Current Polirical Issues in Philippines and International

Press Benigno Aquino Plays as Pontius Pilate On Hacienda Luisita

The controversial agreement to settle the decades-old dispute on one of the largest agricultural estate in the Philippines included on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is being assailed by other farmers and beneficiaries saying that it pre-empts the Supreme Court into resolving the issue of the stock distribution that the Hacienda Luisita management gave to farmers instead of giving the lands. More so, the present machinations of the management is seen as deceptive as they only opt to give more than 1,000 hectares of land plus cash instead of distributing to farmers the more than 4,000 hectares already designated by the Department of Agrarian Reform for distribution to farmer-beneficiaries.

In all these, Pres. Noynoy Aquino who owns more than 1% shares to the company owned by his relatives has been aversive into dealing the cause of the farmers head-on. His spokesperson Atty. Edwin Lacierda said that the President is not keen on involving himself to the issue in order not to be accused of using his power especially that the issue right now is already in the Supreme Court for resolution, but is happy that an agreement is reached and is underway between the two parties.

The issue of agrarian reform is one of strongest issues hurled against him during the campaign and promised that Hacienda Luisita will be distributed to beneficiaries in five years during his term if elected. That promise sounded lame and hallow yet people gave him the vote of confidence. Now that he is already the President, Noynoy Aquino is still washing his hands on the issue that should have been resolved decades ago during his mother’s term. Noynoy Aquino is surely playing the role of Pontius Pilate on this.

While he is resolved and uses all his powers as President of the country on his fight for graft and corruption and stopping the financial leakages in the government, he is on the one hand seen as very lame on advancing the welfare of the farmers that had basically fattened the pockets of his family.

It is unfortunate that Noynoy Aquino is hiding under the skirt of fear so as not to be accused of peddling his power as President into a case that from the very beginning has undermined the welfare of the farmers toiling Hacienda Luisita. I wonder why should the President be afraid of being accused of using the powers of his office on advancing the welfare and giving justice to the very people he should defend? Isn’t it primarily his work as President to use everything at his disposal to advance the welfare of the marginalized, particularly the farmers on the issue of Hacienda Luisita?

Noynoy Aquino is just washing his hands while his family is crucifying the farmers for decades now. The management of Hacienda Luisita trades Barabas with cash and 1,000-plus hectares on the agreement over the rights of farmers of owning the more than 4,000 hectares of the estate. Noynoy Aquino and his advisers know very well that the farmers do not deserve this ploy to short change the beneficiaries yet he opts to play the Pontius Pilate for his family.

Bishop Pabillo of the Archdiocese of Manila is right when he said that Pres. Aquino was voted on the platform and now is working of leading the country to the straight and right path. Such platform raises then the issue of Hacienda as his ultimate test: to choose the country and the people over his family’s welfare and influence.

Pres. Aquino still has the time choose: be the Pontius Pilate or the Simon of Cyrene of the farmers.

Comments/Suggestions:

Today, Noynoy Aquino must speak about this one, this is an important issue! HE must say something on how to solve this and how to end this with no more bloodshed! As we observed he is the leading candidate based on the surveys, and it is unfair to the other candidates who runs fairly yet this only ONE issue he can’t solve? Let us also be aware that Noynoy must be fair and just in this issue whether he or his family is on this, the point is if he prove that under to his leadership and power there will be no corruption.On the interviews Noynoy is urged to solve Hacienda Luisita, he may say that he would give up his 1% and asked his Uncles and aunts to give the land too, but how far he can do .

The high cost of barangay elections

It's the eve of the campaign period for the Barangay and SK elections. At the stroke of midnight, the streets and alleys of the metro will once again take the shape of a 3-dimensional collage, plastered from end to end with faces and promises of the nation's smallest political unit.
In Brgy. Tatalon, Quezon City, incumbent barangay chairman Benedick Banega preoccupies himself with barangay affairs, while in a room nearby, barangay workers and volunteers are busy mounting some 600 tarpaulins on bamboo frames.
"Barangay elections are more expensive now," Banega says. "During my father's time, candidates used to just write their names on old sacks. And hardly anyone wanted to run. But now, with more funds and more autonomy given to barangays, it's become more a more lucrative profession."
By Capt. Banega's estimation, his team has spent more than 50,000 pesos on campaign materials alone. Each kagawad gets 75 tarpaulin posters, while Banega gets 150 pieces. Each of these are priced at 24 pesos. This doesn't include the P45,000 they've allotted for their poll watchers on election day.

"Nowadays, you really have to spend to get ahead in the race," says Banega.
But it's a slightly different picture in Brgy. Baseco, Tondo, Manila. There are no tarpaulin posters at the headquarters of candidate Domingo "A-1" Ramirez, only used posters made of sack that some party-list group left lying around on the streets.

A-1's team was seen turning these old posters over so they could paint their names on the clean back side. In one corner of the room, volunteers are cutting up some old donated cardboard, and using a rubber stamp to mark them with "Vote A-1 for Brgy. Captain."

And plastered on the wall are different-sized, home-made printouts of the running kagawads, with the only thing in common being the face of their candidate for chairman.

"I don't have any money, so the kagawads have adopted my face on their own campaign posters," A-1 Ramirez declares proudly. "Poverty is not a hindrance for me."
By the team's computation, they have spent just a little more than 10,000 pesos, including P1,400 for 2 gallons of paint, P80 for the single rubber stamp, and about P300 for refills of the stamp pad.
Ramirez initially tried to collect 1,000 pesos from each kagawad, but not everyone could come up with the money. Now, they're powered by donations after swallowing their pride.

"All the 3 other candidates for chairman here are millionaires. I'm the only one who's poor. I guess all I can offer is heart," Ramirez chuckles.
But Ramirez concedes that money does matter in any election, big or small. He says he would spend more if he had more.

But with the campaign period starting in just a few hours, and with only 10 days of campaigning allowed, he can only pin his hopes on those in Baseco who can look past the re-used sacks and dirty cardboard giveaways…and see promise behind his persistence.

