Pros And Cons Of Globalization Politics Essay

Pros And Cons Of Globalization Politics Essay The 19th century witnessed the advent of globalization in something approaching its modern form. Industrialization permitted the cheap production of household items using economies of scale, while rapid population growth created sustained demand for commodities and manufactures. Globalization in this period was decisively shaped by nineteenth-century imperialism. After the Opium Wars and the completion of the British conquest of India, the vast populations of these regions became ready consumers of European exports. Meanwhile, the conquest of new parts of the globe, notably sub-Saharan Africa, by the European powers yielded valuable natural resources such as rubber, diamonds and coal and helped fuel trade and investment between the European imperial powers, their colonies, and the United States. It was in this period that areas of sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific islands were incorporated into the world system. The first phase of modern globalization began to break down at the begi nning of the 20th century with the First World War. According to John Maynard Keynes The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea, the various products of the whole earth, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep. Militarism and imperialism of racial and cultural rivalries were little more than the amusements of his daily newspaper. What an extraordinary episode in the economic progress of man was that age which came to an end in August 1914. The final death knell for this phase of globalization came during the gold standard crisis and Great Depression in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Globalization in the middle decades of the twentieth century was largely driven by the global expansion of multinational corporations based in the United States and the worldwide export of American culture through the new media of film, television and recorded music. Today, cross-border capital flows are more important than trade flows, and some trans national corporations now have budgets larger than the economies of many countries. But what is globalization by itself? Imagine how life was twenty years ago. There were no cell phones, no computers, definitely no laptops. Therefore, there was limited communication not only between people from other countries, but also between people who lived on the opposite site of the same country. Instead of sending emails that only take a few seconds to receive, letters were sent and received within a few days of weeks. In its simplest way we can describe globalization as elimination of borders such as each country becomes socially, politically and economically interdependent with one another. In ideal global community economic globalization will lead to emergence of global market place or single world market. Depending on the paradigm, globalization can have both positive and negative effects on participating nations. On the positive side, globalization has resulted in increased access to more goods and consumers in many countries, reduced prices due to competition with local monopolies and increased food supply due to industrial agricultural in some countries. There is a worldwide market for the companies and for the customers there is a better access to products from different countries. For example, people are quite happy when they are able to purchase label products like Nike shoes, GAP clothes, Sony Play Stations, Apple devices, Toshiba computers for bargain prices. These are just a few items people from first world enjoy purchasing for reasonable prices. The prices are kept low by the manufacturer because the items are produced in the third world countries where labor costs are minimal. Poor people in some countries have been able to buy cheaper imported goods rather than goods produced by local monopolies. Transnational companies provide third world regions technology and employment wages a nd as a result of financial investment the employed workers can afford food, cloth and a shelter for their families. In theory, the region should go on prosperity and eventually start importing goods and services created based on other countries in addition to exporting goods and services created on their own. A recent study by the London-based Center for Economic Policy Research reports that globalization increases economic growth and improved the incomes of both rich and poor people. The researchers claim that the number of people living in poverty today would be even greater without globalization. However, there is more inequality among and within countries today than in the past. Between 1870 and 1990, the gap in per capita income between rich and developing countries has grown fivefold. Closely related to equality and wages, labor conditions is another area influenced by globalization. On the positive side, some workers in lesser developed countries have received more education and training from multinational companies due to globalization. Furthermore, there is some evidence that increased competition has resulted in upgrading educational systems to produce a more highly qualified workforce. The threat of job displacement is one of the most tangible concerns that critics have regarding globalization. Workers have more employment opportunities in some countries, but they have less in others where certain industries and firms have been put out of business by global competitor. Some people have less choice about how they make their living as a result of globalization. In fact, globalization affects everyone; from the villager working in a third world transnational factory to the unemployed former factory worker in North America. These two types of individuals best rep resent people most affected by globalization. The third world factory workers may for the first time in their lives have a predictable and steady income to feed, clothe and shelter their families. In the past they may have been vulnerable to diseases and starvation. It also has significant impact on people in North America as many of manufacturing jobs were relocated offshore where labor cost and taxes were nominal. They not only have lost their jobs, but also their homes and their hopes. Increasing imports from low-wage countries are perceived by some as a threat to manufacturing jobs in industrialized countries, particularly in labor-intensive sectors. The key question regarding globalization and governments is whether or not globalization threatens national sovereignty. Historically, governments played a major role in promoting their countrys economic development and managing its