The Commercialism Of Television Essays - Television Advertisement

The Commercialism Of Television The Commercialism of Television To look into the mind of a television addict, we must look at the big picture? First we recognize the voluntary slavery that makes up the majority of modern life. A I see it, people get up early, put on work clothes, and ?work like machines for the rest of the day? getting no satisfaction from their repetitive day-jobs. Then come home around seven o'clock to their families who have already had dinner, and the kids already getting in bed. By that time there is almost no room left for quality family time or anything else to pursue that's worthwhile. Thus the person turns to the television for that instant dose of friendship and gratification that could not be found anywhere else during his or her day. Once the person gets comfy on the lazy-boy, he becomes quickly stimulated and amazed by the intense sound and picture of thirty frames per second, and suddenly forgets thinking about the real world. Notice how some people become extremely annoyed when you talk to them or distract them when they are watching a program, or even a commercial. And might even yell at you for walking in front of the TV. As the hours of straight zombie-like watching go by, the person slips further into the fantasy world of television, and with you breaking that link between them and the tube comes as a shock to them. Someone can be so engulfed that it becomes a regular part of his/her daily routine. As a result of a lot of watching TV, studies have shown that the heart rate, and blink rate have slowed down dramatically and muscular function decreased down to the snap of a finger on the remote or the lift of a drink. The stimulation of the picture and sound shift so rapidly that they must become completely relaxed to soak it all up. Television is like an addiction, and like any addictive substance a moral message lies behind it? The advertising and the programs are only they're to keep the viewer coming back for more. But there are even deeper morals to the story. The televisions main purpose is to distract from what you really want to be doing. Than around the second line of commercials you realize that you could be doing far better things than this, but before that thought gets to you, another flashy commercial pops up that literally says ?damnit stay in your seat, we've got more products to sell you?. And giving the viewer the sense that he/she cannot live without it. And this is where depression can kick in. In these messages there is the potential power to brainwash the viewer into thinking that television is the one and only answer to all the worlds problems, and soon the person will not want to accept the harsh reality of the real world. This becomes a mindset for many people who watch TV. Some will do their best to fight it, like turn the volume down or mute, but hell, never would they turn it off. Even the manufacturers cleverly hide the mute button on your remote. To the broadcasters and corporations, its all a damn game to them, to see whom can get more zombies to stick with their channel. After becoming over-fatigued from stimulation, they'll switch it off. And when they are face to face with real life, they don't understand it, and shrivel back into their corner to the TV, to the world that is so easily accepted. There is a huge difference between the world that we live in, and the fake propped world of television. On a person note; my father roommates with Andre, a forty-five year old minority who is extremely depressed, and has attempted suicide. Visiting my dad every week or so I notice that Andre always had the TV on, and continued sitting in his chair staring at every comedy channel for six hours, but I noticed he never laughed. I believe Andre has fallen deep into the TV world, and uses it as a tool to ignore and/or forget his problems in the real world. ?Odds have it that television only creates a mirage

Yasar Kemal A Master of Words

Yasar Kemal A Master of Words Yasar Kemal was actually telling the story of Turkey’s ordinary people living in over 40,000 villages who experienced the impact of reforms and economic and social development in rural areas. Using archetypal characters, Kemal created a story of epic reach with common human moral and symbolic imagery. Hashtag: #Ya?arKemal Memed, My Hawk A novel, by definition, is fiction, a form of a sequential story describing intimate experiences of imaginary characters. Fiction is an art and many great writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and Joyce Carol Oates were fiction writers. Turkish writer #Ya?arKemal, who recently passed away, was a prominent fiction writer and best remembered for his first novel â€Å"Memed, My Hawk†, which was published in 1955. BOOK REPORT This Varlik Prize winner is a story of a young peasant boy (Slim Memed) who tried to save his sweetheart (Hatch) from a forced marriage with the Agha (owner of the land and village chief). Hatch was captured as they attempt to escape but Meme, who wounds the Agha escaped into the mountains and later becomes a bandit. The novel to some critics is exciting and dramatic as it successfully portrayed the severity of peasant life in the Taurus highland of Anatolia during the 1930s. It tells the story of Memed, who in his youth rebel against the cruelty of the village chief and saved his people from tyranny. Indirectly, Yasar Kemal was actually telling the story of Turkey’s ordinary people living in over 40,000 villages who experienced the impact of reforms and economic and social development in rural areas. Using archetypal characters, Kemal created a story of epic reach with common human moral and symbolic imagery. For instance, the burning of the thistles ( a group of flowering plants) the choked the village land symbolizes Memed’s personal revenge and a quest for social justice. Published in 2007, the novel â€Å"They Burn the Thistles† is a sequel to â€Å"Memed, My Hawk†. It has descriptive passages that clearly tell the story of the bitter war between the greedy and brutal property owner and poor Turkish peasants. The Reality of Kurdish and Turkish Peasants Life In reality, Kurdish and Turkish peasants living in Anatolian villages in the early 1900s were suffering from the powerful Aghas. For instance, since they need to return three kilos for a very kilo of seed they borrowed from an Agha, they were always impoverished and in debt to that particular Agha. Those who cannot pay were intimidated, harmed, and sometimes sent to jail. Moreover, since many Kurdish Aghas maintained a good relationship with the central government, agricultural policies continue to favour commercial classes and landowners in Anatolian region. For instance, the rise in cultivation and land prices often benefit landowners and family-owned business alone. LITERARY TECHNIQUE THAT WORKS WONDERS The â€Å"Agha System†, which is mostly in the East and Southeast region, is actually a â€Å"Master and Servant† relation. For instance, according to the book The Literary Garland, the peasants were observed to be graceful and dignified when paying their taxes, procure seeds, and even give presents to their landlord and village chief. The harshness of peasants’ life and the need for land reform and better treatment made #Ya?arKemal the greatest writer in Turkey. His novels created â€Å"Slim Memed†, a fictitious character like a Turkish Robin Hood who fights against the Aghas who exploit the peasants.

