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As a student, you were invited by the Dean of the Institute of Computing to attend a seminar-workshop on information systems planning with some of the faculty members. In one of the sessions, a discussion of outsourcing came up. You have been asked to present your evaluation about outsourcing the information systems functions of the school.

Required:

You are to take a position- outsource or in-source and justify your position. (3000words)
What is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing began in the early eighties when organizations started delegating their non-core functions to an external organization that was specialized in providing a particular service, function or product. In outsourcing, the external organization would take on the management of the outsourced function.

Most organizations choose outsourcing because outsourcing offers a lot of advantages. When organizations outsource to countries like India, they benefit from lower costs and high-quality services. Moreover organizations can concentrate more on core functions once they outsource their non-core functions. Outsourcing can also help organizations make better use of their resources, time and infrastructure.

In outsourcing, the outsourcer and the outsourcing partner have a greater relationship when compared to the relationship between a buyer and a seller. In outsourcing, the outsourcer trusts the outsourcing partner with vital information. Outsourcing is no longer confined to the outsourcing of IT services. Outsourcers in the US and UK now outsource financial services, engineering services, creative services, data entry services and much more.

Most organizations are opting to outsource because outsourcing enables organizations to access intellectual capital, focus on core competencies, shorten the delivery cycle time and reduce costs significantly. Organizations feel outsourcing is an effective business strategy to help improve their business.
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.
What is best for your organization?

If your 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 you save on time, effort, manpower and would also aid you in making quicker deliveries to your customers.

If you require expertise services in areas which do not fall under your core competency, then outsourcing will be a good option as you can get access to expertise services. For reducing costs and making faster deliverables, outsourcing is again a good option.

If your work involves production, then it would be more ideal for your organization to opt for insourcing, as you 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. Your organization can outsource and insource at the same time. By outsourcing and insourcing simultaneously, you can have the best of what both offers and your business can get a competitive advantage!



The Benefits of Outsourcing

Do you want to maximize your revenue and minimize your expenses? Do you want to get access to specialized skills and services? Do you want to concentrate more on your core business? Do you want to save on money, time and infrastructure?

If your answer is yes to any or all of the above questions, you might be interested in outsourcing. Outsourcing has several benefits. Outsource and take advantage of the benefits of offshore outsourcing. Read the following benefits of outsourcing to find out more about how outsourcing can give your business a competitive advantage!
1. Take advantage of the cost-advantages!

Outsourcing to countries such as India can give you access to cost-effective services. The same services with the same level of quality are offered in India for a much lower cost! This cost-advantage has increased the number of services that are being offered to India. Services such as call center services, teleradiology, medical billing, etc can help you save up to 60% of your total costs when outsourced! Getting access to high-quality services at a cost-effective price is the biggest benefit that you can get while outsourcing. Outsource and reap the benefits of outsourcing.
2. See an increase in your business

Another benefit of outsourcing is seeing a big increase in your profits, productivity, level of quality, business value, business performance and much more. Outsourcing can help you see an increase in almost every aspect of your business. Outsource and see your organization experience an increase in every aspect with these benefits of outsourcing.
3. Save Big!

One of the benefits of outsourcing is that you can save on every aspect of your business and increase your profits. When you outsource, you can save on time, effort, infrastructure and manpower. Since you don't have to invest in infrastructure, you can also save on making unnecessary fixed investments. Outsourcing removes the burden of changing or maintaining infrastructure. You can also save on capital expenditure. Outsourcing can also help you save on training costs, because you do not have to invest in manpower. These savings will help bring about an increase in your revenue. Your organization can also save on investing in expensive software and technologies.
4. Get access to specialized services

By outsourcing you can get expert and skilled services. This benefit of outsourcing has been the key reason why several outsourcers opt for outsourcing. The function that you outsource may not be your core competency but you can find an outsourcing partner who is specialized in that particular business process. Your outsourcing partner will be able to provide more proficient services. This is yet another benefit of outsourcing, because if you perform all your business processes in-house, you will not be able to provide specialized and skilled services. Outsourcing can give you this advantage.

Outsource2india is an organization that offers a wide range of specialized business process outsourcing solutions to global clients. Outsourcing business processes to us has enabled clients to cross-leverage our skills and expertise across industry verticals and technologies to achieve greater efficiency and quality levels in the outsourced process.

At Outsource2india, we have dedicated teams that offer outsourced services across a range of services which include Call center, Data Entry Servicesand Engineering Services, Healthcare Services, Financial Services, Software Development, Research and Analysis Services, Photo Editing Services, Creative Services and Web-analytics Services.

Outsource specific processes to our expert teams and increase your ROI. Contact O2I here.
5. Concentrate more on your core business

One of the benefits of outsourcing is that your organization will be free to concentrate on your core business. By outsourcing all your non-core functions, your employees can be put to better use and you will be able to see a huge growth in your core business.
6. Make faster deliveries to customers

Another benefit of outsourcing is that you can make quicker deliveries to customers. Your outsourcing partner will be able to provide faster deliverables and you in turn will be able to make quick deliveries to your customer. Faster deliveries can also help you save on time.
7. Improved customer satisfaction

With timely deliveries and high-quality services you can impress your customers. Outsourcing can help you benefit from increased customer satisfaction and your customers will remain loyal to your organization.
8. Benefit from time zone advantages

Outsourcing to countries such as India has a time zone advantage. Your night will be India's day. With this advantage, your outsourcing partner can complete critical work and send it to you the next day. Thus, your work is continued by your outsourcing partner even after your employees go home. This enables the work to be completed much faster and gives your business a competitive advantage. This is one of the benefits of offshore outsourcing.
9. Increased efficiency

Another benefit of outsourcing is increased efficiency. Your non-core business functions will be performed efficiently by your outsourcing partner, while your core functions can be efficiently carried out in-house. Thereby you can achieve overall efficiency and see an increase in your profits.
10. Give your business a competitive edge!

Outsourcing can help your organization gain a competitive edge in the market. You can also get access to specialized services for different business processes and thereby provide your customers with best-of breed services. Such strategic outsourcing can give your business a competitive edge among your peers. The benefits of outsourcing can give your organization a cutting-edge in the worldwide market. Outsource and take advantage of the benefits of outsourcing.
11. Outsourcing countries also benefit from outsourcing

Countries such as U.S, U.K, Norway and Australia amongst others can benefit by outsourcing. The economy of these countries has increased tremendously after outsourcing. In the U.S, after the outsourcing boom, the economy has increased, jobs have increased and the wages of American workers have increased.


REFERENCE:
http://www.outsource2india.com/why_outsource/articles/benefit_outsourcing.asp

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On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

These are the lines of the State of the nation Address of PGMA last July 27, 2009 which are related to ICT That improve the quality of life to the Filipinos...