economy. Today, however, some critics argue that government matters less and less in a global economy. On the positive side of the ledger, for some governments, globalization has resulted in expanded infrastructure, more jobs, and more economic development for their citizenry. Certain countries have benefited from the transfer of modern, more effective management techniques to their business sector. Furthermore, some observers believe that the increased interdependence of trading and investment partners will draw countries closer together and serve as deterrent against war. On the negative side, international competitiveness has influenced public policy in some countries by encouraging government officials to lower labor standards. Because governments may view themselves in competition with others in a race to the bottom to attract investors to their country, foreign firms can have the upper hand in negotiations unless governments have something unique such as rare natural resources, highly trained people and a large market to offer. Singapore, for instance, invested heavily in education, attracting high-tech and professional industry rather than limiting its population to employment in low-wage factories. Globalization may be a positive force for greater cross-cultural understanding via more cross-cultural exposure and closer cross-border ties. In the past thirty years we have been socially connected to the internet and have created global links between people and fields of education, medicine, science and technology, art, entertainment, trade, travel, business, politics. The list goes on and on. We surf the internet in search of movies, music and fashion. We can even go on online dating services that connect us up with the perfect guy or girl that we have been dreaming to meet. As Tomlinson stated, A world of complex connectivity thus links the myriad small everyday actions of millions with the fates of distant, unknown others and even with the possible fate of the planet. According to Tomlinson increased connectivity of the world is as a double-edged sword that provides new and wider understanding at the same time that it takes away the securities of ones local world. Critics claim that globalization is creating a monoculture that is rapidly spreading around the world. By this view, weakened cultural traditions combined with the importation of foreign media, stores, and goods encourage cultural homogenization. For instance, television has universally connected many cultures to one another. In fact, many non-western cultures have been influenced by the broad scale of exportation of western culture through music, television and the internet. Critics claim that globalization has irrevocably changed the social landscape of communities and constitutes a threat to national culture in various ways. As what concerning environmental sustainability, positive side of globalization is that it caused some countries to make a narrower range of products more efficiently. In other words, it has given them a comparative advantage. It has been responsible for creating and exporting technologies that use fewer natural resources and result in less waste and pollution. Globalization has facilitated improved energy efficiency, reduced use of materials, metal recovery technologies. The industrial ecology movement has sought to improve environmental responsiveness at the same time that it reduces the global cost of production for corporations. On the negative side, because of globalization, harmful technologies and activities have also been exported. Although better technology is available, companies do not always use it because it may be expensive. Therefore, globalization is blamed as a source of pollution. Since environment is a heritage of all human beings and everyone is affected it become s a global environmental problem. How does globalization affect our life? Because of globalization we have a great number of choices as to what types of movies, food, cloth, technology and books we can purchase and what prices we pay for them. Our choices might become limited if we are not able to secure our jobs because of the negative economic impact of global shift in economic investment outside our country. Since globalization in some degree erases borders, we start to live in cultural diversity. Because some of our friends are foreigners, we are growing in understanding of their cultural heritage and experience some kind of social connection with their home cultures. We look around our house and see goods that have been manufactured all over the world blankets from India, tea from Ceylon, cloth from China, Korea and France, furniture from Canada and so forth. How does economic globalization be fully achieved? The realization of economic globalization can only be achieved through the progressive change of law and policies governing how countries exchange goods and services with one another. The North American trade agreement between USA, Canada and Mexico is a good example of this type of globalization political policy creation. The paradigm of past eras of protection resulted in policies that served as national interest of individual countries to preserve local jobs and produce markets. Tariffs, trade quotas, legislations were passed to assure imports could not have competitive pricing edge and gain significant market foothold within the country. Nationalism and its reluctant trade policy often restrained the flow of goods and services across borders. As time pasts, countries more often start to realize that in order to be competitive they must start to open their borders more widely. In conclusion, the current debates raging on globalization and the explosion of publications on this topic reflect the importance this phenomenon has gained in recent years. We can picture globalization as a process that has resulted in both positive and negative consequences, both winners and losers. Given the complexity and scope of the topic, it is difficult to determine with precision whether some of the problems linked to globalization would exist independently and to what degree. Globalization in its current state often involves serious tradeoffs such as economic development and jobs at the cost of environmental degradation and weakened labor protection. Given the ever-evolving history of economic development, trade, and international relations, there is little reason to assume that globalization as we know it today is the final version. It is time to consider how we as future managers may contribute to globalization and whether we may take a strong leadership role in influenci ng the way people think about and practice global business in the future.

