Developing IT Funding Models

Developing IT Funding Models Developing it funding models With increasing competition, costs and debates on the return of investments. Organizations need to be smarter with better practices on the way they fund their IT departments. Information Technology has grown way beyond its original role and now it is unusual for any company to not have any IT incorporated. Each organization must develop its own funding strategy for its IT. There are some fundamental principles and practices which can guide IT managers and leaders in planning and budgeting, as well as investing in its IT facilities. There are many different obstacles that an organization will face when strategically funding the business. Many different obstacles can be encountered and this usually occurs when there is failure to: Recognize that human resources play a big role in IT expenditure, and that personnel costs present increasing and ongoing annual expenditures. Determine replacement life cycles for different IT and incorporate renewal funding into IT budgets. It is also important that the financial investment is committed every time a new project is approved and that it will be available over the lifespan of that project. Standardize software, hardware and IT Technical Support services as much as possible to deliver baseline services to enable economies of scale. Educate those within the organization about the benefits of IT investments. Ensuring that those who are expected to benefit from the investment understand and have bought into the potential need to make changes in the way that they work. Information technology must be efficiently planned and must engage the attention of executive leadership. There are certain strategic questions that need to be asked. The how much is going to be enough? and how up-to-date and leading edge do we want to be? are very important questions that need to be addressed.   The answers to these questions need to come from IT manages/leaders or from executive leaders. Organizations need to make financial decisions based on realistic and accurate cost figures. Not only new implementations must be budgeted for but ongoing operational costs need to also be accounted for. The cost of supporting the IT must also not be underestimated or forgotten about. Replacement cycles for the different infrastructure must be established.   Hardware, software, wiring and personnel must be incorporated into the IT budget.   There will also need to be funding for the cost of replacement of equipment which will be within the IT budget. All IT expenditures need to be vigorously monitored to ensure that all IT resources are budgeted efficiently. Effective IT funding is very dependent on the IT management practices in place within the organization. Standardizing the use of IT around the organization will mean more effective use of resources. Whilst this is difficult to achieve it is very important so that costs are effectively managed. It is especially important for common baseline services such as networking where unique needs are not a factor. Possible downtime and the cost of reallocating IT should be factored into the IT budget. This is to ensure that funding remains available for higher priority IT projects. As new technology comes into play, old technology should be reviewed. Seeking out anything that its at the end of its useful lifecycle. Despite all of the popular beliefs, there are only a few sources of funds available to all companies. Using profits made selling goods or services. This is the most effective source of funds for any company and hopefully brings in the most revenue. Companies can borrow money from banks and take a loan. The downside to this is the high interest rates that can accumulate over time. The company can sell itself in the form of shares to its investors. This is called equity funding. The benefit to this is that shareholders will not require interest payments. The downside to this is that profits are divided amongst shareholders. These are the 3 main sourcing of funding that is available to companies. Some possible funding models for IT in a company could include the following: Technology Grants-Including public funding and private grants for hardware, software and training. Parent or individual financing Bring your own device options, tax relief and user fees. Public-Private Partnerships government-backed loans, bundled service agreements, seed funding, support from religious institutions, NGOs, and micro-financing Micro Financing There are programs that provide small loans around the world to people in poor countries/third world countries. These have become more and more popular over the years. This funding could be used to purchase certain goods such as hardware and software. Bundled Service Grants Technology businesses out there such as cable providers and computer service companies often partner up together to offer special collections of services and equipment. These offer companies around the world to obtain much of the infrastructure equipment at a competitive rate rather than purchasing individually. These service grants are also being used in countries which have been traditionally under served. The big brand companies such as Intel, Cisco Systems and Microsoft are making an impact of revitalizing Lebanon and improving the economic growth. Government backed loans A Government backed loan is a loan that will be secured by the government. This means that lenders are protected and borrowers also benefit on low interest rates. With low interest and flexible repayment schedules these loans are a very good option for funding Information Technology. Universal Service Fees In third world countries where broadband access has been cost-prohibitive, universal access funds can be used to subsidize new broadband infrastructure and network rollouts. In countries such as Chile, Turkey and Malaysia, governments have successfully created policies and funds to extend voice, data and internet services. A useful way to begin is by using a SWOT Analysis. These are Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Each of the areas will need to be analyzed. Funding strategys do not tend to work well on their own. It tends to be part of an overall business plan or strategy which shows where the organization is heading. The funding strategy is the engine to make this happen. How to go about setting up a funding strategy? What are we going to do? Be clear about the aims and objects Why are we going to do it? Why do we require IT in our business? Who will do it? Decide who is responsible for fundraising e.g. managers/leaders Where will we do it? -Location of department/IT support services How will we do it? -Resources and methods required for fundraising need to researched and decided upon. When we will do it? Have an agreed timescale or ongoing plan to see what you need to do in order to maintain current funding. When to develop a funding model Funding models require considerable time and investment to take hold. The companys leadership teams must be willing to invest in systems and the required staff to support the funding model. Size is also an important factor. Developing a funding model is generally most helpful for companies that generate at least  £3million in annual revenues. This is because smaller organizations can often get by with idiosyncratic fundraising methods. So there is no need to get over strategic until it is necessary to do so. It needs to be clear with what the company wants to achieve from the funding model.   Does it want to propel rapid growth? Become more financially secure while remaining at roughly the same scale? Expand into a new program area? Each of these objectives is likely to imply a different right funding model. Identifying and developing a funding model is a long term investment that will require patience. But it is an investment that is worth making in the long run. An organization needs to reflect on the relative strengths and weaknesses of its current funding methods and its historical methods also. The knowledge that is gained from this will pave the way for implementing a funding model that builds on those strengths and weaknesses. Organizations are likely to think that they already know a great deal about their funding structures and how they have raised money. However, there is a danger that this is wrong. It is recommended that organizations that are in search of a funding model start by researching in 3 key areas: These are: Funding Sources Funder Motivation Fundraising Capabilities Peter Kim describes these in greater detail below: Funding Sources: A few important questions we can ask are: What percentage of ongoing costs is covered by renewable funding sources that are very likely to continue for at least the next three to five years?(Kim 2011) Across how many funders are funding sources spread?(Kim 2011) What percentage of funding is restricted to non-core operations and programs? (Kim 2011) Funder Motivation: It is important to understand why funders can help non profit businesses better. The goal is to see if there is a particular funding model and the existing motivations of potential donors. Important questions to be answered include Are the funders motivated by an organizations track record, the specific population it is working with, or the personal relationships with the top leaders? Fundraising Capabilities: Organizations need to be honest about what funding sources they wish to secure and what investments would need to be made to do so. Important questions here include: Does a single individual (such as the CEO or a board member) generate most of the revenue, or is fundraising more institutionalized?(Kim 2011) What are the development teams current capabilities?(Kim 2011 Image 1: http://er.educause.edu/~/media/images/articles/2015/1/figurereinitzsidebar.jpg?la=en Image 2: http://www.centralsaanich.ca/Assets/Central+Saanich/Administration/CS+Organization+Chart+4.JPG Image 3: http://www.bakertilly.com/insights/budgeting-for-information-technology/ Kim, P. (2011) FINDING YOUR FUNDING MODEL, (37-41).