1:
“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.”


The president made a mandate to form a government sector that will take charge on the country's prospects related to information and communication technology. As an IT student, it would be great for us that our government recognized the importance of technology to us. It would surely help our country in terms of providing and generating jobs for the people. I am also glad that our economy is moving through business process outsourcing (BPO) which also helped many Filipinos acquire jobs here and abroad. In this case, many foreign investors will invest in our country and we filipinos has the potentials and the competence for these kind of job.

2:
“As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy -- voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress..”

In these statement, Mrs. President wants the automated election be successful. We all know that budgeting for the automated election undergone many issues! but as what she said it will surely be implemented this coming election. May be it the right time for us to make use of technology, through this we can vote easily and the results of these election would be fast... and we could say that it can lessen cheating these coming elections.


3:
“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone.”

- This is really one of the many things that greatly affect the mass of people especially in everyday life. Almost every Filipino, rich or poor, uses mobile phones as a means of communication. And almost everyone has (pretty sure!) experienced times when cellphone loads were stolen unexpectedly even it is not normally spent by the user. Most people say this is primarily due to cellphone promos or value-added services being offered by other companies. The telecommunication networks are most likely to be blamed since they are the ones which distribute cellphone loads. Fortunately, the government has found ways to prevent this further. Now the expiry dates of load amounts are being extended. And I’m pretty sure that most number of people will benefit from this. More and more users will have less worry on their load expiries and stolen load balance, thus making communication with their loved ones be it near or far, local or abroad, possible. That’s information traveled through communication devices.



I guess this has a big impact to the filipino people because most of us has cell phones right? everybody has it!!!
We use cell phones everyday as a means of communication and it becomes one of our needs. The most common complains regarding CP's is that there CP loads are stolen just a blink of an eye even they don't make use it. (i also experienced it!!!) for me, it is the telecommunication networks should be held responsible for that because they are the one who distribute these cell phone loads!
Fortunately, the government take attentionto this problem. Now the expiry dates of load amounts are being extended. And I’m pretty sure that all of cp users will benefit from this. More and more users will have less worry on their load expiries and stolen load balance, thus making communication with their loved ones be it near or far, local or abroad, possible. That’s information traveled through communication devices.

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If you were hired by the university president as an IT consultant, what would you suggest (technology, infrastructure, innovations, steps, processes, etc) in order for the internet connectivity be improved? (3000words)

Before anything else, let us define first an IT consultant. An IT consultant works in partnership with clients, advising them how to use information technology in order to meet their business objectives or overcome problems. Consultants work to improve the structure and efficiency and of an organization's IT systems.

IT consultants may be involved in a variety of activities, including marketing, project management, client relationship management and systems development.

They may also be responsible for user training and feedback. In many companies, these tasks will be carried out by an IT project team. IT consultants are increasingly involved in sales and business development, as well as technical duties.

hmmmm.... by the way i'm just new in this campus and i'm not yet familiar to the technical facilities of the university... but based on the feedback of my new classmates there is a need for improvement in the IT/IS and i really observed that they are not maximizing the available resources the university....

Increase Signal Strength and Range of the Clients
As with wireless routers, Technicians can also improve the signal strength of wireless clients. They must consider this when dealing with a single Wi-Fi device that suffers from a very short signal range compared to the rest of these devices. This technique can improve the ability of laptop computers to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, for example.
If I were hired by the the university president as an IT consultant, there lots of factors that we should consider, especially the resources of the university and their capacity to support in their IS/IT in terms of technology, infrastructure, innovations, steps, and processes financially. In improving the IS/IT we should keep in mind on what are the available resources of the university does, primarily it should be maximized.
In the aspect of technology, we all know that everyday technology evolves and it has a consistent change. In determining on what kind of technology, it should not follow on what's the latest trends but on meeting the needs of the university.



Identifying and Meeting Infrastructure Management Challenges
Managing today’s IT infrastructure requires an approach that maintains virtually continuous business operation, provides high levels of security, and reduces operating cost and complexity while increasing IT staff productivity.


Each of these challenges presents IT administrators with unique issues, many of which involve ensuring secure and immediate access to the IT infrastructure.

An effective way to achieve this access is through a console server, which connects the serial console ports of many managed devices to a single appliance. An IT administrator can access any managed device’s console from any location at any time, even when the production network is unavailable. State-of-the-art console servers offer the following features:

Scalability — The ability to manage several servers in high-density racks is beneficial.
Port density — A console server should use a minimum amount of space in a rack to manage all the equipment in that rack.
Reliability — All connectors are located on the same side of the console server; the unit must be rack-mountable; and the unit should require minimum cabling and offer a high level of integration.
Power supply — The console server’s power supply needs to be integrated into the device.
Compatibility — The console server needs to be compatible with all of the IT organization’s servers and network equipment.
Security — Comprehensive support for IT security policies, including multilevel user access control and logging capability, is critical.
Audit capability — The console server needs to log all its activities in order to maintain security and regulatory auditing compliance.
Hardware flexibility — Support for out-of-band management, the ability to connect to more than one LAN, and integration with service processors and intelligent power distribution units (IPDUs) is useful.
Software flexibility — Upgradability helps to take advantage of emerging technologies.
Cost and service — The console server vendor should be committed to a product roadmap in IT infrastructure services.


Maintaining High Availability
Widely dispersed computing resources create an environment that relies on component peak performance for a maximum amount of time. Infrastructure problems, including environmental factors, hardware and operating system errors, power failures, and natural disasters, comprise 20 percent of all unplanned data center downtime.

When the network is operating properly, local or remote access is available through the network (in-band) and standard programs such as SSH and encrypted Web browser sessions. However, if a server or a network router has failed, IT administrators need access to the failed device through an out-of-band mechanism that connects to the device’s serial port and provides low-level control such as hardware self-tests or power cycling.



The Advanced Console Server Solution
ACS advanced console servers provide IT and network operations center staff with the ability to perform secure, remote and out-of-band data center management of IT infrastructure from anywhere in the world. It also offers an Enhanced Security Framework that provides current security profi les and enough fl exibility for IT administrators to create custom security profi les that comply with existing network security policies.

Maximizing Network Availability
Perhaps the single most important objective of today’s IT staff is to ensure that data is available to suppliers and company employees without interruption. Unplanned server or network downtime undermines that objective and causes productivity losses and reduced revenue to every one of the company’s partners. To ensure that an organization’s data and its network are always available, the console server provides both in-band and out-of-
band remote access to servers and other serially connected networked devices. IT access to the console server is available from any location at any time, providing the IT administrator with low-level control of network attached hardware. This control includes hardware self-test, BIOS access, power cycling, and remote rebooting.


