Andragogy: Self-Directed Learning in My Personal Perspective

Yet it is interesting to note that it was not Lineman who taught Knowles the term ‘androgyny; Lineman used the word in Cavities, introduced Knowles to the word and its meaning, since the term has had much more currency in the Eastern European countries than it has had until recently n the West. 20th Century Thinkers in Adult Education by Peter Serves THE ANDROGYNY When applying androgyny to learning, task or goal of the learner will determine if direct or indirect methods of instruction should be used. If a concept is one that is previously unknown to the learner, then more direct instruction will be necessary.An effective method is to address specific topics of immediate concern and then expand to how it can be applied in other situations. However, the learner needs to know why the concept to be learned is important in order for the learner to remain motivated. Despite the learner ultimately having control of learning through self-directed means, the instructor and instruction al designer needs to facilitate the opportunities for the learner to experience growth. Androgyny reorients adult educators from educating people to helping them learn.The methods used may range from isolated instruction within a curriculum or integrated instruction. It may also encompass intentional and unintentional learning situations. As an example, when designing materials to facilitate learning a computer program, providing a list of commands that must be memorized is inadequate. The instructions need to be organized by task and presented in a manner similar to how it will be used. There is a significant amount of flexibility provided in regards to the development of interpersonal and interpersonal dimensions.However, the learner must be within an environment that values self-directed learning. Knowles places an emphasis on the concept of the safe environment. In particular with workplace training and development, McGregor Theory X ; Theory Y Management Philosophy comes into p lay. If an organization is based in Theory X and they attempt to utilize training ; development based n the principles found in Rorer's Experiential Learning, then there will be resistance to the training that could prevent its success.Knowles envisioned that learning was lifelong. A particular skill might be taught once; however, within a supportive environment, the learner might learn new approaches or methodologies from their fellow learners over time. Even though there is a lot of emphasis on the self-directed learner, this person cannot exist in a vacuum. They need to be surrounded by other self-directed learners and grouped in a manner that they can learn new perspectives from learners with different, but applicable experiences. Androgyny, Malcolm Knowles, by Steven R.Crawford THE SIX ASSUMPTIONS OF ANDROGYNY Knowles had already begun building a comprehensive theory of adult learning that is anchored in the characteristics of adult learners. Beginning with concepts researched by Cross (Adult Learning Theory), Eagan (Conditions of Learning), Hole, Rogers (Experiential Learning), Tough, and others, he developed the angelical model based on several assumptions that differed from the accepted pedagogical models. The Need to Know An adult needs to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it. Similar to myself, the decision I had made to further my study in knowledge.Knowledge can be gain anywhere, I can improve my knowledge Just trough reading education material in National Library or buying books from the books store. The main reason first come up in my mind was I need to improve my colonization with people and build confidence in myself while communicate with other people in proper manner. We can communicate with our friends, neighbors, siblings or relatives but usually we use our own mother tongue language and sometimes I do not know how to explain, describes or give opinion so that people can understand and not keep hurt feeling i f I was wrong in using word.From my point of view, learning to use correct word according to situation is only can be tough in formal classroom because I will force myself to accept other people comment toward me. The Learner's Self-concept Adults have a self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions, for their own lives. Once they have arrived at that self-concept they develop a deep psychological need to be seen by others and treated by others as being capable of self-direction. When making decision to continuing my study, I had put all important things in my fife into consideration and isolate unimportant things.The hard thing for me to made decision is I do not have financial support as I Just quit from my Job because I felt not confidence to communicate because my Job was as customer service, at the same time I had car loan, personal loan to be paid and daily expenses to be put in count so yet I decide to do part-time work during my study and my parents lend me their money before I got my scholarship. All this decision I made nevertheless not depending on others decision and I bared all the consequences if a failed to finish my study with flying colors.The Role of the Learner's Experience Adults come into educational activity with both a greater volume and a different quality of experience from youths. Differ from my experience when study in diploma, all decision is made by my parents and influence from friends. I Just follow directly what course I should choose to learn and what university I had to go. This kind of experience give me lack value of knowledge, I Just study to pass not for my own sake. This decision, the way I am study and what sort of material I need to prepared is guidance by past experience, I become more tolerate in time schedule and more Ochs on my study.Opportunity to improve soft skills such as communication skill is grabbing when time has come. Take example when international student asking me about subject being taught i n class I force myself trying hardly to explain so that they can really understand me and that give me very high satisfaction. Readiness to Learn Adults become ready to learn those things they need to know and be able to do in order to cope effectively with their real-life situation. Every subject I been taught in class will be relate to my real-life, question will floating in my mind what if I used this teeth in my work or