FUTURE TECHNOLOGY

CASE STUDY #3

• Make a comprehensive reaction paper for the two movies in no less than 300 words each.
  
• Make a comparative analysis of the two movies you chosen.
  

The two movies that i have chosen to make a reaction paper and a comparative analysis are the surrogates and Wall-E since they were the only movies i remember the movies was all about. Actually, i already watched some of these movies before but then i wasn't able to remember the plot. That's why i have chosen these two movies is because they were the latest ones and luckily Wall-E is one of my favorite movies.

The first movie i have to make a reaction paper is the Wall-E which happens to be one of my favorite movies. Starring a box shaped little robot with more than a passing resemblance to E.T., WALL-E is quite possibly the cutest Pixar hero ever, despite the fact that he's a trash compactor with eyes. A story centering on a wordless robot could be cold and uninviting, but not in Pixar's capable hands. Never has a robot been this compassionate: WALL-E's got heart.The story of the film is deceptively simple. WALL-E (Waste Allocator Load Lifter - Earth Class) is the last of his kind, a robot created by the Buy-N-Large Corporation to clean up the piles of trash left on Earth by the conspicuous consumption of human beings. The humans themselves have evacuated the now-toxically trashed Earth for a Eden-like spaceship habitat called the Axiom (also created by BNL corp.), where they spend their days sipping meals out a cup and reclining on floating easy chairs. Things change drastically for WALL-E the day EVE shows up. She is slick and futuristic and quite obviously a girl; WALL-E falls in love almost immediately. It turns out EVE has been sent from the Axiom to scan the earth for signs of habitable life. Their convincing courtship is done completely without dialogue, quite a feat for sound designer Ben Burtt who found a way to make ambient noise into recognizable words for WALL-E. Trying to impress the coolly modern EVE, WALL-E shows her the seedling he found, at which point EVE goes into a hibernation state and awaits the return of her spaceship. WALL-E, of course, cannot abide by his beloved EVE's status and hitches a ride into space to save her. Though he is tiny and relegated to the dirtiest of the dirty jobs, WALL-E truly understands how to find value in sullied things and how to create magic out of useless objects. He is more human than the humans inthat way and slowly, without preaching (he can't even talk), WALL-E begins to show them how to regain what they have lost through sloth and over reliance on technology. [1]

The second movie is the Surrogates which was directed by Jonathan Mostow and the leading actor was played by Bruce Willis. Set in present day, people have found a new way to live their lives to the fullest — with surrogate robots. The robots are a sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. Basically you’re you, only hotter and better at everything that you do. With everyone safe in their homes, free of pain, fear and consequences, the world is a utopia, that is until the first murder occurs and FBI agent Greer (Willis) will have to leave his surrogate behind and risk his life to unravel the mystery. In the not-so-distant future, technology has advanced to the point that humans use mind-controlled robots to go about their daily lives, letting the robots-- or surrogates-- experience the world while we relax at home in tricked-out Barcaloungers. Bruce Willis plays Greer, an FBI investigator who is at first living life like everyone else through his surrogate, who is Bruce Willis wearing a half-ton of pancake makeup and a ludicrous blond wig.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in Surrogates, from the intentionally wooden acting by some surrogates to the Wall-E-esque degradation of the human bodies behind the machines, but Mostow is far too absorbed in the nonsense conspiracy plot and frenetic action sequences to allow the audience to explore the world he's created. Half-baked and generic, Surrogates is entertaining enough for what it is, but a bland take on what could have been truly special. [2]

REFERENCES:
[1] http://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/WALL-E-3211.html
[2] http://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/Surrogates-4198.html

FUTURE TECHNOLOGY

CASE STUDY #2

As a future IT professional,
what do you think will be your contributions for the development of
technology based on what you learned from college? Define each and state its implications towards our IT society and industry.



As a future IT professional, and as part of the society i think there a lot of things that i can contribute to the development of technology based on what i have learned from college. Technology is one most unstable form which keeps on changing for the comfort of mankind. Some technologies are designed exclusively for the destruction or environment, but most are designed for economic or ergonomic effects. Technology has been crucial part of human; most of the things that we use today are the advance form of primitive electricity, its all because of advancement of technology. The great benefits technology bring to us is obviously influence our lives anywhere, not only does the improvement of technology make our lives more comfortable, but also benefits human beings in various fields ,such as manufacture, medicine ,education, communication and so on.Firstly, development of technology have made many conveniences in our lives which is brought about thought the science and technology and our standard of lives becomes more and more high than it was in the past. And as for me, by using what i've learned in college, i can develop and maintain systems, software, programs that introduces modern features. For example, technology contributes to higher productivity and therefore lower cost and less labor. Where group of workers needed in past can now be accomplished by one single man controlled CAD or CAM machines lowering in cost of the commodity or services. Moreover, Internet, which is the most popular among young people, where we could find any kind of information with our keyword on search engines. And about electronic games they have made many people familiar with the real life experiences like the Flight Simulator which mimics the real experience of flying an airplane, as well as similar games on computer for those who couldn’t do physically. Apart from those Internet, which covers all over the world, one common benefits people can exercise is to communicate directly with someone on the other side of the world either through chatting or just talking or even by video conferencing.