Protecting Network Security
The console server integrates with a company’s existing security structure and supports enterprise security policies. It
supports strong user authentication using two-factor authentication with RSA SecurID and device authentication using certifi cates and a host key. The console server is compatible with virtually all authentication servers, including RADIUS, LDAP, Active Directory, TACACS+, Kerberos, and NIS protocols. Supported authorization methods include local access control lists or server-based group authorization through Active Directory, LDAP, TACACS+, or RADIUS. The console server also supports role-based authorization, and maintains both remote and local data and event logs and audit trials. It supports data encryption and secure out-of-band dial-up access through ISDN modem.

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When we say barriers of IT/IS implementation it mainly refers to hindrances that an individual or group may face while trying to gain proper adaptation of making use of modernized world. IT implementation most likely affects business firms especially in adaptation of IS/IT. For me, adaptation and implementation of IS/IT is a risky task to do because it may change the mode of business. Meaning to say, if the group/organization can easily adopt, implement, and adjust to the changes that they will undergo then it is a plus factor to them and it will surely contributes a lot to the growth of the organization. But if the organization takes a hard time or cannot adopt to the changes it would be a big burden to them. It could be the source of conflict and problems within the organization.

In implementation of IS/IT should under take the most effective strategies on how the individuals can cope-up with the changes in the organization. These strategic business goals are important to the success of a certain organization, specifically to the administration so that they can analyzed and understand the strength and weaknesses of their organization. It would also help them avoid the consequences and barriers that they may deal with in the implementation of IS/IT in their firm and through identifying these barriers they can formulate solutions to aid their dilemma regarding the changes of the organization.


Based on our adopted organization, these are the barriers regarding in their IS/IT implementation:


COST

IS/IT implementations typically requires incremental funding that must be raised from somewhere else in the organization. And, getting those monies allocated
is the number one challenge of the business managers that they are facing.

Most of the problems is the incapacity to show business value or return on investment (ROI) from modernization initiatives. For example, arguments related to technical capabilities of the employees and addressing the shrinking pool of staff skills are viewed as purely IT problems.

All they need are gateways to correspond the current business value of the supporting applications and infrastructure, the future business value of modern, agile systems, and the implications of delaying modernization work. IT executives need ways to make a stronger connection between modernization and operational concerns, such as lost competitive advantage, declining revenue, and poor regulatory compliance, to get the needed funds.





RISK

An organizational change is a risky and critical decision, i a sense that it mainly affects the whole operation of the business firm. It can push upward the organization's performance or it can pull backward that may result to a organizational breakdown. However, they need to ensure that their political capital is spent on projects that deliver maximum benefit in the shortest time possible and with minimal risk. A clearer understanding of the risks from inaction is necessary to
make a good case for modernization.



SOFTWARE

It is important for the organization to find IS/IT SOFTWARE that they will adapt in which it will provide the needs of the whole operation and transactions of the business. The software should fit on what approach does the organization needs, these involves the efficiency, user friendly, data security, reliabilty and etc.



MAINTENANCE

Maintenance allocates large funds and budgets as the organization implements their IS/IT. It is needed to ensure that the day-to-day transactions/operations of the system would run smoothly. It is a necessity because if the system will collapse due to lack of maintenance it would surely be a deep problem in the organization because we all know nowadays that IS/IT is now the heart and soul of a large business firms.

TRAINING

As the organization implements their IS/IT it is necessary for the employees to undergo trainings as they adapt the changes of their working environment. Proper educating of the employees on what is the new system helps them in coping-up, especially in working with it.

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Green computing is a must for us nowadays, especially in saving our environment. We are encourage in using and utilizing our resources more efficiently as a response to the call of the mother nature. In our generation, computers are widely used and in this case it also contribute to some factors that destroys our environment. It is our initiative to save and conserve our resources, and we can do this in our own little way in using computers.

http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/projects/green_computing.html


Energy Efficient Computing

Here are some tested suggestions that may make it possible for you to reduce your computer energy consumption by 80 percent or more while still retaining most or all productivity and other benefits of your computer system, including network connectivity.

Screen savers save no energy
If screen saver images appear on your monitor for more than 5 minutes, you are wasting energy! Screen saver programs may save the phosphors in your monitor screen, but this is not really a concern with newer monitors, especially LCD screens. And they do not save any energy.

A screen saver that displays moving images causes your monitor to consume as much as electricity as it does when in active use. These screen saver programs also involve system interaction with your CPU that results in additional energy consumption. A blank screen saver is slightly better but even that only reduces monitor energy consumption by a few percent.

Enable power management features
Thanks to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA), personal computer systems purchased today can be easy on energy. These “Energy Star” computers and monitors can be programmed to automatically “power-down” to a low power state when they are not being used. These efficiency gains can be achieved without any sacrifice in computing performance.

The EPA has estimated that providing computers with “sleep mode” reduces their energy use by 60 to 70 percent – and ultimately could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 5 million cars...



http://www.plantops.umich.edu/utilities/energy_management/computing/

We hear about it every night on the news: the world is in an energy crisis, greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise, global warming is a serious problem. You’ve tried to be a part of a solution by recycling, carpooling when possible, and observing ozone action days. But have you ever thought about your computer? Just by changing a few simple actions, you can help improve energy management, increase energy efficiency, and reduce waste...


http://www.fullerton.edu/it/news/Publications/Green_Computing_Guide.pdf

There are 3 stages in the life cycle of an electronic product –
(1) the decision to purchase a product, (2) use and maintenance
of the product, and (3) its end life. At each stage, you can make
decisions that lessen the environmental impact and promote
better use of resources.

Efficient Computer Operation

The most effective way to conserve energy is to turn your computer off when you aren’t using it. Beyond this obvious solution:

* Ensure power management features are enabled in your operating system. For step-by-step instructions on your Windows or Mac system, or check out the power management guide on the Energy Star website.
* If possible, check that your standby/sleep mode is set to “S3” or Suspend-to-RAM (STR), which affords far more savings than older standby modes; this is usually controlled through your computer’s initial setup option when booting (BIOS).
* Consider using a power strip with an occupancy sensor for all your peripheral devices. The occupancy sensor detects if there is movement and will power down any connected devices if there has been no activity for a preset period. This can keep the consumption of all your additional gadgets low, such as chargers, sync cradles, and desk lamps.