use it in my daily life.I love new experience and ready to be out from my comfort zone. That is means; I ready to learn something new or used different method to solve problem even thought I already have my own method that I familiar with. Take example, when your friend told you there is other way to understand one paragraph, event I used to with my own may, but I try to do with their way which is new to me. Usually I am easy to cope with new environment and environment does not mean that I forget my own culture, I will used it to compare, adapting good thing and share it with my own people.Orientation to Learning In contrast to children's and youths' subject-centered orientation to learning (at least in school), adults are life-centered (or task-centered or problem-centered) in their orientation to learning. Exactly, when I want to learn something I will find solution by collecting data from many sources such as magazines, internet or books that give me immediate solution for example if I got new knowledge on how to planning my work schedule I will immediately practice it with my daily life so that it will easier for me to familiar with new schedule.Outside from class room or formal learning, I also learn from informal learning such as, understand other people culture as study in Universities Ethnology Malaysia (TM) need me to socialize with foreign student, in the way to have good relationship with them I need to try at least to understand the way of their thinking sometimes their culture might be different from my own culture.Having good relationship with other people is actually a ticket for me to learn how they develop their culture and successful in what they are doing especially the Chinese and also the Arabic people. Motivation While adults are responsive to some external motivators (better Jobs, promotions, higher salaries, and the like), the most potent motivators are internal pressures (the desire for increased Job satisfaction, self-esteem, quality of life and the like).It is hard for me to find a good Job that relate to what I had study in my undergraduate because in Malaysia's Job market, there is so many applicant that compete for the position which is at the same level of our certificate especially in government sector. The position for grade 41 usually offered only quartile (in my point of view) from total applicant under same certification level and this give very tough competition among us.

Economy of the United States Essay

The time is considerably improved for the distinctive American citizen of 2007 than for a citizen of the 1800s. An array of economic policies known as import substitution is frequently quoted as the central reason of Latin America’s crises in the 1980s. The stratagem had outsized harmful upshots on economic growth in the 1980s reacting to the 1970s and 1980s progress. However, in the mid 1990s, import substitution policies had slight hit in renovating Latin American countries into sellers of feigned products. In fact, the condition was even worse in 1980s, as anxieties about non-payment raised; mean yearly price rises climbed radically from 1980 to 1985. And the economic deformations linked with hikes in inflation are stern. From last 1990s, numerous efforts have been carried out to alleviate the dilemma related to Latin America’s huge outside debt. A few restructurings in the 1990s had no brunt or were untied almost immediately as they were brought in. Just the once recent economic development and dependable growth in input & output, and output per person commences, it is liable to persist on a usual source and progress public’s being. It is constant with the world’s practice in the 80s and 90s era. For now, in the United States, the introduction of Information technology generated an innovative market that created the hardware and generated the software required to suit the ignition claim for these appliances that had grown to be reasonable to about everybody. That market substituted the previous; a belief of capitalist theory called creative destruction which envisaged that outcome, truly emerged to be operational, even as the economy appeared to be strong. Obstinately, United States government tax policy also offers inducements for U. S. multinational firms to set up abroad. In current tax laws, firms are allocated without letting up to suspend disbursing business revenue taxes on incomes made offshore. The suspension is fine in anticipation of these firms send back the incomes to the home, upon which occasion they are taxed at the typical business income tax charge. However the U. S. business income-tax charge is one of the biggest in the planet, there is an extremely well-built inducement for firms to reinvest those profits outside of the United States. As a result, United States Government; the Congress agreed to provide tax relief per annum, in order that firms could send back incomes back to the home at a lesser tax charge. Firms made it in having this 2004 tax break by saying that it would facilitate them to employ those incomes to invest in the home and make employments for US citizens. Certainly, it’s almost unfeasible to establish they performed the deed or not. The initial phases of globalization and outsourcing charge millions of U. S. manufacturing employments but different specialists declared us that this was nil to agonize about since they were blue-collar Rust Belt employments. United States of America was converting itself into an overhaul economy, and facilitated all along by the Information technology. Internet tune-ups, cutting-edge research and growth made the transparent, high-paying employments that kept U. S. ahead in the current era. However, supporters of globalization disagree that outsourcing millions of mechanically transportable service jobs will decrease rates and increase productivity in the U. S. Except the assets of globalization don’t seem so gentle from the perspective of an American computer analyst or auditor. They have performed what they were expected for but their effort was obstinately spoilt when the home employers hired overseas staff working so cheap. When lucrative manufacturing and service jobs shift abroad, relocated American employees are frequently obliged to accept low pay jobs and upward mobility. Paradoxically, at the instance millions of jobs are being outsourced and millions of unlawful migrants are overflowing into the U. S. , to get away form