Infrastructure

1.Iridium is a company established in 1987 with the concept of a satellite based wireless personal communications networks that could be accessed from anywhere on earth. They started with huge amount of investments in R&D, infrastructures as well as on deploying and maintaining its satellite constellation. Due to huge investment, company has to generate larger revenue through its service to subscribers. Company could only be successfully when it analyze its all aspects of business and synchronize it. It has to analyze its external environment such as competitors market and identify customers segment to which it is willing to cover, customer needs and cost effectiveness (affordability).

Company success depends on its analysis of market, finance, and customers needs. Wining companies are those that meet customer needs economically and conveniently and with effective communications. So critical success factors of Iridium is to be customer focused and expand its customer base with affordable service. Iridium success depends on its value added services, diversification of services, quality of services and time to time adoption to new technology and its applications to provide customers better quality products (handsets) and services.

2. Iridium strength is on its R&D capabilities and its infrastructure of 66 satellites, which could be able to provide worldwide services to its customers. Iridium is technologically prudent company. Iridium is into MSS market and started new beginning in the 5e of personal communications. Company’s path

braking services were being aided as the technology that would change the face of global communications industry. Iridium’s main weakness was not to assess that markets actual situation. It invested heavily in technology infrastructure without assessing actual needs of the market and customers. Too much time and money invested in R&D, deploying and maintaining its satellite constellation. Due to heavy investment, Iridium need sizable subscriber base and for it company needs larger market segment but it targeted only global business travelers and high-end customers, which are not sizable. Its quality service and prices are not up to mark and handset is not of good quality and not easy to use. The actual threats are coming from its competitors in the market. Players like Global star, Odyssey and Inmarsat P/ICO, which entered the MSS (Mobile satellite service) market and have the strong growth potential. The second threat is coming from its financiers because company borrowed heavily and repaying liabilities posses’ major threats to Iridium. Iridium has enormous opportunities because of increasing numbers of cellular services users. The area of MSS services is increasing many folds and expected to increase from $4 billion in 1999 to $19 billion in 2002. The subscriber base for other services like data and paging was expected to increase and their revenue were expected to increase to $ 2 billion in 2002.

3. The first strategy will be to make Iridium services affordable and cost effective in competition to other market players so that customer base could be increased which is very much necessary to Iridium’s survival. It should target larger market segments to provide variety of services to variety of people according to their needs. It must provide value added services with communication like SMS, data transfer, video transfer etc. It must improve its gadgets and make them easy to use and handle. Cost effectiveness and better services to customers and customer-oriented approach will be the key strategies to be adopted by Iridium.

4. In the future where technologies are changing very fast, Iridium has to try and develop new type of handsets with lesser weight and more suitable to use as well as having latest technologies and added features. The call rates are going down and down therefore Iridium has expand its customer base by providing them additional services apart from regular services like video transfer tech. on cellular services and data & voice transfer as well as Internet connections on the mobile services. They have to improve life p of satellites so that their capital cost could be reduced considerably. Basically Iridium sets it self in the highly competitive and changing business environment of mobile services. Apart from other challenges competitors are giving Iridium a tough time.

Cost-effectiveness and better services are the critical environment factors, which will affect Iridium and keep it on its toes to competed and be successful in the market. So I recommend Iridium to look thoroughly the customers preferences and choice and do change in its services accordingly. It must properly balance between its technical expertise and marketing management. Marketing of services and product should be customer focused. Synchronization of all parts of the business keeping in mind only customer needs and preferences will do the wonders for Iridium.

Reference:

“Reviving Iridium”, in Concepts and Cases: Strategic Management – A Dynamic Perspective, by Carpenter and Sanders. Pearson: Prentice Hall, 2007. Pp 615.

Sir Land’s mission is to continue the momentum to become an integral part of South Sais’s drive to position itself as one of the most important global economic areas. Given the limited size of Sir Land’s International Ranking has improved domestic market, targets set by the from 137 to 81 in the World Bank government on export growth cannot Logistics Performance Index 2012. Be met without Land’s Logistics Sector’s significant improvement in export performance.

Both export product categories and Sir Lankan has made progress in this index thanks to the improvements it has destinations need to be diversified. Made A concerted effort to plug into Asian infrastructure, international shipments, supply logistics Haines will also particularly important. Ata time when the global economic centre of gravity is shifting from West to East, Sir Lankan needs to address a situation where 60% of its exports in areas quality such and customs competence, tracking, tracing and timeliness.

The rating, which is being conducted once in every two years is based on 6000 individual country assessments by nearly are directed to the sluggish markets 1 ,OHO international freight forwarders, of Europe and North America and who rates the eight foreign countries less than 10% to the dynamic their company serves most frequent markets in China and India In this context Logistics Performance index (LIP) plays an important role to measure the ease of doing business as well as the logistic friendliness of the country..

The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Sir Lankan (CBS) is taking the lead in bringing about a significant improvement of Sir Land’s ranking on this index. The target is to take Sir Lankan into the top 30. 1 | Page China, India and Brazil – three of the so-called BRICE countries – remain the most dominant emerging markets for investors, exporters, producers of consumer goods, and logistics providers. For the second consecutive year, logistics and trade refashions ranked China, India, Brazil and Russia as the likely places to emerge as logistics hubs over the next five years.

