TUFS Value Proposition Essay Example for Free

TUFS Value Proposition Essay The Technical Underwriting Financial System (TUFS) (McKeen Smith, 2012), like any Information Technology (IT) project requires a value assessment. This value assessment is intended to help business leaders weigh the possible benefits and risks associated with the project. In the case of TUFS, some of the anticipated benefits included financial savings through improved efficiency and e-business capabilities. As noted in the case, the company had not made use of the e-business feature two years after it was released. This may point to an IT failure, but it may be as likely that a communication failure among those responsible for defining company strategy produced the unused feature. The anticipated benefits represent expectations, which in this case don’t appear to have been clearly defined by IT or their business counterparts. It may be of more interest in this case to ask how the project fit into the company strategy. One reason this is important is that the expectations (benefits) mentioned are tactical in nature. In other words, improved efficiency and e-business may be good business tactics, but in the absence of a clear strategy, it’s difficult to say how these features would give the company an advantage . External Investment and Commitment IT projects require buy-in from stakeholders. There are several reasons to get buy-in before starting an IT project, some of which include investment during development and commitment to transition away from old processes to the new system upon completion. Unilateral IT projects often lack the level of investment and commitment required for a successful IT project. This becomes even more critical as the scope and size of the project increases. The TUFS project had low stakeholder involvement in the beginning and early stakeholder abandonment when issues arose. In IT projects, there is a risk of going to one of two extremes: analysis paralysis or inadequate requirements planning. In some projects, the analysis phase can reach a point  at which no work is getting done and stakeholders are moving away from consensus rather than toward it. This situation may signal a project that’s poorly aligned with company strategy or even a faulty strategy. For example, a strategy may be to improve the reception of new products by targeting tighter integration between sales and research and development (RD) organizations. In such a scenario it could be plausible to devise an IT project that would synchronize the efforts of sales and RD. However, with two very different groups, salespeople and engineers, consensus may be difficult to reach. In this case, the lack of consensus may be a good sign that either a modified strategy or a different tactical approach would be preferable to pursuing the project. The alternative of inadequate requirements planning may indicate a lack of strategy altogether. Projects that lack careful requirements are often conceived and executed unilaterally. This presents significant risks when original time lines require modification. There are other risks associated with adoption and adaptation. Failure to view the system as a whole, which must include training, support and feedback mechanisms, may be another indication that the project is being pursued unilaterally or that analysis is failing to  achieve consensus. When there is lack of investment and commitment, the safest, although sometimes frustrating, course of action is to pause the IT project and return to strategy discussions for better alignment with all stakeholders. Monolithic, All or Nothing Systems Many significant IT projects have the objective of replacing systems that have been in place for years. In most cases, those systems have evolved over time to become what they are. As the business grew, so did the systems that enable that business. A significant implication of this is that the current systems in use by a company required many years and significant financial investment to become what they are. Surprisingly, many business people believe that a complete replacement of such a system is possible in a very short period of time. The amount of effort and cost involved in implementing a new system is underestimated. The required changes to existing business processes is underestimated. The amount and duration of required training is underestimated. This tendency to underestimate creates a set of unrealistic expectations, which can product tension between IT and other departments. The result is that many attempts to put a new, monolithic system in place fail. Furthermore, monolithic systems will rarely satisfy the requirements of the broad spectrum of stakeholders who have an interest in its outcome. The human tendency to view desired changes as all or nothing sometimes makes opportunities for incremental replacement of functionality difficult to sell. It is often true that there is a minimum viable product (MVP) required for an initial release of a new IT system. One factor in the success of an IT project is in accurately identifying that MVP and limiting the scope to only essential functionality. After that, continuous improvements are much lower risk and more likely to be prioritized based on actual business needs  and value. One way to approach this is to think in terms of segmented job functions rather than think monolithically. Define the intersection of job functions and allow systems to develop independent of one another with well defined interfaces between them. Role Myopia A common pitfall in IT projects relates to a narrow view of job role. This myopia of roles within a company interferes with communications and subverts accountability. When this occurs, technologists and business participants are at risk of relying on false assumptions about who is qualified and accountable for making key decisions about functionality. Narrow views of roles defeat the synergy that is desired in large projects. On the other hand, when technologists show a willingness to learn other job functions before attempting to create IT solutions for them, the outcome is often more relevant. Similarly, when individuals in key business functions take time to understand the capabilities and limitations of key technologies, the solutions they request are more likely to meet relevant needs. Define Key Success Metrics First A final observation from the case is that the postmortem discussion in which the CFO asked for the metrics that would determine success for future projects should have been discussed before the TUFS project began. A careful identification of pain points and deficiencies up front may even reveal quick and easy solutions that can be applied to existing systems. Even when quick solutions aren’t possible, this is a key step in establishing measurements for the execution of the IT project that will follow. Measurements must be able to quantify losses and gains. References McKeen, J. D., Smith, H. A. (2012). It strategy issues and practices (second ed.). Pearson.