their domestic scarcity and joblessness; hence purely spoiling U. S. internal economy. Ironically, the good news is that, while United States governed Congress helped out to generate this chaos with poor economic and foreign policies, she can assist to overcome it. Still, U. S. is the best-positioned to make sustainable advantage of the growing world economy in the global marketplace. Modern economic trends, together with a huge trade shortage, on its last legs of norm revenues, comparatively weak job growth, have been to state the slightest rather intimidating. However there is one thing encouraging, the strong growth of productivity in the U. S. Commencing in the mid-1990s, productivity has recovered after 20 years of comparatively meager presentation. Regrettably, economists have hardly any solutions for progressive economic growth, as conservative neo-traditional growth forms pay no heed to technological modernization. On the contrary, a â€Å"neo-Schumpetarian† examination proposes that the revitalization and immobility of productivity are tied to the materialization and succeeding collapse of new techno-economic manufacture procedures. While an old economy attains its perimeters from the perspective of innovation and the dispersal of the technology structure, it grows to be ever more intricate to spin out productivity growth. Just after an innovative technology system suits reasonably priced as much as necessary and invasive adequate is it capable to rejuvenate the engine of productivity patterns. This examination recommends that though the modern information technology based technology system is probable to prolong to impel strong productivity growth for at any rate the coming 20 years, an innovation-exhaustion hold up may be very soon above the prospect. In fact, IT is really improving productivity, however merely in peculiar segments. Since the 1990s, productivity grew 1. 1% per year in segments spending greatly in computers and about 0. 35% in segments spending less. During 1990 and 2003, productivity growth in IT-exhaustive production averaged 3. 03% per annum, in contrast to just 0. 2% per annum in less-IT-exhaustive industry. In effect, the increase in mechanical automation was the really enormous growth of the economy of the era. Since many economists declare that globalization and technology have merged to generate up-to-the-minute tenets for the U. S. economy. However this economist considers old economics still offers the unsurpassed elucidation for current happenings. However, the new-economy model is not only a design that is obviously cleared by a particular economist and an extensive choice of thoughts descends below the new-economy streamer. Relatively than reviewing the concepts of a range of new-economy researchers, the subsequent argument assembles the thoughts into three extensive reports of the new economy; a long-run-growth, a sources-of-growth version, and a business-cycle version, which reveal the combined concept of several economists. Even as these reports disagree in particular calculations and inferences; butt all contribute to a widespread center that constructs them ingredient of the new-economy structure. In the past few years, the U. S. conomy has gained from a pointed deterioration in oil and commodity costs, a well-built American dollar, a tendency on the way to handled concern and reserved health-care prices, an impartial budget, and a fall in military expenses. Each one of these transient causes may have assisted the economy and guided to the unforeseen blend of falling inflation and unemployment rates. While distinguishing between temporary factors and structural changes, it is a hard chore that entails cautious empirical analysis and, additionally significant is a lengthier instant sequence of information. Simply by scrutinizing unemployment and inflation under a broad variety of economic circumstances for several years will it be achievable to wrap up if a structural change has in fact risen? Fast track and fiscal policy for the International Monetary Fund are merely fractions of a better scheme the United States Government must create to facilitate its citizens retain their leadership in what is, incontrovertibly, an accurately global economy. Moreover, the Federal Reserve should reduce interest rates, at this time sprinting at approximately four times the rate of inflation, with no less than one-half of 1%. Moreover, Conformist economics observes economic growth as a consequence of input accumulation and technological growth in a world of nearly invariable come backs to level. At the same time, there is a little argument about how to determine inputs and how to describe technological growth, there is an agreement that a great deal of economic growth engages trade-offs, such as increasing capital means investment, forgone consumption and savings, though increasing labor input needs education expenses and relinquished freedom. Whichever unsolved growth is branded the input of total factor productivity (TFP), also called the famous Solow residual, which reveals technical progress, improved efficiency, spillovers, scale economies, demand side policy, pull inflation and so on. Countless economic studies of foreign direct investment center on the features of the companies in creating its resolution to spend overseas. While the rest employ features of host nations as independent variables, that U. S. oreign direct investment runs to Europe contain such independent variables as growth of market size and size in host countries, levels of protectionism in host countries, and capital control programs of the U. S. Government. The causes for the disparity in corresponding the employment and productivity growth amid the two regions may be vibrant, except mostly dialogue they go down into three types. At the outset, the expansion of the pay, the rental ratio is a typical macroeconomic elucidation for modifications in labour and capital intensity influencing the employment growth productivity. During the 2000-s, pay control and active labour market policies elevated labour force membership statistics in Europe however, simultaneously decreased the growth of labour charge comparative to the capital cost. The quicker employment growth but lower growths of labour productivity are probable consequences of these policies of the U. S. Government. Seeing the initiation of the global economy and amplified tax