Disambiguation - Definition and Examples in Language Studies

Disambiguation s in Language Studies In linguistics, the process of determining which sense of a word is being used in a particular context. In computational linguistics, this discriminative process is called word-sense disambiguation (WSD). Examples and Observations: It so happens that our communication, in different languages alike, allows the same word form to be used to mean different things in individual communicative transactions. The consequence is that one has to figure out, in a particular transaction, the intended meaning of a given word among its potentially associated senses. While the ambiguities arising from such multiple form-meaning associations are at the lexical level, they often have to be resolved by means of a larger context from the discourse embedding the word. Hence the different senses of the word service could only be told apart if one could look beyond the word itself, as in contrasting the players service at Wimbledon with the waiters service in Sheraton. This process of identifying word meanings in a discourse is generally known as word sense disambiguation (WSD).(Oi Yee Kwong, New Perspectives on Computational and Cognitive Strategies for Word Sense Disambiguation. Springer, 2013) Lexical Disambiguation and Word-Sense Disambiguation (WSD) Lexical disambiguation in its broadest definition is nothing less than determining the meaning of every word in context, which appears to be a largely unconscious process in people. As a computational problem, it is often described as AI-complete, that is, a problem whose solution presupposes a solution to complete natural-language understanding or common-sense reasoning (Ide and VÃ ©ronis 1998).In the field of computational linguistics, the problem is generally called word sense disambiguation (WSD) and is defined as the problem of computationally determining which sense of a word is activated by the use of the word in a particular context. WSD is essentially a task of classification: word senses are the classes, the context provides the evidence, and each occurrence of a word is assigned to one or more of its possible classes based on the evidence. This is the traditional and common characterization of WSD that sees it as an explicit process of disambiguation with respect to a fix ed inventory of word senses. Words are assumed to have a finite and discrete set of senses from a dictionary, a lexical knowledge base, or an ontology (in the latter, senses correspond to concepts that a word lexicalizes). Application-specific inventories can also be used. For instance, in a machine translation (MT) setting, one can treat word translations as word senses, an approach that is becoming increasingly feasible because of the availability of large multi-lingual parallel corpora that can serve as training data. The fixed inventory of traditional WSD reduces the complexity of the problem, but alternative fields exist . . ..(Eneko Agirre and Philip Edmonds, Introduction. Word Sense Disambiguation: Algorithms and Applications. Springer, 2007) Homonymy and Disambiguation Lexical disambiguation is well suited particularly for cases of homonymy, for instance, an occurrence of bass must be mapped onto either of the lexical items bass1 or bass2, depending on the intended meaning. Lexical disambiguation implies a cognitive choice and is a task that inhibits comprehension processes. It should be distinguished from processes that lead to a differentiation of word senses. The former task is accomplished fairly reliably also without much contextual information while the latter is not (cf. Veronis 1998, 2001). It has also been shown that homonymous words, which require disambiguation, slow down lexical access, while polysemous words, which activate a multiplicity of word senses, speed up lexical access (Rodd e.a. 2002).However, both the productive modification of semantic values and the straightforward choice between lexically different items have in common that they require additional non-lexical information.(Peter Bosch, Productivity, Polysemy, and Predicate Indexicality. Logic, Language, and Computation: 6th International Tbilisi Symposium on Logic, Language, and Computation, ed. by Balder D. ten Cate and Henk W. Zeevat. Springer, 2007) Lexical Category Disambiguation and the Principle of Likelihood Corley and Crocker (2000) present a broad-coverage model of lexical category disambiguation based on the Principle of Likelihood. Specifically, they suggest that for a sentence consisting of words w0 . . . wn, the sentence processor adopts the most likely part-of-speech sequence t0 . . . tn. More specifically, their model exploits two simple probabilities: (i) the conditional probability of word wi given a particular part of speech ti, and (ii) the probability of ti given the previous part of speech ti-1. As each word of the sentence is encountered, the system assigns it that part-of-speech ti, which maximizes the product of these two probabilities. This model capitalizes on the insight that many syntactic ambiguities have a lexical basis (MacDonald et al., 1994), as in (3): (3) The warehouse prices/makes are cheaper than the rest. These sentences are temporarily ambiguous between a reading in which prices or makes is the main verb or part of a compound noun. After being trained on a large corpus, the model predicts the most likely part of speech for prices, correctly accounting for the fact that people understand price as a noun but makes as a verb (see Crocker Corley, 2002, and references cited therein). Not only does the model account for a range of disambiguation preferences rooted in lexical category ambiguity, it also explains why, in general, people are highly accurate in resolving such ambiguities.(Matthew W. Crocker, Rational Models of Comprehension: Addressing the Performance Paradox. Twenty-First Century Psycholinguistics: Four Cornerstones, ed. by Anne Cutler. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005) Also Known As: lexical disambiguation

Organisational factors Essay Example