Comments/Suggestions:

The Election will start with the corruption power. If you are able to please the bussiness people in your barangay they are confident already to take their money back from the councilors, mayors, governors, congressmen up in expense of the poor people. I hope that there is an election every six months to give importance/ value to the voters.It just my opinion to the filipinos.

Gang-rape case: Securing 'Florence'

MANILA, Philippines - Providing security for the country's medical workers is at the center of heated discussions after the gang rape of "Florence," a volunteer nurse in Maguindanao last week.

Six suspects arrested in connection with the gang rape are facing charges in Cotabato City.

"We have filed the case before the fiscal's office and it's now being scheduled by the fiscal in Cotabato City," said Sr. Supt. Federico Castro, Head of Task Force Joy, PNP-ARMM, on ANC's "The Rundown" Monday night.

Case filed vs 6

"A case has been filed against the first six suspects. As per request of the community and families, we have to pinpoint the perpetrators of the crime because we will be giving undue justice to those who have no participation," Castro said. "That's the request fom the office of the regional governor."

Castro said the police are also looking into possible charges against 2 others in custody. A vice mayor of a South Upi town, where the nurse was deployed, is also being questioned.

"Walo na yan [suspects]. We are investigating one from the government, vice-mayor ng municipality. We invited him because of circumstances coming out in our review of the case."

Castro said they are also trying to identify another suspect, a worker at Hanjin Construction. He added the investigation is pointing to 2 or 3 persons responsible for the crime.

"This is an isolated case. It was a matter of 'nakursunadahan' yung nangyari. It's a far-flung municipality, and with the presence of new people in the municipality, that's one of the causes of what happened."

Castro said Task Force Joy and an National Bureau of Investigation-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) forensic chemist are going over material evidence and looking into all angles that will lead to the early solution of the case.

Walk for Justice

Meantime, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), held a demonstration in Mendiola, Manila on Tuesday to demand justice for the 21-year-old victim.

"Joy," or "Florence" as the PNA refers to her, remains confined at a hospital in Cotabato City after being found unconscious near the hospital where she worked.

(Florence Nightingale is a celebrated English nurse who sought to help the sick out of sincere service. Those in the nursing profession look up to her as a heroine.)

Dr. Tita Barcelo, president of the PNA, said "Florence" was part of the second batch of the government's NARS Program that provides year-long training for nurses in areas that are underserved.

To assure security and comply with language and cultural requirements, Barcelo said they make it a point to get applicants from the municipality, initially, and then from within the province if no one from the municipality is qualified. She, however, added that they don't get outsiders.

Barcelo said the program is scheduled to end in December.

"It will really end not because of this event but because this is a short-term project," clarified Barcelo.

But, Barcelo said, Health Secretary Enrique Ona had expressed openness to the possibility of extending the program before the incident, and hiring volunteer nurses in a more permanent way.

Volunteer nurses are currently receiving P8,000 a month under the NARS Program.

Barcelo warned the incident may discourage other health workers from working in far-flung areas where their services are badly-needed. She added the PNA now urges local governments to ensure the safety of volunteer nurses.

"In the final analysis, these are the people who can't afford to go to hospitals, to buy medicines, and this is where we want to be, and our idealist new graduates want to serve. This can serve as another push-factor for our nurses to go out."

Comments/Suggestions:

It's really the responsibility of the community to take care of the safety of these volunteers of the GANG RAPE FLOURENCE. Securing the safety of volunteer nurses has been a problem for the medical community now.As we all know in the Mindanao area might be losing their accredition from PhilHealth because of the lack of manpower, and this incident is going to aggravate that problem. I hope government can seriously look into this case."Nurses have the sworn duty to help people, and I think difficulties like this come with the job. So, what we really want is to appeal to local government to ensure our security and protect us. If we cower with every difficulty we meet, the people out there who really need our service will really be the ones to suffer,"

7 released in bus hostage taking in Quirino Granstand

At least 22 foreign nationals and three Filipinos were taken hostage by a dismissed member of the Manila Police District (MPD) inside a bus parked near the Quirino Grandstand in Ermita, Manila Monday.

Police Chief Insp. Erwin Margarejo, spokesman of the MPD, identified the disgruntled former police officer who took over the Hong Thai travel and tourist bus as Police Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza.

As of 12:15 p.m. Monday, at least six hostages were already released but authorities declined to divulge the suspect's demands.

The MPD Spokesman identified five of the six Hongkong national as Tsan Yee Lai, 40, Fuchak Yin, 10, Wong Chin Nat, 12, Fu Chang Yin, 4, and Diana Chan.

The five released hostages were taken to the nearest precinct to get their statements before taking them to the hospital for stress de-briefing.

Initial investigation disclosed that the former police officer took over the tourist bus at around 10:00 a.m. Monday.

The tourist bus, filled with Hongkong nationals, was about to leave Fort Santiago when Mendoza, who was clad in full police uniform and armed with an M-16 rifle, asked the driver if he could hitch a ride.

The driver, whom authorities have yet to identify, let Mendoza board the vehicle since he thought that the man was an on duty police officer.

Chinese Embassy to RP: ensure safety of hostage survivors

The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Monday night said that the Philippine government should ensure the safety and security of the Chinese nationals who survived the Quirino Grandstand hostage drama Monday.

Sun said they have yet to issue a formal written statement regarding the hostage drama as they are “still confirming the exact information of how many were killed.”

According to Sun, a working group from the Chinese Embassy was sent to the site earlier, adding that they “requested for some explanation why no SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team did not take action at that time.”

“The working group had a disagreement with Philippine side… When the whole drama was over, the Philippine side said sorry… about this action,” he said.

Another working group from the Chinese Embassy was on its way Monday night to the hospitals to check on the survivors of the hostage crisis, according to Sun.

About 25 Chinese nationals onboard a tourist bus were taken hostage by former policeman who was relieved from service.

Comments/Suggestions:

“We request that the Philippine side should try its best to make sure that the injured or those who survived the hostage would be taken cared of,” Chinese Embassy in Manila.As a Filipino we should love and care the tourists people from the other country so that they can help us to invest.“We are hoping for the safety and security of those who were injured,As a concerned citizen of this county, I requested for some explanation why no SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team did not take action at that time.”and why Press. Aquino did not make an action in the accident happened of the Quirino Granstand.