Buying New Equipment

Here are some things to consider before purchasing a new computer:

* It almost goes without saying but it is still worth mentioning: don’t buy CRT monitors. Rather, opt for a much more efficient LCD instead. LCD monitors are virtually standard now, but if given the option, remember that an average CRT monitor uses over 40W more than an equivalent LCD while in operation.
* Look for the Energy Star logo! The Energy Star program was created by the EPA to reduce the negative effects that PCs have on the environment. In accordance with the voluntary guidelines, these computers, monitors, and printers can automatically power down to a sleep mode to save energy when not in use. Energy Star computers are 65% more efficient on average compared to equipment without this certification.
These added capabilities do not increase price nor decrease performance. If you cannot find a logo on your equipment, you can search equipment listings on the Energy Star Computers page. The University of Michigan is actively committed to efficient computing purchases and is a member of Climate Savers Computing. Read the U-M News Service press release.)
* If you are building your own system, look for an 80-Plus®-certified power supply. This is a certification that your computer power supply is at least 80% efficient, and is equivalent to current Energy Star guidelines with respect to your power supply.

The Paper Chase

When computers first became popular, many thought they would revolutionize the modern-day workplace and usher in the “paperless office.” In most offices, however, it would seem that this has yet to take place, and it is not yet proven that paper consumption has decreased in any appreciable amount. Billions of memos, letters, reports, rough drafts, and final documents are created every year on the PC. Printed, they use a lot of paper. In 2005, the University of Michigan recycled 3,600 tons of paper, and more than 29,000 tons since 1990. Each ton of paper requires anywhere from 12 to 24 trees to produce, depending on the type of paper. (Read more about paper production at the conservatree.org website.

What can you do to reduce paper waste? One way to save paper is to determine if you really need a hard copy of the document, or if it is something that can be passed along electronically. With Internet connectivity, much of the information that needs to be shared can be transmitted without printing it.

Another way you can save on paper is to re-use it. Paper that has been printed on has a blank side. You can use that blank side to jot notes, messages, and to make lists of things to do.
Recycle

Recycling can also help reduce the impact that computers have on energy usage. You can recycle:

1. Your old computer. Recycling or reusing electronics is an important environmental concern. Properly disposing of your computer helps prevent mercury, cadmium, lead, and hazardous chemicals from leaching into our environment. Many sources will do this for a nominal fee, or even for free. For example, both Dell and Apple will accept your old machine when you purchase a new one. Depreciated machines at the University of Michigan are wiped of all data and sent to Property Disposition to be sold as used equipment.
2. Ink and toner cartridges. Cartridges can be refilled, re-manufactured, and re-used. Many re-manufacturers will take your used cartridge, refurbish it, and refill it. Re-manufactured toner and ink cartridges are considerable less than what they would cost new.
3. Paper. Whenever possible, use post-consumer recycled-content paper. The cost and quality differences of recycled to virgin paper today is negligible. And remember to re-use blank sides of used paper for inkjet printing and scratch paper.

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As a citizen of this country I have the right to express my thoughts and views regarding the issues in the upcoming 2010 automated election. This current events confuse me a lot when this issue worsen. I guess, we must have to know the how did this issue begun. First, what are those laws amending/authorizing this 2010 automated election. Second, who are the people involved in implementing this agreement. Third, the conflict between parties and lastly, what are the doubts, opinions, concerns and point of views of the people.

AUTOMATED ELECTION

SITUATIONER
The conduct of elections in the Philippines for the past four decades has remained largely
unchanged. Philippine elections rely heavily on manual tallying and canvassing of votes thus making
them vulnerable to control and manipulation by traditional politicians and those with vested interests.
The cost of winning an elective post is highly expensive, and the absence of mechanisms to check
and limit sources of campaign funds become fertile grounds for corruption and divisiveness.
In recent years, initiatives to reform the electoral system included the enactment of the
following laws: Republic Act (RA) 8046, establishing a pilot program modernizing the registration
and vote counting process in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Party List Law,
Fair Elections Act and the Absentee Voting Act. To address the inadequacies and limitations of the
electoral process, RA 8436 or the Election Automation Act of 1997, was passed authorizing the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to use automated election system for vote counting and
canvassing in the national and local polls. The law provided for the generation of a national
computerized voters list, establishment of a voters identification card system and the automation of
the vote counting.
However, sectoral issues still hinder reform efforts in the electoral process. The following
have been identified as basic problems afflicting the electoral system: (a) outdated electoral
process; (b) failure to implement the electoral modernization law; (c) limited administrative and
regulatory capabilities of the COMELEC; (d) ineffective educational/information campaigns on
new laws and policies; (e) weak political party system; (f) unaccountable political financing; and
(g) defective party list system (Governance Assessment, 2003).

GOALS, STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS
To ensure a credible and transparent electoral process, the modernization of the electoral
system through computerization shall be supported to ensure the credibility of polls and correct the
deficiencies in the electoral system. Likewise, the Omnibus Election Code shall be further revised
and amended to respond to the needs of the present electoral system.
Measures to strengthen the party system and regulate the activities of political parties shall
be created. State financing of political parties shall also be considered through the passage of the
Campaign Finance Bill.

The COMELEC’s capacity to raise the level of political discourse and educate citizens
regarding their right to vote will be enhanced. This will be done through conduct of continuing
citizen and voter education through partnership with civil society groups and other government
institutions. The electorate must be empowered with information that would help them vote
intelligently. The challenge is to develop the people’s appreciation of their vote as a means to
reform the government and receive better services from it. Part of this challenge is the need to
raise the awareness of the electorate on relevant issues and the corresponding platforms of the
candidates, if the country is to shift from the politics of personality to the politics of party
programs.


http://www.neda.gov.ph/ads/mtpdp/mtpdp2004-2010/pdf/mtpdp 2004-2010 neda_chapterx13_elections.pdf

The government have there good intentions in planning for the automated election but how these plan of the government becomes today's top issue. who are these people involved in this story?

Smartmatic Auditable Election System (SAES)
If your electoral agency seeks a fully-automated, electronic voting system that is completely secure, reliable and auditable, the Smartmatic Auditable Election System (SAES) is your solution. Proven under the rigorous scrutiny of independent international monitors in several national and regional elections, SAES has distinguished itself as the system beyond reproach.

The powerful combination of robust hardware, secure software and highly qualified personnel enables the SAES system to guarantee elections that voters can trust, in any part of the world. From its voting machines that feature a variety of vote input devices, customizable interfaces and printed voter receipts, to its secure data transmission networks, high-end tallying servers, immediate results tabulation and fully auditable paper trail, the SAES technological platform is the only end-to–end system available that ensures democracy rules, cost effectively.

Security
The impenetrable architecture of SAES is the result of a number of security mechanisms that we created by combining internationally recognized and standard-based security algorithms. You won’t have to worry about election tampering.


Immediacy
Not only do SAES voting machines allow voters to cast their choice more quickly, they allow the results to be known just minutes after the last polling place has closed.


Veracity
Smartmatic was the first company in the world to include printed receipts so every voter can verify that their on screen selections were recorded accurately. This not only establishes an auditable paper trail, but invites public trust and establishes the credibility of the election.