Sir Lankan Place Rank No 30th on ” Agility Emerging Market Logistics Index 2013″ The United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar are standouts among countries that are smaller markets with good economic prospects and easy market entry. Sir Lankan also was part of that group. The Alp’s six components includes The efficiency of the clearance process(speed, simplicity, and predictability of formalities) by border control agencies, including customs. ; The quality of trade- and transport-related infrastructure (ports, railroads, roads, information technology).

For “market compatibility’ Sir Lankan scores higher than any Asian country except for China. Following a long, brutal civil war, the country has experienced strong economic growth and put security threats behind it. Even so, Sir Lankan has not yet been able to draw levels of foreign direct investment comparable to those attracted by countries of similar size and potential. ; The ease of arranging competitively priced shipments. ; The competence and quality of logistics services (transport operators, brokers). ; The ability to track and trace consignments. The frequency with which shipments reach the consignee within the scheduled or expected delivery time. Source : Agility Emerging Market Logistics Out of six LIP index components we are Index 2013 going to consider the first two factors under the projects we are going to discuss. With the Sir Lankan government implementation and fast track programs on Information Technology ( series Lankan ) the connectivity and platforms were build across the public and private sectors to ease the processes and way of working . This has improved the efficiency of the Public sector greatly and also a way of making processes denaturized.

Also the government has taken a leap step ahead to improve infrastructure relating to logistics not only in terms of Ports & Airport , new Highways , rail road’s as well as road matrices are coming up. 21 Page Two Key Projects we are going to consider are, 1 . Colombo Port Expansion Project 2. SAUCED – Automated System for Customs Data COLOMBO PORT EXPANSION PROJECT The Colombo Port Expansion Project provides for dredging and breakwater construction sufficient to accommodate three terminals, which will be constructed sequentially.

The Project includes the establishment of a new marine operations enter, relocation of a submarine oil pipeline, provision of navigational aids, and construction of shore utilities. The Project will be developed on a public-private partnership basis. The harbor infrastructure works, I. E. , dredging, breakwater construction, and other works, will be implemented by the Sir Lankan Ports Authority (SLAP). The first two terminals will be operational in 2013 and 2015 respectively and constructed by operators chosen through open competitive bidding under build-operate-transfer (SOT) concession agreement.

Colombo Port is the natural transshipment ” This is a development that will definitely reduce freight rates, sake us more competitive, and attract more ships to call at Colombo. We are looking at this project to convert Colombo to the biggest transshipment hub in the region. ” hub port for the South Asian region. – Primary B. Wisecrack However, in recent years Colombo Port lost Chairman , Sir Lankan Ports Authority market share of the regional transshipment market because the fundamentals of the market changed and Colombo Port did not adapt.

Colombo Port cannot offer the additional operating capacity required to compete for the Indian subcontinent transshipment market or the depth required to berth the latest generation container ships. Colombo Port will have to develop additional container berths with the required depth to address these capacity and depth infrastructure 3 | Page The Making off Hub The last time Sir Lankan built a breakwater to protect its fleet of ships, the teardrop- shaped island off the coast of India was called Ceylon, and was still under colonial rule.

Today, this independent country of 21 million people is a regional rising star, and the government is capitalizing on the island’s strategic location to promote it as an economic hub in South Asia. The new breakwater at Colombo Port is part of a $500 million port expansion supported in part y $300 million DAB loan – that is moving Sir Lankan toward this goal. Coulomb’s breakwater has a depth Colombo Harbor 18 meters, compared to the previous 14 – 1880-1890 to 15 meters – a crucial difference in a world in which ever bigger cargo ships require ever deeper docking berths.

Around 7 hectares of sea was reclaimed for the breakwater, which features 34,500 specially designed boulders – along Container handling capacity before the project 3. 3 million with an additional 5-meter-high wave wall – that can defend the port against Container handling capacity by 201 5 the most inclement weather. 8. 1 million The breakwater was completed in Container handling capacity by 2024 April 2012 and two 400-meter-long 12. 5 million terminals by July 2013. A third 400- meter terminal is also in the planning stages.

These will make it possible for Colombo Port to 4 page accommodate the latest generation of mega-container ships, which carry 18,000 containers and more. According to officials the project will eventually increase the port’s capacity to 12. 5 million containers per annum from a current 5 million. Direct to Market The main breakwater and access channel enable the development of the three container terminals. The first of these, the South Container Terminal, is being plopped under a public-private partnership.

The researcher by introduction which includes background to the problem, Statement of the problem, Research questions, Objective of the study, Significance of the study, and the scope and limitation of the study. In the second chapter there is literature review, both theoretical and empirical literature review in which there are some terms defined with relevant theories. The third chapter explains about now the study wick be conducted and techniques that will be used in conducting the research study The third chapter shows and explains the schedule of activities, references and bibliography.

The fourth chapter give much details of the research topic by answering the research questions both specific and general research questions. It gives a detailed information gathered during the research period so as to give the real situation of the Ministry in relation to the research topic. The last fifth chapter gives the conclusion and recommendation of the researcher in the research area in relation to the research topic whether the Ministry conduct the situation satisfactory and if there are some added criteria in order to improve the situation in the research area.