NDRMMC issues progress report on Juan

Manila (18 October) -- In a press conference this afternoon at the National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council (NDRRMC) at Camp Aguinaldo, in Quezon City, the council issued a progress report on the devastation caused by typhoon Juan.

"Malakas talaga ang bagyong ito. Mas malakas ang hangin. Konti ang ulan," said Undersecretary Benito Ramos, executive director of NDRMMC.

Benito shared the report to the media, saying in Ilocos Sur, the Manila North Road in Brgy. Sagayaden, Cabugao is only a lane passable.

In Region II, the Isabela local government has placed the entire province in a state of calamity due to the devastation it is enduring. As reported, Roxas municipality is experiencing power outage with electrical posts toppled down by the strong winds; while another town, Santiago, is currently experiencing strong winds and heavy rains. Likewise, Cagayan province has no power supply.

In the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Benguet-Dalupirip Itogon and Nueva Vizcaya-Benguet road has been closed due to landslides early this afternoon. Landslides have also closed to traffic the Claveria-Calanasan road (Mabanog section), and the Lenneng-Cabugao road, in Apayao. The same is the case for Calanan Boundary-Calaan road (Bannagao and Dalimono sections) in Mt. Province that are both one-way passable.

Initially, the number of evacuees in Regions 1, 2, and CAR has reached to 781 families or 3,687 people.

The Council director also reported that 274 passengers and 10 rolling cargoes, four vessels, and 2 'motorbancas' are in various ports of Luzon are stranded.

For casualties, NDRRMC recorded one injured in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, by a fallen live wire; and one certain Vicente Decena of Brgy Namabbalan Norte, Cagayan is confirmed dead after getting drowned with his at the Cagayan river.

According to Benito, typhoon Juan's sphere has reduced at 300 kilometer radius, but maintains to be at 17 kilometers per hour movement.

"Hopefully, ngayong gabi mag-eexit na itong bagyo," he added

US greenlights $100,000 aid for typhoon victims

MANILA, Philippines - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday expressed condolences to the Philippines after supertyphoon Juan (international codename Megi) devastated parts of Northern Luzon and left at least 10 people dead.

US Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. has instructed the US embassy to provide aid through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID plans to make available US$100,000 to help those affected by the typhoon.

Thomas, who is currently in the United States, met with officials of the National Security Council and the Department of State, and Senator Jim Webb of Virginia to discuss the storm’s impact and the importance of a quick US government response.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all Filipinos during this difficult time. I'm heartened and impressed by the effective measures taken by the people and the government of the Philippines to meet the threat posed by the storm,” he said on Tuesday.

"My embassy team is in constant contact with Philippine authorities and NGO representatives to determine how we can be of further assistance," he added.

At the request of the Philippine government, some US troops and equipment in the country for the annual CARAT and PHIBLEX exercises, along with aircraft and personnel from the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines, have been diverted for use in assessment of areas affected by the typhoon.

Additional assistance will be determined based on the results of the assessments, he said.

Thomas said he will coordinate with the US military and USAID for typhoon relief efforts.

"It is during challenging times like these that the close partnership between the militaries of the United States and the Philippines proves its value," he said.

"We all recall that American and Filipino soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder to provide assistance during tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng last year. In that same spirit, we stand ready to work with our Filipino partners to assist those affected by Typhoon Juan."

Comments/Suggestions:

"On behalf of the CDKIANS, I offer our condolences for the damage and loss of life caused on the island of Luzon by Typhoon Juan.We should love our surroundings/environment so that It would not happened again and again. I suggested that in every institution/school that there should be TREE PLANTING activities so that in the reality it can really help us. I also suggested that we offered our prayers with the people of Luzon and all Filipinos affected by this tragedy.

Case #7 Computer System Security

Computer System Security

Today, more and more people are using their computers for everything from communication to online banking and investing to shopping. As we do these things on a more regular basis, we open ourselves up to potential hackers, attackers and crackers. While some may be looking to phish your personal information and identity for resale, others simply just want to use your computer as a platform from which to attack other unknowing targets.

1.)Dedicated Computers

It’s advisablezzz to use only one computer to store important, sensitive information for a business. When several computers hold different pieces of important data, the possibility of someone or something gaining access to the information increases.

2.)Defragging

It is quite basic really but the consistency of this will help your computer and help your wallet as well because your Laptop or Desktop will see less trips from a computer technician. Over time with all the files on the hard drive things get fragmented, kind of like a disorganized office with papers everywhere, so it takes a little while for the computer to find the file that was selected. But when the computer is constantly defragmented or organized, it is easier for the computer to find the files you are looking for.

3.)Deleting cookies

Cookies are little files that help you load your favorite websites a lot quicker and sometimes if entered into the wrong type of website they would put cookies on your system and send you to pop-up hell, and what type of websites usually send that type of cookies your way. Thats right porn sites..

But by deleting your cookies every couple of days can help keep your computer running the way it should instead of being bogged down by a ton of tiny files.

4.)Turn your computer off and disconnect it from the network when not in use.

A hacker can not attack your computer when you are not connected to the network or your computer is off.

5.)Make a boot disk on a CD or floppy disk.

In case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program you will at least be able to boot your computer with the boot disk. You will need to make this boot disk before you experience a hostile breach of your system.

6.)Install additional basic threat counter-measures
In addition to the three universally needed security software programs discussed above, there are a couple of other software installations which can be basic necessities for you, depending upon your particular computer usage.

7.)Disable file sharing on your hard drives
While securing your wifi router will help keep hackers from getting access to your network, what about the potential for harm from people who already have legitimate access to your network? Having a firewall will certainly help, but it may not be enough.

One of the best ways to limit your exposure to intra-network harms is by prohibiting file sharing access from foreign machines. This is especially important if you are on a large scale or open wifi network, such as at a college library or in an office building, where you do not know who could be potentially browsing through your PC.

8.)Be cautious when downloading
While not all freeware is bad, the old saying that nothing worthwhile in life is free is generally true when it comes to free internet downloads. Spammers often hide dangerous malware in computer programs that they then offer for free on the internet. When you choose to download these free programs, not knowing they are infected, you circumvent your firewall and anti-virus protection, and as a result often open yourself up a serious malware infestation.

