The theme of this paper is Personal Leadership Assessment & Plan. The PLAP was done to assess my leadership skills, strong points vs. weak points, and what my plan of action is to better those skills. I gathered sources from various places such as reading material, both class work and pleasure, Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Strong Interest Inventory, internet site, and interviews with other leaders. After assessing my managing skills -self, communication, diversity, ethics, teams, and change- I concluded that 4 of the 6 were strong points and that I have short term and long term plans of action. My short term strategy is to take classes in the Fall and Spring that will continue to enhance my knowledge. My long term plan of action is to pursue a career that will allow me to implement these skills.
A competency is an interconnected set of skills, behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge needed by an individual to be successful in most professional and managerial positions. In order to develop a leader, the study of organizational behavior must take place.The theme of this paper is to describe how 6 competencies are woven into my life and how I plan to implement them. The 6 competencies I found best suiting for myself are: managing self, managing communication, managing diversity, managing ethics, managing teams, and managing change.
There are several core components for the managing self competency. The first is to understand my own and others’ personality and attitudes. Over time, I have come to realize who I, Tara Barnette, truly am. For so long I tried to be like the type of people with whom I “hung around” with. I have finally come to realize what my own values and beliefs are-not my parents and not my friends. I have also come to realize not everyone is or will ever be like me. There may be similarities, but no one is like another; furthermore, you can’t change a person’s personality or attitude no matter how hard you try. The next core component is the ability to identify, evaluate, and understand myself, others and the immediate environment. With this test I have learned I am an ESFP (Extraverted, Sensor, Feeler, and Perceiver). Generally, I have found that I am warm-hearted, outgoing, accepting, and friendly, enjoy everything and make things more fun for others by their enjoyment. I enjoy knowing what’s going on and join in eagerly. I find remembering facts easier than mastering theories. I am best in situations that need sound common sense and practical ability with people. With this in mind, I must evaluate other people around me and know how they best operate. The next core component is the ability to understand and act on my own and others’ work-related motivations and emotions. I have found that I am most motivated by personal feedback, seeing my work affect others positively, and recognition. Everyone is motivated by something different-the key to a good leader is motivating each employee with what “makes them tick” and not use the same motivation for every person. The next core component is the ability to assess and establish my own developmental, personal, and work-related goals. Due to a class I am taking this semester, Senior Practicum Prep, I have analyzed myself and established my personal and work-related goals. My personal goal is to complete my BHS degree by May 2004, and then implement what I have learned by finding a career, such as Pharmaceutical Representative, that allows me to utilize what I have learned. The last but not least core component is the ability to take responsibility for managing myself and my career over time and through stressful circumstances. I have kept a daily planner that has made me develop a daily plan of action for getting my school work done and still allow time for relaxation and doing things I enjoy. I rated myself this because I feel I have an excellent grasp on assessing myself and others. Not only is managing self competency important, but also, managing communication.
Like self competency, this too has several core components. The first element is the ability to convey information, ideas, and emotions to others in such a way that they are received as intended. I believe I have a strong describing skill-in other words, I am able to relay clearly and accurately what I am trying to say. The next factor is the ability to provide constructive feedback to others. Due to the fact that I am motivated by feedback, I find this concept exceptionally important. As I once heard, it’s all about how you say something, not necessarily what you say. The next component is the ability to engage in active listening-the process of integrating informational and emotional inputs in a search for shared meaning and understanding. I feel that I use the questioning skill-the ability to ask for information and opinions in a way that gets relevant, honest, and appropriate responses. I used this skill primarily during interviews with other leaders. During the interviews, both leaders expressed how vital communication is. Without communication, whether it’s nonverbal, verbal, written, or via internet, goals and objectives can not be achieved to their fullest extent and issues will never be resolved. I feel I get my point across to other people, but feel I could do a better job, especially in persuasion. Not only are managing self and communication important, but also, managing diversity.
Like the other competencies, this too has several core components. The first is the ability to encourage an environment of inclusion with those who posses characteristics different from your own. Like both leaders said in the interview, if you have all Chiefs and no Indians, nothing will get done; everyone will be too busy telling someone else what to do. It is always important to seek variety and different views. If everyone thought the same, inspiration would have no meaning. The next component is the ability to learn from those with different characteristics, experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. I feel I am open-minded and am always seeking information from various people before I make a decision. I always look to someone I know has my best interest at heart, I look to someone who knows a lot about the subject, and I look to someone who is unbiased. After information is gathered, I am able to make a well-rounded decision. The next factor is the ability to embrace and develop personal tendencies that support diversity in the workplace and elsewhere. Every time I had a new idea, I sought out all 10 people and got their view on my idea and how it would affect them. I have always tried to be personal in and outside the work place with other individuals different than me. It is a fact that bringing diversity to the table can only enhance a situation, not diminish it. So many people think it is okay to have the guideline, “do as I say, not as I do.” What good is it for example, an individual tell me it is wrong to steal from the company, but yet they take money themselves? People abide by what you do, not what you say. This is why the saying is true, “actions speak louder than words.” The last but not least component is the ability to apply laws and regulations. Policies and rules were put into place for a reason, not for the sake of more paperwork or to make your job harder or less fun. In today’s society it is difficult to know whether you got a job because you are qualified or because of your race or gender. The law does state not to be discriminatory, but taking it to the point of hiring someone because of their race or gender instead of who’s the best candidate, is taking it too far. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate myself a 5. I am an open-minded person and believe completely that diversity has much to offer and offers “checks and balances.” In the reading of The Challenge of Change in Organizations, there was a quote that I feel sums this topic up; “The personnel of our train were…a wonderful collection of many people with as many different dispositions and characteristics.” Not only are managing self, communication, and diversity important, but also, managing ethics.
Like the other competencies, ethics too has core components. The first core component is the ability to identify and describe the principles of ethical decision making and behavior. Although many of us would like to believe we live in a world of total trust and respect, unfortunately it’s not true. Although I still struggle with this a little, with practice I have gotten better. When dealing with ethics, there are several things you must consider: the magnitude of consequences, the probability of effect, the social consensus, the temporal immediacy, the proximity, and the concentration of affect. For these things, it is best to apply the laws and rules of conduct-honesty and openness. I have a strong Christian background that gives me a loud conscious; however, I still struggle time to time with the fine lines between right and wrong, and thinking before acting. Not only are managing self, communication, diversity, and ethics important, but also managing teams.
Team-what does is mean? This is one of my favorite words; so much so, I made up an acronym for it: T-together, E-everyone, A-achieves, M-much. As with the other competencies, this too has core components. First, one must acquire the skill of determining the circumstances and choose whether a team approach is best; and if so, the ability to participate in and/or lead the people through a process of goals. I have always believed that team work is something to be desired in a work place. I have always pulled my own weight and expected others to do the same. I have a tendency to take on the “leader” role when in a team. I generally pose goals and a clear way of reaching those goals. If someone begins to slack off, I try to motivate them in a way that is fitting to their personality, and tactfully tell them how to reach a goal by pulling their weight. It is like Coach K stated in his book Leading with the Heart, “You develop a team to achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. All of us alone are weaker, by far, than if all of us are together. The other component is the ability to deal with personal and task-related conflicts among team members before they become disruptive. Also, one must take corrective action if needed. In general, I take the individual aside where no one else is around and find out what the root of the problem is. I try to re-direct their energy into a positive manner. If the first warning doesn’t work, another counseling session is held. Then, if the problem arises again, that individual may be let go. Since the day I was born, I have had a leadership personality waiting to be used. I have had practice in work and in school being a leader. This is something I have a strong desire for and plan to seek in the future. Not only are managing self, communication, diversity, ethics, and teams important, but also managing change.