competition, businesses and other shareholders employ geographically fungible capital to reduce their tax charges by shifting their assets to lower tax regions. Hence the capacity for capital flight compels limitations on the point of taxation that in order compels fiscal discipline on the U. S. Government. However the normative economic research have demonstrated that the optimal tax rate on capital is zero, while the optimal tax rate on labor is positive, proposing that the expressive decline of taxes on capital, during tax competition, would offer wide-reaching advantages in the global market. In addition, in a more competent market, investment will be owed more effectively, escorting to worldwide welfare profits in the all-embracing race. The interconnected concepts comprise nonlinear growth once a critical mass is attained, worthy rounds of positive feedback in manufacturing and communal firms for example Silicon Valley, and declining costs and amplified excellence by means of technology and scale economies. These concepts are not new-fangled to conservative US economics; however the new economy offers them far better magnitude and looks them as the dynamic energy of growth economy-wide (Fretz, 4-15). The recent facts propose that it is yet excessively untimely to let know if a new economy has actually materialized. The new economy is resolutely constructed on the supposition of structural changes in the economy; however there is just not sufficient information yet to differentiate elemental transformations from unconventional accounts, for example transitory shocks can escort to the identical upshots. By building up these concepts at this instant, economists and policymakers would be capable to come to a decision if there truly is a new economy in the United States

Yourba Art . Formal Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Yourba Art . Formal Analysis - Essay Example As a point of departure, the Olumeye statue is long reputable among the artists of the Yoruba people. Majority of the Olumeye statutes are woodcarvings that depicts a woman kneeling holding a chicken (Sculpture, and I, 7). In these statutes, the basket shaped bowl substitutes for the chicken. It is realizable that, when the Olumeye is used during a welcome ritual, the carved woman brings reputation by attending to her guests by satisfying their hunger through kola nuts. The use of kola nuts in the image is a manifestation of the food provided to the visitors during special visits. The woman’s youthful body, the posture of her offering and stylization of her hair indicates her beauty, however, something with her fertility was in a mess but now it is solved. The kneeling is an indication of a relationship with a higher force, most probably a god of fertility. The divination of the kola nut bowl is in the shape of a chicken that is offered to the gods as a sign of appreciation. The chicken symbolizes the mother’s new state (Sculpture, and I, 15). According to the Yoruba, the carrying of babies indicated the mother’s long period of sexual abstinence and repressed menstruation, which suggest spotlessness and cleanliness, a satisfying female aspect. The image indicates the culture, origin and beliefs of the Yoruba people, who believe that they originated from the city of life, which is the present Nigeria. The Yoruba believes that Nigeria is the site of the Yoruba’s creation story. The manifestation of the kola nut in the image is a depiction that, the Yoruba community are farmers (Sculpture, and I, 8). On equal measure, the art itself indicate that the Yoruba people are fine artists and traders. The female forms in the Olumeye image manifest the ideal feminine beauty of the Yoruba. For instance, the image represents a nude woman with extravagant headdress and long graceful features, which depict the beauty, enclosed in the Yoruba women.

Family violence because Alcohol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Family violence because Alcohol - Essay Example Although scientifically it can be proven that alcohol abuse directly causes violence, aggressors have, in some cases, used their drug and alcohol abuse as a scapegoat to cause ferocities in their homestead with different motives. The justification of violence as caused by alcohol still revolves around the claim that alcohol, in one way or the other, causes family violence. It is also both logical and sound to say that family violence may cause alcohol abuse. It is, therefore, the cause-effect cycle that spins around family life. Alcohol directly causes family violence. According to the behaviorist perspective, alcohol abuse is an act that is learnt just the same way an individual acquires the skills of riding a bicycle. The environment in which a person is socialized influences an individual into acquiring certain behaviors that can turn out to be accepted or rejected socially. In many societies, drinking of alcohol is not abhorred but getting irresponsible after the drinks is. The outcome of alcohol abuse is what makes alcohol depraved. As a matter of fact, aggression and violence are some of the salient behaviors that persons exhibit whenever they are drunk. McMurran (2013) argues that alcohol may not, sometimes, be a direct cause of violence in families but it creates volatile conditions that make violence becomes inevitable. One way this is possible is the financial burden that comes with alcohol drinking. In many countries, there have been changes in policies that regulate alcohol drinking, perhaps, with the aim of reducing its consumption. T he strategy has been implemented through hiking the taxes that are imposed on alcoholic products. It then trickles down to the consumer who has to pay high amounts of money so they may get their beloved drinks. Since addicted alcoholics have to take their sips every day, they are forced to either