9.)Do not use a neighbor's wifi connection
Often hackers setup free, seemingly unprotected wifi connections in convenient locations such as apartment complexes and airports. While these unsecured connections might just be an individual who hasn't taken the time to protect his network, they might also be "honeypots", or traps set by hackers to snag your personal details

10.)Strengthen your web browser security
You connect to the internet through your internet browser. And whether you use Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera or anything else, this is a point of major weakness in any computer's defenses. Hackers often target their attacks on your computer by focusing on flaws in browsers or their plug-ins and using drive-by downloads, to get your computer to download malware through the browser without you even knowing that something was downloaded. Because of this threat, web browser security upgrades are an important early step in your PC security overhaul.

Case# 6 Reaction of the Consumer Act of the Philippines (RA 7394)

Republic Act No. 7394
Consumer Act of the Philippines

Lets talk about the consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. known as the CONSUMER ACT OF THE PHILIPPINES.The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.. his act protects and give the rights of the consumer. In the interpretation and implementation of the provisions of this act the best interest of consumer shall be considered. This act is very useful because it develops and provides safety and quality standards for consumer products. It protect the public against unreasonable risks to injury associated with consumer products.In the Consumer Act of the Philippines it shows there the different policies that protect the interest of every consumers.Filipinos are very helpful.The filipinos should know the rights and duties.As what i read it has basic policies like protections against hazards to health and safety. It only means that every individuals have protections as a consumer of the Philippines. And also to give information to education, facilitate sound choice and the proper exercise of rights by the consumer....To improve the management, coordination and effectiveness of consumer programs, a National Consumer Affairs Council was being created. The council composed of the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Education, Culture and Sports, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, four representatives from consumer organization of nationwide based to be chosen by the President from among the nominees submitted by the various consumer groups in the Philippines, and two representatives from business/industry sector to be chosen by the President from among the nominees submitted by the various business organizations. The council have the power to recommend new policies and legislation or amendments to existing ones.

Case#5 How new technology rewiring our "BRAINS"?

An issue that comes up more frequently in my therapy practice is the impact of communication technology and the internet on emotional, psychological and relationship health. The seduction of these tools, though helpful in a myriad of ways, is proving to be increasingly problematic. As a therapist, I’m experiencing first-hand the consequences occurring for people in distruption to relationships via distractibility and inattentiveness – as well as individual struggles with compulsive e-mail checking, social networking site checking and other what I refer to as “rabbit holes” that technology has created for us. As someone who is very connected to this technology myself, I can also relate to the problem potential.

It is ultimately up to us whether we jump into those rabbit holes and if we do, that we can get ourselves out unscathed; without the personal and relational problems I’ve indicated.

According to a recent article in The New York Times, people are indeed paying a price for their involvement in technology. “The technology is rewiring our brains,”said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists. She and other researchers compare the lure of digital stimulation less to that o

Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)

Case#4 Information Technology Outsourcing(ITO)


Information Technology Outsourcing or ITO is a company's outsourcing of computer or Internet related work, such as programming, to other companies. It is used in reference to Business Process Outsourcing or BPO, which is the outsourcing of the work that does not require much of technical skills.



Disadvantages of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)

1. Loss Of Managerial Control

Whether you sign a contract to have another company perform the function of an entire department or single task, you are turning the management and control of that function over to another company. True, you will have a contract, but the managerial control will belong to another company. Your outsourcing company will not be driven by the same standards and mission that drives your company. They will be driven to make a profit from the services that they are providing to you and other businesses like yours.

2. Hidden Costs

You will sign a contract with the outsourcing company that will cover the details of the service that they will be providing. Any thing not covered in the contract will be the basis for you to pay additional charges. Additionally, you will experience legal fees to retain a lawyer to review the contacts you will sign. Remember, this is the outsourcing company's business. They have done this before and they are the ones that write the contract. Therefore, you will be at a disadvantage when negotiations start.

3. Threat to Security and Confidentiality

The life-blood of any business is the information that keeps it running. If you have payroll, medical records or any other confidential information that will be transmitted to the outsourcing company, there is a risk that the confidentiality may be compromised. If the outsourced function involves sharing proprietary company data or knowledge (e.g. product drawings, formulas, etc.), this must be taken into account. Evaluate the outsourcing company carefully to make sure your data is protected and the contract has a penalty clause if an incident occurs.

4. Quality Problems

The outsourcing company will be motivated by profit. Since the contract will fix the price, the only way for them to increase profit will be to decrease expenses. As long as they meet the conditions of the contract, you will pay. In addition, you will lose the ability to rapidly respond to changes in the business environment. The contract will be very specific and you will pay extra for changes.

5. Tied to the Financial Well-Being of Another Company

Since you will be turning over part of the operations of your business to another company, you will now be tied to the financial well-being of that company. It wouldn't be the first time that an outsourcing company could go bankrupt and leave you holding-the-bag.

6. Bad Publicity and Ill-Will

The word "outsourcing" brings to mind different things to different people. If you live in a community that has an outsourcing company and they employ your friends and neighbors, outsourcing is good. If your friends and neighbors lost their jobs because they were shipped across the state, across the country or across the world, outsourcing will bring bad publicity. If you outsource part of your operations, morale may suffer in the remaining work force.

Implications of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)

Areas Specifically Affected

1. The areas impacted by HR outsourcing include some of the most transaction-heavy functions of personnel. This covers areas such as hiring, payroll processing, health benefits and retirement account management, collections, employee training, and IT areas that support the information and records needed by personnel.

Nimble Staffing

2. Clearly, one of the most attractive impacts of HR outsourcing is a perceived benefit of staffing flexibility. Companies can add or cut staffing as needed or as workload demands without worrying about being entangled in messy employee terminations and long hiring processes. This assumption generally works with outsourcing as long as the function outsourced is fairly general and standardized. If the tasks involved are highly specialized and require unique training, then the company will find itself in a pickle with perennially under-skilled staff.