• CPSP: Certified Procurement and Supplies Professional. MTB: Ministerial Tender Board
• NBMM: National Board for Materials Management
• PPA : Public Procurement Act
• IAA: Institute of Accountancy Arusha Head of Department HOD.
• PMU. Procurement Management Unit
• NGO: Non Governmental Organization . United States of America USA’ CICA.
• Competition in Contracting Act : Member of the Parliament MP The Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID)

The name was officially launched in 1995 and was formerly known as Ministry of works. The ew ministry is the combination of the former Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Communication ; Transportation. It is headed by the Minister Hon. Mr. Andrew Chenge (MP), assisted by Hon. Dr. Maua Daftari (MP) and Dr. Makongoro Mahanga as Deputy Ministers. The ministry of Infrastructures Development is split into two Divisions, namely:

1. Transport Division
2. Communication Division

After the introduction of PMS in the year 2003,the ministry adopted a new vision and mission, the proposed functions and structures has put into the new vision, mission and objectives of the ministry. The overall responsibilities of MolD is to structure the transport and communication Infrastructure that is well maintained, providing safe and efficient environment that is friendly and affordable to all parts of Tanzania and one that integrates all modes of transport and communication system economically.

Vision of the Ministry: The vision of the ministry is to have efficient and cost effective domestic and international communication and Transport meteorology service to all segments of the population and sectors of National economy with maximum safety and minimum environmental Degradation. Mission of the Ministry: The mission of the Ministry is to have safe, effective and efficient transport and communication and meteorological infrastructures and operations which best meet the socio-Economic needs by improving levels of services at lower costs in a manner which support Government strategies for economically and environment sustainability.

Objectives of the Ministry:

In order to fulfill the above vision and mission of the sector, the ministry has got the following objectives: To facilitate the provision of adequate, affordable and efficient transport and communication and meteorology infrastructure and services with aximum safety and minimum environment degradation. To ensure a conducive environment for investment in the sector. To improve revenue collection from transport, communication and meteorology service rendered by the sector.

To harmonize transport, communication and meteorology standards to those of regional and international groups in which Tanzania is a member. To improve services and reduce HIV/AID Intection. Functions of the Ministry. The general function of the Ministry of Communications and Transport are: To initiate and coordinate polices, objectives and strategies on road, railway, pipeline, arine, air transport, posts and Telecommunications. Oversee and co-ordinate performance standards. Monitor and evaluate overall performance contracts.

To commercialize and privatize the parastatals in the transport and communication sector The organizational structure of the MolD In order to achieve the objectives, the ministry implements the objectives using five specialized departments at the Head quarter, three regulatory and three Executive agencies: Specialized Departments at the Head Quarters: Department of Administration and Personnel Department of Transport and Communication Department of Accounts and Finance Central Transport Licensing Authority.

Regulatory Bodies:

Tanzania Civil aviation Authority Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority Surface and Marine Regulatory Authority Executive Agencies: Tanzania Airport authority Tanzania Government Flight Agency Tanzania Meteorological Agency.

1. 1 Background to the study

Tendering is the method of procurement where by Suppliers, Contractors, and Consultants are invited by procuring entity to compete each other in submitting priced tenders for goods, works, or services (PPA 2004).

It is the most popular method recommended by the Act due to its openness, transparency, efficient, and Economy. The history of Procurement Legislation in Tanzania of which tendering found its origin can be traced as far back to 1961 when the Exchequer and Audit Ordinance No. 21 of 1961 was enacted as a Legal mechanism for the purpose of controlling the Public Procurement and Supplies activities. Five years later i. e. 1965 the financial Order part Ill (Stores Regulation 5th Edition 1965) was enacted by the parliament as the guideline to the public Fund by Government officials.

Due to the weakness of the old legislation, there was a number of studies carried out in the Country funded by the World Bank to review the Public Procurement System hich eventually found that there was a need for more effective legislation to govern Procurement in the Public Sector to repeal and replace the Exchequer ; Audit Ordinance of 1961, and consequently, Public Procurement Act No. 21 of 2001 came into the e ttect to cater tor the detlciencies ot the old legislations. The enactment of PPA 2001 was only part of the on going Public Procurement reforms.

These reforms resulted into the enactment of the PPA 2004 which repealed PPA 2001. The enactment of PPA 2004 was aimed at addressing the deficiencies of the old legislation(s), by enforcing the best practices and professional standards of inancial Management and control of Public properties and resources It is because of this important historical background that TENDERING as a Procurement Method is accorded Importance by the Act due to its openness, efficiency, economy, and as far as Public Expenditure is concerned.

Good practice of tendering reduces total transaction costs and produce timely result, and efficiency use of resources, Poor practice of tendering led to waste and delays and often the cause of allegation of corruption and inefficiency (MasanJa 2004). It follows that the Public Sector particularly the Ministry of Infrastructure Development hould realize the values for money procurement and tendering, among other methods, it must be done in accordance to the existing procedures.

1. 2 Statement of the problem

The service oriented organization has a core interest to attain vision and mission. Public Sector in Tanzania, Ministry of Infrastructure Development being one of it, is there to deliver better services to the society, in other hand it spent about 80% of the National Budget on the procurement of goods, Services and works. On realization of this truth the Government has enacted the procurement laws as the guide to ensure roper utilization of Pubic Funds. One feature of procurement laws is open/unrestricted tendering characterized by fairness, transparency, and economy.

