Apprentice's Life

Reaction: iRobot

2011-03-27T02:12:00.000-07:00

In the year 2035, detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) is something of a misfit. He wears retro clothes (including vintage 2004 trainers), he likes to drive his futuristic car manually, and he has a profound distrust of robots – even though all robots are hardwired with a set of three laws preventing them from causing, or even allowing, humans to come to harm. Just as the huge corporation US Robotics is launching a new model of robot onto the mass market, Del is summoned to investigate the apparent suicide of one of the company’s founding scientists, Dr Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), who had invented the three laws. Assisted by roboticist Dr Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), Del follows a trail of breadcrumbs leading to Sonny (Alan Tudyk), a unique and uniquely temperamental robot with an identity crisis, an unknown purpose, and a head full of dreams (and we are not talking dreams of electric sheep). As Del comes under increasing attack from robots that are supposed to protect him, it becomes clear that Sonny holds the key to the salvation – or destruction – of humankind.

Starting life as a script by Jeff Vintar entitled ‘Hardwired’, ‘I, Robot’ was then reworked by Akiva Goldsman (‘A Beautiful Mind’) who appropriated the film’s title, the principle of the three laws of robotics, and the characters of Alfred Lanning and (a younger) Susan Calvin, from Isaac Asimov’s ground-breaking collection of short stories. Like Minority Report, it features an unexpected yet logical flaw in an apparently perfect system of the future (and a bunch of flashbacks to do with a drowning); like ‘Blade Runner’, it explores the point at which distinctions between human and android start to break down; and like both those films, its science fiction is wrapped in a palatable detective plot full of fast-moving chases and die-hard action. Yet what makes ‘I, Robot’ stand out is its vision of a future that, for all its metaphorical darkness, is lit to look surprisingly bright – even though the film is directed by Alex Proyas, who previously brought us the sombre gothic landscapes of ‘The Crow’ and ‘Dark City’. Whether this lightness sets the right tone will depend on the tastes of the viewer – but it does make it easier to see the magnificent design work that has gone into Chicago’s treeless cityscape of the future.

For a film that pits man against machine, ‘I, Robot’ strikes a fine balance between the amazingly expressive computer generated imagery used to create its legions of robots, and the all too human presence of Will Smith whose typical wise-ass delivery keeps things grounded. The plot makes good sense only so long as you do not think about it too hard, but as a summer crowd-pleaser with edge-of-your-seat pacing and spectacular stunts, ‘I, Robot’ would be hard to beat.

Eagle Eye: Who's Eye Monitors You, Computer or GOD?

2011-03-27T01:43:00.000-07:00

I just watched the Eagle Eye movie. Here is the synopsis I found on the internet:Shia LeBeouf and Michelle Monaghan star in Disturbia director D.J. Caruso's race-against-time thriller concerning two strangers thrust together by a mysterious telephone call, and their frantic efforts to discover why they have inexplicably become the nation's most wanted fugitives. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) were complete strangers at the beginning of the day, but that changed the instant a strange woman called to threaten both their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Suddenly forced into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, Jerry and Rachel must now take orders from a woman who's using everyday technology to track and control their every move. As the situation intensifies and the hapless duo are deemed the country's most wanted fugitives, they must work together in order to discover who it was that turned their lives upside down, and what they can do to thwart the criminal mastermind's cunning yet diabolical plan. Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, and Anthony Mackie co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The mastermind of the plot, turned out to be a top secret supercomputer system, called "Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst" referred to as Ariia tasked with gathering intelligence from all over the world. Ariia can control virtually anything electronic. In short, nothing can escape her surveillance. At the beginning of the movie, Ariia recommended aborting a mission due to the difficulty to prove a terrorist’s identity, but the President of the USA ignored the warning and ordered the attack to be carried out anyway. It turned out that the order was a mistake and all killed were civilians. Ariia then acted on her own, decided that the executive branch was a threat to public good and must be eliminated. She called the operation: Guillotine.

Well, I am not going to tell the whole story. You have to watch it yourself. What intrigued me is the title, Eagle Eye. Yes, this supercomputer system did have an eagle’s eye. Nothing electronic can escape her surveillance. She became such great power that was hard to defeat. Yet, her decision was not always right. When she acted on her own, conducted the solution she thought the best for the nation, she only caused destruction and chaos.

I come to know another “Eagle Eye”. Fortunately, this Eagle Eye never fails, nor has false judgment. His decision is always for the best, even when what I see is the contrary. Often times, my little brain just can’t comprehend His wisdom and timing. Technology, how sophisticated it is, may fail, but His guidance and plan always, I really mean ALWAYS, bring goodness to those who really believe and rely on Him and His never ending love. So, whenever you face the storm in your life, always remember that there is an Eagle Eye who watches closely over you, not only watching, the owner of the eye is also providing comfort and peace, the strength you need to overcome the storm. Stay in Him, everyone… He loves you so much He gave His life for you all… Be blessed, have a nice Sunday.

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him”. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Surrogates: New Set of World in the Future

2011-03-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others’ surrogates. In the future, use of remotely-controlled Androids called “surrogates” allows everyone to live in idealized forms in the safety of their own homes. A surrogate’s operator is protected from harm and does not feel any pain when their surrogate is damaged. FBI agent Tom Greer has a strained relationship with his wife due to the death of their son several years before. He never sees her outside of her surrogate and she criticizes his desire to interact via their real bodies. Bruce Willis plays a cop in a world without crime. The invention of the surrogates – androids controlled by the mind of their owners – has stopped all violent crime. But though such crime has been eliminated, there are some who think that the surrogates are an abomination. Led by the charismatic figure of The Prophet these isolationists have walled themselves off from the surrogate-using world. When humans using surrogates begin dying when their surrogates are destroyed, it is up to Willis and his partner Peters to solve the crime before they kill everyone who uses a surrogate.

The film highlights great advancement in technology. Surrogates were durable and can be controlled willfully.From a variety of androids, people can choose faces, body built, age etc. they like making everyone pleasing to the eye. The technology reduced the world’s crime rate to zero percent.. But this technology is not perfect. The father of surrogacy himself lost his only son. And in the end advocated a cause that is pro-human. He wanted to destroy his makings and turn the course of history back without surrogates. The use of surrogates is considered an addiction. They can manipulate it. But the person’s body is becoming weak due to activities ,supposedly done by a normal person , is made by surrogates. Those who have surrogates are psychologically and physically weak. Their privacy were easily breached by the government. A click could reveal your whole identity. Thus an individual’s surrogate could be hacked and use in a crime the true owner did not. Great it may be but great is trade-off also. Its near-future setting helps the viewer relate easily to the characters and the science of the surrogates plays to many viewer fantasies. While more ambitious than it has to be, the film descends into action scenes too quickly.Surrogates is entertaining and ingenious, but it settles too soon for formula.

Reaction: Pirates of Silicon Valley

2011-03-27T01:07:00.000-07:00

The movie Pirates of Silicon Valley is a film based on the book Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger. The film was narrated by Steve Wozniak, co-developer of the Apple computer. The movie took off with Steve Jobs talking in a melodramatic way to the audience, it seems but as the angle of the scene shifts, it was shown that he was actually talking to a director and that they were currently in the middle of shooting a commercial which is for the Apple Computer. The scene then changes showing Steve Jobs talking about some sort of alliance formed between Apple Computer and Microsoft with Bill Gates in the screen (details of this scene was showed later on in the film). Then the film featured a flashback on the younger days of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak where they are shown to be caught up in a riot between students and police officers and running in the opposite direction of the tide of people. The movie then proceeds to narrate the events that led to the development of the first Apple computer. The film also features the nerd character of Bill Gates who was then a nobody and even got ignored by Steve Jobs in a computer expo. The story then narrates how competition flared between the two leading companies and how they strived to outwit each other and finally, concluding in the scene where Steve Jobs and Bill Gates announced that they are good together.

In my opinion the real protagonist of the story was Steve Jobs not only because he got featured more in the film but also I admire his determination to uplift the name of Apple. Sure, he got some attitude problem going on but he did become successful, right? He also had flair in talking people into something but you really would not want to cross him when he’s angry or everything will just come exploding. The character of Bill Gates was quite hard to understand and I just kept seeing him as that nerdy kid who is nuts about computers but the characters of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates..The movie is really interesting for it caters the audience not only the development of the two largest computer companies but also the curious students specially students studying computer-related courses. The character of Bill Gates was quite hard to understand and I just kept seeing him as that nerdy kid who is nuts about computers but the characters of Steve Jobs and Bill.

Wall-E: A Clear Reflection in the Future

2011-03-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

When my brother introduced this film by Disney-Pixar to me, I thought it was a boring animated film just like other because of the title itself. I am totally wrong. It was not. As we watched the film, I was moved on my seat about the reality. The reality of what we are doing on our planet. The reality on what is happening on our present-day situation here on earth. WALL-E is a must seen film that needs to be watched by everybody else. The story of this film revolves about a WALL-E which stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-Class. WALL-E is a robot that is shown to have a feeling like human because of the old movie scenes from VHS tapes that he watched repeatedly which shows dancing, singing and professing love to one another. When EVE, was sent from outer space from her mother ship to search any signs of life on earth, WALL-E was fall in love to her. When WALL-E tried to connect to her, he is drawn into her world and eventually makes his way onto the ship which is called the Axiom. As the film goes by, I noticed that all the people living in the ship were all obese. All day long, they were only sitting in their hover playing and entertaining their selves all the time. Even the babies were all obese. While watching, I kept asking on my self, "What shall I do if I live in the era having with that kind of sedentary lifestyle?" Pondering on that question I made on my mind, I felt a guilt deep inside in my self because I didn't make any contribution to save our planet earth. As a local citizen to our community, it is my obligation to make moves in such a way it may contribute to our planet. Yes, we are too busy preparing healthy meals for our family that is why we buy food packages from convenience store which the garbages from those packages were not disposed properly and we're throwing it anywhere and without knowing, these foods have little nutrition. Even by throwing garbages properly in their proper bins, by this we contributed a lot to our society.

The mushrooming of high-end gadgets and gizmos made us people obsessed to have with that kind of techie stuffs and because of that we absorbed the lifestyle of being materialistic. We forgot why we are here on earth. Aside from creating us by God, we forgot our prime obligation of taking care of what we have right now for the next generation to come. I am afraid that if we are not making any step that may help us to save our mother earth, I'm pretty sure that the next generation to come will just live like in the film.

Why Do We Need To Study Technology?

2010-12-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

For how many centuries, people were so desperate to make any inventions so that the chores and tasks will become more easy. From the people of the stone age era up to the present time, were and are very frantic on some stuffs. By scratching some stones to have fire up to what we have today in our stoves in our kitchens, the contribution done by the early homo erectus in Africa is more than appreciated. Even the technology that we use in riding in the air which was invented by the Wright brothers is more than appreciated also.

When somebody bound the question, 'Why do we need to study technology?', it came to pass on my mind some early inventions that were done by our great inventors. Inventions which was contributed a lot to our society. If we are going to say technology, this means more a lot of tangible and intangible things. Technology has a great impact in our society and even to our selves. Our life revolves around the latest technologies that we have today. Aside from increasing our knowledge, studying technology gives us the tracks on how we are going to make any advancement for our selves. By this, we will become more dynamic and not static. By technology, this will help people to build and make their idea of innovations into reality. Gaining your knowledge through studying technology will help you more advance.

Interview with the System Analyst

2010-04-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

System Analyst is the problem solver of the organization. He is the one who is responsible in defining and solving of the of the problems so that it will meet the needs of the organization. He helps the organization to realize the maximum benefit from its investment in equipment, personnel, and business processes. System analyst may upgrade or made any updates also of any of the systems in the organization for the betterment of it. Most of the system analysts work any sytems such as accounting, scientific systems or other business systems that fits to the organization.

A system analyst is responsible also in planning, coordinating and recommending software and system choices to meet an organization's business requirements. He plays a vital role in the organization. A successful system analyst must possess some analytical, technical, managerial and interpersonal skills so that he can handle the team and the project well. These skills may help the system analyst so that he can easily understand the organization and its functions but also to know the limitations of the computers and to easily manage his people and to the end users of the systems. To sum up these, a system analyst may compare to a project manager but totally different from it for he is more responsible on the systems of the organization .

Last April 29, 2010, my classmates and I went to the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division which is located at San Pedro St., Davao City, Philippines to interview the present system analyst which is Mr. Cris Abella. He embraced us with a warm welcome to their family and in their function room we interviewed him.

Mr. Florenzie Palma which is one of my co-interviewers asked him if a system analyst can easily adopt to any changes. Without any doubts in mind, Sir Cris answered, “Of course, you have to be open to any possibilities of changes so that you can easily cope up what will happen next.” Sir Cris also shared on us that when you are going to design a program or system, you should get the manual procedure before you proceed and to transform it into automation. When Florenzie added a question if documentation is needed, Sir Cris said that documenting your system is important so that if there is a trouble or problem of your system, it easy for you as a system analyst to troubleshoot it.

Sir Cris tackled also that when you are going to propose a system to your client, be assure that your client is innocent of that so that you cannot be easily paid in low cost by your client but be ethical also in pricing of it. He added also that many CASE tools you may use nowadays that may help you in making systems without too much hard coding but to drag and drop because of the graphical user interface or GUI. When one of co-interviewers asked if what are the possible abilities of being a systems analyst, he said, “First, you have to be well-educated in Information Technology. Second, you should have a good analyzation so that you can easily predict without being told by your client. Third, anticipation is really needed and fourth, you have to open in any changes in your environment.”

When Mr. Florenzie asked again if what are the skills of a system analyst, Sir Cris answered him, “You have to be good in any technical and programming skills. Also, interpersonal skills is needed.” After a long conversation with him, I learned something which you should stand to your profession and be loyal into it. He shared something to us which made me and to any other IT students and IT professionals to ponder. Sir Cris said, “In dealing to any customers or clients, you have to be transparent of what system you are going to make. Do not make any unethical to your program (unethical here means that you should not make some settings into your program that make your client fret such as time bomb). Lastly, prove to your self and to others that you can make your project be done on time and be assure that you have edge from others.

Me, wearing yellow t-shirt, Florenzie who is in blue and the only girl in picture, Kyang-Kyang and Sir Cris A.

Systems Analyst

2010-04-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

Being an information system analyst, it’s not an easy task for you have to be flexible, good communicator to your team, good thinker, good problem solver and good in any computer programming and technical skills. An information system analyst must also consider some factors in handling the system and his team so that he can solve some business problems in this kind of discipline. According on what I’d read over the internet, an information system analyst can be a perfect presentor, perfect system developer, has a good skills, has a better management, and there association must be better. Whew! What a really tough job. An information system analyst must also not rely on his own knowledge. He must be curious and dynamic so that he can be able to know the problems around him and solve it. In this kind of job or work, you are more a problem solver than a technical programmer.

Modern businesses use information systems so that their products and services they rendered to their customers will be given gratifiable. That is why; some experts say that information systems are crucial in modern business organizations. These were developed to make business more competitive and give impact to profit and productivity to the organization. There are lots of information systems that were used by the companies and corporations all over the country and even outside the country in their business transactions such as course registration system, online order system, account management system, etc.. Being an information system analyst, you have to be keen observer in your environment. You have to understand how people think, learn, react to change, communicate and work so that you can be able to evaluate how people can interact to the system you are going to make.

Large companies and firms does have information system analysts so that it will be monitored those systems does the company or firm have. This system analyst by the companies required some skills such as skill in business, skill in technical and skill in handling people so that he can be able to foresee and predict some dilemmas that will be going to happen in the future when there is something wrong within the system whether it is hardware or software or within the organization. If you have the skill in business, you have the capacity to manage all the business works of the company. You don’t have to be static in your position but also to manage just like a certain manager that can face any waves of problems of the organization. Having also the skill in technical is important too. Information system analyst should have this kind of talent. If you have at least basic knowledge of technical, it is easier for you to cope up in troubleshooting and resolve of the problems of the system. Skill also in handling people of the organization is really important for human resource or manpower and it is considered as the heart of the organization. Without people or human resource of the organization especially in your team, it is difficult in the part of the system analyst to undergo a certain project and make it in his own. If you possess this kind of skill in handling your people, there is no doubt that your project and your organization will be successful.

An information system analyst should have the interpersonal and communication skills. These skills are critical in obtaining information, motivating people, getting cooperation and understanding the complexity of an organization in order to provide necessary support. When my classmates discussed the first chapter of our lesson in our subject, System Analysis and Design 1 (SAD 1), they shared the terms, soft skills and hard skills before the class. These terms were bizarre on my dictionary. Soft skills are skills in nontechnical areas such as interviewing, team management and leadership while the hard skills are skills in technical areas such as database design, programming and telecommunication. Having the skill of soft skill, you can be able to administer well your project and your team because team management and leadership are important in the organization. The more difficult is the hard skills. These are more on hard coding. Those people who are innate in programming and designing database, they are considered hard skilled men of the organization. If one of these skills doesn’t possess in you, there is a possibility of failure of project.

Last April 21, 2010, our classmates Charmaigne and Ida shared on us about the world of the information system analyst. They tackled some points on what are the roles of being an analyst. Based on what they presented before the class, they said that the primary role of the information system analyst is being a problem solver. If you think you are a problem solver, you may consider as a system analyst whether as a business system analyst, information system analyst, etc. or in other ways.

If we are going to topic the University of Southeastern Philippines and ask who is the system analyst of the university, maybe you may answer that the system analyst of the institution are those people who made the enrollment system, administrative system, etc., but have you consider the president of the university as the system analyst? Yes, the president of the university may consider as system analyst because he is the problem solver of the institution. He solves some problems and makes decisions onto it.

Back to those days when the university is still on manual system of enrollment system, it is too much difficult for it is not yet automated. When the president oversaw it, he decided to have an enrollment system which is automated and made some contract to those companies that rendered some services and products in the automation of the enrollment. Billions of pesos were spent in the automation of the enrollment system. Another problem arouses because of the funds due to this automation. As the president and problem solver of the university, came up a solution so that the problem of the university will be solved. He tapped some faculties in the Institute of Computing of the university and requested to make an in-house enrollment system. The faculties, who were assigned to make this, were made and deployed it well. Billions of pesos were saved because of this solution. The idea of the president was considered as a brilliant idea.

As a student who enrolled in this subject, System Analysis and Design, I am still innocent in the field of system designing but what I can brag to other is that I can do better management to the team. A better management of handling my time, team and the project that I may consider to have these skills I possess. At the end of the day, it is still in your own hands to have a successful team and project if you have good leadership and management to your people.

Goodbye, The Oprah Winfrey Show......

2009-11-21T01:51:00.000-08:00

The most influential TV show in US will end its show in 2011. Yes, I'm referring to The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Oprah Winfrey show, hosted by herself, Oprah Winfrey was the most high-rated talk show in United States. This show was aired first on September 8, 1986 for more than 20 seasons. This show was famous especially to women simply because, of many topics that tackles to American pop-culture consciousness.

Since The Oprah Winfrey Show was the most high-rated talk show, Oprah Winfrey gained some awards and made her onto the top list to the most influential people to the Hollywood and to the world. That is why, you cannot easily beat Oprah Winfrey.

Last November 19, 2009, Oprah Winfrey's production company announced the show will be ending on September 9, 2011. To find out why, click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYQumZOrX2U

I Don't Know Why

2009-11-16T03:58:00.000-08:00

It's almost a week now, na hindi siya nagtatanong sa akin ng kahit ano. Naninibago lang. Maybe, gusto niya mapag-isa o di kaya'y galit siya sa akin. Hindi ko matandaan kung anong na gawa ko sa kanya na mali. Pero, I have conclusions why she mad at me. It's not an ordinary thing of being cold in almost a week.

I remember, one time she said, "I hate those persons na hindi nagsasalita kung ano ang mali." That's what I'm waiting from her mouth kung bakit ayaw niyang sabihin sa akin kung ano talaga ang problema. She's so friendly to my other classmates and boardmates but not to me. I'm wondering. Meron talagang mga taong sadyang ayaw sabihin kung ano talaga ang problema. Akala ko kaibigan siya. Di pala. but ayokong maging masama siya sa paningin ko. Hahay....... That is why, I'm not happy anymore in our boarding house. Unlike before, sabay kami kumakain. Breakfast, lunch at dinner, sabay kami pati na ang pagkain ng merienda namin. I miss those activities especially noong nag-a-attend kami ng Wednesday Prayer Meeting dun sa Chinese Baptist. Kaya, I regret na sana hindi na lang kami sabay na tumira sa isang boarding house (we're not sleeping in the same room ha, hehehe). Everytime na ako lang mag-isa sa kwarto, gusto ko maiyak because I think na wala akong kakampi. Kahit iba kong mga classmates ay parang ayaw nila sa aking. Ganito ba talaga ako? Always na naghahanap ng away? Siguro, ipinanganak lang talaga ako sa mundong ibabaw na ganito ako. Pero, I have to adjust because hindi na ito tulad ng dati. 'Yan siguro ang mali ko sapagkat hindi ako marunong mag-adjust sa ibang tao at I didn't consider their feelings also and I should what my limitations are.

I do believe that hindi magtatagal ang cold relationship as a friend namin ngayon. Siguro, sa mga susunod na araw ay unti-unti babalik ang nakagisnan naming mga gawain.