“The managing change competency involves the ability to recognize and implement needed adaptations or entirely new transformations in the people, tasks, strategies, structures, or technologies in a person’s area of responsibility”. The challenge of change in an organization can be a tricky situation. As a leader, you must posses the leadership ability to help employees succeed in the new situation. In order to be successful in helping those employees, you must first be able to apply the previous competencies. As with the previous competencies, this too has core components. The first component is the ability to provide leadership to changing situations. You must be able to diagnose pressures and resistance to change, and the plan of action to help employees. When diagnosing, I try to ask questions such as: How does the environment make you feel? What is the root of your resistance or pressure? What can I do to help you overcome these pressures or fears and help you succeed? What were the things that made you feel comfortable before the change? What issues need to be taken care of and left behind? After seeking answers and learning about each individual, I would apply whatever model of change best suited our company. On the flip side of this, I am an individual whose wheels are always turning. In my last job, I was known as the “great ideas” girl. I am always looking for ways to improve and make things more efficient and exciting (sometimes I think I drove my manager nuts!). It was quite touching that when I was leaving Anderson Neurological, they gave me a little ceramic angel piggy bank that says “great ideas” on it. They stated, “We expect many great ideas from you in the future. Every time you have a great idea, put a penny in the bank, and one day you’ll be a millionaire.” I love changes and the new challenges it brings. Life is too short to stay monotonous; change and challenge stimulate the brain!
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Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Organizational Problems in the Workplace
I work for the Governors Office of Criminal Justice Planning. This office is a State Government Office, closely connected with the political dealings from the Governors Office. This Office processes grant funding for programs throughout the state of California. Two organizational problems that exist in my workplace are the constant downsizing without actually downsizing and decisions that are made by the Executive Office without consulting or at least informing the Specialist that works on the grants. A supervisor can have a staff of approximately 10 people. If that supervisor is required to perform a special assignment from the Governors Office, then those people are required to move into another branch. They are spread thin enough that it looks as though a branch has actually disappeared when in actuality the same number of people still work in this office. When the supervisor returns, those people are assigned back into the original branch with that supervisor, thus creating a “new” branch without really creating a new branch. The decisions being made by the Executive office can be literally promises made to a Sheriff or the head of an organization without taking into consideration the problem that may exist fulfilling the promise. The Governors Office and the political party in office influence these problems at the time of the decisions. The thinking used is more persuasive.
The Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Planning is comprised of majority white males. The Executive staff is comprised of one white female and three white males. These staff members are also attorneys. The problem created with the Executive Office being comprised of all Exempt employee’s with a similar background is that they have no understanding of real world timelines and what it actually takes to process the paperwork or fund the grants. There thinking is more of a straight line without going outside the box. They give some grantee’s more advantage, depending on their political connection, than others do. This creates a problem among the grantee’s that allowed certain privileges that others are not i.e. turning in late paperwork, not turning in financial statements, and allowing them to keep state purchased furnishings and equipment. The ability to make these command decisions should be thought out more clearly and the specialist informed of what is being done.
The creative thinking that this department does is to help eliminate scrutiny for decisions that are made or for changes that are handled in the best interest of the Governor without regard for the actually grantee being effected. This department creatively arranged the branches to look scaled down when in actuality the move was all on paper. Therefore, our department must look as though we faced as severe of cuts as did the other departments.
This department is closely looked at due to the fact our office generates millions of dollars of grants to local law enforcement organizations, victims of violent crimes organizations, and school districts throughout the State of California.
The interesting thing about the Governors Office of Criminal Justice Planning is that the Executive Office is comprised of the Political Party that is in office at the Governors Office. For example, when there is a Republican Governor then the Executive Office for this department is also a Republican to include all the excluded staff that work for them. When there is a Democratic Governor then the same holds true, the Executive Office in this Department is comprised of Democrats. The impact this has on the way business is done in this department can swing every four years. When the Sheriff of a county is Republican and the Governor is Republican then that sheriff has more say in the way, the money is going to be allocated for their counties local law enforcement programs. The culture rapidly changes upon new elections and the impact is felt throughout the state of California.
The forces of influence come from white males who are highly educated. All decisions being made are being made with a similar thought pattern. More women in the executive Office or more cultural diversity in the Executive Office could make a tremendous difference in how decisions are made. For example, a woman might think more clearly on why woman’s shelters are an important grant to fund, when a male may not see the need for them and choose to eliminate them causing controversy.
Professional employees have to be able to accept the differences in others and be able to complete assignments and projects with a group of people of different cultures and backgrounds. The problem of not being able to accept others opinions can be eliminated, or at least reduced with using critical thinking. When working on a project or assignment there is a common goal to that each team member should be reaching for i.e. completion of the project on time and at or under cost. Project leaders or manager does can get themselves into trouble if they are quick to judge or slow to part with ironclad judgments. Being open-minded requires that project leaders or manager’s set aside past preconceived notions or judgments and listen carefully to each person’s idea or opinion. To be effective, project leaders and managers should use a highly reflective approach to management which is called “action inquiry,” which requires a willingness to sacrifice their illusions about themselves and others and situations as they receive new information.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
The Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Planning is comprised of majority white males. The Executive staff is comprised of one white female and three white males. These staff members are also attorneys. The problem created with the Executive Office being comprised of all Exempt employee’s with a similar background is that they have no understanding of real world timelines and what it actually takes to process the paperwork or fund the grants. There thinking is more of a straight line without going outside the box. They give some grantee’s more advantage, depending on their political connection, than others do. This creates a problem among the grantee’s that allowed certain privileges that others are not i.e. turning in late paperwork, not turning in financial statements, and allowing them to keep state purchased furnishings and equipment. The ability to make these command decisions should be thought out more clearly and the specialist informed of what is being done.
The creative thinking that this department does is to help eliminate scrutiny for decisions that are made or for changes that are handled in the best interest of the Governor without regard for the actually grantee being effected. This department creatively arranged the branches to look scaled down when in actuality the move was all on paper. Therefore, our department must look as though we faced as severe of cuts as did the other departments.
This department is closely looked at due to the fact our office generates millions of dollars of grants to local law enforcement organizations, victims of violent crimes organizations, and school districts throughout the State of California.
The interesting thing about the Governors Office of Criminal Justice Planning is that the Executive Office is comprised of the Political Party that is in office at the Governors Office. For example, when there is a Republican Governor then the Executive Office for this department is also a Republican to include all the excluded staff that work for them. When there is a Democratic Governor then the same holds true, the Executive Office in this Department is comprised of Democrats. The impact this has on the way business is done in this department can swing every four years. When the Sheriff of a county is Republican and the Governor is Republican then that sheriff has more say in the way, the money is going to be allocated for their counties local law enforcement programs. The culture rapidly changes upon new elections and the impact is felt throughout the state of California.
The forces of influence come from white males who are highly educated. All decisions being made are being made with a similar thought pattern. More women in the executive Office or more cultural diversity in the Executive Office could make a tremendous difference in how decisions are made. For example, a woman might think more clearly on why woman’s shelters are an important grant to fund, when a male may not see the need for them and choose to eliminate them causing controversy.
Professional employees have to be able to accept the differences in others and be able to complete assignments and projects with a group of people of different cultures and backgrounds. The problem of not being able to accept others opinions can be eliminated, or at least reduced with using critical thinking. When working on a project or assignment there is a common goal to that each team member should be reaching for i.e. completion of the project on time and at or under cost. Project leaders or manager does can get themselves into trouble if they are quick to judge or slow to part with ironclad judgments. Being open-minded requires that project leaders or manager’s set aside past preconceived notions or judgments and listen carefully to each person’s idea or opinion. To be effective, project leaders and managers should use a highly reflective approach to management which is called “action inquiry,” which requires a willingness to sacrifice their illusions about themselves and others and situations as they receive new information.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
Operating Definition of Organizational Behavior
Classical organization theory, evolved during the first half of this century, did not account for the needs of diverse workforce. It represented the merger of scientific management, bureaucratic theory, and administrative theory. This theory had four basic principles: find the best way to perform each task, carefully match each worker to each task, closely supervise workers, and use reward and punishment as motivators. Working through these principles, the task of management was planning and control. While this management theory proved successful in simple industrialized companies at the turn of the century, it had not played well in modern companies. The philosophy of production first, people second, left a legacy of declining production and quality, dissatisfaction with work, loss of pride in workmanship, and a near complete loss of organizational pride.
