internet service provider (ISP). Sometimes you just have bad service. They can usually tell if your connection is substandard without having a technician come to your home. Just be nice and ask. By that, it can lessen the expensive.

Upgrade computers. The term upgrade refers to the replacement of a product with a newer version of that same product. Generally meaning a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to bring the system up to date or to improve its characteristics. Common hardware upgrades are installing additional memory (RAM), adding larger hard disks, replacing microprocessor cards or graphics cards, and installing new versions of software, although many other upgrades are often possible as well. Common software upgrades include changing the version of an operating system, office suite, anti-virus program, or various other tools. Although upgrades are for the purpose of improving a product, there are risks involved—including the possibility that the upgrade will worsen the product. When hardware is upgraded, there is a risk that it will not be compatible with other pieces of hardware in the system. For example, an upgrade of RAM may not be compatible with existing RAM in the computer. Other hardware components may not be compatible after either an upgrade or downgrade, due to the non-availability of compatible drivers for the hardware with a specific operating system. Conversely, there is the same risk of non-compatibility when software is upgraded or downgraded for previously functioning hardware to no longer function. When software is upgraded, there is a chance that the new version (or patch) will contain a bug, causing the program to malfunction in some way or not function at all. Upgrades can also worsen a product subjectively. A user may prefer an older version even if a newer version is perfectly functioning.
If computer is slow, it doesn't matter how fast your Internet connection is, the whole thing will just seem slow. You can only access the Internet as fast as your PC will allow you to.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upgrade

Replace old cable modem. Any solid-state electronics will degrade over time due to accumulated heat damage. Modem will have a harder and harder time 'concentrating' on maintaining a good connection as it gets older (signal to noise ratios will go down, and the number of resend requests for the same packet will go up). An after-market cable modem as opposed to a cable-company modem will frequently offer a better connection.

Ref: http://www.wikihow.com/Maximize-the-Speed-of-Your-Internet-Connection

Another is blocking some sites that is not supposed to be open and browse. Just open internet connection to the sites that is useful to the students. It’s because downloading media, videos and other entertainment files can also lower the internet connection. Much better to have limited sites and just for school purposes. I know that in this suggestion, lots of students will be protesting, murmuring that against to this kind of policy but knowing that it will be helpful to speed up internet connection, this can be in the positive side.

Buying new computers is one of the options that need to consider in the situation of USEP. Although this university is a government school, if have enough budget then suggest to purchase new computers with high specifications. That will guarantee us a fast internet connection.

What are the barriers in IS/IT implementation in a company or organization?

As we all know, IS/IT is very important in a certain company or organization. It is the heart of all operations. As from the meaning given by the wikipedia, the term Information System (IS) refers to a system of people, data records and activities that process the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's manual and automated processes. In a narrow sense, the term information system (or computer-based information system) refers to the specific application software that is used to store data records in a computer system and automates some of the information-processing activities of the organization. Computer-based information systems are in the field of information technology. The discipline of business process modeling describes the business processes supported by information systems. And in implementing such system, there could be some negative output and also positive as well. Such barriers that can either be give benefits to the company or not.
As I browse the internet, I found some site that talk about the barriers in information sharing and their management. There’s a lot of different problems occurred in implementing system which are Human resource problems, Technical resource problems, Physical resource problems, Financial problems, Communication problems, Operational problems, Psychological and other problems.

Human resource become one of the problem because you can determine here the insufficient skilled management in information-gathering and retrieving information,insufficient trained personnel at all levels and insufficient communication skills. When creating a system, people ware plays a big important role here. They are the one who plans what will be the system to be created for the company, the one who made the decisions of the system to be used, the one who code it, study it and make it. There should be understanding and cooperation between them to reach their goal for the company.

Technical resource is one of the major problems encountered by some personnel within the system. It has the need for modern information systems, difficulties in setting up information programmed, have problems in data processing, technical constraints to reproducing or copying documents, decoding statistics collected and the structure of statistical reporting, time factor in the collection and updating of information, need for qualitative aspects of information. In creating certain system, the very most difficult is the data collection and especially management. It is because it has something to do with the system. It is where you can examine and evaluate datas collected that will help make a deep and not regrettable decision for each company. Data processing takes a long time to process for it requires a step by step formula to make it effective and can satisfy the needs of end-users.