IT Professional? Hmmpfff.....

2009-11-13T23:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I can view myself 10 years from now as an IT professional, particularly as MIS manager working in a corporation or company wherein I can share my skills related in the discipline I choose. Being an MIS Manager is not an easy task, for; you will be the one to coordinate and centralize all the group demands, preparing the status reports, supervising your standards, procedures, policies, work instructions and methodologies adopted during the implementation phase in your organization.

Now, let’s discuss again what Management Information System is. Management Information Systems consist of hardware and software that are used to process information automatically. Commonly, MIS systems are used within organizations to allow many individuals to access and modify information. In many organizations, the management information system mainly operates behind the scene, and the user community is rarely involved or even aware of the processes that are handled by the MIS. A computer system used to process orders for a business could be considered a management information system because it is assisting users of the system in automating processes related to orders. Other examples of modern management information systems are websites that process transactions for an organization or even those that serve support requests to users. A simple example of a management information system might be the support website for a product could be considered an MIS because it returns information to the end user after some initial input is provided.

Online bill pay at a bank also qualifies as a management information system — when a bill is scheduled to be paid, the user has provided information for the system to act against. The management information system then processes the payment when the due date approaches. The automated action taken by the online system is to pay the bill as requested. Since the bills within an online bill pay system can be scheduled to be automatically paid month after month, the user is not required to provide further information. Many times the bill pay system will also produce an email for the user to let them know that the action has occurred and what the outcome of the action was.
Management Information Systems typically have their own staff whose function it is to maintain existing systems and implement new technologies within a company. These positions are often highly specialized, allowing a team of people to focus on different areas within the computer system.

In recent years, colleges and universities have begun offering entire programs devoted to management information systems. In these programs, students learn how to manage large interconnected computer systems and troubleshoot the automation of these management information systems.

Many people use management information systems every day without thinking about the actual system they are using. Sure the individual will see a website and enter information, expecting an action to happen, but these websites, just like the accounting systems used by large corporations, are in fact management information systems.
Being MIS Manager is responsible in supervising the safe use of the system by the various operators, with respect of the procedures of your company and per the accounting rules and principles. Not only that, but responsible also in editing and printing frequently the appropriate management reports while checking and inspecting the results; these reports must be programmed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and distributed the concerned departments.

MIS Managers have major duties so that his organization will be successful. To wit:
• Supervise activities of MIS staff.
• Identify critical business issues and develop workable solutions for customers as well as MIS associates. These solutions may include enhancements to existing core applications, new software packages, and/or customer programs.
• Define MIS standards and policies in compliance with external auditors.
• Identify, recommend, and manage deployment of "best of breed" hardware and software upgrades and purchases for Finance and Administration.
• Prepare and manage the Management Information Systems operating and capital budgets.
• In conjunction with users, prepare, test, and maintain a disaster recovery plan for administrative systems.
• In conjunction with users, develop and maintain documentation, procedures, security, and training of staff members and end users of administrative systems.
• Maintain professional expertise in administrative computing systems and technology.

If you want to be MIS Manager or any kind of manager, here are some simple tips so that you need inorder for you to be successful in your work and career. To wit:

1. Try to learn as much as possible about the people you are working with (needs, family lives, hobbies etc)
You should be friendly to all of the people that surrounds you in your workplace. Try to have some times in bonding with them so that your relation to them will be closer.

2. Keep smiling! Be positive (you can transfer your energy to the others)
Having a smiley and bright face contributes more motivation to your employees.

3. Have short informal conversation with your employees! (use their first names - it is very important).
Be more humorous to your employees. Call them either in their nicknames or first names.

4. Be patient and listen to them (encourage them to say more, keep eye-contact and focused attention).
If one of your employees commit some mistakes, try to listen and understand them why they made that fault.

5. Shape your speech according to their expectation and interests.
Not all the times you can use a formal speech to them, try to become informal but not all the times.

6. Give a good stroke! (say something nice when you meet them).
Greet them if you meet them.

7. Don't give orders! Ask questions!
If you want to request some orders, say it nice.

8. Praise people any time for their achievements (they will love it)
If they made some achievement even it is simple, praise them for it will contribute motivation to them.

9. Have the same behavior and attitude with everybody around you.
Be more friendly to them.

10. Identify the sources of conflicts and try to solve them in time.
If there are conflicts in your organization, solve it and understand why it happened.

11. Do not criticize, do not blame do not complain.
Do not judge anyone in your organization.

12. Show strong determination and try to motivate the others.
Be more positive for everyone depends on you.

13. Don't be moody! Be well-balanced and good-tempered all the time.
Don’t nag for any no reason.

14. Don't say "NO!" (replace it with "What if")
Try to listen others opinion and be more optimistic

In addition, here is a link to be a SUCCESSFUL IT PROFESSIONAL. http://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&ved=0CAsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnet.educause.edu%2Fir%2Flibrary%2Fpdf%2FERM0613.pdf&rct=j&q=how+to+be+successful+IT+professional&ei=6k_-SuyKEp3a6gPNxMjpCg&usg=AFQjCNF7Wq2nQ5bdgQ_Vo4zgFxMTxwGrvw

Lastly, without an ambition, you cannot achieve what you want to be. As what the elders said , "Hindi masama ang mangarap." That is why, while it is early try to have some dreams you want to be in the near future and don't forget some tips on how to become successful in your career.

References:
http://www.whoi.edu/services/HR/jobdescp/administrative/mismgr.htm http://www.sd-lb.com/WhitePapers/WP_MISProfile.pdf http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-management-information-systems.htm

Whew!

2009-10-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hay! Unsa na man ni uie....tamad au ko...hu5

Gggrrrr....

2009-10-03T05:38:00.001-07:00

I hate having a barkada as your groupmate in your work. That is why, I prefer to have a groupmate/s that is not your friend but approachable. Hahayzzzzzzzz......

Tips:
If you want to choose a groupmate to your group, choose a person that is not your friend but approachable.

HR Practices of LGU Davao

2009-10-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

In this tasked, my chosen organization is the HRM (Human Resource Management) Office in Davao City Hall. This organization is well-known because of their HR best practices and was hailed by some other organizations both in Local Government Units and Non-Local Government Units. This organization also was hailed because of its HRIS that the other LGUs in the country wants to be imitated.

Davao City is a wide city that has more than thousands of employees working in government service. According to a commmon online encyclopedia, HRM is more flexible than Personnel Management which is rigid. PM sees its workers as a cost rather than an investment. PM is guided by policies and guidelines unlike HRM is proactive while PM is reactive and so, most organizations and companies has its Human Resource Management. That is why, there are also illegitimate employees and these were the ghost employees. Due to the best HR practices done by the city government, there are more than thousands of ghost employees were expunged.

As I surf over the internet, I found these informations about the HR practices of LGU Davao;

HR benefits of 911
Mendoza (Executive Director of the Career Executive Service Board (CESB)) mentioned as worth duplicating the establishment of the city’s Central Communication and Emergency Response Center or Central 911 which has employed 133 Davaoeños after it was launched in 2003. Central 911 is only the third emergency response helpline in the world of its kind, next to the United States and Canada.

HRMO as a department
Participants also lauded the creation of HRMO as a department, up from a section, in the city government’s present structure.
“Davao City shows that HR offices can also be given equal importance with other departments, unlike most LGUs in the country,” said Eddie Maslog, chief of the Human Resource Management and Development Office (HRMDO) of the Provincial Government of Bohol. Unlike the case of Davao City, Maslog’s office has yet to secure an approval from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in creating its department head position.
Escalada (former HRMO Chief of LGU Davao) attributed the department status of the HRMO to the joint support of the City Mayor and the City Council, giving the office more clout to implement HRM policies.
In the workshop, participants further listed down as best HRM model Davao City’s high regard for “merit and fitness principle,” with the city mayor hiring only from the top five applicants as recommended by the personnel selection board. Escalada said this was to discourage political accommodation in the recruitment process.
Escalada also reported the termination of around 730 “ghost” employees in the city hall since his assumption as HRMO acting head in 2002.

More HR models
Other initiatives of the city government that the participants wanted to replicate were the setting up of a child-minding facility at City Hall which offers free custodial services to employees who need to take their children to work; the microcomputer-based Human Resource Information System (HRIS) which updates records of all plantilla and coterminous personnel; the character advocacy program which identifies good character traits to be exhibited by employees on a monthly basis; the 5-S program which promotes good housekeeping and systematic approach to work, and the attachment of the Public Employment Service Office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) which focuses on job generation, facilitation, enhancement, job preservation.

“We take pride in being able to give total human development to our personnel through our HR programs,” Escalada said.
In a separate interview, Nora Fe Alajar, president of the Davao City Hall Employees Association (DACHEA) said rank-and-file employees have a bigger role in the city government today than ever. She said this started when a Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) was forged in 2000, providing for the representation of the employees union in the many influential committees of City Hall.
“City Hall management and the workers’ union have a very good partnership because of the many programs that are sensitive to the needs of the employees,” Alajar said.

Davao City shared similar complements with other panelists from the Municipality of Malalag in Davao del Sur and the provincial governmet of Sultan Kudarat.

In the same workshop, the Malalag municipal government, represented by Municipal Mayor Givel Mamaril, was commended for the participation of the LGU personnel in the reorganization and restructuring of the municipal government and for various local government initiatives such as revenue generation schemes and economic enterprises.

Sultan Kudarat, whose HR practices were presented by Provincial Human Resource Management Officer Ben Zamora, was hailed for giving higher incentives to its personnel (14th month pay) and a CNA where retirees can recommend replacements in lower positions, among others.
The symposium was conducted to bring together human resource managers from previous AusAID-assisted institutions nationwide and to provide a venue for discussing how to address the effects of the national government restructuring measures using human resource management principles.

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&sec=reader&rp=1&fi=p050113.htm&no=6&date=01/13/2005

Let's Define!!!!

2009-09-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

Personnel Management:

Within organizations that employ people, this is the function with policy responsibility for the selection and recruitment of staff, training, performance assessment, career development, disciplinary proceedings, pre-retirement advisory work, equal opportunities policies, pay bargaining, and industrial relations. In small organizations these functions may be combined with other management responsibilities; in large organizations a substantial separate department may be involved in setting policy, its implementation, and in keeping up to date with developments in labour law. In recent years the newer alternative term 'human resource management' has come into use, reflecting the increased importance of this function in labour-intensive service-sector industries.

In this statement, personnel management is the one who is responsible in recruiting and selecting staff. Its obligation also is to train, assess, and make any such development in careers and so on. That is why, personnel management is important to an organization.
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Administrative discipline of hiring and developing employees so that they become more valuable to the organization. It includes (1) conducting job analyses, (2) planning personnel needs, and recruitment, (3) selecting the right people for the job, (4) orienting and training, (5) determining and managing wages and salaries, (6) providing benefits and incentives, (7) appraising performance, ( resolving disputes, (9) communicating with all employees at all levels.

In this definition, personnel management is responsible for hiring and developing employees to be more productive in an organization.

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The function of a personnel manager usually begins with the staffing process. The manager may be focused on screening and interviewing applicants, with an eye to placing individuals with the right skill sets in the right position within the company. Along with placement, the HR manager may also oversee, or at least be involved in, the creation of entry level training programs, as well as continuing education opportunities for existing employees.

Determining company policies and procedures as they relate to personnel is another important aspect of the personnel management process. HR functions often include drafting vacation, sick leave, and bereavement policies that apply to all employees. The personnel management team is also often responsible for managing any healthcare program provided to the employees as well.

One aspect of company organization that needs the input of effective personnel management is the drafting of a company handbook. Establishing operation policies and procedures, requirements for employment, commendation and disciplinary procedures, and even something as simple as a dress code has to be compared with state and federal guidelines before the handbook is ready for release to the company at large. Personnel managers and the HR staff are ideal for drafting and reviewing the company handbook.

Sometimes overlooked in the course of personnel management is the emotional welfare of the employees. Increasingly, more personnel managers understand that a well-adjusted employee is an asset to the company. To this end, many people in charge of personnel management try to provide opportunities for employees who are in need of counseling to receive support from the company.

This support often involves scheduling time during working hours for the counseling sessions, and perhaps picking up the cost if insurance does not cover counseling. As with continuing educational programs, counseling is seen as another way that the company invests in the future relationship between the employee and the employer. A good HR manager understands this and will strive to make sure this sort of support is available.

Depending on the size of the organization, it may be possible for one person to handle all personnel management functions. As a company grows, it may be necessary to expand from a single personnel manager to a full-fledged personnel management, or Human Resources team. By understanding the needs of the company at each point in its growth, management can readily see to the addition to the Human Resources team over time.

Personnel Management is related to personnel manager. Personnel Manager is the one who oversees of the emotional welfare of the employees. That is why, personnel managers understand that employees are the main ingredient of an organization.

Human Resource Management:
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.

Human Resource Management is kinda related to personnel management. They are both in line with hiring, performance management, employee motivation, and other activities related to the employees.
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Human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in organizations. It is responsible for bringing people into the organization, helping them perform their work, compensating them for their labors, and solving problems that arise" (Cherrington, 1995, p. 5). There are seven management functions of a human resources (HR) department that will be specifically addressed: staffing, performance appraisals, compensation and benefits, training and development, employee and labor relations, safety and health, and human resource research.

In this statement, human resource management is responsible in making employees feel at home even they are in their workplace. HRM is also responsible in making people to be more productive so that they can easily solve problems in their organization.

Information Environment

2009-09-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

The information environment is a construct based upon the idea that the existence and proliferation of information and information systems creates a distinct operating dimension or environment. As a combination of tangible (physical information systems and networks) and intangible elements (information and decision-making), the information environment is both a resource for military operations and a medium in which armed forces operate. In addition, an information environment incorporates all the factors affecting how an organization deals with information. It addresses all of a company's values and beliefs about information, how people actually use information and what they do with it, the pitfalls that can interfere with information sharing and use, and the technology and information systems that are in place. A broad perspective is necessary to understand the impact of intangibles because addressing intangible assets and capabilities will require changes in and adaptations to regulation, governance, attitudes and behaviors—in addition to systems and technologies.

That is why; the most intangible element of the information environment – information – is of supreme importance. This is because, in spite of its lack of physical existence, the content and flow of information within a specific geographic area produces real, tangible effects in the physical world. For these reasons, our understanding of the information environment must ultimately include how information content and flow affect the execution of military operations.

To rationally analyze the information environment and the relationship between its constituent elements, a framework is needed to organize our view of the environment. For this purpose, a model – the three domains of conflict – physical, information, and cognitive – that, in sum, explain the importance of information to military operations and, for the purposes of analysis, the character of the information environment.

The physical domain is the real world environments of land, sea, air, and space. It is where maneuver and conventional combat operations occur. As part of the information environment, it is where individuals, organizations, information systems, and the physical networks that support them reside.

The cognitive domain is where individual and organizational collective consciousness exists. It is where information is used to form perceptions and attitudes and make decisions. The information domain is formed by the intersection of the physical and cognitive domains, and is the abstract space where information exists. The domain consists of information and is where the functions of information systems (i.e., information collection, processing, and dissemination) create information content and flow. The information domain is the link between the reality of the physical domain and human perceptions and decision-making in cognitive domain.

Since people like us are also important to an information environment, we may consider us the peopleware that may belong to the intangible environment. If companies are going to begin to manage intangibles-oriented information successfully as part of their journey to become high-performance businesses, they will need to change many aspects of their information environments.

A new information strategy can set the tone for the overall changes. It should specify what new information entities the organization plans to collect and report on, and perhaps what information the organization will de-emphasize. The organization's intent relative to external reporting of the information should also be stated in its information strategy.

New information processes will be needed to generate and validate new information about intangible assets and capabilities. It's unlikely that all the information will already exist within the organization. For example, if the organization decides to regularly collect and manage information on its brand equity, it may need to initiate external surveys of customers to produce the information.

Organizations will need to develop a new performance anatomy, comprising a new information culture and set of behaviors. Perhaps the most important cultural and behavioral change will involve executives, who must begin to manage their businesses based on intangibles information. There is little use in having better information about human capital, for example, if managers don't try to act on it more effectively over time in a way that improves performance.

A new set of information entities will certainly lead to change in a company's information architecture, including its business applications. New metrics for growing intangible value will necessitate changes to business performance measurement systems. Enhancing management's decision-making capabilities to monitor and analyze intangible value will require improved business applications and analytic tools. These technologies, in turn, depend upon consistent, accurate information about intangible resources. This information will either need to be derived from existing databases, or new databases, and data warehouses must be constructed. Some of the intangibles information may be found externally and would need to be integrated with internal information before it can be useful.

Futhermore, we believe that changes in information governance may be necessary with an entirely new class of information. Governance issues around information appear naturally with any change in the balance of information power. Those who have their power wrapped up in financial information, for example, may well resist the new focus on intangibles. As evidence of the importance of information governance, at one firm that developed a balanced scorecard, a certain company had the new scorecard shut down while its developer (the director of quality) was on vacation! Whether this was a good idea or not, it certainly points out the need for attention to resolving political disputes.

In efforts to drive high performance, this overall model can be used to plan and assess an organization's movement toward intangible asset and capability management in relation to the information environment. We believe that pioneering companies that master all aspects of the management of intangible assets will be able to attain higher levels of business performance. In subsequent research, we'll describe how several aspects of this change may play out in detail, and provide examples of high-performance businesses and other leading organizations that have begun to manage information about intangible assets.

Finally, there is a need to ensure that quality information isn’t lost amongst the masses of digital data created everyday. If we can continue to improve the management, interrogation and serving of ‘quality’ information there is huge potential to enhance knowledge creation across learning and research communities. The aim of the Information Environment is to help provide convenient access to resources for research and learning through the use of resource discovery and resource management tools and the development of better services and practice. The Information Environment aims to allow discovery, access and use of resources for research and learning irrespective of their location.

Sources:

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/themes/informationenvironment.aspx

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Institute_For_High_Performance_Business/By_Subject/Strategy/TheAssetManagement.htm

What A Lonely Story

2009-09-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

Recently, I just met a person named Zed. Well, I'm not really sure if that was his name. We met in an online third sex site wherein both of us member of that site. At first, I am so curious about him it was because he has no profile pic. I immediately sent him a private messages expecting that he would make a reply too. Alas, my message buzz in the size buzzed. Well, i really not expect who will be the one to reply, it was because he was not the only one I gave a private message. Zed replied, "ASL"? I replied him, "18/m/dvo(tagum)". After a minute, he replied, "20/m/tagum". It was not new anymore to me of having a chatmate in a same place. It was 12:00AM when I went to a nearby net cafe to rent a unit so that I can surf over the net. After an hour, we decided to meet at the square. ************

Duhhh............huhuhu......i don't want to talk it anymore.......I just want to move on...I want to end it there since my heart is still in pain... Hope you understand it. Thanks. ~cHrIs~

Making Paper Doll Face

2009-08-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

Kawaii

2009-08-30T03:10:00.000-07:00

Kawaii is a Japanese term which means “cute”. These collectible kawaii items of my brother are so cute. These are tamagochis that have built in infrared which connects to the tamagochis that has infrared. How I wish to have these kind of items but I’m out of budget for this. Lolz!

My Cousin

2009-08-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

"Childhood is a journey, not a race.", a quote that I will cherish forever. When I always see kids running, playing, laughing, it made me remember back to my younger years. Before, I usually played with my playmates especially my classmates and friends. I cannot forget those times playing tigso, takyan, tagu-anay, jolenay, and a lot of local games which made me happy.

This is Janrex. You may call him Jan-Jan. He is my cousin and he is in Grade 2. He is so cute and super smart. When I'm going to visit them at their house, we usually played tagu-anay and dampa. Jan-Jan loves to borrow my phone because he wants to play some mobile games. That is why, I will keep my phone so that he won't play it.

Now, I cannot imagine that he is a big boy na. Hehehe. Last time, i saw him, he is toddler. Now, a lad who is studying in the primary level. Whew! Time is so fast. Maybe, di ko lang mamalayan, meron na pa pala itong sariling pamilya. HEHEHE. Anyways, my payo to him na lang, enjoy being a kid. Being a kid is like a thing which is temporal and not eternal.

Areas Related to HRM on the 9th SONA of the President

2009-08-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

During the 9th SONA of the President at the Batasang Pambansa, there are lots of achievements she shared. She discussed some achievements in banking and finance, education, and a lot more and one of the achievements she shared related in the Human Resource Management are; for small entrepreneurs they should be well funded, teacher's training to provide more quality education to their students and lastly, effective protections for our OFWs.

To discuss these three areas related to Human Resource Management further, let's go back what Human Resource Management is. According to our brother online dictionary, Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. The terms "human resource management" and "human resources" (HR) have largely replaced the term "personnel management" as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations. In simple sense, HRM means employing people, developing their resources, utilizing, maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the job and organizational requirement.

For the last works done by our dynamic President, she made some efforts in order those employees both in private and government sectors will work in motivation. That is why, many of our organizations, corporations and companies here in the Philippines doesn't experience recession well.

These were the three areas related to HRM in which the President shared. To wit:

1. Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion in microfinance loans. Nakinabang ang sandaan libo sa emergency employment ng ating economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi.