Organisational factors Essay Example Organisational factors Essay Organisational factors Essay Purpose: To study and find out the organisational factors which play a significant role in the successful implementation of ERP and finally find out the relation between the factors which helps us in narrow down the factors so that we can get the most influenced factor to concentrate upon. It’s quite difficult for the company to take care of all the factors, so our next aim to find the major factor(s) which have more criticality over the others. Methods: During research project we collected the data from Primary and Secondary source.We prepared around 16 questions and get them answered from the employees and managers of the company who are currently using ERP. Apart from it we interviewed some top management level people for the detailed knowledge and its importance. Findings: After getting the results we found that we can group these factors into three groups according to the impact over the other. Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are adopted by many or ganisations to meet various challenges of information flow and competition. ERP systems help to make the key business processes to be automated and integrated in an organization.ERP systems help in timely flow of the information which can help in making efficient strategic decisions. Following pattern is followed, the related literature is reviewed. Then, hypothesis and objective is presented followed by research methodology used for study. Next, observation, findings and analysis are discussed. Finally, conclusion and suggestions are given. Literature Review 2. 1 ERP implementation success Several factors may affect ERP implementation in organizations. These factors include, lack of top management support (Supramaniam and Kuppusamy, 2011; Shah et al. , 2011; Finney and Corbett, 2007; Bhatti, 2005; Wong et al. 2005), business requirement gap (Shah et al. , 2011; Wong et al. , 2005), user involvement (Francoise et al. , 2009; Rasmy et al. , 2005) and vendor support (Al-Mashari et al. , 2006; Thavapragasam, 2003), communication and co-ordination which may cause ERP implementation failure. ERP systems always require changes in work flows which need organizational alignment which requires top management support. Top management commitment and support is noted as a critical factor which has a positive effect (i. e. positively related) on the success of ERP implementation success (Rasmy et al. 2005; Supramaniam and Kuppusamy, 2011, Shanks and Light, 1999; Shah et al. , 2011). Finney and Corbett (2007) also stated that top management support has the 1st most critical success factors regarding ERP success in his research. 2. 2 Organisational factors influencing successful ERP implementation Determining factors that are positioned behind a successful ERP system implementation has been a key research question in previous research. Implementation of an ERP system is a complex process including a great many factors and conditions which can potentially influence successful mplementation. These factors might have a positive effect on the ERP implementation project outcome, whereas the lack of these conditions could create trouble through ERP implementation. Many researchers have recognized that there are many factors that could be critical to the successful implementation of ERP. For example, [36] Somers and Nelson (2004) recognized that there are 22 critical success factors including Top management support, Education on new business processes, User training on software, On the hand, [1] Al-Mashari et al. 2003) found out that thre are 12 critical ERP factors such as ERP selection, project management, training and education, business process management, cultural and structural change management while [39] Umble et al. (2003) divided the factors into 10 categories including Commitment by top management, Clear understanding of strategic goals, Excellent implementation project management, Great implementation team, Successfully coping with technical issues , Organizational commitment to change, Data accuracy, Extensive education and training, Focused performance measures, and Multi-site issues resolved.Based on [12] Dezdar and Sulaimans (2009) work the factors can be grouped into 17 categories which subsequently can be re-organized into three main categories; organizational, project and system. [53] Dezdar (2010) found organizational factors to be quite instrumental in determining the ERP implementation success. This research focus on the following aspects of the organizational factors, i. e. Top management support, Organizational size , cooperation and coordination ,ERP training and education, and role of business vision and mission . These factors are discussed in detail in the following paragraphs. . 2. 1 Top management Top management support, has been emphasized, as a crucial factor in successful ERP implementation by many ([1] Al-Mashari et al. , 2003; [39] Umble et al. , 2003; [47] Zhang et al. , 2005). [29] Ngai et al. (2008), discussed that top management support, plays a significant role in the ERP implementation success because ERP are normally done on a large-scale and require extensive resources. Top management support has two major aspects or factors in ERP implementation projects: providing the necessary resources and providing leadership.Even the survey done for this project has shown the same results that management plays a very critical role in successful ERP implementation. 2. 2. 2 Training and education As mentioned earlier ERP is a complex system thus adequate training and education must be provided so that the users to use them effectively and efficiently ([8] Correa and Cruz, 2005; [47] Zhang et al. , 2005; [3] Bradley, 2008) and with ease. Training and education would enhance the users level of knowledge, understanding and efficiency, thus increasing individual performance and subsequently organizational performance. [27] Nah et al. 2003) stated that sufficient training can increase the pr obability of success of ERP system implementation, while inappropriate or no training can hinder its success greatly. Adequate training and education may also help the organization to build positive feelings towards the system. More important it may help ERP users to adjust to the organizational change-taking place with the implementation of the system. In addition, training increases ease of use, user acceptance and reduces user resistance, which, in turn, enhances the likelihood of ERP systems use and success ([3] Bradley, 2008). 2. 2. 3 Business mission:In order to successfully run a business, an entrepreneur needs a clear vision as to where the business is going. In other words, a business needs to know what its purpose is and where it is going. A mission statement is the perfect tool to develop in order to define a new businesss purpose, activities, and values . A mission statement should act as a lighthouse. If a company loses track of itself, it will be able to look back on t heir mission statement and be reminded of their overall purpose. In general, a mission statement should inform your workers and customers what the business is all about and where it is headed.A mission statement helps p a business to create a culture that is integrated with its overall purpose For purposes of this study, two notions, i. e. organizational mission and goals from the strategic management literature, are used to describe business vision. That said, many organizations in fact adopt ERP to meet their organizational objectives (business vision) ([8], [9] Davenport, 1998, 2000; [5] Bingi et al. , 1999). Sadly, it has been observed so far that many organizations fail to articulate their IT implementation strategy vis-a-vis overall business vision ([24] Keen, 1993; [10] Deloitte Consulting, 2000 According to [9]Davenport (2000), companies with a desire to implement ERP must be clear about their strategic intent before going for such an exercise. He quotes: In the same categor y of things that need to be settled beforehand if youre going to get value from an [ERP] is the notion of strategic clarity certainty as to what business the company is in [ ] ([9] Davenport, 2000, p. 47). 