For physical resource, it has something to do with need for publishing houses and need for documentation centres .The very main problem we all know in management is the financial problem. In the real world, we can say that all business are rolled by the money. To have a small business, one needs capital to go with it. Just like in a well grown business, even though it was successful, changing in technology is what the company should have to consider especially in the company that has something to do with the software and hardware. It includes need for funds for processing, printing and dissemination of information so that everything is flowing through and through and just go with the flow. In many cases, the initial purchase and associated implementation costs for these advanced technologies are known to be significant. Administrative and clinical executives at health care facilities cite the lack of financial support as the biggest barrier to implementing information technology. Only organizations with the financial resources and strategic vision to undertake such an investment purchase these systems especially when competition for capital dollars is high.

Another problem exist in implementing such system is the communication problems. There maybe insufficient understanding of the objectives, goals and aims of programmers that lead to unnnecessities expectations that may occur. One of the requirements in creating a certain system is having a purpose or purposes for a better development. If in that case, people who are involved are having misunderstanding or have conflict even in knowing the objectives of their proposal project, this could be lead to unsuccessful work. This also due to the production of incomprehensible information, top-down approach, languages which is the media of communication, information-filtering, untargeted information and insufficient understanding among interest groups. One of the key to successful in making it is the better understanding of each of the personnel involved in the project.

Operational takes also a big role in the company or organization specifically in the information system side. Such co-ordination and networking among professionals and educational institutions is needed. Need for supportive policy to release information, insufficient access to information source is recognize, of course confidentiality is needed here for security, redundancy of information makes the operations takes a long process and can be trouble minded to the personnel, nature of policy directives, it also needed in identifying sources of information for a better one, centralization of activities to make effective and competitive, and need for systematic documentation.

Psychological can also be a hindrance of course because it is in here where every person whom making the system is involved and they should be comfortable with each other. It is in here where mutual trust between professionals and administrators is needed to make it reliable, also need trust in information sharing to each individual to avoid conflict and to have an understanding, need of goodwill also plays a big role here. As we are in the real world, we can’t deny the fact that each know that each organizations are having competitions in their products. And it is natural for them because we are now in that situation. It is also one of the psychological problems. Another is censorship and war.

And of course, in every problem, there should be solutions. There are some of the things to consider in order making it effectively managed. For the development of human resource, training and other capacity building can be helpful to help individual involved in the process more gain knowledge and skills to have an effective and reliable system. On the other hand, for the development of technical resource, establishing documentation centre (independent non-governmental institution for processing and disseminating information), installing modern technology, creating database and encouraging small-scale publishing can be very useful and helpful for the particular problem to be solved. Furthermore, for the development of physical resource, improving infrastructure and building documentation centre are those things to consider that can be helpful to such problem. And for the improvement of the operations, some helpful and useful things to do are setting clear policy guidelines in information dissemination, encouraging government to have depository laws and enforce them, introducing information system, using mass media, following a bottom-up approach, developing grassroots level inventory of information, creating awareness of the value of information, identifying user information needs, consulting target groups, developing target-oriented and useable information, developing effective system of information management and dissemination; information should be simple, understandable and manageable, institute efficient and effective co-ordination and networking and encouraging a free flow of information — horizontally and vertically.

Ref: http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/erd/english/wgesa/doc/ethiopia/appendice_2.htm

As I further browse the internet, another site I found is from the study in University of New Mexico Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in Latin America. Study revealed the obstacles in science and technology information (S&T) sharing and information technology (IT) developments in the region. These are lack of current information for planning and developing technology, lack of expertise in the use of information, lack of international cooperation in developing the critical mass needed for projects and joint efforts and lack of interaction (lack of confidence and sometimes lack of information) between universities and industries. For the first obstacle above mentioned, it simply signifies that since we are in modern technology or high tech world, we should be updated to something new in able to have a fast software and hardware. The second one determine about the skills in which not sufficient to make an effective and reliable one. The third obstacle emphasizes that in order to communicate to the other areas; we should be cooperative and an active individual as part of the fast of growing world of technology. The fourth one also signifies of having no cooperation between parties that lead them to lack of information needed.