FUTURE TECHNOLOGY

CASE STUDY

Enumerate reasons why we use technology today. What are some points that have influenced us? What are the factors involved in technology change?

We all know that technology is everywhere. and there are also many reasons why we use technology most especially in education today.

Reasons why we use technology and some points that have influenced us:

*Students learn and develop at different rates: Technology can individualize instruction. Through computer networks called integrated learning systems, teachers can prescribe individual learning paths for students.

**Graduates must be proficient at accessing, evaluating, and communicating information: Online tools and resources allow students to efficiently gather and evaluate information, then communicate their thoughts and findings.

***Technology can foster an increase in the quantity and quality of students' thinking and writing: Perhaps one of the best documented successes with computers in education is in developing students' writing. Several features of word processors seem to reduce the phobia often associated with writing. Writing on the computer has a temporary feel, making it easier to take creative and grammatical risks.

****Graduates must solve complex problems: Higher-level process skills cannot be “taught” in the traditional sense; they cannot be transferred directly from the teacher to the learner. A collection of computer applications often called productivity tools could revolutionize the way students work and, more important, the way they think.

*****Technology can nurture artistic expression: Modern technology-based art forms (video production, digital photography, computer-based animation, and the like) have great appeal, encouraging artistic expression among our diverse student population.

******Graduates must be globally aware and able to use resources that exist outside the school:Technological tools allow students to inexpensively and instantly reach around the world, learning first-hand about other cultures.

*******Technology creates opportunities for students to do meaningful work: Technology can provide a widespread audience for students' work. Computers link students to the world, provide new reasons to write, and offer new sources of feedback on ideas. Students' video products shown on local cable stations can produce high levels of motivation and accomplishment.

********All students need access to high-level and high-interest courses: Through instructional television, students can view and discuss events they otherwise could not experience. Laserdiscs and CD-ROMs put thousands of images and topics at students' fingertips. Distance education technologies can bring important learning experiences to students, even in districts where small student populations have made some courses impossible to offer.

*********Students must feel comfortable with the tools of the Information Age: Computers and other technologies are an increasingly important part of the world in which students live. Many of today's information producers are converting their knowledge bases to digital format and are constructing new technologies to increase speed, capacity, and reliability of dissemination.

**********Schools must increase their productivity and efficiency: Technology can re-place (not replace) the teacher. When stage-three educators determine what students should do and how teachers and technologies can support students, many of the routine tasks done by teachers can be reassigned to technology, elevating the role of teacher. [1]

There are a lot of factors involved in technology change,one thing that i would like to point out is that technology is not constant. it changes and it upgrades every now and then. There are many new inventions that exist today and there are lots of upgraded technology. and that affects technology change.


MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

REFERENCE:
[1] http://www.dromano.com/ashland/educ232505/Top10.pdf

SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 1 (SUMMER)