According to the textbook, organizational structure is described as a mechanism through which effort is integrated through the coordination and control of activities, symbolic management, and the management of organizational culture. Such mechanism has recently been described as a mechanism that directs behavior through shared values, norms, and goals. However, since each mechanism is unique in its impact on individual behavior, the effects of each should be analyzed separately and then synthesized for a deeper understanding of the functional roles of structural and cultural forces in the workplace. If an organization is to direct behavior towards the accomplishment of a strategic mission, and present itself to stakeholders as a unified form, mechanisms must be created for reducing this variability among individuals and focusing employee efforts on the accomplishment of strategic goals. According to Maslow, “determining that low-level needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs can be met.” A relationship between organizational culture and organizational structure is needed because there will be a lack of structure and an inability to systematize the needs of everyone in the workplace. In developing such a model, organizations are information-processing entities that develop different mechanisms to reduce uncertainty in achieving effectiveness. Effectiveness is obtained when employees engage in behaviors in a consistent manner to achieve strategic goals of the firm. Uncertainty exists when there is a gap between the amount of information possessed and what is required to perform a task. Therefore, without structure or accountability, it is difficult to achieve strategic goals.
Organizational culture is often defined in terms of shared experiences -- patterns of beliefs, rituals, symbols, and myths that evolve over time. These patterns serve to reduce human variability and control, and shape employee behavior in organizations. The development of organizational culture is a natural process, which occurs regardless of the intent of executive leadership, although management may influence it. While organizations may develop a relatively homogeneous culture, unique and divergent sub-cultures may evolve for separate departments or sub-groups within the organization.
The information gathered through the study of OB helps managers identify problems and determine how to correct them. The gathered information also helps managers develop their interpersonal or people skills to be effective in their jobs. OB can help managers learn ways to stimulate innovation and offers them guidance in creating an ethically healthy work climate. Although different organizations may perform the same functions or have the same goals, each organization still remains unique in its culture, social structure and work force. A diverse group of people within the organization is one of the most important factors in shaping and changing the overall behavior within the organization.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
According to the textbook, organizational structure is described as a mechanism through which effort is integrated through the coordination and control of activities, symbolic management, and the management of organizational culture. Such mechanism has recently been described as a mechanism that directs behavior through shared values, norms, and goals. However, since each mechanism is unique in its impact on individual behavior, the effects of each should be analyzed separately and then synthesized for a deeper understanding of the functional roles of structural and cultural forces in the workplace. If an organization is to direct behavior towards the accomplishment of a strategic mission, and present itself to stakeholders as a unified form, mechanisms must be created for reducing this variability among individuals and focusing employee efforts on the accomplishment of strategic goals. According to Maslow, “determining that low-level needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs can be met.” A relationship between organizational culture and organizational structure is needed because there will be a lack of structure and an inability to systematize the needs of everyone in the workplace. In developing such a model, organizations are information-processing entities that develop different mechanisms to reduce uncertainty in achieving effectiveness. Effectiveness is obtained when employees engage in behaviors in a consistent manner to achieve strategic goals of the firm. Uncertainty exists when there is a gap between the amount of information possessed and what is required to perform a task. Therefore, without structure or accountability, it is difficult to achieve strategic goals.
Organizational culture is often defined in terms of shared experiences -- patterns of beliefs, rituals, symbols, and myths that evolve over time. These patterns serve to reduce human variability and control, and shape employee behavior in organizations. The development of organizational culture is a natural process, which occurs regardless of the intent of executive leadership, although management may influence it. While organizations may develop a relatively homogeneous culture, unique and divergent sub-cultures may evolve for separate departments or sub-groups within the organization.
The information gathered through the study of OB helps managers identify problems and determine how to correct them. The gathered information also helps managers develop their interpersonal or people skills to be effective in their jobs. OB can help managers learn ways to stimulate innovation and offers them guidance in creating an ethically healthy work climate. Although different organizations may perform the same functions or have the same goals, each organization still remains unique in its culture, social structure and work force. A diverse group of people within the organization is one of the most important factors in shaping and changing the overall behavior within the organization.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Airline Security after 9/11
After the unfortunate attack on September 11, 2001 the country as a whole became concerned about further terrorist attacks. Many new policies and technologies have been created in an effort to detect and prevent further terrorist attacks. One of these technologies is the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, or CAPPS. CAPPS has been the subject of much debate concerning the exact use of the database.
The Transportation Security Administration, at the order of Congress, assembled CAPPS after the September 11, 2001 attack. CAPPS was designed to be a nationwide database that compares passenger names against watch lists, traveler credit reports, and consumer transactions. The databases considered for use with CAPPS are credit bureaus and ChoicePoint, both of which aggregate and sell information. Before flight, passengers are required to provide their names, phone numbers, and addresses to be checked for accuracy. The commercial databases will then use algorithms to judge whether a person booking a ticket is who he/she claims to be. A boarding pass will be issued with either a green, yellow, or red score. Passengers with a red score will be detained until federal law enforcement officials arrive.
CAPPS has the potential to ferret out would be terrorists; it also has the potential to be harshly abused. David Sobel, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, stated, "Even in the wake of Sept. 11, people are still worried about the collection and use of their personal information." (work cited) A document list, obtained from the Electronic Privacy Information Center through a lawsuit with the FBI, stated the databases "Еcontain billions of public records including: property records, census information, professional licenses, telephone books, newspaper articles, drivers records, vehicle records and credit bureau headers." (work cited)
When CAPPS was first created it had very few guidelines to follow. People fear a government that heavily monitors the transactions of everyday people. [Some of the complaints against the CAPPS program specified the use of CAPPS as a method of capturing deadbeat dads, or screening out passengers who fit a criminal pattern, or that the system would retain information for up to 50 years.] Sen. Ron Wyden said in a written statement, "We cannot stand by and allow the government to shine a spotlight onto the personal records of law abiding citizens who have a constitutionally protected right to privacy. It is Congress' duty to find out on behalf of all Americans what federal agencies are hoping to do with their personal information." Jim Dempsey, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said, "On the one hand, we want people with outstanding warrants to be caught. On the other hand, we have not been a checkpoint society. We will fundamentally change the nature of our society if we start exploiting our societyТs gates for general law enforcement."
In response to the public outcry of objection to the limitless CAPPS, the Transportation Security Administration began to issue more detailed regulations. Jim Dempsey said in support of these changes, "Maybe a person wanted for armed robbery flies on airplanes, but he's not going to rob a person on an plane." These regulations limit the type of information that CAPPS can gather from commercial databases, restricts the amount of time that the system will hold onto the data, and restricts the database owners from using this data for any other purpose. Lisa Dean of the Electronic Frontier Foundation stated, "No health or financial data will be used. Information will be retained for days, not years. And no (Internal Revenue Service) or deadbeat dads databases will be used." CAPPS will, however, allow the Transportation Security Administration to look for people suspected of "crimes of violence" as well as domestic groups suspected of terrorism. As part of this system the Transportation Security Administration plans to create a Passenger Advocate Office that will identify the sources of false data and correct them.
As a further peace offering to the privacy advocates, who are still leary of a surveillance society, the Transportation Security Administration stated it would not release CAPPS for an additional 60 days so that further views could be submitted regarding the system. The Department of Homeland Security Chief Privacy Officer, Nuala O'Conner Kelly, stated that the new rule would increase passenger security while still respecting the privacy of travelers. The Transportation Security Administration, administrator Adm. James M. Loy, said that CAPPS would reduce the wait times, the number of passengers who go through secondary screenings, and the number of people misidentified as potential terrorists. With all these new regulations CAPPS ended up with a new name as well, CAPPS II.
CAPPS II will be instrumental as a device to prevent attacks like the September 11, 2001 attack in the future. CAPPS II is a double-edged sword, though, in that the amount of information the system has access to is mind-boggling and could be used to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. With careful regulation and a fierce determination not to pry into the lives of private citizens, CAPPS II could be the most effective weapon we have against terrorist attack. Luckily, Laura Murphy of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Office plays referee with this statement, "There is broad agreement across the political spectrum that we must not allow America to turn into a surveillance society. Data surveillance programs inevitably erode our privacy, with demonstrating that doing so makes us any safer." With privacy advocates like Laura Murphy calling foul, we should be just fine.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
The Transportation Security Administration, at the order of Congress, assembled CAPPS after the September 11, 2001 attack. CAPPS was designed to be a nationwide database that compares passenger names against watch lists, traveler credit reports, and consumer transactions. The databases considered for use with CAPPS are credit bureaus and ChoicePoint, both of which aggregate and sell information. Before flight, passengers are required to provide their names, phone numbers, and addresses to be checked for accuracy. The commercial databases will then use algorithms to judge whether a person booking a ticket is who he/she claims to be. A boarding pass will be issued with either a green, yellow, or red score. Passengers with a red score will be detained until federal law enforcement officials arrive.