Ref: http://www.unm.edu/~jreenen/dlbook/chapter9.html

Other barriers I found as I searched the net that is related to this assignment are the barriers ideal intergovernmental systems. These are:
A general lack of education and information about both technology and programs. Technology has rapidly permeated our society and most of our institutions, but government organizations often lag behind others. Government staff are often ill-informed and poorly trained in how to use information technology effectively. This is particularly true of the newest technical tools and platforms. Public employees, both users and technicians, seldom have ready access to skills training or professional development that continuously upgrades their knowledge and skills. Conversely, technical staff typically have few opportunities or incentives to learn the goals and operational realities of service programs and therefore tend to focus too sharply on the technical tools and too little on the programmatic reasons for new systems.

Lack of a shared, reliable computing and network infrastructure. Existing state-local systems suffer from the lack of a ubiquitous, consistent computing and communications infrastructure. This makes it difficult or impossible to operate technology supported programs in a consistent way from place to place and organization to organization. It also slows and complicates communication among state and local staff involved in joint programs. New York State is currently embarking on a statewide networking strategy called the NYT that will help solve this problem for future systems.
Goals that are too ambitious for the resources available to achieve them. Project goals are often laudably comprehensive, but the staff, equipment, and dollars allotted to achieve them are often underestimated. Projects that could succeed on a smaller or incremental scale, fail to achieve success when their goals and resources are played out on different scales.

Human and organizational resistance to change. In some cases, new state-local initiatives threaten a comfortable status quo. They promise big changes that not every participant is eager to see. Fear and resistance to change exist even in the best planned and managed projects. A new way of doing business threatens existing personal, organizational, programmatic, and political conditions by rearranging authority, influence, power, resources, and information. This natural resistance is exacerbated when new programs arrive with too little advance information, weak leadership support, inadequate user participation, too little funding, and less than comprehensive training and orientation.
Unrealistic time frames. Many information systems projects take considerably longer than originally planned. State-local projects, with their added layers of legal and organizational complexity are especially vulnerable to this problem. Since so many different organizations are affected by them, time delays lead to serious difficulties in planning for and adjusting to changes in operations.

Organizational, programmatic, technological, and legal complexity. The state-local environment is extraordinarily complex on a number of dimensions: organizational size, number of organizations, number and skills of staff, size of budget, financial practices, legal authority, programmatic focus, and geographic dispersion. Existing systems are an important complicating factor. Only so much change is possible in an environment that depends on information systems already in place — especially ones that were designed and implemented using older technologies. There is little that can be done to simplify this environment, making it essential that project participants have a good understanding of how it will affect their activities.
Changing priorities. Any project that lasts more than a few months is subject to changing priorities for time, money, and attention. This problem is multiplied in state-local projects since each participating organization is likely to be working in circumstances and with responsibilities and priorities that are unique to its own situation.

Overlapping or conflicting missions among the participating organizations. Government organizations at both the state and local level have public service and public accountability goals that can overlap or conflict, even when they are engaged in a joint project. For example, a state agency manager may have the role of project leader which implies facilitation, collaboration, and support for other participants. At the same time, that person’s agency may have oversight responsibility and financial and other regulatory means of compelling local compliance with state requirements. In other projects, non-profit service providers may be project participants sitting at the same table with state or local officials who license and inspect their programs. These roles are all legitimate but can conflict and become a source of difficulty in sorting out the working relationships within the project team.
The barriers are undeniable. But the potential benefits of successful systems are compelling reasons to go forward with well-designed state-local initiatives.