Personal reflection paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personal reflection - Term Paper Example Studying deeply about leadership skills and characteristic allow a person to transform into a dynamic personality with a solid business goal. The learning course which I have studied has all the elaborate information on the qualities one need to imbibe to promote their leadership status. According to (Murthy,2005)â€Å"A leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change. Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars†. A leader is a person who possesses a unique quality indifferent from others. The information that I have collected during my study about leadership will enable me to grow as a strong leader in future. The understanding of leadership qualities and characteristic is essential for an individual to transform into a dynamic leader .A true leader is evolved after passing through much positive and negative experiences. Here, the learning of the course material has provided me with enormous information and suggestion about the way in which, I can upgrade my mental and physical capacities. I believe that understanding the issue related to the individual differences and uniqueness of my personality goes a long way in acknowledging my personal strength and weaknesses. I have been studying the different personality like Type A and B which has the ability to teach a person the category of personality type he fall into .As I categorized my personality; I acquired a basic foundation on which I can built my leadership personality. Moreover, the personality test like Myers Brigg test and HPI has the core potentiality to educate a person about his natural skills and versatility. Being a leader is not an easy task, for this one must have the enormous quality to manipulate one’s emotional behavior. This is where the Emotional intelligence which I studied will come into play. Emotional

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 5

Research - Essay Example The questionnaire was too long and the length might often influence participants to withdraw from the survey as time is important for everyone. Another flaw associated with the questionnaire was that in answering options, the ‘do not know’ option was not included. This is inappropriate as there might be participants who are unaware of a particular product or service. On the other hand, two good aspect of the questionnaire is that questions were worded very simply; this firstly made it very easy for participants to understand and secondly, the questionnaire encompassed all aspects of the research topic, thereby enabling the researcher to obtain an insight of people’s perceptions about products and services offered by the food chain. Generating idea: The initial step is very crucial as it involves generation of ideologies that are based on SWOT and current market trend analysis. The ideologies take into account various factors such as, return on investment, ROI and widespread distribution cost. (Takeuchi and Nonaka 137-146). During this particular phase, the manager has to ensure that overall new product development process is kept nimble and flexible discretion should be applied over which the activities are to be executed. Screening the idea: In this particular step, the idea is validated. The phase mainly involves elimination of ineffective concepts prior to allocation of resources to them. The individuals responsible for framing the idea should screen the same on the basis of factors such as, benefits associated with the idea that can be provided to the target market, market coverage of the product, expected intensity of competition, sales forecast, feasibility of the product and so on and so forth (Brands, â€Å"8 Step Process Perfects New Product Development†). Concept testing: Concept testing is very different from test marketing. This step involves patent research, designing due diligence

Business Strategy and Planning Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Strategy and Planning - Case Study Example During the 1960s, distribution was decentralised. In 1973 the company became a plc. The oil crisis of the early 1970s forced it to improve efficiency. During the 1980s and early 1990s expansion into the north-east of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland made it 'national' in the scale of its operations. By the end of 1994 (Sainsbury's 125th year), the company had 355 stores in UK and an off-shore store in Calais. With the start of the new millennium Sainsbury's sold Homebase and Shaws Supermarkets to focus on the core UK business, comprising Sainsbury's Supermarkets, Sainsbury's Local, Sainsbury's online and Sainsbury's Bank. The acquisition of convenience store chains Bells Stores, Jacksons, JB Beaumont and SL Shaw increased its presence in the UK convenience sector. Today Sainsbury's serves 16 million customers each week in 455 supermarkets and 301 convenience stores across UK. The company employs 153,000 workers to deliver 'Great Food at Fair Prices'. Sainsbury's sells 6bn of British food every year, and in March 2006, reported a 5.3% rise in sales, its fifth quarter growth in a row. Sainsbury's was for decades the premier supermarket in the UK; it lost this position however in 1995 to Tesco, further slipping to No.3 in 2003 behind Walmart-owned ASDA. According to the latest TNS rankings released in June 2006, Sainsbury's remains the UK's third largest supermarket on 16.0% market share, while ASDA remains second largest at 16.4% and Tesco has increased its share to 31.1% (The information in the above paragraphs were collected, paraphrased, collated and abridged from the four web sites of: (1) http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/home/htm, (2) www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/ (3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainsbury and (4) http://www.fairinvestment.co/uk/default.aspx, all retrieved August 8, 2006). About TESCO. Tesco is the largest British supermarket chain and has significant operations in other countries. Originally specializing in food they have moved into areas such as clothes, consumer electronics and cars. By 2003 it had over 2000 stores, including a large number of convenience stores in the UK. Outside of the United Kingdom they also operate in the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Tesco was founded by Jack Cohen, who was selling groceries in the markets of the London East End from 1919. The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in Edgware, London. The firm was floated on the stock exchange in 1947. The first Tesco self-service store opened in 1948 in St Albans and was still trading as of 2002. The first Tesco supermarket was opened in 1956 in Maldon, Essex. Its first "superstore" was opened in 1968 in Crawley, West Sussex. It began selling petrol in 1974 and its annual turnover reached 1000 million pounds in 1979. It introduced a loyalty card in 1995 and later an Internet shopping service. During the 1990s it expanded into Eastern Europe, Ireland and East Asia. In July 2001 it became involved in internet grocery retailing in the USA when it obtained a 35% stake in GroceryWorks. Tesco has expanded also by taking over other chains, including: Victor Value, England, 1968

Effect of Organisational Culture on Information Technology

Effect of Organisational Culture on Information Technology The Effect of Organizational Culture on Information Technology/Business Strategic alignment in Saudi Firms Abstract This research effort is intended to study the dynamic relationship between the IT Strategy and the overall Business Strategy in Saudi Firms. IT strategies perceived to be developed in isolation, meaning that such strategies are put forward by IT managers without any involvement of top business managers. The IT manager may be oblivious or he/she may not have a clear idea of the business strategy leading to a strategic diversion where all important technical investments decisions are made by the IT director alone. The researcher recognized some major factors that influence alignment including Organizational Culture; therefore the researcher investigated the current organizational Culture at large selected Saudi firms. In addition, perceptions of Information Technology Value and utilization in the targeted companies was identified and analyzed through set of questionnaires and interviews in order to help the researcher to establish the relationship between Information Technology and Organizational Culture, since it would be a valuable part of forming the proposed strategic alignment model. The Saudi firms, where questionnaires have been distributed, and interviews have been conducted are SABB (Saudi British Bank), Saudi Airlines, AL-Marai, and AlTawniah. The researcher is aiming to collect further data from previous Strategic Alignment Models, and collect more information through additional interviews and questionnaires in order to interpret and validate the findings of the first stage that will lead to the design of the final stage of the Strategic Alignment Model. All data will be combined to give the base for a Strategic Alignment Model. This new model will be a practical one that should fit the Saudi environment. 1. Introduction Strategic alignment has become one of the most important topics for researchers in all industries. Its main objective is to establish and arrange a relationship between business and IT strategies. From a competitive advantage point of view, organizations with such alignment will have edge over others. 