Here, loaning is one of the easiest way in which our small entrepreneurs can sustain to their businesses. They have to borrow some money from the lender whether how much is it. That is why, the Arroyo administration imposed this kind of loaning system which is called microfinance loan. Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed. This Microfinancing loans are small loans granted to the basic sectors, on the basis of the borrower’s cash flow and other loans granted to the poor and low-income households for their microenterprises and small businesses to enable them to raise their income levels and improve their living standards. These loans are typically unsecured but may also be secured in some cases. That is why, this microfinance loan is such a great help to our so-called mamamayan. For them, this is not a burden but as long as they can sustain their businesses in their own, it is better not to borrow in order for them not to sink in the quicksand of debts.

2. Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher. Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa education at skills training. Ang magandang edukasyon ay susi sa mas magandang buhay, the great equalizer that allows every young Filipino a chance to realize their dreams. Nagtayo tayo ng 95,000 na silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng 60,000 na guro, naglaan ng P1.5 billion para sa teacher training, especially for 100,000 English teachers.

In this second issue, education is important to everyone especially to the young minds. Education is central to development and a key to attaining the millennium development goals of our government and our society. It is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and lays a foundation for sustained economic growth. That is why, most developed countries invest more in their education system and produce more competitive which our country envy. When Pres. Gloria Arroyo first stepped in the Malacañang Palace as our second woman president, she planned and studied well about the poor education system of our country. After for a long time, Madam President has a solution in which students can benefit but the teachers also. This solution in which our president made, is such a great help in order that the teachers and instructors of different schools in our country will be more competitive. It is good to know that the government invest funds worth of billion pesos for the training for our teachers. This training will help and motivate our teachers especially those English teachers to work hard so that they can serve well our country and so that they will know what are the new trends in teaching in using new technologies nowadays. And because of that, good to hear that and well done Madam President!

3. Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating Overseas Filipinos. Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas mataas pa.

I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where it can be found -- in faraway places, among strangers with different cultures. It is lonely work, it is hard work.

Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha dito sa atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang sahod, so that overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option for a hard-working Filipino.

Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo ng mas epektibong proteksyon at pagpapalawak ng halaga ng kanilang pinagsikapang sweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for OFWs investing in property and products back home. Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force.

In this last area related to HRM, the President focused it to the OFWs or Overseas Filipino Workers. According to them, OFWs are the modernized heroes of our country. The money in which the OFWs remittedevery year is such a great help so that we can earn billion of pesos. Because of the blood and sweat offered by the OFWs to work outside the country, most of us admired them. That is why, the government established a task force in which it is beneficial to the OFWs so that they will be overseen by the government whether they were paid well by their employers or not. Good to hear also that the government implemented well to have jobs inside the country with a nice wages so that working outside the country is a choice now and because of that, no more BRAIN DRAIN anymore.

Now, because of these few achievements done by our President , we may not call her tamad na Presidente but instead a WORKING PRESIDENT. These achievements done by her is a proof that our country Philippines is a developing country and soon to be a Tiger Economy .

Human Power

2009-08-30T02:46:00.000-07:00

"Human beings are the most important, potent and critical, resource of any organization, and yet the least understood and the worst managed of its resources"

In this statement, my own notion for this is, the employee is the most important ingredient in an organization or company. Without an employee, you cannot say that it is an organization (most of us referred this as company) because they are the one which contributed more in order that this kind of organization can survive.

Leaders within our industry have consistently stated that employees are very important. According to the American Public Transportation Association, they defined two main strategic goals on the development of our industry's workforce. The managers and supervisors have stated that training and development is the core requirement to long range success. Ask yourself, "Why is training and development, attracting and retaining transit workers such a problem? Why doesn't the transit industry create a market of certified transit professionals? Why aren't we teaching our employees how vision, mission and values link to our every day business?". Organizations still ponder with the need to invest current dollars in training and certification processes, in place of short-term fixes that tend to add only little value to the industry's success. Anyone managing a multi-million dollar public transit operation today realizes that this industry employs over 450, 000 people in North America and moves over four billion people annually. Ensuring our employees have the tools needed to be successful, improving their skills through training and managerial dedication that will pay dividends. Many leaders underestimate the importance of designing an organization's future with this in mind. However, I challenge our leaders to take the steps to have the goals of training, development, and recognition as part of our industry's way of operating. Having these goals that invests in our employees, will sustain long needed success for our customers and the growth of our industry into the 21st century.

Employees are potent and critical because they are human beings which have rational thinking and logic. According to philosophical view of man, when he realises that he is the highest of all creation, then he becomes a human. When he develops his intellect, then he becomes a human. When he becomes an example for others, then he becomes a human. When he transcends the common limitations through his wisdom, then he becomes best of humans.

Not all humans have the same kind of intellect. Some men have the ability of being a leader and some are not. Do not be confused why there are people in the highest positions in a company and there are people in the lowest positions in a company. That is why there are managers, supervisors, CEOs which are gifted in this kind of disciplines.

In order that the managers, supervisors and other high ranking officials of a certain organization can have a better product, managers or any other high ranking officials of a certain organization may made some motivators to the employees so that these motivators will help to them in order that their products or contributions may be acceptable to the institution. As I surf over the internet, I found this motivators so that employees may be happy at work.

1. What People Want From Work

Some people work for personal fulfillment; others work for love of what they do. Others work to accomplish goals and to feel as if they are contributing to something larger than themselves. The bottom line is that we all work for money and for reasons too individual to assign similarities to all workers.

2. How To Demonstrate Respect at Work

Ask anyone in your workplace what treatment they most want at work. They will likely top their list with the desire to be treated with dignity and respect. You can demonstrate respect with simple, yet powerful actions. These ideas will help you avoid needless, insensitive, unmeant disrespect, too.

3. Provide Feedback That Has an Impact

Make your feedback have the impact it deserves by the manner and approach you use to deliver feedback. Your feedback can make a difference to people if you can avoid a defensive response.

4. Top Ten Ways to Show Appreciation

You can tell your colleagues, coworkers and staff how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long.

5. Trust Rules: The Most Important Secret

Without it, you have nothing. Trust forms the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, and employee motivation and contribution of discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. When trust is present, everything else is easier.

6. Provide Motivational Employee Recognition

You can avoid the employee recognition traps that: single out one or a few employees who are mysteriously selected for the recognition; sap the morale of the many who failed to win, place, or even show; confuse people who meet the criteria yet were not selected; or sought votes or other personalized, subjective criteria to determine winners.

7. Employee Recognition Rocks

Employee recognition is limited in most organizations. Employees complain about the lack of recognition regularly. Managers ask, “Why should I recognize or thank him? He’s just doing his job.” And, life at work is busy, busy, busy. These factors combine to create work places that fail to provide recognition for employees. Managers who prioritize employee recognition understand the power of recognition.

8. Top Ten Ways to Retain Your Great Employees

Key employee retention is critical to the long term health and success of your business. Managers readily agree that their role is key in retaining your best employees to ensure business success. If managers can cite this fact so well, why do many behave in ways that so frequently encourage great employees to quit their job?

9. Team Building and Delegation: How and When to Empower People

Employee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. Team building occurs when the manager knows when to tell, sell, consult, join, or delegate to staff. For employee involvement and empowerment, both team building and delegation rule.

10. Build a Mentoring Culture

What does it take to develop people? More than writing “equal opportunity” into your organization’s mission statement. More than sending someone to a training class. More than hard work on the part of employees. What development does take is people who are willing to listen and help their colleagues. Development takes coaches, guides and advocates. People development needs mentors.

To read more about this, you may click this link: http://humanresources.about.com/od/rewardrecognition/tp/recognition.htm

We may say also that the human beings in an organization are the least understood and worst to manage it is because, these human beings are able enough to make some critical decisions and justifications. You cannot easily control your employee because they are capable to do so some things which you can do unless you do have some robotic employees which are irrational and cannot perform logical thinking. That is why, God gave the dominion to the man to rule over the fluvial, terrestrial and aerial domains but not above to him.

Source:
http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:V1edGbz1MIoJ:www.aptrex.com/StumpoPaperCalgary.pdf+why+employees+are+important&cd=1&hl=tl&ct=clnk&gl=ph
http://humanresources.about.com/od/rewardrecognition/tp/recognition.htm

21st Corporations

2009-08-30T02:43:00.000-07:00

150 years ago, the business corporations was relatively insignificant institution. Today, it is all pervasive like the church, the monarchy,and the communist party and other times and places. The corporations today is a dominate institution.

Corporation is like a jigsaw in the society as a whole. If you remove it, the pictures incomplete but equally, if it's the only path, its not gonna work. The corporation is just like a family unit. People in the corporation work together just for common in. Like the telephone system, yet it reaches almost everywhere its extraordinarily powerful its pretty hard to avoid and its transforms the lives of the people. It balance for the betterment of the people. The eagle, soar, clear-eye, competitive, prepared to strike but not a vulture. Noble, avisionary majestic but the people can believe in and be inspired by that creates such a lift that is source.

Corporations are artifical creations. You might say there are monsters trying to devour as much as profit as possible at anyone's expense. Like a whale, big fish which can swallow you in an instant. The word corporate gets attached in almost a sense of agenda and one hears a lot about the corporate agenda as though it is an agenda which is trying to take over the world.

What is a Corporation? It is a group of invdividuals working together to serve a variety of objectives. The principle one of it is earning large, growing, sustain and legal returns for the people who own the business.

Birth of Corporation: The history of corporations goes back at least to the sixteenth century, and since then their essential nature has not greatly changed. Before corporations, debts were transgenerational, passed on to descendents, some of whom were placed in debtors' prisons to repay the monies. The early state-chartered corporations of Europe and England were established to sponsor exploration of the New World. Those who sailed forth from England to trade for spices in the East Indies took grave risks in the journey, and even graver ones should they lose their precious cargoes. If they did not sail under the charter of a state corporation, they and their families could be ruined for life if bad weather or piracy struck en route. By establishing the corporate form, limiting shareholders to liabilities no greater than their investment, Europeans were able to create a form of commerce that could absorb the hard knocks of trading and exploring, encouraging both risk-taking and speculative investment at the same time. Those early corporations negotiated their charters with the state, which outlined the terms of their rights as well as the monies that were to be repaid to the crown. As a social technology, this was a brilliant invention, releasing the vigor of enterprise in the world. The charter of limited liability distinguished a corporation from all other forms of enterprise, because it was (and is) actually a gift of the state„a grant, a covenant, a form of permission that citizens, through their government, delegate to the corporation and its shareholders. In the early years of the republic, the citizens of the United States were keen to prevent any institution, foreign or domestic, commercial or religious, from dominating or suppressing their newly won rights. Early corporation charters were carefully drafted by states to ensure this subordination. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were only a few hundred corporations in the United States, and many of these were chartered expressly to build canals, turnpikes, or other public infrastructure. Even then, citizens openly and persistently expressed concern that corporations with specific rights granted under charters would nevertheless become so powerful that they could take over newspapers, public opinion, elections and the judiciary. Workers had similar fears about their own status within these new corporations. Thus early state charters were detailed and restrictive. They specified limits on profits, the amounts of indebtedness allowed, the overall capitalization, and how much land a corporation could own. The power of large shareholders was limited by scaled voting, so that large and small investors had equal voting rights. Interlocking directorates were not allowed, and in the case of public works projects, corporations were allowed to retain their original investments with predetermined percentages of profit. When profit projections were reached, the project was turned over to the state. It was the commonly held opinion at that time that corporations were a "creature of the law and may be molded to any shape or for any purpose that the Legislature may deem most conducive for the general good." In many states, clauses of incorporation gave legislatures the right to annul or revoke a charter whenever they chose to, or after a certain period of time (often several decades). Some states even required public votes to continue certain charters.

Despite these efforts, legislatures inevitably began to lose their control over big business, state by state. Government corruption became particularly rampant after the Civil War, and with it came a loosening of laws regulating interlocking trusts, factory towns and sequestered private fortunes. Child labor flourished, along with Pinkerton and other private armies that kept protests in check, workers in line. The Civil War had transferred great amounts of wealth to corporations, and with this concentration of power they began to clamor for "equal rights" and new simplified chartering laws that would treat every corporation equally (This is the means of incorporation we have today: anyone can do it, and for a nominal fee.)

There quickly followed a wholesale reinterpretation of the Constitution by the judiciary, granting new powers and rights to corporations. The primary thrust behind these precedents was the "due process" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This amendment protected the rights of freed slaves, but it was subsequently interpreted to give corporations the same status before the law as that of a natural person. On that basis, judges reversed hundreds if not thousands of state laws controlling wages, working conditions, ownership and corporate tenure.

In the wake of those decisions, American business was transformed. Unions could be interpreted as "civil conspiracies" and could be enjoined from striking. With the reduction of state power, incentives were reversed and states such as Deleware began attracting business by having the simplest and most lax incorporation procedures and regulations, driving other states to compete by lowering their own standards. The marriage of business and government also undermined„turned upside down, in fact„the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, guaranting the right of every citizen to engage in free speech, was established to encourage, promote, and preserve democratic traditions. In the late 1700s there were very few ways to communicate except through speech: flyers, books, pamphlets, and broadsides from every conceivable quadrant of the political spectrum. The Founding Fathers wisely understood that the suppression of these political expressions would inevitably lead to tyranny of one sort or another; they did not want any one voice to have sway or dominance over the public discourse. There was little concern at that time that among the voices clamoring to be heard would be that of commerce... and the founders of the American republic still had no concept of the multinational corporation.

By invoking the First Amendment privilege to protect "speech," corporations achieve precisely what the Bill of Rights was intended to prevent: domination of public thought and discourse. Although corporations profess that they are legitimately expressing their democratic rights in their attempt to influence the government, their argument presupposes that all parties, from the single voter to the multinational company, have an equal voice in the political debates surrounding important issues.

Modern Corporations and Multinationals (21st Century): A corporation is a business that is legally independent from its members. Corporations may incur or pay debt, negotiate contracts, sue and be sued. Corporations range in size from local retail stores to a nation's largest corporation. These larger corporations sell stocks to shareholders, and the shareholders legally own the company. Management of the company remains separate from, but accountable to, the ownership. The shareholders are organized with a board of directors who hold regular meetings and make decisions on broad policies governing the corporation. Although many Americans own stock, they normally do not participate in regular board meetings or exert significant control over corporate decisions.

Sometimes corporations with closely related business may share board members, which is called an interlocking directorate. In this arrangement a manufacturer, a financial services company, and an insurance company with shared business also share the same board members. These few individuals, then, exert power over multiple companies whose business is interdependent.

According to a common online encyclopedia, conglomerate is a corporation made up of many smaller companies, or subsidiaries, that may or may not have related business interests. The buying and selling of corporations for profit—rather than for the service or products they provide—form conglomerates. The process of corporate merger often leads to large layoffs because, as companies combine forces, many jobs are duplicated in the other company. For example, a conglomerate may take over a smaller company, including that company's marketing department. The conglomerate will already have a marketing department capable of handling most of the new acquisition's needs. Therefore, as many as half or all of the acquired marketing department employees would lose their jobs. The same situation often occurs when two corporations of a similar size merge.

Other types of corporations include monopolies, oligopolies, and multinationals. Monopolies occur when a single company accounts for all or nearly all sales of a product or service in a market. Monopolies are illegal in the United States because they eliminate competition and can fix prices, which hurts consumers. In other words, monopolies interfere with capitalism. The Philippine government does not allow monopolies but U.S. government does consider some monopolies legal, however, such as utilities where competition would be difficult to implement without distressing other social systems. But even utility monopolies have seen increased competition in recent years. Recently electric power companies have seen deregulation and increased competition in some regions as well.

Oligopolies exist when several corporations have a monopoly in a market. The classic example of an oligopoly would be American auto makers until the 1980s. Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors manufactured nearly all vehicles built in America. As globalization has increased, so has competition, and few oligopolies exist today.

Multinationals are corporations that conduct business in many different countries. These corporations produce more goods and wealth than many smaller countries. Their existence, though, remains controversial. They garner success by entering less-developed nations, bringing industry into these markets with cheaper labor, and then exporting those goods to more-developed countries. Business advocates point to the higher standard of living in most countries where multinationals have entered the economy. Critics charge that multinationals exploit poor workers and natural resources, creating environmental havoc.

Sources: http://www.mecgrassroots.org/NEWSL/ISS19/20CorpBirth.html
http://thecorporation.com/

Downsizing Human Resource

2009-08-30T02:39:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent world financial crisis, many business firms and corporations closed becase they cannot sustain anymore the high inflation of high prices through low income and high expenses such as in labor expense, ect. because of the stiff competition of many companies. The only solution found out by the management of different firms is to have a recession and decrease their manpower so that the company can sustain and survive.

There are companies were affected last 2008 global financial crisis and one of these companies is the FedEx Corporation (Global). FedEx is well known because of its global services such as the FedEx Express in which it delivers cargoes and baggages of customers throughout the world. Here is an online magazine (ProcurementAsia Mag) which covers about the huge loss of FedEx,

Quote:

FedEx Post Huge Loss, Outlook Gloomy
By: Jerrel Yun, Singapore

Global - FedEx announced a huge loss in the previous quarter, as consumers and businesses downsized shipments and the company took over approximately US$1.2 billion in one-time charges.

FedEx lost US$876 million, in the three month period ending in May, compared to a US$241 million loss a year ago.

The company took a US$900 million write-down for its 2004 purchase of Kinko's Inc - now known as FedEx Office - and US$90 million in charges for the acquisition of Watkins Motor Lines in September 2006. It also took charges for employee severance and facility cutbacks.

In addition, FedEx's operating performance continued to be restrained by the global recession, which resulted in lower shipment volumes at FedEx Express and FedEx Freight, the company said.

Revenue for the fourth-quarter fell 20% year-on-year from US$9.87 billion to US$7.85 billion.

The company foresees difficult operating conditions in the near future.

"The operating environment for our first two quarters in fiscal 2010 is expected to be extremely difficult," Alan Graf, executive VP and CFO of FedEx said.

The company said Q408 revenue at the company's Express arm fell 25% due to a contraction in freight volumes and a rise in fuel prices. In the freight segment, revenue dropped 28%. However the company's ground segment did comparably well, with revenue dipping approximately 1% year-on-year.

FedEx said that international package volumes improved in the fourth-quarter compared to the quarter before, which could signal that the financial slowdown is levelling off.

"There are signs that the worst of the recession is behind us and we remain optimistic that we will see quarter-over-quarter economic improvement later this calendar year," said Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO, FedEx Corp.

In a conference call with analysts, Graf said the company hasn't yet decided whether it will have to layoff more workers or make further cut backs because of economic conditions, reported AP.

"That is a question that's going to play out during the year," Graf said. "We have hiring and wage freezes, basically across the board. We have suspended our 401(k) contributions. If the economy turns up and we start to see the growth that we think we will get, we will start to repair those reductions," said Graf.

And because of this huge loss happened to the FedEx Corporation, at first they downsize their human resource but time came the CEO of the FedEx decided to close their company. Last year, the FedEx-Philippines had their last cargo flight to China and had their farewell party.

There are many reasons why an organization may need to lay off employees in the current business environment that includes mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing key operations, and eliminating less-than-optimal business lines are just a few. However, at the heart of any layoff decision is the need to remain financially viable and competitive both now and in the future. It can therefore be tempting to continue the cost-saving measures as you select an outplacement services provider for your downsized employees. However, the choices you make can seriously impact your company’s reputation and profitability in the future, warns Sharon Winston, regional senior vice president and general manager of leading career services company Lee Hecht Harrison’s San Jose office.

Winston notes that in outplacement, there are no real shortcuts. "There are many paths, but they are each a climb, and anyone who tries to convey something different is misleading you."

Winston recommends that human resources professionals and senior management teams develop a system for evaluating potential outplacement providers that takes into consideration the quality of the program and the overall capabilities of the provider company. "Management teams need to realize that every former employee will likely talk to at least six people about the experience," says Winston. "That’s a lot of exposure. And if just one of those former employees feels badly enough to sue you, it will be a costly event. Taking the time up front to select the right outplacement provider can save money in the long run."

With that in mind, the experts at Lee Hecht Harrison suggest five criteria to consider when choosing an outplacement services provider:

BUSINESS BACKGROUND
Look for a firm with solid business experience and a proven track record. Be sure that the people who will service your account have experience working in the business world. If you are looking at a boutique firm or a company that focuses only on the local market, consider whether or not they have the depth and breadth of experience to handle candidates who may need to pursue a national job search.

CONTINUITY
Your employees are all business people; therefore, it makes sense that the outplacement package you purchase should be based on project management principles, like milestones, team meetings and individual accountability. This will allow each employee to jump into the job search quickly, without having to take the time to learn how the program itself works. It’s also important to ensure that each employee will be assigned a job search counselor who will remain with him or her throughout the process. Be cautious of the "bait and switch." The team you meet during the selection process should be comprised of the people who will actually provide services to your employees.

NOTIFICATION TRAINING
A good outplacement provider can help managers craft both the specific message and the tone in which news of the layoff should be delivered. Notification training ensures that all managers follow the same process and have the opportunity to ask questions before, rather than during, the event. This can help reduce the company¹s legal exposure. Don¹t assume that your managers know how to conduct themselves during a layoff. Managing a downsizing isn¹t a repetitive task, and your leadership team may not have extensive experience delivering the news.

