...Integration and Generic Approach to Human Services Name College Human Services The field of Human Services is broadly defined, uniquely approaching the objective of meeting human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining commitment to improving the overall quality of life to service populations. The Human service profession is one which promotes improved service delivery systems by addressing not only the quality of direct services, but also by seeking to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies in service delivery. Integration In the last decade, greater coordination and integration of human service programs have been addressed through legislation, local innovations made possible by radical changes in welfare administration, and pilot studies taken with private foundation support, often with gains being small in scale and out of reach. Implementation and sustainability claims are attributed to “politics” or “personality conflicts” with administration, but researchers search more systematic causes focusing on organizations, technology, or resources. One way to understand systematic impediments to integration is to analyze work context of the front line. This can be hard to do in the human service industry where the “raw materials’ are human beings. This type of setting requires formalized rules and regulations, but generally can...
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...organisations seek to develop sustainable competitive advantage. In broad terms, two distinct approaches have emerged from the debate about this central issue within strategy content: the positioning approach and the resource-based approach (or more accurately, approaches). Much of the debate has concentrated upon two key questions: • Is competitive advantage achieved by concentrating on either low cost or differentiation or should a strategy seek to exploit both low cost and differentiation? • Does an organisation develop strategy to respond to or shape the environment in which it exists – is strategy outside-in or inside-out? As the primary purpose of the tools of strategic analysis is to help organisations to develop and implement successful strategies, then an understanding of the underlying context in which these models and frameworks can be applied is an important requirement. By exploring the development of these competing approaches to competitive advantage and the debate between them, this Session sets out to provide this contextual understanding. Your Objectives By the end of this session you should be able to: • Outline how the tools and frameworks of strategic analysis are utilised by the positioning and resource-based approaches to create sustainable competitive advantage. • Understand the debate between those advocating positioning or resource-based approaches to the search for sustainable competitive advantage....
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...are: (1) information technology services firms, (2) packaged software providers, (3) vendors of enterprise solution software, (4) application service providers and managed service providers, (5) open-source software, and (6) in-house development. IT services firms help companies develop custom information systems for internal use; they develop, host, and run applications for customers; or they provide other services. An IT services firm may be chosen if the system can’t be developed internally or requires customer support. Packaged software providers are companies that produce software exclusively, like Microsoft or Intuit, and are preferable if the task needing the system is generic. Vendors of enterprise solution software create a system that is composed of a series of integrated modules. Each module supports a business function, such as accounting, or human resources. ERP systems may be appropriate if a complete system is required that can cross functional boundaries. A more intense option for larger, more customizable solutions are Managed service providers who can provide more services than application service providers. ASPs and MSPs may be appropriate when instant access to an application is desired, and in the case of ASPs, when the task is generic. Open-source software is a type of software that is developed by a community of interested people and it is freely available. Open-source software is preferable when the task is generic and cost is an issue. Finally...
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...1. How can design for logistic concepts be used to control logistics costs and make the supply chain more efficient? Design for logistics is a series of concepts in the field of supply chain management involving product and design approaches that help control logistics cost and increase customer service levels. The concepts include the three key components, Economic, Packing and Transportation, Concurrent and Parallel Processing, and Standardization. EPT is the most obvious involved designing products so that they can be efficiently packed and stored. When transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multipliers effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments. When transport systems are deficient in terms of capacity or reliability, they can have an economic cost such as reduced or missed opportunities. Efficient transportation reduces costs, while inefficient transportation increases costs. Because the movement of freight has changes in economic systems at the global, regional and local scales, Hewlett Packard (HP) must find a way to make movement of good in their supply chain more efficient and less expensive. HP must adopt the “cube out” method in their transport trucks and when packing international containers. When their products are loaded into an international container, they may “weight out” - reach the allowed over the road weight when mounted on a chassis...
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...configuration of data that is required to make these programs operate correctly .A professionally developed software system is often more than a single program. The system usually consists of a number of separate programs and configuration files that are used to set up these programs. It may include system documentation, which describes the structure of the system; user documentation, which explains how to use the system, and web sites for users to download recent product information. Example a word processing system consist of executable program, user manual and the document such as requirements and the design needed to produce the executable program 2. What is the most important difference between generic software product development and custom software development? What might this mean in practice for users of generic software products? a) What is the most important difference between generic software product development and custom software development? Custom software development these are systems that are commissioned by a particular customer. A software contractor develops the software especially for that customer. Examples of this type of software include control systems for electronic devices, systems written to support a particular business process, and air traffic control systems Generic software product development these are stand-alone systems that are produced by a development organization and sold on the open market to any customer who is able to buy them...