2. Context of the Research In the last few decades, the gap between business strategy of organizations and their IT strategy has been noticed by researchers and practitioners across the globe. Numerous research articles have been written to indicate this fact and to highlight the importance of bridging the gap between IT strategy and business strategy of organizations, to achieve coordinated results and efficiency for the enterprise. MIS professional, researchers have understood the significance of the issue which exists at global level [1]. Figure (1) summarizes the Information System/Business relationship which can be described as ‘Interdependent; where any changes in the IS (Software, Hardware, Database and Telecommunication devices will have an impact on the Business and vice versa; any change in the business (Strategy, Rules and Procedures) will have its impact on the Information Systems function of the organization [2]. FIG01-07Since Information systems and organizations influence each another. On the one hand, information systems must be aligned with the organization to provide information that is important to different groups according to the organization need. On the other hand, the organization must be aware of and open itself to the influences of information systems in order to benefit from new technologies [3]. Figure 1: The interdependence between organizations and information systems (Laudon Laudon, 2006) The interaction between information technology and organizations is very complex and is influenced by a great many mediating factors, including the organizations structure, standard operating procedures, politics, culture, surrounding environment, and management decisions as shown in figure (2). One mediating factor was selected by the researcher, which is the organizational culture, and the purpose of this selection will be discussed in a later section. Managers must be aware that information systems can markedly alter life in the organization. They cannot successfully design new systems or understand existing systems without understanding organizations. Managers decide what systems will be built, what they will do, how they will be implemented. Sometimes, however, the outcomes are the result of pure chance and of both good and bad luck [2]. 3. Original Work in Strategic Alignment Strategic Alignment is defined as the process of creating and managing a business driven IT organization, for which the main focus is implementing information oriented Solutions, that is most important to meeting the business goals, objectives, and strategies of the enterprise [4]. In order to make organizations successful, it is important for all parts of the organization to move in the same strategic direction. Of particular importance is that the business strategy and the IT strategy are complementary. If they are trying to move the organization in different directions the risk of failure may increase. Given the high level of resources invested in IT by most organizations it is important for it to be used as a strategic resource to contribute towards the achievement of business objectives. The strategic alignment would measure the relationship between an organizations IT function and its business objectives. The degree to which alignment is present in an organization will depend o n many factors. These factors will include the knowledge of the subject by management, the organizational infrastructure and culture, the nature of the business, the technology in use, and the ability of the organization to manage change. It is very important to realize that Strategic alignment is a process and not a project. Also Alignment issues should be considered at all levels of the organization, meaning that the occurrence of alignment at one level does not guarantee alignment at another [5]. 3.1 Strategic Alignment Models Alignment models show the relationship between the various domains (Business: mission, vision, objectives and tactics and Technical: processes, skills and knowledge) that influence alignment, which is dynamic with a strategy or technology decision impacting on one or more of the other domains. The alignment model within an organization must be continually reviewed due to the ongoing change in the internal and external environments. Corrective action must be taken to realign the organization when necessary. Many managers do not realize that a decision imposed on one domain may impact on one or more of the other domains [6]. Different people depending on their experience and background will have different strengths in each domain. An IT professional would likely have strengths in IT strategy or infrastructure while a business manager would likely have strengths in business strategy or organizational infrastructure. This could lead to problems if communication channels are not strong an d management processes are not in place to facilitate alignment. There are number of models which were designed to attempt to come up with such an alignment. Some of the most important models are the following: A. Strategic Alignment Model (Henderson and Venkatramon, 1993) The model has four domains or variables: business strategy, IT strategy, organizational infrastructure and IT infrastructure [7]. Butler and Fitzgerlad defined the context of the business strategy domain as business scope which refers to â€Å"the decisions that determine where the enterprise will compete†; distinctive competencies which â€Å"pertains to the areas that determine how the business will compete in delivering its products and services† and business governance which concerns â€Å"the choices that enterprises make when competing in the market place, e.g., whether alliances are entered into or not†. While administrative infrastructure refers to â€Å"the roles, responsibilities, and authority structure†; the business processes are â€Å"the manner in which key business functions are carried out† and skills refer to â€Å"the knowledge and competencies of organizational actors. In the context of IT strategy define technology scope as â€Å"the specific types of technology that are considered to be critical to the organization†; systemic competencies refer to â€Å"the salient characteristics and technological strengths of the IT systems† and IT governance as â€Å"issues refers to the manner in which IT systems are developed†. On the other hand, The IT architecture as â€Å"the policies and decisions made in regard to the integration of application systems, systems software, and hardware into cohesive platforms that are captured by the IT architecture dimension†; The processes are referred to as â€Å" how IT systems are planned, developed, implemented, and operated† and the skills dimension is captured by â€Å"the experience, competencies, commitments, values, and norms of the participants in the planning, development, implementation, and operation processes† [8]. B. Top-Down Alignment Model The theory consist of an input-process-output model, seven constructs, six Causal relationships and six hypotheses as shown in figure 4 The input-output-process model provides the initial bases for the theory. The Seven constructs are: the external environment, the internal environment, Planning resources, the planning process, the strategic information systems plan, the implementation of the strategic information systems plan, and the alignment of the strategic information systems plan with the organizations Business plan. These seven constructs exhibit causal relationships among each other illustrated through hypotheses [9]. 4. Knowledge Gap Based on the above, and through screening some of the existing strategic alignment models in the literature review, the researcher figured out that to achieve such an alignment there is a need to consider and integrate the following points: 1. Most of staff, if not all, is unaware of business goals, especially in the environment of Saudi Arabia [10]. 2. Important technical investments decisions are made by the IT manager alone [11]. 3. No relationship exists (Gap) between Business strategy and IT strategy [12]. 4. A lot of factors are not taken into consideration when forming strategic alignment, such as Structure, Culture, politics, and others [13]. 5. Strategic alignment models discussed only top management level and discarded other levels [14]. 6. Previous strategic alignment models are hard to be understood and implemented in reality [15]. The models discussed in the literature review may have achieved one or two of the above six points, however, there is no existing model that has achieved the above six points altogether. Based on the above, I have selected Strategic Alignment as a starting and a centre area of my research that the researcher is building on to fulfill the other points mentioned. The model that the researcher is aiming to establish, differs from the existing ones in that it will meet the requirements and challenges of the Saudi environment taking into consideration the 6 above points. 