2. 2. 4 Organisation Size The journal â€Å"The impact of organization size on enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations in the US manufacturing sector† clearly states that organisation’s size plays a very important role in successful ERP implementation.The greater the size more the need to use standardized ERP for proper information flow. In the research done, it has been found out the organizations having branches ;gt;10 are implementing ERP package. 2. 2. 5 Employee resistance The research document â€Å"Resistance to change and ERP implementation success: the moderating role of change management initiative†. It clearly states that employee resistance plays a very important role in success of ERP. Even the research conducted stated the same result s. 2. 2. 6 Standardization of single packageThe research document â€Å"Understanding the Impact of ERP Standardization on Business Process Performance† states that standardization on a single ERP package contribute greatly in success of ERP implementation. Even the study conducted also showed the same results. 2. 2. 7 Connectivity across different companies The research document â€Å"Issues in multinational ERP implementation† try to state that connectivity across the organization play significant role in ERP implementation. This research carried out even stated the same results. 2. 2. 8 Range of branches: ERP implementation is beneficial when the organisations have wide range of branches.Various studies has been conducted which tried to state that only companies which has wide range of branches usually go for ERP implementation as it has more benefits in terms of information flow and resource allocation. Research Objective: â€Å"Our objective is to find out that o rganisational factors play a significant role in successful ERP implementation. † The relationship between each factor and the success of the ERP implementation is analysed in this research. The research analyses the data and information taken from various companies. Hypothesis: Null Hypothesis (H0):Organisational factors does not play significant role in successful ERP implementation. Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): Organisational factors play significant role in successful ERP implementation. Methodology: The methodology which we used in finding the survey data is from Primary and Secondary source both. We first examine the existing literature on critical success factors of ERP implementation (Secondary Data) and then assess the company perception on the criticality of these factors (Primary Data). The questionnaires were distributed to selected managers and employees of companies adopting ERP systems.We also gathered some data by taking interview of the Top management of some pr estigious company. This approach helps us in finding out various factors from practical scenario which really helps in the success of the ERP implementation. Few companies from where we gather the data are:– TCS, Ford, LnT, Renault, Daimler, Microsoft, Motherson Sumi Systems, John deer, Tyco, NCR Co. India Pvt. Ltd. , Yamaha motors Pvt. Ltd. , Infosys, and some experienced and knowledgably faculties of prestigious B-Schools e. g. IMT Hyderabad. Later we find the criticality of every factor by: Factor Analysis and Regression.We took 100 samples but only 54 relevant responses were found out. Number of sample questions in each survey are 16, some questions are objective type which can be answered on the likert scale and some are descriptive type because we are interviewing or gathering the data from the top management and employees of the company about the major factors and their importance. Therefore, we presented the mixed types of questions. While doing the project we come ac ross few limitations of the research: Firstly, the ERP implementation success dimensions were measured using subjective and perceptual measures.This was due to the difficulty in securing the related factual data from the participating organizations. Secondly, there can be some biasness in giving the data, as the companies who are currently in use of ERP and spend so much will give the biased information. The questionnaire is attached in annexure with all the responses from the industry i. e. primary source. Results: Linear  Regression  Results| The  REG  Procedure Model:  Linear_Regression_Model Dependent  Variable:  Success  in  implementation(Benefi  Success  in  implementation(Benefit  perception+Increase  in  satisfaction  level)| | Number of Observations Read| 52|Number of Observations Used| 52| | Analysis of Variance| Source| DF| Sum of Squares| Mean Square| F Value| Pr  ;gt;  F| Model| 8| 44. 19446| 5. 52431| 6. 46| ;lt;. 0001| Corrected To tal| 51| 80. 98077|   |   |   | Error| 43| 36. 78631| 0. 85550|   |   | | Root MSE| 0. 92493| R-Square| 0. 5457| Dependent Mean| 5. 51923| Adj R-Sq| 0. 4612| CoeffVar| 16. 75831|   |   | | - - - Note:  Model  is  not  full  rank. Least-squares  solutions  for  the  parameters  are  not  unique.Some  statistics  will  be  misleading. A  reported  DF  of  0  or  B  means  that  the  estimate  is  biased. | - Note:  The  following  parameters  have  been  set  to  0,  since  the  variables  are  a  linear  combination  of  other  variables  as  shown. | Top Management Influence =| 4 * Intercept| | | | Parameter Estimates| Variable| Label| DF| Parameter Estimate| Standard Error| t  Value| Pr  gt;  |t|| Intercept| Intercept| B| 3. 28844| 1. 89106| 1. 74| 0. 0892| Standardization of Single Packag| Standardization of Single Package| 1| 0. 10219| 0. 08832| 1. 16| 0. 537| Top M anagement Influence|   | 0| 0| . | . | . | Connectivity across different co| Connectivity across different companies| 1| 0. 19473| 0. 08456| 2. 30| 0. 0262| Organizational Size|   | 1| -0. 23147| 0. 19982| -1. 16| 0. 2531| Range of branches|   | 1| 0. 29018| 0. 11756| 2. 47| 0. 0176| Less degree of employee resistan| Less degree of employee resistance| 1| -0. 22751| 0. 17244| -1. 32| 0. 1940| Coperation and Cordination|   | 1| 0. 65358| 0. 24454| 2. 67| 0. 0106| Role of Business mission and vis| Role of Business mission and vision| 1| -0. 