The Benefits of Installing Management Information System in Small Dissertation

The Benefits of Installing Management Information System in Small Business - Dissertation Example The definition of small business varies from country to country, for example, it is 50 in terms of employees in European Union. Economic criteria are also used for classification, based on capital employed or business turnover. However, for our study an organization consisting of at least 25 people and a maximum of 100 employees may be considered for inclusion in the survey. The developments in information technology, telecommunications, media and social networks necessitates the small business community to reorient their strategies to be competitive in the business, and MIS plays an important role in the backdrop of liberalization and globalization of the economies. This research may contribute significantly in this respect by highlighting the benefits of installing MIS in small businesses. Research Questions 1. What are the benefits of implementation of MIS in small business? 2. Is the cost of installation of MIS justifiable in relation to the benefits? 3. Is it true that the imple mentation of MIS enhances stability in the organization? Research aim The study aims to assess the impacts of implementation of MIS in the small businesses with regard to cost and benefits, both tangible and intangible that may accrue to the small businesses with a view to make recommendations based on the analysis and findings. Research Objectives To study the impact of MIS in relation to the operations and management of the small businesses with a view to analyze: 1. the impacts of the cost of installation of MIS and 2. the factors which govern installation of an appropriate system in relation to the size. Hypothesis The analysis of the survey results would be useful in evaluating the hypothesis: When the world is moving toward liberalization and the countries pursue a policy of globalization, installation of MIS in small businesses is crucial for efficiencies in the operations and for a sustainable development. The financial and non-financial benefits derived from the installatio n of MIS outweigh the cost involved in the installation, and MIS enhances stability of the organization. Literature review According to Garnengo, Nudurupati & Bititici (2007, p. 683) in the small and medium enterprises the deficiencies in MIS obstruct PMS [performance measurement system] use because the required data cannot be captured. It is observed (p. 683)†during the first implementation phase entrepreneurs obstructed MIS investment, and only free software and internal knowledge could be used. However, in a few months PMS advantages were highlighted and, consequently, MIS investment was planned and supported by entrepreneurs†. The expertise in processing of the information and reporting is crucial for the business success. Brouthers, Andriessen & Nicolaes (1998, p. 136) found â€Å"When it comes to making strategic decisions, the small firm managers in this study tended to ignore the information gathered and the analyses performed, relying instead on their intuition †. In order to compete efficiently in the market, strategic decisions based on the information properly analyzed are very essential. According to Street &Meister (2004, p. 473), â€Å"Small business growth is known to strain internal communication processes, for example, which likely limits growth opportunities†. Resistance to change and fear of unknown could be the major

Analysis of Faulkner Short Stories Essay -- essays papers

Analysis of Faulkner Short Stories Response to the Faulkner Short Stories In each of these stories, Faulkner communicates to the reader through very strange characters. In â€Å"Was†, we hear of a story that basically stems around a runaway slave. The two Uncles are very stereotypical. The other owner was also very stereotypical. Basically, in this story, the white men are trying to apprehend a slave that has run off to see his girl. However, the story then progresses into a standoff between the white owners. They bet each other on very arbitrary matters until finally, though the previous bets did hold some weight, the men turn to a deck of cards to settle their disputes. The ironic aspect of all of this is that they end up betting on the lives of the slaves. So, in order to prove their superiority over each other, they use their slaves as leverage. This was one of the times I felt that Faulkner was trying to illustrate the fact that these people seemed hopelessly lost in the old Southern way. What was also very interesting though is that they se emed to treat the slaves fairly humanely. First of all, if a slave had run off in early times, they probably would have beaten him or killed him. Here though, it is a kind of game. It’s a race to see who can get him first. Faulkner also throws into the story the woman who seems to be in love with one of the uncles. This too, was very clever because the new â€Å"southern Belle† was also being communicated to the reader. The Uncles though, are bachelors, perhaps signifying the dying southern gentleman, who is unable to deal with his past, and who will lead his genre of people to extinction. All in all, I liked this story. I didn’t see Faulkner as a racist and I didn’t see any of his charact... ...However, this doesn’t deter Faulkner from writing very complex stories that reflect his literary prowess. Most of his characters can hardly speak correct English, and yet, his pieces are filled with words that even I have trouble discerning meaning from. In particular, Rider’s character is very blue collar. Faulkner communicates this to us in many ways, but has no trouble throwing in phrases like â€Å"the junctureless backloop of times trepan†. This occurs throughout all of these stories. It is like the characters are very natural, they know the environment, the have the skills to hunt, they work hard, and they love each other. But these ideas are contrasted by his writing style and complexity and really blend nicely to create very good pieces of literature. It was just one thing that caught my eye in reading these pieces and I am very envious of this skill he possesses.