CAPPS has the potential to ferret out would be terrorists; it also has the potential to be harshly abused. David Sobel, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, stated, "Even in the wake of Sept. 11, people are still worried about the collection and use of their personal information." (work cited) A document list, obtained from the Electronic Privacy Information Center through a lawsuit with the FBI, stated the databases "Еcontain billions of public records including: property records, census information, professional licenses, telephone books, newspaper articles, drivers records, vehicle records and credit bureau headers." (work cited)
When CAPPS was first created it had very few guidelines to follow. People fear a government that heavily monitors the transactions of everyday people. [Some of the complaints against the CAPPS program specified the use of CAPPS as a method of capturing deadbeat dads, or screening out passengers who fit a criminal pattern, or that the system would retain information for up to 50 years.] Sen. Ron Wyden said in a written statement, "We cannot stand by and allow the government to shine a spotlight onto the personal records of law abiding citizens who have a constitutionally protected right to privacy. It is Congress' duty to find out on behalf of all Americans what federal agencies are hoping to do with their personal information." Jim Dempsey, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said, "On the one hand, we want people with outstanding warrants to be caught. On the other hand, we have not been a checkpoint society. We will fundamentally change the nature of our society if we start exploiting our societyТs gates for general law enforcement."
In response to the public outcry of objection to the limitless CAPPS, the Transportation Security Administration began to issue more detailed regulations. Jim Dempsey said in support of these changes, "Maybe a person wanted for armed robbery flies on airplanes, but he's not going to rob a person on an plane." These regulations limit the type of information that CAPPS can gather from commercial databases, restricts the amount of time that the system will hold onto the data, and restricts the database owners from using this data for any other purpose. Lisa Dean of the Electronic Frontier Foundation stated, "No health or financial data will be used. Information will be retained for days, not years. And no (Internal Revenue Service) or deadbeat dads databases will be used." CAPPS will, however, allow the Transportation Security Administration to look for people suspected of "crimes of violence" as well as domestic groups suspected of terrorism. As part of this system the Transportation Security Administration plans to create a Passenger Advocate Office that will identify the sources of false data and correct them.
As a further peace offering to the privacy advocates, who are still leary of a surveillance society, the Transportation Security Administration stated it would not release CAPPS for an additional 60 days so that further views could be submitted regarding the system. The Department of Homeland Security Chief Privacy Officer, Nuala O'Conner Kelly, stated that the new rule would increase passenger security while still respecting the privacy of travelers. The Transportation Security Administration, administrator Adm. James M. Loy, said that CAPPS would reduce the wait times, the number of passengers who go through secondary screenings, and the number of people misidentified as potential terrorists. With all these new regulations CAPPS ended up with a new name as well, CAPPS II.
CAPPS II will be instrumental as a device to prevent attacks like the September 11, 2001 attack in the future. CAPPS II is a double-edged sword, though, in that the amount of information the system has access to is mind-boggling and could be used to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. With careful regulation and a fierce determination not to pry into the lives of private citizens, CAPPS II could be the most effective weapon we have against terrorist attack. Luckily, Laura Murphy of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Office plays referee with this statement, "There is broad agreement across the political spectrum that we must not allow America to turn into a surveillance society. Data surveillance programs inevitably erode our privacy, with demonstrating that doing so makes us any safer." With privacy advocates like Laura Murphy calling foul, we should be just fine.
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Analysis of Axis 10
Effective and efficient financial calculations play a very important role at quarter-end. At each quarter-end, there are strict time restrictions involved in preparing the Axis dataset model to run, outputting calendar year reports, reconciling and analyzing the results. The financial calculation software, Axis, plays a very crucial part in this process. It is vital that the calculations from Axis are accurate and produced in a timely manner. It is also important to keep up-to-date with all the new versions of Axis. Recently, the newest version, Axis 10, had been introduced with many new enhancements. These new features will be the key in efficient time management at quarter-end. Improvements to the software result in an initiative to convert all products from Axis 9.4 to Axis 10. This report will give a brief description of the Axis program, outlining the conversion process, and evaluate various problems faced. In conclusion, it will compare the advantages and disadvantages concerning the transition of the two version of Axis.
Axis in General
Axis is a software produced by GGY that can be used by all levels of people in an organization. It provides technical, actuarial and financial information. The software is also able to display results from a financial statement point of view. This allows the user to see how decisions can affect both the income statement and balance sheet. The versatility of the software allows user the opportunity to produce accurate financial calculation and make informed decisions. Recently, GGY had introduced a new version of Axis. This new version, Axis 10 has two main enhancements: Distributed Processing, Integration of Datalink and Object Explorer.
Conversion Process
Following is a user guide to a successful conversion from Axis 9.4 to Axis 10. It is very important to make sure that the datasets and databases are both converted into Axis 9.4 Maintained before getting started on the conversion into Axis 10.
To convert a dataset into Axis 9.4 Maintained:
1. Open up Axis 9.4 Maintained.
2. Click on Dataset Action button.
3. Scroll down and select the option Restore Dataset…
4. Browsed through the directory to where the dataset (version 9.4) was saved in the Open pop-up window.
5. Double click on the dataset name, and select Yes when asked ‘Would you like to convert it?’
6. Return to the Dataset window and back up that dataset to a folder on the LAN once it is converted into 9.4 Maintained.
To convert a database into Datalink Maintained version:
1. Open up Datalink Maintained version.
2. Click on File button.
3. Scroll down and select the option Backup/Restore Database.
4. Browsed through the directory to where the database (version 9.4) was located in the Backup/Restore Database pop-up window.
5. Click on Restore New.
6. Click on Database Button and double click on the database that had just been restored.
7. This will convert the database into 9.4 Maintained.
8. Go back to File Х Backup/Restore Database and back up the database to C:DATALINK 94MAIN
Note: It is very important that the database is backed up in this particular directory or it cannot be converted into Axis 10.
Once the conversion process into 9.4 Maintained is complete, the next step is to reconcile the results. To reconcile, the batch that was run at quarter-end should be rerun in 9.4M and viewed using the report. This is necessary to confirm that the result from both versions does not differ.
To convert a dataset into Axis 10:
1. Open up Axis 10
2. Click on Dataset Actions
3. Scroll down and select Restore Axis 9 Dataset and Convert…
4. Browsed through the directory to where the dataset (version 9.4 Maintained) was saved in the Open pop-up window.
5. Select a temporary directory to restore the dataset (usually in the C: drive) in the next pop-up window.
6. In the Convert AXIS 9 Database Wizard – Step 1, select the right module and click on the ellipsis (…), scroll down and select the database that you have backed up earlier.
7. Under the Option section, select If dataset had seriatim data convert it to a new format.
8. Under Datalink tables data, select the option Convert only if user def table has no source file.
9. Click on Finish.
10. Double click on the dataset name to continue the conversion process.
Once the conversion process is finished, follow the reconciliation step from above and rerun the quarter-end Datalink and calendar year recalculation batch. Record the results in the same Excel spreadsheet and make sure the numbers reconciled.
Conversion Problems
The transition process was faced with many impediments and problems. The majority of the problems occurred in Datalink. These errors arise from the automatic conversion of certain alpha fields into numeric fields in Axis 10. When this occurs, the ALLTRIM formula that has alpha input fields become invalid. This problem was resolved by taking out the ALLTRIM formula.
Conclusion
The previously used version of Axis 9.4 is can be inefficient at times. This inefficiency is due largely to the amount of time needed to run a batch job. Potentially, Axis 10 have the capacity to help eliminate this problem by introducing the new feature, distributed processing. Also, the newly integrated application allows for quicker training, as there is only one application to learn.
The advantages of the Axis 10 are clearly the better usage of time and resources by staff at quarter-end. The drawback to the new version is mainly due to the large amount of time spent on conversion.
Even with the initial drawbacks associated with the Axis 10 conversion, the impact that the software has on the issues concerning time restriction and clarity of integrated application is positive overall. When the staff is fully trained to use the new version to its full potential and the all the problems from conversion has been resolved, Axis 10 will substantially increase the time efficiency of the quarter-end process.