Waiting for Results

3. One of the more common misconceptions is that a company that begins outsourcing its personnel functions will see profit and gains right away. Frequently this does not occur. In fact, the opposite occurs where additional time and costs are realized getting the outsource provider to perform as desired. The benefits of efficiencies and moving redundant tasks outside are seen over a long-term period once the changes settle in.

Immediate Savings

4. An immediate short-term impact is usually seen in the reduced cost of operation, at first. Many outsource providers will gauge what the cost of the functions are currently for the client company and price below them to be attractive. In the first years of operation this cost comparison will hold true, favoring the outsourcing option. However, as demands increase, specialization is desired, or workload increases, the cost for the outsource provider's services will go up.

Transition Expenses

5. As noted earlier, another immediate impact will be the expenses associated with getting the outsource provider started in supporting a client company. Few situations allow an outsource provider to just start up cold. There will be training, familiarization, travel, certification that new processes will be correctly followed, and more. Frequently, transition to outsourced personnel support takes about a year to complete, depending on the scope of the services transferred. Simultaneously, there is also the cost and time spent eliminating the home staff that have now become surplus.

Caveat

6. An assumed impact by some companies who don't understand business law is to assume that once personnel functions are outsourced, the home company management is no longer responsible for them. This is not true; companies who outsource their services are still legally responsible for those functions and their actions under vicarious liability, a legal concept that extends legal responsibility to those who act in the name of a company. This can include both employees and vendors acting as a proxy for management.

Advantages of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO

1. Focus On Core Activities

In rapid growth periods, the back-office operations of a company will expand also. This expansion may start to consume resources (human and financial) at the expense of the core activities that have made your company successful. Outsourcing those activities will allow refocusing on those business activities that are important without sacrificing quality or service in the back-office.
Example: A company lands a large contract that will significantly increase the volume of purchasing in a very short period of time; Outsource purchasing.

2. Cost And Efficiency Savings

Back-office functions that are complicated in nature, but the size of your company is preventing you from performing it at a consistent and reasonable cost, is another advantage of outsourcing.
Example: A small doctor’s office that wants to accept a variety of insurance plans. One part-time person could not keep up with all the different providers and rules. Outsource to a firm specializing in medical billing.

3. Reduced Overhead

Overhead costs of performing a particular back-office function are extremely high. Consider outsourcing those functions which can be moved easily.
Example: Growth has resulted in an increased need for office space. The current location is very expensive and there is no room to expand. Outsource some simple operations in order to reduce the need for office space. For example, outbound telemarketing or data entry.

4. Operational Control

Operations whose costs are running out of control must be considered for outsourcing. Departments that may have evolved over time into uncontrolled and poorly managed areas are prime motivators for outsourcing. In addition, an outsourcing company can bring better management skills to your company than what would otherwise be available.
Example: An information technology department that has too many projects, not enough people and a budget that far exceeds their contribution to the organization. A contracted outsourcing agreement will force management to prioritize their requests and bring control back to that area.

5. Staffing Flexibility

Outsourcing will allow operations that have seasonal or cyclical demands to bring in additional resources when you need them and release them when you’re done.
Example: An accounting department that is short-handed during tax season and auditing periods. Outsourcing these functions can provide the additional resources for a fixed period of time at a consistent cost.

6. Continuity & Risk Management

Periods of high employee turnover will add uncertainty and inconsistency to the operations. Outsourcing will provided a level of continuity to the company while reducing the risk that a substandard level of operation would bring to the company.
Example: The human resource manager is on an extended medical leave and the two administrative assistants leave for new jobs in a very short period of time. Outsourcing the human resource function would reduce the risk and allow the company to keep operating.

7. Develop Internal Staff

A large project needs to be undertaken that requires skills that your staff does not possess. On-site outsourcing of the project will bring people with the skills you need into your company. Your people can work alongside of them to acquire the new skill set.
Example: A company needs to embark on a replacement/upgrade project on a variety of custom built equipment. Your engineers do not have the skills required to design new and upgraded equipment. Outsourcing this project and requiring the outsourced engineers to work on-site will allow your engineers to acquire a new skill set.

What is Google's mission? How did Google begin?

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. The first step toward fulfilling that mission came when our founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, working out of a Stanford University dorm room, developed a new approach to online search that quickly spread to information seekers around the globe. Google is now widely recognized as the world's largest search engine -- a free service whose utility and ease of use have made it one of the world's best-known brands almost entirely through word of mouth from satisfied users.
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people find and use information. We maintain the world's largest online index of websites and other content and, via our automated search technology, make this information freely available, nearly instantly, to anyone with an Internet connection.

Google primarily generates revenue by delivering relevant, cost-effective online advertising. Businesses use our AdWords program to promote their products and services with targeted advertising. In addition, the thousands of third-party websites that comprise our Google network use our Google AdSense program to deliver relevant AdWords ads that generate revenue and enhance the user experience.





Who are there competitors?

We face competition in every aspect of our rapidly evolving business,
particularly from other companies that seek to connect people with
online information and provide them with relevant advertising.
Currently we consider our primary competitors to be Microsoft and Yahoo.

A Competitor for Google Check this search engine..
http://beta.previewseek.com/
I feel this can be a competitor for google..

Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) is a company that makes
corporate predictive modeling software. This type of software
gathersand analyzes data and makes an assessment of the
business processes ofa company. It then models
predictions and decisions on what the next
steps the company should undertake.
Software like these enables you to
test certain decisions and projects and
provide possible results after
undertaking such tasks.

Here are some companies making similar products.
VEROS
http://www.veros.com/vmenu.php?p=aboutus
Netutive
http://www.netuitive.com/
Vanguard Software
http://www.vanguardsw.com/
Stone Analytics


How had they use Information Technology to there
advantage?