Definition of Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Definition of Success - Essay Example Success is about demonstrating superiority in the form of capabilities. Success is characterized by self-development, strong commitment, learning, cooperating and mastery of tasks. Success is doing work as best as one can to achieve the goal set by the superior and feeling happy. For example, a team leader who develops a product that fulfills the needs of customers is deemed successful. Also, a junior officer who gets promoted after hard work and dedication is deemed successful. Success is goal related set by oneself or others. If the person achieves that goal then they have been successful. Success is therefore the effort applied in achieving that goal. It is all about satisfaction, achieving the goal and being happy with it. A successful person exceeds the success criteria of the set goal in given timelines effectively and efficiently, with an optimum utilization of a set budget without violating the core values of the company or organization. According to this dimension, success can also be defined as the pleasant and powerful feeling of achievement that brings growth, improvement, development and getting better. For instance, if a person who wanted to establish a business succeeds in doing so, the person is said to be successful. Also, an individual who, for instance wanted to join college, ends up in joining one, such an individual has also achieved his/her goal and is deemed successful. Finally, if a department that was required by the production manager to produce 1,000,000 computers ends up producing 1,000,100,000 computers, such a department is deemed successful because they have not only achieved their goal but also surpassed it. This dimension I view success as becoming famous by achieving what I have set out to do. Here, success is defined by the contributions a person makes. I define it particularly by the good that I have contributed as well as by what is remembered about me who has finished the work. I often measured by the difference

Should the authors of the Wall Street Collapse be criminalized Research Paper

Should the authors of the Wall Street Collapse be criminalized - Research Paper Example In the economic crisis of the period of 1990-91, global business organizations have been blamed mainly because of the global meltdown of various economic as well as financial variables. During this time, significant level of legal aspects has been raised all across the globe to encounter the financial problem by providing legal punishments to these financial institutions (Anderson and Jackson, 2005, p. 19). Despite all that legal aspects which has been predominant in the country there has now been known regarding the fraud as well as malfeasance most importantly at the core area of the financial crash. These have also been significantly related to the policy responses till date from the point of view of the government which has offered valuable little reform in the legal as well as economic structure of the country. In various editions of â€Å"The Advocate†, researchers have looked more intimately at some of the related enforcement as well as reform attempts taken by the admi nistration. These enforcements and reforms have been implemented for the purpose of providing the people of the country and also the readers with the point of view of what is being completed, what is not, as well as possibly ‘what ought to be’. In these cover stories – â€Å"Government Goes After Insider Trading, but Where are the Financial Crisis Prosecutions?† – BLB&G associate, Mr. Kristin Meister, has discussed the most significant current indictments as well as convictions of several financial executives who have been caught in the wideranging insider trading mesh. However, raises a significant aspect: â€Å"Does this focal point come at the expenditure of aggressive prosecution of the persons behind the deceit at the heart of the financial fall down?† (Meister et al., 2011, p. 3). Researchers, in this respect have opined that, firm associate, Mr. Joseph Goodman, has taken an intense look at the obstructions that have significantly preve nted the entire implementation of the â€Å"Dodd-Frank financial reform act†. This act has been regarded as the promise of greater level of financial reform aimed at by the supporters of the Dodd-Frank has however to be realized. In regard to the corporate governance memorandum, these researchers have been delighted to reprint a current column by â€Å"The New York Times† stating that â€Å"Deal Professor,† Steven Davidoff, professor at Michael E. Moritz College at Law at The Ohio State University — â€Å"Despite Worries, Serving at the Top Carries Little Risk†. In the part, Professor Davidoff has highlighted the fact that beneficiary effects as well as the comparative drawbacks (although these drawbacks have been detected as very few), for the purpose of serving as the director for the public company. Along with this aspect, Mark Lebovitch, the partner of

Extensive strategic research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Extensive strategic research - Essay Example What the company selling interactive educational and instructional instruments must do is to put premium to the marketing research department or group. Then, based from the gathered data both from marketing research and latest technological trends, it should coordinate with the production department of the company to design its product so that it would be more user-friendly, interactive, and conducive for learning. This will serve as the life-saver of the company whenever competitors are threatening to dominate the market share of the industry. The outbound marketing division should consist of public and media relations group responsible for promoting the product to the target market. It should also made up of promotions and advertising that notifies the public that this kind of product exists. But since this is a highly specialized product for a particular segment of the market, it should be promoted to publications and other media outfits intended especially for this market. The selling and distribution channel should be concentrated on direct selling and specialty stores on gadgets, bookstores, and learning materials. Direct and indirect competition is the main threat of this kind of industry. Information age has made knowledge accessible and cheaper to acquire with the help of the Internet. The continuous influx of technological breakthroughs that could make websites and other information centers and other sophisticated gadgets and information tools that could provide learning solutions for free is the immediate primary threat. The company should be in a constant research for the most feasible and cheapest possible way to extend its service to online and mobile users. Aside from online and offline software development, the company should prepare for the decline phase of its product life cycle. In the fast changing