Saturday, November 9, 2019
Book Report on Freedomnomics by John Lott Essay
The effective management of the economic aspect of the country is always valuable and necessary to guarantee the financial stability of the nation and its people. As such, it is empirically significant that the economy is free from any manifestation of restriction for it to efficiently operate. Such condition is the underlying principle and practice behind what is called a free market. Economic freedom is attributed to the flexibility and most importantly, immunity of the economic field from limitations. In carrying-out such ideal situation, the reality that free economy works most to the advantages of both the people and nation is established. With such clear indications, it is therefore essential that the concept of free market is supported because it definitely works best for the population and the country in general. The said main thesis concerning the principle and practices of free market was what efficiently exemplified by the book ââ¬Å"Freedomnomicsâ⬠written by Economist and acclaimed author John Lott. In the said book, Lott (2007) opened the minds and hearts of the public about the necessity of a free market condition due to its many relevant advantages both for the people and societies. In doing so, the book not only provided its readers with a glimpse about the nature and components of free market but also allowed the public to realize its benefits. To support the bookââ¬â¢s thesis, Lott based his premise from several case studies which all pointed to the significance of free market thus he called for and emphasized the need for economic freedom (Lott, 2007). In supporting his main theory on free market, Lott stressed major points that showed how free market or liberated economy paved the way for the eventual successful handling of the other aspects of the society such as the political system and the structure of the criminal justice as well as even the ethical or moral features of a country like the United States. It is in this position therefore that the book ultimately succeeded because it was able to make way for the publicââ¬â¢s recognition that free market encompassed not only the economic aspect of the country but its other social components as well. Hence, there is indeed a need to adhere to and uphold the free market principle in order to achieve the nationââ¬â¢s improvement. The Free Market Premise In ââ¬Å"Freedomnomics,â⬠Lott effectively explored on the premise of free market-its nature, components, practices and most of all, its significance to people and the society. Citing the notion imparted by Adam Smith, the author outrightly presented that from such principle, where a nationââ¬â¢s economy just like the U. S. is free from any form of restriction, ââ¬Å"the free market worksâ⬠(Lott, 2007, p. 1). Taking into consideration the results of a number of economic-related case studies which he did on his whole career, the relevance of the principle of free market was highlighted by the author through the book. Additionally, the bookââ¬â¢s point of view evolved around and was analyzed according to the philosophy that a restricted kind of economy, such as the one manifested by communism, is undeniably harmful. This is supposedly because of the fact that economic restrictions also result to portrayals of limitation that detriment other aspects of the society (Lott, 2007). As a support to his free market theory, Lott gave the public major points that all signified the benefits of such concept. In doing so, it became apparent for the book to prove the harms when the economy is subjected to any kind of restriction. The points that supported the free market perspective were bravely presented by the book like its opposition to the book ââ¬Å"Freakonomicsâ⬠by Steve Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The Lott book stressed the advantages to be derived from free market or economic freedom when it challenged its counterpartââ¬â¢s philosophy that the American economy is a swindling business because both the corporations and their people are cheating the public (Lott, 2007). In correcting the wrong notion brought about by ââ¬Å"Freakonomics,â⬠Lottââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Freedomnomics,â⬠in turn, clarified that the American economy, due to its free market principle, truly operates according to rules. This is because the field, as represented by many corporations, exerts earnest efforts ââ¬Å"to make a profit by supplying people with something they wantâ⬠(Lott, 2007, p. 3). It is in this condition that the effective operation of free market is exhibited due to its remarkable advantage of encouraging the economy and people behind it to act honestly and accordingly (Lott, 2007). The book further perceived that treating the public honestly made the free economy maintain its good reputation. Notwithstanding the supposed penalties and legal liabilities, the best motivation for the economy and corporations is to preserve their honesty and honor. Most importantly, it is not only the economy which benefited from free market as such principle likewise paved the way for proper operation of the other aspects of the society or the the sincere actions of other members of the society such as political leaders, professionals, members of the criminal justice system, all of which ensured adherence to moral standards. As a proof, Lott cited his experiences which confirmed that economy, politics and religion were connected. This was recorded by his opinion-editorial materials in the July 13, 1986 issues of the Great Falls Tribune and the Montana Standard (Lott, 2007, p. 7). Conclusion Regardless of the disputes against the free market principle, ââ¬Å"Freedomnomicsâ⬠effectively justified such and even emphasized its undisputed benefits which made the book commendable. Ultimately, it is only through continued observance of free market or liberated economy that Lott prescribed the country to become better and stable. Reference Lott, J. R. (2007). Freedomnomics: why the free market works and other half-baked theories donââ¬â¢t. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Ek Ruka Hua Essays