Based on your learnings of chapter 1, identify and discuss some charateristics you have as a good Systems Analyst. (at least 1000 words) Woohoo! Summer class for one week and project proposal for the rest of the summer. Toron?? my favorite.. num num! Based on my learnings of chapter one, I have learned many characteristics of a good system analyst. The reporters in chapter one, Ida and Cham2x discussed to us the key roles of a system analyst, the various types of systems that an analyst can work on, and the required skills of a system analyst. These characteristics are somewhat I obtain as a systems analyst. I may not have enough experiences and I may not have all of those characteristic of a good system analyst but I am confident enough that I will be able to attain these different characteristics that I have learned throughout a week of presentation and reporting. Later on, I will be digging up about the topic but first I must first consider one of the most important topic I learned throughout the report that was presented. But first, let me define what a system analyst is. System analyst is the one who researches problems, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. They will be familiar with multiple approaches to problem-solving. Analysts are often familiar with a variety of programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms. Because they often write user requests into technical specifications, the systems analysts are the relationship between vendors and IT professionals. As what I have learned the key roles of a system analyst are: - System analyst as business problem solver - System analyst as consultant - System analyst as supporting expert - System analyst as agent of change SYSTEM ANALYST AS A BUSINESS PROBLEM SOLVER As a system analyst, one must be a good problem solver. A system analyst should have computer technology knowledge and programming expertise, should understands business problems, uses logical methods for solving problems, has fundamental curiosity, wants to make things better, is more of a business problem solver than a technical programmer. A good problem solver is both attentive to details and able to see the big picture. A system analyst should also be a good listener who likes working on group projects. SYSTEM ANALYST AS CONSULTANT On the presentation given to us by the first group of reporters, a system analyst as a consultant was explained to us concisely. A system analyst as a consultant, one should Acts as system consultant to humans and their businesses, and may be hired specifically to address IS issues within a business. in every business, there is a consultant. SYSTEM ANALYST AS SUPPORTING EXPERT In this role the analyst draws on professional expertise concerning computer hardware and software and their uses in the business. This work is often not a full-blown systems project, but rather it entails a small modification or decision affecting a single department. As the support expert, you are not managing the project; you are merely serving as a resource for those who are. SYSTEM ANALYST AS AGENT OF CHANGE As an analyst, you are an agent of change whenever you perform any of the activities in the systems development cycle and are present and interacting with users and the business for an extended period. In order to be an effective change agent, one must have both the technical knowledge and evaluation knowledge about the innovation. As a change agent, the systems analyst must understand the technical aspects of the innovation and have the ability to evaluate the advantage/disadvantages and consequences of an innovation. Various types of SYSTEM that an analyst can work on: These are the different types of system an analyst can work on. System is a collection of interrelated components functioning together to achieve an outcome. Information systems is a collection of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and provide as output the information needed to complete business tasks. Subsystem is part of a larger system. and Functional decomposition is dividing a system into smaller subsystems and components. Required SKILLS of a system analyst: Enough skills and experience can motivate a system analyst. a system analyst must be skillful enough in many ways. An analyst should have fundamental technology knowledge of Computers / peripheral devices (hardware)‏ , Files and database systems, Input and output components and alternatives, Computer networks and protocols, Programming languages, operating systems, and utilities, Communication and collaboration technology. Analyst uses tools, Software productivity packages, Integrated development environments (IDEs) for programming languages, Visual modeling tools and code generation tools. And Analyst understands techniques, such as Project planning, cost/benefit, interviewing , Systems requirements modeling including, Design, database design, network configuration. Analyst must understand the following: Business functions performed by organization, Strategies, plans, traditions, and values of the organization, Organizational structure, Organization management techniques, Functional work processes. Systems analysts typically study business administration/management in college with a major in CIS or MIS. Primarily a systems analyst must be an effective communicator. And a systems analyst must be able to perform various roles such as negotiator, teacher, mentor, collaborator, and manager. Being a system analyst comes up with a much bigger responsibility than any other fields. I should say, a system analyst is an “over-all” personnel and thus very useful in developing a system and in helping a business to grow. To sum it all up, my idea of a business system analyst are: · The system analyst must be able to communicate in writing and orally. · The analyst must easily get along with people. · The analyst must be a good listener and be able to react to what people say. · The analyst must be knowledgeable of technology. The analyst is not expected to know the intricacies of programming, but a decent general knowledge of concepts and terms is essential. · The analyst must be knowledgeable of business. The analyst is not expected to be an expert in business but a decent understanding of the client's world is required. I may not have all these characteristics as a system analyst but I am 101 % sure that I will be able to attain and apply all these as I journey through life being a system analyst.

SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 1
(SUMMER)


ASSIGNMENT #2


Interview a Systems Analyst and ask what skills and characteristics must a systems analyst develop in order to be more effective in any design modeling process [include in your answer evidences (pix, ltrs, etc)]? at least 1000 words exlcuding your evidences.

In this assignment we were tasked to interview a system analyst and ask what skills and characteristics must a system analyst develop in order to be more effective in any modeling process. Mr. James Bautista, the MIS Head of Sta. Ana Multipurpose Cooperative allowed us to visit his office and asked some questions regarding this assignment. Honestly, this interview was an ambush but luckily Mr. James Bautista allowed us to interview him. Together with my 8 other classmates namely, Stihl, Rorz, Sharlyn, Cham2x, kay2x, Ida, Yhang2x, and Alma, we directly rushed to Sir James\' office located in the 5th flr. of SAMULCO bldg. Uyanguren Davao City.