38776| 0. 23768| -1. 63| 0. 101| Training and Development|   | 1| 0. 35042| 0. 19639| 1. 78| 0. 0814| | Correlation of Estimates| Variable| Label| Intercept| Standardization of Single Packag| Connectivity across different co| Organizational Size| Range of branches| Less degree of employee resistan| Coperation and Cordination| Role of Business mission and vis| Training and Development| Intercept| Intercept| 1. 0000| -0. 2150| -0. 3886| -0. 7468| 0. 2264| -0. 4380| -0. 4969| -0. 5696| -0. 4536| Standardization of Single Packag| Standardization of Single Package| -0. 2150| 1. 0000| 0. 2258| 0. 1309| 0. 0552| 0. 0616| -0. 1327| 0. 2571| -0. 917| Connectivity across different co| Connectivity across different companies| -0. 3886| 0. 2258| 1. 0000| 0. 2307| 0. 1232| 0. 4621| -0. 0188| -0. 0187| 0. 3353| Organizational Size|   | -0. 7468| 0. 1309| 0. 2307| 1. 0000| -0. 1477| 0. 0832| 0. 3870| 0. 1966| 0. 2829| Range of branches|   | 0. 2264| 0. 0552| 0. 1232| -0. 1477| 1. 0000| -0. 1528| -0. 1183| -0. 4683| -0. 2168| Less degree of employee resistan| Less degree of employee resistance| -0. 4380| 0. 0616| 0. 4621| 0. 0832| -0. 1528| 1. 0000| -0. 0598| 0. 3169| 0. 3236| Coperation and Cordination|   | -0. 4969| -0. 1327| -0. 0188| 0. 3870| -0. 183| -0. 0598| 1. 0000| 0. 0296| -0. 1252| Role of Business mission and vis| Role of Business mission and vision| -0. 5696| 0. 2571| -0. 0187| 0. 1966| -0. 4683| 0. 3169| 0. 0296 | 1. 0000| 0. 0922| Training and Development|   | -0. 4536| -0. 1917| 0. 3353| 0. 2829| -0. 2168| 0. 3236| -0. 1252| 0. 0922| 1. 0000| | | Factor  Analysis  Results| The  FACTOR  Procedure| | Input Data Type| Raw Data| Number of Records Read| 52| Number of Records Used| 52| N for Significance Tests| 52| | | Generated  by  the  SAS  System  (Local,  W32_VSHOME)  on  February  24,  2013  at  7:27:27  PM| | | Factor  Analysis  Results| The  FACTOR  ProcedureInitial  Factor  Method:  Principal  Components Prior  Communality  Estimates:  ONE  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  | | Eigenvalues of the Correlation Matrix: Total = 8 Average = 0. 88888889| | Eigenvalue| Difference| Proportion| Cumulative| 1| 2. 11694553| 0. 24953625| 0. 2646| 0. 2646| 2| 1. 86740928| 0. 50755333| 0. 2334| 0. 4980| 3| 1. 35985595| 0. 49497679| 0. 1700| 0. 6680| 4| 0. 86487917| 0. 32219842| 0. 1081| 0. 7761| 5| 0. 54268075| 0. 02774770| 0. 0678| 0. 8440| 6| 0. 51493305| 0. 0 7920770| 0. 0644| 0. 9083| 7| 0. 43572535| 0. 13815443| 0. 0545| 0. 9628| 8| 0. 29757092| 0. 29757092| 0. 0372| 1. 0000| 9| 0. 00000000|   | 0. 0000| 1. 0000| 3  factors  will  be  retained  by  the  MINEIGEN  criterion| Factor  Pattern| |   | Factor1| Factor2| Factor3| Standardization of Single Packag| Standardization of Single Package| 0. 69014| -0. 26162| -0. 23207| Top Management Influence|   | 0. 00000| 0. 00000| 0. 00000| Connectivity across different co| Connectivity across different companies| -0. 49203| 0. 54147| -0. 48463| Organizational Size|   | -0. 55073| -0. 48025| 0. 33725| Range of branches|   | 0. 20013| 0. 34213| 0. 80756| Less degree of employee resistan| Less degree of employee resistance| 0. 17237| -0. 68893| 0. 30760| Coperation and Cordination|   | 0. 7166| 0. 28393| -0. 13602| Role of Business mission and vis| Role of Business mission and vision| -0. 17059| 0. 74207| 0. 43129| Training and Development|   | 0. 73842| 0. 22839| 0 . 07819| | Variance Explained by Each Factor| Factor1| Factor2| Factor3| 2. 1169455| 1. 8674093| 1. 3598560| | Final Communality Estimates: Total = 5. 344211| Standardization of Single Packag| Top Management Influence| Connectivity across different co| Organizational Size| Range of branches| Less degree of employee resistan| Coperation and Cordination| Role of Business mission and vis| Training and Development| 0. 59859241| 0. 0000000| 0. 77015031| 0. 64768308| 0. 80925749| 0. 59896039| 0. 55025088| 0. 76578116| 0. 60353504| | | Generated  by  the  SAS  System  (Local,  W32_VSHOME)  on  February  24,  2013  at  7:27:27  PM| | | | | | | Findings: * The Regression equation is as follows: Success in Implementation = 3. 28844 + 0. 10219 * (Standardization of single package) + 0. 19473 * (Connectivity across different companies) 0. 23147 * (Organizational Size) + 0. 29018 * (Range of Branches) 0. 22751 * (less degree of employee resistance) + 0. 65358 * (Coope ration and Coordination) 0. 38776 * (Role of Business vision and Mission) 0. 35042 * (Training and Development) * R Square Value = 0. 5457 * Significance: 1. Corporation and Coordination, range of branches and connectivity across different companies has t-value ;gt; 2. 2. Standardization of single package and Training ;amp; Development have positive t-values but less than 2. 3. Organizational Size, Less Degree of Employee Resistance and Role of Business Mission and Vision have negative t-value. * In Factor Analysis, the organisational factors as 9 independent variables can be grouped into 3 factors: * Factor1 (Infrastructural and Structural factor)Standardization of single Package Organisational Size Cooperation and Coordination Training and Development * Factor2 (Organizational cultural factor) Connectivity across different companies Less degree of Employee resistance Role of Business Vision and Mission * Factor3 (Size factor) Range of Branches Discussion: Following is the interpr etation from the regression results: * The Organizational factors that have t-value greater than 2 will have significant positive impact on the successful implementation of ERP. These factors are: 1. Connectivity across different companiesFor the Organization to implement ERP successfully it should develop and maintain proper and high connectivity across different companies. 2. Range of Branches The organization which has large range of branches is more likely to be successful in ERP implementation. 3. Co-operation and Co-ordination There must be good cooperation and coordination among the employees working in the organisation as it is very crucial factor for the success of ERP * The Organizational factors that has positive t-value less than 2 will have positive impact on the successful implementation of ERP but not very significant. These factors are: . Standardization of single package All the different functional areas of company like HR, Finance, Marketing, and Sales and distrib ution should be standardize on single ERP package for successful implementation. 2. Training and Development The employees of the company should be given proper training on ERP modules for it to be successful in future. * The Organizational factors that have negative t-value will have negative impact on the successful implementation of ERP. These factors are: 1. Organisational Size If the organization size is small the ERP can be implemented quickly as compared to large. 