Ek Ruka Hua Essays Ek Ruka Hua Essay Ek Ruka Hua Essay Power of CommunicationEk Ruka Hua Faisla ?Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us; but simplicity and straightforwardness are. Write much as you would speak; speak as you think. If with your inferior,speak no coarser than usual; if with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say; and, within therules of prudence, say what you are.? The Power of Communication comes from knowing the right questions to ask and practicinggood listening skills. The secret weapon of power negotiators is being skilled in askingquestions. Why? One of the reasons is that questions get the communication going andencourages the other party to talk, to share information with you. And what you are always,always looking for is information, particularly something you do not know. Even when youthink you know the answers, get in the habit of asking questions; at the least, it will confirmyour knowledge. And if you have somehow missed asking the really right question, theanswer you need will likely come out the more the other party is forced to talk and you aretalking less. The 80s was a period of experimental films and serious cinema. Movies were made not forcommercial success and some of the best films were churned out during this period, which areremembered and appreciated even today. One such film is Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. Inspired fromthe English flick Twelve Angry Men (1957), Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is a rare remake which is betterthan the original! Sometimes in life your professions reflect on your personalities. And more often more thanprofession communication may represent your Personality. In this movie we observe theentire decision making process and way the people communicate with each other, whereeach individual had different perception and different behavior in particular situation. theirpersonal opinion leads them to one wrong decision first but later on with just one leading,convincing, neutral and practical individual, they were able to think on the other side of thecase and finally they reached to right conclusion. There are twelve male members of a jury who have gathered together in an enclosed room todeliberate on charges of murder against a young boy accused of killing his father. The caseagainst the boy looks irrefutable and indomitable, as there is a witness in the form of an oldman who claims to have heard the incident and another woman who claims to have seen theactual act of stabbing. Plus there is the murder weapon a knife that was found at the crimescene, seemingly implicating the boy without any fragment of doubt. But all is not what itseems like. All the jury members, except one, are convinced that the boy is guilty of the crime and thetask before them is to reach a unanimous decision to expedite the case. But there is only onejury member who is not completely convinced about the case and he starts the deliberations,in which all the members have to participate to reach a common conclusionAN OVERVIEW Twelve jurors common people with their usual daily problems, emotional swings and theirregular habit to stick to what is obvious are selected to judge a case where very strongevidences are available against the accused. Everything was transparent and vividly clear. The case was supposed to end with common opinion against the accused within no time. Butone person was against this common judgment and this is the point where story builds up. This one person make other eleven to change their decision. The movie opens in the first state of Group Development, the opening period. This is thetime when people in small groups will small talk, introduce themselves, and begin to learn alittle about one another. During this stage in the movie, jurors discuss the view, old buildings,hot weather colds, and some even share what they do for a living. And this is the stage whenthe group dynamics start showing, and how in the heat of discussion, the true feelings startshowing through. Peoples biases, bigotry, temper, all start showing through. Gradually, wecome to know the communication skills of each and every jury member in the room beingopened. Eventually we see the missing links, the loopholes in the vital clues, andtestimonies, and eventually persuade all except Pankaj Kapoor. Pankaj is not so easilypersuaded because his son has left him, and he has a bias against youth, but eventually he isalso persuaded with more m. Members involved in the conflict want to create and maintainstability. However, they also want to move forward which requires change. Conflict then existsas the individuals struggle between creating both at the same time. This struggle is seen inthe film as the jury members struggle between their desire for stability and their desire forchange. Initially, it is seen that all the jury members except one have a guilty verdict. The factthat one member, KK Raina, has a not guilty verdict is an initial source of conflict. For theremaining jury members, their focus is not on understanding why Mr. Davis is saying notguilty. Instead, they want him to agree with them and choose a guilty verdict. In doing so, theyare trying to achieve stability, since if KK Raina says not guilty, there will be no conflict. KEY TAKEAWAYS y Transistion from Communication to Conflict Management y Situational Understanding with all possible Permutations and Combinations y Team Dynamics for a Decision making process REVIEWS OF THE MOVIE: ?A masterful work of debate and dialogue; of shifting momentum and the ideal of sticking toyour scruples in the face of antagonistic groupthink? ?This is a film where tension comes from personality conflict, dialogue and body language, notaction.? one is so consumed by the brilliance of the script and the acting that it doesnt matter whatthe jurors names are? CONCLUSION: The issues in the movie are addressed to the Indian audiences and in Indian setting, withIndian characters and in Hindi language. Even after a quarter of a century later the movie stirsyou with its treatment of topics because the issues of caste, class, materialism, loopholes injudicial process a nd of course human prejudices and judgement still plague us. So this movie ? Ek Ruka Hua Faisla? is a very good example of the power of communication .