Night Book Report :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eliezer is a 12-year-old Orthodox Jewish boy living with his family in the Transylvanian town of Sighet. Eliezer is the only son of the family, and his parents are shopkeepers. His father is a highly respected within Sighet’s Jewish community. Eliezer also 2 older sisters, Hilda and Bà ©a, and a younger sister named Tzipora. Eliezer is taught Jewish mysticism under Moshe, a local pauper. In 1944 German armies occupy Hungary, and soon move into Sighet. Jewish community leaders are arrested, valuables are confiscated, and all of the Jews are then forced to wear yellow stars. The Jews were all gathered into small ghettos, and soon after, the Germans began to deport them to Auschwitz. Eliezer’s family is among the last to leave Sighet and it is then Eliezer began his horrible experience as being apart of the Holocaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During this long and painful experience, Eliezer questioned his faith more than once. Before he and his family were forced onto the camps, Eliezer’s studies in Jewish mysticism taught him that if God is good and He is everywhere, than the whole world must therefore be good. But his faith in the world is broken by the cruelty and evil he witnesses during the Holocaust. He wonders how God would even let such an evil take place, he feels that if the world is so sick and cruel, than God must also be sick and cruel or not exist at all. Moshe is asked why he prays and replies, â€Å"I pray to the God within me that He will give me strength to ask him the right questions.† Meaning, questioning is a fundamental to the idea of faith in God. The horrible experiences of the Holocaust force Eliezer to ask questions about the nature of good and evil and about weather God exits or not. But the fact he asks these questions reflects his commitment to God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eliezer not only suffers from experiences Nazi persecution, but also cruelty he sees fellow prisoners inflict on each other, and becomes aware of the cruelty of which he himself is capable. Everything he experiences shows how horribly people can treat one another, which troubles him. The Nazis are the first insensible cruelty Eliezer experiences. Though, when they first appear, they do not seem terrible in any way shape or form. Eliezer recounts, â€Å"Our first impressions of the Germans were most reassuring. . . Their attitude toward their hosts was distant, but polite.

Homosexuality and Misogyny in Frankenstein Essay -- Frankenstein essay

Homosexuality and Misogyny in Frankenstein      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein suffers an extreme psychological crisis following his violation of what is considered a fundamental biological principle.   His creation of life undermines the role of women in his life and the role of sexuality, and allows existing misogynist and homosexual tendencies to surface.   Victor represses what he has uncovered about himself, and it merges into a cohesive whole in his psyche that becomes projected on the instrument of revelation, the monster.      Victor's creation allows him to split his sexuality into independent components.   There are three fundamental purposes to sexuality presented in Mary Shelley's narrative:   the psychological benefits of companionship, the unique physical pleasures of sexuality, and the desire to pass on one's genes and behaviors through procreation.   In social animals, the process of choosing partners for sexual intercourse and companionship is founded on reproductive goals.   Victor's ability to create life independently eliminates the importance of reproduction in choosing companions and sexual partners.   Each of the three elements of Victor's sexuality become separated, and then associated with his principal contemporaries, the people closest to him:   Henry Clerval as companionship, Elizabeth Lavenza as reproduction, and the monster as sexual pleasure.    Elizabeth at one time or another represents all female roles to Victor.   In turn, she is Victor's cousin, sister, mother, and wife.   These are not figurative relationships, implied by the text; they are actual labels applied to Elizabeth, by Victor's parents while he is still a child.   When she joins the family, she is his cousin, a... ... kill his brother, and to be rid of Elizabeth and also of the conflict that his relationship with Clerval brings.   The implication is that anyone who follows the split to its logical conclusion will find themselves in crisis, when they inevitably upset their mental balance, as Frankenstein did in rejecting women.    Works Cited    Lowe-Evans, Mary.   Frankenstein: Mary Shelly's Wedding Guest. New York:   Twayne Publishers, 1993.    Maslow. A.H: 'A theory of human motivation' (Psycol. Rev, 50, 370-396, 1943)    Oates, Joyce Carol.   "Frankenstein: Creation as Catastrophe." Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.   Ed. Harold Bloom.   New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.    Shelly, Mary.   Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus.   New York: Penguin Books, 1978.    Tropp, Martin.   Mary Shelly's Monster.   Boston:   Houghton Mifflin, 1976.   