2.Less Degree of Employee Resistance From our results, we found that the Less Degree of Employee Resistance factor will not contribute more for the successful ERP implementation. 3. Business Vision and Mission From our results, we found that the Business Vision and Mission factor will not contribute more for the successful ERP implementation. * Top Management influence is present everywhere the ERP was implemented. This shows that it is the most critical factor for the successful implementation of ERP. The R square value â€Å"0. 5457† shows that these independent variables are covering about 54% of variation in the output i. . , successful implementation of ERP. When we run the factor analysis we were able to group these 9 independent variables into three factors and these factors contributed about 66% of deviation. 1. The first factor which is the most important factor is having the independent variables as follows: * Standardization of single Package * Organisational Size * Cooperation and Coordination * Training and Development These independent variables show the common element of infrastructure and working structure of the organization. So, the first factor is named as Infrastructural and Structural factor. . The second factor which is the next crucial factor is having the independent variables as follows: * Connectivity across different companies * Less degree of Employee resistance * Role of Business Vision and Mission These independent variables show the common element of organ izational culture. So, the second factor is named as Organizational cultural factor. 3. The third factor is the next crucial factor having only one independent variable as: * Range of Branches This independent variable has the element as size of the organization. So, this factor is named as Size factor.From the correlation matrix we found high correlation among the independent variables that are in the same factor group which confirms our parity of results. Conclusion : The companies which have high connectivity across different companies, high range of branches, high cooperation and coordination among employees, and good training facilities are most likely to effect the successful ERP implementation. From our findings we found that the top management influence was an important and critical factor for success of ERP in companies. Recommendations:For the company to successfully implement ERP it should invest heavily in Training ;amp; Development facilities. It should encourage high c ooperation and coordination among employees. Because the organization cannot concentrate on 9 organizational factors and work upon that. So, we divided the 9 organizational factors into 3 factor groups and the company can choose one of the factor groups that can be Infrastructural and Structural factor. Simultaneously, it can work on the independent variables that are present in this factor to enhance the probability of success of ERP implementation.Sources : sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0378720601001343ttp://fico-forum. com/? p=147 https://dspace. lboro. ac. uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/8091 researchersworld. com/vol2/issue2/Paper_07. pdf

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 19

Essay Example Learning the English language became essential to the natives to communicate with the invaders. The process of learning in these circumstances may not have been ideal, given the nature of the situation where learning happened in the backdrop of the conquerors and the vanquished (Gunaratne, Shelton A). However, it did introduce a new culture where the conquerors and the vanquished mixed for various compulsions that included trade and commerce. The grim situations arising from the conquerors-vanquished relationships continued to cast their shadows across the continents and societies that began learning the new language of the British. Military expeditions, business misunderstandings or plain local native skirmishes did see exchange of views, albeit impolite, that showed the level of mastery over the new language by the vanquished or the extent of the local languages learnt by the British soldiers or administrators. Such aggravating situations continue to smolder today at various places where English is spoken or is forced to be the spoken language. Today’s conditions are, however, not as complex as they were during the middle ages. The minority can seek legal justice at work places or in other situations if the nature of the enforcement is arbitrary or one-sided (Graddol, David). The situation is particularly difficult in places where English is frowned upon and not encouraged in the academics surprisingly in certain countries in Europe such as Romania and Bulgaria. However, even in these places English is being taught to educate the current generation since English is officially recognized throughout the world. The problems associated with the rise of English as a global language are not universal. They are mostly associated with cultural misunderstanding or local skirmishes. It may be in the form of an employer forcing the employees to speak only English, or

Laws on Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Laws on Property - Essay Example The Supreme Court in a divided decision held that the City's purpose of expropriation, which is to give the property to a private entity for development, falls under the term, for "public use." The Court held that the City as a whole would benefit because the development would bring much-needed capital, investments and work to the City of New London which is in dire need of an economic uplift. Thus, despite the fact that the City would expropriate the property and give it to a private entity, it would still be for "public use" Real property is protected by the registration through the Torrens System of Land Registration, which is popularly used all over the world. This system was invented by Australian Sir Robert Richard Torrens, as a means of simplifying how we transfer ownership of real property. As an owner of the land, I would have it registered and have to follow the requirements set by law, and upon registration, I am issued a Torrens Title, which is my evidence or proof of ownership of the land. The great characteristics of the system are that upon registration, the Title binds and protects my ownership of the land forever to the whole world unless I decide to transfer it or sell it, which should be registered as well. The essential idea [] is simple: Artists and creators should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor for a specified time period, after which the material becomes available for public use. Society benefits because this incentive to create will yield a rich and varied cultural menu for its citizens. (On-line) Therefore, it is