Economy
The digital voting process reduces the cost of holding an election because it requires greatly reduced human and economic resources. In addition, a thousand tons of paper can be saved because the need to print anything is eliminated almost entirely!


Auditing

A prerequisite of Smartmatic’s engagement is that a series of audits are undertaken before, during and after the election. SAES has been designed to make this a simple procedure, creating what we believe is the most transparent automated-voting process available in the world.


Flexibility
Your electorate has its own laws and conventions for tallying votes. That’s why SAES has been designed to make configuration for different tallying methods easy. Whether you use D’Hondt, simple majority, relative majority or other counting methods, you won’t incur costly reprogramming fees.


Accessibility
Voters with disabilities can be accommodated comfortably by SAES voting machines. Buttons with specific shapes and colors, sip-and-puff devices and special earphones are just some of the features our machines possess in order to guarantee equality and independence for all voters.


Versatility
Smartmatic recognizes the value of innovations that contribute to security so we engineered SAES in a way that lets it integrate readily with civil registration and voter identification systems. SAES makes it easier to build on the security platform you already have in place.

Autonomy
In those cases where an electoral agency requires operational control, Smartmatic provides licensing solutions. Structured as a turnkey agreement with ongoing support, the technology transfer can be achieved in the mid- to long- term, after training has been completed.

http://www.smartmatic.com/solutions/automated-election-system/single-view/article/the-new-standard-of-modern-democracy/


Total Information Management (TIM)

Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation is a wholly Filipino owned Information Technology (IT) company with nationwide operations offering varied products and services. It considers itself as "The Filipino IT Company" competing in a field dominated by multinationals.

How do we accomplish this? TIM wields the strengths of:

* Expert technical skills that can only be achieved through continuous innovation;
* Extensive experience spanning 20 years of unparalleled service in the IT industry;
* Uncompromising promptness in product and service delivery.

http://www.timcorp.net/main/index.php?pg=about.tim

COMELEC

The Commission on Elections, also known as COMELEC, is one of the three constitutional commissions of the Philippines. It is the premier guardian of the ballot. Its principal role is to enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections, initiatives, referendums, and recalls.

Functions of the Commission

Under the Constitution, the Commission on Elections is independent of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Philippine Government, for which purpose it has been vested the following functions:

Judicial functions

* to exercise exclusive jurisdictions over all contests relating to the elections, returns, and

qualifications of all elective regional, provincial and city officials and appellate jurisdiction over all contests involving all municipal officials decided by trial courts of general jurisdiction;

* to decide, except those involving the right to vote, all questions affecting elections, including determination of the number and location of polling places, appointment of election officials and inspectors, and registration of voters;
* to file petitions in court for inclusion or exclusion of voters; and
* to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute cases of violations of election laws, including acts or omissions constituting election fraud, offenses and malpractices.

Ministerial functions

* To enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of and elections, plebiscites, initiatives, referendum, and recalls.
* to deputize, with the concurrence of the President of the Philippines, law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the Government, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, for the exclusive purpose of ensuring free, orderly, honest, peaceful credible elections;
* to register political parties, organizations or coalitions and accredit citizens' arms of the Commission.

Reportorial function

* To submit to the President and the Congress a comprehensive report on the conduct of each election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum, or recall.

Recommendatory functions

* To recommend to Congress the enactment of effective measures to minimize election spending including limitation of places where propaganda materials shall be posted, and to prevent and penalize all forms of election frauds, offenses, malpractices, and nuisance candidates; and
* to recommend to the President the removal of any officer of employee it has deputized, or the imposition of any other disciplinary action, for violation or disregard of, or disobedience to its directive, order, or decision.

Other functions

* To perform other functions as may be provided by law, including fiscal autonomy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Elections_(Philippines)

Conflict between parties

2010 Philippine Automated Election in jeopardy

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) are now on the mindset of going back to manual counting if Smartmatic and TIM will not resolve their conflict. The COMELEC has given the two corporations until Friday to decide whether or not they could push through with the automation contract for the 2010 elections.

If the two companies cannot push through with the automation contract, COMELEC chairman Jose Melo admitted that next year’s elections might be done manually because the commission no longer has the time to convene a second bidding for a new supplier of machines.

Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., chairman of the House electoral reform committee, told reporters that TIM president Antuñez wanted 500 million php “up front” from its foreign partner. “If you give me a half a billion pesos, all of these problems will be solved.” - This was what the president of Total Information Management Corp. had demanded in a tease manner, but Smartmatic took seriously.“Of course, they took this as a joke but lawyers do not laugh about such things. They took it as a deal breaker. The lawyers thought this was tantamount to extortion,” Locsin said.Locsin said that by making “impossible demands,” Antunez was laying the groundwork for its defense against a lawsuit to be filed by Smartmatic in Singapore. “P500 million is really big because Smartmatic’s bid is already the lowest. You are not supposed to do that, it’s illegal. You cannot just give P500 million profit to somebody. Why will you do that?” Locsin said.

Other option the Commission on Elections is looking will be the joint partnership between Smartmatic and COMELEC, but worst case will be a full manual counting for the May 2010 election as chairman Melo sighted the automation will be “very slim” as” happy days will be here again” for those who will plan to cheat for next year election.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/2010-philippine-automated-election-jeopardy

Concerns of the people:

Is The Philippines Ready for an Automated Election System?

The computerized or automated election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) scheduled on August 11, 2008 is being threatened by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). On the other hand, this article is not about politics in the Philippines. This is about the computerization of the Philippine election system.

Are Filipinos ready for automation? Let me give you some facts about the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) then give your thoughts if the Philippines is ready for an automated election system (AES) as mandated by law (RA 9369 - Automated Election Law):

* The 2003 functional literacy survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed ARMM as having the lowest basic literacy rate in the country, with 30 percent of its people aged 10-64 years old considered illiterate.
* On a national level, one in 10 Filipinos can not read and write, according to the survey.
* Ustadz Esmael Ibrahim of the Assembly of Darul Ifta of the Philippines said illiteracy in the ARMM is worst in Sulu, with 40 percent of its people unlearned.

In addition, according to reports, two voting technologies will be used in the ARMM elections - Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) in Maguindanao, and Optical Mark Reader (OMR) in Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. More than 3,000 DRE machines and 156 OMR counting machines will be delivered to ARMM.

According to Comelec, “DRE uses electronic ballot, records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro optical components that can be activated by the voter, processes data by means of a computer program, records voting data and ballot images, and transmits voting results electronically.”