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
David Gregg and the History of the Optical Disk
David Gregg and the History of the Optical Disk An optical disk is a plastic-coated disk that stores digital data. Tiny pits are etched into the disk surface that are read with a laser scanning the surface. The technology behind the optical disk is the foundation for similiar formats including CDs and DVDs. David Gregg The optical disk is an analog video optical disk format. The original format provided full bandwidth composite video and two analog audio tracks (digital audio tracks were added later). The optical disk (commonly known as the laser disc as trademarked by Pioneer) was replaced in popularity by the introduction of DVD in 1997. David Gregg Speaks on the Invention of the Optical Disk ...By dumbing down an electron beam to visible wavelengths, modulating it to the standard PWM video frequency, and reducing the power to photoresistive requirements, an e-beam optical videodisk mastering system was practical and commercially available in the late 50s. However, this simple and practical means of mastering was abandoned by others in favor of more costly and time delaying technology: the laser, the supreme toy of the moment for techies. Impact of David Greggs Patents Digital Versatile Disc or DVD and LaserDisc from PioneerMiniDisc from Sony Compact Disc or CD from Philips the 3M Company List of Patents for Optical Disk Technology Continue Extract from Optical Disk Patent Special thanks goes to Tom Peterson for providing information for this page including the words of David Gregg. David Gregg was Toms father by adoption. A transparent plastic disc is described in the Copending Application Ser. No. 627,701, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,966, issued March 4, 1969, in which picture information in the form of video signals is recorded on one or both sides of the disc. The recorded picture information on the disc is intended to be reproduced, for example, through a television receiver, by playing the disc on a turntable and by directing a light beam through the disc, as described in the Copending Application Ser. No. 507,474 now, abandoned, and its continuation-in-part application, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,258. The light beam is modulated by the video recordings on the disc, and a pick-up head is provided which responds to the resulting light signals to transform them into corresponding electrical video or picture signals for playback purposes. The present invention is concerned with such a video disc record, and with a duplication process by which a multiplicity of such records may be mass-produced from a master record die. The material of the disc record surface is made such to be appropriate for embossing and to enable, under suitable temperature conditions, a slight force pressing the disc surface against a master die to cause the impressions on the surface of the die to be embossed into the surface of the disc. With such an embossing process, there is no transverse flow of the disc material, as occurs in the usual prior art stamping or molding processes, as are presently being used in the production of phonograph sound records, for example, and by which the actual surface of the record is raised above its melting point. The stamping techniques presently being used in the manufacture of phonograph records are not suitable for the extraordinarily fine microgrooves and patterns required by video frequency recordings of picture information. Such stamping techniques as are presently being used in the production of phonograph sound records require that the master record die be heated to a temperature above the melting point of the vinyl or other plastic material used in the phonograph record. In the prior art phonograph record duplicating process, a biscuit of the vinyl or other plastic material is placed in a stamper, and the heated master record die is brought down onto one or both surfaces of the biscuit. The plastic of the biscuit surface is melted and caused to flow radially into the spaces defined by the impressions on the master die surface. As mentioned above, this stamping technique by present day standards appears to be unsuited for the extremely fine micro-spiral grooves required for video frequency recordings. As an alternative to the present day practice, and as will be described, a video disc record blank of laminated transparent plastic construction may be provided, the laminated record having a surface layer of relatively soft transparent plastic of any suitable known type, and which can be readily embossed; and a supporting base of a rigid plastic, such as an acrylic resin or polyvinyl chloride. As a first step in the alternate approach, the laminated disc record blank is heated to a point at which the surface tension of the surface material causes the surface to be smooth and regular. This temperature is the critical temperature at which embossed impressions may be formed on the disc surface, and it is below the melting point of the surface material. The embossing die(s) is(are) heated to a temperature slightly above the critical temperature, and it(they) and the record blank are brought together with a slight pressure. As the die(s) and the record blank are brought together, the die(s) is(are) cooled to the aforesaid critical temperature, and its (their) surface impressions are embossed into the surface(s) of the record. Obviously, if two sides are being embossed, two embossing dies are required. The supporting structure would require modification, but such modification is well within the skill of the art. After the disc record has been embossed, as described above, an opaque mask is deposited into the portions of its surface around the resulting embossed micro-grooves. This latter mask may be formed on the disc by using a vacuum deposition technique, as will be described. The aforesaid disc record, when laminated in accordance with the aforesaid alternate approach, is used in order to present the desired surface characteristics for optimum embossing capabilities, and yet so that the record itself may be rugged and suitable for rough usage. The laminated structure of the record comprises reasonably tough and dimensionally stable clear plastic for the main body of the disc; and a plastic material on one or both surfaces of the disc which is most suited for embossing. The combination provides a video record disc which is useful, which can take on appropriate amount of handling, and which still can be embossed easily and effectively.