Information Systems and Organization Essay

This paper, and the special issue, address relationships between information systems and changes in the organization of modern enterprise, both within and across firms. The emerging organizational paradigm involves complementary changes in multiple dimensions. The revolution in information systems merits special attention as both cause and effect of the organizational transformation. This can be illustrated by considering two key variables: the location of information and the location of decision rights in organizations. Depending on the costs of information transmission and processing, either the â€Å"MIS solution† of transferring information, or the â€Å"organizational redesign solution† of moving decision rights, can be an effective approach toward achieving the necessary collocation of information and decision rights. When information systems change radically, one cannot expect the optimal organizational structure to be unaffected. Considering the interplay among information, incentives and decision rights in a unified fashion leads to new insights and a better organizational planning. The papers in the special issue address different facets of this interaction. Despite significant progress, our understanding of the economic role of information systems in organizations remains in its infancy. We conclude that successful design of modern enterprise will require further narrowing  of the historic gap between research in information systems and research in economics. The organization of work is in the midst of transformation. In many industries, mass production by large, vertically-integrated, hierarchically-organized firms is giving way to more flexible forms of both internal organization and industrial structure. Work is increasingly accomplished through networks of smaller, more focused enterprises. The resulting structure of loosely coupled sub-organizations blurs the boundaries of both firms and industries. A canonical case in point is the computer industry. In the past, the industry was dominated by large, vertically-integrated firms such as IBM and Digital Equipment which created products and services throughout the value chain — from the microprocessor level all the way up to the provision of solutions. The vertical structure is now being replaced by a series of layers, each of which is, in effect, a separate industry. Value is generated by ever-changing coalitions, where each member of a coalition specializes in its area of core competence and leverages it through the use of tactical or strategic partnerships. Internally, team structures are replacing the traditional hierarchical form, and the Silicon Valley model of internal organization is emerging as a clear winner.3 Internal incentives are increasingly based on performance, and this further blurs the differences between inter- and intra-firm contracts. In sum, modern enterprise is undergoing major restructuring. In this short paper we briefly discuss the newly emerging organizational paradigms and their relationship to the prevailing trends in information technology (IT). We argue that IT is an important driver of this transformation. Finally, we place the studies selected for this special issue of the Journal of Organizational Computing within this context. 1. Emerging Organizational Paradigms: Symptoms and Causes At the turn of the century, Frederick Taylor sought to put the nascent wisdom  for successful business organization on a scientific basis. His work guided a generation of managers towards success in meshing their organizations with the technologies, markets, labor and general environment of the era. By the 1920s, Henry Ford had applied the Taylorist approach with a vengeance and soon dominated the automobile market, driving dozens of competitors under. Ironically, these same principles are almost diametrically opposed to the prevailing wisdom of the 1990s. For example, consider the following guideline from The Science of Management [1] It is necessary in any activity to have a complete knowledge of what is to be done and to prepare instructions†¦ the laborer has only to follow instructions. He need not stop to think. The current emphasis on â€Å"empowerment†, â€Å"learning organizations†, and even â€Å"thriving on chaos† stands in sharp contrast to Meyers’ advice (cf. [2] , [3] ). Similar contrast can be found with many, if not most, of the other principles that lead to success even as late as the 1960s. Consider, for example, the growing calls for downsizing (vs. economies of scale), focus (vs. conglomerates), total quality (vs. cost leadership), project teams (vs. functional departments), supplier partnerships (vs. maximizing bargaining power), networked organization (vs. clear firm boundaries); performance-based pay (vs. fixed pay), and local autonomy (vs. rigid hierarchy). Milgrom and Roberts [4] make the point that the different characteristics of modern manufacturing, an important example of the emerging organizational paradigm, are often highly complementary. This complementarity, coupled with the natural tendency to change organizational attributes one at a time, makes the transition from one paradigm to another particularly difficult. Strong complementarity implies that in order to be successful, change must be implemented simultaneously along a number of related dimensions. Organizations that adopt only one or two key components of the new organizational paradigm may fail simply by virtue of this complementarity. For instance, Jaikumar’s [5] study of 95 US and Japanese companies found that the majority of US companies had failed to achieve productivity  increases despite switching to flexible manufacturing technology. The reason was that they had preserved dozens of manufacturing practices such as long production runs and high work-in-process inventory levels, which complemented the old technology but kept the new technology from fulfilling its potential. Thus, the transition from the old structure to the new one is overwhelmingly complex. The switch would be easier if we apply design guided by theory instead of piecemeal evolution. There are many possible explanations for the change in the prevailing wisdom regarding organizational design. For instance, it is common to justify calls for radical change with reference to heightened competitive pressures: although firms that applied the old principles were among the most successful competitors of their day, presumably the nature of competition has changed in some way. Others suggest that consumer tastes have changed, making customized items more appealing than they once were. While historians would argue that the taste for mass marketed items was itself something that had to be developed in the early days of mass production, increased