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Axis in General
Axis is a software produced by GGY that can be used by all levels of people in an organization. It provides technical, actuarial and financial information. The software is also able to display results from a financial statement point of view. This allows the user to see how decisions can affect both the income statement and balance sheet. The versatility of the software allows user the opportunity to produce accurate financial calculation and make informed decisions. Recently, GGY had introduced a new version of Axis. This new version, Axis 10 has two main enhancements: Distributed Processing, Integration of Datalink and Object Explorer.
Conversion Process
Following is a user guide to a successful conversion from Axis 9.4 to Axis 10. It is very important to make sure that the datasets and databases are both converted into Axis 9.4 Maintained before getting started on the conversion into Axis 10.
To convert a dataset into Axis 9.4 Maintained:
1. Open up Axis 9.4 Maintained.
2. Click on Dataset Action button.
3. Scroll down and select the option Restore Dataset…
4. Browsed through the directory to where the dataset (version 9.4) was saved in the Open pop-up window.
5. Double click on the dataset name, and select Yes when asked ‘Would you like to convert it?’
6. Return to the Dataset window and back up that dataset to a folder on the LAN once it is converted into 9.4 Maintained.
To convert a database into Datalink Maintained version:
1. Open up Datalink Maintained version.
2. Click on File button.
3. Scroll down and select the option Backup/Restore Database.
4. Browsed through the directory to where the database (version 9.4) was located in the Backup/Restore Database pop-up window.
5. Click on Restore New.
6. Click on Database Button and double click on the database that had just been restored.
7. This will convert the database into 9.4 Maintained.
8. Go back to File Х Backup/Restore Database and back up the database to C:DATALINK 94MAIN
Note: It is very important that the database is backed up in this particular directory or it cannot be converted into Axis 10.
Once the conversion process into 9.4 Maintained is complete, the next step is to reconcile the results. To reconcile, the batch that was run at quarter-end should be rerun in 9.4M and viewed using the report. This is necessary to confirm that the result from both versions does not differ.
To convert a dataset into Axis 10:
1. Open up Axis 10
2. Click on Dataset Actions
3. Scroll down and select Restore Axis 9 Dataset and Convert…
4. Browsed through the directory to where the dataset (version 9.4 Maintained) was saved in the Open pop-up window.
5. Select a temporary directory to restore the dataset (usually in the C: drive) in the next pop-up window.
6. In the Convert AXIS 9 Database Wizard – Step 1, select the right module and click on the ellipsis (…), scroll down and select the database that you have backed up earlier.
7. Under the Option section, select If dataset had seriatim data convert it to a new format.
8. Under Datalink tables data, select the option Convert only if user def table has no source file.
9. Click on Finish.
10. Double click on the dataset name to continue the conversion process.
Once the conversion process is finished, follow the reconciliation step from above and rerun the quarter-end Datalink and calendar year recalculation batch. Record the results in the same Excel spreadsheet and make sure the numbers reconciled.
Conversion Problems
The transition process was faced with many impediments and problems. The majority of the problems occurred in Datalink. These errors arise from the automatic conversion of certain alpha fields into numeric fields in Axis 10. When this occurs, the ALLTRIM formula that has alpha input fields become invalid. This problem was resolved by taking out the ALLTRIM formula.
Conclusion
The previously used version of Axis 9.4 is can be inefficient at times. This inefficiency is due largely to the amount of time needed to run a batch job. Potentially, Axis 10 have the capacity to help eliminate this problem by introducing the new feature, distributed processing. Also, the newly integrated application allows for quicker training, as there is only one application to learn.
The advantages of the Axis 10 are clearly the better usage of time and resources by staff at quarter-end. The drawback to the new version is mainly due to the large amount of time spent on conversion.
Even with the initial drawbacks associated with the Axis 10 conversion, the impact that the software has on the issues concerning time restriction and clarity of integrated application is positive overall. When the staff is fully trained to use the new version to its full potential and the all the problems from conversion has been resolved, Axis 10 will substantially increase the time efficiency of the quarter-end process.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Diversity in a Small Group
Diversity is an integral factor, which promotes and helps stimulate an open society where ideas and reciprocal efforts can lead to a group’s success. Nothing can healthily succeed or prosper with only one element. As in cooking, construction, and the labor force, recipes, establishments, and the collective thought processes of humankind and evolutionary thought are best developed when there is a multinational and varying ethnic supplement of ideas and efforts. When people are not able to support and work in a diverse environment, workforce problems and stagnant thought will occur. This paper will aid in shedding some light on the murky and turbulent area of diversity, what it encompasses, and whom it affects.
Different personality traits exist within all individuals. At times, personality traits will be similar between members of a group. This could help the members of a group to relate to one another. However, differences in personalities could be good as well. People do not need to have the same personality traits in order to work together as a team. In fact, diversity can enhance the team. Each member of our group is very different, but there is one trait we definitely have in common: we all understand the importance of humor. In all of our presentations so far, we have used humor as a way to connect to our audience. We feel that we can still be professional without being boring, and humor is a way to make the presentations more interesting. It (what is “It”?) also helps us relate at our learning team meetings. Not all members of our group are humorous individuals; however, humor has become a big part of our group, and a part of our “team personality”.
The aspect of diversity within our learning team with regards to our geographical differences is something that we are going to explore throughout the course of Organizational Behavior. Up until this class, we have experienced togetherness in proximity and organizational behavior. As a learning team, our geographical similarities (“our geographical similarities” is not your learning team) brought us together from the first class where we all met. It has been the glue that keeps us together when other issues of diversity arise. We are all located in the north county within a twenty-mile radius of one another. The convenience of our proximity has allowed for relaxed and enjoyable meetings that foster open communication and enriched brainstorming. As a group, we can all share the burden of hosting our team, and find that we quickly agree on places to meet for productive interaction.
Our challenge for this course will be to accept the growing diversity within our team as we allow a new member to permeate our fortified alliance. We have accepted Prince as our newest member and the geographical difference that he brings to our circle. He more than doubles the radius of our geographical proximity. Therefore, he widens the spectrum for the diversity within our team in many aspects. This will create new challenges and cause us to grow in our problem-solving skills as a team. We invite the challenges, but acknowledge the difficulty that it will bring. As a group we will all have to expand our communication skills to include more computer time and emailing. We have discussed the limitations that phone meeting and emails present, so we must devise new ways to keep optimal communication, without allowing any one of us to feel left out of the circle.
Age has a great impact on the dynamics and viewpoints of our group. Our group being all around the same general age has a great advantage. We all are at about the same place in our lives, starting families, beginning years of marriage or deciding whether to get married. This allows us to work together with great ease and be able to be more comfortable sharing with each other because we have a better understanding as to where we all are personally. It also allows us to have a lot of fun while together and we have developed friendships outside of school. These friendships have strengthened our team. Being at the same place in our lives, we are all hoping to achieve some of the same goals and can support one another in achieving them. With the positives, there are also negatives. The down side to being all around the same age is that we cannot pull from pervious generations for input. The way this has affected us the most was in our last class. We were in a class with a group that contained members in there thirties through their fifties. All of us being in our twenties, we had a different view on what we wanted to achieve from the class. We came up with a business that would create fantasy parties for our customers. We got really involved in presenting our business in an exciting manner, because our business was all about fun. The presentation did not go over well with the older group, whose opinion of a business was strictly focused on professionalism and delivering presentations that could bore a crowd into a deep sleep. From that class, we gained what older generations view as professional and how groups should present their speeches in class. Being younger does not give us a lack of personal experiences but it does limit us to the knowledge of only the world experiences that took place in our lifetime.
Another area of impact where our diversity will impact our team’s effectiveness is the area of gender. Our team diversity has changed this class with the addition of our new team member Prince. In the past, our group consisted of one male and three females. The addition of a second male will impact how our team communicates. During previous oral presentations, Matt was often seen as a dominant figure as he towered over the other group members and his baritone voice carried better. With the addition of Prince, the overshadowing caused by a single male will be dispersed, hopefully allowing more attention to the rest of the team. While the addition of Prince does bring better gender diversity, it may also lead to conflict. It is possible that a top rooster syndrome may develop if either Matt or Prince vies for leadership of the group. The addition of Prince to the learning team has another beneficial effect. It brings better balance to the team. Before, Matt was outnumbered three to one, and as such conversation often drifted to off-topics such as childbirth, breast-feeding or problems with husbands. With Prince as a second male in the group, conversation may be more restrained to subject matter pertaining to our schoolwork. On the other hand, it is possible that a second male may allow for whole new areas of counter productive male-based communication between Matt and Prince. The gender diversity our group has can be a weakness, though through understanding we can make our diversity one of our greatest strengths.