The procedure requires some steps to be accomplished before the contract for delivering of goods, services or execution of work is awarded to the prospective bidder. Open tendering is the most popular procurement method envisage by the Public Procurement Act No. 3 of 2004. It follow that the role of effective open tendering procedures and regulation is to ensure that the system is operated in such away that it reduces the transaction costs, fficiency use of the resources available, efficiency utilization of the time required, and ensure that the system is understood and can be handled by the concerned parties properly.

This will Justify the proper use of Public Fund and the attainment of Entitys objectives. The efficiency and adequacies of tendering procedures and quality performance is the end result realization. This is to say that if open tendering is adhered and administrated according to the laid down effective procedures and regulation the end result will be quality of goods, works and services delivered.

1. 3 Research Questions

1. 3. 1 General Question is open

Tendering as a procurement method in Public Sector e 71 32 Specitlc Questions O Are the people involved in procurement? I. e. members, the knowledge of Public Procurement Act 2004? Ministerial Tender Board PMIJ member and HOD have O Are the procedures and Regulation as directed by PPA for open tendering adhered by tender board members or tender evaluation committee or the PMIJ? O Are the tender documents prepared using standard tendering documents as issued by PPRA ? O Can lack of training and understanding of PPA 2004 and their respective regulations contribute to the ineffectiveness of tendering as procurement method?

1. 4 Study Objectives

1. 4. 1 General Objective

The general objective of the study is to evaluate factors that affect the effectiveness of open tendering as procurement method in Public Sector.

1. 4. 2 Specific Objectives

OTO find out whether the procedures and regulations used for open tendering in the Public Sector are inline with PPA requirements OTO evaluate whether those people i. e. PMU, CTB,;HOD are well involved in the procurement and have the knowledge of the PPA and Regulations. OTO find out whether the lack of procurement capacity in Public Sector contributes to the ineffectiveness of open tendering. OTO check out hether tender documents are prepared according to Standard Tendering Documents and other guidelines (if any) issued by PPRA.

1. 5 Significance of the Study

This study has shown clearly problems involved in tendering process including as well as factors hindering proper adhering procedures in Public Sectors. The study may attract the government, donors and NGOs on the need to build Procurement Capacity in the Public Sectors in Tanzania. On the other hand, this study has further served as guidelines for the future reference for those intending to study on procurement laws notably in the area of tendering transactions.

2. Scope and Limitation of the study his study has been conducted at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development Head Office, which is located in Dar-es-salaam City at llala Municipal. The study has based specifically on such areas as Procurement and Purchasing section, Tendering section and Supplies section. The study has examined the factors affecting the effectiveness of open tendering as procurement method in the Public sector. The coverage included system of procurement in tendering process, tendering documents and prospective laws applied.

During the research period the researcher expected the following limitations: O On the Job training took a lot of time for researcher to do other work which has no relation with the researcher topic so time for research has beeen limited to acquire the required data through interviews and questionnaires. (J Some ot the employees that the researcher managed to nave spot interview they became reluctant to give what is real practiced in the organization in fear that the information collected can be presented to the management and investigation can be made to the concerned staff.

Successful Tender “Means a tender selected by the procuring entity as; offering the lowest evaluated cost in case the method of procurement used was competitive tendering or being the most responsive to the needs of procuring entity if the procurement method used as competitive quotations, single sources procurement, competitive selection or where goods or services are of minor value”. Supplier “Means company, corporation organization, partnership, or individual person supplying goods, or services, hiring equipment or providing transport services and who is according to the contract is a potential party with the procuring entity’ Tender “Means offer, proposal or quotation made by a supplier, contractor, or consultant in response to a request drawn by a procuring entity’ Works “All works associated with the construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair or enovation of a building structure, road or airfield”.

Lowest Evaluated Costs ‘Means the priced offered by supplier, contractor or consultant that is found to be the lowest after consideration of all relevant factors and the calculation of any weighing for these factors, provided that such factors have been specified in the tender document”.

2. Theoretical basic of the study.

Mhilu (2006) in his paper presented during the 21st NBMM Professional Annual Conference contended that an open tendering is the preferred way to promote open and effective competition. He however agreed on the need to bring a balance etween tendering cost and the benefit received, he further enumerated circumstances where open tendering may not be the preferable method to include if; O There is Justification for single source or emergence procurement or OThe cost of an open tendering exceed direct savings that might be enjoyed or There are other benefits foregone by using another procurement method.

The World Bank guideline (1999) maintained that the objective of tendering is to attain both the classical and contemporary procurement objectives that include transparent and all aspects contributing towards proper administration of tender, hese are proper goods, works and services of right price, through authorization and in a transparent manner. The guideline further continue that, competitive bidding or tendering is the most effective method in attaining the above mentioned objective when properly administered. i Open Tender This is tendering process which is done through open advertisement through widely circulated media such as newspapers of wide circulation. Through the advertisement a procuring entity states its requirements through specification and terms of purchase.