The automated ARMM election is a pretest to the 2010 Presidential elections in the Philippines. If this test succeeds, then for sure the Automated Election System will be used. If not, then maybe the Philippine government will consider going back to the “control” method which is the conventional election most Filipinos are used to or improve any weaknesses that will be identified in the implementation of the computerized election process.

This brings to mind the question, “How reliable can the computerized (automated) election system be?” knowing that anything electronic is much easier to falsify. Will the election finally put an end to the “dagdag-bawas” dilemma in our nation’s election results? Or, will the automation process make it much easier to fake election returns? Is the software in the machines in the automated election properly tested and proven bug-free? That we will find out after the ARMM elections. Let the “trial-and-error” in our election process begin on August 11, 2008. :-)

http://www.jpsimbulan.com/2008/08/06/is-the-philippines-ready-for-an-automated-election-system/

Tuesday, 30 June 2009
What’s the worry over automated elections?

MANNY MOGATO
Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/208159/what-s-worry-over-automated-elections

MANILA, June 24 (Reuters) — The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) is signing a $150-million deal with a Barbados-based company this week to automate balloting at the presidential polls next year, hoping to avoid fraud and speed up results.

About 50 million Filipinos are choosing a president, vice president, nearly 300 members of the two-chamber legislature and more than 17,000 local government officials through the as yet-untested automated system.

Such scenarios are making local financial markets nervous.

Here are some questions and answers about the plan to automate the vote count in the Philippines.

Why automate the elections?

Hounded by allegations of poll fraud and manipulation of vote counts in past elections, the Philippines has embarked on a major project to automate voting, using machines that can scan ballots, print and transmit results that could declare winners within two hours at the local level and about 36 hours at the national level.

About 82,200 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines will be deployed nationwide. Each machine is programmed to read about 1,000 ballots from four to five polling precincts at 350,000 locations across the archipelago.

The elections commission said the automation process will minimise human intervention in the process and reduce allegations of fraud. It would speed up the electoral process, giving it a result within two days instead of the weeks it has taken in the past.

Can it be done?

Lawmakers, politicians and analysts have expressed concern over the readiness of the country’s election agency to automate balloting because of the introduction of a brand-new system that has never been tested anywhere in the world.

At a congressional oversight hearing in the Senate, lawmakers frowned on the lack of planning by the election agency, including delivery, testing and actual operations of the machines.

There were also concerns over the financial and technical
capability of the Barbados- based company and its local partner that have won the contract for the poll automation.

There were also legal questions raised over the ownership of company due to rumours that the Venezuelan government may have control over it.

What happens next?

Critics fear that allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo could exploit any perceived malfunction in the automation process to invalidate the elections.

Candidates could lean on irregularities and flaws to contest results and a massive failure in the process could result in a power vacuum if no winners are declared on June 30, 2010 when terms of office of all elected officials, from the president down to municipal councilors, will expire.

Any potential civil unrest arising from the confusion over the failed automated process could be used as a pretext for declaring martial law and subsequently extend Arroyo’s term beyond June 2010.

Arroyo is not eligible to contest under constitutionally set term limits for elected officials. Critics accuse her and her allies of trying to amend the Charter to remove those limits, but it appears the move to revise the Constitution may not succeed.

Thus, her critics are worried that Arroyo and her allies may be pushing flawed automated balloting to create a scenario that will work in her favor.

What are officials saying?

Election commission officials are confident the automated balloting will succeed despite fears of technical problems and also say tallying of votes can be done manually if machines fail.

James Jimenez, a spokesman for the elections agency, said voting will still be done manually and only the counting is being automated, so if the machines break down, the ballots can be counted. There are also enough spare machines to replace any defective and malfunctioning PCOS.

Gabriel Claudio, the president’s political adviser, dismissed as “unfair’’ and “malicious’’ the speculation that the administration was preparing to make automated elections fail and keep Arroyo in power beyond June, 2010.

Claudio said the President was determined to hold credible, honest, and fast elections next year, a legacy that her government wanted to leave behind.

http://bayan-natin.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-worry-over-automated-elections.html

MY POINTS OF VIEW:

Election is the process wherein we chose our leaders that will govern our nation's success. This 2010 automated election could be the opportunity for us to vote using the trends of technology and a chance to have a clean and fair election in this country. As what I have observed during past elections, there are lots of ways to manipulate the election process.It is either by using power or wealth. Few of them practice vote buying while Some of them results into a bloody and brutal killings of the individuals just for the sake of winning in the election. I just don't know why this insane politicians are doing this, maybe because of the power and the wealth of corruption in the Philippines.

This issue on automated election could be a source of corruption and dirty election or could the first step for a clean election. Those were the questions that comes in my mind when I heard about this topic. I have read some of the articles about this, and I know that the government have there good intention regarding automated election but if this project will be handled by those people who only think for there sake and not for the country's success then, I'm quite sure that this upcoming election would no difference to the past election that the country experienced.


Most of the Filipinos don't really know how to use this automated machines that will be used for election. For me, I'm not anti to this plan of the government. As an I.T. student it is a must for us to apply the development and success of technology here in our country. Especially in this case that we are facing right now. But we should all consider a lot of factors in deciding whether the Filipino people have the capabilities to adopt this technology specifically in terms of computer literacy. In my observation, the government is lucking on preparation for this project especially in introducing this technology to the people. Although they have programs for this to teach those computer illiterate but still it cannot support the number people who are in need for this program, especially here in Mindanao. I guess the government should provide enough time for the preparation for 2010 election if they really want there aims and goal for this automated election to be fruitful and meaningful.

The best way for us to fulfill our aims as a good citizen of this country is to start in our selves the attitude of honesty and to show the love and respect to our beloved country by being a vigilant and a good observant to this upcoming 2010 election.
Whether we use automation or manual process of voting, the future would only lies into our hand...
"MAGING MAPAGMATAYG!"

VOTE WISELY... FOR THE SAKE OF THE WELFARE OF OUR COUNTRY...

AW... BY THE WAY... it's my First TIME to vote this coming election... hmmmm...

I'll vote for the worthy one....

have a nice day ahead...

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huhuhu!! "second assignment" !


TASK: Based on the orgnaization(s) that you visited, what do you think are ctchange?

In dealing with this task, it must have to undergo again like what we have experienced in our HRM assignment, a lot of procedures such us the approval of the chosen company to be interviewed , a letter of approval which is signed by our subject facilitator, Dean, and OSS Director. The difficult part of it, is asking the approval of the Information System officer of the company. If we will be rejected upon aiming IS officer's permission to conduct an interview in a certain company because of some valid reasons , it would be another long procedure to be done. We need again to propose, approve a letter and ask for the company's permission. HUHUHUHu!


That's what I also encountered in doing this task. Our group manages to propose a company and provide a letter of approval but as we ask for the company's permission, we were rejected. I guess, they just want to protect the confidentiality of the company. In this case, we have no choice but to start again.