5. Research Aims Significance * To bridge the gap between Business Strategy and Information Technology Strategy through developing and designing a simple Strategic Alignment Model, that includes the essence of the major research works in addition to other strategic alignment theories available * To highlight the role of socio-cultural aspects as a critical success factor for successful IT implementation, which were not taken into consideration in the past * To measure the contribution of such a model to business performance. * To encourage Saudi Firms to use such a model to gain competitive competition. * To reduce the associated costs of implementing Information Systems in Organization 6. Research methods The researcher has used the mixed research methodology. Mixed research involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or paradigm characteristics within a stage of the study or across two of the stages of the research process. It collects data either sequentially of simultaneously to best understand research problems [16]. Advantages of using mixed research includes: the major goal for researcher who design and conduct mixed research is to follow the fundamental principle of mixed research, in other words, the researcher should mix quantitative and qualitative research methods, procedures, and paradigm characteristics in a way that the resulting mixture or combination has complementary strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses. When different approaches are used to focus on the same phenomenon, while providing the same result, is a strong evidence for the result. Other important reason for doing mixed research are to complement one set of results with another, to expand a set of results, or to discover something that would have been missed if only a quantitative or a qualitative approach had been used[17]. Questionnaire One of the most widely used research techniques can be defined as collecting data through written questions [17]. There are a number of different ways in which questionnaires can be administered; for example: posted to the intended respondents or administered over the telephone or face-to-face. A questionnaire design provides a quantitative description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population. From sample results, the researcher generalizes or makes claims about a population [18]. Interviews Interviews are considered to be the main tool of the qualitative researcher for data collection [18]. Additionally, since the interpretive stance is also being followed, interviews are viewed to be the main and appropriate source from where data has been collected. According to Walsham, interviews allow the best access to the interpretations that the participants have regarding the actions and events, which have or are taking place and the views and aspirations of themselves and other participants. An added benefit is that it allows researchers to step back and examine the interpretations of their fellow participants in some detail, and this is an advantage that other methods may not allow [18]. Data analysis Data gathered will be analyzed through frequency distributions. These will give way to reviewing the data categories and the number of referrals in each category. With relation to data analysis, the indicators that will be used in evaluating the study include the age of the respondent; the social status; the educational attainment of the respondents; the occupation of the respondents and their length of stay in the company they belong to [19]. The research has involved 4 large organizations, SABB (Saudi British Bank), Saudi Airlines, AL-Marai, and AlTawniah, where interviews have been conducted with CIOs and CEOs to have a clear idea about the companys business strategy. Also, other interviews will take place with IT directors to investigate about the Information Technology (IT) strategy and its relationship with the business strategy. In addition,2 sets of questionnaires were distributed among different levels of the organizations to come up with the types of organizational culture and the use of Information technology in those organizations. At the end, data were collected and analyzed through using SPSS software. 7. Expected Research Outcomes The results from this research are anticipated to be of great help to top managers, strategic planners, IT managers, and other work force in Saudi environment, and will contribute to the following factors: * Increasing the awareness of the importance of Strategic Alignment Model Concept. * Selling the quick wins, by having strategic alignment achieved effectively. * Showing the importance of the use of Information Technology in organizations * Identifying the organizational culture as a major factor of achieving strategic alignment. * Encouraging decision makers and top management to apply and implement strategic alignment throughout the organization. * Highlighting the weaknesses of previous strategic alignment models and the lessons learned, which would help other researchers for future work 8. Indicative Thesis Structure The thesis will contain seven chapters (tentative): Chapter 1: Introduction: Presents an overview about the research subject. It shows the importance of strategic alignment in all sectors, followed by bridging the gap between business strategy and IT strategy, and the factors that affect strategic alignment. The research aims and significance then was explained followed by a brief discussion of the research methodology, research framework, then prospected research contribution was mentioned. Chapter 2: Literature Review: Provides the literature review for this research. It begins with explaining Business strategy, Business planning and its tools, followed by a discussion of IT strategy, IT planning, and its tools. Then a discussion of strategic alignment was presented. And ended with an overview of previous strategic alignment models. Chapter 3: Research design and methodology: Describes the research design and methodology conducted in this study. It starts with discussing the research general strategy, methodology and the reasons for selecting the methods of data collection. Followed that is a detailed explanation of the quantitative and qualitative methods, were a detailed description of the design of the research instruments was presented. Chapter 4: Developing the Parameters of the Strategic Alignment Model: Presents the need for a strategic alignment Model that can bridge the gap through identifying 3 parameters: Organizational Culture, Business strategy and its domains, and IT strategy and its domains Chapter 5: Questionnaires Analysis: Discusses and examines the data collected through the questionnaires for both, identifying the organizational culture, and the use of IT in the 4 Saudi firms Chapter 6: Interviews Analysis: Talks about and analyses the data collected through the interviews in the 4 Saudi firms. Chapter 7: Conclusion and Recommendations: Proposes the new strategic alignment model, and concludes the study and gives recommendations and future directions. 9. Training Undertaken * Using electronic library resources in Sep-2006. * Stage I part A on 30/Aug/2006. * Stage I part B on 31/Aug/2006. * Stage II Part A (presentation) on 26/Jul/2007. * Stage II Part B (Academic writing) on 26/Jul/2007. 10. Review of the research Undertaken * Wrote 2 chapters of the thesis (Introduction, Overview and Background about Business Strategy, IT Strategy, and Previous Strategic Alignment Models). * Completed of first level of data gathering (questionnaires Interviews). * Passed the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Foundation Certificate. * Published two conference papers. * Presented posters at the ARU 1st 2nd Annual Research Student Conference 11. Action Plan The necessary steps for completion of the research are as follows: 1. Type of organizational culture and Information Technology use was investigated by the researcher through questionnaires(phase 1) 2. Interviews with CEOs and IT managers were conducted in terms of Business strategy and IT strategy existence(phase 1) 3. Data analysis was carried out, which involved performing statistical analysis (SPSS) into the gathered data. 4. Distributing mores questionnaires and conducting further interviews to in order to establish a relationship between Organization Culture and Strategic alignment and show its important effect on the selected Saudi firms 5. All data from the (phase1) and (phase 2) will be combined and linked together to give the base for designing the Strategic Alignment Model. 6. Design the proposed Strategic Alignment Model 7. Writing up of the PhD thesis and preparation for the oral exam. 8. The plan of work also includes writing and submitting papers, attending conferences related to the study and presenting the work. Gantt chart The following chart depicts the action plan of the project and the time expectations for each step in details and it is as follows: Years 2007 2008 2009 2010 Tasks 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 References [1] David W. Nickles, IT-BUSINESS ALIGNMENT: WHAT WE KNOW THAT WE STILL DONT KNOW, Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference of the Southern Association for Information Systems, 2005 [2] Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 9th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2006 [3] McNurlin, B.C., and Spargue, R.S., Information Systems Management in Practice, 6th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2002 [4] Raymond Pap, Introduction to Strategic Alignment, Idea Group Inc, 2001 [5] Yolanda E. Chan, Why havent we mastered Alignment? The importance of the informal organization structure, MIS Quarterly Excusive, 2002 [6] Allen, D. and Wilson, T., â€Å"Vertical trust/mistrust during information strategy formation, International Journal of Information Management, 2003 [7] Henderson, J.C. and Venkatraman, N., â€Å"Aligning business and IT strategies†, in Luftman, J.F. (Ed.), Competing in the Information Age: Strategic Alignment in Practice, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 1996 [8] Butler, T. and Fitzgerlad, B., â€Å"Enterprise Transformation and the Alignment of Business and Information Technology Strategies: Lessons from Practice, 1998 [9] Ruohoueu Parnisto, Proceedings of the First European Doctoral Seminar on Strategic Information Management, Turku centre for computer Science, 1996 [10] Hatem Tamimi, Ala M. Abu-Samaha Sufian Yousef ,Perceptions of Information Technology/Information Systems Value/ Utilisation in Saudi Organisations Proceedings of the ECIME conference, France, pp 1 12, September 20 21, 2007 [11] Bassellier, G. and Benbasat, I. (Business Competence of Information Technology Professionals: Conceptual development and