Johnson and Johnson Facing the Challenges of Putting Up a Centralized Information System

Executive Summary

Johnson and Johnson (J&J) is a leading name when speaking of health care products manufacturing and selling. It has existed for more than 120 years and has been a trendsetter when it comes to health care products. Its success in the business and health care industry is largely due to its decentralized management approach. Now, Information Technology is finding its way into becoming a core concept in the management of J&J but it must first overstep the challenges presented by a centralized Information System which it so desires.

Introduction

J&J’s business revolves around providing health care products to its clients and it is the leading manufacturer of such products with its 1994 sales amounting to over $15 billion. It was founded in 1886 and it quickly found its way to being a very profitable business. It has been providing quality health care products to consumers for more than 120 years. J&J was the first to manufacture sterile dressings and its products range from baby shampoo, disposable contact lenses as well as treatments and relief from various diseases (Ross, 1995).

 J&J continues to introduce new line of health care products that really captivate the market. The quality of their products is evidenced by their sales. Their newest products include a glucose management system for diabetics and contact lenses that feel like wearing nothing. The new line of products has always been a big help to the company. Thirty percent of 2007 sales come from new products that have been introduced in the past five years (Johnson & Johnson, 2008).

J&J comprises of more than 250 operating companies in 57 countries. It has employees numbering more than 120,000 and its main headquarters is stationed in New Jersey in the United States. It markets its products in more than 175 countries and it manages its operating companies as independent business (Analysis of Johnson and Johnson, 2008). In 2007, global sales amounted to $61.1 billion (Johnson & Johnson, 2008). The autonomous status given to operating companies aims to increase flexibility, accountability and creativity. It has also adopted a decentralized management approach which put the company in a strong financial light.

J&J’s organizational structure is different from other companies. It treats its operating companies as independent businesses but still a part of the corporation. Another aspect that separates J&J apart from other businesses is that it focuses on a decentralized structure.

The decentralized organizational structure is composed of three different segments, namely, Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices and Diagnostics. Each segment has a chairman charged with identifying opportunities and leveraging services and expertise for every market. Each segment also composes of franchise and therapeutic categories (Serving Markets in Three Business Segments). Franchise managers were assigned to coordinate the sales of the different operating companies for every product line. The introduction of the Health Care System, which provides J&J products to health care provider organizations, and the Customer Support Center, which was instituted to market the products to large retailers, reinvented the way work is distributed at the company (Ross, 1995).

This decentralized structure is the secret formula for the success of J&J. It became the largest and most comprehensive distributor of health care products because of this formula. The decentralized structure allowed the company to effectively focus on the needs of its customers. The structure also ensured that company activities are always in line with the company’s overall strategic objectives.

Many admired the management practices adopted by J&J but the autonomy granted to operating companies had its drawbacks. Employees have a tendency to view themselves as working only for the operating company and not the entirety of the corporation (Ross, 1995) which somehow creates an absence of a global mindset. It is important to consider the cultural differences of different countries since cultural differences may dictate the need for a certain product or how the product will be marketed effectively (Telschow, 2001).

An ideal manager should be one that is able to think globally but act according to the locality of the business operations. J&J has addressed this aspect since it employs managers from diverse cultural backgrounds and exposes them to cultural backgrounds that they are not familiar with (Telschow, 2001).

Problem Definition

The decentralized structure is the most important strategy that has worked for this leading health care product manufacturer. IT is important to ensure the continuous flow of information from the operating companies to the clients as well as the financial information from the company to the main headquarters based in New Jersey in the US (Ross, 1995).

Basically, information technology makes for a more convenient transfer of information and it is particularly useful in systems planning, developments, operations, and maintenance. But for the decentralized system of J&J, its established multiplexed T1 network allowed data transfer between operating companies, the main headquarters and other facilities that are critical in maintaining a smooth flow of operations (Ross, 1995). In this decentralized organization where administrative powers and functions are given to a central authority, Information Technology allows the chairman of each operating company’s segment to coordinate with the other segment chairmen. Information technology ensures that the system runs efficiently. The people in J&J are opting to adopt a centralized information system but there are certain challenges that need to be addressed in order for a centralized system to be established and for to be successful.

Four limitations were identified by J&J Information Technology Team, namely “(1) the amount of IS attention allocated to infrastructure management across the company…diluting the attention that could be focused on more strategic IT applications”, “(2) the lack of technology standards…inhibiting connectivity, aggravating attempts to service business needs and costing too much support”, “(3) the funding process for infrastructure projects…retarding efforts to build a enterprise-wide infrastructure”, and “(4) lack of data standards…impending the meaningful exchange of data across companies” (Ross, 1995).

The first limitation was caused by a mismanagement of IT resources. On J&J’s Networking and Computer Services Vice President Bob Chaput’s estimation, around 550 of the 1,500 IS professionals were deployed to support infrastructure technologies just in the US; a number which was too high making it an inefficient way of handling human resources. This created a void in the Information Technology system as very few IT personnel work on projects that are crucial to the company (Ross, 1995).

The lack of information technology standards was caused by the autonomy granted to the operating companies. The autonomy led to differences in the kinds of technologies utilized. Different types of hardware are utilized from routers to bridges and even choosing between Macintosh and Windows was debated. There were also differences in the software used (Ross, 1995).

Infrastructure developments were hindered by the payment for services received. For example, a franchise manager comes to an operating company to install networks connections for a certain price but the problem is the company may not be raking enough money to pay for the installation. Thus, installing the new network connection is not in its best interest (Ross, 1995).