technological industry such as instructional materials, introduction of innovations easily outlive the existing products. Hence, it should always be on the lookout for technological breakthroughs and opportunities to extend or to shift its target market. The company should also consider expanding its market reach even to children who beliong to the 8-12 year old bracket. One possible way to improve the business performance of a company is to tap new markets. The more matured and more active children is another possible lucrative market. Additional promotional avenues With a product that caters to a definite market, one key problem is the limited number of customers. This problem can be solved by using additional and innovative ways on how to publicize and promote the product such as presenting the product to schools and other preschool learning institutions. The company could suggest that this product should be included in the school curriculum. It could also establish its presence by using pediatricians as referral agents. An information campaign on how to improve the brain and intellectual as well as emotional faculties of both the child and the mother is one way of promoting the product. Interactive learning with progress monitoring is very contributory in developing the overall well-being of the child. With this equipment, marketers can ask pediatricians and child psychologists as their additional sales

Policy and Assurance Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Policy and Assurance - Term Paper Example An Information Assurance (IA) policy is one of the mechanisms that an organization could use in order to achieve this. This paper will examine the issues in formulating such policy, including an overview of what IA is, the threats it aims to address, the ethics of developing certain rules that concerns rights issues, among other related variables. The United States Department of Defense defined Information Assurance as â€Å"the information operations that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring the availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality and nonrepudiation† including the provision for â€Å"restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities.† (Boyce and Jennings 2002, p. xii)) This comprehensive definition underscores the breadth of the IA’s coverage. But the most important among its functions concern the treats to security which could come from many different areas including – but not limited to – intentional attacks and also from unintended acts that result from technical, organizational and individual mistakes. It is the human beings who use the information system – those who make decisions, who exploit it and use it – usually cause uncertainty and risks. According to a study Bidgoli (2006), attacks and threats to information systems within an organization are almost evenly split between those originating from the outside and those from the inside. (p. 4) This fact underscores how an Information Assurance policy must aim its operations towards both the outsider and insider attacks of all forms. In developing an organizational information assurance, the fundamental rule in Oliva’s mind, is to start within the enterprise architecture. (p. 32) The reason for this is that all organizations are founded in this framework - from the mission of the organization, how

SMEs Entrepreneurship and Ethnic Distinctions Assignment

SMEs Entrepreneurship and Ethnic Distinctions - Assignment Example According to the research findings, today, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the major source economic growth in the countries. According to International Finance Corporation, SMEs contribute to 90% of businesses in the world and accounts for approximately 50% of employment. Considering the global financial crisis, SMEs are the foundation of creating more jobs and economic growth, particularly in the developing countries. Hence, generating opportunities for SMEs is a major approach to encourage development and diminish poverty. Due to the global financial crisis, most of the emerging markets have constrained the right to use various financial services for SMEs. They are not given the complete access to financing as yet, however, the liquidity is brought back to financial institutions, and lending activities are reported to be lower than before. Around 17 million SMEs in developing countries have not met the credit needs, which is the reason to broaden up the gap. This gap has r eached in between $900 billion to $1.1 trillion in the developing markets. International Finance Corporation (IFC) has formulated the policies to foster the SMEs financing across the world so that to encourage business support for such enterprises. The obstacles in the development of SMEs and access to finance are due to the various ethnic groups positioned in the country. The differences between diverse ethnic groups make it more challenging to set policies with reference to SMEs ethnic minority finance. An ethnic minority group is referred to as a business which comprises of owner and managers or large numbers of partners from a specific ethnic group that exists in minority. These are particular non-white people who start their own small business. There are five major ethnic minority communities who start up their small business to the greater extent, include Pakistani, Black Caribbean, Indian, Black African and Bangladesh.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Essay In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twains characters play an intricate roll in the literary structure of the book. They come into Huck and Jims life almost like the changing wind, and changed their characters indefinitely. The character that I found interesting was Colonel Sherburn who is the owner of the largest store in a town that Huck happens upon. The town Huck ventures into a town that is in the middle of a festival; all the families have their wagons and are eating their dinners in them. During their dinner many begin to drink whiskey very heavily and Huck saw three fights. Then the town drunk, Mr. Boggs ventures into the town for his monthly drink and that every one expected but did not fear what he would do. On man says, I whisht old Boggsd threaten me, cuz then Id know I warnt gwyne to die for a thousan year. (Twain143) This just goes to show that the town had been through this whole routine before; they