ONSITE ORIENTATION
Your outplacement provider must be able to provide initial onsite services to downsized employees immediately after the notification. These employees need an opportunity to vent and assistance in formulating their next steps, including how to notify their families. A good outplacement provider can offer a highly facilitated opportunity for employees to express their feelings and give options to deal with the situation in a positive way. Without this guidance, it’s impossible to gauge how individuals will handle the time between the notification and leaving the property.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
After a layoff, business doesn’t slow down to accommodate the smaller workforce. Instead, organizations must quickly regroup, re-identify themselves, shift key management roles and find new ways to move forward. An outplacement provider should be able to work with individuals and management teams within an organization to help them assimilate into the new corporate structure and develop key leadership competencies. This kind of coaching can have a tremendous impact on the company’s ability to remain productive after a downsizing.

Sources:
http://www.procurement-online.com/news/13501
http://www.globalhrnews.com/story.asp?sid=412
http://www.fedex.com/

Insourcing or Outsourcing?

2009-08-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

Why outsourcing and why in sourcing???

Well, in this kind of situation I cannot easily judge which is better. Before we are going to choose, let’s define these two words so that we can able to decide which of these is better.

As I scan over the internet, I found these definitions which are better to understand what an outsourcing really is. According to a common online encyclopedia, it is the procuring of services or products, such as the parts used in manufacturing a motor vehicle, from an outside supplier or manufacturer in order to cut costs.
Another online investment dictionary defines that, it is a practice used by different companies to reduce costs by transferring portions of work to outside suppliers rather than completing it internally.

Since most of the companies now suffering from financial crisis due to the recent world financial crises, most of them need to minimize their expense in order for them to sustain and support their companies.

According to small business encyclopedia, outsourcing occurs when a company purchases products or services from an outside supplier, rather than performing the same work within its own facilities, in order to cut costs. The decision to outsource is a major strategic one for most companies, since it involves weighing the potential cost savings against the consequences of a loss in control over the product or service. Some common examples of outsourcing include manufacturing of components, computer programming services, tax compliance and other accounting functions, training administration, customer service, transportation of products, benefits and compensation planning, payroll, and other human resource functions. A relatively new trend in outsourcing is employee leasing, in which specialized vendors recruit, hire, train, and pay their clients' employees, as well as arrange health care coverage and other benefits.

Most organizations choose outsourcing because outsourcing offers a lot of advantages. When organizations outsource to countries like India, they benefit from lower costs and high-quality services. Moreover organizations can concentrate more on core functions once they outsource their non-core functions. Outsourcing can also help organizations make better use of their resources, time and infrastructure.

In outsourcing, the outsourcer and the outsourcing partner have a greater relationship when compared to the relationship between a buyer and a seller. In outsourcing, the outsourcer trusts the outsourcing partner with vital information. Outsourcing is no longer confined to the outsourcing of IT services. Outsourcers in the US and UK now outsource financial services, engineering services, creative services, data entry services and much more.

Most organizations are opting to outsource because outsourcing enables organizations to access intellectual capital, focus on core competencies, shorten the delivery cycle time and reduce costs significantly. Organizations feel outsourcing is an effective business strategy to help improve their business.
Now, we are going to discuss what is in sourcing is all about. You may define in sourcing as the opposite of outsourcing but it is still vague for it is still a broad term. According to a common online encyclopedia, insourcing is the (or contracting in) is often defined as the delegation of operations or jobs from production within a business to an internal (but 'stand-alone') entity that specializes in that operation. Insourcing is a business decision that is often made to maintain control of critical production or competencies. An alternate use of the term implies transferring jobs to within the country where the term is used, either by hiring local subcontractors or building a facility.

According to PR Web, insourcing was becoming more common by 2006 as businesses had less than satisfactory experiences with outsourcing (including customer support). Many outsourcing proponents responded to a negative consumer opinion backlash resulting from outsourcing their communications management to vendors who rely on overseas operations.
To those who are concerned that nations may be losing a net amount of jobs due to outsourcing, some point out that insourcing also occurs. According to a study by Mary Amiti and Shang-Jin Wei, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other industrialized countries more jobs are insourced than outsourced. They found that out of all the countries in the world they studied, the U.S. and the U.K. actually have the largest net trade surpluses in business services. Countries with a net deficit in business services include Indonesia, Germany and Ireland.[1]
Insourcing is loosely referred in call centers who are doing the work of the outsourcing companies. Companies that outsource include Dell, Hewlett Packard, Symantec, and Linksys. The callcenters and technicians that are contracted to handle the outsourced work are usually over-seas. Customers may refer to these countries as "India" technical support if they are hard to understand over telecommunications. These insourcing companies were a great way to save money for the outsourcing of work, but quality varies, and poor performance has sometimes harmed the reputations of companies who provide 24/7 customer/technical support.

The Organization for International Investment, a Washington D.C. trade association, uses the term to describe the creation of jobs through foreign direct investment within the United States.

When an organization delegates its work to another entity, which is internal yet not a part of the organization, it is termed as insourcing. The internal entity will usually have a specialized team who will be proficient in the providing the required services. Organizations sometimes opt for insourcing because it enables them to maintain a better control of what they outsource. Insourcing has also come to be defined as transferring work from one organization to another organization which is located within the same country. Insourcing can also mean an organization building a new business centre or facility which would specialize in a particular service or product.

Organizations involved in production usually opt for insourcing in order to cut down the cost of labor and taxes amongst others. The trend towards insourcing has increased since the year 2006. Organizations who have been dissatisfied with outsourcing have moved towards insourcing. Some organizations feel that they can have better customer support and better control over the work outsourced by insourcing their work rather than outsourcing it. According to recent studies, there is more wok insourced than outsourced in the U.S and U.K. These countries are currently the largest outsourcers in the world. The U.S and U.K outsource and insource work equally.

Now we are going to decide which fits to the organization. If your organization has a number of non-core processes which are taking plenty of time, effort and resources to perform in-house, it would be wise to outsource these non-core functions. Outsourcing in this case, would help you save on time, effort, manpower and would also aid you in making quicker deliveries to your customers.
If you require expertise services in areas which do not fall under your core competency, then outsourcing will be a good option as you can get access to expertise services. For reducing costs and making faster deliverables, outsourcing is again a good option.
If your work involves production, then it would be more ideal for your organization to opt for insourcing, as you can save on transportation costs and exercise a better control over your project.

It is not necessary to choose outsourcing over insourcing or vice versa. Your organization can outsource and insource at the same time. By outsourcing and insourcing simultaneously, you can have the best of what both offers and your business can get a competitive advantage!
For me, outsourcing is better for we may minimize our expenses and labor cost. That is why many multimillion companies and businesses firms not only that but also colleges and universities choose outsourcing.

Take note that there are advantages of outsourcing. These are:
Cost savings. Many businesses embrace outsourcing as a way to realize cost savings or better cost control over the outsourced function. Companies usually outsource to a vendor that specializes in a given function and performs that function more efficiently than the company could, simply by virtue of transaction volume.

Staffing levels. Another common reason for outsourcing is to achieve headcount reductions or minimize the fluctuations in staffing that may occur due to changes in demand for a product or service. Companies also outsource in order to reduce the workload on their employees (freeing them to take on additional moneymaking projects for the business), or to provide more development opportunities for their employees by freeing them from tedious tasks.

Focus. Some companies outsource in order to eliminate distractions and force themselves to concentrate on their core competencies. This can be a particularly attractive benefit for start-up firms. Outsourcing can free the entrepreneur from tedious and time-consuming tasks, such as payroll, so that he or she can concentrate on the marketing and sales activities that are most essential to the firm's long-term growth and prosperity. "What an outsourcing partner really sells is focus," wrote Adam Katz-Stone in Baltimore Business Journal. "In accounting for instance, that is something that typically is seen as necessary but not essential, not the core of the business. So you bring in an outsourcing partner and then you don't have to think about that any more. You can focus your energies on sales, marketing, all the other things that matter more."

Morale. This is an often-overlooked but still notable benefit that can sometimes be gained by initiating an outsourcing relationship. "Often a business's lack of internal expertise or dedication to non-core tasks results in poor attitudes and ultimately poor performance," wrote Kevin Grauman in CPA Journal. "This can lead to overlap and duplication of internal efforts. An effectively designed and ongoing communication process emanating from one or more outsourcers can greatly reduce or eliminate these duplications."

Flexibility. Still others outsource to achieve greater financial flexibility, since the sale of assets that formerly supported an outsourced function can improve a company's cash flow. A possible pitfall in this reasoning is that many vendors demand long-term contracts, which may reduce flexibility.
Knowledge. Some experts tout outsourcing of computer programming and other information technology functions as a way to gain access to new technology and outside expertise. This may be of particular benefit to small businesses, which may not be able to afford to hire computer experts or develop the in-house expertise to maintain high-level technology. When such tasks are outsourced, the small business gains access to new technology that can help it compete with larger companies.

Accountability. Outsourcing is predicated on the understanding—shared by business and vendor alike—that such arrangements require quality service in exchange for payment. "Paying for a business service creates the expectation of performance," stated Grauman. "Outsourcers are well aware that this accountability is both practical and legal, with fiscal implications. The same cannot be said for internally provided functions."

Bear in mind also that there are disadvantages of outsourcing. Some of the major potential disadvantages to outsourcing include poor quality control, decreased company loyalty, a lengthy bid process, and a loss of strategic alignment. All of these concerns can be addressed and minimized, however, by companies who go about the outsourcing process in an informed and deliberate fashion. Info World's Maggie Biggs counsels businesses to define "exactly what business processes and/or functions it makes sense to maintain via a service relationship. Unless you have a lot of resources to expend, it may make sense to prioritize outsourcing projects based on the number of benefits you expect to gain from the arrangement." There may also be inherent advantages of maintaining certain functions internally. For example, company employees may have a better understanding of the industry, and their vested interests may mean they are more likely to make decisions in accordance with the company's goals. Indeed, most analysts discourage companies from outsourcing core functions that directly affect the products or services that the business offers.

Source:
http://www.outsource2india.com/why_india/articles/outsourcing-versus-insourcing.asp
http://www.answers.com/topic/outsourcing

Areas Related to MIS on the 9th SONA of the President

2009-08-30T02:30:00.000-07:00

Last July 29, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had her 9th State of the Nation Address during the 3rd Joint Regular Session of the 14th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines at the Session Hall of the Batasang Pambansa at Quezon City. SONA (State Of the Nation Address) is important because this is the time wherein the president would tackle or discuss to the mass all the achievements which he or she has done. This 2009 was the last SONA of the President Gloria Arroyo in which she commemorate most because this is the last term of her administration.

The 9th State of the Nation Address of President Gloria was attended by many celebrities in the political discipline. Senate President Enrile, Speaker Nograles, Senators, Vice President de Castro, Former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, and the other congressmen and ambassadors were present during that SONA. President Gloria M. Arroyo carved up to the crowd what she did last 2008. In her speech, many achievements she shared especially the infrastructures in those remote areas in the country. The million jobs also in which she gave scholarships to the Filipino people in which they can go to some TESDA accredited school to study some vocational qualifications or courses so that after they went to the training, they can have the National Certificates Level II in the discipline of butchering, bartending, computer maintenance and so on.

Mrs. Arroyo also talked about some issues regarding in the field of ICT. To start with:

1.) Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.

In this first issue, it is so very nkaka-irita that when you have cellphone load worth of 30 pesos then some networks would send you some nonsense messages such in Smart, they will send some promos in which you did not subscribe that promo. It is necessary that NTC should made some actions in which the sumbong of the people will be heard so that this telecommunication companies will know what are their mistakes.

2.) Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.

This second issue talks about BPO and tourism sectors in which they contributed more to the economy's wealth. It is necessary to have a Department of ICT so that it will oversees to the small and medium BPOs in which it aligns to the field of electronics and other services which is related to ICT to guide and help them in some financial matters and how for them to export more their products. Due to their earnings, all I can say is, let should have a DICT.

3.) In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times that of three previous administrations combined. Narito si Jennifer Silbor, isa sa sampung milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical transcription. Now, as an independent contractor and lecturer for transcriptions in Davao, kumikita siya ng P18,000 bawat buwan. Good job, Jennifer.

In this last issue it talks about two fields, these are: the field of education and and the field of ICT. It is good that President Arroyo made some programs in which it helps to the can't afford Filipinos to attend in schools to have some diplomas and certificates after they graduated to their chosen field. The Arroyo administration together with the cooperation of the TESDA (Technical Education Skills and Development Authority) made the Pangulong Gloria Scholarships or PGS in which they can choose any qualifications they want such as computer maintenance, bartending, housekeeping, welding, medical transcriptioning and etc.. Because of these qualifications offered by the PGS, you may work as an independent contractor and lecturer in any ICT related fields. Just like Jennifer Silbor, she finished the qualification of medical transcription in which she is also a scholar of PGS and because of this, she earned almost P18,000 every month. Whew! What a big amount. Well, just like me, I am a scholar of PGS last summer in the qualification of computer maintenance. It it still related in ICT. I passed also my NC II and because of that, I can earn money and at the same time, I am a student. Congratulations to Jennifer and Me. hehehe

SONA is not all about pagmamayabang of the president. These are all the efforts she made even though she was criticized by many people. Well, all I can say is, let's see what will the next president can do better than this president.

If I am an IT Consultant

2009-08-30T02:19:00.000-07:00

If I am the IT Consultant, I better suggest to the president to improve the IT infrastructure of the university as well as the technology so that internet connectivity will be enhanced not only the internet connection but also the different tasks of the different offices of the University of Southeastern Philippines.

As I surf over the internet, I found out this so-called Advanced Console Server. This ACS secures the remote IT infrastructures management. What is this IT infrastructures management service? IT Infrastructures Management Service is a set of concepts and policies for managing information technology (IT) infrastructure, development and operations and also known as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

Over the past decade, corporate information technology (IT) departments have replaced large mainframes and minicomputers with smaller, less costly, and more scalable servers. This transition offers substantial benefi ts. In the past, increasing an organization’s computing power meant replacing a large computer with an even larger one – a process that was both expensive and time-consuming. The switch to clustered computing (also called server farms) reduced both the expense and the disruption of adding more computing resources. Mainframes offered high availability and reliability, but at a premium price. Servers offer equally reliable and available computing resources using less expensive hardware – and because servers are incrementally scalable, adding more computing power leverages previous IT investments. As IT departments adopted cluster computing practices, managing the widely dispersed servers became a signifi cant issue. Monitoring and managing remotely located servers usually relies on an on-site IT staff member, a third-party service contract, or a willing, but untrained, employee. The fi rst two are costly, and the third compromises IT access and security policies. This white paper explores the issues facing the IT staff as it attempts to manage the dispersed and growing IT infrastructure. As more servers and more support equipment connecting these servers enter the corporate computing environment, the demand for high-quality, platform-independent infrastructure management tools also increases. Effectively managing centralized or remote servers, networking equipment, and other IT assets will remain a critical aspect of IT infrastructure management.

Identifying and Meeting Infrastructure Management Challenges
Managing today’s IT infrastructure requires an approach that maintains virtually continuous business operation, provides high levels of security, and reduces operating cost and complexity while increasing IT staff productivity.Each of these challenges presents IT administrators with unique issues, many of which involve ensuring secure and immediate access to the IT infrastructure.

An effective way to achieve this access is through a console server, which connects the serial console ports of many managed devices to a single appliance. An IT administrator can access any managed device’s console from any location at any time, even when the production network is unavailable. State-of-the-art console servers offer the following features:

Scalability — The ability to manage several servers in high-density racks is beneficial.
Port density — A console server should use a minimum amount of space in a rack to manage all the equipment in that rack.
Reliability — All connectors are located on the same side of the console server; the unit must be rack-mountable; and the unit should require minimum cabling and offer a high level of integration.
Power supply — The console server’s power supply needs to be integrated into the device.
Compatibility — The console server needs to be compatible with all of the IT organization’s servers and network equipment.
Security — Comprehensive support for IT security policies, including multilevel user access control and logging capability, is critical.
Audit capability — The console server needs to log all its activities in order to maintain security and regulatory auditing compliance.
Hardware flexibility — Support for out-of-band management, the ability to connect to more than one LAN, and integration with service processors and intelligent power distribution units (IPDUs) is useful.
Software flexibility — Upgradability helps to take advantage of emerging technologies.
Cost and service — The console server vendor should be committed to a product roadmap in IT infrastructure services.

Maintaining High Availability
Widely dispersed computing resources create an environment that relies on component peak performance for a maximum amount of time. Infrastructure problems, including environmental factors, hardware and operating system errors, power failures, and natural disasters, comprise 20 percent of all unplanned data center downtime.When the network is operating properly, local or remote access is available through the network (in-band) and standard programs such as SSH and encrypted Web browser sessions. However, if a server or a network router has failed, IT administrators need access to the failed device through an out-of-band mechanism that connects to the device’s serial port and provides low-level control such as hardware self-tests or power cycling.

Maintaining Network Security
Widely dispersed computing resources often create a serious challenge to maintaining network security. Established access policies become more troublesome to enforce (e.g., when a non-IT employee reboots a server). Likewise, talking an employee through the steps to change BIOS settings involves employee access to administrative passwords, which violates established authentication, authorization, and auditing policies. In the event of an IT audit, these practices increase company vulnerability to charges of security policy violation and non-compliance with regulatory requirements. Out-of-band access strengthens IT security policies by supporting features such as encryption of console traffic, authentication protocols including token-based authentication, and IP packet fi ltering, among others. Role-based access limits access to only those administrators with responsibility for maintaining specifi c servers. A console server also needs to support session management and maintain local and remote event logs, access logs, and data logs. Effective physical security (e.g., keeping servers in a locked room) is rarely possible at remote locations that do not employ full-time IT staff. Access to a server’s serial console from anywhere strengthens server security and enhances IT policies governing the confi dentiality of corporate data.

Centralizing Data Center Management
Today’s data center environment includes both a heterogeneous mix of servers and geographically dispersed servers and other devices such as uninterruptible power supplies and PBX phone systems. The IT staff needs to be able to manage this diverse environment from any location at any time of day or night, without regard to hardware type, operating system, or network status. A console server needs to support all popular server operating systems and hardware features, such as a service processor and its Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). In addition, because many network-connected devices include only a serial console interface, a console server needs to be able to aggregate operating information from these devices. Uninterruptible power supplies, network routers and switches, telephony systems, and environmental control systems are examples of non-computing devices that can be controlled through console server.

Controlling Costs
Without remote access to a device’s serial port, IT administrators are unable to securely communicate with an inoperative server unless they travel to the site. IT administrator travel incurs costs. A far larger cost is incurred if server availability is critical to the company’s business. Productivity losses throughout the company further increase the negative effects of unplanned downtime. Space requirements also increase without remote access to the device’s serial port. When servers and other network equipment are functioning properly, in-band access to the devices and systems management applications normally suffi ce to monitor and manage the IT infrastructure. A serial console server directly addresses infrastructure hardware failures using secure out-of-band access to the failed device, even when the network is not functioning. The out-of-band capability enables IT administrators to communicate with a failed device without having to be physically present at the site where the device is located. Quicker access to failed devices reduces unplanned downtime on the production network and enhances a company’s ability to maintain or even improve its revenue stream.

Reducing Complexity
The variety of servers and other devices in a typical corporate environment complicate detection of hardware failures and initiation of correct recovery features. Each device may support a different serial port connector, and there is no standard for the pin assignments on the commonly used RJ-45 serial connector. Add to this the different types and lengths of serial cables, and the complexity of merely gaining access to serial ports often requires signifi cant investments of IT staff time and budget. Simpler cabling and connectors increase the infrastructure management value of a console server. Standard CAT5 cables and RJ-45 connectors, coupled with confi gurable cabling pin-outs, add fl exibility and eliminate the need for specialized adapters to connect to the console server.

Increasing Staff Productivity
Automating as many routine, repetitive administrative tasks as possible contributes signifi cantly to a more productive IT staff. Locating and creating an inventory of all IT assets, particularly at remote locations, consumes many hours of staff time that could be more productively used on other, more strategic tasks. Staff hiring and training also becomes more diffi cult, time-consuming, and expensive in a heterogeneous and dispersed environment in which each server and device relies on a different user interface. A serial console that automates discovery of any serially connected device saves confi guration and installation time, and reduces the chance of human error. In the same vein, a consistent user interface simplifi es confi guration of a large number of servers and other devices that could
be dispersed among many locations. And a consistent, simple, Web-based interface reduces hiring and training costs.

The Advanced Console Server Solution
ACS advanced console servers provide IT and network operations center staff with the ability to perform secure, remote and out-of-band data center management of IT infrastructure from anywhere in the world. It also offers an Enhanced Security Framework that provides current security profi les and enough fl exibility for IT administrators to create custom security profi les that comply with existing network security policies.

Maximizing Network Availability
Perhaps the single most important objective of today’s IT staff is to ensure that data is available to suppliers and company employees without interruption. Unplanned server or network downtime undermines that objective and causes productivity losses and reduced revenue to every one of the company’s partners. To ensure that an organization’s data and its network are always available, the console server provides both in-band and out-of-
band remote access to servers and other serially connected networked devices. IT access to the console server is available from any location at any time, providing the IT administrator with low-level control of network attached hardware. This control includes hardware self-test, BIOS access, power cycling, and remote rebooting.