clear that laws are created to protect an individual's intellectual property, and gives him ample time to benefit from his creations, and upon the expiration of the time given, the protection is lifted, and the public may benefit. Another case I briefed is on the topic of protection of intellectual property, entitled Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. vs. Samara Brothers Inc., (2000). In this case, the defendant Samara Brothers, Inc. is a company that designs and manufactures children's clothes. Samara filed a case against Wal-Mart Stores because it found out that Wal-Mart Stores had entered into a contract with Judy-Philippine, Inc. to manufacture children's outfits based on pictures of clothes made by Samara and would be sold under a Wal-Mart label, "Small Steps." The case was on the charge of infringement of unregistered trade dress on the legal basis of section 43(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946. Upon reaching the Supreme Court on Certiorari, the Court held that the designs of Samara did not constitute the legal definition of an unregistered trade dress that would warrant protection under the law. This reasoning came about due to the fact that the product's designs are not distinctive enough to constitutional protection under Section 43(a). Just because a product's design almost always identifies the product to the manufacturer, Samara's designs do not make them so distinctive as to cause confusion on the consumers.  

Finding Our Way Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Finding Our Way - Essay Example This proposal will largely reduce environmental pollution. Preserving land for environmental reasons may result into less housing issues but when the government sets price floor then the land’s price may hike and further make housing less affordable. As a result, the article proposes that high density housing should be encouraged to benefit builders but this idea may not be received well by the communities opposed to the higher density development. Education is another vital aspect in economic growth. Although quality education is considered important, less attention is paid to alter financial system of education. The author suggests that the issue of education may be solved by the government taking larger portion of education cost to encourage property tax saving. No Child Left Behind school scorecard should continue with its intended purpose of evaluating individual improvement. The program has failed to address challenges facing children living in poverty such as inability to learn from home because of frequent sickness and hunger . Part of the money used in this program may be used to boost education of students living in poverty. Educated immigrants maybe very useful in providing workforce that may stir the economy. Transportation is an important aspect of resource distribution and should therefore be evenly distributed. But because of inability to expand it imposed by factors such as financial constraint developing a centralized transportation location may be very useful in ensuring proper distribution of resources. Environmental pollution may hinder economic growth but since there should be economic activities going on regardless of environmental challenges, few of the activities such as housing and transportation may be allowed to ensure minimal pollution of environment. Education is another significant factor that can catapult economic growth but because it is a

Causes and Effects of Poverty in Society Research Paper

Causes and Effects of Poverty in Society - Research Paper Example Causes and effects of poverty are interrelated and problems associated with poverty never occur alone. The deficiency of income for sustainability may be inherited and the vicious cycle of poverty results to the passing of these problems from one generation to another (Blau 265). Due to tensions in the social circles, nations stand threatened due to the resulting income inequalities which could result to a country being destabilized. Poor housing, unsafe work environments as well as diseases related to food and water results from the lack of enough money ((Blau 272). Socially, poverty results to high infant mortality and death rates, increased diseases related to hygiene and diet, increased crime rates as people devise survival ways to face poverty and finally increased homelessness. Politically, nations face increased risks of war, mass emigration, genocide as well as terrorism (Blau 276) Step 6: Summarizing Sources Deaton, A. Health, inequality and economic development. Journal of Economic Literature 41: 113. 58, 2003. Print Deaton (58) discusses the mechanisms which are associated with inequality and health as well as review evidence on the effects of the existing income inequality on people’s mortality. ... Parents experiencing hard economic times are very strict as well as become erratic followed by issuance of demands and resulting to insulting their children not to mention administering corporal punishment (Duncan 98). Poor families are trapped the poverty cycles for as many as there exists many disadvantages which collectively work in a circular process making it impossible for individuals to break the poverty cycle (Duncan 105. This is because the poor lack resources to get them out of the poverty, such as finances, quality education, or social connections. Individuals who are poverty-stricken experience disadvantages as a result of their poverty and in turn increases their poverty. This would mean that the poor remain poor throughout their live (Duncan 86). Step 8: Integrating Sources The cause of poverty is as a result of inequality in the income distribution and this leads to deficiency in meeting the basic needs. Another cause of poverty is lack of quality education which is no t able to secure well paying jobs for people or is unable to start income generating activities (Deaton 58). Therefore, the lack of any work to do for individuals eventually results to poverty. Corruption is another contributing factor to causing poverty as it robs the poor to pay the rich off their corrupt activities. Corruption may deprive individual equal opportunities to work competently as the corrupt always have their way even on securing of jobs. Unforeseen circumstances such as the natural calamities may also cause poverty due to the property damage experienced. Finally, a strain on the natural resources due to overpopulation also causes poverty in

Role of the Media in American Politics Essay Example for Free