even knew whom Boggs was going to chaw up. Boggs announced to every one that had now begun to follow him, that he could not waist his time with them because he was there to kill Colonel Sherburn. So, he marched right up to the front Sherburns store and demanded that he come out and meet the man youve swindled. (Twain 143) Boggs then continued to call Sherburn every offensive remark he could think of while even though he was under the influence. Then comes Sherburn, a proud-looking man who carried himself very well, so well that when he stepped out onto the steps of the store the crowd steps back almost in awe. He was about fifty-five and was the best-dressed man in that town, he wore Mark Twains later look of all white. Then he warns Boggs to leave by one oclock or he will hunt him down and make sure we will not bother him or the town again. Boggs could not let it go so he returned and sure enough Sherburn steps out into the street and shoots him and kills him. The angry mob goes to Sherburns house and thought that he ought to be lynched because he murdered Boggs in cold blood. Sherburn doesnt believe they have enough pluck to lynch him and he knows that a mob of angry men mean nothing. He says, Why, a mans safe in the hands of ten thousand of your kind-as long as its day-time and youre not behind him. (Twain 147)Â  He refers to the Ku Klux Klan or a similar organization that was formed in the south and they wear masks when the commit their crimes. He knows that wearing a mask and only going out at night is the only way for them to commit their crimes because they are cowards. A mob is nothing with out a solid leader and Sherburn knows this that is why he doesnt feel threatened by them. This characters roll in the novel is to show that one single man can stand up to an any mob and be stronger than them if he is confident in what he believes. Sherburn believed that he did the right thing and that is why he doesnt back down even when he is faced up against staggering odds. Huck sees all of these events unfold but doesnt seem troubled by them because right after the mob leaves he goes to the circus. This shows that he is still a child and that the only way to get this out of his mind is to go somewhere were everyone is forever young. Twain often fevers to the idea of forever child hood and he doesnt want his characters to grow up. That is why he places a horrific scene of death next to childlike scene at the circus showing a great contrast. Twain has a brilliant way of keeping the character young but he still lets it grow emotionally.

Strategic Management Process: Airtel

Strategic Management Process: Airtel Industry: Telecom The Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, with about 19 million additions a month. The industry has witnessed consistent growth during the last year on the back of rollout of newer circles by operators, successful auction of third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, network rollout in semi-rural areas and increased focus on the value added services (VAS) market. there have been several new entrants in the markets lately. This has led to ever lowering tariffs and a decrease in the revenue of existing players. Fresh acquisition of customers is no longer a guarantee to increase in revenue. Consequently, in addition to the lower calling rates, the operators have been forced to provide a host of value added and auxiliary services. To retain its leadership position, Airtel is already leading the way in areas of mobile commerce, banking etc. As the Indian telecom industry enters its third phase, growth in the markets is bound to mirror the growth in the economy. This provides valuable pointers to the next driver of growth the rural India where mobile penetration levels still remain an abysmal 15%. Airtel has been looking to expand and learn in the rural/low income market segment. Airtel has already ventured into providing mobile financial services, mobile money transfers to customers in rural areas, further leveraging its existing base of cellular subscribers. Vision and Mission Vision By 2015, Airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions. Mission We will meet the  mobile  communication  needs of our  customer through   error-free service delivery Innovative Product and Service Cost efficiency Unified messaging solution Objectives/Goals To undertake transformational projects that have a positive impact on society and contribute to the nation building process To diversify into new businesses in agriculture, financial services and retail business with world class partners To lay the foundation for building a conglomerate for future. Environment Analysis Porters Five Forces (Cellular Services) 1. Threat of new entrants MEDIUM TRAI has been following a liberal regulatory regime to encourage greater competition with better quality and affordable prices The government presently allows FDI of 76% in the sector, encouraging foreign players to enter the Indian market. Heavy capex requirements and strict licensing policy hinders entry 2. Bargaining Power of buyers VERY HIGH Lack of product differentiation- There are short term gains that one player may have from innovation/ first mover advantage into a new value added service Extremely low switching costs in moving from 1 service provider to another Multiple service providers- very wide variety of choice for the customers. Competitive landscape implies consistently better offers and deals for customers. 3. Bargaining power of suppliers VERY LOW Airtel outsources most of its operations. Since contracts are allocated to the highest bidder, Airtel only looks at getting the best deal. This mechanism provides Airtel with a high degree of flexibility. For eg. Network outsourcing/maintenance partners: Ericsson(15 circles), Siemens(7 circles), Huawei., IT system partner: IBM, Tower maintenance and other infrastructure: Bharti Infratel and Indus towers. 