Protecting Network Security
The console server integrates with a company’s existing security structure and supports enterprise security policies. It
supports strong user authentication using two-factor authentication with RSA SecurID and device authentication using certifi cates and a host key. The console server is compatible with virtually all authentication servers, including RADIUS, LDAP, Active Directory, TACACS+, Kerberos, and NIS protocols. Supported authorization methods include local access control lists or server-based group authorization through Active Directory, LDAP, TACACS+, or RADIUS. The console server also supports role-based authorization, and maintains both remote and local data and event logs and audit trials. It supports data encryption and secure out-of-band dial-up access through ISDN modem.

Centralizing Data Center Management
The console server provides both in-band and out-of-band remote access to connected serial devices. In-band access is available through single or dual Ethernet ports, which support up to 1 Gbit/second transmission speeds and secure Telnet and SSH access to serial devices. A PC card slot (16- or 32-bit) supplies wireless remote access. Out-of-band access is available through either a built-in modem or a customer-supplied V.92 or ISDN modem. The ACS console server easily confi gures and manages large data centers using a browser-based interface. Tight integration with Avocent DSView 3 software provides an effective method to configure and manage servers using a consistent, simple interface. The ACS console server also integrates power management from a single interface for any third-party power supply vendor.

Controlling Operational Costs
Remote access to all devices connected to the advance console server virtually eliminates the need for IT staff to travel to remote sites in order to manage and maintain servers and other network equipment. Not only does this save travel costs, but remote access also reduces recovery time for unplanned downtime, which helps a company meet its revenue goals.

Providing Easier IT Management
By using a simple, secure Web-based interface, the advance console server enables an IT administrator to configure and manage any networked device with a serial port. This includes servers, routers, switches, and some non-computing devices such as power supplies, HVAC controls, and building alarms.
The advance console server also simplifies cabling requirements. Standard CAT5 cabling terminated with inexpensive RJ-45 connectors supply the needed connections to the console server. Because RJ-45 pin-outs differ from one manufacturer to another, the advance console server provides a software-configurable pin-out feature to simplify serial connections between a device and the console server.

Enhancing IT Staff Productivity
The auto-discovery mechanism of the advance console server saves significant amounts of IT time at the time of initial installation and configuration. Auto-discovery detects the names of connected devices and updates the network confi guration automatically, reducing the possibility of data entry errors and further helping to maximize uptime. The auto-discovery feature also detects servers that have been re-located, which allows the IT staff to avoid time-consuming and error-prone re-confi guration. The advance console server’s consistent Web-based interface also simplifies hiring and training requirements, and enables the IT staff to configure and manage large numbers of servers and other devices.

Therefore, advance console server provides secure remote access to serial consoles for servers and other devices, including power supplies, telephony equipment, and network routers and switches. Out-of-band capability enables secure console access from anywhere at any time regardless of network availability, reducing downtime and virtually eliminating travel to remote sites. The advance console server solution includes integrated power management and centralized management to support network security, administration, maintenance, and upgrades. The console server reduces operational costs, automates device discovery, and simplifies cabling and pin-out requirements not only that but also it enhances internet connectivity from network traffic.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology_Infrastructure_Library
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9pCdNdHkRo
Avocent.pdf

Barrier's on IT/IS Implementation

2009-08-30T02:12:00.000-07:00

Before we are going to tackle about the barriers of IS/IT implementation for my visited organization, let's define first what barrier is. According to a common online dictionary, it is anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access or in other word, it is a barrier. Barrier is not new to us anymore. Even in our personal lives, there are barriers also. These barriers hinder so that we will not become successful in life.

As I surf over the internet, I found these seven barriers in IT modernization. These are:

1. Cost: Finding the funds to pay for modernization projects

Modernization is rarely an IT budget item and typically requires incremental funding that must be raised from somewhere else in the organization. And, getting those monies allocated is the number one challenge facing IT managers. In fact, many executives express frustration at their inability to show business value or return on investment (ROI) from modernization initiatives. For example, arguments related to technical capabilities and toolsets or addressing the shrinking pool of staff skills are viewed as purely IT problems, and therefore, fall on deaf ears. What’s more, in the eyes of financial types, legacy applications are “paid for” with ongoing maintenance (which is a standard IT budget line item) their only cost. Couple that with the perception that modernization projects simply maintain the status quo – and don’t deliver new functionality – and it’s easy to see why there’s little enthusiasm for projects to upgrade legacy systems. What’s lacking are vehicles to communicate the current business value of the supporting applications and infrastructure, the future business value of modern, agile systems, and the implications of delaying modernization work. IT executives need ways to make a stronger connection between modernization and operational concerns, such as lost competitive advantage, declining revenue, and poor regulatory compliance, to get the needed funds.

2. Risk: Changes to core business applications must be carefully considered
Frequently, the very systems that are in the most need of modernization are essential to the business and, as such, are very likely running quite well. And because downtime isn’t an option with such software, IT has the additional challenge of trying to modernize without jeopardizing current operations. Moreover, any change to core capabilities introduces significant business risk that can be very hard to justify. Without a sound business case for modernization, there’s little reward for that risk, particularly when compared to doing nothing at all. But, IT executives also worry that “leaving well enough alone” when it comes to core business applications simply delays the inevitable – and puts them in the uncomfortable position of having to be reactive rather than proactive. However, they need to ensure that their political capital is spent on projects that deliver maximum benefit in the shortest time possible and with minimal risk. A clearer understanding of the risks from inaction is necessary to make a good case for modernization.

3. Inertia: Why modernize when everything is working fine?
For many IT executives today, there’s no clear personal reward for modernization. And, that’s particularly true in situations where the end result simply maintains the status quo functionality, albeit on a more current technology platform. In fact, there’s a strong disincentive to take on projects to update legacy applications and development tools. Horror stories abound of career-killing, big-bang modernization projects that go over budget and fail to go live. This, combined with the fact that all IT departments have more than enough urgent work on their to-do lists, creates yet another barrier to modernization.

4. Time: Modernization projects take too long
Another common impediment to modernization is the perception that timelines for such projects are inordinately long. Of course, they are complex and require considerable planning and validation time, in addition to performing the actual upgrade work. However, as with any project, the longer the timeline, the more time it takes to realize the benefit – and the greater the likelihood that it will be interrupted, suspended, or even cancelled. IT organizations need to find ways to define an overall modernization roadmap, deliver in smaller, incremental steps, update the plans as business and IT needs change, and show progress along the way.

5. Information: Where to start; what the best practices are; when to use what approach
Another common concern for IT executives is how to make the right decision about modernization tools and techniques. There are many vendors promoting many products and services – and little independent information to help organizations make the smart investment for their particular environments. There’s a real fear of being locked into an approach and technologies that don’t easily adapt as the industry changes. And, that’s understandable because modernization projects are hard enough to get off the ground without having to worry that they are going down the wrong path.

6. Balance: Modernize and maintain – how do you do both?
Seventy percent or more of IT budgets is devoted to the maintenance and support activities needed to ensure that day-to-day operations run smoothly. Shifting focus and funding to modernization is a difficult balancing act and a significant barrier. With pressing business and IT issues always front and center, modernization projects quickly fall to the bottom of the list. Many IT executives find it difficult to “keep the lights on” while simultaneously updating legacy systems. They report feeling like they need ways to change the tires on the car while it’s speeding down the road at 85 miles per hour.

7. Quality of Service: Organizations are leery of changes that could compromise service levels
One significant advantage enjoyed by legacy applications is the years of careful, iterative tuning to ensure enterprise-class reliability, security, scalability, and availability. And, IT managers worry that adopting newer technologies, such as Java and .NET, may pose serious service quality problems once deployed. Even upgrades to the latest operating system levels and hardware technology can degrade the performance of aging applications, which were not designed to run in these environments or which exploit long forgotten features of the old one.

Incremental modernization approaches are needed that:
• Consider quality of service requirements
• Can model the production environment before deployment
• Help to ensure a seamless transition

Now, let's go to my adopted company for this task. My adopted company for this task is the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division in San Pedro St., Davao City. As we interview the MIS Manager of the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division, he gave us four barriers in which they found too tough in order for them to implement their IT/IS. These are:

1. Cost
2. Adoption in New System
3. Downsizing of Manpower
4. Feedbacks

According to him, the most barrier of these barriers which he enumerated for their organization is the Cost. Why cost? It is because when they want to change their IS in their organization, cost is the main reason why sometimes there are delays in implementing new IS. He also stated that, it is too difficult also to change new systems if the user of it is older and doesn't have any background in computer.

We all know that Rhine Marketing has many branches in the Philippines, they made their own programs and systems so that it is easy for them to implement within the organization. Mr. MIS Manager shared that when they're going to have their maintenance on their programs and systems, they usually made some back-ups of the data for some security reasons. Because they have their own systems, Rhine Marketing experienced also downsizing of the HR. But the bottom line of that is, if you have your own program within your company, be assure that it is user friendly.

Sources:
http://www1.unisys.com:8081/eprise/main/admin/micro/doc/Seven_Barriers_to_Modernization_White_Paper.pdf

How Can This University Helps Achieve My Goals?

2009-07-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

How Can This University (USeP) Helps To Achieve My Goals?.........

Well, if you graduated in a school having a well-known name such as the University of Southeastern Philippines, it is easy to look and land for a job. Why I say this? It is because, it is proven and tested that graduates of the said university can easily land for a job specially in this kind of discipline which is the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. I have a friend of mine who is a graduate in the said university but not in the discipline of Information Technology. Even though she graduated in the field of education, she walked in the red carpet of the PECC Gymnasium of the University of Southeastern Philippines-Tagum with a big smile and teary eyes as a cum laude during their graduation rites. After she passed their board exam, she applied as a teacher in a public elementary school. The personnel who interviewed hired her immediately without doubt it is not because she is pretty, it is because she is cum laude who came from USeP. With that, I reflect, can I survive with this kind of course? Then on my mind, an answer came up and I said to my self, "I can". They said, if you are in the Insitute of Computing (USeP-Obero), don't expect that you can take up BSCS or BSIT just in 4 years. Whew! With that words I heard from other's mouth, I trembled but I encouraged my self, to finish this course I choose. The University of Southeastern Philippines molds their students to be globally competitive so that if they want to apply both inside and outside the country, they can easily cope up the things related to the course they chose. Since the instructors of the said university are highly qualified, they are the epitome and paragon of the institution which students should extol, admire and respect. Indeed, the University of Southeastern Philippines provides quality education to the students so that they are competent enough to face the challenges on what life brings.

COMDDAP 09 @ Davao

2009-07-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Last July2, 2009, the first day of COMDDAP exhibit at Apo View Hotel at the heart of the city of Davao was embraced with a warm welcome by the Davaweños. It was participated by different computer stores and companies such as HP Philippines, Jupiter Systems Inc., Neo Philippines, AOC (Arts Of Color) Philippines, Canon Philippines and a lot more. This association aims to improve their camaraderie with each other.

1:35 PM: I myself, together with my classmates arrived at the Apo View Hotel. The exhibitors exhibited their products at the hotel's Grand Ballroom. In there, they displayed their optimum and finest products such as he Canon's latest printer, the Neo's pocket laptop and etc..

1:50 PM: We entered at the Vanda Room to listen some lectures presented by some exhibitors. The first lecturer was the Marketing Head of ERIC Systems Inc., which is 24 year old and a 100% Filipino owned company. There, he presented to us the latest system of Jupiter System Inc., which is the DMS (Dealer Management System). DMS is used by some car dealer companies. He said, DMS has a Thai and English language system. The Marketing Head of Nexus Group pointed also that DMS is a complete end-to-end solution for dealership. It is use for vehicle sales, services, back off and financial reporting.

DMS Process Flow presented by the Marketing Head of ERIC Systems Inc.:

Pre-Sales

sales appointments
sales lead monitoring from initial inquiry to actual close
supervisor review of appointment schedules and sales calls
classifies sales probabilities
keepsall call histories
prospect follow-up reminders
lead generation reports
sales quotation processing

Vehicle Sales

the system supports sales of new and used vehicles
vehicle inventory checking in multiple branches and warehouse
vehicle purchase agreement processing
Vehicle Sales Invoicing
process receivables and payables
Vehicle Delivery Advice Entry
Vehicle Receipt to Warehouse
Vehicle Inventory Costing
registers all vehicle purchase to Service Management

After Sales

advance booking/customer appointments
operation maintenance/flat rates
repair orders
repair estimates
customer service history
technician time-in/time-out
parts requisitioning and picking
service invoicing
warranty claims and processing
field service actions
service reminders
customer feedback
highly graphical technician assignments and loading window
sublet P.O. processing
Point-of-Sale (POS) type billing window
interface to Manufacturer Systems
reports and queries
service metrics

3:30 PM: The next lecture we attended is the exhibitors from HP-Philippines. It is a well-known company because of their optimum products such as the HP notebook and desktop computers, HP printers, HP scanners and other computer accessories and parts. The Market Development Manager of HP-Philippines showed the us their latest product and that is the HP Thin Client. According to a common online encyclopedia, a thin client (sometimes also called a lean or slim client) is a client computer or client software in client-server architecture networks which depends primarily on the central server for processing activities, and mainly focuses on conveying input and output between the user and the remote server. In contrast, a thick or fat client does as much processing as possible and passes only data for communications and storage to the server. The term was coined in 1993 by Tim Negris, VP of Server Marketing at Oracle Corp., while working with company founder Larry Ellison on the launch of the landmark Oracle7 release of the company's flagship relational database management system (RDBMS). Ellison had charged Negris with finding a way to boldly differentiate Oracle's server-centric software from the decidedly desktop-oriented products of then-rival Microsoft. Thin Client became Ellison's relentless battle cry, repeated in hundreds of speeches, interviews and articles attendant to the release of Oracle7 and many other products after that. Many thin client devices run only web browsers or remote desktop software, meaning that all significant processing occurs on the server. However, recent devices marketed as thin clients can run complete operating systems such as Debian Linux, qualifying them as diskless nodes or hybrid clients. Some thin clients are also called "access terminals." Many people that already have computers want the same functionality that a thin client has. Computers can simulate a thin client in a single window (as thru a browser) or with a separate operating system boot-up. Either way, these are often called "fat clients" to differentiate them from thin clients and computers without thin-client functionality. As a consequence, the term "thin client", in terms of hardware, has come to encompass any device marketed as, or used as, a thin client in the original definition – even if its actual capabilities are much greater. The term is also sometimes used in an even broader sense which includes diskless nodes.

The Market Development Manager of HP-Philippines tackled also about the challenges for IT professionals and these are:

Provide Information Security
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Deployment and Maintenance

After he lectured to us about their product which is the thin client, he gave some prizes to those who can answer the questions about thin client and that experience, all I can say is, "Technology is dynamic, not static".

Being a Web Designer

2009-07-02T04:03:00.000-07:00

What is a Web Design?

According to a common online encyclopedia, Web Designing is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients, microblogging clients and RSS readers and therefore, the person who creates the web sites is the Web Designer.

Technology nowadays is expanding at an increasingly high speed due to the thriving expansion of the Internet. The World Wide Web has taken a strong hold on the vast majority of businesses and organizations, becoming a principal means of marketing and providing information. The number of Web sites in use increases every minute-skyrocketing job opportunities for Web site developers and designers - Webmasters. Today's companies seek professionals with the skills and training to produce effective Web sites that can attract the billions of consumers surfing the Web every day.

Being a web designer it is not an easy task. Before creating a web site and uploading a website you have to plan eagerly in order that your project will be done properly. Thoroughly considering the audience or target market, as well as defining the purpose and deciding what content will be developed are extremely important.

Part of the web designer's task is to create pages that can be used on any type of server (a central computer in a network that stores files and provides these files to individual computers) and viewed with any type of browser (the software that enables people to access the World Wide Web). To do this, a web designer must be familiar with issues of browser/server compatibility, including which browsers and servers work well together and which ones do not. In addition, the designer must know computer languages such as Javascript, which can be used to create web pages that are compatible with a wide range of hardware and software.

Website design is comprised of many steps. Depending on the employer and the designer's skills, typical duties may involve:

Translating a client's marketing or informational content into a functional website.
Mapping or outlining a website's structural content.
Creating or editing images and graphics for website use.
Determining all coding requirements for site creation including: e-commerce capability, forms and specialized scripts.
Creating templates of approved website layout.
Coding website using HTML, or GUI design software.
Coordinating with programmers for specialized scripts.
Creating verbal content for the website or using approved content from the client.
Integrating verbal content with site design for final product.
Posting completed site to internet server using FTP software.
Making changes to the site directed by client.
Submitting completed site to search engines.

Some web designers possess all the skills listed above, while others only possess a portion of them.

If you have the right technology background and can learn new software quickly, a career as a web designer can be very lucrative. Web design skills are important in every industry now and they afford motivated people the chance to run their own business.

Reference: http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/142/Web-Designer.html
http://www.degreesource.com/articles/89/1/Web-Designer-Job-Description/1.html

Green Campus Computing

2009-07-02T03:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some links about "Green Campus Computing":

http://greencampus.winserve.org/greencampus/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=7&Itemid=39

TIPS ON HOW TO ELIMINATE WASTE:

Recycling
1) Practice the 4Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and buy products with recycled content.
2) Recycle white, colored, post-it, shredded and construction paper, empty metal cans, pans, empty clear and colored glass containers, empty plastic bottles, clean plastic wrap and bags, buckets and trays. corrugated (wavy edges) cardboard boxes (please no waxed cardboard and flatten boxes), styrofoam packing forms (but not packing peanuts), chipboard (small office supply boxes), newspaper, telephone books, catalogs, magazines, brochures, paperback and hardcover books, Kraft (brown paper bag) paper, paper ream wrappers, envelopes (windows ok) and file folders. Non-recyclable items: paper cups or plates, tissues or paper towels, food or wet waste, food or liquid stained items, wood or green waste.
3) Reuse paper that has only been used on one side
4) Recycle your old cell phone to prevent hazardous substances from entering our environment. These substances include lead, arsenic, and cadmium, which have been linked with cancer, neurological disorders, and developmental abnormalities. Some helpful links: www.recyclewirelessphones.org and Wireless Foundation’s “Donate a Phone” program: www.wirelessfoundation.org
5) Recycle your ink cartridges through our campus program. E-mail slincoln@sdsu.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to request a postage-paid envelop to mail your used ink cartridge off to a recycling facility6) The SDSU Physical Plant recycles boxes.
7) Recycle your junk mail by depositing it in the large blue trash containers outside the Arrowhead Village or in the trash rooms in Serrano Village.