Warfare Technology :: essays research papers fc

In today’s world war plays a very important role in people’s lives. Some of these wars date as far back as the Roman Empire and Alexander the Great, while others are just being born and brought to the doorstep of the world. In 1939 this world was introduced to World War II. Although this war was based in Europe, it would touch the lives of people in every continent across the world, and have a massive impact on governments and civilians alike. It was also during this time that many advancements were emerging into the world. The United States of America made many technological advancements to their weaponry, armed forces, and the types of warfare crucial to the allied victory in World War II.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The advancements to weaponry in America during the 1930’s to 1940’s greatly influenced the tides of battle for the allies. The firearms of the time were becoming faster, increased accuracy, and more lethal. The M-1 Carbine was the standard semi-automatic rifle for all American troops and was later fitted to be fully automatic. The bazooka, invented in 1941 by American scientists, was first used in the invasion of North Africa in war and proved to be excellent anti-tank warfare. It was also during this time that bullets were upgraded from the pinfire type to the rimfire type. The rimfire type proved to be more precise and damaging because of its finer texture and cartridge case. Miscellaneous advancements include chemical agent weapons (i.e. nerve gas, mustard gas), flame-throwers, improved hand grenades, and other minor adjustments to firearms in general. The Americans during World War II also improved upon vehicles. On land the use of M-60 and M-1 m ain battle tanks were common. These tanks were often outfitted with a 105-mm gun, a 120-mm gun, or two to four 0.50 caliber machine guns. Also, the use of assault vehicles, armored transports, and tracked vehicles became more involved as technology grew. In the air many advancements were made as well. â€Å"The United States Airforce grew to its top strength during World War II† (World War II 10). Aircraft used by the Americans include the P-51 Mustang long-range fighter, bombers such as the B-17, B-24 Liberator, the B-25, and the B-29 (Enola Gay). It was these aircraft that coordinated air attacks, firebombing, the atomic bombing, and ground support that was crucial in gaining the upperhand. The sea was also the target of advancements.