Technological Momentum and Education

Hughes presents a case for talking about technological momentum as a point between two opposite ideas; social constructivism and technological determinism. This raises questions as to what exactly the relationship is between technological momentum and soft determinism. Both ideas deal with the effect society has on technology and the effect that technology has on society. I will argue that while both ideas seem to be the same, there are important distinctions to make between the two. One is that Hughes’s idea of technological momentum is time dependent.So it is sensitive to society, culture, and the changes that occur to a technological system as it matures. On the other hand, soft determinism doesn’t distinguish between when a system will tend to be affected most by society, and when that technological system will have the most influence on society. In his essay, Thomas Hughes presents a case for technological momentum. The idea of technological momentum lies between t he extremes of social constructivism and technological determinism. Social constructivism is when social or cultural forces determine technological change.Technological determinism, on the other hand, is the idea that technical forces determine social and cultural changes (Smith, 102). Within his essay Hughes points out how technological systems evolve during their lifetime to fall under either of these extremes. According to Hughes, the maturity of the system often times dictates its influence on society and the impression the society itself can have on the technological system. One might point out that the idea of technological momentum is similar to the idea of soft determinism.The soft view of determinism is the belief that technological changes drives social change, but social pressures also influence it. Both of the ideas use the view that technology effects society, and that society effects technology. The ideas of technological momentum and soft determinism are very similar in the ways that they view the relationship between society and technology, as both state that social development shapes and is shaped by technology (Smith, 102). However there are important distinctions between the two that prove that they are indeed different.One important distinction to make between technological momentum and soft determinism is that Hughes’s technological momentum is time dependent and takes into account the multitude of changes that a technological system undergoes during its lifetime. Hughes emphasizes that a young or less complex system will be influenced more by society than influence society, which maintains the social constructivist’s view that it is primarily society that influences technology and technological change within the system.Ultimately, technological momentum and soft determinism are not two concepts referring to the same idea because of the emphasis Hughes puts on time and the maturity of the technological system, and how that pl ays a role in whether it’s technologically deterministic or socially constructed. In his essay Technological Momentum, Hughes uses examples of various technological systems to help support his claims. His example for a system that both shaped and was shaped by society is EBASCO. The Electric Bond and Share Company (EBASCO) was an American electric utility holding company of the 1920’s.EBASCO provided financial, management, and engineering construction services for the utility companies. There are multiple instances of social construction within EBASCO’s history. Hughes begins illustrating the social constructivism side of the spectrum by showing the technological forces that helped shape the EBASCO system. â€Å"The spread of alternating (polyphase) current after 1900, for instance, greatly affected, even determined, the history of the early utilities that had used direct current, for these had to change their generators and related equipment to alternating cur rent or fail in the face of competition. Smith, 106-107)† This example demonstrates how EBASCO was technologically influenced by society. If the new alternating current technology hadn’t been gaining popularity at the time, EBASCO wouldn’t have been forced to change their equipment to keep up with the competition. Not only did external technological forces shape EBASCO’s technical core, but economic ones did as well. Hughes points out the political forces that shaped the EBASCO system during its evolution. â€Å"Small urban utilities became regional ones and then faced new political or regulatory forces as state governments took over jurisdiction from the cities.Regulations also caused technical changes (Smith, 107). † This political influence shaped the EBASCO system as well. As the state governments took over they implemented guidelines that pushed for changes within the EBASCO system if they wished to stay in business. In addition to political an d technical influences, Hughes uses an example of geographical forces playing a role in EBASCO’s development. He states â€Å"As the regional utilities of the EBASCO system expanded, the confronted geographical realities as they sought cooling water, hydroelectric sites, and mine-mouth locations (Smith, 107). Hughes would say that these geographical issues played a role in EBASCO’s development as they had to discover a way to work around some forms of geography and while learning the most efficient means to utilize the other. Hughes would say that from a social constructivists’ standpoint, these technological, economic, political, and geographic forces all, with varying levels of intensity, influenced the EBASCO system during its development. While all of these social components did influence EBASO over time, Hughes claims that â€Å"the interaction of technological systems and society is not symmetrical over time (Smith, 108). Here, Hughes emphasizes his clai m that as a system becomes larger and more complex, it gathers momentum and becomes less shaped by and more the shaper of its environment. By the 1920’s the EBASCO system was now a large technological system with capital investment, customers, and influence on local, state, and federal governments. The company also largely interacted with many industries and communities. Hughes claims that these various components added to the momentum of the EBASCO system. Hughes also uses an example of another technological system in his essay to show the role of technological determinism.As merchant ships began to be replaced by submarines during World War I, the United States attempted to increase its supply of nitrogen compounds. They selected a process that required large amounts of electricity so the government had to construct a hydroelectric dam and power station. However, before the nitrogen-fixing facilities being built near the dam were completed, the war ended. Now, the supply of synthetic nitrogen compounds exceeded the demand. The U. S. government was left not only with process facilities but also a very large dam and power plant (Smith, pg 110).In 1933, however, a hydroelectric, flood-control, soil- reclamation, and regional development project sponsored by Senator George Norris and the Roosevelt administration and presided over by the Tennessee Valley Authority became created. The technological momentum of the dam had carried over from WWI to the New Deal (Smith, pg 111). Hughes views this process of creating a technological system and observing it go beyond its original purpose and going on to shape the society in which it resides as a prime example of technological determinism.Hughes sums up the technological determinism present in the hydroelectric dam example by stating that â€Å"this durable artifact acted over time like a magnetic field attracting plans and projects suited to its characteristics. Systems of artifacts are not neutral forces; they tend to shape the environment in particular ways (Smith, pg 111). † In his essay, Hughes has some claims about when social constructivism would be the dominant influence and when technological determinism would be the stronger influence.Hughes’s idea of technological momentum can be described as a spectrum that determines the way a technological system is manipulated. On one end you have social constructivism. On this end Hughes claims that younger developing systems tend to be on this end of the spectrum because they are more open to sociocultural influence. On the other end of the spectrum lies technological determinism. Hughes claims that technological systems that are technologically deterministic tend to be the more mature systems because they are older and prove to be more independent of outside influences and therefore more deterministic in nature.By defining technological momentum as being time dependent Hughes maintains that the concept of technological moment um avoids the â€Å"extremism of both technological determinism and social construction by presenting a more complex, flexible, time-dependent, and persuasive explanation of technological change (Smith, 104). † One objection to my claim might be the fact that just because soft determinism doesn’t explicitly address time doesn’t mean that it doesn’t consider time because it would be difficult for a technological system to be socially constructed and technologically deterministic at the same time.My response would be that while it may be assumed that only one action can be done at a given time, it is not specifically stated in the description. The idea of technological momentum looks at time within the context of the maturity of the technological system. Soft determinism looks solely at whether a system can be both socially constructed and technologically deterministic, but not how this may change overtime due to the maturity of the system and the momentum it has gained.In conclusion, Hughes explains his idea of technological momentum by placing it on a spectrum with social constructivism on one end and technological determinism on the other. Technol ogical momentum is related to soft determinism because of the effect society has on society and the effect that technology has on that society. However, it is important to make an important distinction regarding time. Hughes’s technological determinism is time dependent so it is sensitive to society, culture, and the changes that occur to a technological system as it matures.