According to Sir James, an analyst looks into the over-all scope of the project. We have already discussed in the previous chapter what the characteristics of a system analyst must have. Sir James gave us a brief description what a system analyst is. According to him, a system analyst thinks as a common person. He also pin point the characteristics of a system analyst, being the one who solves the problem. He gave us a scenario in which he explained and differentiate the Global thinker into a systematic thinker. He took the case of the two guys who digs the ground in order to build a house, first guy was asked what is he doing and the guy answered, “I’m digging up the ground” and the second guy was also asked what is he doing and the guy answered “I’m building a house”. In this case the one who answered “I’m digging the ground” is the one who thinks systematically or the systematic thinker which was the developer while the one who answered “I’m building a house” is the one who thinks globally or the global thinker which was the systems analyst. The systematic thinker in this case is the developer and the global thinker is the system analyst. A systematic thinker is the one who only focuses on a particular task, like what the developers do, they only rely on the systems analysts’ decision in order to develop a system. Thinking systematically is a never-ending process and it can begin at any age. But starting early is all the more better for obvious reasons. As a global thinker, the analyst looks into the over-all scope or the entire scope of the project unlike with the developers who only focuses on a particular task. A global thinker / systems analyst must look into the over-all scope of the project and not the details. Global Thinkers will look at a picture of the assembled product, and then try to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle.

One of the characteristics Sir James pointed was being a keen observer. Being a system analyst, he / she must be observant. If the system analyst missed out a single important detail, the developer already started working and after a few months, they will find out that something is missing so they will go back to scratch again and it was just a waste of time, human resource, and money.


The next characteristic Sir James told to us is a system analyst must communicate well. Being a system analyst according to sir James was really a difficult task especially if your client has a different language and there are times when the analyst just can’t understand the client’s diction especially when over the phone or skype. Communication and understanding between the developer, system analyst and the client is really a very important matter. If the system analyst will not understand the client, the system will definitely turned out to what was expected by the client. Sir James gave us a picture of how important communication between the client, developer and the system analyst is.

This was picture given to us by sir James shows the misunderstanding of the people involve in developing a system.

Therefore, in developing a system, a proper communication between the people involve was indeed an essential one.

One of the characteristic a system analyst must have according to sir James is should have a basic programming skills. although, according to him being good programmer is not that important in becoming a system analyst as long as you have a basic skills in programming and you are familiar with the programming languages. A system analyst cannot analyze something without looking into a technical way or the programmer way of thinking. It is not necessarily the system analyst is good and expert programming but as long as he / she has basic knowledge. According to Sir James, developers thinks of the solutions instantly while the system analyst thinks first on the problem like how the system analyst solves the problem, he / she looks first on a step by step solution of the problem.

In the ambush interview we did with Mr. James Bautista, we really learned a lot. in fact, it was one of the most memorable interview we did so far. When Sir James asked us about our learnings and experiences, we all shivered and reacted that He was just like Sir Gamboa . No wonder, they are really friends. Although our questions were only limited, our learning exceeded beyond what was expected. That experience was a memorable one because it was our first time to encounter an interviewee who taught us more than what was discussed. It was not just a usual interview but a discussion or a forum should i say. Not only Sir James talked, but we also had a chance to talk with him as well. (ENJOY! )

EVIDENCES:

ASSIGNMENT #8

fast forward ..., you were hired and have been tasked to develop a strategic information systems plan for a company. The company officers have extended an invitation for you to meet with them to discuss the direction of the company. Before this meeting, they have asked that you provide a list of questions with some explanation about the "why" of the question so they can be prepared, thus maximizing the output from this meeting.

Develop a list of questions you would ask the officers of the company and give an explanation and justification for each question. (1000 words)


If I were hired and have been tasked to develop a strategic information systems plan for a company and have asked to formulate and provide a list of questions with some explanation about “WHY” of the questions I would definitely consider some problems and assumptions regarding strategic plan.

First question in the list is:

“WHY PLAN?”

For my own perspective, the most common reasons why companies need to formulate or to have a strategic plan for the better business structure are:

- To align the Information System with the business
- To identify needed applications
- To establish goals, schedules, and milestones in order to track progress
- To provide an opportunity for communication with top management and user management

Thus in order to attain certain goals in business, companies should formulate strategic plans or should I say, plan for its success. The company head should consider the external and internal part of the business and they should also consider the entire scope of it.

The next question I should include in the list is:

“WHAT ARE THE STEPS IN PLANNING?”