Before we can know about all the advantages of information technology, it is essential that we know what information technology is exactly, and why it has it come to play such a important
role in our daily lives. Today information technology involves more than just computer literacy;
it also takes into account how computers
work and how these computers can further be used not just forinformation processing but also
for communications and problem solvingtasks as well.Ourworld today has changed a great deal with the aid of
information technology.Things that were once done manually or byhand have now become computerized operating systems,which simply require a single click of a mouse to get a task completed.
With the aid of IT we are not only able to stream line ourbusiness processes but we are also able to
get constant informationin 'real time' that is up to the minute and up to date.
The significance of IT can be seen from the fact that it haspenetrated almost every aspect of our daily lives
frombusiness to leisure and even society. Today personal PCs,cell phones, fax machines, pagers, email and
internethave all not only become an integral part of our veryculture but also playan essential role in our day to day activities.With such a wide scopefor the purposeof this article we shall focus on the impact of the internet
in information technology
Globalization - IT has not only brought the world closer
together, but it has allowed the world's economy to become a single
interdependent system.
Communication - With the help of information technology,
communication has also become cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. We
can now communicate with anyone around the globe by simply text
messaging them or sending them an email for an almost instantaneous
response. The internet has also opened up face to face direct
communication from different parts of the world thanks to the helps of
video conferencing.
Cost effectiveness - Information technology has helped to
computerize the business process thus streamlining businesses to make
them extremely cost effective money making machines
Bridging the cultural gap - Information technology has helped
to bridge the cultural gap by helping people from different cultures to
communicate with one another, and allow for the exchange of views and
ideas, thus increasing awareness and reducing prejudice.
More time - IT has made it possible for businesses to be open
24 x7 all over the globe. This means that a business can be open
anytime anywhere, making purchases from different countries easier and
more convenient. It also means that you can have your goods delivered
right to your doorstep with having to move a single muscle.
Creation of new jobs
- Probably the best advantage of information technology is the creation
of new and interesting jobs. Computer programmers, Systems analyzers,
Hardware and Software developers and Web designers are just some of the
many new employment opportunities created with the help of IT.

How competitive are they in the market?


Market is the most important part of a campaign to affiliate marketing.
You'll never have your work and functioning, if you spend time
conducting extensive research and analysis Your market or subject. Your
campaign will be based on a set of keywords. If you do a search on
Google, MSN or Yahoo, for example, the behavior, you type the words in
the search box are the "keywords" and "sentences". The franchisee
should be as important to find more search results, or demands, but low
supply or low number of search results because this is your
competition. This is where you must use keyword research tools, and
there are free and pay to use those for you. FirstThe decision on the
case on the market, a step back and try always, a question that you
have some knowledge or experience on the selection. There should be at
least a topic that interests you or are passionate about. Also, try to
find keywords that get 350 searches per month. This is a good start. It
is important to keep the number of competing web pages small. The lower
the number, the easier it is to reach that rank for that keyword.

What are google new services do they offers.

• AlertsGet email updates on the topics of your choice
• Blog SearchFind blogs on your favorite topics
• Google ChromeA browser built for speed, stability and security
• DirectorySearch the web, organized by topic or category
• ImagesSearch for images on the web
• NewsSearch thousands of news stories
• ScholarSearch scholarly papers
• Web SearchSearch billions of web pages

What google makes so unique?

Needless to say, it all adds up to a lot of Google on the brain. Google, at the moment, is held up as the gold standard of software companies. They have achieved massive success and are the company almost every developer wants to work for. Ask someone in the software industry which company they want to emulate and they will likely say Google.Obviously, if it was easy to emulate Google, everyone would have done it or would be doing it by now. The more I think about Google, the more and more I think it is going to be impossible to emulate them. Certainly you can steal some of their ideas and what they’ve pioneered and put it to use in your company, but outright copying Google is going to be near impossible.Having touched on Google’s corporate culture, let’s look at something else that makes Google even more unique: how it grows.One thing that has become evident to me is that Google grows in an organic fashion, unlike any other company I know of. Google develops tools that are internally useful and then releases them to the world. Google does not develop products to sell to the world. Google does not have external contracts, at least in the traditional sense, as far as I can tell.Let me elaborate on this. Google is obviously best known for search and for ads associated with search. This is in essence Google’s one true product. It is the one feature Google developed for the outside world. When Google developed search it was no different from a small company. It is what Google has done since then that makes Google different.Google doesn’t answer to any external power. They don’t have anyone they have to deliver a product to. There is no contract with a deadline. Due to not having any external dependencies, Google can continuously iterate over a product until it reaches a state of near perfection. It can stay in internal testing as long as Google wants and no one is going to care. See Gmail, Google Maps, etc. This then allows Google to use the perfect form of the agile process. Continuous iterations and testing and development, continues improvement. Then as Google sees fit, release the products. As they get better and better, more people use them and more money from ads come in. It’s beautiful.Needless to say, it all adds up to a lot of Google on the brain. Google, at the moment, is held up as the gold standard of software companies. They have achieved massive success and are the company almost every developer wants to work for. Ask someone in the software industry which company they want to emulate and they will likely say Google.Obviously, if it was easy to emulate Google, everyone would have done it or would be doing it by now. The more I think about Google, the more and more I think it is going to be impossible to emulate them. Certainly you can steal some of their ideas and what they’ve pioneered and put it to use in your company, but outright copying Google is going to be near impossible.Having touched on Google’s corporate culture, let’s look at something else that makes Google even more unique: how it grows.One thing that has become evident to me is that Google grows in an organic fashion, unlike any other company I know of. Google develops tools that are internally useful and then releases them to the world. Google does not develop products to sell to the world. Google does not have external contracts, at least in the traditional sense, as far as I can tell.Let me elaborate on this. Google is obviously best known for search and for ads associated with search. This is in essence Google’s one true product. It is the one feature Google developed for the outside world. When Google developed search it was no different from a small company. It is what Google has done since then that makes Google different.Google doesn’t answer to any external power. They don’t have anyone they have to deliver a product to. There is no contract with a deadline. Due to not having any external dependencies, Google can continuously iterate over a product until it reaches a state of near perfection. It can stay in internal testing as long as Google wants and no one is going to care. See Gmail, Google Maps, etc. This then allows Google to use the perfect form of the agile process. Continuous iterations and testing and development, continues improvement. Then as Google sees fit, release the products. As they get better and better, more people use them and more money from ads come in. It’s beautiful.

How competitive are they in International Market?