Second Foundation 21. The Answer That Satisfied

Turbor laughed suddenly – laughed in huge, windy gusts that bounced ringingly off the walls and died in gasps. He shook his head, weakly, and said, â€Å"Great Galaxy, this goes on all night. One after another, we put up our straw men to be knocked down. We have fun, but we don't get anywhere. Space! Maybe all planets are the Second Foundation. Maybe they have no planet, just key men spread on all the planets. And what does it matter, since Darell says we have the perfect defense?† Darell smiled without humor. â€Å"The perfect defense is not enough, Turbor. Even my Mental Static device is only something that keeps us in the same place. We cannot remain forever with our fists doubled, frantically staring in all directions for the unknown enemy. We must know not only how to win, but whom to defeat. And there is a specific world on which the enemy exists.† â€Å"Get to the point,† said Anthor, wearily. â€Å"What's your information?† â€Å"Arcadia,† said Darell, â€Å"sent me a message, and until I got it, I never saw the obvious. I probably would never have seen the obvious. Yet it was a simple message that went: ‘A circle has no end.' Do you see?† â€Å"No,† said Anthor, stubbornly, and he spoke, quite obviously, for the others. â€Å"A circle has no end,† repeated Munn, thoughtfully, and his forehead furrowed. â€Å"Well,† said Darell, impatiently, â€Å"it was clear to me- What is the one absolute fact we know about the Second Foundation, eh? I'll tell you! We know that Hari Seldon located it at the opposite end of the Galaxy. Homir Munn theorized that Seldon lied about the existence of the Foundation. Pelleas Anthor theorized that Seldon had told the truth that far, but lied about the location of the Foundation. But I tell you that Hari Seldon lied in no particular; that he told the absolute truth. â€Å"But, what is the other end? The Galaxy is a flat, lens-shaped object. A cross section along the flatness of it is a circle, and a circle had no end – as Arcadia realized. We – we, the First Foundation – are located on Terminus at the rim of that circle. We are at an end of the Galaxy, by definition. Now follow the rim of that circle and find the other end. Follow it, follow it, follow it, and you will find no other end. You will merely come back to your starting point- â€Å"And there you will find the Second Foundation.† â€Å"There?† repeated Anthor. â€Å"Do you mean here?† â€Å"Yes, I mean here!† cried Darell, energetically. â€Å"Why, where else could it possibly be? You said yourself that if the Second Foundationers were the guardians of the Seldon Plan, it was unlikely that they could be located at the so-called other end of the Galaxy, where they would be as isolated as they could conceivably be. You thought that fifty parsecs distance was more sensible. I tell you that that is also too far. That no distance at all is more sensible. And where would they be safest? Who would look for them here? Oh, it's the old principle of the most obvious place being the least suspicious. â€Å"Why was poor Ebling Mis so surprised and unmanned by his discovery of the location of the Second Foundation? There he was, looking for it desperately in order to warn it of the coming of the Mule, only to find that the Mule had already captured both Foundations at a stroke. And why did the Mule himself fail. in his search? Why not? If one is searching for an unconquerable menace, one would scarcely look among the enemies already conquered. So the Mind-masters, in their own leisurely time, could lay their plans to stop the Mule, and succeeded in stopping him. â€Å"Oh, it is maddeningly simple. For here we are with our plots and our schemes, thinking that we are keeping our secrecy – when all the time we are in the very heart and core of our enemy's stronghold. It's humorous.† Anthor did not remove the skepticism from his face, â€Å"You honestly believe this theory, Dr. Darell?† â€Å"I honestly believe it.† â€Å"Then any of our neighbors, any man we pass in the street might be a Second Foundation superman, with his mind watching yours and feeling the pulse of its thoughts.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"And we have been permitted to proceed all this time, without molestation?† â€Å"Without molestation? Who told you we were not molested? You, yourself, showed that Munn has been tampered with. What makes you think that we sent him to Kalgan in the first place entirely of our own volition – or that Arcadia overheard us and followed him on her own volition? Hah! We have been molested without pause, probably. And after all, why should they do more than they have? It is far more to their benefit to mislead us, than merely to stop us.† Anthor buried himself in meditation and emerged therefrom with a dissatisfied expression. â€Å"Well, then, I don't like it. Your Mental Static isn't worth a thought. We can't stay in the house forever and as soon as we leave, we're lost, with what we now think we know. Unless you can build a little machine for every inhabitant in the Galaxy.† â€Å"Yes, but we're not quite helpless, Anthor. These men of the Second Foundation have a special sense which we lack. It is their strength and also their weakness. For instance, is there any weapon of attack that will be effective against a normal, sighted man which is useless against a blind man?† â€Å"Sure,† said Munn, promptly. â€Å"A light in the eyes.† â€Å"Exactly,† said Darell. â€Å"A good, strong blinding light.† â€Å"Well, what of it?† asked Turbor. â€Å"But the analogy is clear. I have a Mind Static device. It sets up an artificial electromagnetic pattern, which to the mind of a man of the Second Foundation would be like a beam of light to us. But the Mind Static device is kaleidoscopic. It shifts quickly and continuously, faster than the receiving mind can follow. All right then, consider it a flickering light; the kind that would give you a headache, if continued long enough. Now intensify that light or that electromagnetic field until it is blinding – and it will become a pain, an unendurable pain. But only to those with the proper sense; not to the unsensed.† â€Å"Really?† said Anthor, with the beginnings of enthusiasm. â€Å"Have you tried this?† â€Å"On whom? Of course, I haven't tried it. But it will work.† â€Å"Well, where do you have the controls for the Field that surrounds the house? I'd like to see this thing.† â€Å"Here.† Darell reached into his jacket pocket. It was a small thing, scarcely bulging his pocket. He tossed the black, knob-studded cylinder to the other. Anthor inspected it carefully and shrugged his shoulders. â€Å"It doesn't make me any smarter to look at it. Look Darell, what mustn't I touch? I don't want to turn off the house defense by accident, you know.