– Establish a mission statement

·>These are the services that you are responsible for; it is your place in the organization
·> It is not what you are supposed to achieve, it is who you areand what you do in the company

– Assess the environment

·>The capabilities of the IT department
·>The readiness of the company to use IT
·>The status of our customers, our industry
·>The status of the economy, government regulations, environment, society, etc.
·> Technology
Assessing the environment is somewhat similar to SWOT analysis (Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.)

– Set goals and objectives

– Derive strategies and policies

·>Strategies for:
*Technology focus
*Personnel and career development
*Aligning with the company
*Others . . .

·> Policies for:
*Funding criteria; how much to spend on IT?
*Allocation criteria; priority setting
*Organizational arrangements
*Use of outside IT services, outsourcing
*Selling IT services to outside organizations
*Others . . .

– Develop long-, medium-, and short-range plans

Short-, medium-, and long-range plans
*Short-range – the next year, the next budget period; developing and operating current systems
* Medium-range – committing to development efforts for applications that will take more than one year to complete; meeting management’s current information needs, projected into the future for as many years as needed to complete them. This is what most organizations call “Long-Range Planning.”
* Long-range planning – preparing for management’s future information needs. These are not application specific; they are
investments in infrastructure; it is creating an information architecture.

– Implement plans and monitor results


The next question in the list is:

WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED?

Each organization must carefully decide who should be involved in strategic planning. There are several key roles to be played in a strategic planning process including:

* Planning Process Champion. This is usually a key member of the board of directors or the executive director. The person must be someone who believes in strategic planning and will help keep the process on track. This person does not have to be an expert in strategic planning, but s/he should be someone respected by board and staff members.

*Plan Writer. Someone must assemble the planning group\'s decisions into a cohesive document. This person takes notes during planning meetings and uses them to prepare a plan, often in the form of several drafts for review by the entire planning group. Writing the plan, however, is more than simply compiling a record of planning meetings. The plan writer must also insert options and next logical steps into the drafts at each stage of the planning process.

* Planning Process Facilitator. This person may be from outside the organization, though this role also can be played by a member of the board. The facilitator\'s main responsibility is to plan each meeting\'s agenda and to ensure the group stays on track.

* Planning Team. The planning team\'s members are those who are most directly involved in laying out the issues and options for the future of the organization. This might be the entire board of directors plus the executive director. It might also be a committee of the board plus the executive director. Key staff beyond the executive director may also be involved. It might also include one (or more) representatives of people served by the organization. What is important to remember is to ensure that the people who are fairly representative of and respected by the organization\'s leadership are included on the planning team

*Board of Directors. The board of directors will ultimately adopt the plan and will use it to guide its decisions and actions. If the entire board is not involved directly in the planning process, it must at least approve a planning process and be kept informed of its progress. The process of developing a strategic plan is a special opportunity to engage the board of directors in an active role in shaping the organization\'s future.

*Staff. Staff members, particularly the executive director, have expertise and information that should be tapped during the planning process. Since they will be the ones who will carry out the plan on a day-to-day basis, they should be informed and, to whatever extent is appropriate for the organization, involved. Larger organizations often rely on representation from staff, while smaller organizations may include only the executive director on the planning team.

* Clients. Those who benefit from the organization\'s services are sometimes involved in the planning process. Each organization makes its own choices about whether to include clients on the planning team or whether to consult them in some other way.



Next up is:

WHAT ARE SOME PREPARATIONS TO MAKE BEFORE CONDUCTING STRATEGIC PLANNING?

In preparing a strategic plan for businesses, there are a lot of things to be considered. There are steps and ways which can help the people involve in it.

* The real benefit of the strategic planning process is the process, not the plan document.
* There is no \"perfect\" plan. There\'s doing your best at strategic thinking and implementation, and learning from what you\'re doing to enhance what you\'re doing the next time around.
*The strategic planning process is usually not an \"aha!\" experience. It\'s like the management process itself -- it\'s a series of small moves that together keep the organization doing things right as it heads in the right direction.
* In planning, things usually aren\'t as bad as you fear nor as good as you\'d like.
* Start simple, but start!


Next question on the list is:

WHEN SHOULD STRATEGIC PLANNING BE DONE?