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...company is involved; evaluates its rivals and sets organizational purpose and strategies to address with all existing and potential competitors; and then reevaluates each strategy after a definite time period to determine how it has been applied and whether it has thrived or needs replacement by a new strategy to meet changed environments, new rivals or new political, economical social, technological environment. Strategic management is very important and broader area than any specific functional management area. It determines whether an organization excels, survives, or dies. It is very essential because it leads all the functional arenas of the business. It is generally believed that businesses, which develop formal strategic management systems, have a greater possibility of success than those, which do not. (Jauch and Glueck,1988,) Strategic management helps organizations predict future problems and opportunities. It endows with crystal-clear vision, mission, objectives, and strategies that guide organization into the secured future. Strategic management is a stream of decisions and actions. (Jauch and Glueck,1988). It is a procedure by which top-level management decides and does for the success of the company. It helps to determine the best possible strategy so that company could win the game in competitive business environment. Thus, strategic management is a procedure where a strategist finds where company is and where it wants to reach. 2.0 Objective of the study: ...
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...in INTERORGANIZATIONAL INTERACTION T Coordinating the role of IT with business processes. he language-action perspective (LAP) has contributed to several models of coordination of work. In the seminal work of Winograd and Flores [12] the conversation-foraction (cfa) scheme was introduced. This scheme describes, as a kind of generic construct, how two actors come to an agreement about what is to be done. There is someone who asks for the work and someone to perform the work. There are several approaches to business modeling following the cfa scheme. The two most famous approaches seem to be Action Workflow [9] and DEMO [1]; see the article by Dietz in this section for more on the DEMO methodology. The general idea is to get a business model of how people, through conversation, coordinate their work. Such a business model, focusing on coordination, should be seen as foundational for the development of supporting software. The LAP spirit is to consider software as a tool for coordination. COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM May 2006/Vol. 49, No. 5 53 Action Workflow and DEMO are general business imply. BAT is a generic model for describing busimodeling methods based on LAP. They can be used ness interaction between a customer and supplier for modeling coordination within one organization (see Figure 2). It describes business interaction in (intraorganizational coordination) and can also be terms of four phases of a business transaction: proused for modeling...
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...information system is systematically repaired and improved is referred to as: 1) _______ A) maintenance B) implementation C) physical repair D) analysis 2) Which of the following is a true statement about RAD? 2) _______ A) RAD requires moderate user involvement. B) The bulk of the work in RAD takes place in the requirements planning phase. C) The focus of RAD is on system integration. D) The emphasis in RAD is generally less on the sequence and structure of processes in the life cycle and more on doing different tasks in parallel with each other and on using prototyping extensively. 3) Which of the following are deliverables for the analysis phase? 3) _______ A) code, documentation, training procedures, and support capabilities B) functional, detailed specifications of all system elements C) description of current system and where problems and opportunities are with a general recommendation on how to fix, enhance, or replace current system D) priorities for systems and projects; an architecture for data, networks, and selection hardware, and IS management are the result of associated systems 4) The traditional methodology used to develop, maintain, and replace information systems best defines: 4) _______ A) SDLC B) RAD C) prototyping D) OOAD 5) Turning system specifications into a working system that is tested...
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...than the sum of added values of all activities. It is important not to mix the concept of the value chain with the costs occurring throughout the activities. A diamond cutter can be used as an example of the difference. The cutting activity may have a low cost, but the activity adds much of the value to the end product, since a rough diamond is significantly less valuable than a cut diamond. Typically, the described value chain and the documentation of processes, assessment and auditing of adherence to the process routines are at the core of the quality certification of the business, e.g. ISO 9001. [edit] Activities The value chain categorizes the generic value-adding activities of an organization. The "primary activities" include: inbound logistics, operations (production), outbound logistics, marketing and sales (demand), and services (maintenance). The "support activities" include: administrative infrastructure management, human resource management, technology...
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...Technical Article Reliability in Electronics CONTENTS • Introduction 1.1 Failure Rate 1.2 Reliability 1.3 Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) 1.4 Service Life (Mission Life, Life) • Factors Affecting Reliability 2.1 Design Factors 2.2 Complexity 2.3 Stress 2.4 Generic (Inherent) • Estimating The Failure Rate 3.1 Prediction 3.1.1 Parts Stress Method 3.1.2 Parts Count Method 3.2 Assessment 3.2.1 Confidence Limits 3.2.2 PRST 3.3 Observation • Prototype Testing • Manufacturing Methods • Systems Reliability (a) More Reliable Components (b) Redundancy • Comparing Reliabilities xppower.com Introduction Most of us are familiar with the concepts of reliability and MTBF at a superficial level, without considering what lies behind the figures quoted and what significance should be attached to them. The subject deserves a deeper understanding, so, let us start by having a better look at the terminology. 1.1 Failure Rate ( ) Failure Rate The failure rate is defined as the percentage of units failing per unit time. This varies throughout the life of the equipment and if (lambda) is plotted against time, the characteristic "bathtub" curve is obtained for most electronic equipment (See Figure 1). A B C Time Fig 1. Failure Rate vs. Time This curve has three regions: A Infant mortality. B Useful life. C Wear out In region "A", poor workmanship and substandard...