† â€Å"You won't,† said Darell, indifferently. â€Å"That control is locked in place.† He flicked at a toggle switch that didn't move. â€Å"And what's this knob?† â€Å"That one varies rate of shift of pattern. Here – this one varies the intensity. It's that which I've been referring to.† â€Å"May I-† asked Anthor, with his finger on the intensity knob. The others were crowding close. â€Å"Why not?† shrugged DarelI. â€Å"It won't affect us.† Slowly, almost wincingly, Anthor turned the knob, first in one direction, then in another. Turbor was gritting his teeth, while Munn blinked his eyes rapidly. It was as though they were keening their inadequate sensory equipment to locate this impulse which could not affect them. Finally, Anthor shrugged and tossed the control box back into Darell's lap. â€Å"Well, I suppose we can take your word for it. But it's certainly hard to imagine that anything was happening when I turned the knob.† â€Å"But naturally, Pelleas Anthor,† said Darell, with a tight smile. â€Å"The one I gave you was a dummy. You see I have another.† He tossed his jacket aside and seized a duplicate of the control box that Anthor had been investigating, which swung from his belt. â€Å"You see,† said Darell, and in one gesture turned the intensity knob to maximum. And with an unearthly shriek, Pelleas Anthor sank to the floor. He rolled in his agony; whitened, gripping fingers clutching and tearing futilely at his hair. Munn lifted his feet hastily to prevent contact with the squirming body, and his eyes were twin depths of horror. Semic and Turbor were a pair of plaster casts; stiff and white. Darell, somber, turned the knob back once more. And Anthor twitched feebly once or twice and lay still. He was alive, his breath racking his body. â€Å"Lift him on to the couch,† said Darell, grasping the young man's head. â€Å"Help me here.† Turbor reached for the feet. They might have been lifting a sack of flour. Then, after long minutes, the breathing grew quieter, and Anthor's eyelids fluttered and lifted. His face was a horrid yellow; his hair and body was soaked in perspiration, and his voice, when he spoke, was cracked and unrecognizable. â€Å"Don't,† he muttered, â€Å"don't! Don't do that again! You don't know- You don't know- Oh-h-h.† It was a long, trembling moan. â€Å"We won't do it again,† said Darell, â€Å"if you will tell us the truth. You are a member of the Second Foundation?† â€Å"Let me have some water,† pleaded Anthor. â€Å"Get some, Turbor,† said Darell, â€Å"and bring the whiskey bottle.† He repeated the question after pouring a jigger of whiskey and two glasses of water into Anthor. Something seemed to relax in the young man- â€Å"Yes,† he said, wearily. â€Å"I am a member of the Second Foundation.† â€Å"Which,† continued Darell, â€Å"is located on Terminus – here?† â€Å"Yes, yes. You are right in every particular, Dr. Darell.† â€Å"Good! Now explain what's been happening this past half year. Tell us!† â€Å"I would like to sleep,† whispered Anthor. â€Å"Later! Speak now!† A tremulous sigh. Then words, low and hurried. The others bent over him to catch the sound, â€Å"The situation was growing dangerous. We knew that Terminus and its physical scientists were becoming interested in brain-wave patterns and that the times were ripe for the development of something like the Mind Static device. And there was growing enmity toward the Second Foundation. We had to stop it without ruining SeIdon's Plan. â€Å"We†¦ we tried to control the movement. We tried to join it. It would turn suspicion and efforts away from us. We saw to it that Kalgan declared war as a further distraction. That's why I sent Munn to Kalgan. Stettin's supposed mistress was one of us. She saw to it that Munn made the proper moves-â€Å" â€Å"Callia is-† cried Munn, but Darell waved him silent. Anthor continued, unaware of any interruption, â€Å"Arcadia followed. We hadn't counted on that – can't foresee everything – so Callia maneuvered her to Trantor to prevent interference. That's all. Except that we lost.† â€Å"You tried to get me to go to Trantor, didn't you?† asked Darell. Anthor nodded, â€Å"Had to get you out of the way. The growing triumph in your mind was clear enough. You were solving the problems of the Mind Static device.† â€Å"Why didn't you put me under control?† â€Å"Couldn't†¦ couldn't. Had my orders. We were working according to a Plan. If I improvised, I would have thrown everything off. Plan only predicts probabilities†¦ you know that†¦ like Seldon's Plan.† He was talking in anguished pants, and almost incoherently. His head twisted from side to side in a restless fever. â€Å"We worked with individuals†¦ not groups†¦ very low probabilities involved†¦ lost out. Besides†¦ if control you†¦ someone else invent device†¦ no use†¦ had to control times†¦ more subtle†¦ First Speaker's own plan†¦ don't know all angles†¦ except†¦ didn't work a-a-a-† He ran down. Darell shook him roughly, â€Å"You can't sleep yet. How many of you are there?† â€Å"Huh? Whatjasay†¦ oh†¦ not many†¦ be surprised fifty†¦ don't need more.† â€Å"All here on Terminus?† â€Å"Five†¦ six out in Space†¦ like Callia†¦ got to sleep.† He stirred himself suddenly as though to one giant effort, and his expressions gained in clarity. It was a last attempt at self-justification, at moderating his defeat. â€Å"Almost got you at the end. Would have turned off defenses and seized you. Would have seen who was master. But you gave me dummy controls†¦ suspected me all along-â€Å" And finally he was asleep. Turbor said, in awed tones, â€Å"How long did you suspect him, Darell?† â€Å"Ever since he first came here,† was the quiet response. â€Å"He came from Kleise, he said. But I knew Kleise; and I knew on what terms we parted. He was a fanatic on the subject of the Second Foundation and I had deserted him. My own purposes were reasonable, since I thought it best and safest to pursue my own notions by myself. But I couldn't tell Kleise that; and he wouldn't have listened if I had. To him, I was a coward and a traitor, perhaps even an agent of the Second Foundation. He was an unforgiving man and from that time almost to the day of his death he had no dealings with me. Then, suddenly, in his last few weeks of life, he writes me – as an old friend – to greet his best and most promising pupil as a co-worker and begin again the old investigation. â€Å"It was out of character. How could he possibly do such a thing without being under outside influence, and I began to wonder if the only purpose might not be to introduce into my confidence a real agent of the Second Foundation. Well, it was so-â€Å" He sighed and closed his own eyes for a moment. Semic put in hesitantly, â€Å"What will we do with all of them†¦ these Second Foundation fellas?