The problem on the lack of data standards was uncovered upon the creation of the Customer Support Center and J&J’s Health Care Systems (HCS) since differences in data definitions prevented personnel from determining the total business that a customer did with J&J (Ross, 1995).

Recommendations

Like any other organization that has flaws in its system, J&J tried to address its lapses in the company Information Systems using various methods from leveraging to making complete changes.

 J&J’s global IT network linked together all the 250 operating companies in 57 countries. Majority of the operating companies received network support from the main headquarters in New Jersey. More importantly, operating companies based in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa receive their network support from a regional center that was established in Belgium. This regional center supported 100 operating companies with over a hundred routers and more than 1,000 servers at its disposal. This well-controlled network made it possible for 11 employees and six contractors to provide the Europe-based J&J companies with centralized support (Ross, 1995).

European operating companies have a more decentralized network support since many of the companies in Europe are small and this also meant that they have fewer employees capable of addressing all the Information Technology needs of whole countries. Adopting the Jansen Standard, which has been utilized by one of the largest J&J operating companies in Europe, has led to the centralization of the European operating companies. US-based operating companies were large enough to be able to provide all their IT needs which eliminates the need for a centralized network support. But for Chaput, the European model would work well for the entire corporation.

To solve the problem regarding the allocation of IS human resources, “five major Professional Group companies in the US had agreed to turn over responsibility for voice communications to Chaput’s organization“, which is the Networking and Computer Services. This brought the focus of many IS personnel into more important IT applications (Ross, 1995). This will most likely address the problem since IT personnel no longer have to worry about the supporting infrastructure technologies giving them more time to focus on IT projects that would better benefit the company.

In establishing information technology standards, Jan Fields, the Director of Corporate Network Services said that imposing a limited set of standards was critical if J&J seeks the centralization of infrastructure services. He gave the IT personnel the decision to make the most efficient and economical choice when it comes to choosing the software (Ross, 1995). Even as a limited set of standards was imposed, this is not as effective as adopting a single information technology standard. Making the economical and efficient choice is a good enough choice since it would be hard to adopt a single IT standard especially in considering the costs associated with adopting this single standard.

Information systems infrastructure investments is important to J&J but new businesses cannot afford hefty payments for upgrades and they are more vent on investing their money on aspects that would improve the company performance, but HCS and the Customer Support Center requires that operating companies adopt such changes. Since this has been the scenario, Chaput talks to the operating company to make a proposal and after the company has got the funds for infrastructure investments, the projects starts (Ross, 1995). This is a friendlier approach since those who are just starting out in the business have the option of prioritizing what they really need in terms of profitability and providing better services to its customers.

 Creating data standards that would enable the interpretation of data from across other operating companies. J&J is already a leader when it comes to manufacturing health care products and it is time that an organized definition of terms is set up. This would prevent any unnecessary confusion in the future (Ross, 1995).

J&J is on its way to adopting a centralized IT management system but it is faced with a lot of challenges. Its existing information system has four lapses as already indicated. It is critical that these lapses be addressed for a smoother information systems management. The capabilities of the IT personnel must be utilized efficiently. This was not done in the past since too much attention was given to infrastructure management. Adopting a single IT standard should also be pursued as a gradual process to prevent any complexities. A single IT standard would allow for better coordination among operating companies. Making sure that all operating companies have the required IT system is also important but since the problem here that not all operating companies can pay the fees, this could also be done gradually so that the expenses will not heavily impact the operations of the smaller operating companies especially those that are only starting out. Creating a specific data standard would also be critical so that cross-company information could easily be analyzed. This would require a lot of work since it would require coordination with the many operating companies but it would prevent any more mishaps resulting from not having a clear data standard.

IT personnel should adopt a specific goal that is doable. J&J must be careful that they do not stray away from attaining this goal. This is a basic step for any organization that wants to accomplish a certain goal.

Making IT a corporate function rather than being a company function would also prove useful and this can be done by first initiating training programs that would give IT personnel the knowledge that they need at J&J IT system as Chief Information Officer Ed Parish has already indicated. It would be followed by impacting pay and performance through sharing performance evaluations and finally taking over the succession planning so that the company president can choose a qualified successor as the IT director position opens (Ross, 2005).

Conclusion

Five to ten years from now, J&J should still be using the decentralized management approach since it has been the organizational backbone for a long time. Even as giving autonomy to operating companies has downsides, J&J will be able to control these using other various strategies. The decentralized management system will keep J&J as a big name when it comes to providing health care products and services. By then, it should have also already adopted a powerful centralized information system if all the problems were carefully addressed.

References

1. Ross, J. 1995. Johnson & Johnson: Building an Infrastructure to Support Global Operations. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Center for Information System Research.
2. Telschow, M. 2001. Business Policy and Administrative Action in a Global Economy. Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.hausarbeiten.de/faecher/vorschau/104110.html
3. Analysis of Johnson and Johnson. 2008 May. Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/ c89193
4. Serving Markets in Three Business Segments. Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://careers.jnj.com/careers/global/ organization_structure/business_segments/index.htm;jsessionid=4PEYPA5AAJL4GCQPCCEGU3AKB2IIWTT1
5. Johnson and Johnson. 2008. Factbook 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.jnj.com/connect/pdf/pdf-company/2008-fact-book.pdf

The way technology dictates our public and private worlds has evolved into revolutionary information and communication technology (ICT)-led concepts of smart cities, energy efficiency, and smart homes to maximize use of existing resources and save time. And along with that it has further underscored the need for a mature cyber security ecosystem at its bottom. However the gap between the two is clearly enormous. How smart would be smart cities?