wealth or social stratification may make this more difficult today. It can also be argued that some of the new principles were as applicable fifty years ago as they are today, but that they simply had not yet been discovered. Although the enablers of the current organizational transformation are undoubtedly numerous and far from mutually independent, we would like to single one out for special attention: the rise in IT. Brynjolfsson [6, p.6] argues that IT is an appropriate candidate for explaining these changes for three reasons: First, compared to other explanations, the advances in information technology have a particularly reasonable claim to being both novel and exogenous. Many of the fundamental technological breakthroughs that enable today’s vast information infrastructure were made less than a generation ago and were driven more by progress in physics and engineering than business demand. Second, the growth in information technology investment is of a large enough magnitude to be economically significant †¦ the result has been what is commonly referred to as the â€Å"information explosion†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Third, there is a  sound basis for expecting an association between the costs of technologies that manage information and the organization of economic activity. The firm and the market have each been frequently modeled as primarily information processing institutions (see Galbraith [7] and Hayek [8] , respectively). Miller [9] foresaw the key features of the new paradigm as a natural outcome of the information era and the associated â€Å"economy of choice†: The new technologies will allow managers to handle more functions and widen their span of control. Fewer levels of management hierarchy will be required, enabling companies to flatten the pyramid of today’s management structure. The new information technologies allow decentralization of decision-making without loss of management awareness; thus employees at all levels can be encouraged to be more creative and intrapreneurial. The key responsibility of the CEO will be leadership; to capture the light or energies of the organization — like a lens — and focus them on the key strategic objectives. The new organizational paradigm is indeed intertwined with the structure of an organization’s information systems. Under the old paradigm, the firm was governed by a relatively rigid functional structure. This separation into distinct and well-defined organizational units economizes on the information and communications requirements across functional units and reduces cost and complexity. There is a tradeoff, however: the old structure is less flexible, less responsive and ultimately results in lower quality. In our view, the growing use of IT and the trend towards networking and client-server computing are both a cause and an effect of the organizational transition. Lowering the costs of horizontal communications, facilitating teamwork, enabling flexible manufacturing and providing information support for time management and quality control are key enablers on the supply side. It is equally clear that the new organizational paradigm demands new information systems: nothing can be more devastating for cross-functional teamwork than a rigid information system that inhibits cross-functional information flows. We can unify these perspectives by noting that the structure of the organization’s information system is a key element of  organizational transformation. Changes in IT change the nature of organizations just as changes in organizational structure drive the development of new technologies. 2. Information Systems, Economics and Organizational Structure Jensen and Meckling [10] provide a useful framework for studying the complementarities between information systems, incentive structures and decision rights in organizations. In their framework, the structure of an organization is specified by three key elements: (i) The allocation of decision rights (i.e., who is responsible for what actions/decisions); (ii) the incentive system, which defines how decision makers are to be rewarded (or penalized) for the decisions they make; and (iii) a monitoring and measurement scheme used to evaluate these actions and their outcomes. According to Jensen and Meckling, informational variables are key to the structure of organizations because the quality of decisions is determined by the quality of information available to the decision maker. The co-location of information and decision rights enables the decision maker to make optimal decisions. The implementation of this co-location depends on the nature of the pertinent information. Jensen and Meckling distinguish between â€Å"specific knowledge† which is localized, difficult to represent and transfer, and depends on idiosyncratic circumstances, and â€Å"general knowledge† which can be easily summarized, communicated and shared by decision makers. Now, there are two ways to bring information and decision rights together: (i) â€Å"The MIS solution†: transfer the information required for the decision to the decision maker, using the organization’s (possibly non-automated) information systems; or (ii) â€Å"the organizational redesign solution†: redesign the organizational structure so that the decision making authority is where the pertinent information is. By definition, general knowledge which is useful for a decision calls for the â€Å"MIS solution† because it can be transferred at low cost. In contrast, when specific knowledge plays a key role in a decision, the best solution calls for restructuring decision  rights so as to provide the decision authority to the one who possesses or has access to the pertinent information (since the transfer of specific knowledge is too costly).4 Jensen and Meckling thus represent the structure of organizations as an efficient response to the structure of their information costs. But then, a change in information costs must induce a change in organizational structure. In particular, IT has changed the costs of processing and transferring certain types of information (e.g. quantitative data), but has done little for other types (e.g. implicit knowledge or skills). IT changes the structure of organizations by facilitating certain information flows as well as by turning knowledge that used to be specific into general knowledge. By developing a taxonomy of information types and identifying the differential impacts of new technologies on their transferability and importance, we can take a significant step towards applying the simple insight that information and authority should be co-located [11] . Intra-organizational networks and workgroup computing facilities reduce the information costs of teamwork and hence make it a more efficient solution to the