Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay The world is considerably very small because of globalization. The virtual closeness of the countries has made the trade and commerce an international event. Global businesses make every community more closely around the world. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. In this case, the situation surrounding Unilever will be taken into consideration. The following annotations and propositions discussed in this discussion are supported by claims on journals, books and Unilever website. The modern technology is really helping those businesses where is using a Management Information System in the various level of managerial approach. The chosen company is Unilever to describe in this report how Unilever is benefitting using Management Information System in various level of the company. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Background of the company 4 Analyzing Mission Statement 4 PESTEL Analysis of Unilever 4 Political Factors 4 Economical Factors 5 Socio-Cultural Factors 5 Technological Factors 5 Environmental Factors 5 Legislative Factors 5 SWOT Analysis of Unilever 5 Strength 6 Weaknesses 6 Opportunities 6 Threats 7 Recommended Information Systems 7 Strategic Level 8 Management Level 9 Knowledge Level 9 9 Operational Level 9 Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever 10 Conclusion 11 References: 12 Background of the company Unilever is a Dutch-British multinational company which acquired many consumers product brands in foods, ice-creams, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever got two headquarter one in Rotterdam, Netherlands and other one in London, United Kingdom. The Unilever is a dual listed company which has same directors and runs effectively. The current non-executive chairman of Unilever is Michael Treschowand and Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive. The main Competitors for Unilever are Proctor Gamble, Nestle, DANONE, Reckitt Benckiser, Kraft Foods, S.C Johnson and sons and Henkel. Analyzing Mission Statement The mission statement of Unilever UK represents two dimensions of their company, one is how Unilever products attached to the people everyday life and the other part is what Unilever wants to do in the nearest future. Everyday around the world, more than 150 million people in over 150 countries using Unilever products because people know they can help themselves feel good look good and can get more out of life, a few examples, Flora helps keep hearts healthy, a cup of PG Tips refreshes, Magnum gives an indulging treat, Persil to clean familys clothes, Domestos keeps germs free, Sure helps unbeatable protection and hair wash with Sunsilk helps looks great also gives confidence to take on life. The company is committed to provide a healthy lifestyle, variety, taste, quality products, enjoyment supporting increasingly precious commodity. The company is also committed to the vitality of the environment and the communities. The Unilever doing business in a responsible way has a positive b enefit also working in partnership with governments, international agencies (such as, UNICEF) and nongovernmental organizations (such as, WWF) to make a difference. PESTEL Analysis of Unilever Political Factors Unilever operating their businesses in globalise environment around the world. Unilever now operates their business over 150 countries around the globe. The performance of Unilever is highly influenced by legislative and political conditions of individual serving countries. If consider the employment legislations, the rules is different for every countries there need to be followed a rules for providing a mix job opportunity including flexible, lower paid locally based jobs, higher paid centrally located jobs etc. Also there has to be meet a demand from vast population categories like students, working parents and senior citizen, disabled people. Economical Factors Unilever is concern about economic factors because this is related with demand, costs, prices and profits. There is another most influential factors of economy is high unemployment which is directly related with the demand of many products and adversely affected on that may products. Those kinds of economic factors can not be controlled by the Unilever Socio-Cultural Factors The consumers demand the type of goods and services on the basis of consumers social condition, consequent attitude and beliefs. Now a day, the consumers are more aware of health related matters and the attitudes towards products are constantly changing. Technological Factors Technology is a macro-environmental variable which help the development of the Unilever products. The new technologies are beneficial for both companies and the customers; customer satisfaction rises because products are readily available. Unilever uses latest technologies for example wireless devices, intelligent scale, radio frequency identification etc. The use of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Fund Transfer systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities etc. (Finch 2004) Environmental Factors There are some issues threatening the producers and retailers have been environmental factors. In 2003, there was an increased pressure on many companies and managers to acknowledge their responsibilities to the society and act in a way which can help society (Lindgreen Hingley 2003). Unilever corporate social responsibility has to be concerned in this way where any organization exceeds minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through the regulation. (Johnson Scholes 2003) Legislative Factors There is the law of land and policies have a direct impact on the performance of Unilever. There is an enforceable Code of Practices have to be followed to set up banning many of current practices, for example, the payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices . (Mintel Report, 2004) The powerful competitors established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and a strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector such controls on license requirements and limits on access to raw materials. (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). SWOT Analysis of Unilever Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weaknesses and protect against internal vulnerabilities and external threats. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis helps businesses to understand overall business environment and exploit new opportunities more faster than any other competitors. Strength The market Share is increasing day by day because of playing a great profitable contribution the world economy. High reputations for quality products are a key strength. Unilever got excellent product safety in health, beauty and foods. Unilever is a global business which do business more than 150 countries around the world. There is a high performance of distribution where the suppliers are located around the UK. Competitive pricing is also a key strength in Unilever. Unilever uses latest technology which helps the company to introduce consumers good products. Unilever got experienced and qualified research and development team for product development. Weaknesses Brand image some time affect the common customer. High pricing for various products causes low earning customer to buy another companys less price products. Customer Relationship Management must be a qualified team as there have no retail shop company business always depends on sole distributors. Lack of market research