The scheduling for the strategic planning process depends on the nature and needs of the organization and the its immediate external environment. For example, planning should be carried out frequently in an organization whose products and services are in an industry that is changing rapidly . In this situation, planning might be carried out once or even twice a year and done in a very comprehensive and detailed fashion (that is, with attention to mission, vision, values, environmental scan, issues, goals, strategies, objectives, responsibilities, time lines, budgets, etc). On the other hand, if the organization has been around for many years and is in a fairly stable marketplace, then planning might be carried out once a year and only certain parts of the planning process, for example, action planning (objectives, responsibilities, time lines, budgets, etc) are updated each year. Consider the following guidelines:

1. Strategic planning should be done when an organization is just getting started. (The strategic plan is usually part of an overall business plan, along with a marketing plan, financial plan and operational/management plan.)

2. Strategic planning should also be done in preparation for a new major venture, for example, developing a new department, division, major new product or line of products, etc.

3. Strategic planning should also be conducted at least once a year in order to be ready for the coming fiscal year (the financial management of an organization is usually based on a year-to-year, or fiscal year, basis). In this case, strategic planning should be conducted in time to identify the organizational goals to be achieved at least over the coming fiscal year, resources needed to achieve those goals, and funded needed to obtain the resources. These funds are included in budget planning for the coming fiscal year. However, not all phases of strategic planning need be fully completed each year. The full strategic planning process should be conducted at least once every three years. As noted above, these activities should be conducted every year if the organization is experiencing tremendous change.

4. Each year, action plans should be updated.

5. Note that, during implementation of the plan, the progress of the implementation should be reviewed at least on a quarterly basis by the board. Again, the frequency of review depends on the extent of the rate of change in and around the organization.


And the last question on the list is:

HOW DO YOU ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR NEW PLAN?

A frequent complaint about the strategic planning process is that it produces a document that ends up collecting dust on a shelf -- the organization ignores the precious information depicted in the document.

The following guidelines will help ensure that the plan is implemented. (Note that reference to boards of directors is in regard to organizations that are corporations.

1. When conducting the planning process, involve the people who will be responsible for implementing the plan. Use a cross-functional team (representatives from each of the major organization’s products or service) to ensure the plan is realistic and collaborative.
2. Ensure the plan is realistic. Continue asking planning participants “Is this realistic? Can you really do this?”

3. Organize the overall strategic plan into smaller action plans, often including an action plan (or work plan) for each committee on the board.

4. In the overall planning document, specify who is doing what and by when (action plans are often referenced in the implementation section of the overall strategic plan). Some organizations may elect to include the action plans in a separate document from the strategic plan, which would include only the mission, vision, values, key issues and goals, and strategies. This approach carries some risk that the board will lose focus on the action plans.

5. In an implementation section in the plan, specify and clarify the plan’s implementation roles and responsibilities. Be sure to detail particularly the first 90 days of the implementation of the plan. Build in regular reviews of status of the implementation of the plan.

6. Translate the strategic plan’s actions into job descriptions and personnel performance reviews.

7. Communicate the role of follow-ups to the plan. If people know the action plans will be regularly reviewed, implementers tend to do their jobs before they’re checked on.

8. Be sure to document and distribute the plan, including inviting review input from all.

9. Be sure that one internal person has ultimate responsibility that the plan is enacted in a timely fashion.

10. The chief executive’s support of the plan is a major driver to the plan’s implementation. Integrate the plan’s goals and objectives into the chief executive’s performance reviews.

11. Place huge emphasis on feedback to the board’s executive committee from the planning participants. Consider all or some of the following to ensure the plan is implemented.

12. Have designated rotating “checkers” to verify, e.g., every quarter, if each implementer completed their assigned tasks.

13. Have pairs of people be responsible for tasks. Have each partner commit to helping the other to finish the other’s tasks on time.


REFERENCES:

http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm#anchor4293651425
http://www.wmich.edu/nonprofit/Guide/guide7.htm
http://humanresources.about.com/od/strategicplanning1/Strategic_Planning_Resources.htm

ASSIGNMENT #7

Google is a highly successful Internet business. Recently they have broadened their scope with a multitude of new tools. Research Google’s business model and answer the following questions below. You may add additional information not included in these questions.

Questions:

Questions :
Explain Google’s business model.
1. Who are their competitors?
2. How have they used information technology to their advantage?
3. How competitive are they in the market?
4. What new services do they offer?
5. What makes them so unique?
6. How competitive are they in the international market?



As we all know, Google is one of the famous search engines in the world. I guess everyone knows what google is right?! If you don't know then "GOOGLE IT"! .

Google Inc. is an American public corporation specializing in Internet search. It also generates profits from advertising bought on its similarly free-to-user e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking and video-sharing services. Advert-free versions are available via paid subscription. Google has more recently developed an open source web browser and a mobile phone operating system. Its headquarters, often referred to as the Googleplex is located in Mountain View, California. As of March 31, 2009 (2009 -03-31) the company had 19,786 full-time employees. It runs thousands of servers across the world, processing millions of search requests each day and about one petabyte of user-generated data each hour.