organizational design problem. Client-server computing technology lowers cross-functional (as well as geographic) barriers. IT (when applied properly) streamlines the types of information that used to be the raison d’etre of middle management — quantitative control information — and turns it into general knowledge that can be readily transmitted to, and processed by, people other than those who originally gathered the data. A reduction in the number of management layers and the thinning out of middle management ranks is the predictable result. Similar considerations apply to enterprises that cross firm boundaries. As a simple example, consider the organization of trading activities [12, 13, 14] . Traditionally, trading took place on the floor of an exchange, which was the locus of numerous pieces of specific knowledge, ranging from the hand signals indicating bids and offers to buy and sell a security to traders’ facial expressions and the â€Å"atmosphere† on the floor of the exchange. Under that structure, much of the information pertinent to trading is specific and  localized to the floor. Thus, when an investor instructs her broker to sell 1,000 shares of a given stock, the broker transmits the order to the floor of the exchange and only the floor broker attempts to provide â€Å"best execution†. The decision rights (here, for the trading decisions) are naturally delegated to the decision maker who has the pertinent specific knowledge, and since that knowledge resides on the floor of the exchange, the floor broker is best suited to have the decision rights. Technology, and in particular â€Å"screen-based† systems, turns much of the specific knowledge on the floor (i.e., bids and offers) into general knowledge. This shifts decision rights up from the floor to the brokers’ screens. The inevitable result is the decline of the trading floor and the increased importance of brokers’ trading rooms. The demise of the trading floor in exchanges that turned to screen-based trading (such as London and Paris) is a natural outcome of the shift in the locus of knowledge. More generally, markets — in particular, electronic markets –transform specific knowledge into general knowledge [15] . Ironically, even as IT has sped up many links of the information processing chain and vastly increased the amount of information available to any one decision-maker, it has also led to the phenomenon of â€Å"information overload†. This can perhaps best be understood by a generalization of the Jensen and Meckling framework to include finite human information processing capacity. As more information moves from the â€Å"specific† category to the â€Å"general† category, the limiting factor becomes not what information is available but rather a matter of finding the human information processing capacity needed to attend to and process the information. Computers appear to have exacerbated the surfeit of information relative to processing capacity, perhaps because the greatest advances have occurred in the processing and storage of structured data, which is generally a complement, not a substitute, for human information processing. As computer and communications components increase their speed, the human bottleneck in the information processing chain becomes ever more apparent. Information overload, when interpreted in light of this framework, can provide an explanation for the increased autonomy and pay-for-performance  that characterize a number of descriptions of the â€Å"new managerial work† (cf. [6] ). Economizing on information costs means that more decision rights are delegated to line managers who possess the idiosyncratic, specific knowledge necessary to accomplish their tasks. Shifting responsibility from the overburdened top of the hierarchy to line personnel not only reduces the information processing load at the top of the hierarchy, but also cuts down unnecessary communications up and down the hierarchy. This blurs the traditional distinction between â€Å"conceptualization† and â€Å"execution† and broadens the scope of decision rights delegated to lower level managers. By the Jensen-Meckling [10] framework, any such shift in decision authority (and in the associated routing of information) must also be accompanied by a change in the structure of incentives. Disseminating information more broadly is ever easier with IT, allowing line workers to take into account information that goes well beyond the formerly-narrow definitions of their job. Meanwhile, providing the right incentives for the newly â€Å"empowered† work force is an equally crucial element of the current reorganization of work. Agency theory predicts that performance-based â€Å"pay† is necessary when decision rights are decentralized (otherwise, the agents may be induced to act in ways that are inconsistent with overall organizational goals). It therefore follows that incentive-based compensation is appropriate for better-informed workers [16].5 Thus, the confluence of better-informed workers, an empowered workforce and more incentive-based pay is consistent with our thesis that IT is a key driver of the new organizational paradigm. Furthermore, the theory of incomplete contracts suggests that the analysis can be extended to include interorganizational changes such as increased reliance on outsourcing and â€Å"networks† of other firms for key components [17] . Here again the shift can be explained in incentive terms: one ultimate incentive is ownership, so entrepreneurs are likely to be more innovative and aggressive than the same individuals working as â€Å"division† managers. Both within and across organizations, then, changes in information systems are accompanied by changes in incentives and in the organization of work. 3. The Special Issue The papers in this special issue attest to the role of information systems in the structure of modern enterprise and the blurring of the differences between inter- and intra-firm transactions. Starting from the firm’s level, Barron’s paper studies how a firm determines its internal organization and how IT affects this determination. Barron considers a traditional firm, with well-defined boundaries that are endogenously determined by considering flexibility and scope of control. Ching, Holsapple and Whinston broaden the scope of the enterprise to the â€Å"network organization† — a construct obtained by tying together a number of firms that cooperate through a well-defined communication mechanism. Specifically, they use a bidding protocol to manage the relationship between suppliers and producers. Beath and Ang examine another form of inter-firm cooperation, the relational contract, in the context of software-development outsourcing. They show how relational contracts embody a relationship that can be characterized as a network consisting