influence on IT-business partnerships), MIS Quarterly 28(4): 673-694, 2004. [13] Baker, E.H. Leading Alignment, CIO Insight 1(45) 19-20, October 15, 2004. [14] Benbya, H. and McKelvey, B. (2006). Using Coevolutionary and Complexity Theories to Improve IS Alignment: A multi-level approach, Journal of Information Technology 21(4): 284-298 [15] Chan, Y.E., Sabherwal, R. and Thatcher, J.B. Antecedents and Outcomes of Strategic IS Alignment: An Empirical Investigation, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 51(3): 27-47, 2006. [16] Creswell, JW, Research design: qualitative and quantitative approaches, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California, 1994 [17] Tashakkori and Teddlie, Mixed methods in social behavioral Research, Sage Publications, Inc, 2002 [18] Denzin and Lincoln, the Landscape of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Inc, 2003 [19] Walsham, Interpretive case studies in IS Research: Nature and Method, European Journal of Information Systems, 1995 Publications 1. Hatem Tamimi, The Effect of Organizational Culture on Information Technology/Business Strategic alignment in Saudi Firms, 1st Annual Research Student Conference, ARU, Cambridge,2006 2. Hatem Tamimi, Ala M. Abu-Samaha Sufian Yousef ,Perceptions of Information Technology/Information Systems Value/ Utilisation in Saudi Organisations Proceedings of the ECIME conference, France, pp 1 12, September 20 21, 2007 3. Hatem Tamimi, The status of IS Planning in Saudi Firms, 2nd Annual Research Student Conference, ARU, Cambridge,2007 4. Hatem Tamimi, Strategic IS Plans; do they exist in Saudi Firms?, IACeT2008,The International Arab Conference on e-Technology, Arab Open University, Amman-Jordan, October 15-16, 2008 Appendix A The Designed Questionnaire Survey On Strategic Information System Planning Assessment in Saudi companies. The objective of this survey is to investigate how Saudi managers use Information Technology (computer-based information, software, database, networks, communication, and other devices) to support their Strategic Planning. Your assistance in providing information regarding how often you use IT systems, the reasons for using these systems, and whether these systems satisfy your informational needs will be greatly appreciated. This survey is conducted under the direction of Mr Mike Smith, Department of Information Technology, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK. All responses are confidential and will remain anonymous. The success of this study depends on the completeness and the quality of information you provide. We ask you to be as thorough and free as possible in answering the questions in this. Thank you for your time and cooperation! NOTE: Please answer this questionnaire only if you are a user of Information Technology (computer-based information, software, database, networks, communication, and other devices). If you are not a user of Information Technology would you ask a manager in your corporation who is to complete this questionnaire. I. PERSONAL BACKGROUND 1. Organisation name: 2.Sex (M/F): 3. Age: 4. Education: Please choice highest degree attained (Please choice one): A. High school graduate or less B. Baccalaureate Degree C. Masters Degree D. Doctorate 5. Please indicate (how many) college (University) level courses you have completed in Information Technology (Information Systems, Computer Science, Programming, Networks or Communication). (Please choice one): 0 1 2 3 4 ≠¥5 II. PRESENT JOB RESPONSIBILITIES 6. Functional area (Please choice one) : A. Accounting B. Finance C. Marketing D. Manufacturing E. Research and Development F. Personnel G. Corporate Administration H. Information Systems I. Other (Please specify): 7. A. Management Level (Please choice One): 1. First Line Supervisor or Manager 2. Mid-level Manager (Supervising other managers) 3. Executive (Top) Level Manager (Vice president, President, Chairman of the Board of Directors etc. B. Job Title: III. USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (PC, Software, Databases, Networks, Internet, and other devices): 8. Managers perform a number of Planning roles. For each of the following roles, please indicate the value of IT. (Please choice a number for each role): Decision roles Of Great Value Of Moderate Value No Value At All Does Not Apply Choice A. Capitalist (Identifies and initiates changes) 5 4 3 2 1 0 B. Trouble Handler (Handles important and unexpected troubles) 5 4 3 2 1 0 C. Resource Allocation (Approves and allocates all organisational resources 5 4 3 2 1 0 D. Negotiator (Represents the organisation at major negotiations 5 4 3 2 1 0 1. Planning consists of several steps. For each of the following steps, please indicate the value of IT. (Please choice a number for each step) : Decision steps Of Great Value Of Moderate Value No Value At All Choice A. Identifying problems or issues 5 4 3 2 1 B. Generating alternative courses of action 5 4 3 2 1 C. Evaluating the out comes of each alternative 5 4 3 2 1 D. Ranking the alternatives and choosing one 5 4 3 2 1 E. Implementing the chosen alternative 5 4 3 2 1 2. As a Planner you may use both IT-based and non IT-based in decision making. The percent of IT you use for supporting the following Planning tasks is: (Please choice a number) Decisions >80% 61% to 80% 41% to 60% 21% to 40% None Choice A. Long Term (Strategic) Planning 5 4 3 2 1 0 B. Mid-Term (Tactical) Planning 5 4 3 2 1 0 C. Short Term (Operational) Planning 5 4 3 2 1 0 3. Managers have a mental model (i.e., an image, idea, or conceptualization of the organisation) which they use for planning, controlling and operating purposes. How helpful is the Information Technology Systems (IT) you are presently using in forming or revising the mental model of your corporation? (Please choice a number): Very Helpful Moderately Not Helpful Helpful At All 5 4 3 2 1 12. How valuable is the information the existing IT provides to your mental model in guiding your planning, controlling and operating decisions? (Please choice a number): Of Great Value Of Moderate Value Of No Value At All 5 4 3 2 1 13. Overall, how important is IT for Planning that are critical to the success and effectiveness of your managerial duties? (Please choice a number): Very Important Moderately Important Not Important At All 5 4 3 2 1 Iv. SOURCES AND TOOLS USED TO OBTAIN IT-BASED INFORMATION 14. You obtain the IT-based you use for Planning mainly (Please choice one): A. By yourself B. Through a designated person C. Through a request to an information systems group D. Other (Please specify): 15. Please indicate, on the average, how many hours per week you actually use a personal computer (PC) or a terminal to obtain computer-based information which is essential for the performance of your duties. (Please choice one): A. >16 hours B. 9 -16 hours C. 5 -8 hours D. 1 -4 hours E. 16. Please indicate the average number of hours per week use each of the following hardware pieces: A. I dont use any hardware pieces. Yes/No? Hours/week hours B. 1. Stand-alone personal computer (PC) hours 2. PC or other terminal connected to an internet hours 3. PC or other terminal connected to an â€Å"On-line† distributed computer system hours 4. PC or other terminal connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) hours 5. Other (Please specify) : hours 17. Please indi Effect of Organisational Culture on Information Technology Effect of Organisational Culture on Information Technology The Effect of Organizational Culture on Information Technology/Business Strategic alignment in Saudi Firms Abstract This research effort is intended to study the dynamic relationship between the IT Strategy and the overall Business Strategy in Saudi Firms. IT strategies perceived to be developed in isolation, meaning that such strategies are put forward by IT managers without any involvement of top business managers. The IT manager may be oblivious or he/she may not have a clear idea of the business strategy leading to a strategic diversion where all important technical investments decisions are made by the IT director alone. The researcher recognized some major factors that influence alignment including Organizational Culture; therefore the researcher investigated the current organizational Culture at large selected Saudi firms. In addition, perceptions of Information Technology Value and utilization in the targeted companies was identified and analyzed through set of questionnaires and interviews in order to help the researcher to establish the relationship between Information Technology and Organizational Culture, since it would be a valuable part of forming the proposed strategic alignment model. The Saudi firms, where questionnaires have been distributed, and interviews have been conducted are SABB (Saudi British Bank), Saudi Airlines, AL-Marai, and AlTawniah. The researcher is aiming to collect further data from previous Strategic Alignment Models, and collect more information through additional interviews and questionnaires in order to interpret and validate the findings of the first stage that will lead to the design of the final stage of the Strategic Alignment Model. All data will be combined to give the base for a Strategic Alignment Model. This new model will be a practical one that should fit the Saudi environment. 1. Introduction Strategic alignment has become one of the most important topics for researchers in all industries. Its main objective is to establish and arrange a relationship between business and IT strategies. From a competitive advantage point of view, organizations with such alignment will have edge over others. 