I (Who is I?) can recall two examples where a lack of diversity and acceptance towards diversity will work adversely towards personal goals and the benefit of an entire company. A PhD in astrophysics was applying for the NASA space shuttle program to conduct orbital research. He was fully qualified but was continually passed over. He was a known supremacist with current and traceable affiliations. That, obviously, would not propagate the International Space Station ideas and principles. (This paragraph doesn’t flow with the rest of the paper.)
Recently, a former employee in some management position for a well-known cola corporation left and reported discrimination against people of color in that company. It is very unfortunate that diversity is most commonly associated with the racial aspect and not according to, say, diversity in one’s workout regime or photographic collection. In the world that we live in, both past and present, we cannot seem to move past the impediment ones racial, gender, and sexual affiliation causes in others. We must intrinsically accept diversity in all aspects of life, instead of just at the restaurants. You are not making any changes or building bridges just because you eat at an ethnic restaurant or listen to another group’s music.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
Different personality traits exist within all individuals. At times, personality traits will be similar between members of a group. This could help the members of a group to relate to one another. However, differences in personalities could be good as well. People do not need to have the same personality traits in order to work together as a team. In fact, diversity can enhance the team. Each member of our group is very different, but there is one trait we definitely have in common: we all understand the importance of humor. In all of our presentations so far, we have used humor as a way to connect to our audience. We feel that we can still be professional without being boring, and humor is a way to make the presentations more interesting. It (what is “It”?) also helps us relate at our learning team meetings. Not all members of our group are humorous individuals; however, humor has become a big part of our group, and a part of our “team personality”.
The aspect of diversity within our learning team with regards to our geographical differences is something that we are going to explore throughout the course of Organizational Behavior. Up until this class, we have experienced togetherness in proximity and organizational behavior. As a learning team, our geographical similarities (“our geographical similarities” is not your learning team) brought us together from the first class where we all met. It has been the glue that keeps us together when other issues of diversity arise. We are all located in the north county within a twenty-mile radius of one another. The convenience of our proximity has allowed for relaxed and enjoyable meetings that foster open communication and enriched brainstorming. As a group, we can all share the burden of hosting our team, and find that we quickly agree on places to meet for productive interaction.
Our challenge for this course will be to accept the growing diversity within our team as we allow a new member to permeate our fortified alliance. We have accepted Prince as our newest member and the geographical difference that he brings to our circle. He more than doubles the radius of our geographical proximity. Therefore, he widens the spectrum for the diversity within our team in many aspects. This will create new challenges and cause us to grow in our problem-solving skills as a team. We invite the challenges, but acknowledge the difficulty that it will bring. As a group we will all have to expand our communication skills to include more computer time and emailing. We have discussed the limitations that phone meeting and emails present, so we must devise new ways to keep optimal communication, without allowing any one of us to feel left out of the circle.
Age has a great impact on the dynamics and viewpoints of our group. Our group being all around the same general age has a great advantage. We all are at about the same place in our lives, starting families, beginning years of marriage or deciding whether to get married. This allows us to work together with great ease and be able to be more comfortable sharing with each other because we have a better understanding as to where we all are personally. It also allows us to have a lot of fun while together and we have developed friendships outside of school. These friendships have strengthened our team. Being at the same place in our lives, we are all hoping to achieve some of the same goals and can support one another in achieving them. With the positives, there are also negatives. The down side to being all around the same age is that we cannot pull from pervious generations for input. The way this has affected us the most was in our last class. We were in a class with a group that contained members in there thirties through their fifties. All of us being in our twenties, we had a different view on what we wanted to achieve from the class. We came up with a business that would create fantasy parties for our customers. We got really involved in presenting our business in an exciting manner, because our business was all about fun. The presentation did not go over well with the older group, whose opinion of a business was strictly focused on professionalism and delivering presentations that could bore a crowd into a deep sleep. From that class, we gained what older generations view as professional and how groups should present their speeches in class. Being younger does not give us a lack of personal experiences but it does limit us to the knowledge of only the world experiences that took place in our lifetime.
Another area of impact where our diversity will impact our team’s effectiveness is the area of gender. Our team diversity has changed this class with the addition of our new team member Prince. In the past, our group consisted of one male and three females. The addition of a second male will impact how our team communicates. During previous oral presentations, Matt was often seen as a dominant figure as he towered over the other group members and his baritone voice carried better. With the addition of Prince, the overshadowing caused by a single male will be dispersed, hopefully allowing more attention to the rest of the team. While the addition of Prince does bring better gender diversity, it may also lead to conflict. It is possible that a top rooster syndrome may develop if either Matt or Prince vies for leadership of the group. The addition of Prince to the learning team has another beneficial effect. It brings better balance to the team. Before, Matt was outnumbered three to one, and as such conversation often drifted to off-topics such as childbirth, breast-feeding or problems with husbands. With Prince as a second male in the group, conversation may be more restrained to subject matter pertaining to our schoolwork. On the other hand, it is possible that a second male may allow for whole new areas of counter productive male-based communication between Matt and Prince. The gender diversity our group has can be a weakness, though through understanding we can make our diversity one of our greatest strengths.
I (Who is I?) can recall two examples where a lack of diversity and acceptance towards diversity will work adversely towards personal goals and the benefit of an entire company. A PhD in astrophysics was applying for the NASA space shuttle program to conduct orbital research. He was fully qualified but was continually passed over. He was a known supremacist with current and traceable affiliations. That, obviously, would not propagate the International Space Station ideas and principles. (This paragraph doesn’t flow with the rest of the paper.)
Recently, a former employee in some management position for a well-known cola corporation left and reported discrimination against people of color in that company. It is very unfortunate that diversity is most commonly associated with the racial aspect and not according to, say, diversity in one’s workout regime or photographic collection. In the world that we live in, both past and present, we cannot seem to move past the impediment ones racial, gender, and sexual affiliation causes in others. We must intrinsically accept diversity in all aspects of life, instead of just at the restaurants. You are not making any changes or building bridges just because you eat at an ethnic restaurant or listen to another group’s music.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
Allied Banks
The case study focused on one of the biggest losses the financial world has ever seen. It surfaced on February, 2002, when Allied Irish and Allfirst suffered a (670) million dollar foreign exchange trading loss at the hands of a thirty-seven year old foreign exchange trader by the name of John Rusnak who was employed by Allfirst for (7) years. During 2001, Rusnak made bad trading decisions with regard to the increase in the value of the Japanese Yen and instead of confessing his problem to management, he tried to cover it up by fraudent means, which consitsed of falsified option trades & fake confirmations and acting as a proprietary trader. He took advantage of weak and inexperienced employees in the Treasury groups and when his losses became to high, he tried to make up for them by selling deep currency options to raise quick cash. But this did not work out because the company had to pay the client when the options matured. In the end, it was confirmed that the losses may have been directly Rusnaks responsibilty but it was Allies’s fault because if the proper controls were in place, a situation of this magnitude would never have taken place.
Concepts: There was a variety of concepts used in this case. Security are policies and technical measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alternation, theft or physical damage to information systems. Controls are all methods, policies and procedures that ensure protection of the organization’s assets, accuracy and reliability of its records and operational adherance to management standards. General controls are overall controls that establish a framework for controlling the design, security and use of computer programs throughout an organization. Application controls are those which are unique to each computerized application. Data Security controls are those which ensure that data files on either disk or tape are not subject to unauthorized access, change or destruction. Administrative controls are formalized standards, rules, procedures and disciplines to ensure that the organization’s controls are properly executed and enforced. Online Transaction Processing is a transaction processing mode in which transactions entered online are immediately processed by the computer. Authentication gives each party in the transaction the ability to identify the other party. Message Integrity is the ability to ascertain that a transmitted message has not been copied or altered. Digital Signature is a digital code that can be attached to an electronically transmitted message to uniquely identify its contents and sender. Digital Certificate is an attachment to an electronic message to verify the identity of the sender and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply. Risk Assessment is determining the potential frequency of the occurrence of a problem and the potential damage if the problem were to occur. It is also used to determine the cost/benefit of a control. Data Quality Audit is a survey or sample of files to determine accuracy and completeness of data in an informations system. Data Cleansing corrects errors and inconsistencies in data to increase accuracy so that they can be used in a standard company-wide format. were to occur. MIS Audit identifies all the controls that govern individual information systems and assesses their effectiveness. Walkthrough is a review of specification or design document by a small group of people carefully selected based on the skills needed for the particular objectives being tested. Debugging is the process of discovering and eliminating the errors and defects in the program code.