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Juvenile Justice System of the Future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Juvenile Justice System of the Future - Essay Example It will also talk about the challenges faced by juvenile delinquents at present time and how to improve the current juvenile justice system. A concrete plan or proposal on how to improve the current justice system is given by including the objectives, goals and how to measure the success rate. Keywords: juvenile delinquency, youth offender, crime rate, criminal justice system, trial court JUVENILE DELINQUENCY The number of juvenile delinquents or otherwise known as children in conflict with the law has significantly increased for the past decade. It has become one of the alarming problems that requires immediate attention by countries all over the world. The current situation of the justice system needs major overhaul as many children who are behind bars are not given proper care and guidance by the government to ensure that youth offenders emerge as better citizens after serving imprisonment. The primary purpose of serving sentence is for retribution for the wrong doing that they ha ve committed against the law and social order. However, the justice system should oversee that public safety will not be compromised because they are dealing with children. Towards the end of their ordeal, government support must at hand to guarantee that the youth offenders are rehabilitated and turn-out to be disciplined and responsible individuals after going through the process of trial and serving. It has been said that the nationââ¬â¢s hope lies on children so we must treat them with utmost compassion. Challenges of Juvenile Delinquency at Present Time ââ¬Å"At present time, the juvenile justice system conducts the trials of the youth offenders in adult courts. In effect, they are also penalized in the same degree of judgment that is expected of adultsâ⬠(Corriero, 2006 p.3). In a Supreme Court decision entitled Roper Vs. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), Justice Anthony Kennedy held that executing juveniles and imposing capital punishment for crimes committed while under 18 years of age is unconstitutional. According to him, ââ¬Å"From a moral standpoint, it would be misguided to equate the failings of a minor child with those of an adult, for a greater possibility exists that a minorââ¬â¢s character deficiencies will be reformed.â⬠( Corriero, 2006, p. 3). It is at this tender age that the youth offender still cannot exercise his discretion to decide what is right from wrong. The level of responsibility that they possess to justify their actions is nil and they cannot fully comprehend the effect of their actions. Children as seen have the tendencies to reform and change for the better compared to adults. If they will be exposed to trial, pre-trial detention and imprisonment, more likely than not, they will experience abuses, cruelty and violence, which will leave them defenseless and unprotected. How to Improve the Juvenile Justice System Judge Michael Corriero stated that: ââ¬Å"At the turn of the 20th Century, our juvenile justice proce ss reflected a concept of childhood based on the notion that children are innocent, vulnerable, dependent and incapable of making matured decisions. As we enter the 21st Century, after decades of disillusionment with the juvenile court process, the ideas and beliefs that had inspired the progressive and humane treatment of children, especially disadvantaged children, have been largely abandoned in terms of fixing criminal responsibility. America and its children deserve a justice system that not only holds children accountable for their
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Write your own dystopian story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Write your own dystopian story - Essay Example The country followed another ritual of a lottery of drowning thirty of its citizens down the sea every month to overcome its problems. It was due to these laws that Mrs. Dickinson had hidden her daughter. The Dickinson family was very happy until a police officer saw Emily playing around the house. The Butchering Team arrived at their doorstep. It was the day of the lottery as well. It was an unfortunate day as Mr. Dickinsonââ¬â¢s name was in the drowning lottery as well. The family got a tip off and they all walked together towards the sea for the lottery from the backdoor. They took a brave step and Mrs. Dickinson stood in the middle of the crowd at the shore and announced that the entire family was going to go through the drowning ritual. Their protest was joined by a larger crowd and many people joined in. This led to wave of unrest and the state government of Ludiano was overthrown. The leaders were expelled from the state and so were the members of the Butchering Team. This was how peace was again restored in the state