Ref: http://www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/guides/tying?chapter=3&section=4
Additional barriers: The healthcare industry provides a unique vantage point to examine IT implementations considering the rapid infusion and diffusion of technological innovations in a highly legislated environment. It is further complicated where the primary focus centers not only on delivering quality patient care but also on facilitating continuous billing and reimbursement activities. There is uncertainty surrounding many healthcare organizations’ future technological resource and capital requirements because of the enormous scope of the necessary compliance activities, which have been brought
about by legislation such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This indecision serves to emphasize the need for a higher level of efficiency within the management of IT processes, especially as it relates to the success of technology implementation projects. The idea that successful IT implementation projects can be hindered by factors beyond those that are technology-based is not a new concept within project management education and research initiatives. Organizational factors do affect the success of information systems implementations, but the measure of success “must be individualized to the organization and to the various system users.” Fortunately, most non-technical factors can be controlled — or at least mitigated — within the project process if they are proactively recognized, properly understood, and ultimately expected.

Ref: http://www.ehrscope.com/downloads/may_articles/barriers_ehr_implementation.pdf

Barriers to successful in information technology are one of the studies done by Keith Fletcher and George Wright. In discussing the problems and issues in the use of IT, many different factors are usually mentioned. Schultz and Dewar (1984) referred to the technological challenge to Marketing Management, which they detailed as the way technology was changing the market place and the need to change organizational structures to meet the challenge. Indeed, these two elements, technology and organization are frequently mentioned when impediments to successful implementation or use of IT initiatives are discussed. Rucks and Ginter(1982) reflected on the previous decade and argued that the promise of strategic MIS was largely unfulfilled and that this was due to organizational structure deficiencies, communication problems between users and IS staff, and deficiencies in strategic planning models which did not reflect reality. There are lots of people identify the barriers whom are experts and in overall, researched into the barriers to organizations’ adopting IT intervention are consistent with a general conclusion that organizational barriers are more important than technical barriers, but that is frequently not recognized by the adopting firms. Organizational barriers relate to structural issues, such as fragmentation and poor relations between functional departments and an acceptance, by senior management of the strategic benefits of IT intervention and a clear strategy for its implementation. We all know that database is one of the way in which system is being made into functional and reliable one. And some of the barriers to implementing database management are: high cost of development, high fragmented system, data quality, account-based customer records, no clear DBM strategy, lack of company-wide marketing orientation, lack of direct marketing specialists, fragmented sales and marketing organization, lack of board level backing, agency relations and poor relations between marketing and IT.

And now based to our adopted company, barriers are as follows:

Lack of feelings of "ownership" of a project or execution plans among key employees. - Key employees tend to depend so much on the IT group in the execution of the project. They feel that the project is owned by the IT and they are just participants.

People are not measured or rewarded for executing the plan. – The success of the project greatly depends on the people implementing it. To inspire them, they need to be recognized for a good job, Tying up incentive and reward systems to success is a better way of doing it.

Competing activities distracted attention from implementing this decision. – In implementing projects, focus is vital. Each member in the team including management has to be involved and maintain focus during the implementation processes.

Major problems surfaced which had not been identified earlier. – Project plans that were not thoroughly discussed/reviewed/analyzed will create more problems during implementation. To minimize them, more time and analysis on identification of problems in implementation has to be done. Likewise delineation of work and role clarification should be addressed.

Took more time than originally allocated. – Controllable and uncontrollable factors can influence the time table of the project. The team must develop and evaluate strategies and plans that will expedite implementation.

Training and instruction given to lower level employees were inadequate. – Lack of training creates problem during implementation. Errors will be created, man hours wasted, project timeline exceeded. To address this, staff employees should be provided the needed training & instructions during implementation phase. Likewise, they should have higher involvement in strategic planning inputs and feedback.

Insufficient financial resources to execute the strategy. – Money to fund the project should be readily available at all times.

Information systems used to monitor implementation were inadequate. – Each member of the team has to be regularly updated on the status of the project. There should be tracking and dissemination of information on implementation of major tasks and activities. A development of better information and communication systems and feedback mechanisms is needed. Employees need to be updated on implementation tasks.