† â€Å"I don't know,† said Darell, sadly. â€Å"We could exile them, I suppose. There's Zoranel, for instance. They can be placed there and the planet saturated with Mind Static. The sexes can be separated, or, better still, they can be sterilized – and in fifty years, the Second Foundation will be a thing of the past. Or perhaps a quiet death for all of them would be kinder.† â€Å"Do you suppose,† said Turbor, â€Å"we could learn the use of this sense of theirs. Or are they born with it, like the Mule.† â€Å"I don't know. I think it is developed through long training, since there are indications from encephalography that the potentialities of it are latent in the human mind. But what do you want that sense for? It hasn't helped them.† He frowned. Though he said nothing, his thoughts were shouting. It had been too easy – too easy. They had fallen, these invincibles, fallen like book-villains, and he didn't like it. Galaxy! When can a man know he is not a puppet? How can a man know he is not a puppet? Arcadia was coming home, and his thoughts shuddered away from that which he must face in the end. She was home for a week, then two, and he could not loose the tight check upon those thoughts. How could he? She had changed from child to young woman in her absence, by some strange alchemy. She was his link to life; his link to a bittersweet marriage that scarcely outlasted his honeymoon. And then, late one evening, he said as casually as he could, â€Å"Arcadia, what made you decide that Terminus contained both Foundations?† They had been to the theater; in the best seats with private trimensional viewers for each; her dress was new for the occasion, and she was happy. She stared at him for a moment, then tossed it off. â€Å"Oh, I Don't know, Father. It just came to me.† A layer of ice thickened about Dr. Darell's heart. â€Å"Think,† he said, intensely. â€Å"This is important. What made you decide both Foundations were on Terminus.† She frowned slightly. â€Å"Well, there was Lady Callia. I knew she was a Second Foundationer. Anthor said so, too.† â€Å"But she was on Kalgan,† insisted Darell. â€Å"What made you decide on Terminus?† And now Arcadia waited for several minutes before she answered. What had made her decide? What had made her decide? She had the horrible sensation of something slipping just beyond her grasp. She said, â€Å"She knew about things – Lady Callia did – and must have had her information from Terminus. Doesn't that sound right, Father? But he just shook his head at her. â€Å"Father,† she cried, â€Å"I knew. The more I thought, the surer I was. It just made sense.† There was that lost look in her father's eyes, â€Å"It's no good, Arcadia. Its no good. Intuition is suspicious when concerned with the Second Foundation. You see that, don't you? It might have been intuition – and it might have been control!† â€Å"Control! You mean they changed me? Oh, no. No, they couldn't.† She was backing away from him. â€Å"But didn't Anthor say I was right? He admitted it. He admitted everything. And you've found the whole bunch right here on Trantor. Didn't you? Didn't you?† She was breathing quickly. â€Å"I know, but- Arcadia, will you let me make an encephalographic analysis of your brain?' She shook her head violently, â€Å"No, no! I'm too scared.† â€Å"Of me, Arcadia? There's nothing to be afraid of. But we must know. You see that, don't you?† She interrupted him only once, after that. She clutched at his arm just before the last switch was thrown. â€Å"What if I am different, Father? What will you have to do?† â€Å"I won't have to do anything, Arcadia. If you're different, we'll leave. Well go back to Trantor, you and I, and†¦ and we won't care about anything else in the Galaxy.† Never in Darell's life had an analysis proceeded so slowly, cost him so much, and when it was over, Arcadia huddled down and dared not look. Then she heard him laugh and that was information enough. She jumped up and threw herself into his opened arms. He was babbling wildly as they squeezed one another, â€Å"The house is under maximum Mind Static and your brain-waves are normal. We really have trapped them, Arcadia, and we can go back to living.† â€Å"Father,† she gasped, â€Å"can we let them give us medals now?† â€Å"How did you know I'd asked to be left out of it?† He held her at arm's mind; you know everything. All right, you can have your medal on a platform, with speeches.† â€Å"And Father?† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Can you call me Arkady from now on.† â€Å"But- Very well, Arkady.† Slowly the magnitude of the victory was soaking into him and saturating him. The Foundation – the First Foundation – now the only Foundation – was absolute master of the Galaxy. No further barrier stood between themselves and the Second Empire – the final fulfillment of Seldon's Plan. They had only to reach for it- Thanks to-

Pinkerton’s Detective Agenc Essay

Pinkerton (A) Late one afternoon in November 1987, Tom Wathen, sole owner and CEO of California Plant Protection (CPP), sat in his office staring at two financing plans. Wathen was trying to decide whether or not he should increase his $85 million bid to purchase Pinkerton’s—the legendary security guard firm—from its current owner, American Brands. On the previous day, Wathen had been told by Morgan Stanley, American Brands’ investment banker, that his bid of $85 million had been rejected and that nothing less than $100 million would be accepted. While Wathen was elated at still being in the deal, he had a problem. CPP’s board of directors had reluctantly approved the earlier $85 million bid and were sure to balk at a $100 million bid. Wathen desperately wanted to buy Pinkerton’s, but was not sure how much it was worth or how to finance it. Wathen knew he had to act now or miss this unprecedented growth opportunity and probably his last chance to be one of the industry’s biggest players. The Security Guard Industry The security guard industry had two segments: (1) proprietary guards and (2) contract guards. While both types of guards performed similar services, a proprietary guard was an employee on the payroll of a nonsecurity firm. Contract guards were â€Å"rented† from specialist suppliers like Pinkerton’s, CPP, Wackenhut, and Baker Industries. The historical growth of the contract guard segment of the industry was due in part to companies concluding that they gained operating flexibility by contracting out their security needs as opposed to managing their own security operations. By late 1987, security guard services was a $10 billion industry growing at 6% a year. But the industry was also mature, fragmented, and price-competitive. As a result there was an ongoing trend toward consolidation at the expense of smaller, local guard companies whose employees were often imperfectly screened and  poorly trained. Pinkerton’s The security guard industry began in 1850 when Allan Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton’s Detective Agency. The firm gained fame in the nineteenth century with its pursuit of such outlaws as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In the film portrait of that pair, Paul Newman repeatedly asks Robert Redford, â€Å"Who are those guys?