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Spiritual Diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Spiritual Diversity - Assignment Example Panentheism or animism characterizes the spirituality of Native American with an emphasis on personal spirituality and connectivity with daily activities that occur in spiritual and natural ââ¬Å"worldsâ⬠(Rainbow of Spirituality, 2013). Native American Spirituality makes the people to have a belief in sacred and that everything that is done originates from the heart of an individual. As such, the spiritual perspective of this religion is that the Supernatural Being has the sovereign power of bringing illness to the community members. For individuals to receive this healing, spiritual components such as belief, meditation and prayer have to be integrated. This acts as the means of these people to communicate with their creator in order to receive this healing. Native American belief bases on the provision of services from the heart of an individual. As such, the faith of the people is vested on the quality and reliability of services, which are offered by care providers of othe r spiritual beliefs. However, differences in cultural practices make it complex for these people to focus on the healing from the health care providers of other spiritual beliefs. This is because of ethnic barrier and differences in communication pattern with source of healing power (Rainbow of Spirituality, 2013). This makes the Native Americans not to have a strong belief in healing from health care providers of other spiritual beliefs.... Further, the philosophy of Christian and Native American is connected in terms of reliability of health care providers from other spiritual beliefs to contribute towards healing of an individual. This includes provision of quality health care and protection, which is aimed at ensuring that the patient gets well. Treatment of patients in both cases is the same such that there is no bias in terms of how health care services are provided to the patients. This implies that both Christian philosophy and Native American Spirituality accept to have health care services provision from people of other spiritual beliefs provided that their services are based on best practices and interests for the patients under consideration. Buddhism is one religion that has a strong emphasis on ââ¬Å"mindfulnessâ⬠. This implies that health care providers have to note that patients may seek for quietness and peace in order to meditate. This is an issue of concern for Buddhism religion (Ehman, 2007). Mo desty is another virtue that Buddhism religion emphasizes on. As such, cultural concerns of treatment by opposite sex may impact the process of patient caring and delivery of medication. The perspective of this religion with respect to healing of a patient is that prayers that are characterized of meditation by the patient contribute significantly towards the healing process. These prayers should be done in a silent and secure place where there are no people to interfere with the patient during the meditation process. The critical components of healing for this religion are praying. This involves loud chants that are done in a repeated manner within a quiet environment, which is
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Quality In Internet Operations Department In Etisalat Information Technology Essay
Quality In Internet Operations Department In Etisalat Information Technology Essay Internet Operations Department in Etisalat spent a lot of time and effort on the quality of its process in order to reach and achieve a recognized international IT management standard such as SunTone Certification. The research shows the process of work developed in the department in order to achieve the SunTone Certification and to be aligned with ITIL international standard in three major responsibilities are: incident management, problem management and change management. Introduction: Quality became an important business issue due to the increase in competitiveness in world markets. The total quality management (TQM) approach introduced by W. Edwards Deming used by several organizations in the world to improve their operations and the processes used in all functional areas of their organizations. The basis of TQM is to reduce the errors produced during the manufacturing or service process, increase customer satisfaction and improve product/service quality, productivity, and competitiveness by improving communications with stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and society). The application of TQM can vary from business to business, even across the same industry. Etisalat has a great initiative to introduce quality and get several quality certifications for most of its operational processes. Internet Operations Department worked on the last few years to develop its quality based on the appropriate quality standards and got the ISO9001 certificate as well as the SunTone certification, which I am going to concentrate on in this research. Etisalat is the only service provider in the Middle East to achieve Sun Microsystems elite SunTone certification for Internet Operations which offers internal external hosting and data centre solutions. According to Mr. Ali AlSharhan (EVP/IT Etisalat) The SunTone certification certifies our service delivery in areas such as architecture, implementation and management from service delivery environment. Through this, we can assure our customers that the Service Level Guarantees we provide are among the worlds best and backed by Suns independent auditing. (Etisalat enhances customer and internal service levels through SunTone certification, 2007)From left to right: Ali Al Sharhan Executive Vice President, IT, Etisalat; Tareq Alkharji Vice President Network Operations, Etisalat; and Marc Heger, Gulf District Manager for Sun Microsystems Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Marc Heger, Gulf District Manager for Sun Microsystems MENA said As part of its SunTone accreditation, Etisalat is the only regional managed hosting provider that can maximize its IT efficiency, benchmark and quantify the successful provision of services externally and internally, and document the improved quality of service that it is now providing, (Etisalat enhances customer and internal service levels through SunTone certification, 2007) SUN TONE CRTF.jpg In this research I am going to talk about the SunTone certification description, process, procedures, quality analysis and recommendation on best usage of quality certification in Internet Operations department. Objectives: The objectives of this research are: To learn about quality certifications applied on IT environment. To develop and improve the current quality process of the internet operations. To