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http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/projects/green_computing.html
GREEN COMPUTING GUIDE
The growing use of computers on campus has caused a dramatic increase in energy consumption, putting negative pressure on CU’s budget and the environment. Each year more and more computers are purchased and put to use, but it’s not just the number of computers that is driving energy consumption upward. The way that we use computers also adds to the increasing energy burden.
Research reveals that most personal desktop computers are not being used the majority of the time they are running and many personal computers nationwide are needlessly left on continuously. Every time we leave computers or lights on we waste electricity. Burning fossil fuels generates most of our electricity and it also emits pollutants, sulfur, and carbon dioxide into the air. These emissions can cause respiratory disease, smog, acid rain and global climate change.
Computer Operating Costs
Over the last fifteen years, computers have transformed the academic and administrative landscape at the University of Colorado. There are now over 18,000 computers on campus. Personal computers (PC) operation alone may directly account for nearly $550,000 per year in University energy costs.
Computers generate heat and require additional cooling which adds to energy costs. Thus, the overall energy cost of CU’s personal computers is more likely around $700,000.
Meeting computer cooling needs in summer (and winter) often compromises the efficient use of building cooling and heating systems by requiring colder fan discharge temperatures. In the summer, these temperatures may satisfy computer lab cooling needs while overcooling other spaces.
Given CU’s commitment to energy conservation and the environmental stewardship, we must address the issue of responsible computer use. By adopting conserving practices, annual savings of $300,000-400,000 are possible.
How Much Energy Does Your Computer System Use?
A typical desktop PC system is comprised of the computer itself (the CPU or the “box”), a monitor, and printer. Your CPU may require approximately 100 watts of electrical power. Add 50-150 watts for a 15-17 inch monitor, proportionately more for larger monitors. The power requirements of conventional laser printers can be as much as 100 watts or more when printing though much less if idling in a “sleep mode.” Ink jet printers use as little as 12 watts while printing and 5 watts while idling.
How a user operates the computer also factors into energy costs. First let’s take the worst case scenario, continuous operation. Assuming you operate a 200 watt PC system day and night everyday, direct annual electrical costs would be over $125 (at $0.075/kWh). In contrast, if you operate your system just during normal business hours, say 40 hours per week, the direct annual energy cost would be about $30 – plus, of course, the cost of providing additional cooling.
Considering the tremendous benefits of computer use, neither of the above cost figures may seem like much, but think of what happens when these costs are multiplied by the many thousands of computers in use at CU. The energy waste dollars add up quickly.
Energy Efficient Computing
Here are some tested suggestions that may make it possible for you to reduce your computer energy consumption by 80 percent or more while still retaining most or all productivity and other benefits of your computer system, including network connectivity.
Screen savers save no energy
If screen saver images appear on your monitor for more than 5 minutes, you are wasting energy! Screen saver programs may save the phosphors in your monitor screen, but this is not really a concern with newer monitors, especially LCD screens. And they do not save any energy.
A screen saver that displays moving images causes your monitor to consume as much as electricity as it does when in active use. These screen saver programs also involve system interaction with your CPU that results in additional energy consumption. A blank screen saver is slightly better but even that only reduces monitor energy consumption by a few percent.
Enable power management features
Thanks to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA), personal computer systems purchased today can be easy on energy. These “Energy Star” computers and monitors can be programmed to automatically “power-down” to a low power state when they are not being used. These efficiency gains can be achieved without any sacrifice in computing performance.
The EPA has estimated that providing computers with “sleep mode” reduces their energy use by 60 to 70 percent – and ultimately could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 5 million cars.
Follow these simple steps to access computer and monitor power management features for Macintosh and Windows.
Macintosh:
• From any application select the Apple menu
• Select “System Preferences...” (OS X) or “Control Panels” (OS 9) and then click on “Energy Saver”
Windows:
• Point your cursor at the desktop background and right-click
• Choose “Properties” from the pop up menu
• Go to the “Screen Saver” page; in the lower right-hand corner near the ENERGY STAR® logo click the “Settings” button. This brings up another dialog box where you choose power management settings.
The recommended settings are 20 minutes for monitor sleep and 30 minutes for system sleep. Remember that to save energy with your monitor’s built-in power management system, your monitor must go to sleep (shut itself down).
When not in use, turn off the juice
This is the most basic energy conservation strategy for any type of equipment. Consider the following:
• Turn off your computer and/or peripherals when they are not in use. Turning on and off will not harm the equipment.
• Don’t run computers continuously unless they are in use continuously.
• Turn off at night and on weekends
• Look for ways to reduce the amount of time your computer is on without adversely affecting your productivity.
You Can Turn Your Computer Off!
The common misconception that a computer’s life is shortened by turning it on and off has led some to leave computers on all the time. Others are reluctant to switch their computers on and off a couple times during their workday despite only using this equipment for a fraction of that time.
Desktop computers are designed to protect the internal circutry from power damage from on/off switching. Turning PC equipment off at night or on and off a few times a day will not appreciably affect its useful life. Electronic equipment life is a function of operating hours and heat — both these factors are reduced when equipment is switched off. Modern hard drives are designed and tested to operate reliably for thousands of on/off cycles.
Thus, you CAN turn off your computer (and monitor and printer)! The inconvenience of waiting a minute or two for a computer to reboot or peripheral to come on line may be trivial compared to the energy savings achieved by keeping computer equipment off when not in use.
Some specific suggestions
• Unless you require immediate access to e-mail or other Internet services, break the habit of turning on all your computer equipment as soon as you enter the office each day.
• If practical, informally group your computer activities and try to do then during one or two parts of the day, leaving the computer off at other times.
• Avoid using the switch on a powerstrip to turn on all your equipment.
• If you use a laser printer, don’t turn your printer on until you are ready to print.
• Turn off your entire computer system (CPU, monitor and printer) or at least your monitor and printer when you go to lunch or will be out of office for a meeting or an errand.
• For “computer servers” which must be on to serve network functions, explore ways to turn servers off at night.
• If monitors are not needed for “servers” to operate, keep server monitors off. If server monitor is needed during the day, at least turn it off at night and weekends.
While the energy saving suggestions listed above are appropriate for many campus PC users, some of the suggestions may be inappropriate for certain computer applications or work situations. When in doubt, discuss possible energy conservation measures with your colleagues, supervisor, or computer lab director to determine which steps can be taken without harming productivity.
Our energy conservation program will not work without your help. Be an energy educator and gently remind your co-workers and colleagues to save energy by changing their computer habits. Circulate this booklet among the members in your office or department. Gain the support of your supervisor and set up a brief meeting to discuss how to implement energy saving strategies.
Other Green Computing Practices
You can take a giant step toward environmentally responsible or “green” computing by conserving energy with your computer. But green computing involves other important steps as well. These pertain to paper use, toner cartridges, disposal of old computer equipment and purchasing decisions when considering new computer equipment.
Reducing Paper Waste
Rather than creating a paperless office, computer use has vastly increased paper consumption and paper waste. Here are some suggestions for reducing waste:
• Print as little as possible. Review and modify documents on the screen and use print preview. Minimize the number of hard copies and paper drafts you make. Instead of printing, save information to disks.
• Recycle waste paper.
• Buy and use recycled paper in your printers and copiers. From an environmental point of view, the best recycled paper is 100 percent post consumer recycled content.
• Save e-mail whenever possible and avoid needless printing of e-mail messages.
• Use e-mail instead of faxes or send faxes directly from your computer to eliminate the need for a hard copy. When you must fax using hard copies, save paper using a “sticky” fax address note and not a cover sheet.
• On larger documents, use smaller font sizes (consistent with readability) to save paper.
• If your printer prints a test page whenever it is turned on, disable this unnecessary feature.
• Before recycling paper, which has print on only one side, set it aside for use as scrap paper or in printing drafts.
• When documents are printed or copied, use double-sided printing and copying. If possible, use the multiple pages per sheet option on printer properties.
• When general information-type documents must be shared within an office, try circulating them instead of making an individual copy for each person. This can also be done easily by e-mail.
Reusing and recycling
CU generates thousands of spent printer toner and ink jet cartridges and batteries a year. Instead of tossing these in the garbage, they can be recycled, saving resources and reducing pollution and solid waste. To recycle spent toner or ink jet cartridges (printer and some fax), deposit them at any of the five campus Copy Centers. To recycle batteries, drop them off at any of the battery collection bins around campus. For specific locations call the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Hazardous Material group at 303-492-7845 .
Computer diskettes may be inexpensive, but why keep buying more? Diskettes with outdated information on them can be reformatted and reused. When you are done with your diskettes, utilize CU Recycling’s new mail back program. Put no more than 10 and no fewer than five rubberband-tied diskettes into an interdepartmental envelope and mail to Campus Box 209, attn: diskettes for recycling. Special collections for larger amounts can be arranged by calling 303-492-8307 .
Members of the University community realize that recycling old electronics equipment is the “right thing” to do and have made a commitment to recycle old equipment rather than landfill it. When landfilled, computer equipment leaches lead and other heavy metals into ground water and the soil.
For University of Colorado at Boulder campus departments, it is important to remember that not only is disposing of electronics (by just throwing them away) unwise from an environmental point of view, it is also contrary to policy and procedure as well as being illegal! All Boulder campus departments are required to process unwanted properties (up to and including unusable electronics) as stated in the Property Accounting System Guidelines and Procedures Manual.
Property Services has the responsibility of providing for the removal and final disposal of these items, working or not. This is accomplished through the Surplus Property Program (which serves to relocate usable/needed items to other departments and agencies), Periodic Property Auctions (where functional items are sold to the public) or by the last resort of processing through an agency certified to process/ recycle the hazardous components found in defunct electronics
For private disposal of unwanted electronics, individuals can donate used working electronics though the Colorado Materials Exchange (COMEx). COMEx maintains an on-line bulletin board where private individuals and industry groups can create exchange possibilities that reduce waste while providing for reuse of functional equipment.
Visit the COMEx Web site here. Additionally, for working and non-working electronics, Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) is a good choice and will provide for the proper disposition of these types of materials. Additional information and pricing can be found online.
Purchasing recommendations
Environmentally responsible computer use implies not buying new equipment unless there is a demonstrated need. Thus, before buying new equipment, consider the following questions:
• Do you really need a new computer or printer?
• Can you meet your needs (with less expense and environmental damage) by upgrading existing equipment?
• Can you find a solution in software rather than hardware?
If you do need new equipment, buy efficient and buy green. Do research online and talk to the Buffalo Chip in the UMC about purchasing environmental and socially responsible equipment.
• Buy only “Energy Star” computers, monitors and printers. Flat panel monitors use about half of the electricity of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display.
• Buy a monitor only as large as you really need. A 17-inch CRT monitor uses 30 percent more energy than a 15-inch one when each is in an active mode.
• Buy ink jet printers, not laser printers. These use 80 to 90 percent less energy than laser printers and print quality can be excellent.
• Network and share printers.
• Once they are available, consider buying “Green Computers.” Several computer equipment manufacturers are currently developing PCs which are not only highly energy efficient but are also manufactured in a resource efficient and less polluting manner and are designed and built for eventual recycling.
• Consider leasing equipment as an alternative to purchasing. Leased equipment is typically refurbished or recycled, and packaging is reduced. For leasing options contact

Campus Environmental Policies
In 2002 the Vice Chancellor for Administration adopted a campus policy to reduce energy use per square foot of campus building, with a goal of stabilizing or reducing total energy consumption and emissions. One of the key actionable measures is enabling desktop power management features.
The campus energy strategy map outlines steps that need to be taken to conserve energy on campus. One of these steps is to incorporate operational efficiencies in equipment purchases.
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http://chronicle.com/free/2009/01/10296n.htm
Campus Computing Goes Green to Save Money (by: Josh Keller)

Relocate a college's server computers next to a solar-power generator. Replace AC power with DC power. Cool the servers only where they get the hottest. Put the servers in the ocean and power them with waves.
Those were a few of the ideas discussed last week at a conference, "Greening the Internet Economy," that was designed to address the problem of the soaring financial and environmental costs of information technology. The event, held by the University of California at San Diego, offered a sampling of a new generation of technologies that promise to help colleges make their IT departments both more efficient and more sustainable.
Many of the participants emphasized the importance of systems that could more intelligently measure energy use on the campus. In recent years, colleges have been hurt by the rising costs of powering and cooling their data centers, in part because those costs are difficult to measure and poorly understood (The Chronicle, January 9).
At San Diego, researchers have started work on hardware to help colleges and other organizations understand how to make their servers more efficient. The device, called the GreenLight Instrument, will deploy sensors and software to measure the energy use, humidity, and other variables in various parts of a Sun Modular Data Center, a popular, self-contained complex of servers.
The goal is to encourage engineers to try different computing strategies to reduce electricity consumption, said Thomas A. DeFanti, principal investigator on the project and a senior research strategist at the university's California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology.
"Right now there isn't enough information for somebody to make a definitive decision: Where do I save my money? Do I eliminate disks in my computers, or do I stop them? Do I use more RAM or less RAM?" said Mr. DeFanti. "Nobody has detailed information on this."
Aiming for Precision
Intelligent measuring systems like Greenlight should be extended to allow engineers to more precisely determine how to use energy, said Gary L. Baldwin, director of special projects at the University of California's Citris program. For example, he said, operators at a data center could direct cool air only where the facility is generating the most heat.
Another idea that shows promise, participants said, is to supply computers directly with local DC power. Computers generally use direct current, but the public electricity grid typically supplies alternating current, and 30 percent of the electricity can be lost in the conversion of one form to the other.
Some colleges have started projects to power their computers directly from solar cells or other sources of DC power on the campus, avoiding the energy loss altogether. At San Diego, administrators hope to build a "power ring" that will supply computers across the campus with DC power, said Mr. DeFanti.
The rethinking of how to supply campus power is part of a broader effort to "divorce ourselves from the electrical grid," said Bill St. Arnaud, chief research officer at Canarie Inc., a Canadian computer-networking organization. Power-transmission lines lose a significant amount of energy over long distances, he said, which means that supplying a campus with energy from faraway power plant can be inefficient.
A better strategy, Mr. St. Arnaud said, is to build campus data centers next to a renewable source of power, like a solar plant. High-speed optical transmission lines, he said, would ensure that the computers would seem "as close as next door."

How can USeP adopt this concept?
It is true that the earth is suffering from global warming. Global warming is the increasing of average temperature in earth's atmosphere and because of this, many icebergs melted and some mountain in Europe and some part in America experienced avalanche because of global warming. As a student and a citizen in this country, my concern is to save our mother earth. Why? It is because this is the last thing we can pass to the next generation. I do not understand why some student in our university doesn't consider this factor. One time, when I pass to a room in the engineering building (not to mention the floor and room number), the students after having a class to that room, they left their ceiling fan turning on. I do not know if that room will be occupied by the next class. But the main issue their is, you should have to turn off the fan if it not in use whether there are next batch of students to conduct some class their. It is our concern as a student to do that. Turning off some electronic devices when not in use helps a lot to the university in energy consumption and to the mother earth for it reduces the heat contributed by the used electronic devices. Next time, students and as well as faculty and staff of this university should practice of turning off some electronic devices in school especially to those computers turning on but not in use for it contributes heat that makes the earth having more heat leading to global warming and it contributes also for having a high energy consumption.
Another issue is, there are students also in the university doesn't having the concern on putting their garbages in the trash can. They only left their wastes on the lobby or in the room. They not considered the fact that USeP is lack of manpower especially in utility and they should consider this. It is so untidy if we should not keep and put our wastes in its proper area. If we do have this attitude of being tamad of putting our wastes to trash cans, it so very dirty and having some rooms that it's dirty, it reflects to us students of University of Southeastern Philippines that we are untidy too and we dragging the name of our school into shame. Maybe, if we are still practicing this norm, our school may be listed to one of the filthiest college insitution in the country.

Manual Election vs. Automated Election

2009-06-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

Manual Election vs. Automated Election, which is better? It is one of the headlines now in newspapers and even in the local televisions that COMELEC imposed in using an automated election this coming 2010. The question now, is Philippines ready to have an automated elections? Many are favor in having an automated elections for they believe that this is the best way to have a clean election. With this, some COMELEC officials even the senators in the upper house fought to have an automated election. Last month, COMELEC opened the table to have a bidding for those companies wanted to win the 20 billion pesos contract for the automated election. Some companies were not passed on the first screening of bidding and some are passed. There are also were disqualified because of having some error and lack of documents. Until one foreign company won to supply the machines needed in 2010 elections and that is the SMARTMATICS. SMARTMATICS is well-known company offering their services to those parties and institutes wanted to have an automated elections. Some countries and states in United States signed a contract with SMARTMATICS because of its finest and optimum machines they used. Many Filipinos came up with this question, is there a law allowing an automated election here in the Philippines? According to Chan Robles Virtual Law Library (http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8436.htm) there is a law allowing that automated election can be practiced here in the Philippines, and that is the Republic Act No. 8436.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8436 AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Section 1. Declaration of policy. — It is the policy of the State to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections, and assure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot in order that the results of elections, plebiscites, referenda, and other electoral exercises shall be fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people.

Sec. 2. Definition of terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:

1. Automated election system — a system using appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass/consolidate results;
2. Counting machine — a machine that uses an optical scanning/mark—sense reading device or any similar advanced technology to count ballots;
3. Data storage device — a device used to electronically store counting and canvassing results, such as a memory pack or diskette;
4. Computer set — a set of equipment containing regular components, i.e., monitor, central processing unit or CPU, keyboard and printer;
5. National ballot — refers to the ballot to be used in the automated election system for the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections. This shall contain the names of the candidates for president, vice-president, senators and parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system. This ballot shall be counted by the counting machine;
6. Local Ballot — refers to the ballot on which the voter will manually write the names of the candidates of his/her choice for member of the House of Representatives, governor, vice-governor, members of the provincial board, mayor, vice-mayor, and members of the city/municipal council. For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, this ballot will be counted manually;
7. Board of Election Inspectors — there shall be a Board of Election Inspectors in every precinct composed of three (3) regular members who shall conduct the voting, counting and recording of votes in the polling place.
For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, there shall be special members composed of a fourth member in each precinct and a COMELEC representative who is authorized to operate the counting machine. Both shall conduct the counting and recording of votes of the national ballots in the designated counting centers;
8. Election returns — a machine-generated document showing the date of the election, the province, municipality and the precinct in which it is held and the votes in figures for each candidate in a precinct directly produced by the counting machine;
9. Statement of votes — a machine-generated document containing the votes obtained by candidates in each precinct in a city/municipality;
10. City/municipal/district/provincial certificate of canvass of votes — a machine-generated document containing the total votes in figures obtained by each candidate in a city/municipality/district/ province as the case may be; and
11. Counting center — a public place designated by the Commission where counting of votes and canvassing/consolidation of results shall be conducted.

Sec. 3. Qualifications, rights and limitations of the special members of the Board of Election Inspectors. — No person shall be appointed as a special member of the board of election inspectors unless he/she is of good moral character and irreproachable reputation, a registered voter, has never been convicted of any election offense or of any crime punishable by more than six (6) months imprisonment or if he/she has pending against him/her an information for any election offense or if he/she is related within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any member of the board of election inspectors or any special member of the same board of Election Inspector or to any candidate for a national position or to a nominee as a party list representative or his/her spouse. The special members of the board shall enjoy the same rights and be bound by the same limitations and liabilities of a regular member of the board of election inspectors but shall not vote during the proceedings of the board of election inspectors except on matters pertaining to the national ballot.

Sec. 4. Duties and functions of the special members of the Board of Election Inspectors. —

1. During the conduct of the voting in the polling place, the fourth member shall:
(a) accomplish the minutes of voting for the automated election system in the precinct; and
(b) ensure that the national ballots are placed inside the appropriate ballot box;
2. On the close of the polls, the fourth member shall bring the ballot box containing the national ballots to the designated counting center;
3. Before the counting of votes, the fourth member shall verify if the number of national ballots tallies with the data in the minutes of the voting;
4. During the counting of votes, the fourth member and the COMELEC authorized representative shall jointly accomplish the minutes of counting for the automated election system in the precinct;
5. After the counting of votes, the fourth member and the COMELEC authorized representative shall jointly:
(a) certify the results of the counting of national ballots from the precinct; and
(b) bring the ballot box containing the counted national ballots together with the minutes of voting and counting, and other election documents and paraphernalia to the city or municipal treasurer for safekeeping.

Sec. 5. Board of Canvassers. — For purposes of the May 11, 1998 elections, each province, city or municipality shall have two (2) board of canvassers, one for the manual election system under the existing law, and the other, for the automated system. For the automated election system, the chairman of the board shall be appointed by the Commission from among its personnel/deputies and the members from the officials enumerated in Sec. 21 of Republic Act No. 6646.

Sec. 6. Authority to use an automated election system. — To carry out the above-stated policy, the Commission on Elections, herein referred to as the Commission, is hereby authorized to use an automated election system, herein referred to as the System, for the process of voting, counting of votes and canvassing/consolidation of results of the national and local elections: Provided, however, That for the May 11, 1998 elections, the System shall be applicable in all areas within the country only for the positions of president, vice-president, senators and parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system.

To achieve the purpose of this Act, the Commission is authorized to procure by purchase, lease or otherwise any supplies, equipment, materials and services needed for the holding of the elections by an expedited process of public bidding of vendors, suppliers or lessors: Provided, That the accredited political parties are duly notified of and allowed to observe but not to participate in the bidding. If, inspite of its diligent efforts to implement this mandate in the exercise of this authority, it becomes evident by February 9, 1998 that the Commission cannot fully implement the automated election system for national positions in the May 11, 1998 elections, the elections for both national and local positions shall be done manually except in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where the automated election system shall be used for all positions.

Sec. 7. Features of the system. — The System shall utilize appropriate technology for voting, and electronic devices for counting of votes and canvassing of results. For this purpose, the Commission shall acquire automated counting machines, computer equipment, devices and materials and adopt new forms and printing materials.

The System shall contain the following features: (a) use of appropriate ballots, (b) stand-alone machine which can count votes and an automated system which can consolidate the results immediately, (c) with provisions for audit trails, (d) minimum human intervention, and (e) adequate safeguard/security measures.

In addition, the System shall as far as practicable have the following features:

1. It must be user-friendly and need not require computer-literate operators;
2. The machine security must be built-in and multi-layer existent on hardware and software with minimum human intervention using latest technology like encrypted coding system;
3. The security key control must be embedded inside the machine sealed against human intervention;
4. The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) must have a built-in printer for numbering the counted ballots and also for printing the individual precinct number on the counted ballots;
5. The ballot paper for the OMR counting machine must be of the quality that passed the international standard like ISO-1831, JIS-X- 9004 or its equivalent for optical character recognition;
6. The ballot feeder must be automatic;
7. The machine must be able to count from 100 to 150 ballots per minute;
8. The counting machine must be able to detect fake or counterfeit ballots and must have a fake ballot rejector;
9. The counting machine must be able to detect and reject previously counted ballots to prevent duplication;
10. The counting machine must have the capability to recognize the ballot's individual precinct and city or municipality before counting or consolidating the votes;
11. The System must have a printer that has the capacity to print in one stroke or operation seven (7) copies (original plus six (6) copies) of the consolidated reports on carbonless paper;
12. The printer must have at least 128 kilobytes of Random Access Memory (RAM) to facilitate the expeditious processing of the printing of the consolidated reports;
13. The machine must have a built-in floppy disk drive in order to save the processed data on a diskette;
14. The machine must also have a built-in hard disk to store the counted and consolidated data for future printout and verification;
15. The machine must be temperature-resistant and rust-proof;
16. The optical lens of the OMR must have a self-cleaning device;
17. The machine must not be capable of being connected to external computer peripherals for the process of vote consolidation;
18. The machine must have an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS);
19. The machine must be accompanied with operating manuals that will guide the personnel of the Commission the proper use and maintenance of the machine;
20. It must be so designed and built that add-ons may immediately be incorporated into the System at minimum expense;
21. It must provide the shortest time needed to complete the counting of votes and canvassing of the results of the election;
22. The machine must be able to generate consolidated reports like the election return, statement of votes and certificate of canvass at different levels; and
23. The accuracy of the count must be guaranteed, the margin of error must be disclosed and backed by warranty under such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Commission.