The JS GAISANO TAGUM, permitted us to conduct an interview regarding the INFORMATION SYSTEM of the company.

JS GAISANOTAGUM , is located at Quirante Dos, Tagum City. Serving customers from 9 o'clock in the morning until 7o'clock in the evening.
And now, they are operating their branches in Kapalong and Sto. Thomas.

This company uses bar-code system wherein it functions as the logger of the employees. It tracks the time of log-in and log-out of the company employees. In terms of the information System of the company's transactions, for now, they were just planning for a system/software that will answer the needs of company.

I guess,it is a must for these company to install an information system that will provide their needs.
Especially that they are now growing and operating there business in other places. It s a must for them in the sense that as the company grows, there needs in IS becomes bigger. They need an IS so that the can handle tasks and operation between branches as one main system. Through this the can track if for example,if there sales grows or becomes low and to know if the demands of a customer as well their inventory of the different branches.


For them,the advantage of having an information system in there company are:
easy to transact business and allow them to scan record files in the easiest and fastest way.
convenient to the employees.
The company can save man power in terms of the numbers of the employees. .

They apply encoding in the computer in keeping their records. It was a semi-manual operation.

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Davao City Water District (DCWD)

DCWD: A Pioneer in the Water Supply Industry

When the LWUA-WD concept was hatched in the early 70’s, DCWD was among the first water districts formed in the country by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 198, otherwise known as the “Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973”. Back then, the district only had around 3,000 connections. Today, it has over 160,000 active connections that serve 57.87% of Davao City’s population, making it the biggest water district outside Metro Manila.


Being the biggest, however, does not make one the best. Through the years, DCWD has proven that it can lay claim to being both. Time and again, it was honored with numerous citations, awards and accolades by colleagues and supporters in the local, national and international scenes for the technical and institutional contributions it has rendered. Foremost among these were the prestigious “Most Outstanding Water District” (Very Large Category)” award given by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in 1995 and 1996, a feat which DCWD repeated in 2000 and 2001. In 1997, the Asian Development Bank’s Second Water Utilities Data Book ranked DCWD number one among 50 water utilities in the Asia Pacific Region, sharing equal glory with Singapore and Johor Bahru of Malaysia. Just recently, the Philippine Association of Water Districts (PAWD) recognized DCWD as the “Best Performing Water District” (Very Large Category) in 2007. Its Regional Training Center has also been recognized as the “Most Outstanding RTC” in 2005, 2006 and 2007 for its exemplary performance in serving the training needs, not only of its own employees, but also those of other water utilities all over the country. Because of its unselfish sharing of expertise and resources to other water districts, DCWD was once named by LWUA as “Godfather Water District” in 1984.


As a pioneer, DCWD is among the first ones in the water supply industry to fully computerize its billing, collection, meter reading and history, payroll, new service connection application, human resource information, stock inventory, accounting, procurement, and vehicle maintenance. Its geographic information system (GIS) has been reinforced and improved to meet the growing requirements of its service area. It also invested in automating data collection on the volume of water produced, monitoring of water level and keeping track of the current of the motors through a system known as SCADA, acronym for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.


As an official steward of Davao City’s water resources, DCWD is taking an active stance in promoting environmental protection through its Adopt-A-Site Project, community-based watershed rehabilitation, environmental monitoring of water resources and community relations within watershed communities. The strategy is to evoke the participation of the community for greater chances of success in sustaining the quantity and quality of Davao’s water resources for future generations.


From all the indications, DCWD has truly come of age and gone a long way from its humble beginnings.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Products / Services
Water supply services
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Information

Mr. Alfonso E. Laid, CPA
Asst.General Manager-Administration
E-Mail Address: dcwd@davao-water.gov.ph

Mr. Ariel Noble
Division Manager - Corporate Planning Department
E-Mail address: dcwd@davao-water.gov.ph
Mailing Address: Km 5 J.P. Laurel Ave.Bajada Davao City
Telephone Number: (082) 221-9400 local 206
Fax Number: (082) 226-4885

REFERENCES
www.davao-water.gov.ph

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What is Leadership???

As what I have learned in our discussion last week in this subject Management Information System (MIS), leadership provides us directions and proper guidance for the good governance of our society. So, I gathered some factual data regarding this topic specifically the 6 IS Leadership Roles.

6 IS Leadership Roles

1. Chief architect. The chief architect designs future possibilities for the business. The primary work of the chief architect is to design and evolve the IT infrastructure so that it will expand the range of future possibilities for the business, not define specific business outcomes. The infrastructure should provide not just today's technical services, such as networking, databases and desktop operating systems, but an increasing range of business-level services, such as work flow, portfolio management, scheduling, and specific business components or objects.


2. Change leader. The change leader orchestrates resources to achieve optimal implementation of the future. The essential role of the change leader is to orchestrate all those resources that will be needed to execute the change program. This includes providing new IT tools, but it also involves putting in the place teams of people who can redesign roles, jobs and work flow, who can change beliefs about the company and the work people do, and who understand human nature and can develop incentive systems to coax people into new and different behaviors.

3. Product developer. The product developer helps define the company’s place in the emerging digital economy. For example, a product developer might recognize the potential for performing key business processes (perhaps order fulfillment, purchasing or delivering customer support) over electronic linkages such as the Internet. The product developer must "sell" the idea to a business partner, and together they can set up and evaluate business experiments, which are initially operated out of IS. Whether the new methods are adopted or not, the company will learn from the experiments and so move closer to commercial success in emerging digital markets.


4. Technology provocateur. The technology provocateur embeds IT into the business strategy. The technology provocateur works with senior business executives to bring IT and realities of the IT marketplace to bear on the formation of strategy for the business. The technology provocateur is a senior business executive who understands both the business and IT at a deep enough level to integrate the two perspectives in discussions about the future course of the business. Technology provocateurs have a wealth of experience in IS disciplines, so they understand at a fundamental level the capabilities of IT and how IT impacts the business.


5. Coach. The coach teaches people to acquire the skill sets they will need for the future. Coaches have to basic responsibilities: teaching people how to learn, so that they can become self-sufficient, and providing team leaders with staff able to do the IT-related work of the business. A mechanism that assists both is the center of excellence - a small group of people with a particular competence or skill, with a coach responsible for their growth and development. Coaches are solid practitioners of the competence that they will be coaching, but need not be the best at it in the company.


6. Chief operating strategist. The chief operating strategist invents the future with senior management. The chief operating strategist is the top IS executive who is focused on the future agenda of the IS organization. The strategist has parallel responsibilities related to helping the business design the future, and then delivering it. The most important, and least understood, parts of the role have to do with the interpretation of new technologies and the IT marketplace, and the bringing of this understanding into the development of the digital business strategy for the organization.