set recommendation on how to apply quality on IT environment and keep developing it. To analyze the internet operations quality practices internally through interview with quality manager in Etisalat. Significance: There are several important points that I am going to gain through this research such as: To understand the current practice of Internet Operations. To improve and develop the current quality process and adopt the best practices. To develop my current TQM Fundamentals course knowledge and compare it with the current quality practice of internet operations department. Hypothesis: The more quality applied on internet operations processes, the more positive and satisfied output will result to Etisalat internet products. Setting Service Level Agreement (SLA) and operational level agreement (OLA) between sections will have a positive impact on customers satisfaction. Literature Review: In fact no one wrote in this subject before, however an audit report was done to Sun Microsystems to highlight the quality aspects of Internet Operations Department in Etisalat. Chapter 2: SunTone Initiative In May 1999, the SunTone initiative lunched as a certification and branding program for service providers services to audit and certify web delivered software applications. Through a combination of IT management defined best practices, specifications and services, the SunTone Initiative enables organizations to cut time and cost to deploy high quality web enabled services. The SunTone Initiative also helps enterprises to gain high quality service products applications from external Service Providers and deploy them with confidence. The SunTone Initiative supports the practice of hosting and managing a range of web enabled services through a combination of internal external IT resources. Customers can take advantage of SunTone Initiative whether they intend to build world class services internally or to purchase high quality SunTone certified applications from IT service providers and software vendors. (About the SunTone Initiative) SunTone Benefits: The SunTone Initiative helps enterprises manage their IT services efficiently and cost effectively, in order to increase Quality of Service (QoS). The process of certifying services under the SunTone Initiative helps companies to: Meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with higher quality of service delivery Manage flexible, high quality IT services. Build and maintain IT staffing competencies. Better utilize existing IT resources. Adopt the sourcing strategy that make most economic, technical and business sense with full confidence. SunTone Certification process: There are three steps to get the SunTone certification are: SunTone Specifications The SunTone Service Delivery Specification is a guide to managing web-enabled services to the highest Quality of Service levels. The specifications provide guidelines and contain a checklist to allow enterprises to evaluate their current operations against the best IT practices. SunTone Enablers. SunTone Enablers are offerings and tools to help customers to meet the SunTone standards for higher quality network service delivery. Sun Services for the SunTone Initiative provide expert consulting, flexible learning solutions, and mission critical support focused on helping customers and partners meet the SunTone requirements for network service delivery. SunTone Audit Certification The SunTone certification audit performed by Sun or third parties validates the implementation and gives the company an industry recognized seal of approval for their web-based services. What is Quality of Service (QoS)? Quality of Service is a measurement of how well a service or solution complies with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). These metrics includes, but not limited to: Availability Reliability Support Response Times Security Disaster Recovery Processes Criteria of SunTone Certification: There are two different SunTone specifications, one for enterprise customers and service providers, and the other is for software developers. Each specification has its own requirements covering areas such as infrastructure, operational practices, hardware, software, and overall service delivery practices. Certifications of Enterprise customer solutions and service provider solutions must be renewed annually, and must conform to the standards of the current specification level. (Frequently Asked Questions) Chapter 3: Profile of the company: Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) is one of the telecommunication service providers in the UAE since 1976. It is now a well known Telecommunication provider in almost 18 countries in both Asia and Africa continents with more than 100 million subscribers. It has built up a modern telecom infrastructure and established itself as an innovative and reliable operator. 60% of Etisalat revenue gained from mobile services while the remaining is from other services such as landlines, internet, interconnect, etc. Based on that, Etisalat is considered as the 13th largest mobile network operator in the world. Financial Times ranked Etisalat as the 140th in the Top 500 corporations in the world in terms of market capitalization. Mission Statement: Etisalat has set a mission statement in order to derive its business towards customers satisfaction. Its mission has a great effect of innovation and development of new products and services to be provided to customers whenever needed. It has set the following mission statement, vision, values and future which will provide a clear guide to its business. Mission : To extend peoples reach. Vision: A world where peoples reach is not limited by matter or distance. Values: Energy,à Openness, Enablement Future: A world in which technology extends our reach. Etisalat is an international telecom provider covering 18 countries in the world based on investment, joint ventures and stack holding. Its business and administration is well defined and managed under the umbrella of Etisalat Group. Etisalat Telecommunication Corporation is one of the telecom service