of two organizations. Whang studies a more subtle form of networking — information sharing between buyers and suppliers. Bakos and Brynjolfsson examine the impact of incentives and information costs on the nature of buyer-supplier relationships. They show that committing to a partnership with a small number of suppliers can be an optimal strategy for a buyer because it will maximize the suppliers’ incentives for non-contractible investments such as information sharing, innovation or quality. The papers thus present a spectrum ranging from a study of the boundaries of the traditional firm through different forms of networking to explicit buyer-supplier relationships. A common theme is the organization of work so as to reduce overall information costs not only within an organization but across them as well. The surviving enterprise is often (though not always) the one that attempts to reduce information costs while capitalizing on the comparative advantage of the participating organizations. This calls for â€Å"opportunistic cooperation† that benefits the members of the network for as long as they cooperate. IT reduces the costs of such cooperation by  facilitating communication and increasing the flexibility of the participating organizations. Using the Jensen-Meckling terminology, different network participants can make more effective use of their specific knowledge when the costs of transferring and processing general knowledge are reduced. Further, technology enables the development of markets that, by their very nature, transform specific knowledge into general knowledge. Thus, the bidding and communications protocols proposed by Ching, Holsapple and Whinston in their paper â€Å"Modeling Network Organizations† effectively transform the specific knowledge inherent in the production technology of the competing suppliers into general knowledge that encompasses not only prices but also their reputations. From this perspective, IT is key to the development of network organizations. In his paper â€Å"Impacts of Information Technology on Organizational Size and Shape: Control and Flexibility Effects†, Barron builds a stylized quantitative model to study the impact of IT on the structure of organizations. Examining flexibility and scope of control, he identifies sixteen different cases with different patterns of the actual causality between IT and firm structure. Barron shows that simplistic statements regarding the impact of IT are not as straightforward as one might imagine due to the interaction of size, scope and flexibility. His results suggest that the impact of IT is rather complex, and that further specification is necessary prior to making predictions on the impact of IT on organizational size or shape. â€Å"Hierarchical Elements in Software Contracts† by Beath and Ang focuses on the contractual structure of outsourced software development. This is an interesting example of the new organizational paradigm because of the key role of information systems in any organization. Effective software development hinges on cooperation, communication and joint management which are at the heart of the new organizational paradigm. Beath and Ang examine the mechanisms used to govern outsourcing projects as specified in their outsourcing contracts. They suggest that the relational contract, which converts an arms-length transaction into a joint project with governance and resolution procedures that resemble those used by firms internally, is an  effective way to accomplish this. Thus, while Ching, Holsapple and Whinston view bidding and explicit reputation formation as the alphabet of the network organization, Beath and Ang view actual contract clauses as the key linguistic constructs. The paper shows how the structure of the contract is driven by the attributes of the project as well as those of the parties to the transaction. In â€Å"Analysis of Economic Incentives for Inter-Organizational Information Sharing†, Whang addresses the question of information sharing in non-cooperative buyer-supplier settings. Whang studies this question for two different models. He first shows that due to adverse incentives, suppliers will not be willing to share information regarding their costs. The situation is different when the information to be conveyed is regarding the expected delay or lead time. Whang shows that suppliers are better off disclosing lead-time information to buyers (when the demand curve for their product is convex). This result is consistent with our general thesis, whereas the former one introduces a note of caution: adverse incentives pose limits to the scope of information sharing among network organizations. In â€Å"From Vendors to Partners: Information Technology and Incomplete Contracts in Buyer-Supplier Relationships†, Bakos and Brynjolfsson start with the assumption that, in many cases, complete information exchange between two firms will be infeasible, so any contract between them will be â€Å"incomplete† in the sense that some contingencies will remain unspecified. They then explore how the interplay of IT and organizational structure can affect the role of non-contractible investments, such as innovation, quality and the exchange of information. For example, Bakos and Brynjolfsson show that when fewer suppliers are employed, they collectively capture a larger share of the benefits of the relationship, and this will increase their incentives to make non-contractible investments. As a result, even when search costs are very low, it may be desirable for the buyer to limit the number of employed suppliers, leading to a partnership-type of relationship, rather than aggressively bargaining for all the benefits by threatening to switch among numerous alternative suppliers. Like Whang, they show that the incentive effects of the applications of IT must be explicitly considered in any model  of their effect on inter-organizational cooperation. 