in Unilever reduces total sales figure in a financial year. They do not have retail and online shop, it some time causes high pricing of products in the distributors retail shop. Depends on the distributors where some time does not take proper initiative to increase the sales. Opportunities Increasing market share comparable to the competitors is really a good opportunity which can help company to increase the growth rate. Unilever can open retail shop which will help to approach direct consumer. Increasing brand value by providing good quality of products. Unilever can acquire more companys brands and services which can be a key step to increase the value in the market. Greater promotion of some products can get more customers to use their products. Threats All successful businesses attract competition so the competitors would be a threat. International competitors may also intrude as Unilever expands. Every products can not be marketed every countries because of different race of people around the world. Natural disaster could damage many area of the business, for example, earthquake in Haiti and Chile. Recession causes loss of jobs where people less use of branded products, for example recent recession in USA, UK and Europe caused a vast impact in world economy. Recommended Information Systems The following cross-functional system concepts and how they can provide significant business value to Unilever will be discussed in this document: The operational level is for taking day to day decision. Transaction Processing System can help to take operation level decision like supermarket, Biometric device etc. The knowledge level of decision is takes for research, design and procurement. Knowledge Work System can help to take knowledge level decision. The tactical or managerial control level decision takes for 1 to 3 years, it is for resource allocation. Management Information System or Decision Support System can help to take the managerial level decision. The strategic level decision takes for 3 to 10 years, it is for long term. Executive Information System can help to take the strategic level decision. Figure 1 Strategic Level Complex Mathematical Model: Unilever can use a Complex Mathematical Model for monitoring operations, costs, revenues, market shares, share prices etc. Unilever is categorized as fast moving consumer goods, quick acquisition, processing of market information. The information of market is usually collect from research companies, historical data and individual analysis. Enterprise Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence Solution: In order to gain a clear view of business performance across Unilevers companies in around the world. Unilever Information Program: When transformation is taking place in the organisation, information systems are inevitably involved. Currently Unilever is reshaping operational responsibilities for greater clarity between what is better done by the local company, at regional level or global organisations. The Unilever Information Program (UIP) is to develop an infrastructure to support the Path to Growth strategy, with the key priority of finding a quick data integration solution to allow user access to any number of data sources for in-depth analysis. Management Level Supply Management Information System: Unilever can integrated a supply management information system which will helps local, regional and global supply managers make appropriate sourcing of decisions, allowing them to collate and analyze informations more quickly and easily. The system enables managers to negotiate with suppliers in a transparent and efficient way where benefiting both parties. Knowledge Level Procurement System: The procurement is inevitability for future supply chain optimisation the supply market, particularly in Europe is still suffering from under-development. The Procurement System can help total supply chain operation rather than just transactional activity. The Procurement System provides a catalyst for positive improvement in supply management profiles. Supply-Chain Management Systems: The using of a variety information system and several other supply chain management technologies, Unilever can enhance the usability of the supply chain. Research Development System: Used for formula development Operational Level Specifications System: Specification System will help in packaging, formula, raw material, finished products and process specification. Manufacturing Planning System: Manufacturing Planning System can help in production orders, purchase orders, standard costs, inventory, financial transactions, and production reporting. Planning System: Planning system can help in Demand Planning (DP), Demand Requirement Planning (DRP), Constrained Product Planning (CPP), Finite Scheduling. Order and Cash System: Order and Cash system can help in order entry management, terms of sale, deduction tracking, stock allocation and invoicing. Finished Goods Management System: Finished good management system can be used for shipping, warehouse, transportation, production and traceability. Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever A new technology introduces some new ethical dilemmas. Computer technology is used for gathering, storing, manipulating data and spread the processed data which is information. Information system uses local and global networks, databases, programs for processing information. Information is a key to prosperity and it is a source of power also. This is very important to think about ethical considerations, how information will be used in an information system because there is social and political issues involved. There are severe social problems exist today because government and business organisations have failed to uphold the highest ethics standard in Management Information System use. These problems exist in such forms as invasion of privacy and software piracy. The most widely publicized classification of human rights in the computer area is Richard O. Masons PAPA. The letters in PAPA stand for Privacy, Accuracy, Property and Accessibility. (McLeod and Schell, 2001) Privacy: The right of privacy is threatened by two forces. One is increasing ability is of the computer to be used for surveillance and other one is the increasing value of information in decision making. Decision maker sometime invade someones privacy to get the information. Unilever need to do market research in need to know what type of products customers really need or what they use. There is a ethical issue concerned because of Data Protection Act, UK 1998. Accuracy: The Management Information System is given credit for making possible a level of accuracy and which is not unachievable in manual system. Most of the time errors cost much greater. Property: There is some intellectual property like computer programs. The software or the systems Unilever using are they copyrighted, agreed to use from the vendors. Access: There are some information is available to the general public in the form of printed documents or microform of images stored in libraries which includes news stories, results of scientific experiments, government statistics and so on. Access right is required to access some other databases to get information. A right to access is a Modern-day ethical issue. Conclusion Finally it can be said that Unilever can make their market position stronger than before by using different information system at different level. But Unilever must have enough consideration in various sectors to use Management Information System.