† Those â€Å"guys† were Pinkerton’s men and women. Pinkerton ran his firm until he died in 1884. The company was then headed by four generations of Pinkertons until the family’s reign ended in 1967 with the death of Robert Pinkerton. Adam S. Berger (MBA ’91), prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Scott P. Mason as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. American Brands, the $5 billion consumer goods company—with brand names such as Lucky Strike cigarettes, Jim Beam bourbon, Master locks, and Titleist golf balls—purchased Pinkerton’s for $162 million in 1982. American Brands made the acquisition in order to expand the service side of its business and because it saw the Pinkerton’s brand name as a great addition to â€Å"a company  of great brand names.† The Pinkerton family sold the company to American Brands because they felt the industry was becoming extremely price-competitive and therefore the company needed a strong parent to compete and grow. In 1987 Pinkerton’s was among the largest security guard firms in the United States, with sales over $400 million, 150 offices in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and a particular strength in the eastern United States. Exhibit 1 gives selected financial data for Pinkerton’s. California Plant Protection When Wathen bought CPP in 1963, the firm had 18 employees and revenues of $163,000. By 1987, Wathen had built CPP into a $250 million security guard company with 20,000 employees and 125 offices in 38 states and Canada. Exhibit 2 gives selected financial data for CPP. Wathen built CPP with his consummate marketing skills and the strategy of differentiating the firm with employee screening and continual training. CPP’s expansion was aided by the explosive growth of California’s economy and because the bigger, more established East Coast security guard firms had ignored the West Coast. While Wathen was the sole owner of CPP, he had a board of directors that he used as advisors. The board had three members: Albert Berger, James Hall, and Gerald Murphy. Berger was an entrepreneur, COO of an electrical connector firm and a CPP director since 1975. Hall was an attorney, a former vice president of MCA, the former California Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, and a CPP director since 1976. Murphy was president of ERLY Industries, a director of several companies, and a CPP director since 1975. CPP’s Acquisition of Pinkerton’s Wathen wanted to buy Pinkerton’s for several reasons. First, he had always had the goal of creating the largest firm in the security guard industry, and the acquisition of Pinkerton’s would put him in a virtual tie with Baker Industries—a subsidiary of Borg Warner and the largest provider of contract guard services. Secondly, Wathen had been convinced for some time that American Brands was mismanaging Pinkerton’s and destroying a great brand name with its pricing strategy. In October 1987, American Brands announced  it had decided to sell Pinkerton’s because the security guard firm no longer fit into Brands’s long-range business strategy. Upon this  announcement, Jerry Brown, CPP’s secretary and general counsel, recalls, â€Å"Tom [Wathen] called me in and from that moment I knew he was going to do whatever it took to buy Pinkerton’s. Tom was always hung up on being the largest, and on Pinkerton’s name.† Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, was to represent American Brands in the sale and the bidding promised to be hotly contested. A task force of senior managers was quickly formed to prepare CPP’s bid which they knew, given the time pressures of the sale, would not have the benefit of adequate preparation. The task force believed there were three ways CPP could create value by acquiring Pinkerton’s. The most obvious source of value would come from consolidating the operations of CPP and Pinkerton’s by eliminating common overhead expenses such as corporate headquarters, support staff, and redundant offices. Second, the task force believed that significant improvements could be made in the management of Pinkerton’s net working capital. The third source of value, and possibly a unique insight by Wathen and the CPP task force, was the Pinkerton’s name. They believed that, while the industry was highly price-competitive, the services of both Pinkerton’s and CPP could be successfully marketed under the Pinkerton’s name at a premium price. Specifically, the task force felt that even though higher prices could lead to reduced revenue, the resulting improvement in gross profit margins, due to the marketability of the Pinkerton’s name, would be su fficient to result in greater gross profits. For example, the  task force believed that a premium price strategy would definitely reduce Pinkerton’s revenues since that firm had acquired a significant amount of business since 1985 using a low-price/high market-share strategy. The new pricing strategy would result in Pinkerton’s revenues shrinking, in a smooth fashion, to 70% of their 1987 level by the end of 1990 and then growing at 5% a year thereafter. But the task force was uncertain in its estimate of the impact of the new strategy on profitability. They expected that the new pricing strategy would improve Pinkerton’s gross profit margins from 8.5% in 1988 to 9.0% in 1989, 9.5% in 1990, and 10.25% thereafter. The task force further expected the new strategy to produce higher margins for CPP, increasing the projected operating profit from CPP’s own business by $1.2 million in 1989, $1.5 million in 1990, $2.0 million in 1991, and $3 million in 1992. This increase in CPP’s projected operating profit would be over and above that level that would otherwise have been anticipated in those years, and was expected to grow at 5% a year, in line with sales, beyond 1992. (Exhibit 3 gives a five-year forecast of CPP’s net income and cash flow assuming Pinkerton’s is not acquired). However, the task force realized there was a distinct possibility that the new pricing strategy would have no impact on CPP’s projected operating profits, and Pinkerton’s gross margins would improve to only 8.5% in 1988, 8.75% in 1989, 9.0% in 1990, and 9.5% thereafter. The task force was confident that, as a