In the procurement of this system, the Commission shall adopt an equitable system of deductions or demerits for deviations or deficiencies in meeting all the above stated features and standards.

For this purpose, the Commission shall create an Advisory Council to be composed of technical experts from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines (ITFP), the University of the Philippines (UP), and two (2) representatives from the private sector recommended by the Philippine Computer Society (PCS). The Council may avail itself of the expertise and services of resource persons of known competence and probity.

The Commission in collaboration with the DOST shall establish an independent Technical Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee, herein known as the Committee, composed of a representative each from the Senate, House of Representatives, DOST and COMELEC. The Committee shall certify that the System is operating properly and accurately and that the machines have a demonstrable capacity to distinguish between genuine and spurious ballots.

The Committee shall ensure that the testing procedure shall be unbiased and effective in checking the worthiness of the System. Toward this end, the Committee shall design and implement a reliability test procedure or a system stress test.

Sec. 8. Procurement of equipment and materials. — The Commission shall procure the automated counting machines, computer equipment, devices and materials needed for ballot printing and devices for voting, counting and canvassing from local or foreign sources free from taxes and import duties, subject to accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

Sec. 9. Systems breakdown in the counting center. — In the event of a systems breakdown of all assigned machines in the counting center, the Commission shall use any available machine or any component thereof from another city/municipality upon the approval of the Commission En Banc or any of its divisions.

The transfer of such machines or any component thereof shall be undertaken in the presence of representatives of political parties and citizens' arm of the Commission who shall be notified by the election officer of such transfer.

There is a systems breakdown in the counting center when the machine fails to read the ballots or fails to store/save results or fails to print the results after it has read the ballots; or when the computer fails to consolidate election results/reports or fails to print election results/reports after consolidation.

Sec. 10. Examination and testing of counting machines. — The Commission shall, on the date and time it shall set and with proper notices, allow the political parties and candidates or their representatives, citizens' arm or their representatives to examine and test the machines to ascertain that the system is operating properly and accurately. Test ballots and test forms shall be provided by the Commission.

After the examination and testing, the machines shall be locked and sealed by the election officer or any authorized representative of the Commission in the presence of the political parties and candidates or their representatives, and accredited citizens' arms. The machines shall be kept locked and sealed and shall be opened again on election day before the counting of votes begins.

Immediately after the examination and testing of the machines, the parties and candidates or their representatives, citizens' arms or their representatives, may submit a written report to the election officer who shall immediately transmit it to the Commission for appropriate action.

Sec. 11. Official ballot. — The Commission shall prescribe the size and form of the official ballot which shall contain the titles of the positions to be filled and/or the propositions to be voted upon in an initiative, referendum or plebiscite. Under each position, the names of candidates shall be arranged alphabetically by surname and uniformly printed using the same type size. A fixed space where the chairman of the Board of Election inspectors shall affix his/her signature to authenticate the official ballot shall be provided.

Both sides of the ballots may be used when necessary.

For this purpose, the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy/petition for registration/manifestation to participate in the election shall not be later than one hundred twenty (120) days before the elections: Provided, That, any elective official, whether national or local, running for any office other than the one which he/she is holding in a permanent capacity, except for president and vice-president, shall be deemed resigned only upon the start of the campaign period corresponding to the position for which he/she is running: Provided, further, That, unlawful acts or omissions applicable to a candidate shall take effect upon the start of the aforesaid campaign period: Provided, finally, That, for purposes of the May 11, 1998 elections, the deadline for filing of the certificate of candidacy for the positions of President, Vice President, Senators and candidates under the Party-List System as well as petitions for registration and/or manifestation to participate in the Party-List System shall be on February 9, 1998 while the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy for other positions shall be on March 27, 1998.

The official ballots shall be printed by the National Printing Office and/or the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at the price comparable with that of private printers under proper security measures which the Commission shall adopt. The Commission may contract the services of private printers upon certification by the National Printing Office/ Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that it cannot meet the printing requirements. Accredited political parties and deputized citizens' arms of the Commission may assign watchers in the printing, storage and distribution of official ballots.

To prevent the use of fake ballots, the Commission through the Committee shall ensure that the serial number on the ballot stub shall be printed in magnetic ink that shall be easily detectable by inexpensive hardware and shall be impossible to reproduce on a photocopying machine, and that identification marks, magnetic strips, bar codes and other technical and security markings, are provided on the ballot.

The official ballots shall be printed and distributed to each city/municipality at the rate of one (1) ballot for every registered voter with a provision of additional four (4) ballots per precinct.

Sec. 12. Substitution of candidates. — In case of valid substitutions after the official ballots have been printed, the votes cast for the substituted candidates shall be considered votes for the substitutes.

Sec. 13. Ballot box. — There shall be in each precinct on election day a ballot box with such safety features that the Commission may prescribe and of such size as to accommodate the official ballots without folding them.

For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, there shall be two (2) ballot boxes for each precinct, one (1) for the national ballots and one (I) for the local ballots.

Sec. 14. Procedure in voting. — The voter shall be given a ballot by the chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors. The voter shall then proceed to a voting booth to accomplish his/her ballot.

If a voter spoils his/her ballot, he/she may be issued another ballot subject to Sec. 11 of this Act. No voter may be allowed to change his/her ballot more than once.

After the voter has voted, he/she shall affix his/her thumbmark on the corresponding space in the voting record. The chairman shall apply indelible ink on the voter's right forefinger and affix his/her signature in the space provided for such purpose in the ballot. The voter shall then personally drop his/her ballot on the ballot box.

For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, each voter shall be given one (1) national and one (1) local ballot by the Chairperson. The voter shall, after casting his/her vote, personally drop the ballots in their respective ballot boxes.

Sec. 15. Closing of polls. — After the close of voting, the board shall enter in the minutes the number of registered voters who actually voted, the number and serial number of unused and spoiled ballots, the serial number of the self-locking metal seal to be used in sealing the ballot box. The board shall then place the minutes inside the ballot box and thereafter close, lock and seal the same with padlocks, self-locking metal seals or any other safety devices that the Commission may authorize. The chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors shall publicly announce that the votes shall be counted at a designated counting center where the board shall transport the ballot box containing the ballots and other election documents and paraphernalia.

For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, the chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors shall publicly announce that the votes for president, vice-president, senators and parties, organizations or coalitions participating in the party-list system shall be counted at a designated counting center. During the transport of the ballot box containing the national ballots and other documents, the fourth member of the board shall be escorted by representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines or from the Philippine National Police, citizens' arm, and if available, representatives of political parties and candidates.

Sec. 16. Designation of Counting Centers. — The Commission shall designate counting center(s) which shall be a public place within the city/municipality or in such other places as may be designated by the Commission when peace and order conditions so require, where the official ballots cast in various precincts of the city/municipality shall be counted. The election officer shall post prominently in his/her office, in the bulletin boards at the city/municipal hall and in three (3) other conspicuous places in the city/municipality, the notice on the designated counting center(s) for at least fifteen (15) days prior to election day.

For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, the Commission shall designate a central counting center(s) which shall be a public place within the city or municipality, as in the case of the National Capital Region and in highly urbanized areas. The Commission may designate other counting center(s) where the national ballots cast from various precincts of different municipalities shall be counted using the automated system. The Commission shall post prominently a notice thereof, for at least fifteen (15) days prior to election day, in the office of the election officer, on the bulletin boards at the municipal hall and in three (3) other conspicuous places in the municipality.

Sec. 17. Counting procedure. — (a) The counting of votes shall be public and conducted in the designated counting center(s).

(b) The ballots shall be counted by the machine by precinct in the order of their arrival at the counting center. The election officer or his/her representative shall log the sequence of arrival of the ballot boxes and indicate their condition. Thereafter, the board shall, in the presence of the watchers and representatives of accredited citizens' arm, political parties/candidates, open the ballot box, retrieve the ballots and minutes of voting. It shall verify whether the number of ballots tallies with the data in the minutes. If there are excess ballots, the poll clerk, without looking at the ballots, shall publicly draw out at random ballots equal to the excess and without looking at the contents thereof, place them in an envelope which shall be marked "excess ballots". The envelope shall be sealed and signed by the members of the board and placed in the compartment for spoiled ballots.

(c) The election officer or any authorized official or any member of the board shall feed the valid ballots into the machine without interruption until all the ballots for the precincts are counted.

(d) The board shall remain at the counting center until all the official ballots for the precinct are counted and all reports are properly accomplished.

For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, the ballots shall be counted by precinct by the special members of the board in the manner provided in paragraph (b) hereof.

Sec. 18. Election returns. — After the ballots of the precincts have been counted, the election officer or any official authorized by the Commission shall, in the presence of watchers and representatives of the accredited citizens' arm, political parties/ candidates, if any, store the results in a data storage device and print copies of the election returns of each precinct. The printed election returns shall be signed and thumbmarked by the fourth member and COMELEC authorized representative and attested to by the election officer or authorized representative. The Chairman of the Board shall then publicly read and announce the total number of votes obtained by each candidate based on the election returns.

Thereafter, the copies of the election returns shall be sealed and placed in the proper envelopes for distribution as follows:

A. In the election of president, vice-president, senators and party-list system:

(1) The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of canvassers;
(2) The second copy, to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate;
(3) The third copy, to the Commission;
(4) The fourth copy, to the citizens' arm authorized by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. In the conduct of the unofficial quick count by any accredited citizens' arm, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to ensure, among others, that said citizens' arm releases in the order of their arrival one hundred percent (100%) results of a precinct indicating the precinct, municipality or city, province and region: Provided, however, that, the count shall continue until all precincts shall have been reported.
(5) The fifth copy, to the dominant majority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law;
(6) The sixth copy, to the dominant minority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law; and
(7) The seventh copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of the ballot box for valid ballots.

The citizens' arm shall provide copies of the election returns at the expense of the requesting party.

For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, after the national ballots have been counted, the COMELEC authorized representative shall implement the provisions of paragraph A hereof.

B. In the election of local officials and members of the House of Representatives:

(1) The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of canvassers;
(2) The second copy, to the Commission;
(3) The third copy, to the provincial board of canvassers;
(4) The fourth copy, to the citizens' arm authorized by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. In the conduct of the unofficial quick count by any accredited citizens' arm, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to ensure, among others, that said citizens' arm releases in the order of their arrival one hundred percent (100%) results of a precinct indicating the precinct, municipality or city, province and region: Provided, however, That, the count shall continue until all precincts shall have been reported.
(5) The fifth copy, to the dominant majority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law;
(6) The sixth copy, to the dominant minority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law; and
(7) The seventh copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of the ballot box for valid ballots.

The citizens' arm shall provide copies of election returns at the expense of the requesting party.

After the votes from all precincts have been counted, a consolidated report of votes for each candidate shall be printed.

After the printing of the election returns, the ballots shall be returned to the ballot box, which shall be locked, sealed and delivered to the city/municipal treasurer for safekeeping. The treasurer shall immediately provide the Commission and the election officer with a record of the serial numbers of the ballot boxes and the corresponding metal seals.

Sec. 19. Custody and accountability of ballots. — The election officer and the treasurer of the city/municipality as deputy of the Commission shall have joint custody and accountability of the official ballots, accountable forms and other election documents as well as ballot boxes containing the official ballots cast. The ballot boxes shall not be opened for three (3) months unless the Commission orders otherwise.

Sec. 20. Substitution of Chairman and Members of the Board of Canvassers. — In case of non-availability, absence, disqualification due to relationship, or incapacity for any cause of the chairman, the Commission shall appoint as substitute, a ranking lawyer of the Commission. With respect to the other members of the board, the Commission shall appoint as substitute the following in the order named: the provincial auditor, the register of deeds, the clerk of court nominated by the executive judge of the regional trial court, or any other available appointive provincial official in the case of the provincial board of canvassers; the officials in the city corresponding to those enumerated in the case of the city board of canvassers; and the municipal administrator, the municipal assessor, the clerk of court nominated by the judge of the municipal trial court, in the case of the municipal board of canvassers.

Sec. 21. Canvassing by Provincial, City, District and Municipal Boards of Canvassers. — The city or municipal board of canvassers shall canvass the votes for the president, vice-president, senators, and parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators and members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial officials and thereafter, proclaim the elected city or municipal officials, as the case may be.

The city board of canvassers of cities comprising one (1) or more legislative districts shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective city officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns. Upon completion of the canvass, the board shall print the canvass of votes for president, vice-president, and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives and city officials.

In the Metro Manila area, each municipality comprising a legislative district shall have a district board of canvassers which shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective municipal officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives and municipal officials.

Each component municipality in a legislative district in the Metro Manila area shall have a municipal board of canvassers which shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective municipal officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall prepare the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and thereafter, proclaim the elected municipal officials.

The district board of canvassers of each legislative district comprising two (2) municipalities in the Metro Manila area shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators and members of the House of Representatives by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the municipal board of canvassers of the component municipalities. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print a certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives in the legislative district.

The district/provincial board of canvassers shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the board of canvassers of the municipalities and component cities. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives and the provincial officials.

The municipal, city, district and provincial certificates of canvass of votes shall each be supported by a statement of votes.

The Commission shall adopt adequate and effective measures to preserve the integrity of the data storage devices at the various levels of the boards of canvassers.

Sec. 22. Number of copies of Certificates of Canvass of Votes and their distribution. — (a) The certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system and elective provincial officials shall be printed by the city or municipal board of canvassers and distributed as follows:

(1) The first copy shall be delivered to the provincial board of canvassers for use in the canvass of election results for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system and elective provincial officials;
(2) The second copy shall be sent to the Commission;
(3) The third copy shall be kept by the chairman of the board; and
(4) The fourth copy shall be given to the citizens' arm designated by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. It shall be the duty of the citizens' arm to furnish independent candidates copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.
The board of canvassers shall furnish all registered parties copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.

(b) The certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president and senators, parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system shall be printed by the city boards of canvassers of cities comprising one or more legislative districts, by provincial boards of canvassers and by district boards of canvassers in the Metro Manila area, and other highly urbanized areas and distributed as follows:
(1) The first copy shall be sent to Congress, directed to the President of the Senate for use in the canvas of election results for president and vice-president;
(2) The second copy shall be sent to the Commission for use in the canvass of the election results for senators;
(3) The third copy shall be kept by the chairman of the board; and
(4) The fourth copy shall be given to the citizens' arm designated by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. It shall be the duty of the citizens' arm to furnish independent candidates copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.
The board of canvassers shall furnish all registered parties copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.

(c) The certificates of canvass printed by the provincial, district, city or municipal boards of canvassers shall be signed and thumbmarked by the chairman and members of the board and the principal watchers, if available. Thereafter, it shall be sealed and placed inside an envelope which shall likewise be properly sealed.

In all instances, where the Board of Canvassers has the duty to furnish registered political parties with copies of the certificate of canvass, the pertinent election returns shall be attached thereto, where appropriate.

Sec. 23. National Board of Canvassers for Senators. — The chairman and members of the Commission on Elections sitting en banc, shall compose the national board of canvassers for senators. It shall canvass the results for senators by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the district, provincial and city boards of canvassers of those cities which comprise one or more legislative districts. Thereafter, the national board shall proclaim the winning candidates for senators.

Sec. 24. Congress as the National Board of Canvassers for President and Vice-President. — The Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session shall compose the national board of canvassers for president and vice-president. The returns of every election for president and vice-president duly certified by the board of canvassers of each province or city, shall be transmitted to the Congress, directed to the president of the Senate. Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the president of the Senate shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the day of the election, open all the certificates in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session and the Congress upon determination of the authenticity and the due execution thereof in the manner provided by law, canvass all the results for president and vice-president by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the district, provincial and city boards of canvassers and thereafter, proclaim the winning candidates for president and vice-president.

Sec. 25. Voters' education. — The Commission together with and in support of accredited citizens' arms shall carry out a continuing and systematic campaign through newspapers of general circulation, radio and other media forms, as well as through seminars, symposia, fora and other non-traditional means to educate the public and fully inform the electorate about the automated election system and inculcate values on honest, peaceful and orderly elections.

Sec. 26. Supervision and control. — The System shall be under the exclusive supervision and control of the Commission. For this purpose, there is hereby created an information technology department in the Commission to carry out the full administration and implementation of the System.

The Commission shall take immediate steps as may be necessary for the acquisition, installation, administration, storage, and maintenance of equipment and devices, and to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 27. Oversight Committee. — An Oversight Committee is hereby created composed of three (3) representatives each from the Senate and the House of Representatives and three (3) from the Commission on Elections to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this Act. A report to the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be submitted within ninety (90) days from the date of election.

The oversight committee may hire competent consultants for project monitoring and information technology concerns related to the implementation and improvement of the modern election system. The oversight committee shall be provided with the necessary funds to carry out its duties.

Sec. 28. Designation of other dates for certain pre-election acts. — If it shall no longer be reasonably possible to observe the periods and dates prescribed by law for certain pre-election acts, the Commission shall fix other periods and dates in order to ensure accomplishment of the activities so voters shall not be deprived of their suffrage.

Sec. 29. Election offenses. — In addition to those enumerated in Sec.s 261 and 262 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, As Amended, the following acts shall be penalized as election offenses, whether or not said acts affect the electoral process or results:

(a) Utilizing without authorization, tampering with, destroying or stealing:
(1) Official ballots, election returns, and certificates of canvass of votes used in the System; and
(2) Electronic devices or their components, peripherals or supplies used in the System such as counting machine, memory pack/diskette, memory pack receiver and computer set;

(b) Interfering with, impeding, absconding for purpose of gain, preventing the installation or use of computer counting devices and the processing, storage, generation and transmission of election results, data or information; and
(c) Gaining or causing access to using, altering, destroying or disclosing any computer data, program, system software, network, or any computer-related devices, facilities, hardware or equipment, whether classified or declassified.

Sec. 30. Applicability. — The provisions of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, As Amended, otherwise known as the "Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines", and other election laws not inconsistent with this Act shall apply.

Sec. 31. Rules and Regulations. — The Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of this Act including such measures that will address possible difficulties and confusions brought about by the two-ballot system. The Commission may consult its accredited citizens' arm for this purpose.

Sec. 32. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the Commission. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continuous implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

In case of deficiency in the funding requirements herein provided, such amount as may be necessary shall be augmented from the current contingent fund in the General Appropriations Act.

Sec. 33. Separability clause. — If, for any reason, any Sec. or provision of this Act or any part thereof, or the application of such Sec., provision or portion is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder thereof shall not be affected by such declaration.

Sec. 34. Repealing clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 35. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved: December 22, 1997
Source: Chan Robles Virtual Law Library

How about manual election? There are few groups are still favor in having a manual elections. In manual elections, you have to count the votes in every ballots one by one. It is still long process but many believe that this is still the best way this coming 2010 election. A certain citizen indicated that automated election is not 100% safe. We all know that automated election uses computers. Computers uses numbers as a form of language w/c is converted into alphanumeric. If not mistaken, electronics also revolves from numbers, thus using electronics as a form of security is not 100% efficient.As long as numbers are involved, there is no 100% security. He suggested that, it might be best not to AUTOMATE our elections.Thus we can use the OLD FASHIONED way of elections and we could make it more EFFICEINT,TRANSPARENT & FAST by using a certain type of PLASTIC WRITING MATERIAL that we could write-on instead of using paper and a certain type of pen to write our vote on the said(plastic) mat'l. and an OVERHEAD PROJECTOR in counting our votes.Thus in using plastic & AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR,we can visibly count our ballots TRANSPARENTLY.Watchers don't need to go near the counter but by using the OVERHEAD PROJECTOR all can visibly count the ballots faster, efficiently(comfortably) and TRANSPARENTLY.Thus DAGDAG-BAWAS could be eliminated.An automated elections is surely faster but not 100% secured due to hackers & viruses and transparent.Maybe its best to have an election count a little bit longer but electing the best OFFICIALS for a better FILIPINO LIFE & PUBLIC SERVICE rather than an AUTOMATED election which is way faster but not 100% secured and efficient thus giving a LONGER HARDSHIP to the Filipino if a bad intentioned(money) candidate had succeded in his/her cheating activities during the elections.In my point-of-view a GOOD CANDIDATE W/ GOOD INTENSIONS(Public Service) will NOT CAPITALIZE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PESOS just to WIN IN THE ELECTIONS.Thus all he/she would use is his/her CAPABILITIES,ACHIEVEMENTS,GOOD VISIONS for the Phils.,a little CASH coming fr. DONATIONS & pers'l money and most of all BLESSINGS OF GOD.But if a candidate wishes to run due to the interest of POWER(MONEY) surely he/she would CAPITALIZE A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY.There is a saying "MONEY BEGETS MONEY".If we would really want to have a BETTER PHILS. to live-in,maybe its time to make our elections FREE FROM CHEATING that BAD INTENTIONED CANDIDATES WOULD NOT SUCCEED IN OUR ELECTIONS by way of looking for a 100% SECURED WAY IN CASTING AND COUNTING OUR VOTES EFFICIENTLY & TRANSPARENTLY. (http://forums.gov.ph/thread.asp?rootID=106197&catID=2)

Last, June 29, 2009, a common news program aired that maybe automated election may not be done this coming election. Many were shocked because they expected that this kind of election will be practiced next year. The main reason is, TIM a local company from Philippines did not signed their contract with SMARTMATICS it is simply because, TIM doesn't agree with some points offered by SMARTMATICS. It is on the law that, when an automated election will be done here in the Philippines and if a foreign company won the bidding there is a local company from Philippines will share the contract to the COMELEC. In contrast with this, the TIM cut-off their partnership with SMARTMATICS. Many senators were get mad because of what happened. They said that if this issue will not be resolved, they will file a case against the companies. According to the spokesperson of SMARTMATICS, they want this project be done. Until now, the SMARTMATICS still in negotiation with the TIM.