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...DAVID SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND GENERIC STRATEGIES INTRODUCTION Keeping the strategic window open involves maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. In consequence, we argue that competitive advantage should be market led. Next we examine the nature of core competencies and interpret their importance as the basis of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the market place. Along with these core competencies are a number of generic strategies that an organization can seek to follow or implement. We will look at each of these generic strategies in turn. First we will look at low-cost, focus and pre-emptive strategies and differentiation strategies. The latter leads us to consider product and service quality, customer focus and relevant issues relating to brand management. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE SHOULD BE MARKET LED The literature on the subject is dominated by Porter (1980a and b, 1985, 1987), though his propositions are not without its critics (viz. Cronshaw et al., 1994; Speed, 1989). Some see the firm’s outputs or offerings as the main focus of competitive strategy, with the primary aim of strategy being to compete effectively in particular markets by offering a competitive bundle of benefits, or value, to the consumer. It is the positioning of one firm’s offering relative to another that is of prime importance (Mathur, 1992). An alternative view concentrates on the resources of the organization and maintains that superior resources, and processes...
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...between generic software product development and custom software development? What might this mean in practice for users of generic software products Answer: Generic software product are the stand alone systems that are produced by a development organization and sold on the open market to any customer who is able to buy them. Examples of this type of product include software for PCs Such as databases, word processors, drawing packages, and project management tools. It also includes vertical applications designed for some specific purpose such as library information systems, accounting systems, or systems for maintaining dental records. Customized (or bespoke) software products are the systems that are commissioned by a particular customer. A software contractor develops the software especially for that customer. Examples of this type of software include control systems for electronic devices, systems written to support a particular business process, and air traffic control systems. An important difference between these types of software is that, in generic products, the organization that develops the software specifications. For custom software products, the specification is usually developed and controlled by the organization that is buying the software. The software developers must work to that specification. However, the distinction between these system product types is becoming increasingly blurred. More and more systems are now being built with a generic product...
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...life. Since Google was founded in 1998, it has grown to serve hundreds of thousands of users and customers around the world. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995. By 1996, they had built a search engine (initially called BackRub) that used links to determine the importance of individual webpages. Now, Google is one of the big companies in the world. Google operating on a simple but innovative business model of attracting Internet user and earning revenue from targeted advertising. This report will be focused on how Google Company create strategy and apply their strategy in global market, which are including Google mission statement, how information system support their strategy, how organization strategy can support business strategy, what is generic strategy that using by Google, and type of market disruption. Discussion First, Google’s mission statement related to its business strategy. Google is an organization that once to provide information to the world in which it can be accessible easily and letting people make use of the information. "To make the world's information universally accessible and useful"(mission statement). Google works on a range of critical projects and issues--from growth strategies for exciting products like YouTube, Chrome and Mobile; to engineering prioritization and global 1 sales force alignment; to partner development and strategy work in emerging markets such as Africa and India. Google clarify...
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...Cases in Operations Management (MGT3001/4001) Background This course uses case studies to explore the decisions made in designing operations systems to deliver goods and services to consumers. It builds upon the content of the Level 2 Operations Management curriculum. Learning outcomes By the end of the course, participants will be able to * explore the nature and context of operational product and service delivery systems; * examine the relationship between generic process choice and market scenarios; * examine the mechanisms which are employed to optimise decision making concerning supply chains, resource provision and utilisation, and customer service quality levels; * examine the design of control systems and appropriate measurement criteria to ensure effective and efficient system performance Staff Dr Alison Smart (AS), Adam Smith Business School (coordinator) Room 601, Main Building email: alison.smart@glasgow.ac.uk Dr Rob Dekkers (RD) Methods The course will be taught in a workshop style, with case studies forming the focus for the workshop. The case studies will be used to explore the different operations decisions that organizations face. It is important that all students (i) have read the relevant theoretical materials provided in the textbook chapter and other sources; and (ii) are prepared at the start of the sessions to contribute to discussions on written case studies (we know it is not possible to prepare in advance for...
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...the particular case of computer service companies, which can be seen as Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) firms connecting the sources of innovation (i.e. large multinationals, research laboratories, universities, etc.) to the individual needs of the local customers. In doing so they operate as mediators between the local cognitive requirements and the more generic knowledge available in the global environment. Since those companies base their competitiveness on the capability to manage knowledge flows among various actors, the formulation of their business strategies requires new approaches that directly focus on knowledge assets and relevant processes. The paper describes the results of a survey involving twenty-one computer service companies located in the Northeast of Italy. The study allows the user to draw useful schemes for the identification of knowledge-based strategies, which can be of use beyond the specific context of investigation. In particular, rather than proposing completely new models for knowledge-based strategic formulations, the paper analyses the way knowledge can be integrated into more traditional strategic frameworks. The assumption is that these approaches can be more comfortable and understandable by the management of companies whose business is strongly based on knowledge but don’t have deliberate knowledge management strategies. Keywords: knowledge-based strategy; business strategy; KIBS; computer services; case study 1. Introduction Since...
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