Discussion: On February, 2002, due to a lack of proper security measures and controls, Allied Irish and Allfirst suffered a (670) million dollar foreign exchange trading loss at the hands of a thirty-seven year old foreign exchange trader by the name of John Rusnak who was employed by Allfirst for (7) years. During 2001, Rusnak made bad trading decisions with regard to the increase in the value of the Japanese Yen and instead of confessing his problem to management, he tried to cover it up by fraudent means, which consitsed of falsified option trades & fake confirmations and acting as a proprietary trader. He then tried to make up for his losses by selling deep currency options to raise quick cash. But this did not work out because the company had to pay the client when the options matured. In the end, it was confirmed that the losses may have been directly Rusnaks responsibilty but it was Allies’s fault because if the proper controls were in place, a situation of this magnitude would never have taken place. There were major weaknesses at Allfirst and Allied Irish. Firstly, their employees in the Treasury department were inexperienced and they lacked the proper training and had poor supervision, which in any case would lead to laziness. In addition, Rusnak was allowed to trade while on vacation, which in itself is a direct violation of company policy. According to industry standards, when a trade is made it should always be accompanied by a hedge to guard against losses; however, there were no controls in place that ensured that these hedges were ever purchased. Thirdly, all traders have limits as to the amount of trades they can do at a given time, yet Rusnak was allowed to perform trades although he was well above his limit. Fourthly, there was no segmentation of duties between those of the front office, trading desk or back office. According to the case, there were many management, organization and technology factors that contributed to these weaknesses. For example, AIB had installed Opics in the back office at Allfirst, but did not install the its sister software called Tropics at it’s front office. AIB was fully aware that these systems work hand in hand and in order for them to work effectively, they would have to ensure that both systems were in place. Also, AIB used Crossnar Matching Service, which automatically electrically confirms both sides of a trade in two minutes; but did not implement the system at Allfirst and as a result, they would have to call to validate a trade. This had a negative effect on them because if they had a trade with a bank in Japan they would have to call at either midnight or 1 am in order to speak with someone in their back office. Management is responsible for developing the control structure and quality standards for the organization. When they chose to look the other way instead of dealing with Rusnak when they were warned by Smith and others, they contributed indirectly to his fraudelent behavior. Also, when Rusnak realized that the Monte Carlo was inadequate, he told management but they turned him down for budgetary reasons. As with management, the characteristics of the organization play a large role in determining its approach to quality assurance and control issues. As it was the duty of the organization to create high levels of security and quality in information systems, they too contributed to theses weaknesses because the proper systems were put in place in AIB, but they did not feel the need to proper implement the same at Allfirst. So, in this regard, they too contributed to the weaknesses. There are a number of technologies for promoting system quality and security. With technologies such as data security software, they should have been able to detect any unusual events from occuring, but as these were not in place at that time, they also contributed to the weaknessed of AIB and Allfirst. Undoubtably, the person responsible for the Rusnak trading losses was Rusnak himself. However, he did not work alone. For every person that allowed him to short cut control measures so that he could cover up the losses, they too are responsible. For example, the person who was persuaded to go home and not call Japan to confirm the trade cost the company millions because of their negligence. Also, those persons who allowed him to give them information that he compiled on his own computer instead of them doing it themselves have also contributed to his fraudulent behavior and are also liable. Management also played a huge role in this situation because they knew that he was trading over his limit and they knew that he had a position in Yen of more than one billion dollars, but didn’t question anything because according to them they were making money so there wasn’t a problem if some rules had to be broken in order to achieve profits. Lastly, AIB and Allfirst are also liable because AIB knew that it had not implemented the proper control measures to protect its organization against fraud. They are also at fault because when Rusnak was trying to make money with what was called synthetic loans, AIB executives had to approve them, which meand that they had to know that something was wrong with what Rusnak was doing. It is evident that the proper information systems were not in place. As this is the age of technology, there are many computerized systems that were created to ensure that proper control measures are carried out. If the proper general and application controls were in place, then Rusnak’s scheme would have been caught from its inception. General controls are essential for a company because they not only establish a framework for controlling the design and security, but it also regulates the use of computer programs throughout the organization. Application programs are equally important as they are comprised of specific controls unique to each computerized application. Firstly, Software and Hardware controls could have been implemented to monitor the use of the system software and prevent unauthorized access of software programs, system software, and computer programs. In addition, they would have also insured that the computer hardware is physically secure and to check for equipment malfunction. Secondly, they could have implemented computer operations controls and data security controls that would assists the company’s control system by overseeing the work of the computer department to ensure that programmed procedures are consistently and correctly applied to the storage and processing of data. Also, it would have assisted them by ensuring that valuable business data files on either disk or tape are not subject to unautyhorized access, change, or destruction while they are in use or storage. Thirdly, there are implementation and administrative controls that could have been implemented to audit the systems development process at various points to ensure that the process is properly controlled and managed. In addition, they would have formalized standards, rules, procedures, and control disciplines to ensure that the organization’s general application controls are properly executed and enforced. There are also other systems such as debt security controls and administrative controls that would have ensured that non authorized users had no access to certain files and that proper procedures were in place to ensure that the organization’s controls are properly executed. In that way, when those fake confirmations were put into the system, they would have been automatically kicked out. Online transaction processing could have also prevented this type of situation by processing transactions as soon as they are entered into the system. If this was in place, then they would not have had to stay late to call Japan to confirm the trades because the system would have automatically confirmed them. They could have implemented authentication that would have been able to assist them with the identity of the other party on the confirmation. There are also other security measures such as a message integrity system that could have alerted them to what was going on years earlier. In addition, they could have created a digital certificate that would not only have identified the person with whom the transaction is being conducted, but also it would allow them to reply to the sender. If these information systems were implemented, Rusnak’s scheme could have been prevented. If these informations systems were put in place, Rusnek would have been either prevented or caught earlier on because these systems were created to minimize the risk of errors or fraudulent manipulation of the organized assets’s. If I were responsible for designing new information systems fro AIB and Allfirst, I would first determine which controls are required by identifying all of the control points and control weaknesses and performing a risk assessment. Then, I would perform a data quality audit and MIS audit to determine how to effectively safeguard systems without making them unusable. When this part of my strategy is complete, I would then begin part (2) by implementing the proper controls to ensure that this type of situtation nevers occurs again. These controls would include all methods, policies, and organization’a assets, the accuracy and reliability of accounting records, and adherence to management and industry standards. In order to do this I would implement general controls to handle the overall design, security, and use of computers, programs and files for their information technology infrastructure. This would include physical hardware controls, system software controls, data files security controls, computer operations controls, controls over the implementation process and administrative disciplines. In addition to the general controls, I would also implement application controls because it focuses on the completeness and accuracy of input, updating and maintenance, and the validity of the information in the system. Before I complete the new systems, I would perform a data cleansing and debugging process to eliminate any errors and lastly I would conduct a walkthrough that would consist of qualified professionals so that the systems could be tested. Once these measures have been put into place, Allfirst and AIB’s control problems would be solved.