Role of the Media in American Politics Essay A free and open media is essential to a functioning democracy. Its role in politics is to â€Å"encourage democratization, strengthen the rule of law and promote institution building† (UN News Center). In order for a democracy to work properly, citizens need to be informed on the issues at hand, in a fair and unbiased manner, so they can make sound decisions as to which candidates to vote for. The role of the media in democracy has been realized since the institute’s earliest inception. In 1791 the 1st Amendment was made to the Bill of Rights, and it stated that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances† (PBS). If free press becomes compromised, such as being taken over and run by biased private corporations, then a country’s democracy is at risk, and it can lead to the country becoming a fascist state. In America, the media plays a decisive role in politics and in determining which agendas are successful and which are not and whether or not it has been compromised by private interest continues to be debated. Bias in the Media Whether or not any press can be truly free remains a subject of much debate. Media outlets, just like any other enterprise, rely on a steady flow of funds in order to operate. Thus, they rely on sponsors either through the sales of advertisements or through government funding. Media outlets also much appeal to the demands and tastes of the audience. Various media outlets must compete amongst each other for viewers, so catering to the tastes of that audience becomes a science. â€Å"Restricted by the limited tastes of the audience and reliant upon political elites for most information, journalists participate in an interdependent news system, not a free market of ideas† (Entman 3). Since the media depends on private funds and large numbers of viewers, it is possible that its agenda becomes compromised, from giving a fair and unbiased news report to one that caters towards the tastes of viewers and investors. While media outlets do have the opportunity to be biased, depending on their audience and funding, there are still a wide range of mass media outlets for viewers to choose from. Viewers have a choice as to where to get their news from. If one station seems biased towards one viewpoint, the channel can quickly be changed. Over the decades, technology has increased the ways in which a viewer can get their news. In the 1970’s, television was the main outlet for mass media. There were just seven channels available to the average household, and these captured 80% of all viewing. However, technology has changed this dramatically. In 2005, 85% of households had access to satellite or cable TV and had on average a hundred channels to choose from. Today, viewers can also choose to get their news not just from TV but also from the Internet and smart phones (Muntz 224). With the wide range of choices as to where to get the news, it would not be presumptuous to expect a wider range of political viewpoints to be expressed from various media outlets. However, this does not appear to be the case. Journalists themselves are also inherently biased. While the goal of journalism is to give a fair and unbiased representation of the story being covered, a reporter’s personal views, preferences, and identifications with an issue or politician will undoubtedly come into play. As well, journalists themselves are seeking a successful career in media. In order to be successful, and stand out, they must cover stories that â€Å"make it onto the front page or get lots of airtime on the evening news† (Zaller 21-22). Those stories that get on the front page are those that appeal to the public. Thus, those journalists are mare most adept at appealing to the interests of the public are those that are the most successful (Zaller 22). Thus, the audience may often times end up receiving information that is more sensational than it is unbiased and informational. Despite the wide range of choices as to where to get their news, it has been observed that the public’s viewpoints, as well as those of media outlets, have become increasingly polarized over the years (Muntz 224). It has been proposed selectivity is to blame, that is, peoples inherent nature to select those outlets which best represent their own ideals. â€Å"Selectivity can take place at several junctures with respect to mass media, including exposure to a particular source of political news, attention to what the source says, and biased interpretation when processing the content of political news† (Muntz 225). It is human nature to want to avoid that information which conflicts with their preexisting ideas and beliefs. Thus, while media outlets may offer viewers information, the audience is not necessarily going to listen to the information in a fair and unbiased manner. Thus, bias in the media is a two-way street between media outlets and the viewer’s themselv es. The Media and Political Campaign Coverage The media and politics come most closely into play during presidential elections. Every four years, politicians battle it out to see who will win the most favor from the American people to become the next president. It is the job of the media outlets to inform the public about the various political candidates. During elections, the candidates can get quite negative on each other. The media, as it should, covers the stories behind negative campaign advertisements, political speeches and debates. Politicians who run the most negative campaigns, thus, can end up getting the most media coverage. This can lead towards voter bias on both sides. For example, during the 2012 campaign, the republican candidates received a great deal of media coverage. The candidates – Mitt Romney, Newt Gringrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum – were competing for republican nomination. The democratic nominate was assured, as it was the incumbent Barack Obama. So, there was far less media scrutiny on Barack Obama and his issues, such as the success of his healthcare act or his wishy-washy stance on Super PAC’s (Mark). Voters were more informed on the issues, and negative campaigning, of the republican candidates. Politicians rely on media politics to both win elections and to mobilize public support for causes and the implementation of projects while they are in office (Zaller 1-2). Thus, they rely on journalists and reporters to get their story out to audiences. However, the story that journalists choose to get out may not be the one the candidate wishes. This happens when the press uncovers a skeleton in the closet of a politician, or when a candidate suddenly changes their position on an issue and the media exposes them as wishy-washy (Zaller 13). Depending on the candidate, the media can be either a boon or a bust to their political career. Citizens also rely on media coverage in order to know who to vote for. The public wants to know what kind of morals and ethics a politician has and what their stance is on issues that are important to them. Individuals all have different