How Smart are Smart Cities?

One of the most ambitious programmes of Prime Minister – Smart Cities Mission seems a bit farfetched as of now. The government had last year announced to create 100 smart cities by 2022 via digitally enabling infrastructure with the use of information and communication technology. However, the project runs the
risk of becoming shambolic in future as infrastructure has to exist in the first place for the government to make it smart. So the problem is not of having a stressed infrastructure but of an inadequate one. Another big challenge is the societal behavior of Indians.

“Indians blindly copy paste culture of western countries to fix every other local problems except when it comes to curbing our infrastructural menace. For example, in Europe you can set up a waste management system or garbage tracking system to keep roads clean. This won’t work in India because basic infrastructure such as garbage bins and proper sewage system is missing. On top of it, people here don’t have civic sense,” says Ravinder Pal Singh, Director – Mega Projects, Public Sector Vertical, Dell International Services India.

Amongst the most pressing issues in India has been of traffic management. However, the situation isn’t unique in any form to Indian cities. “There are cities globally where roads are narrower and traffic density is higher than Indian roads, and still they don’t have problems of traffic congestion. Through video analytics we can track people who try to subvert rules and we can enforce the right behavior and discipline in them,” adds Singh.

Energy efficiency is another way to be looked at making cities cleaner along with smarter wherein start-upsm like Bengaluru-based Lithium Urban Technologies are already making a move. The company offers 100 percent emission free green mobility solutions through its fleet of around 200 electric cars for corporates.

“We look at mobility in terms of energy efficiency and the mode of transport that can move people from one place to another in the most energy efficient way. Today you see a  small electric car, tomorrow there willbe bigger cars, mini vans, buses etc., as a significant percentage of urban mobility will be electric,” says Sanjay Krishnan, Founder and  CEO,Lithium Urban Technologies.

From public to private world, internet of things (IoT) is changing the way humans interact with devices, even inside their homes. Home automation as per a white paper published by energy management and automation giant Schneider Electric last year, is growing 30 percent annually. However the market is yet to take off in India.

“Home automation today is in the fringes of niceto- have-products but even smartphones once werejust nice to have products which became need-to-haveproducts with incremental development and better user experience,” says Nithin K David, Partner at Noida-based IoT start-up Oakter. “There are two factors of cost and features or quality. If we are able to balance out what a consumer gets in terms of features or quality and what he pays for that perspective, then home automation products will see better adoption,”  echoes Saurav Kumar, Founder, Cube26 – amobile technology start-up based in Delhi.

Hackers’ Den

Amidst technology re-shaping future evolution of humans and businesses, lies the danger of breach of security and information that comes along with it. As per a 2015 KPMG report on cybercrime in India, 72 percent businesses faced some sort of cyber attack in the preceding year and 63 percent faced financial loss.

Today going digital is not just about office automation, what it also means is enhancing customer experience and getting competitive advantage. This in turn means that digital has a direct impact on businesses’ balance sheets. Now that has got even more worrying as entrepreneurs realize that if their digital get hacked, it will be severe to their businesses including its stakeholders.

“This is the reason that there has been an increase in the amount of money and focus by companies on cyber security measures over the last few years,” says Saket Modi, Co-founder and CEO, Lucideus – an IT risk assessment and digital security services provider.

Globally hacks and hackers have changed in last years from being pranksters to being used for state sponsored terrorism, and by governments as well. “China has buildings full
of professional hackers deployed by the government with the objective of hacking into corporate and other governments’ digital infrastructure and getting beneficial information. When it comes to India, it will still take time for our companies to get matured in cyber security measures,” adds Modi.

(This article first appeared in the Indian edition of Entrepreneur magazine (September 2016 Issue)

For the last couple of years, India has been gearing up for probably the most challenging reform measure since independence i.e. Goods and Services Tax (GST). Now, after long period of dialogue amongst key stakeholders, finally the broad framework of GST is clear and the model is approved by the Government of India and Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers. With effect from 1^st Apr’2017, GST will be a singular tax where both Central and State GST components will be levied on the same base. This is supposed to bring in simplicity of administration and expand the tax net, increase indirect tax collection, drive competitiveness and lastly improve ease of doing business in India.