Coffee consumption Essay

Faculty of Farm Management, Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Timisoara, 119 Calea Aradului, Timisoara; Romania; petz_elena@yahoo. com 2 ) Faculty Economics Science, University Tibiscus Timisoara, 1/A Daliei St. , Timisoara, Romania Abstract. The coffee market is a dynamic market due to the numerous mades, to the wide range of assortments and to the high number of people that are more and more sophisticated. There has been lately a trend toward pre-packaged coffee, i. e. towards high quality produce and to larger weight coffee packages. Despite the high price of the coffee, Romanians drink more and more coffee. The leading assortment is ground coffee followed by soluble coffee. Keywords: needs, aspirations, demand, offer, consumption, behaviour, market INTRODUCTION Marketing research is not an exact science, and it is not an exact science either. It is about working with people, with their ever-changing needs and desires under the impact of hundreds of factors that are more or less known. Market analysis shows what people wish to purchase, to consume, or to use. As a rule, this means something different from what companies want us to believe, to produce and to sell. It is not enough to must study people’s needs; we should also know people’s desires and aspirations. The main component of marketing research is the study of consumer behaviour. The research of consumer behaviour concerns different attitudes in the process of buying decision (e. g. people’s attitude towards information, the choice of the purchase place, fidelity towards the made, getting aware of the price, knowing consumer’s difficult nature, etc. ). Consumer behaviour is a complex phenomenon and, at the same time, an interdisciplinary field. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study aims at presenting the coffee consumer profile, the way the choosing and purchasing of the different types of coffee on the market is done, and the way coffee made notoriety is determined. The target population consisted of all the people aged over 18 and living in Timisoara. The sampling method we used was the quotas method. In applying this method, we started from the characteristics of the target population (e. g. age, sex, occupation, etc. ). Sample size varies depending on the thrust threshold and on the accepted error. The way the questionnaire was applied consisted in a field survey, i. e. questioning people outside the shops. 362 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION At present, consumers are masters of their incomes. Social stratification differentiates incomes and determines significant variations of the consumption structure. Knowing the structure of the consumer’s attitude is a good opportunity to investigate the causes determining the acceptance or rejection of a produce. The most important means is researching consumer’s desires. Question no. 1 in our questionnaire, â€Å"Do you drink coffee? † is a filter question. As a result of the answers we got to this question, we could see that 56% of the people we questioned drink coffee; 17% answered hey do not drink coffee at all; and 27% answered they only drink coffee sometimes. Thus, the 17 people answering they never drink coffee were removed from the study. The answer to question, â€Å"How often do you drink coffee? † resulted in the following answers: 92% of the respondents answered they drink coffee daily; while 8% answered they drink coffee occasionally. The answer to the question, â€Å"Who purchases the coffee in your family? † showed that it is the housewife who does it (76% of the cases). As for the question, â€Å"How often do you purchase coffee? † 40% of the respondents answered they purchase it once a month, 28% answered they purchase it twice a month, and 20% answered they purchase it rather seldom. As for the amount of coffee people purchase, the figure below shows that 40% of the coffee purchasers prefer packages of 500 g, while 36% prefer packages of 250 g (Fig. 1). 40% 40% 36% 35% 30% 25% 20% 16% 15% 8% 10% 5% 0% 250 g 500 g 1000 g More Fig. 1. Amount of coffee purchased The answers to question, â€Å"On what occasion do you purchase coffee?†, 72% of the respondents said they purchase coffee for the daily consumption, while 8% said they purchase coffee for other goals. The questionnaire showed that 64% of the respondents purchase their coffee at the hyeprmarket and supermarket, 24% of the respondents purchase coffee from the corner shops, and 12% purchase coffee from the market. As for the coffee made, we could see that 48% of the respondents prefer the Jakobs made, 24% purchase the Elita made, 16% purchase the Amigo made, 8% purchase the Tchibo made, and 4% purchase the Amaroy and Lavazza mades (Fig.2). The answers to question, â€Å"What do you appreciate most in the coffee you purchase? †, 50% of the respondents answered it is flavour, 40% answered it is the taste, and 10% 363 answered it is strength. Asfor the factors influencing purchase decision, we could see from the respondents answers that 44% of them are influenced by the price, 28% answered they are influenced by the made, and 20% of the respondents admitted it is the advertising (Fig. 3). 48% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 24% 16% 8% 4% Elita Jacobs Amigo Tchibo Other specifications. Fig. 2. Coffee mades 44% 45% 40% 35% 28% 30% 25% 20% 20% 15% 8% 10% 5% 0% Advertising Price Packaging Trade Fig. 3. Factors influencing purchase decision 40% 40% 32% 35% 28% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Home, in family At the cafe/ At w ork (school), terrace, w ith the automatic friends coffee Fig. 4. Favourite place for coffee consumption 364 The answers to question, â€Å"Where do you usually have your coffee? †, showed that 40% of the respondents answered it is at home, 32% answered they have their coffee with their friends, at coffee shops, on terraces, etc. , and 28% of the respondents said they have their coffee at their work place, from the coffee machine (Fig. 4). As for the age of the respondents, we could see that 36% of them are aged 26-40, 28% are aged 18-25, 20% are aged 41-65, and 16% are aged above 65. From the point of view of their income, 56% of the respondents earn less than 1,000 LEI /month, 20% earn between 1,000 and 1,500 LEI /month, 16% of the respondents earn between 1,501 LEI /month and 2,000 LEI /month, and only 8% of the respondents earn more than 2,000 LEI /month. CONCLUSIONS. In order to get higher performances, any company needs a strong consumer-oriented marketing strategy. Therefore, it is very important to monitor and study the consumer behaviour from all points of view: type of consumer, age, sex, occupation, group of appurtenance, personality, culture, etc. the questions marketing operators should use in their studies and shaping of purchase behaviour and consumption behaviour in their attempt to better decide how to react are such questions as Who? , When? , How? , How much? , From where? , How many times? , etc. To have a closer look at the factors influencing the behaviour of the coffee consumer we have carried out the present study by applying a questionnaire to a number of 60 people whose main common feature is that they all live in the city of Timisoara. On the ground of this study, we can draw the following conclusions: 56% of the respondents drink coffee, 27% drink it sometimes, and 17% never; 92% of the respondents drink coffee daily, while 8% drink it occasionally; 76% of the coffee purchasers are women; 40% of the respondents purchase coffee once a month, 28% twice a month, and 20% rather seldom; 40% of the respondents prefer packages of 500 g, while 36% prefer 250 g packages; 72% of the respondents purchase coffee for their daily consumption, while 8% purchase it for other reasons; 64% of the respondents purchase their coffee at the hyeprmarket and supermarket, 24% from the corner shops, and 12% from the market, 48% of the respondents prefer the Jakobs made, 24% Elita, 16% Amigo, 8% Tchibo, and 4% Amaroy and Lavazza; 50% of the respondents purchase coffee for its flavour, 40% for its taste, and 10% for its strength; 44% of the respondents are influenced by the coffee price in their purchase, 28% by the made, and 10% by the adds; 40% of the respondents prefer have their coffee at home, 32% in town, and 28% at the work place; 36% of the respondents were aged 26-40, 28% were aged 18-25, 20% were aged 41-65, and 16% were aged above 65. 56% of the respondents earn less than 1,0 00 LEI /month , 20% earn between 1,000 and 1, 500 LEI/month, 16% of the respondents earn between 1,501 LEI /month and 2 ,000 LEI /mon th, and on ly 8% of the respondents earn more than 2,000 LEI /month. REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Baker J. M. (1997). Marketing – Societatea Stiintifica si Tehnica S. A. ,Bucuresti Balaure V. (2000) Marketing – Ed. Uranus, Bucuresti Demetrescu M. C. (2000) Metode de analiza in marketing – Ed. Teora, Bucuresti Foltean Florin (2000) Cercetari de marketing editi a II-a – Ed. Mirton, Timisoara Kotler Ph. (1997) Managementul marketingului – Ed. Teora, Bucuresti Niculescu Elena (2000) Marketing modern – Ed. Polirom, Iasi Pet Elena (2004) Marketing agrar, Ed. Marineasa Pruteanu Stefan, Corneliu Munteanu, Cezar Caluschi – Inteligenta. Marketing plus – Ed. Polirom 365.