While the primary business interest is in the web content arena, Google has begun experimenting with other markets, such as radio and print publications. On 17 January 2006, Google announced the purchase of a radio advertising company "dMarc", which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio. This will allow Google to combine two niche advertising media—the Internet and radio—with Google's ability to laser-focus on the tastes of consumers. Google has also begun an experiment in selling advertisements from its advertisers in offline newspapers and magazines, with select advertisements in the Chicago Sun-Times. They have been filling unsold space in the newspaper that would have normally been used for in-house advertisements.

Software

The Google web search engine is the company's most popular service. According to market research published by comScore in November 2009, Google is the dominant search engine in the US market, with a market share of 65.6%. Google indexes billions of Web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire, through the use of keywords and operators, although at any given time it will only return a maximum of 1,000 results for any specific search query. Google has also employed the Web Search technology into other search services, including Image Search, Google News, the price comparison site Google Product Search, the interactive Usenet archive Google Groups, Google Maps,

Google has also developed several desktop applications, including Google Desktop, Picasa, SketchUp and Google Earth, an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet. Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly. Consequently, there have been some concerns about national security implications; contention is that the software can be used to pinpoint with near-precision accuracy the physical location of critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, bases, government agencies, and so on. However, the satellite images are not necessarily frequently updated, and all of them are available at no charge through other products and even government sources; the software simply makes accessing the information easier. A number of Indian state governments have raised concerns about the security risks posed by geographic details provided by Google Earth's satellite imaging.

• Google's Top Three Competitors :
  

1. Yahoo! Inc.
2. Pvt1 (MSN) – Privately held
3. AOL, Inc.

• How have they used information technology to their advantage?
  

Google is obviously best known for search and for ads associated with search. This is in essence Google’s one true product. It is the one feature Google developed for the outside world. When Google developed search it was no different from a small company. It is what Google has done since then that makes Google different.

Google doesn’t answer to any external power. They don’t have anyone they have to deliver a product to. There is no contract with a deadline. Due to not having any external dependencies, Google can continuously iterate over a product until it reaches a state of near perfection. It can stay in internal testing as long as Google wants and no one is going to care. See Gmail, Google Maps, etc. This then allows Google to use the perfect form of the agile process. Continuous iterations and testing and development, continues
improvement. Then as Google sees fit, release the products. As they get better and better, more people use them and more money from ads come in. It’s beautiful.

It’s also unlikely any other company is going to be able to pull this off. Google hit on the formula for ads before anyone else. They now have such a commanding lead in that arena that to compete with them you need deep pockets of money of your own. That makes it difficult to launch a company and follow Google’s lead of avoiding external dependencies and having the near perfect product development process.

• Google's Competitive Advantages
  

> Free SEO Labor

Google's work force is not limited to their PhDs and 15,000 talented employees in Mountain View, New York and Dublin. SEOs from all around the world can be considered a free labor force for Google. In order to get their sites promoted on the world's number one search engine, SEOs optimize their sites according to Google's rules, register their sitemaps and ping Google's services whenever a new page is created. This gives Google a huge advantage over the other search engines, because other engines don't have the same level of feedback. Google caters to this crowd very well too, because it offers SEO friendly tools and advise.

> Extra data - Google Co-op, Image Labeler, etc

With its customized search service, Google Co-op, users don't only create vertical a search engine - they also give Google very valuable domain-specific information.

Also, by tagging images on Image Labeler and Picasa, you help perfect Google's Image Search.

>Google knows everything about your site

Today many sites use it to get a better understanding of their traffic. But a side effect of this tool is that it potentially gives Google access to important data about your site. Indeed if all sites had Urchin installed, Google would no longer need to compute
pageranks, as it would have the most accurate access to site popularity possible! Obviously not all sites use Google Analytics, but still it is not an insignificant amount that do.

The recently acquired FeedBurner also serves the same purpose. It's not only a great advertising channel for Google, but yet another way of measuring site popularity.