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Concepts: There was a variety of concepts used in this case. Security are policies and technical measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alternation, theft or physical damage to information systems. Controls are all methods, policies and procedures that ensure protection of the organization’s assets, accuracy and reliability of its records and operational adherance to management standards. General controls are overall controls that establish a framework for controlling the design, security and use of computer programs throughout an organization. Application controls are those which are unique to each computerized application. Data Security controls are those which ensure that data files on either disk or tape are not subject to unauthorized access, change or destruction. Administrative controls are formalized standards, rules, procedures and disciplines to ensure that the organization’s controls are properly executed and enforced. Online Transaction Processing is a transaction processing mode in which transactions entered online are immediately processed by the computer. Authentication gives each party in the transaction the ability to identify the other party. Message Integrity is the ability to ascertain that a transmitted message has not been copied or altered. Digital Signature is a digital code that can be attached to an electronically transmitted message to uniquely identify its contents and sender. Digital Certificate is an attachment to an electronic message to verify the identity of the sender and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply. Risk Assessment is determining the potential frequency of the occurrence of a problem and the potential damage if the problem were to occur. It is also used to determine the cost/benefit of a control. Data Quality Audit is a survey or sample of files to determine accuracy and completeness of data in an informations system. Data Cleansing corrects errors and inconsistencies in data to increase accuracy so that they can be used in a standard company-wide format. were to occur. MIS Audit identifies all the controls that govern individual information systems and assesses their effectiveness. Walkthrough is a review of specification or design document by a small group of people carefully selected based on the skills needed for the particular objectives being tested. Debugging is the process of discovering and eliminating the errors and defects in the program code.
Discussion: On February, 2002, due to a lack of proper security measures and controls, Allied Irish and Allfirst suffered a (670) million dollar foreign exchange trading loss at the hands of a thirty-seven year old foreign exchange trader by the name of John Rusnak who was employed by Allfirst for (7) years. During 2001, Rusnak made bad trading decisions with regard to the increase in the value of the Japanese Yen and instead of confessing his problem to management, he tried to cover it up by fraudent means, which consitsed of falsified option trades & fake confirmations and acting as a proprietary trader. He then tried to make up for his losses by selling deep currency options to raise quick cash. But this did not work out because the company had to pay the client when the options matured. In the end, it was confirmed that the losses may have been directly Rusnaks responsibilty but it was Allies’s fault because if the proper controls were in place, a situation of this magnitude would never have taken place. There were major weaknesses at Allfirst and Allied Irish. Firstly, their employees in the Treasury department were inexperienced and they lacked the proper training and had poor supervision, which in any case would lead to laziness. In addition, Rusnak was allowed to trade while on vacation, which in itself is a direct violation of company policy. According to industry standards, when a trade is made it should always be accompanied by a hedge to guard against losses; however, there were no controls in place that ensured that these hedges were ever purchased. Thirdly, all traders have limits as to the amount of trades they can do at a given time, yet Rusnak was allowed to perform trades although he was well above his limit. Fourthly, there was no segmentation of duties between those of the front office, trading desk or back office. According to the case, there were many management, organization and technology factors that contributed to these weaknesses. For example, AIB had installed Opics in the back office at Allfirst, but did not install the its sister software called Tropics at it’s front office. AIB was fully aware that these systems work hand in hand and in order for them to work effectively, they would have to ensure that both systems were in place. Also, AIB used Crossnar Matching Service, which automatically electrically confirms both sides of a trade in two minutes; but did not implement the system at Allfirst and as a result, they would have to call to validate a trade. This had a negative effect on them because if they had a trade with a bank in Japan they would have to call at either midnight or 1 am in order to speak with someone in their back office. Management is responsible for developing the control structure and quality standards for the organization. When they chose to look the other way instead of dealing with Rusnak when they were warned by Smith and others, they contributed indirectly to his fraudelent behavior. Also, when Rusnak realized that the Monte Carlo was inadequate, he told management but they turned him down for budgetary reasons. As with management, the characteristics of the organization play a large role in determining its approach to quality assurance and control issues. As it was the duty of the organization to create high levels of security and quality in information systems, they too contributed to theses weaknesses because the proper systems were put in place in AIB, but they did not feel the need to proper implement the same at Allfirst. So, in this regard, they too contributed to the weaknesses. There are a number of technologies for promoting system quality and security. With technologies such as data security software, they should have been able to detect any unusual events from occuring, but as these were not in place at that time, they also contributed to the weaknessed of AIB and Allfirst. Undoubtably, the person responsible for the Rusnak trading losses was Rusnak himself. However, he did not work alone. For every person that allowed him to short cut control measures so that he could cover up the losses, they too are responsible. For example, the person who was persuaded to go home and not call Japan to confirm the trade cost the company millions because of their negligence. Also, those persons who allowed him to give them information that he compiled on his own computer instead of them doing it themselves have also contributed to his fraudulent behavior and are also liable. Management also played a huge role in this situation because they knew that he was trading over his limit and they knew that he had a position in Yen of more than one billion dollars, but didn’t question anything because according to them they were making money so there wasn’t a problem if some rules had to be broken in order to achieve profits. Lastly, AIB and Allfirst are also liable because AIB knew that it had not implemented the proper control measures to protect its organization against fraud. They are also at fault because when Rusnak was trying to make money with what was called synthetic loans, AIB executives had to approve them, which meand that they had to know that something was wrong with what Rusnak was doing. It is evident that the proper information systems were not in place. As this is the age of technology, there are many computerized systems that were created to ensure that proper control measures are carried out. If the proper general and application controls were in place, then Rusnak’s scheme would have been caught from its inception. General controls are essential for a company because they not only establish a framework for controlling the design and security, but it also regulates the use of computer programs throughout the organization. Application programs are equally important as they are comprised of specific controls unique to each computerized application. Firstly, Software and Hardware controls could have been implemented to monitor the use of the system software and prevent unauthorized access of software programs, system software, and computer programs. In addition, they would have also insured that the computer hardware is physically secure and to check for equipment malfunction. Secondly, they could have implemented computer operations controls and data security controls that would assists the company’s control system by overseeing the work of the computer department to ensure that programmed procedures are consistently and correctly applied to the storage and processing of data. Also, it would have assisted them by ensuring that valuable business data files on either disk or tape are not subject to unautyhorized access, change, or destruction while they are in use or storage. Thirdly, there are implementation and administrative controls that could have been implemented to audit the systems development process at various points to ensure that the process is properly controlled and managed. In addition, they would have formalized standards, rules, procedures, and control disciplines to ensure that the organization’s general application controls are properly executed and enforced. There are also other systems such as debt security controls and administrative controls that would have ensured that non authorized users had no access to certain files and that proper procedures were in place to ensure that the organization’s controls are properly executed. In that way, when those fake confirmations were put into the system, they would have been automatically kicked out. Online transaction processing could have also prevented this type of situation by processing transactions as soon as they are entered into the system. If this was in place, then they would not have had to stay late to call Japan to confirm the trades because the system would have automatically confirmed them. They could have implemented authentication that would have been able to assist them with the identity of the other party on the confirmation. There are also other security measures such as a message integrity system that could have alerted them to what was going on years earlier. In addition, they could have created a digital certificate that would not only have identified the person with whom the transaction is being conducted, but also it would allow them to reply to the sender. If these information systems were implemented, Rusnak’s scheme could have been prevented. If these informations systems were put in place, Rusnek would have been either prevented or caught earlier on because these systems were created to minimize the risk of errors or fraudulent manipulation of the organized assets’s. If I were responsible for designing new information systems fro AIB and Allfirst, I would first determine which controls are required by identifying all of the control points and control weaknesses and performing a risk assessment. Then, I would perform a data quality audit and MIS audit to determine how to effectively safeguard systems without making them unusable. When this part of my strategy is complete, I would then begin part (2) by implementing the proper controls to ensure that this type of situtation nevers occurs again. These controls would include all methods, policies, and organization’a assets, the accuracy and reliability of accounting records, and adherence to management and industry standards. In order to do this I would implement general controls to handle the overall design, security, and use of computers, programs and files for their information technology infrastructure. This would include physical hardware controls, system software controls, data files security controls, computer operations controls, controls over the implementation process and administrative disciplines. In addition to the general controls, I would also implement application controls because it focuses on the completeness and accuracy of input, updating and maintenance, and the validity of the information in the system. Before I complete the new systems, I would perform a data cleansing and debugging process to eliminate any errors and lastly I would conduct a walkthrough that would consist of qualified professionals so that the systems could be tested. Once these measures have been put into place, Allfirst and AIB’s control problems would be solved.
You can order a high-quality custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, speech, book report or book review from our professional custom writing service. We have employed more than 500 highly qualified Ph.D. and Master's academic writers to provide students with professional academic writing help. Feel free to contact our company right now!
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