result of eliminating common overhead, Pinkerton’s operating expenses, as a percentage of sales, could be reduced to 6% in 1988, 5.9% in 1989, and 5.8% in 1990 and beyond. The task force was also confident that Pinkerton’s net plant and equipment could be reduced to 4% of sales and maintained at that percentag e relationship for the foreseeable future. The task force was somewhat less confident in its estimate of improvements to the management of Pinkerton’s net working capital. This was due to concerns over the ability of CPP’s accounting department to handle a much larger and more geographically diverse operation. The task force expected that Pinkerton’s net working capital, as a percentage of sales, could be reduced to 8.6% in 1988, 7.4% in 1989, and 6.2% thereafter. However, if CPP’s accounting department experienced difficulties in integrating the two firms’ operations, then Pinkerton’s net working capital would remain at 9.5% of sales. The idea of CPP acquiring Pinkerton’s was not universally popular. Most of the investment banks and lenders contacted by CPP expressed negative feelings about the potential acquisition, citing inadequate cash flow and weak market conditions following the dramatic dislocation of the stock market in the previous month. However, a representative of Sutro & Co., a prominent West Coast investment bank, indicated he was â€Å"highly confident† he could get financing for the acquisition from either Manufacturers Hanover Trust Corporation or General Electric Credit Corporation. In addition, Wathen had some problems with CPP’s board of directors. For example, Berger thought there would be obvious synergies in merging the two businesses, but that there was not enough management depth at CPP capable of running the combined firms. According to Berger, there was no COO, no CFO, no marketing manager, and nobody to handle the day-to-day details of operating a $650 million firm. The last thing CPP needed was growth, Berger argued. He felt the field people could handle a larger firm, but the corporate management could not. Nonetheless, the task force pressed on with their analysis of Pinkerton’s. In addition to current financial market conditions, the analysis took special notice of Wackenhut, the only publicly traded security guard firm. (See Exhibits 4 and 5.) Only 12 days after receiving the details of the sale  from Morgan Stanley, and with the reluctant approval of his board, Wathen bid $85 million for Pinkerton’s. Wathen did not receive a response to his bid for two weeks. Through his own network, Wathen knew another firm had bid more than CPP and that Morgan  Stanley was negotiating with that firm. Wathen was disappointed that he might miss his last opportunity to be one of the biggest in the business. When Morgan Stanley finally called and told Wathen his $85 million bid was too low, and that nothing less than $100 million would be accepted, Wathen was elated that he had another chance to buy Pinkerton’s. But he suspected the reason Morgan Stanley had finally called him was that the other buyer had been unable to finance their higher bid. Financing a $100 Million Bid In a last ditch effort to improve his bid for Pinkerton’s, Wathen asked his investment banker to determine the options for financing a $100 million bid. The banker responded with only two alternatives. The first alternative came from an investment firm who would provide both debt and equity financing. The debt, in the amount of $75 million, would have a seven-year maturity and an 11.5% interest rate. The loan principal would not be amortized prior to maturity, at which time the entire $75 million would come due. Finally, this debt would be a senior obligation and be backed by all the assets of the new combined firm. The equity, in the amount of $25 million, would be provided in exchange for 45% of the equity in the new combined firm. The second alternative was a 100% debt financing offered by a bank. The bank would lend $100 million at the rate of 13.5% a year. The loan principal would be amortized at the rate of $5 million a year for six years, with a final payment of $70 million at the end of the seventh year. Again, this loan was collateralized by all of the assets of the new combined firm. Under either financing alternative, Wathen was very concerned about the required debt service. The new combined firm’s nonpublic, as well as high-leverage, status could make any cash flow problems over the next five years highly problematic. The task force also reminded Wathen that a $100 million purchase price would result in the creation of good will on his balance sheet which would have to be amortized at the rate of $5 million per year for the next 10 years.1 Wathen sat in his office and prepared to make the biggest decision of his career. As an entrepreneur and an experienced security guard executive, Wathen was sure Pinkerton’s was a good buy. However, he had routinely relied on his board and other advisers for  financial advice. His board had reluctantly approved his earlier bid of $85 million and was sure to balk at a $100 million bid. How could he justify a $100 million bid for Pinkerton, particularly in light of his earlier bid of $85 million? And if he was successful in convincing the board, how was he going to finance the acquisition?

HP Distribution Centre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HP Distribution Centre - Essay Example 2. It is misleading to think that the advantages accrued from specialization are lost or diminished when a team is created from specialists in different fields. On the contrary, cross-functional team is an environment where the benefits of specialization can be realized to the greater extent. Members of such a team approach the problem from different perspectives. As a result, working together they can see "big picture" and work out a better solution. Diversity is not a limitation; it is a success factor for a team. 3. In my opinion, Loretta Wilson's team was successful in achieving its objectives. Consolidation, automation of sorting, packing and crating activities, redesign of work stations, and use of modern technologies were "smarter and simpler ways to handle parts fewer times at several points in the distribution channel". Rethinking the way distribution was done allowed the team to fulfill the self-formulated goal and at the same time achieve the initial requirement of four-hour limit for parts delivery. 4. Wilson's team has demonstrated the characteristics of the high performing teams, and text contains explicit and implicit proofs of it. The team had clear goals - "to find smarter and simpler ways to handle parts" and started working quickly and with passion, which requires unified commitment.