However, without a well-designed and well-functioning IT system, the benefits of GST will remain elusive. The data and analytics age has already started to fundamentally transform the way policies are planned and administered. Keeping that in mind, currently, GSTN (GST Network) is working on rolling out a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure that will bring in significant improvement from existing implementations. For sake of simplicity for the taxpayer, ease of tax administration, and bringing about a national common market, a common PAN-based taxpayer ID, a common return, and a common challan for tax payment have been agreed to by all stakeholders. Complete automation of core services like registration, return filing and payments; real time data sharing between GSTN and tax administrations, integration with various external stakeholder systems are few of the basic objectives of the IT framework to minimize data entry effort/lapse and improve faster sign off. All these are expected to bring serious benefits not only to the tax administrations but also to the taxpayers. Some of the unique features of the envisaged system are:

• Real-time validation of PAN, Aadhaar, CIN, DIN etc.
• Near real-time access of taxpayer uploaded data by tax authorities
• Fully automated return process with multiple modes for upload
• Fully transparent system with comprehensive taxpayer dashboard and ledgers
• GST compliance rating for taxpayers published on GSTN portal

GSTN’s goal is to lay IT infrastructure that will provide a platform to help minimize the time and effort required for tax-related matters pertaining to filing as well as seeking credit. In the GST regime, while all taxpayers will be allowed to file returns on self-assessment basis, input credits availed by the taxpayer will be subsequently verified by the system to ensure that the tax payment for the corresponding supply has been received. In the absence of such confirmation, the credit availed in the earlier tax period will be systematically reversed without any manual intervention. This will significantly help and reinforce tax administrations in plugging revenue leakage without any intervention.

GSTN is working on achieving these very important objectives of “simplicity” and “standardization” to encourage voluntary compliance. Some of the key relevant features of the GST system are mentioned below:

Registration

• Common registration form for all applicable GST laws across all states
• Mandatory online registration data will get shared with both Central and appropriate State tax authorities.
• No physical supporting documents required to be sent to tax authorities
• E-mail and mobile communications to be sent to applicants/registrants on their registered e-mail and mobile number
• Registration Certificate (RC) to be made available online
• No need to appear before the registering authority before registration is granted
• Digital signature certificate and support for Aadhaar-based e-Sign
• Amendment of many fields of the registration to be on self-service basis (without requiring approval) after the registration

Return Filing

• Single common return form for all types of taxes; one return per registration per tax period
• Online return filing to be mandatory
• Anytime upload of invoices through multiple modes to be facilitated
• Only sales/supply invoice to be uploaded that gets reflected automatically in the purchase register of buyers/recipients of goods/services
• System to generate draft return, which can be edited by the taxpayer

Tax payment

• One common challan form to capture payment information for all types of taxes
• Online tax payment (mandatory above a certain threshold); online preparation of challan over GST system even for OTC payments
• One-to-one integration with all agency banks or 3^rd party service providers; others can pay through RTGS/NEFT

·         Taxpayers to also receive regular updates regarding their payment through SMS/email-based interaction

Keeping these output benefits in account, a study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research says that GST will boost India’s GDP growth by anywhere around 0.9% to 1.7% and virtually every media report cites expert opinion to potentially add up to 2% to India’s GDP. No doubt, digital infrastructure can act as a major catalyst in enhancing transparency boosting indirect tax collection. By far the most reliable tool in hand, it can do wonders for tax administrators in their endeavor to strike a balance between facilitation and compliance. 

Weaknesses

Along with its strengths, CHEM. Hill also has weaknesses that it needs to overcome to maintain its level of success. The company is rather large and occupies many offices around the world making it difficult to enforce the code of ethics it is so known for in the industries it serves. CHEM Hill has difficulty ensuring compliance to regulations while performing work in so many different states and countries, opening it up to fines and lawsuits.

The firm has acquired and merged with other companies to increase its diversity and market position but in turn has had troubles ensuring that these new acquisitions conform to regular practices.  With the Joint ventures CHEM Hill has entered into has come the inability to determine the exact effectiveness of that division where failure will lead to recognized losses. The firm’s high tech nature and complete reliance on computers and systems makes it alienable to financial losses and reputation loss if any of their networks or systems were to fail.

CHEM Hill has an employment disadvantage as its existing work force continues to get older every year due to a declining incoming work force and its inability to attract or hire younger professional personnel (Widget, n. D. ).

Opportunities

The external market and business factors have created opportunities for CHEM.. Hill. As other countries develop their sustainable energy futures, there is great opportunity to work in these countries in energy development, one of the main business groups of CHEM Hill.

During the course of projects CHEM Hill employees work alongside many subcontractors who could be acquired in the future so that the firm could offer whole project delivery. CHEM.. Hill’s management is heavily involved SWOT Analysis for CHEM Hill Strengths By orders (Bastardization, n. D. ). The cost leadership that CHEM.. Hill enjoys as its market strategy has positioned it in the market, enabling it to become the most documented name in the business. This provides an opening for attracting new clients to its web of customers (Free SOOT Analysis, 2013).

As developing countries or developed entries look to upgrade their deteriorating infrastructures, CHEM.. Hill who is known for resource and infrastructure management will have a greater potential client pool. CHEM.. Hill who has succeeded inform their own 100% secured cloud could offer rentable cloud computing networks for small companies. CHEM Hill has vast experience in the asset management business and could offer this skill to others in North America. Although CHEM.. Hill has much experience in water management, they tend to work in smaller markets with the global water shortage the larger markets, such as China, are becoming more attractive.

CHEM. Hill could utilize its vast experience and expertise in renewable energy to gain new projects as the global market demand for cleaner energy resources increases. In addition to operational and maintenance aid in this increasing energy segment CHEM  Hill could offer facilities management consultation to these plants .

Threats

Threats to CHEM.. Hill will come from many different sources; we will discuss some of them below. A declining global economy with less money to invest in infrastructure and private projects will affect the amount of Jobs to bid on.