Essay about Organizational Behavior and Building a Winning...

Corporations create strategies for their teams to deliver outcomes on daily basis, so they can achieve profit and market share within their respective industry. They have turned to successful sports coaches to motivate and teach their management leaders how to build great teams and create a winning environment. Katz, Koenig (2001) states, Managers often look to sports for inspirational examples and useful models of teamwork. Over the last decades, coaches like Phil Jackson, Pat Summit, Joe Torre, and Pat Riley have given speeches regarding teamwork and winning culture. According to Katz Koenig (2001), the lessons managers can learn from sports team fall into two categories: how to motivate a team, and how to structure a team†¦show more content†¦(Asia Pulse, p.10). A vision statement is an aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long term future (dictionary.com). A corporate vision statement thats conci se and clear gives employees direction to provide a product or service they can relate to. When employees can state the mission and communicate it, they are engaged and productive. It captures the definite reason ones organization is in business. When one examines Disneys culture, Judy Schueler says the most important day of training is day one--attending Traditions I, the initial orientation program for all levels of employee. Phil Jackson ex-coach of Chicago Bulls states, his vision for the Bulls and he has stated unequivocally that it is critical for every team to possess a discrete vision if it is to succeed (Sports Illustrated, 1999). When coaches take an organization that has lost they have to instill or establish a sense of winning through creating a vision. The vision can range from the office pictures to the organizations personnel. They evaluate the type of employees (or recruits) that will fit into their vision. As far as CEO, one evaluates the organizations vision and builds a team of leaders who will contribute building the brand for a winning culture. Judy Schueler says, we need new vision to combat the turnover andShow MoreRelatedOrganizational Behavior Studies The Impact Individuals, Groups, And Structures Have On Human Behavior1278 Words   |  6 PagesOrganizational behavior studies the impact individuals, groups, and structures have on human behavior within organizations. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management (dictionary.com). Between the two organizational behaviors, I think that the group behavior is more important. In today’s society, numerous of organizations embrace the notion of teams. Groups have become the core unit in many organizations. 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