4. Conclusion In this paper, we have stressed the joint determination of the location of information and decision rights. The default mechanism used to achieve this co-location depends on one’s point of reference. Information Systems researchers are likely to take the locus of decision authority for granted. They will typically focus their attention on devising schemes that will efficiently organize, retrieve, sort, filter, transmit and display information for designated decision makers. In contrast, the economist is likely to focus on the allocation of decision rights and the concomitant effect on incentives.6 As we discussed in Section 2, transferring information and transferring decision authority are two sides of the same question. Because economics and information systems research evolved to address different problems, this complementarity long went unnoticed. Each of the papers in the special issue addresses a different aspect of the interplay among information, incentives and the structure of economic enterprise. In every case, insights resulted when both information and incentives were explicitly considered. Each paper contributes an additional piece to an emerging mosaic that describes not only the features of the new organization, but also gives some insight into their theoretical underpinnings. The papers in this special issue also highlight the incomplete state of knowledge in the subject area and the dearth of empirical guidance to the formulation and testing of theoretical research. We started this paper with a discussion of the computer industry as the canonical example of the new paradigm as exercised in Silicon Valley, and continued by arguing that its products actually fuel the shift to this paradigm. It is only appropriate to close the loop by examining the dictum of that paradigm as it applies to the inner workings of firms in the computer industry. A major effort along these lines in being undertaken by one of the authors and his colleagues in Stanford University’s Computer Industry Project. Understanding these changes so that they can be harnessed for productive ends remains a central challenge for the next decade of research. The rapid progress in designing computers and communications systems contrasts starkly with the uncertainty clouding organizational design. Yet, new ways of organizing will be necessary before the potential of IT can be realized. Furthermore, because the new organizational paradigms involve numerous complementarities, the trial-and-error methods which were important in the rise of the organizational forms of the past century, such as large hierarchies and mass markets, may be unsuited for making the next transition. Understanding and implementing one aspect of a new organizational structure without regard to its interaction with other aspects can leave the make the organization worse off than if no modifications at all were made. Design, rather than evolution, is called for when significant changes must be made along multiple dimensions simultaneously. Successful organizational design, in turn, requires that we understand the flow of information among humans and their agents every bit as well as we understand the flow of electrons in chips and wires. Perhaps, then, the revolution in information processing capabilities not only calls for a change in business organization, but also a re-evaluation of the historic separation between Information Systems and Economics. REFERENCES [1] Meyers, G. The Science of Management. In C. B. Thompson (Eds.), Scientific Management Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1914. [2] Kanter, R. M. â€Å"The New Managerial Work.† Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec, 1989, pp. 85-92. [3] Peters, T. Thriving on Chaos, Handbook for a Management Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1988. [4] Milgrom, P. and Roberts, J. â€Å"The Economics of Modern Manufacturing: Technology, Strategy, and Organization.† American Economic Review, Vol. 80, No. 3, 1990. [5] Jaikumar, R. â€Å"Post-Industrial Manufacturing.† Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1986, pp. 69-76. [6] Brynjolfsson, E. Information Technology and the ‘New Managerial Work’. Working Paper # 3563-93. MIT, 1990. [7] Galbraith, J. Organizational Design. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1977. [8] Hayek, F. A. â€Å"The Use of Knowledge in Society.† American Economic Review, Vol. 35, No. 4, 1945. [9] Miller, W. F. The Economy of Choice. In Strategy, Technology and American Industry HBS Press, 1987. [10] Jensen, M. and Meckling, W. Knowledge, Control and Organizational Structure Parts I and II. In Lars, Werin and Hijkander (Eds.), Contract Economics (pp.251-274). Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, 1992. [11] Mendelson, H. On Centralization and Decentralization. Stanford, forthcoming, 1993. [12] Amihud, Y. and Mendelson, H. An Integrated Computerized Trading System. In Market Making and the Changing Structure of the Securities Industry (pp. 217-235). Lexington Heath, 1985. [13] Amihud, Y. and Mendelson, H. (1989). The Effects of Computer-Based Trading on Volatility and Liquidity. In H. C. Lucas Jr. and R. A. Schwartz (Eds.), The Challenge of Information Technology for the Securities Markets. (pp. 59-85). Dow Jones-Irwin. [14] Amihud, Y. and Mendelson, H. â€Å"Liquidity, Volatility and Exchange Automation.† Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Vol. 3, Fall, 1988, pp. 369-395. [15] Malone, T. W., Yates, J. and Benjamin, R. I. â€Å"Electronic Markets and Electronic Hierarchies.† Communications of the ACM, Vol. 30, No. 6, 1987, pp. 484-497. [16] Baker, G. P. â€Å"Incentive Contracts and Performance Measurement.† Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 100, No. 3, June, 1992. [17] Brynjolfsson, E. â€Å"An Incomplete Contracts Theory of Information, Technology, and Organization.† Management Science, forthcoming, 1993.

Opening Chapter of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck displays contrast between Leonie, is a giant of a man ‘a huge man', ponderous in his walk and has the mind of a young child. Therefore, is dramatically effective as it leaves the reader uncertain about the situation as we think what do these different characters have In common, why are they together, are they up to something? The reader soon discovers that they have a very close bond. This Is because they both share the same dream of owning their own ranch, after many hard working years, moving from ranch o ranch, living in complete poverty and working for next to nothing they finally try to achieve this life long dream.At the end of the beginning chapter Leonie pleads with George to tell him over and over again about their dream ranch, when Lenis main task will be the rabbits. Again Steinbeck shows how immature Leonie is, I think George and Leonie have a bond which represent father and son. George being the father not very patient always telling Leonie off and L eonie very childlike keeps rebelling. Steinbeck emphasis his writing skills by revealing a Blvd description of the place and atmosphere ‘A few miles south, On the sandy bank under the trees, shade climbed up the hills towards the top'.This type of writing method is effective because it's so detailed that it becomes vivid and lifelike in our imagination, so that we feel like we have become involved in story, we the reader feel connected to the novel. In the opening chapter, Steinbeck immediately introduces the idea of isolation and loneliness and the idea of the men living temporary worker lives, with no real direction. Steinbeck cleverly uses the setting to convey these ideas. The path George and Leonie are walking on is described as ‘A path beaten hard by boys'. Beaten hard by tramps who came wearily down from the highway In the evening to Jungle, up near water' and ‘an ash pile made by many fires'. Not only do these quotes describe the setting, they also give us a detailed description of the men's tragic, Isolated lives as well. I en mall themes touting ten story Is loneliness, tons Is an Inevitable Tact AT Tie that not even the strongest can avoid. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the loneliness of California ranch life in the early sass's.Throughout the story, the reader discovers the many sources of solitude, primarily being discrimination and prejudice, resulting in loneliness and isolation. One of the most important things that are really needed is a friend. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. The characters in this novel are intrigued yet envious of the special friendship shared by George and Leonie because they do not have that in their life. However the theme in chapter 1 is about animal imagery. Tending the rabbits represents all the ideology of the free and happy spirit to Leonie.He doesn't consciously understand the totality of his dream, because by wanting to tend the rabbi ts he is really expressing his want to make something of himself and live simply, ‘off the fatty the Ian'. If asked, George would go on and on about settling down with a wife and raising a family on his own little farm, Leonie would simply say he wanted to tend the rabbits. This is dramatic effective because the reader assume that its going to be very difficult for George as he has to stay with Leonie, but also makes the reader wait in excitement for the next chapter to see how the main characters will survive.If the reader were to analyses the story in a more detailed way they would soon discover that the rabbit is the symbol of all that he desires, and the particular characteristic, which is endemic to rabbits, is their softness of fur. When Leonie touches something soft he is that much closer to discovering his dream. So, he is reluctant to halt any act, which allows him to caress something soft. Any force that comes between him and his ‘dream' is at great risk, cause Leonie is dangerous when angry ‘don't get to tend the rabbits! ‘ Suddenly his anger arose. ‘God damn you,' he cried.Unknown to Leonie, the mice may have had a dream Just like him. Though most mice probably would not have dreamt about owning their own land, a dream may have still existed. Maybe the mice would have wanted to live some place safe from people. Dreaming of a place in which a mouse could eat all the time not having to search for food, Leonie may have killed them. This harsh reality is exactly the same as what had happened to Leonie. It is unable to be disproved that what George had done to Leonie in his time of weakness was not the same as what Leonie had done to the mice in their time of helplessness.Possibly, that was how the mice wanted to die though, happy picturing their dreams in their heads. On the other hand, one is not to be sure that these mice did not die in excruciating pain, paralyzed by the touch of this enormous creature. However these po or creatures died, they were unable to live the rest of their lives. Overall , ten TLS chanter Is aromatic as It concentrates more on ten ascription AT ten atmosphere, this creates uncertainty for the reader as we do not know what is going to happen.I believe the author has displayed little information on each particular character so the reader believes that the novel is ambiguous. The reader's imagination starts to take over and consider what and who are George and Leonie. Already the audiences have become Judgmental about the main characters this highlights the writers skills towards the physical appearance of the George and Leonie, which may persuade the audience to have a specific view on the characters.

Ebay in China - Case Study - 4108 Words

21/11/2011 E-Bay Strategy In China Alliance or Acquisition? Case Study Strategic Management Gabriela Ã…  alamonovà ¡ Barbora Jandovà ¡ Pierrick Boissel Julien Meunier Alexandre Godet SUMMARY I. The Input Stage ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · CAGE VRIO Analysis CPM matrix EFE matrix IFE matrix II. The Matching Stage ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · BCG matrix SPACE matrix GSM matrix III. The Decision Stage ï‚ · ï‚ · Matrix Analysis QSPM matrix IV. Questions ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Assessment of eBay ´s choice of market entry strategy for China, listing both the advantages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy Assessment of the potential benefits and risks of eBay ´ s joint venture with Tom Online Assessment of both companies: eBay and Tom Online, decisions on their respective†¦show more content†¦Information system is analyzed as the parity. The reason is lack of a customer service hotline on eBay ´s websites. But on the other side they try to meet needs their customer, e.g. facilitate payment system. eBay ´s executives do not adopt the management style to Chinese conditions. For the majority of population was the only option to pay by cash, because of non-users of credit cards. Also there are problems with the system of auction, because Chinese people like face to face purchases and they are used to deal the lowest price and in auction- selling format usually the prices went up. These issues caused the evaluation of marketing and customer service as the parity. E-Bay had adopted various expansion strategies, both locally in the US and globally in new international markets. It builds a brand image in the US as an industry leader and tries to expand to other foreign countries. Additional temporary advantage related to the purchase protection because respondents extremely agreed that eBay did the best job in monitoring and protecting its users from purchasing counterfeit items from its site. ï‚ · Competitive Profile Matrix In CPM is important to identify eBay  ´s major competitors, their strengths weaknesses in relation to a sample company  ´s strategic position. Proposed CPM shows the clear insight to the eBay about itsShow MoreRelatedEbay in China - Case Study4122 Words   |  17 Pages21/11/2011 E-Bay Strategy In China Alliance or Acquisition? Case Study Strategic Management Gabriela Ã…  alamonovà ¡ Barbora Jandovà ¡ Pierrick Boissel Julien Meunier Alexandre Godet SUMMARY I. The Input Stage ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · CAGE VRIO Analysis CPM matrix EFE matrix IFE matrix II. The Matching Stage ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · BCG matrix SPACE matrix GSM matrix III. The Decision Stage ï‚ · ï‚ · Matrix Analysis QSPM matrix IV. 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