issues they want to see addressed during a presidential campaign, ranging from taxes to abortion. Mass media outlets will poll their audiences, and study their demographics, in order to know which types of stories their audience will be most likely to identify with and those are the stories that will be covered in the news. Media and Government Exposure The media also plays a strong role in keeping the government honest by exposing scandal and controversy. In the early 1900’s, during what is known as the Progressive Era, a new style of investigative journalism was born. Dubbed by Theodore Roosevelt as â€Å"muckrakers†, these journalists â€Å"revealed illegal and unsavory practices of capital, labor, and state and local government† (PBS). Fast forward to the 1970’s, and it was the same type of muckrakers who exposed the Watergate scandal. However, while democracy relies on the ability of investigative journalism to expose scandals, this type of investigative reporting can also lead to sensationalism and stories that are overly sordid. While the media can over sensationalize certain stories, it can also under expose them as well. An example would be the Iran-contra scandal. Before its exposure in late 1986, the Reagan administration has denied that Oliver North had supported the Nicaraguan contra rebels during the congressional ban on its aid. Most members of the media, as well members of congress, simply accepted the denials and failed to investigate the story (Entman 6). Another example is the way in which the media exposed the Watergate scandal. When the crimes actually occurred, in 1972, Nixon was running for re-election. During this time, the media only presented sporadic reports to the public, leaving them ill-informed about the issue. Had the public been more aware of the scandal and its implications, they may have decided not to re-elect Mr. Nixon. Instead, he was re-elected and later impeached, which was an embarrassing scandal for America. Public Misinformation and Media Responsibility The public accepts for fact that what they are told by the media. They trust the media to give them the whole story and for that story to be truthful, correct and unbiased. However, despite this, viewers of mass media have been found to still be poorly informed. For example: â€Å"Six months into the Iraq war, a study by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland found that FOX News viewers were more likely than consumers of any other major media outlet source to have mistaken beliefs about Iraq. Including the belief that U.S. led forces had already found weapons of mass destruction there. This belief was held by one out of every three FOX viewers at the time, compared to only one out of ten respondents who cited PBS or NPR as their main source of news (Boehlert et al).† Media Matters, an online news source, has exposed media sources, like FOX, That systematically misinform the public (Boehlert et al). Individuals who are loyal to a specific media outlet trust them to give them the true facts, however, this trust may not be warranted. Viewers must also be held responsible for doing their own research in order to fully understand an issue. Citizens depend on media to be the watchdogs of government, but who then is watching the media? Organizations like Media Matters seek to expose bias in media. Getting this message out to the public has become easier with advances in technology and the emergence of social media. New Media A new type of media has begun to emerge as a result of the rise of social media and the Internet. Many people get their news today not from a TV or print newspaper but from internet sites, blogs, and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. â€Å"The World Wide Web and the accompanying explosion in â€Å"new media† have forced an upheaval in U.S. politics in at least four areas, creating 1) innovative ways to reach voters; 2) a radically changed news system; 3) an unprecedented flood of small donors; and 4) newly empowered interest groups on the left and right† (Edsall). The internet is an inexpensive way for politicians to gain maximum exposure. Even candidates with smaller campaign funds can reach a large audience if they are savvy to the ways of social media and blogging. Since their overhead is lower, small internet based media outlets do not have to rely on advertisers to keep their ventures afloat. Thus, their coverage does not need to bend to the whim of corporate sponsors. In turn, the Internet also allows for constituents to feel more connected to politicians. They can follow their personal Twitter and Facebook pages, which may or, more likely, may not be updated by the actual politician themselves, but more likely a paid staff member. However, the level of intimacy between the candidate and the public is heightened, and this may gain them more favor and, in the end, more votes. The internet has given a voice and the power to change to even the most marginal players. For example, during the 2008 presidential election, an aide to Senator Barack Obama made a pseudo campaign ad depicting Hilary Clinton as an all-powerful dictator. The ad was played on YouTube and received over 1 million hits. While the ad itself may not have changed the course of the election, it did show just how powerful the Internet can be in coloring public opinion (Edsall). Conclusion If it is true that democracy depends on the existence of a free and unbiased media, then it may be argued that the United States if far from a true democracy. Bias is inherent in media: in the media outlets themselves, in the various members of government and politics, in the journalists who report the news and in the way in which viewers and audiences interact with media. However, the ideal that democracy depends on a truly free and unbiased media may be an unrealistic expectation because, in fact, the media will always be biased because that is just part of its nature. We do not live in an ideal world, and ideals quickly fade in the face of everyday reality. Media must change along with its changing society and political environment. In this way, it does represent the ideals and values of the day. Today, we are witness to a time of great change in terms of technology and the way in which information is disseminated. Just as quickly as the political environment is changing so is the media that covers it. New technology is giving rise to the exposure of political corruption and government incompetence. It is giving a voice to the under paid and underrepresented voices of the public. So in fact, it appears that the media is still doing its job. However, it is still up to the individual to remain informed on the issues at hand and to remain a loyal and informed citizen by scrutinizing the media just as they scrutinize the government.