2. Context of the Research In the last few decades, the gap between business strategy of organizations and their IT strategy has been noticed by researchers and practitioners across the globe. Numerous research articles have been written to indicate this fact and to highlight the importance of bridging the gap between IT strategy and business strategy of organizations, to achieve coordinated results and efficiency for the enterprise. MIS professional, researchers have understood the significance of the issue which exists at global level [1]. Figure (1) summarizes the Information System/Business relationship which can be described as ‘Interdependent; where any changes in the IS (Software, Hardware, Database and Telecommunication devices will have an impact on the Business and vice versa; any change in the business (Strategy, Rules and Procedures) will have its impact on the Information Systems function of the organization [2]. FIG01-07Since Information systems and organizations influence each another. On the one hand, information systems must be aligned with the organization to provide information that is important to different groups according to the organization need. On the other hand, the organization must be aware of and open itself to the influences of information systems in order to benefit from new technologies [3]. Figure 1: The interdependence between organizations and information systems (Laudon Laudon, 2006) The interaction between information technology and organizations is very complex and is influenced by a great many mediating factors, including the organizations structure, standard operating procedures, politics, culture, surrounding environment, and management decisions as shown in figure (2). One mediating factor was selected by the researcher, which is the organizational culture, and the purpose of this selection will be discussed in a later section. Managers must be aware that information systems can markedly alter life in the organization. They cannot successfully design new systems or understand existing systems without understanding organizations. Managers decide what systems will be built, what they will do, how they will be implemented. Sometimes, however, the outcomes are the result of pure chance and of both good and bad luck [2]. 3. Original Work in Strategic Alignment Strategic Alignment is defined as the process of creating and managing a business driven IT organization, for which the main focus is implementing information oriented Solutions, that is most important to meeting the business goals, objectives, and strategies of the enterprise [4]. In order to make organizations successful, it is important for all parts of the organization to move in the same strategic direction. Of particular importance is that the business strategy and the IT strategy are complementary. If they are trying to move the organization in different directions the risk of failure may increase. Given the high level of resources invested in IT by most organizations it is important for it to be used as a strategic resource to contribute towards the achievement of business objectives. The strategic alignment would measure the relationship between an organizations IT function and its business objectives. The degree to which alignment is present in an organization will depend o n many factors. These factors will include the knowledge of the subject by management, the organizational infrastructure and culture, the nature of the business, the technology in use, and the ability of the organization to manage change. It is very important to realize that Strategic alignment is a process and not a project. Also Alignment issues should be considered at all levels of the organization, meaning that the occurrence of alignment at one level does not guarantee alignment at another [5]. 3.1 Strategic Alignment Models Alignment models show the relationship between the various domains (Business: mission, vision, objectives and tactics and Technical: processes, skills and knowledge) that influence alignment, which is dynamic with a strategy or technology decision impacting on one or more of the other domains. The alignment model within an organization must be continually reviewed due to the ongoing change in the internal and external environments. Corrective action must be taken to realign the organization when necessary. Many managers do not realize that a decision imposed on one domain may impact on one or more of the other domains [6]. Different people depending on their experience and background will have different strengths in each domain. An IT professional would likely have strengths in IT strategy or infrastructure while a business manager would likely have strengths in business strategy or organizational infrastructure. This could lead to problems if communication channels are not strong an d management processes are not in place to facilitate alignment. There are number of models which were designed to attempt to come up with such an alignment. Some of the most important models are the following: A. Strategic Alignment Model (Henderson and Venkatramon, 1993) The model has four domains or variables: business strategy, IT strategy, organizational infrastructure and IT infrastructure [7]. Butler and Fitzgerlad defined the context of the business strategy domain as business scope which refers to â€Å"the decisions that determine where the enterprise will compete†; distinctive competencies which â€Å"pertains to the areas that determine how the business will compete in delivering its products and services† and business governance which concerns â€Å"the choices that enterprises make when competing in the market place, e.g., whether alliances are entered into or not†. While administrative infrastructure refers to â€Å"the roles, responsibilities, and authority structure†; the business processes are â€Å"the manner in which key business functions are carried out† and skills refer to â€Å"the knowledge and competencies of organizational actors. In the context of IT strategy define technology scope as â€Å"the specific types of technology that are considered to be critical to the organization†; systemic competencies refer to â€Å"the salient characteristics and technological strengths of the IT systems† and IT governance as â€Å"issues refers to the manner in which IT systems are developed†. On the other hand, The IT architecture as â€Å"the policies and decisions made in regard to the integration of application systems, systems software, and hardware into cohesive platforms that are captured by the IT architecture dimension†; The processes are referred to as â€Å" how IT systems are planned, developed, implemented, and operated† and the skills dimension is captured by â€Å"the experience, competencies, commitments, values, and norms of the participants in the planning, development, implementation, and operation processes† [8]. B. Top-Down Alignment Model The theory consist of an input-process-output model, seven constructs, six Causal relationships and six hypotheses as shown in figure 4 The input-output-process model provides the initial bases for the theory. The Seven constructs are: the external environment, the internal environment, Planning resources, the planning process, the strategic information systems plan, the implementation of the strategic information systems plan, and the alignment of the strategic information systems plan with the organizations Business plan. These seven constructs exhibit causal relationships among each other illustrated through hypotheses [9]. 4. Knowledge Gap Based on the above, and through screening some of the existing strategic alignment models in the literature review, the researcher figured out that to achieve such an alignment there is a need to consider and integrate the following points: 1. Most of staff, if not all, is unaware of business goals, especially in the environment of Saudi Arabia [10]. 2. Important technical investments decisions are made by the IT manager alone [11]. 3. No relationship exists (Gap) between Business strategy and IT strategy [12]. 4. A lot of factors are not taken into consideration when forming strategic alignment, such as Structure, Culture, politics, and others [13]. 5. Strategic alignment models discussed only top management level and discarded other levels [14]. 6. Previous strategic alignment models are hard to be understood and implemented in reality [15]. The models discussed in the literature review may have achieved one or two of the above six points, however, there is no existing model that has achieved the above six points altogether. Based on the above, I have selected Strategic Alignment as a starting and a centre area of my research that the researcher is building on to fulfill the other points mentioned. The model that the researcher is aiming to establish, differs from the existing ones in that it will meet the requirements and challenges of the Saudi environment taking into consideration the 6 above points. 