Long-Term Effects of Global Tourism on Economy

Long-term effects of global tourism on economy Tourism is the travel tour activities which provides travelers leisure facilities and service industry. And it is also a kind of leisure entertainment that has complex social phenomenon, involves the politics, economy, culture, history, geography, law, and other social fields. Generally speaking, tourism has a profound impact for the country. Tourism gradually has become a prevalent activity all over the world. Compared to 2009, there were 1002 million international tourists in 2010, which increased 6. 6% over the last year. UNWTO, 2011) And then, according to the the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) report, in the first two months of 2011, the number of International tourists arrivals rose by 5 per cent from 2010. (ibid) Furthermore, the benefits brought by the whole International tourist arrivals reached 442 million in 2010, which the annual average growth is 5. 6% from start of this century. (ibid) Overall, t ourism has shown the rapid growth and development in the past 10 years, which become one of the main sources of the world economy. There are several reasons led to the development of tourism.So this article will discuss the reason that cause the rise of worldwide tourism and the impact on the emerging economies. In fact, the tourism industry is developing rapidly in the 20th century. There are several reasons for this increase. First of all, is the improvement of the travel transportation technology. There are many ways to travel and these methods are widely used, it is possible to drive a car, take a ship or even ride on a bicycle. In addition, many cities have been connected up by the highway, which means that travel is more convenient, at the same time the ticket for air also decreases.Secondly, now people have more income for their own use, this is because part of the rising wages and part of the fall in goods’ prices. Meanwhile, there are a lot of families have a car and Dink family which has no children, it also saves a lot of money for them. Long-term effects of global tourism on economy These factors significantly increased possibility of them to be the tourists. Then, the increase of the holiday makes a great number of tourists choose mass tourism or join the tours, and the ecological tourism also became prevalent.Last but not least, the media, which have two types of media to attract visitors. On one hand, there are a lot of travel information is published in the newspapers, magazines and television programs. The ‘Island of Contrasts’ which is the largest island in the Canaries published a new web page on Facebook in January last year. After 4 weeks, the pages had more than 10,000 fans. Subsequently, the Tenerife Tourism Corporation has launched a Twitter and YouTube channel in order to attract more visitors’ attention. I Want Sun, 2011) With the development of the media and technology, the tourism company can takes full ad vantage of the convenience of the network to achieve the purpose to attract people’s attentions and allow the island became one of the hottest tourist destinations. In addition, the science and technology also can be used during a tour. According to Jaiswal’s white-paper, there are 5 technologies that are improving the quality of the tourism, which are â€Å"Mobile devices, Social Media, Location Based Services, Personalized Marketing (Behavioral Marketing) and Near Field Communications. (Jaiswal, 2012) These techniques provide a convenience to the passengers who are on their journey, some of them might achieve through the smart phones. Mobile communication technology has almost become an indispensable part of the tourism industry. The new mobile devices, smart phones like Blackberry, iphone, HTC or Samsung and tablet PCs like ipad are the most appropriate facilities to interact with tourists. (Jaiswal, 2012) For instance, people can use the mobile phones or computers to check-in or buy some duty-free goods when they at the airport.Then, tourists can plan their trip, entertain or explore on the plane with the Wi-Fi connection which a few airlines provide. Moreover, surfing the Internet or connect the Facebook share some news on the road, getting Wi-Fi and wired networks in the hotel. Nowadays, many tourists have spent their entire adult life in the digital Long-term effects of global tourism on economy products, they want their travel be information-based and personalized, in order to realize â€Å"any time, anywhere† travel.In recent years the tourism industry has become a prosperous industry all over the world, the economic benefit it brought greatly help those developing countries, and also made a great contribution to the emerging economies. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) latest Economic Impact Research shows that World Travel and Tourism continues to grow, despite the sustained economic challenges(W TTC(2), 2012). There are several main aspects. The first main benefit is the contribution to the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) by the Travel and Tourism.According to the â€Å"Economic Impact of Travel & Tourism 2012 Summary† by WTTC, the direct GDP in 2011 reached US $1,972. 8 billion by the tourism industry, which account 2. 