MANAGERIAL ROLES




The Canadian academic, Henry Mintzberg who had trained as a mechanical engineer, wrote his PhD thesis at the MIT Sloan School of Management analyzing the actual work habits and time management of chief executive officers (CEOs). In 1973, Mintzberg's thesis on the nature of managerial work was adopted as a study and published for a wider audience.

Mintzberg: The Managerial Roles

Mintzberg (1973) groups managerial activities and roles as involving:

The broad proposition is that, as a senior manager enacts his/her role, these will come together as a gestalt (integrated whole) reflecting the manager's competencies associated with the roles. In a sense therefore they act as evaluation criteria for assessing the performance of a manager in his/her role.

1. Figurehead.
   Social, inspirational, legal and ceremonial duties must be carried out. The manager is a symbol and must be on-hand for people/agencies that will only deal with him/her because of status and authority.

2. The leader role
   This is at the heart of the manager-subordinate relationship and managerial power and pervasive where subordinates are involved even where perhaps the relationship is not directly interpersonal. The manager
   • defines the structures and environments within which sub-ordinates work and are motivated.
   • oversees and questions activities to keep them alert.
   • selects, encourages, promotes and disciplines.
   • tries to balance subordinate and organisational needs for efficient operations.

3. Liaison:
   This is the manager as an information and communication centre. It is vital to build up favours. Networking skills to shape maintain internal and external contacts for information exchange are essential. These ontacts give access to "databases"- facts, requirements, probabilities.

4. As 'monitor'
   - the manager seeks/receives information from many sources to evaluate the organisation's performance, well-being and situation. Monitoring of internal operations, external events, ideas, trends, analysis and pressures is vital. Information to detect changes, problems & opportunities and to construct decision-making scenarios can be current/historic, tangible (hard) or soft, documented or non-documented.This role is about building and using an intelligence system. The manager must install and maintain this information system; by building contacts & training staff to deliver "information".

5. As disseminator
   - the manager brings external views into his/her organisation and facilitiates internal information flows between subordinates (factual or value-based).

   The preferences of significant people are received and assimilated. The manager interprets/disseminates information to subordinates e.g. policies, rules, regulations. Values are also desseminated via conversations laced with imperatives and signs/icons about what is regarded as imprtant or what 'we believe in'.

   There is a dilemma of delegation. Only the manager has the data for many decisions and often in the wrong form (verbal/memory vs. paper). Sharing is time-consuming and difficult. He/she and staff may be already overloaded. Communication consumes time. The adage 'if you want to get things done, (it is best to do it yourself' comes to mind. Why might this be a driver of managerial behaviour (reluctance or constraints on the ability to delegate)?

6. As spokesman (P.R. capacity)
   - the manager informs and lobbies others (external to his/her own organisational group). Key influencers and stakeholders are kept informed of performances, plans & policies. For outsiders, the manager is an expert in the field in which his/her organisation operates.

7. A senior manager is responsible for his/her organisation's strategy-making system - generating and linking important decisions. He/she has the authority, information and capacity for control and integration over important decisions.

   As initiator/changer
   - he/she designs and initiates much of the controlled change in the organisation. Gaps are identified, improvement programmes defined. The manager initiates a series of related decisions/activities to achieve actual improvement. Improvement projects may be involved at various levels. The manager can

   1. delegate all design responsibility selecting and even replace subordinates.
   2. empower subordinates with responsbility for the design of the improvement programme but e.g. define the parameters/limits and veto or give the go-ahead on options.
   3. supervise design directly.

   Senior managers may have many projects at various development stages (emergent/dormant/nearly-ready) working on each periodically interspersed by waiting periods for information feedback or progress etc. Projects roll-on and roll-off,

8. the disturbance handler
   - is a generalist role i.e. taking charge when the organisation hits an iceberg unexpectedly and where there is no clear programmed response. Disturbances may arise from staff, resources, threats or because others make mistakes or innovation has unexpected consequences. The role involves stepping in to calm matters, evaluate, re-allocate, support - removing the thorn - buying time. The metaphors here are

   If you are up to your backside in alligators it is no use talking about draining the swamp.

   and

   Stop the bleeding as only then can you take care of the long term health of the patient. (not Mintzberg's anecdote)

9. As resource allocator
   - the manager oversees allocation of all resources (£, staff, reputation). This involves:
   1. scheduling own time
   2. programming work
   3. authorising actions

   With an eye to the diary (scheduling) the manager implicitly sets organisational priorities. Time and access involve opportunity costs. What fails to reach him/her, fails to get support.

   The managerial task is to ensure the basic work system is in place and to programme staff overloads - what to do, by whom, what processing structures will be used.

   Authorising major decisions before implementation is a control over resource allocation. This enables coordinative interventions e.g. authorisation within a policy or budgeting process in comparison to ad-hoc interventions. With limited time, complex issues and staff proposals that cannot be dismissed lightly, the manager may decide on the proposer rather than proposal.

   To help evaluation processes, managers develop models and plans in their heads (they construe the relationships and signifiers in the situation). These models/constructions encompass rules, imperatives, criteria and preferences to evaluate proposals against. Loose, flexible and implicit plans are up-dated with new information.

10. The negotiator
    - takes charge over important negotiating activities with other organisations. The spokesman, figurehead and resource allocator roles demand this.

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In our first meeting with Dr. Gamboa last week, we discussed about what is our subject, Management Information System (MIS) is all about.



He defined Management as PDOC or Planning, Directing, Organizing, and Controlling. It implies that someone has to be manage, so meaning to say we have the capabilities to work or act independently as what we are doing in our daily routine, such as physical hygiene and other daily tasks .



He also emphasized that we, people cannot be managed because of the reason that each of us has its own feelings and by that no one can control us. We need a good leader that will provide us direction and guidance.




As our exchange of ideas goes on, we learned the components of an Information System (IS)
IS= H.W + S.W + P.W


H.W stands for hardware, S.W for software, and people ware respectively, this components of IS confuse us. It is confusing because people ware is part of the components of the IS wherein people can never be managed.
So, our facilitator throw to us this question, "Is this a correct course description?"

Based on my own opinion, "yes" it is a correct course description because the hardware and software component is just the application of the computer system wherein it is designed to help us in planning and directing organizational operations.

The role of the people ware in that case is not to be managed,but instead people ware is used for the interaction between human and computers. It is also responsible for the transmission and exchange of the data in the computer or vice versa interaction. The main purpose of the people ware is to provide security, operate and manage the important applications stored in the computer.


hmmmmp...


This my idea and just correct me if I'm wrong....
I'm open for corrections... HEHEHEHE! Have a nice day ahead!!!

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