5. Research Aims Significance * To bridge the gap between Business Strategy and Information Technology Strategy through developing and designing a simple Strategic Alignment Model, that includes the essence of the major research works in addition to other strategic alignment theories available * To highlight the role of socio-cultural aspects as a critical success factor for successful IT implementation, which were not taken into consideration in the past * To measure the contribution of such a model to business performance. * To encourage Saudi Firms to use such a model to gain competitive competition. * To reduce the associated costs of implementing Information Systems in Organization 6. Research methods The researcher has used the mixed research methodology. Mixed research involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or paradigm characteristics within a stage of the study or across two of the stages of the research process. It collects data either sequentially of simultaneously to best understand research problems [16]. Advantages of using mixed research includes: the major goal for researcher who design and conduct mixed research is to follow the fundamental principle of mixed research, in other words, the researcher should mix quantitative and qualitative research methods, procedures, and paradigm characteristics in a way that the resulting mixture or combination has complementary strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses. When different approaches are used to focus on the same phenomenon, while providing the same result, is a strong evidence for the result. Other important reason for doing mixed research are to complement one set of results with another, to expand a set of results, or to discover something that would have been missed if only a quantitative or a qualitative approach had been used[17]. Questionnaire One of the most widely used research techniques can be defined as collecting data through written questions [17]. There are a number of different ways in which questionnaires can be administered; for example: posted to the intended respondents or administered over the telephone or face-to-face. A questionnaire design provides a quantitative description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population. From sample results, the researcher generalizes or makes claims about a population [18]. Interviews Interviews are considered to be the main tool of the qualitative researcher for data collection [18]. Additionally, since the interpretive stance is also being followed, interviews are viewed to be the main and appropriate source from where data has been collected. According to Walsham, interviews allow the best access to the interpretations that the participants have regarding the actions and events, which have or are taking place and the views and aspirations of themselves and other participants. An added benefit is that it allows researchers to step back and examine the interpretations of their fellow participants in some detail, and this is an advantage that other methods may not allow [18]. Data analysis Data gathered will be analyzed through frequency distributions. These will give way to reviewing the data categories and the number of referrals in each category. With relation to data analysis, the indicators that will be used in evaluating the study include the age of the respondent; the social status; the educational attainment of the respondents; the occupation of the respondents and their length of stay in the company they belong to [19]. The research has involved 4 large organizations, SABB (Saudi British Bank), Saudi Airlines, AL-Marai, and AlTawniah, where interviews have been conducted with CIOs and CEOs to have a clear idea about the companys business strategy. Also, other interviews will take place with IT directors to investigate about the Information Technology (IT) strategy and its relationship with the business strategy. In addition,2 sets of questionnaires were distributed among different levels of the organizations to come up with the types of organizational culture and the use of Information technology in those organizations. At the end, data were collected and analyzed through using SPSS software. 7. Expected Research Outcomes The results from this research are anticipated to be of great help to top managers, strategic planners, IT managers, and other work force in Saudi environment, and will contribute to the following factors: * Increasing the awareness of the importance of Strategic Alignment Model Concept. * Selling the quick wins, by having strategic alignment achieved effectively. * Showing the importance of the use of Information Technology in organizations * Identifying the organizational culture as a major factor of achieving strategic alignment. * Encouraging decision makers and top management to apply and implement strategic alignment throughout the organization. * Highlighting the weaknesses of previous strategic alignment models and the lessons learned, which would help other researchers for future work 8. Indicative Thesis Structure The thesis will contain seven chapters (tentative): Chapter 1: Introduction: Presents an overview about the research subject. It shows the importance of strategic alignment in all sectors, followed by bridging the gap between business strategy and IT strategy, and the factors that affect strategic alignment. The research aims and significance then was explained followed by a brief discussion of the research methodology, research framework, then prospected research contribution was mentioned. Chapter 2: Literature Review: Provides the literature review for this research. It begins with explaining Business strategy, Business planning and its tools, followed by a discussion of IT strategy, IT planning, and its tools. Then a discussion of strategic alignment was presented. And ended with an overview of previous strategic alignment models. Chapter 3: Research design and methodology: Describes the research design and methodology conducted in this study. It starts with discussing the research general strategy, methodology and the reasons for selecting the methods of data collection. Followed that is a detailed explanation of the quantitative and qualitative methods, were a detailed description of the design of the research instruments was presented. Chapter 4: Developing the Parameters of the Strategic Alignment Model: Presents the need for a strategic alignment Model that can bridge the gap through identifying 3 parameters: Organizational Culture, Business strategy and its domains, and IT strategy and its domains Chapter 5: Questionnaires Analysis: Discusses and examines the data collected through the questionnaires for both, identifying the organizational culture, and the use of IT in the 4 Saudi firms Chapter 6: Interviews Analysis: Talks about and analyses the data collected through the interviews in the 4 Saudi firms. Chapter 7: Conclusion and Recommendations: Proposes the new strategic alignment model, and concludes the study and gives recommendations and future directions. 9. Training Undertaken * Using electronic library resources in Sep-2006. * Stage I part A on 30/Aug/2006. * Stage I part B on 31/Aug/2006. * Stage II Part A (presentation) on 26/Jul/2007. * Stage II Part B (Academic writing) on 26/Jul/2007. 10. Review of the research Undertaken * Wrote 2 chapters of the thesis (Introduction, Overview and Background about Business Strategy, IT Strategy, and Previous Strategic Alignment Models). * Completed of first level of data gathering (questionnaires Interviews). * Passed the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Foundation Certificate. * Published two conference papers. * Presented posters at the ARU 1st 2nd Annual Research Student Conference 11. Action Plan The necessary steps for completion of the research are as follows: 1. Type of organizational culture and Information Technology use was investigated by the researcher through questionnaires(phase 1) 2. Interviews with CEOs and IT managers were conducted in terms of Business strategy and IT strategy existence(phase 1) 3. Data analysis was carried out, which involved performing statistical analysis (SPSS) into the gathered data. 4. Distributing mores questionnaires and conducting further interviews to in order to establish a relationship between Organization Culture and Strategic alignment and show its important effect on the selected Saudi firms 5. All data from the (phase1) and (phase 2) will be combined and linked together to give the base for designing the Strategic Alignment Model. 6. Design the proposed Strategic Alignment Model 7. Writing up of the PhD thesis and preparation for the oral exam. 8. The plan of work also includes writing and submitting papers, attending conferences related to the study and presenting the work. Gantt chart The following chart depicts the action plan of the project and the time expectations for each step in details and it is as follows: Years 2007 2008 2009 2010 Tasks 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 References [1] David W. Nickles, IT-BUSINESS ALIGNMENT: WHAT WE KNOW THAT WE STILL DONT KNOW, Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference of the Southern Association for Information Systems, 2005 [2] Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 9th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2006 [3] McNurlin, B.C., and Spargue, R.S., Information Systems Management in Practice, 6th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2002 [4] Raymond Pap, Introduction to Strategic Alignment, Idea Group Inc, 2001 [5] Yolanda E. Chan, Why havent we mastered Alignment? The importance of the informal organization structure, MIS Quarterly Excusive, 2002 [6] Allen, D. and Wilson, T., â€Å"Vertical trust/mistrust during information strategy formation, International Journal of Information Management, 2003 [7] Henderson, J.C. and Venkatraman, N., â€Å"Aligning business and IT strategies†, in Luftman, J.F. (Ed.), Competing in the Information Age: Strategic Alignment in Practice, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 1996 [8] Butler, T. and Fitzgerlad, B., â€Å"Enterprise Transformation and the Alignment of Business and Information Technology Strategies: Lessons from Practice, 1998 [9] Ruohoueu Parnisto, Proceedings of the First European Doctoral Seminar on Strategic Information Management, Turku centre for computer Science, 1996 [10] Hatem Tamimi, Ala M. Abu-Samaha Sufian Yousef ,Perceptions of Information Technology/Information Systems Value/ Utilisation in Saudi Organisations Proceedings of the ECIME conference, France, pp 1 12, September 20 21, 2007 [11] Bassellier, G. and Benbasat, I. (Business Competence of Information Technology