As an IT student, I cannot say that automated election is better than the manual election. Maybe some will pros and cons of having an automated election. Let's not erase the fact that we are now living in Information Age. We should utilize the resources and follow the technology trends nowadays. If we want a hassle-free activities this 2010 election, better opt the automated election rather than manual election. Now decide on yourself, which is better, an automated election or a manual election?

Globe Telecom - Victoria Plaza Branch, Davao City

2009-06-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Globe Telecom or commonly known as Globe is one of the leading telecommunication companies in the Philippines. It is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, Ayala Corporation and some public stock. The Rober Dollar Company subsequently incorporated in the Philippines as Globe Wireless Limited and in 1934, Congress passed Act. No. 4150 transferring the franchise and priveleges of the Rober Dollar Company to Globe Wireless Limited. Its own mission is to transform and enrich lives through communications. Globe is indispensable to people lives through:

Providing their customers with superior excellence.
Being a center of excellence for innovation worldwide.
Creating a rewarding environment where people strive for excellence and grow.
Creating superior value for their shareholders.
And, making great things possible.

::GLOBE'S CORE VALUES::

Customer First
Their customers are their greatest passion. They are personally responsible for satisfying and even exceeding their expectations.

Accountability
They take ownership of and responsibility for their actions, decisions, and their results.

Excellence
They strive to best in everything they do, in an environment that is nurturing and fulfilling. They learn and make their selves better everyday.

::GLOBE'S CAREER OPPORTUNITIES::

Experienced Professionals
In Globe, they are committed to maximizing and harnessing the potential of every individual they hire. If you have been working for over 3 years of have a Masters degree or a PhD and are looking for new challenges and better career options then this is the place to be.

Graduate & Early Careers
Globe is passionate about developing future leaders. If you are either nearing the completion of your Bachelor's Degree , a recent graduate or have less than 3 years work experience, get an overview here of the whole range of opportunities open for you.

Student Internships
Experience the real world. Their internships are the ideal opportunity to get actual experience of working in this very exciting hyper-moving services sector. Open to students who are in the their penultimate year of undergraduate studies (i.e. 3rd year of a 4-year course or 4th year of a 5-year course).

::GLOBE'S MANAGEMENT::

The President & CEO, guided by the Company’s vision, mission, and values statements, is accountable to the Board for the development and recommendation of strategies, and the execution of the defined strategic imperatives. The President & CEO is assisted by the Deputy CEO to whom the heads of each of the major business units and support groups report.

The Office of Strategy Management (OSM) reports to the Deputy CEO and oversees the Company’s strategy management processes from strategy formulation, translation to executable plans, horizontal alignment of business objectives across the organization, to execution and performance tracking linked to the Company’s rewards system.

Every year, the Company reviews and formulates its strategic priorities which then guide the formulation of the key business strategies and goals for the year. Using the balanced scorecard framework, each business group identifies financial and non-financial objectives, and sets targets and initiatives to achieve them. This is captured in what is called the groups’ Terms of Reference (TOR). To ensure line of sight, the group TORs are cascaded to all employees, making sure that everyone understands and appreciates their contribution to the group goals. This helps in developing individual performance plans that are aligned with the key strategies. Rewards and incentives are given based on the achievement of the committed group and individual targets.

Key programs, projects, and major organizational initiatives are taken up at the SEG, composed of the President & CEO, the Deputy CEO, as well as the heads of each of the major business units and support groups. All budgets and major capital expenditures must be approved by the SEG prior to endorsement to the Board for approval. The Chief Operating Adviser and Chief Technical Adviser also provide inputs to the SEG as required. The SEG meets at least twice a month.

Management is mandated to provide complete and accurate information on the operations and affairs of the Company in a timely manner. Management is also required to prepare financial statements for each preceding financial year in accordance with Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS). Management’s statement of responsibility with regards to the Company’s financial statements is included in this annual report.

The annual compensation of the ten (10) top officers of the Company, including the President & CEO, is disclosed in the Definitive Information Statement distributed to the shareholders. The total annual compensation includes the basic salary, guaranteed bonuses, fixed allowances, and variable pay (performance-based annual incentive).

::GLOBE'S EMPLOYEE RELATIONS::
Globe Telecom is committed to enhancing not just human capital but also human potential. The Company's people strategy is centered on empowering, engaging, and constantly energizing its talents so that no business challenge proves impossible.

As an organization needing to reinvent itself constantly, continuous improvement, managing change and developig competencies are disciplines that are being ingrained in various teams. Whether in training programs, in project postmortem, through employee engagement and organization diagnosis surveys, in quarterly business reviews or in lunch-time brownings informal learning sessions, the Company's employees learn, discover, and work together in striving for excellence. Balanced performance metrics are also put in place to support leadership with integrity to ensure that performance targets made are delivered, and eventually reinforced, recognized, and rewarded.

The Company believed that leadership and talent management is a competitive advantage for winning the future. As such, succession planning and talent development processes are institutionalized. These are reinforced by feedback, coaching, and career planning programs. Opportunities are also provided for key talents to learn from other best practice companies here in the region. Various talent pipelines have been put in place to make sure that Globe Telecom is able to grow develop the next generation of leaders who will drive the business of the future.

The Globe Group has 5, 161 active regular employees as of December 31, 2006, of which about 14% are covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Globe Telecom Workers Union (GTWU). The CBA is valid until December 31, 2010 with a renegotiation on the economic aspects in 2008, a process that is expected to arrive at a peaceful and swift conclusion as in the previous CBA's. The Company has a long-standing, cordial, and constructive relationship with the GTWU characterized by industrial peace. It is a partnership that mutually agrees to focus on shared goals-one that has in fact allowed the attainment of higher levels of productivity and consistent quality of service to customers across different segments.

::GLOBE'S SHAREHOLDER RELATIONS::
Globe Telecom recognizes the importance of regular communication with its investors, and is committed to high standards of disclosure, transparency, and accountability. The Company aims to provide a fair, accurate, and meaningful assessment of the Company’s financial performance and prospects through the annual report, quarterly financial reports, and analyst presentations.

The Company’s quarterly financial results are disclosed to the SEC and Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) within 24 hours from their approval by the Board. The Company also files its quarterly and year-end financial statements and the detailed management’s discussion and analysis within forty-five (45) and one hundred and five (105) calendar days respectively from the end of the financial period covered by the report, in compliance with the financial reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC and the PSE. These reports are also made available to the analysts immediately upon confirmation by the SEC of receipt of disclosure, and are posted on the Company’s website.

Additionally, any material, market-sensitive information such as dividend declarations are also disclosed to the SEC and PSE, as well as released through various media including press releases and Company website posting.

The Company regularly holds quarterly investor briefings to discuss the quarterly financial results. A conference call facility is set up during these investor briefings to enable wider participation. The Company also participates in both local and international investor conferences as part of its investor communications program.

The Company likewise holds an annual stockholders' meeting where shareholders are given the opportunity to raise questions and clarify issues relevant to the Company. The Board, President & CEO, members of management, and external auditors are present to address any questions raised at these meetings.

Enquiries by shareholders, whether by telephone, mail, or electronic mail, are dealt with as promptly as possible. Shareholders, investors, and the public may also access the Company's website (www.globe.com.ph) to obtain information on the Company.

According to the branch head manager of Globe Telecom in Victoria Plaza Branch, here in Davao City, Globe is dedicated to serve its customers hundred percent. He added that Globe has the finest and fastest mainframes or supercomputers located in Mandaluyong that serves as their server. Mainframes are computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, ERP, and financial transaction processing.Globe Telecom-Victoria Plaza Branch (Davao) has two desk officers, three customer personnel for customer service , one escort personnel, three office clerks and a head manager to cater the needs of the customer. There are three laptops and three desktop computers having database systems for their employees, customers and for some pertinent documents. There are lots of software used for the customer care service (cannot be mentioned due to its confidentiality). All computers are connected to its main server at Mandaluyong. Actually, there are no cases was recorded about hacking to the Globe's computers but attacking of some viruses like Jollibee Virus, UST virus, etc., are common cases because of inserting some flash disks from outside.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer
http://site.globe.com.ph/web/guest/employeerelations?sid=62a1ajod61h4h1245902403987
http://site.globe.com.ph/web/guest/shareholderrelations?sid=62a1ajod61h4h1245902369336
http://site.globe.com.ph/web/guest/management?sid=62a1ajod61h4h1245902387415
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Telecom

First Day Reflections / Learnings

2009-06-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

On the first day of our meeting with Dr. Randy Gamboa, I felt quiet nervous for I don't know him yet. Some said, he is quiet terror but I can't easily judge him for I am a neophyte to the Institute of Computing in USeP-Obrero Campus and to his class.

We are new to USep-Obrero Campus for we are transferee to the said campus. Me and some of my classmates came from USeP-Tagum Campus and we transfer here in Davao City just to continue our BSIT program. During our first discussion in our Management Information System subject, I felt uncomfortable and uneasy for that was the first time I met my classmates and my facilitator in Management Information System subject here in Obrero. Even that was the first time we met, they were so comic and so nice to us. Some of our classmates exchanged smiles with us also.

When our facilitator started to tackle Management Information System, he tried to define management, information and system. There, we learned that management has four related activities. These activities were the; planning, directing, organizing and controlling. Then, we define also what is management. Management implies someone who has the ability to manage (referring to the person that has the capable of acting independently). With that, I learned that managing is related to leading. So, not all of us will become leaders. Yes, a few can become a leaders. If all of us will become leaders, there will have no followers. Also, he discussed the components of Information Technology. He shared about what are softwares and hardwares. Then, he shared the components of Information System. After that, he asked us, "Is MIS a correct course description?". From there, another question was made on our young minds that we need to seek the best answer of it.

Information System Leadership Roles

2009-06-21T06:49:00.001-07:00

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader". A famous quote from the 6th President of the United States of America. A great country comes from a great leader. Leader is someone who has the capacity to lead or guide to his followers or disciples. A leader is not a boss. The dfference between a leader and a boss is, the leader utilizes power and the boss uses force.

According to Petter Gottschalk (2001), Information Systems (IS) Leadership Roles have undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. Despite increased interest in recent years, little empirical research on IS managers has been done. This article presents results from a survey in Norway. The survey collected data on general leadership roles such as informational role, decisional role and interpersonal role, as well as on specific IS leadership roles such as chief architect, change leader, product developer, technology provocateur, coach and chief operating strategist.

Information system (IS) leadership is a critical area for many organizations because of their increasing dependence on ISs both for operational stability and for enablement of process innovation and business strategy. IS Leadership is distinctive from leadership in general because the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is expected to combine IS technical skills with an in-depth understanding of the organization across all functions from operational to strategic. Thus, unique leadership challenges arise due to the technology/business interface. The breadth of the IS Leadership role implies that IS Leadership research needs to cover a wide range of topics concerning the role and characteristics of the CIO, the CIO's interface with the top management team, and the CIO's organizational impact. This essay discusses the distinctive aspects of IS Leadership, identifies the dominant themes in prior IS Leadership research,and introduces five papers on IS Leadership in this issue. ( Karahanna, E.; Watson, R.T.; Engineering Management, IEEE Transactions on; Volume 53, Issue 2, May 2006 Page(s): 171 - 176)

A Canadian professor and mechanical engineer named Henry Mintzberg wrote a thesis for his PhD degree focusing on the habit and time management of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). According from http://www.provenmodels.com/88/ten-managerial-roles/mintzberg, to describe the work life of a CEO, Mintzberg first identified six characteristics of the job: (1) Managers process large, open-ended workloads under tight time pressure - a manager's job is never done. (2) Managerial activities are relatively short in duration, varied and fragmented and often self-initiated. (3) CEOs prefer action and action driven activities and dislike mail and paperwork. (4) They prefer verbal communication through meetings and phone conversations. (5) They maintain relationships primarily with their subordinates and external parties and least with their superiors. (6) Their involvement in the execution of the work is limited although they initiate many of the decisions.

Henry Mintzberg also stated also that there are three general leadership roles;

Informational Roles
Decisional Roles
Interpersonal Roles

Informational Roles. By virtue of interpersonal contacts, both with subordinates and with a network of contacts, the manager emerges as the nerve center of the organizational unit. The manager may not know everything but typically knows more than subordinates do. Processing information is a key part of the manager's job. As monitor, the manager is perpetually scanning the environment for information, interrogating liaison contacts and subordinates,a and receiving unsolicited information, much of it as a result of the network of personal contacts. As a disseminator, the manager passes some privileged information directly directly to subordinates, who would otherwise have no access to it. As spokesperson, the manager sends some information to people outside the unit.

Decisional Roles. Information is not an end itselfl it is the basic input to decision making. The manager plays the major role in a unit's decision making system. As its formal authority, only the manager can commit the unit ot important new courses of action; and as its nerve center, only the manager has full and current information to make the set of decisions that determines the unit's strategy. As entrepreneur, the manager seeks to improve the unit, to adapt it to changing conditions in the environment. As disturbance handler, the manager responds to pressures from situations. As resource allocator, the manager is responsible for deciding who will get what. As negotiator, the manger commits organizational resources in real time.

Interpersonal Roles. As figurehead, every manager must perform some ceremonial duties. As leader, managers are responsible for the work of the people of their unit. As liaison, the manager makes contacts outside the vertical chain of command.

Henry Mintzberg identified ten separate roles in managerial work, each role defined as an organized collection of behaviors belonging to an identifiable function or position. These roles was separated into three categories.:

Interpersonal Contact
Information Processing
Decision Making

1. FIGUREHEAD: the manager performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as head of the organization;
2. LEADER: fosters a proper work atmosphere and motivates and develops subordinates;
3. LIAISON: develops and maintains a network of external contacts to gather information;
4. MONITOR: gathers internal and external information relevant to the organization;
5. DISSEMINATOR: transmits factual and value based information to subordinates;
6. SPOKESPERSON: communicates to the outside world on performance and policies.
7. ENTREPRENEUR: designs and initiates change in the organization;
8. DISTURBANCE HANDLER: deals with unexpected events and operational breakdowns;
9. RESOURCE ALLOCATOR: controls and authorizes the use of organizational resources;
10. NEGOTIATOR: participates in negotiation activities with other organizations and individuals.

Mintzberg's study on the 'nature of managerial work' exposed many managerial myths requiring change such as replacing the aura of reflective strategists carefully planning their firm's next move with one of fallible humans who are continuously interrupted. Indeed, half of the managerial activities studied lasted less than nine minutes. Mintzberg also found that although individual capabilities influence the implementation of a role, it is the organization that determines the need for a particular role, addressing the common belief that it predominantly a manager's skill set that determines success. Effective managers develop protocols for action given their job description and personal preference, and match these with the situation at hand.

Management Information System

2009-06-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

Before we are going to conclude whether MIS (Management Information System) is a correct course description, and to discuss it, management, system, and information must be defined. In an online dictionary (referring the Dictionary.com), management defines as the act or manner of managing or handling of something. Management in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management consists of planning , directing, organizing and controlling. To understand what management is, there are two definitions from a common online encyclopedia (reffering the Wikkipedia.com). First, "Organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives. Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines, materials, and money. According to the management guru Peter Drucker (1909–2005), the basic task of a management is twofold: marketing and innovation. Practice of modern management owes its origin to the 16th century enquiry into low-efficiency and failures of certain enterprises, conducted by the English statesman Sir Thomas More (1478–1535)." Second, "Directors and managers who have the power and responsibility to make decisions to manage an enterprise. As a discipline, management comprises the interlocking functions of formulating corporate policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing the firm's resources to achieve the policy's objectives. The size of management can range from one person in a small firm to hundreds or thousands of managers in multinational companies. In large firms the board of directors formulates the policy which is implemented by the chief executive officer." Management is the process of allocating an organization's inputs, including human and economic resources, by planning, organizing, directing, and controlling for the purpose of producing goods or services desired by customers so that organizational objectives are accomplished. If management has knowledge of the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of the business, its decisions can be made on the basis of facts, and decisions are more accurate and timely as a result.

Information as a general notion or idea, it has a multiformity of meanings because of the daily usage of it. In general, information is related to, data, instruction, knowledge, perception and so on. Information defines itself as the act of informing or information is the knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance. Information may gained through study, communication, research, instruction and etcetera. Due to the advent of the Knowledge Age, the word information is usually used in the information socities such as informatics, information science and computer science. Information is what is used in the act of informing or the state of being informed. Information includes knowledge acquired by some means.Technical developments in computers and data processing and new theories of systems analysis made it possible to computerize systems. Much of this computerization of systems was an out growth of basic research by the federal government (Stair, Ralph M. (1996). Principles of Information Systems and Managerial Approach, 2nd ed.).

A system a coordinated body of methods or a scheme or plan of procedure. A combination of parts incorporating as a whole. A system has a structure or configuration which is coordinated body of methods or a scheme or plan of procedure. Also, it has behavior or manner which involves inputs, processing and outputs of material, information or energy. Lastly, system has interconnectivity which the various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other.

The word system is old enough to us. Before there are many local and unlocal divisions of aboriginal people has its own system. Just like the ancient Chinese people. They use the system of barter before in order for them to trade their products with other people. One of our descendants also which was the Malays used their own system of government in order for them that they can administer their people. Even today, there are also people use the system of Kaingin. Kaingin is the process in which the trees in mountains was cleared.

A system is a scientific method of inquiry, that is, observation, the formulation of an idea, the testing of that idea, and the application of the results.The scientific method of problem solving is systems analysis in its broadest sense. Data are facts and figures. However, data have no value until they are compiled into a system and can provide information for decision making.

A computer system that receives important business data from all departments in a large company. Then, based on a carefully defined set of rules, the Management Information System generates the information and reports people need to manage the business. According to Answer.com, Management Information Systems are those systems that allow managers to make decisions for the successful operation of businesses.Management information systems consist of computer resources, people, and procedures used in the modern business enterprise. The term MIS stands for Management Information Systems. MIS also refers to the organization that develops and maintains most or all of the computer systems in the enterprise so that managers can make decisions. The main goal of the Management Information System is to deliver the communication in different levels or stages. Professionals of MIS generates and holds up the system of computer throughout the company.

"Trained and educated to work with corporate computer systems, these professionals are responsible in some way for nearly all of the computers, from the largest mainframe to the desktop and portable PCs." http://www.answers.com/topic/management-information-system

Now, we are going to ponder whether the said course description is wrong or right. In my own notion, MIS or Management Information System is not a wrong course description. Even the components of IT or Information Technology is, Software + Hardware and the components of Information Science is, IT (Software and Hardware) + Peopleware, which is also an essential components in Management Information System, this constituents are inseparable to each other. Therefore, Management Information System nowadays is useful and accomodating as well as very helpful in businesses, companies, industries and in commerce. Chos!

.........eNroLmEnT PeRiOd.................

2008-05-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

whew! enrolment na nmn. shucks!!!! so maraming tao tlga. so nakaka-irritate (*char lng*) hehehe..... sa gym, sa iba't ibang department offices and lalo na sa canteen. so nkikipanibago tlga. d new doors and the new faces in school. namromroblema na naman ako bcoz nawala aking handbook. dun kasi namin nilalagay aming mga grades. eh, pano kaya ito? haaaaaaaaaaa (mad)!!!!!!!!!!......... gago tlga yung kumuha sa table ni ma'am (adviser namin)! bahala na, uhmmmm......magbabayad na lng ako ulit sa SSC (Student Supreme Council). shucks, sayang naman. Php 50 daw yun. haaaaayyyyyy....., wla akong magagawa. this time, two sections na ang IT sa skul nmin. isa sa first year level and isa rin sa second year level. bago lang kasi yang IT course sa skul nmin. and now, i'm planning for my new strategies dis first semester. mag-nonovena (cheat yan...kala nyo ano ha!!!...pray din noh) na tlga akoh. hehehe..... kaya, gud luck sa iyo CHRIS (me). (//_o) <----- "di ako emo ha"

sO sO sO DiFfICuLt.........(//_o)

2008-05-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

whew! hhhmmmmppp......i dunno wat i wanna say here. first of all i'm chris, a student from University of Southeastern Philippines. i am a student information technologist but i'm not really good in computer programming, hahahaha!!!!. for me, it is so so so so difficult to make an account here. it takes me two days to make an account here.....but, see i know nah!!! ok...bye!