> Google knows a lot about you - Personalization

Gmail, Google Toolbar, Google Docs and others. They all give clues about your personality, your interests, likes and dislikes. Consequently, you end up with more personalized search results. For example: if you are the type of person who searches for programming info in Google Search, discuss KDE's latest bugs on GTalk and Gmail, visit Freshmeat and Sourceforge all day and long with your Google Toolbar-powered Firefox -- well then Google will not consider your Python, Tomcat, Apache queries as zoological, but programming related :-)

>Google offers UNIVERSAL search

Google does not only crawl the Web, blogosphere, press releases and books. It also crawls the real world with Google Earth. And Google Map's Street View lets you drive around big cities like New York and San Francisco, from your browser. Now with Universal Search, you can reach all of these services with a simple Google search.

> Google has psychological dominance

The fact that Google is such a widely discussed topic makes you think that it is indispensable. Psychologically, you feel that you lack it when you try other search engines. Especially if your query is indefinitely motivated - e.g your purpose is more about researching than finding - then you always want to try your search on Google as well, even if you were already satisfied with other results elsewhere.

> Google is everywhere

OK, let's say you decided to switch search engines. You still have obstacles, such as:

ü If you use one of the Google network services, like Gmail, you always have Google top of mind;

ü If you go to CNN.com, you have Google in the toolbar (on the US version at least); so why bother with entering a new URL for search?

ü If you use Firefox, Safari or Opera, then Google is your default search provider, home page and feed subscriber.

I could go on, but the point is - there's no escape from Google. This is not merely the success of algorithms, but also the success of Omid Kordestani and the whole business development team.


> Google has looooooots of ca$h

As of today, Google's market valuation is more than $150 Billion. They have lots of cash reserves (although not as much as Microsoft) and their profit margins are very high. In other words, Google is financially very healthy and they have the power to snap up any innovation developed externally. Just as they did with FeedBurner, Kaltix and Urchin.

• Google’s new services
  

· New Storage Service

Google Inc has announced its very own cloud-based online storage service which will allow Google Docs users to upload any type of file of up to 250 MB while they will have access to a total storage capacity of 1GB. (14 January, 2010, by Desire Athow)

· Google Nexus One

Yesterday Google wasn’t in the business of selling mobile phones. Today, they are. The Nexus One smartphone has arrived and on sale at Google.com/phone. (January 5th 2010 by Michael Arrington)

· Google Click-to-Call (Billing) in Ads on Mobile Devices

Google sent out notification to its AdWords advertisers that this month “your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices. Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website. You’ll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website.” (Jan 5, 2010 at 7:59am ET by Greg Sterling)

· Google Goggles

A new service that promises to make searching the internet as easy as taking a photo. The application, which will premier on Android devices, will let a user snap a photo of anything and then Google will deliver search results based on
that image. (December 7th, 2009 by Stefan Constantinescu)

· Free DNS Service

Google just released their newest service which is public DNS. DNS is one of the most important services when it comes to using the internet. The main reason to use the service is reliability, speed and increased security. Google has put in other measures to help with overall security. (December 5th 2009 by serverguy

• What makes them so unique?
  

Getting a website to attain a high ranking position in Google search engine means great success. The higher the Google ranking the more traffic it gives to the site thus making more money from advertisers.

Reaching a high rank is not easy and it requires time and effort. In addition to that, one needs to read the latest news and trends on Internet marketing especially new Google SEO techniques. Among the top three search engines, Google has a very unique algorithm meaning it can have its own SEO techniques. Because of this, one might actually conclude that it is an on-going Google SEO work. Everyday Google SEO trends change so it requires continuous research to keep up with it.

There are lots of factors to consider than just being a user friendly site. High PR rank links, good content and age of the site can definitely take you up there.

Backlinks are considered to be one of the most important factors to consider when doing Google SEO. Google's system has a way to determine if the link is more valuable than the others. How does one determine the value of the link? Take into consideration the link's age, location, anchor text, relevancy and page rank.

Another factor to consider is the age of a domain. The older the domain name is, the higher its value. Google gives importance to this because they consider an old site a legal and reputable one thus giving it a higher ranking.

Good content is definitely the best way to get your site to a high rank especially if one uses top ranking keywords. Aside from that, the content needs to be informative and relevant to visitors of the website. It should be well written and interesting so that it can generate a great amount of traffic.

Aside from these factors and as part of one's Google SEO efforts, one must view their site from the standpoint of their audience. It should be user friendly and can capture right away the visitor's attention. It pays to invest on a good designer and programmer to complement the Google SEO techniques. Remember that Google SEO techniques are unique thus it has a set of guidelines different from the rest. Remember these and the Google SEO plan will definitely pay off.





REFERENCES:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/competing_with_google_search.php
http://www.affiliateseeking.com/ashow/129.html
http://www.programmersparadox.com/2008/03/17/googles-unique-advantage/
http://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google