Barriers Of Entering A Foreign Market

Going abroad with our business has been the talk of the globalization age. In this global society, there are growing reasons of why we should expand our business to foreign markets. First, companies are like continuously growing organisms. It cannot exist without the search of growth or of potentials of growth.This is why mangers cannot afford to live in the illusion that their local markets will be sufficient to sustain the need for continuous growth (Khan, 2005). Second, having an established business overseas will strengthen companies’ financial safety significantly by offsetting domestic seasonal fluctuations.Third, expanding to foreign markets is an excellent choice for enhancing companies’ market shares. Fourth, with the extensive promotion of globalization and US’ effort to combat trade protections, there are significantly more enhanced facilities to support foreign investments today compare to a decade ago. In short, entering foreign markets is an importa nt and contemporary discussion subject (Zacharakis, 1996). However, managers have also realized that the decision to internationalize market shares contains considerable amount of risks and barriers.Some of the most recognizable barriers are cultural and language barriers, environmental issues, political issues, etc. In this paper, we are detailing those barriers and providing case examples to strengthen the arguments. II. Barriers of Entering a Foreign Market II. 1. Cultural and Language Barriers In this discussion, we will start with what is probably the strongest factor that influences expansion to foreign markets. Managers have long accepted that in internationalization considerations, differences between home culture and the culture of foreign countries are significant.Culture is a complex term. It consists of various factors like languages, religions, social norms etc. Thus, companies generally spend considerable portion of their time learning about the culture of the foreign target markets. This is also true whether managers decided to establish new firms in foreign markets or collaborating with foreign partners. Studies also indicated that cultural issues influence the manner in which companies perform their international expansion. Firms generally increase their commitment in investing to a particular foreign target market in predictable stages.First, they will use export agents to learn about the country’s culture. This type of foreign investment will change along with time and enhanced knowledge about local culture of the target market. II. 2. Business Environment Barriers The local business environment has also been an influential factor that strongly affects foreign expansion activities. For instance, companies can have the problem of not having the sufficient good image in a society that has local preferences. Reputation is the issue resulted from the local business environment condition of several markets with local preferences.Some consu mers have more confidence or tendency to purchase local products rather than foreign made. Despite the extensive marketing efforts performed by foreign companies to take away local market share, they still lagged behind local products, even ones with less marketing budget. II. 3. Political and Government Regulations Barriers Other barriers are political in nature. Governmental policies can create enormous effect on company’s success or failure in entering foreign markets. China is the most apparent example of this premise.The Chinese markets have been closed from foreign investors for decades before a massive governmental revolution created opportunities for foreign investment. The government opens chances for FDI inflow. Furthermore, supports foreign investment by means of incentives, property rights protections, etc. Afterwards, economic records indicated that the country has been experiencing one of the most rapid growths in the world, with an average annual GDP growth per centage of 10% for the last decade. In short, governmental policies have significant importance in international expansion.III. Several Cases from 2001-2006 In this paper, I will provide several examples of cases involving foreign entry barriers mentioned above. Despite the similar nature of barriers in each cases, each country has their own tendency of foreign trade barriers. III. 1. Entering Indonesian Markets Indonesian is seen as one of the most economically potential markets in Asia today. Its abundant amount of human resources and cheap labor has been considerable attractions for international investors since the country recovered from its economic crisis.Nevertheless, the country is recorded to have several issues that might hamper international investment toward local markets. First, in terms of governmental policies, the country is still enacting several import and export restrictions to protect local consumers and to ensure that local necessities are fulfilled before forei gn investors could take a share of the market. This could mean higher tariffs, longer bureaucracy, etc. Second, the country has a unique set of culture.Cultural analysts and foreign managers operating in local markets described the country as being comfortable in doing things their own way and refuse to have it challenged (Forrest, 2001). The importance of physical presence of superiors, the lack appreciation toward punctuality and the respect for age and seniority is several of many things that must be learned about Indonesian culture before entering local markets. Learning informal business etiquettes are often as important as learning formal