Having studied Google abroad somewhat significantly, I believe this article provides a very naïve view on Google’s success abroad. Absolutely, Google, as any American company, needs to be extremely aware of the impression they make when entering foreign grounds, as the risk as being seen as arrogant – the ugly American – is omnipresent. And, yes, Google should continue to grow their in-country teams significantly in order to best overcome cultural and sales hurdles and take advantage of unique opportunities and the gigantic world market that is growing at a quicker pace than the U.S. market. Recent stats point to European e-commerce in a position to surge past U.S. e-commerce.

Yet, don’t attempt to fool anyone here: Google has enormous international market share. Though I’m on a plane and not able to access these stats immediately, I believe that Google has approximately a 10-point higher share of search in Europe than they do in the States. I attended an online and multi-channel retail conference in London earlier this year, and Google was constantly mentioned, and never in a bad light. I am attempting to arrange a dinner in Paris later this year or early next with top French e-commerce companies, and Google is the likely sponsor, due to their relationship with the French agency that I am in contact with and their relationship with the likely invitees. Google is dominant in most countries, with their distant following to Baidu in China and the Russian example in the article notable exceptions.

In the UK, Amazon.com and eBay have also taken off after some early slips and command a dominant share of the market. Of course, they face hurdles, most notably eBay’s fraud and trust problem, but these American brands have also experienced tremendous success abroad. And there are other huge hurdles across Europe, such as Germany’s reliance on non-credit card payments and their language and cultural barriers. The European Union is still quite segmented, and pan-European plays will rarely be successful. Yet, the world continues to flatten, and American brands can have success abroad with fewer hurdles as can international brands have success in the States.

Google has had success with other products abroad, most notably its Orkut social network which has bombed domestically to its MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn brethren, yet has taken off in huge countries such as India and Brazil. So, sure, Google should be sensitive to cultural sensitivities and will face different regulatory environments abroad, but the truth is that Google has been remarkably successful internationally in large part due to the international word-of-mouth generated by their product and feature set.

Case # 2 Global Warning

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century was caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, which results from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation. Global dimming, a result of increasing concentrations of atmospheric aerosols that block sunlight from reaching the surface, has partially countered the effects of greenhouse gas induced warming.




Effects of Computers to the people
•The state of knowledge of global warming will be presented and two aspects examined: observational evidence and a review of the state of computer modeling of climate change due to anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases. Observational evidence, indeed, shows global warming, but it is difficult to prove that the changes are unequivocally due to the greenhouse-gas effect. Although observational measurements of global warming are subject to "correction," researchers are showing consistent patterns in their interpretation of the data.

•Since the 1960s, climate scientists have been making their computer models of the climate system more realistic. Models started as atmospheric models and, through the addition of oceans, surface hydrology, and sea-ice components, they then became climate-system models. Because of computer limitations and the limited understanding of the degree of interaction of the various components, present models require substantial simplification. Nevertheless, in their present state of development climate models can reproduce most of the observed large-scale features of the real system, such as wind, temperature, precipitation, ocean current, and sea-ice distribution. The use of supercomputers to advance the spatial resolution and realism of Earth-system models will also be discussed.

Effects of Computers in a certain Company in our Planet
As our technology grows and more people using computers and it can cause so much heat to our planet. In any company computers are more important. Data center in a company is used to facilitate computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.
It generally includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression) and security devices. IT department in a company is a major source of negative environmental impacts. The best way to reduce heat in our planet is to less consume of power because the IT is the biggest consumer of power.

According to Senior Editor Stephanie writes that Data Centers consume between 1.5% and 3% of all the power generated annually in the United States. A certain Company called VistaPrint, where the IT departments does manage its data center facilities, discovered that its electric bill was projected to skyrocket if the company, which sells custom printed products online grew as predicted. Data Centers of VistaPrints hosted by "Cable and Wireless". The use of "hydro power" provides a renewable lower-emissions of source electricity. The company replace its blade servers with virtual machines that use more server capacity and consume less power.

The Green Advantage
First and foremost, green IT is a help to the environment. The use of them reduces the already big pile of e-waste. For instance, a simple move of replacing fluorescent bulbs with energy-efficient lights will lessen the number of burnt bulbs dumped into landfills. How? Well, high-efficiency light bulbs tend to last longer which means they require lesser replacements.

Green IT helps you save money. Most Eco-friendly technology devices are energy- efficient which means that they consume lesser energy. And in a business, that translates to less electricity to pay for.

The first two benefits leads to this third benefit. This refers to personal fulfillment. Knowing that you have helped save the planet while earning something out of it is a very wise move that creates a sense of nobility and fulfillment.

The Data center Server that Consume Less Energy
- Start-up server maker SeaMicro today unveiled a new low-power server that promises to slash power costs for companies running large Internet services and cloud computing platforms. SeaMicro’s multi-core x86 server runs on Intel’s low-power Atom chips, whose energy efficiency has made them the processor of choice for many mobile phones and laptops.



Case # 3What is Facebook

What is Facebook?


Facebook is a social networking website that was originally designed for college students, but is now open to anyone 13 years of age or older. Facebook users can create and customize their own profiles with photos, videos, and information about themselves. Friends can browse the profiles of other friends and write messages on their pages.

Each Facebook profile has a "wall," where friends can post comments. Since the wall is viewable by all the user's friends, wall postings are basically a public conversation. Therefore, it is usually best not to write personal messages on your friends' walls. Instead, you can send a person a private message, which will show up in his or her private Inbox, similar to an e-mail message.

Facebook allows each user to set privacy settings, which by default are pretty strict. For example, if you have not added a certain person as a friend, that person will not be able to view your profile. However, you can adjust the privacy settings to allow users within your network (such as your college or the area you live) to view part or all of your profile. You can also create a "limited profile," which allows you to hide certain parts of your profile from a list of users that you select. If you don't want certain friends to be able to view your full profile, you can add them to your "limited profile" list.

Another feature of Facebook, which makes it different from MySpace, is the ability to add applications to your profile. Facebook applications are small programs developed specifically for Facebook profiles. Some examples include SuperPoke (which extends Facebook's "poke" function) and FunWall (which builds on the basic "wall" feature). Other applications are informational, such as news feeds and weather forecasts. There are also hundreds of video game applications that allow users to play small video games, such as Jetman or Tetris within their profiles. Since most game applications save high scores, friends can compete against each other or against millions of other Facebook users.