8% of the whole GDP. In addition, WTTC estimated that GDP would rise and reach US $2082. 2billion in 2012(WTTC(1), 2012). This shows that the money came from the tourism activities like hotels, restaurants, transportation and so on. At the same time, this also showed the improvement of people's living standard and the money can be used to develop the infrastructures as well.Another benefit is increased employment, there is no doubt that the main point is to provide jobs to local people in the area of the tourist attractions. The report said that there were 98 million people were employed directly in 2011 because of the tourism industry all around the worl d(WTTC(2), 2012). This might be the biggest benefit for the tourism industry and the local citizens. Furthermore, being employed means there will have the opportunity to make money, not only for the industry but also for the people.In consequence, this will be a win-win situation, tourism helps local establish the foundation of the economy, and the local government helps the tourism industry to win interest and prestige. Long-term effects of global tourism on economy However, there are some negative points of tourism. One of them is the seasonal employment in some places, and this will lead to the many people facing the problem of unemployment outside of the peak tourist season. For example, this will occur in tourist attractions and resort towns, if an attraction opens to the visitors, like skiing in Swiss in the winter.The skiing coaches will teach people how to go skiing, but once the snow melted, they will lose their jobs and the staff as well. Furthermore, the impact of tourism on the environment is a significant issue as the climate change is most troublesome problem. Over the years, the environmental pollution caused by tourism was almost out of control, such as deforestation and CO2 emissions from increased air travel, has already caused the green house effect. It could lead to the loss of the destinations that depends on their natural environment.For example, the case of emissions of greenhouse gases in China. the case of emissions of greenhouse gases in china. â€Å"China is the world's largest aggregate emitter of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming, though the U. S. is the largest per capita emitter. â€Å"(World Savvy 2008) China should be responsible for a large proportion of the emission of dangerous gases, including sulfur dioxide (the main ingredient of smoke) and mercury (the main cause stunting and birth defects of children).All of these phenomena will continue, it is impossible to save the environment completely, human beings only have to try to protect it, reduce the damage to the ecosystem. Although there has the negative points, the WTTC still make the prediction for the worldwide tourism industry in the next 10 years. Experts estimate that the world GDP will continuing increase 4. 2% pre year. (WTTC(2), 2012) This means that there are going to have a plenty of work for tourism services in the next few years, including direct and indirect employment.Obviously, this will help to ease the unemployment rate all over the world to reduce poverty in the low economic area. Without a doubt, China is one of the fastest developing countries now, which occupied the third position in world international arrivals top ten in 2010. Long-term effects of global tourism on economy (UNWTO, 2011) For Europe, current forecast shows that economic growth will be back on track in 2014, the travel and tourism directly GDP of 2. 6% pre year until 2022 for the long-term growth. (WTTC(2), 2012)In conclusion, despite the negative factors, the long-term prospects of the tourism industry is still a positive side, it will continue to promoting the strong growth in emerging markets and prosperity. Now there is a way to deal with the harm caused by the tourism industry in the environment, that is eco-tourism which is defined as the â€Å"protection of tourism† and â€Å"sustainable development of tourism. †. At present, the demand for ecological tourism help to open the tourism markets and also can play a role in the protecting of the natural environment.Overall, the tourism industry is a double-edged sword, if not handled it properly not only will affect human, but the more will have a huge impact on the world. Long-term effects of global tourism on economy Bibliography 1? I Want Sun 3 March 2011 â€Å"Use of social media to attract visitors to Tenerife† http://www. iwantsun. co. uk/beach-holidays/2011/03/03/use-ofsocial-media-to-attract-visitors-to-tenerife 2? Jaiswal S. â€Å"Advances in Travel Technology† February 2012 3? UNWTO Tourism Highlights June 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012. UNWTO World Tourism Highlights (UNWTO). http://mkt. nwto. org/ sites/all/files/docpdf/unwtohighlights11enlr. pdf 4? World Savvy 2008 â€Å"The Natural Environment† http://worldsavvy. org/ monitor/index. php? option=com_content=article=120=183 5? World Travel & Tourism Council (1) â€Å"Travel & Tourism Economic impact 2012† 2012 http://www. wttc. org/site_media/uploads/downloads/ world2012. pdf 6? World Travel & Tourism Council (2) â€Å"Economic Impact of Travel & Tourism 2012 Summary† 2012 http://www. wttc. org/site_media/uploads/ downloads/Economic_impact_reports_Summary_v3. pdf Long-term effects of global tourism on economy