Professionals: Conceptual development and influence on IT-business partnerships), MIS Quarterly 28(4): 673-694, 2004. [13] Baker, E.H. Leading Alignment, CIO Insight 1(45) 19-20, October 15, 2004. [14] Benbya, H. and McKelvey, B. (2006). Using Coevolutionary and Complexity Theories to Improve IS Alignment: A multi-level approach, Journal of Information Technology 21(4): 284-298 [15] Chan, Y.E., Sabherwal, R. and Thatcher, J.B. Antecedents and Outcomes of Strategic IS Alignment: An Empirical Investigation, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 51(3): 27-47, 2006. [16] Creswell, JW, Research design: qualitative and quantitative approaches, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California, 1994 [17] Tashakkori and Teddlie, Mixed methods in social behavioral Research, Sage Publications, Inc, 2002 [18] Denzin and Lincoln, the Landscape of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Inc, 2003 [19] Walsham, Interpretive case studies in IS Research: Nature and Method, European Journal of Information Systems, 1995 Publications 1. Hatem Tamimi, The Effect of Organizational Culture on Information Technology/Business Strategic alignment in Saudi Firms, 1st Annual Research Student Conference, ARU, Cambridge,2006 2. Hatem Tamimi, Ala M. Abu-Samaha Sufian Yousef ,Perceptions of Information Technology/Information Systems Value/ Utilisation in Saudi Organisations Proceedings of the ECIME conference, France, pp 1 12, September 20 21, 2007 3. Hatem Tamimi, The status of IS Planning in Saudi Firms, 2nd Annual Research Student Conference, ARU, Cambridge,2007 4. Hatem Tamimi, Strategic IS Plans; do they exist in Saudi Firms?, IACeT2008,The International Arab Conference on e-Technology, Arab Open University, Amman-Jordan, October 15-16, 2008 Appendix A The Designed Questionnaire Survey On Strategic Information System Planning Assessment in Saudi companies. The objective of this survey is to investigate how Saudi managers use Information Technology (computer-based information, software, database, networks, communication, and other devices) to support their Strategic Planning. Your assistance in providing information regarding how often you use IT systems, the reasons for using these systems, and whether these systems satisfy your informational needs will be greatly appreciated. This survey is conducted under the direction of Mr Mike Smith, Department of Information Technology, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK. All responses are confidential and will remain anonymous. The success of this study depends on the completeness and the quality of information you provide. We ask you to be as thorough and free as possible in answering the questions in this. Thank you for your time and cooperation! NOTE: Please answer this questionnaire only if you are a user of Information Technology (computer-based information, software, database, networks, communication, and other devices). If you are not a user of Information Technology would you ask a manager in your corporation who is to complete this questionnaire. I. PERSONAL BACKGROUND 1. Organisation name: 2.Sex (M/F): 3. Age: 4. Education: Please choice highest degree attained (Please choice one): A. High school graduate or less B. Baccalaureate Degree C. Masters Degree D. Doctorate 5. Please indicate (how many) college (University) level courses you have completed in Information Technology (Information Systems, Computer Science, Programming, Networks or Communication). (Please choice one): 0 1 2 3 4 ≠¥5 II. PRESENT JOB RESPONSIBILITIES 6. Functional area (Please choice one) : A. Accounting B. Finance C. Marketing D. Manufacturing E. Research and Development F. Personnel G. Corporate Administration H. Information Systems I. Other (Please specify): 7. A. Management Level (Please choice One): 1. First Line Supervisor or Manager 2. Mid-level Manager (Supervising other managers) 3. Executive (Top) Level Manager (Vice president, President, Chairman of the Board of Directors etc. B. Job Title: III. USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (PC, Software, Databases, Networks, Internet, and other devices): 8. Managers perform a number of Planning roles. For each of the following roles, please indicate the value of IT. (Please choice a number for each role): Decision roles Of Great Value Of Moderate Value No Value At All Does Not Apply Choice A. Capitalist (Identifies and initiates changes) 5 4 3 2 1 0 B. Trouble Handler (Handles important and unexpected troubles) 5 4 3 2 1 0 C. Resource Allocation (Approves and allocates all organisational resources 5 4 3 2 1 0 D. Negotiator (Represents the organisation at major negotiations 5 4 3 2 1 0 1. Planning consists of several steps. For each of the following steps, please indicate the value of IT. (Please choice a number for each step) : Decision steps Of Great Value Of Moderate Value No Value At All Choice A. Identifying problems or issues 5 4 3 2 1 B. Generating alternative courses of action 5 4 3 2 1 C. Evaluating the out comes of each alternative 5 4 3 2 1 D. Ranking the alternatives and choosing one 5 4 3 2 1 E. Implementing the chosen alternative 5 4 3 2 1 2. As a Planner you may use both IT-based and non IT-based in decision making. The percent of IT you use for supporting the following Planning tasks is: (Please choice a number) Decisions >80% 61% to 80% 41% to 60% 21% to 40% None Choice A. Long Term (Strategic) Planning 5 4 3 2 1 0 B. Mid-Term (Tactical) Planning 5 4 3 2 1 0 C. Short Term (Operational) Planning 5 4 3 2 1 0 3. Managers have a mental model (i.e., an image, idea, or conceptualization of the organisation) which they use for planning, controlling and operating purposes. How helpful is the Information Technology Systems (IT) you are presently using in forming or revising the mental model of your corporation? (Please choice a number): Very Helpful Moderately Not Helpful Helpful At All 5 4 3 2 1 12. How valuable is the information the existing IT provides to your mental model in guiding your planning, controlling and operating decisions? (Please choice a number): Of Great Value Of Moderate Value Of No Value At All 5 4 3 2 1 13. Overall, how important is IT for Planning that are critical to the success and effectiveness of your managerial duties? (Please choice a number): Very Important Moderately Important Not Important At All 5 4 3 2 1 Iv. SOURCES AND TOOLS USED TO OBTAIN IT-BASED INFORMATION 14. You obtain the IT-based you use for Planning mainly (Please choice one): A. By yourself B. Through a designated person C. Through a request to an information systems group D. Other (Please specify): 15. Please indicate, on the average, how many hours per week you actually use a personal computer (PC) or a terminal to obtain computer-based information which is essential for the performance of your duties. (Please choice one): A. >16 hours B. 9 -16 hours C. 5 -8 hours D. 1 -4 hours E. 16. Please indicate the average number of hours per week use each of the following hardware pieces: A. I dont use any hardware pieces. Yes/No? Hours/week hours B. 1. Stand-alone personal computer (PC) hours 2. PC or other terminal connected to an internet hours 3. PC or other terminal connected to an â€Å"On-line† distributed computer system hours 4. PC or other terminal connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) hours 5. Other (Please specify) : hours 17. Please indi

the title of Vijay Tendulkars SILENCE THE COURT IS IN SESSION :: essays research papers

SILENCE THE COURT IS IN SESSION 1) TITLE- The original title of the play is SHANTATA! COURT CHALU AHE. The words of the title are very common in law courts where the honourable judges pronounce the words to bring back order and decorum if the parties concerned or the mob present in the court become unruly or create chaos and commotion. In other words the very words SILENCE THE COURT IS IN SESSION indicate the absolute authority of the judge in the court room to decide upon the manners of others. The judge has also the final authority to pronounce contempt of court in case of breach of discipline. In a civilized society the court system is in vogue for the sake of justice. The judiciary is considered to be one of the four main pillars of democracy. In the present play Vijay Tendulkar chooses a term of judicial register as the title of his play to make a powerful comment on a society with a heavy patriarchal bias that makes justice impossible and that converts the august judicial system into an instrument of oppression of women and the vulnerable. Ideally justice can be provided only if the judge and the judicial system are objectively detached. But the same objective detachment can become the face of a very repressive and dehumanized system if the persons involved in the process of justice are themselves devoid of human value and compassion. In the present play we find how Benare becomes the victim of sadism of his male counterparts. The audience is made to witness a mere enactment of what is a rehearsal of sorts of a mock-trial to be staged later in the day. But what begins as a harmless game begins to assume a grim aspect before long. At first all the characters vie to be the accused in the mock-trial. Then, on Sukhatme’s suggestion they decide to make Benare the accused. It is notable that Benare is allotted the role of accused in her absence. As soon as Benare enters the room singing, and wiping her face on the towel, she is caught unaware by Ponkshe,†Miss Leela Benare , you have been arrested on suspicion of a crime of an extremely grave nature, and brought as a prisoner before the bar of this court.† Kashikar, assuming the role of the judge accuses Benare of the crime of infanticide. The way Benare is made the accused without her consent shows the functioning of the patriarchal system.