ones, or sometimes more important.For example, there is a significant cultural practice in Indonesia when commonly, Indonesian managers tend to hire their relatives and friends regardless their competences. This situation is inappropriate for Australian or American companies since they consider it as nepotism (Dowling & De Cieri, 1989). III. 2. Japanese Firms Entering US Markets In the case of Japan companies’ expansion to US markets, the case lies in condition of US’ business environment. Most US consumers prefer national products rather than foreign ones. This creates significant challenges for Japanese companies targeting US markets.Some Japan companies perform large marketing effort to facilitate their presence in US local markets. However, as mentioned previously, some of these efforts did not work as planned. Locals could still easily take control of the market share. This is identified as the barrier of reputation. The study of Japanese companies who enters US market revealed that some Japan companies chose collaboration with local brands in order to win local preferences rather than performing endless marketing campaigns that could have weak effects (Chen, 2003).Concerning the decision making, for example, Japanese managers tend explore the roots of problem before making a particular decision. In c ontrast, American managers are likely to adopt straightforward approach (judgmental behavior) that is much efficient than Japanese approach but less effective. Following link, inform the practice of Japanese culture in terms of big typhoon etc (http://www. brovision. com/) and http://www. mccombs. utexas. edu/research/ciber/executivevideotapes. asp. sssIn foreign countries, for instances, Japanese companies like Toyota and Honda that realize their HR practices are unacceptable by non-Japanese culture may come up with an unfortunate solution by hiring employees under distinct employment categories that lack of job security (Hersey, 1972). III. 3. United States and China In the recent case of United State’s commerce department and the government of China, another foreign trade issues caused by local business environment appear. US Department of Commerce’s assistant secretary stated that China has been using technical regulations as a barrier of trade barriers.This is don e by imposing certain quality standards that would effectively band certain products from entering the Chinese local markets. US department of commerce are currently fighting to oppose this type of trade barriers using diplomatic means (‘United States’, 2005). Bibliography Chen, Shih-Fen. Zeng Ming. 2003. ‘Japanese Investor’s Choice of Acquisition vs Startup in the US: The Role of Reputation Barriers and Advertising Outlays’. International Journal of Research in Marketing. Retrieved February 14, 2007 from brandeis. edu/ibs/faculty_publications/chen/japanese_acquisitions.pdf Dowling, P. J. , Welch, D. E. & De Cieri, H. 1989, ‘International joint ventures: a new challenge for human management’, Proceedings of the fifteenth conference of the European international business association. Helsinki, December, 1989 Forrest, W. , Bidgood, M. 2001. Cultural Aspects of Business. American Indonesia Chamber of Commerce. www. aiccusa. org Fiedler, Fre d E. 1965. Engineer the Job to Fit the Manager. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 43 Hersey, Paul. Blanchard, Kenneth H. 1972. Management of Organization Behavior. New Jersey: Prentic- Hall Inc. Kenna, Peggy.Sondra, Lacy. 1994. Business Japan: A Practical Guide to Understanding Japanese Business Culture. McGraw-Hill Khan, Asim. 2005. Business Management Inc. Retrieved February 14, 2007 from www. themanager. org/strategy/Deciding_to_Go_International. pdf ‘United States Combating Use of Standards as Trade Barriers’. 2005. US INFO. STATE. GOV. Retrieved February 14, 2007 from http://usinfo. state. gov/xarchives/display. html? p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=May&x=20050513162339ajesroM0. 5901605&t=livefeeds/wf-latest. html Zacharakis, Andrew. 1996. Academy of Management Executive. 10(4): 109-110.

Globalization The Leading Fast Food Chain And Worldwide...

The main purpose of this essay is to explain the meaning of globalisation and discuss critically, illustrating with examples the impact globalisation has had on one particular business. Globalisation has had both positive and negative effects on many companies’, economies and cultures etc. ‘While it is clear that globalisation can potentially give rise to an increase in prosperity, there are severe doubts as to whether this process will be fair to all, both in the present and to those in the future’. (Wetherly, P. and Otter, D, 2013) (Page 262). The organisation this essay focuses on is the leading fast food chain and worldwide giant, McDonald’s. ‘McDonald’s has become not only the largest fast food restaurant organization, but is a symbol of globalization; literally changing eating habits around the world.’ This essay will begin by defining globalisation, it will then go on to explain some of the affects it has had on the world; later i t will discuss and analyse McDonald’s in terms of how globalisation has affected them as a company. There are three type of views in terms of globalisation, the first being the Neo-classical view, which believes globalisation to be a positive process. The second is the Socialist/Marxist view, which believes globalisation to be negative, and finally the structuralist view, which believes globalisation, can be good but it depends on the national and global structures. 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