Much Ado about nothing Reflection

ch Ado About Nothing Reflection In our grade ten English class we studied the book Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. I found this book interesting to read because it was different from any other Shakespeare book I had ever read. Before this play I had only learned about tragedies but some of the parts of this play that I understood I found funny. I found this book very interesting because it was easy to follow and many lessons to be learned. In this play there are many things to be learned from it even though it is from over 400 years ago.The language that this play is written in is sometimes hard to understand but with some reading over and careful thought, I understood. I think that because of the time that it was written in, the language is suitable for circumstances that happen in this play. The language in the 21st century has dramatically changed since the time of Shakespeare. I think the value of learning about this old play is to gain an understanding of the lang uage and time of these people. This play was written in a time where women and men did not always choose who they got married to.Women did not have the same rights as men in the shakespearian time, therefore most women had arranged marriages. Men were allowed to do whatever they please, but women were expected to be put together all of the time. A family's reputation could be ruined by the action of one daughter, sister ect. In today’s society people do things that wouldn’t even be imaginable back then. We are surrounded by a society telling us that chastity is not important, that is something you would never hear of in the Shakespearean time. While read the play, Much Ado About Nothing, the importance of a foil character became clear.While Hero and Claudio seem to be the main characters, Benedick and Beatrice mirror there love story. They seem to go through the same types of conflict and in the end everything is resolved. Also while reading this play, the theme of mar riage as a form of entrapment for women becomes visible. Hero, being the only daughter of Leonato, would be able to inherit her father’s possessions if she married. Also marrying into a higher status was very traditional. By Hero marrying Claudio his status would be raised. This play, Much Ado About Nothing, is classified as a comedy.I believe that this is a comedy because of the the numerous jokes, lacking of deaths, and the marriage. A classic Shakespearean comedy consists of a conflict being resolved and a marriage. In this case it was a double wedding, Hero and Claudio’s and Beatrice and Benedick’s. The theme of our year, healing broken relationships, fits well with this play. After Claudio accuses Hero of being of unfaithful, Hero and her family must forgive Claudio for his false accusation. Leonato does forgive him and gives Hero to be his wife. There is a happy marriage at the end of the play and all relationships were healed.

The Conflicts And Struggles Of The American Revolution

There was no single event that sparked the American Revolution. This essay will inscribe the conflicts and struggles the thirteen British colonies faced that led to the fight for freedom and independence in America between the years 1763 through 1774. Living under oppression of King George and the British Parliament pushed to the colonists and its leaders to rebellion against the crown that controlled them from three thousand miles, away across the Atlantic Ocean. In the years between 1754 through 1763, the Seven Years War waged on through Europe and North America. In North America the war was nicknamed â€Å"The French and Indian War†, which was fought in America between 1756 and 1763. This war was fought between Great Britain and France after†¦show more content†¦The war brought a large national debt to Britain that doubled from 75 million in 1754 to 133 million in 1763 at the end of the war. To make up for debt, they taxed the 13 colonies immensely. This caused massive outrage due to no representation of the colonies in Parliament. During the same year at the end of The French and Indian War, another problem arose with tension between the natives and the British colonies. Thus initiating another conflict known as â€Å"Pontiac’s War†. During this time, the king of Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 to pacify the natives by prohibiting white settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. For those who wer e settled near the line or west of the mountains were forced to relocate. Another effect of the Proclamation was for it to be maintained and obeyed by a large military force. So a law was passed called the Quartering Act in 1765. With this the soldiers needed to be supplied and housed by colonial assemblies. The law didn’t fulfill as intended by the government. Soon the colonists were being taken advantage of the by the soldiers, invading their homes, inns, ale houses, if the barracks were too small, with or without consent. Once the law was passed, reports of rape, murder, and theft were much more frequent. In 1764, Parliament renewed the Sugar and Molasses of 1733. Named the Sugar Act or also The American Revenue Act and Plantation Act, was a part of the way to pay back for the French