Facebook provides an easy way for friends to keep in touch and for individuals to have a presence on the Web without needing to build a website. Since Facebook makes it easy to upload pictures and videos, nearly anyone can publish a multimedia profile. Of course, if you are a Facebook member or decide to sign up one day, remember to use discretion in what you publish or what you post on other user's pages. After all, your information is only as public as you choose to make it!





What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Facebook?

Advantages

1. Facebook is social software. Which is the reason why Facebook and Myspace are appealing to adolescence and university students. These students all the time correspond or communicate explicitly concerning their lives, estimation or opinion, interests, and academics.

2. Facebook provides us the chance to choose what you desire to share, and what you don’t need to impart, and what you desire to impart with chosen associates.

3. The building of Facebook appears over time. Clients or users can make groups and conversation or discussion topics. This assemblage or group can cultivate, or be gone alone to pass away, depending on the clients or users and their involvement.

4. From the young people and university students’ perspectives not utilizing Facebook are “social responsibility or liability”. A few professionals not possess an online presence or attendance can be career liability.

5. Facebook a one-stop shop or supermarket for imparting blogging, media, calendaring, communicating, sharing ideas or information and others. Facebook can provide “Cooperative Extension” abilities or capabilities to work together and construct our networks in a single place by giving one place without difficulty, imparting ideas or information and discuss subject or topics of interest.

6. Facebook brings jointly more than a few online apparatus. Furthermore to being capable to impart ideas or information and pictures, you can append applications few examples are: Flickr , del.icio.us, Twitter, your blog, news feeds to your Facebook home.

7. Facebook is mobile phone. Containing Facebook on your mobile maintains you up to date with posts, statuses, and deliberations. These aspects, similar to others are optional.

DISADVANTAGES

Affecting Relationships
Talk about long distance relationships, Facebook would be the one answer friends, family and lovers can count on. Though conducted on a distance, the system can still connect relationships right that very moment. But because relationships are built and strengthened just because of an Internet site, it tends to become weaker and it supports less emotional and most especially physical contact. Some relationships tumble down due to facts like these.

Affecting Emotions
Because Facebook adapts a free-flowing information environment, some uses it to target on other's emotional depression. Others send out procrastination just to bring down a specific person or even bully a student in the lower years. Targeting the emotions may cause a negative attitude towards a person's social relationship, physical activity, and academic issues.

Affecting Industry
Even if the system overflows with so much advantages that one can be joyful of, there are still numbers of flaws that one can pinpoint. Internet industry is greatly affected by sites popping out to render a technical community. This is where the rivalry starts. The crowding is also becoming an issue. The program is considered as a negative diversion especially to the schooling industry, affecting students to divert their attention.

Affecting Privacy
Cyber stalking is one thing. Barging into someone's privacy is another. Come to think about it, cyber stalking and invading one's privacy goes hand in hand. A person who is engaged in cyber stalking tends to know everything about a person and uses it first hand. A lot of a user's personal information is so accessible that almost everyone, even those who know you but you don't know of, can view it.

Superficiality
There are those who would want to be recognized as someone even in the Internet society. But thanks to sites like Facebook, some are already being characterized superficially because of the user's identification of their personal favorites. It's like being one with the world and being one with the trend without forming any kind of identity that one can point out to be unique.

What are the characteristic of facebook, why many people engage in this site?

The following are some common characteristics that are having lots of success with Facebook:

• Facebook doesn’t begin the conversation, it enhances it – If you’re a new or low profile brand looking to increase awareness, Facebook can be a great way to do it. But it comes with extreme diminishing returns, and this goes double with brands that are already well established. They don’t operate their Facebook endeavors in a bubble, but rather as a tool to maintain engagement.
• They are non-interruptive – Think about all the times you have non-marketing oriented folks tell you why they are on Facebook. I’ll bet more often than not, you hear something to the effect that “it’s a great way to keep in touch with friends and family”. At its core, Facebook is a communication medium. As a marketer, you ultimately either enhance or diminish its effectiveness.
  
• They integrate multiple social medium– Perhaps I’m overstating this, but trying to silo your social endeavors diminishes engagement. But we all know silo-ing an operation is part and partial to large organizations with many moving parts. Be that as it may, we should remember users don’t silo their personal operations. It’s not like people exclusively either use Twitter or Facebook. They may be using both. Larger brands that appear to be successful in social media act the same way. The messaging across all mediums is consistent, and they promote the mediums across each other.
• They don’t strive for 1:1 communication, but they are active – Anyone who has worked in a social media program can attest to the fact that social media users have a keen eye for BS (for lack of a better expression). They know when they are being had, as well they should since spammers have run rampant in this realm since the word go. Fortune 500 brands don’t attempt to create 1:1 relationships A. because it’s not feasible and B. It would appear fake. Rather, they maintain communication (even if it is updating status) but do so without passing it off as something it isn’t.
  
• They use Facebook to create evangelists – Badges, apps, fanpages…all of these things are ways to turn your existing base into your own built in brand evangelizing army. For a large brand, the value to having a ‘friend’ on Facebook isn’t that one friend…it’s the 120 or so friends that friend happens to have. This is where the real power of all social media arises. Facebook is an excellent branding tool because these users WANT to tell their friends what they are interested in if you let them. This principle appears to be at the core of any successful large brand campaign on Facebook.
  

Can you use facebook in E commerce?

-For me "Yes" facebook can really use in E commerce because of we say E commerce it talks about selling goods and buying goods and services on the internet and also it consist primarily services over electronic system such us the computer networks, and facebook is a a socioal networking that connects people with friends and work and as we all know people use facebook..




How important facebook today?


hmmmppppp....Facebook today is very important not just for friends, pages,groups and events as well it is very essential to consider it when social media marketing.Facebook help us especially if we have a business and it can used in E commerce.

Google has some fresh competition: a pair of startups aiming to improve on its immensely popular recipe for serving fast, relevant search results untainted by pay-for-placement listings.