providers in the UAE. Etisalat UAE is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and includes three regional offices Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Northern Emirates. It has been divided into that in order to concentrate on it specialization. The headquarter or what we call in Etisalat Head Office is specialized in planning, developing, marketing and managing all activities centrally. The regional office responsibility is to take care of normal operational work such as sales, finance, regional engineering and administrational work related to the region that was delegated to them by the head office. (Etisalat Website) Internet Operations: Internet Operations is the department that is responsible of operating the internet services provided to public such as internet access, emails, hosting services, data center services, Internet payment gateway, eSecurity services as well as internet access to other service providers internally in the UAE or externally in other nearby countries. It was founded in 1995 to provide internet service through dialup and then expanded to operate several other services with high quality reliable service. The department has several sections that look into different internet services provided to customers: Network Operations: This section is responsible of the network infrastructure of the internet service provided by Etisalat. They are responsible of the backbone of the internet that is connected to the international lines and carriers. Moreover, they are responsible of internet access services such as ADSL, leased lines, cable modems, etc. Service Operations: This section is responsible of the internet services provided by Etisalat such as email, web hosting service, database, etc. Security Operations: This section is responsible of the maintaining the security aspects of the internet and work as a gourd for all the internet service provided by Etisalat. Internet Network Operations Center: This section is responsible of monitoring of the internet network and services all the time and assuring high availability of the infrastructure. Internet Operation Hierarchy: Chapter 4: Research Methodology: This research is done based on an interview conducted with some employees who participated in developing the quality of Internet Operation department processes. I have done an interview With Mr. Asef Termizi, Sr. Manager/IT Governance Architecture Assurance and Mr. Anwar Bawab, Sr. Specialist/IT Governance Architecture Assurance, who were members in SunTone Certification process. Scope: The scope of this research is to collect data about quality implementation in Internet Operations department in Etisalat in order to understand the current process and overcome its limitations and errors. Limitation: I faced some problems while collecting data are: The SunTone Certification is limited to some eHosting services that are managed by several sections in Internet Operations department. Most of the sections in Internet Operations are applying processes that was defined several years ago or modified sometime ago without referring to quality assurance. So it was difficult to interview those sections and ask them about their quality measures of the current process. The SunTone Certification is a brand quality certification introduced by Sun Microsystems, and measures quality of the companies uses their hardware. It came to my attention that it is no more an accredited certification. That is why there is very limited information about SunTone on the internet. Data Collection: This research is mainly based on an interview with IT Governance Architecture Assurance Sr. Manager IT Governance Architecture Assurance Sr. Specialist in Etisalat participated in preparation of the SunTone certification. Also some of the information provided is based on SunTone Certification Audit Report provided by them. Data Analysis: Etisalat started in 2005 to introduce the SunTone certification for the Internet Operations department in cooperation with Sun Microsystems. This work continued up-to June 2007 to gain this certification after several audit, revision and initiatives applied to achieve the SunTone seal of approval. Internet Operations went through the most stringent service reliability requirements and assessment to ensure the efficiency of its People, Processes, Products (Technology Tools) and Partners (Suppliers, Vendors) (Termizi, 2010). The project was led by Internet Operations in coordination with Corporate Quality Department in consultation with Sun Microsystems. The SunTone audit and certification program incorporates principles from multiple industry standards, including ITIL and ISO. The program is built on the principles of IT Service Management excellence which included 15 assessment areas under the categories of Service Delivery, Service Support and Management, such as:- Service-Level Management. Service Architecture. Availability Management. Capacity Management. Data Center Management. Configuration Management. Change Management. Service Desk Management. Incident Management. Problem Management. Release Management. Etisalat got their SunTone Certification in only three assessment areas are: Incident Management: to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse effect on business operations, Problem Management: to resolve the root causes of incidents and thus to minimize the adverse impact of incidents and problems on business that are caused by errors within the IT infrastructure, and to prevent recurrence of incidents related to these errors. Change Management: to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient handling of all changes, The SunTone certification signifies Etisalat ability to meet the highest quality standards in the industry, instilling process excellence in Etisalats IT Service Management strategy (Termizi, 2010). The process that Sun Microsystems auditors follow to recommend the accreditation to Internet Operations in their last assessment meeting in 2007 is: Review the previous improvement plan and examine the tangible evidence. Hold an initial meeting with the Etisalat Internet Operations, Co-location and e-Hosting Management Team to detail the Audit process. Verify that Etisalat has complied with the recommendations of the previous assessment within the scope of Co-location and e-Hosting Services. One-to-one interviews with key management and personnel require case by case examples of changes and incidents with particular emphasis on usage of ITIL disciplines, processes and related documentation. Review of specified documents. Collaborate with Etisalat, in terms of the implementation of ITIL disciplines and best practice. Preparation of the Auditors Report. (Bawab, 2010) The ITIL has a great input to develop the process on Internet Operations Department based on the best practices of IT processes. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of concepts and practices for Information Technology Services Management, Information Technology (IT) development and IT operations (Wikipedia, 2010). During the latest audit of the Sun Microsystems auditors, they highlighted some of the issues that Etisalat has to take care of in order to reach the highest quality standards such as Service Level Agreements. Etisalat should work on their SLAs with both customers and vendors in consideration of Risk Management. The SLAs with vendors and customers should carry the same service levels, penalties, reporting processes, escalation procedures, etc. Hypothesis: Setting Service Level Agreement (SLA) and operational level agreement (OLA) between sections will have a positive impact on customers satisfaction. Audit results: The audit results reported by Sun Microsystems auditors based on their latest assessment are: Etisalat should finalise and improve the implementation of three key ITIL responsibilities and related processes: Incident Management, Problem Management and Change Management. There has been a major drive to implement these aspects, in particular the Incident and Change with less importance at present being placed on Problem Management. Etisalat should rework their SLAs (both customer and vendor). The Auditor checked the SLA documents and is satisfied that SLA exists for all parties. Functional and Organisational Compliance of ITIL Management practices with specific regard to Incident Management, Problem Management and Change Management. There has been a huge amount of effort and refinement put into implementing these disciplines. Appropriate internal costing of services and service components. The actual cost per square metre of the data centre environment, various levels of manpower needed to install a service, electricity, set up costs of each service available to customers are available. Using the automated workflow and work order system installed, Etisalat have tight control over the amount of time each set up component. Use of a knowledge base of Known Incidents. The Auditor noted that the majority of calls were solved at the initial point of contact. Gain further maturity in ITIL disciplines. 150 Etisalat staff have been trained formally on ITIL. Automate processes where appropriate. The use of the HP suite of Incident, Problem and Change Management tools has satisfied the Auditor that the level of automation is excellent and widely used. (Bawab, 2010) Transition to ISO20000: The auditor has noted some high level issues relevant to focus the efforts the transition to ISO20000. There are a lot of similarly between SunTone and the ISO2000 standards, almost to the point one might say they are identical. The key drivers are Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs). The standards use: If you cant measure it you cant manage it. (Termizi, 2010) ISO20000 is the first international standard for IT Service Management developed in 2005 by the BSI Group. It promotes the adoption of an integrated process approach to effectively deliver managed services to meet the business and customer requirements (Wikipedia, 2010) In the diagram we can see the relationships between all the entities recommended to have a stable and high value Service Management system. In the middle we can see the plan, do, check act model. The model looks at the relationship between the input side (on the left); Business Requirements and the output side (on the right) Business results. Those controlled activitiesà convert input to output in a reliable manner. These measures are alien with customer satisfaction surveys. The linkages of the standards elements to the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) activities are: à PLAN Plan Service Management DO à Implement Service Management and provide service CHECK Monitor, measure and review ACT Improvement. (Bawab, 2010) Hypothesis: The more quality applied on internet operations processes, the more positive and satisfied output will result to Etisalat internet products. (Veyeren, 2007) Chapter 5: Conclusion: Quality has become an important approach that organizations are taking care of while developing their process of work and managing their resources. Internet Operations Department in Etisalat spent a lot of time and effort on the quality of its process in order to reach and achieve a recognized international IT management standard such as SunTone Certification. The process of work developed in the department to be aligned with ITIL international standard in three major parts are: incident management, problem management and change management. Recommendation: There are several points that I can recommend in order to improve the quality of Internet Operations process in order to achieve customers satisfaction. Adopt a service level agreement (SLA) with the customers in order to provide the best service to customers. Develop the process of coordination and incident management between Internet Operations sections using an operation level agreement (OLA) in order to achieve the SLA. Adopt more ITIL management responsibilities such as: Service Level Management. Capacity Management. Data Center Management. Configuration Management. Service Desk Management. Work hard to gain ISO20000 Certification.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)