4. Pressure from substitutes HIGH The communications space is very dynamic with new technology (3G and 4G) and products flooding the market. Mobile services are competing with products such as, Wired-lines ,CDMA, Video telephony, Tata/ Reliance- Walky phones, Internet telephony- Skype, google, fring etc, VSAT phones.Additionally, data services on cellular phones have become an essential product feature. On this front, mobile services face a significant threat from local ISPs, broadband service, leased lines, Blackberry and iPad. 5. Current Rivalry MEDIUM-HIGH Airtel is the current market leader in the mobile service (GSM) sector with 31% market share. Vodafone, BSNL, Idea are its major competitors. Competitive Advantage Airtel has the following competitive advantages: Strategic alliances: Acquisitions and JVs Airtel has been entering into various JVs and acquisitions to increase its footprint as well as global presence. The firm has stake in JT mobiles, Sky Cell etc. With the acquisition of Zain and other players, Airtel has used this strategy effectively to become a global player Outsourcing: Airtel has a clear outsourcing strategy. It outsources all its functions except marketing, sales and finance; this has helped the firm focus on its core competencies. Further due to its market leadership position and volume of its operations, there are multiple bidders; which has ensured high quality service/products for Airtel Supplier Relationships Airtel has strong relationships with its suppliers. It relies on Bharti Infratel for towers, IBM for IT systems etc. It is able to sustain its innovative business model ,by focusing on relationship management with vendors International Presence Airtels global presence and deep pockets are a source of competitive advantage for the firm. Value Chain Analysis The traditional mobile industry value chain basically involved the mobile operator, service provider, device manufacturer and the customer. However the mobile services industry is rapidly evolving with value added services, data services etc. gaining significance. These are a very profitable revenue stream for the service provider. For example in the value added services segment, the network operator keeps about 60% of revenue, the technology/software developer retains about 25%, while the content provider gets about 20% of the revenue from value added services (Source: IMRB Research). With M-Commerce contents becoming increasingly important in the value chain, it is seen that the operator share in the value chain has been declining. Airtel has been tying up with entertainment providers, FMCGs, insurance companies to maintain a share in the value chain. From a strategy perspective, this should be one of the focus areas for Airtel. Business Level Strategy Airtel cellular service follows a cost leadership strategy. The market focus is broad- with the firm catering to 137 million customers as of FY10. Further, since differentiation is very short lived and immediately imitated by competitors; firms attempt to maintain a cost advantage over their competitors. Airtel has maintained its cost leadership by reducing its operational costs and its unique business model- which outsources all major functions except, sales, marketing and finance. Differentiation is also attempted with the help of value added services. While there are several player in the market, including the new entrants, Bharti-Airtel, Rcom and BSNL are the only players to gain a differential advantage on the account of existing infrastructural capability. Differentiation Focused differentiation Cost leadership- AIRTEL CELLULAR Focused Cost Integrated Competitive Scope Narrow Broad Source of competitive advantage Differentiation Cost Corporate Level Strategy Bharti Airtel has been divided into distinct business units, as follows: The Mobile Services division is probably the most valuable division of Bharti Airtel. Airtel offers GSM mobile services in all the 23-telecom circles of India and is the largest mobile service provider in the country, based on the number of customers. It provides numerous value added services such as mobile apps, hello tunes, m-commerce, wireless internet etc. The Airtel Telemedia Services division provides high speed broadband internet and related services. It also provides landline service in 93 cities across India. It also launched its DTH services in 2008 and is present in more than 150 cities now. The Enterprise Services division provides a diverse portfolio of services to large Enterprise and Carrier customers. This division is further divided into two unite: Carrier business unit and Corporate business unit. The Corporate Business Unit provides end to end telecom solutions to Indias large corporate. It specializes in providing customized solutions to address the unique requirements of different industry verticals. The Carrier Business Unit provides long distance wholesale voice and data services to carrier customers as well as to other business units of Airtel. It is present in significant capacity in the International arena as well. Differentiation Focused differentiation Cost leadership- AIRTEL CELLULAR Focused Cost Integrated Competitive Scope Narrow Broad Source of competitive advantage Differentiation Cost The Digital TV Services provides customers with a unique TV viewing experience with a wide variety of channels and programmes and with the on-demand content on Airtel Live. The international business group deals with all of Airtels operations outside India and South Asia. Bharti Airtel has comparatively low levels of diversification, and it follows a Dominant Business strategy. The second quarter financials of Airtel show that its mobile services division had a gross revenue of Rs. 8099 crore, which is roughly 82% of its total revenue of Rs. 9846 crore. Thus its mobile services division is its dominant business. The reasons for Airtel to diversify are purely based on value creation. As all its divisions focus mainly on telecommunication and related technologies, the transfer of core competencies becomes much easier and much more useful. Moreover sharing activities and resources, especially technological knowledge, is very helpful and creates a positive synergy for Airtel. It also gives Airtel to increase its market power by engaging in multipoint competition with competitors such as Tata. Further it provides efficient internal capital allocation opportunities to airtel, as the retained earnings from its hugely profitable Mobile services can be put to good use in other divisions. Value creation through diversification Airtel seeks to create value through diversification by moving across businesses that share both operational and corporate relatedness. With this approach, it expects to achieve high resource sharing and consequently, significant cost reduction. It looks at operational relatedness since a number of its businesses operate across similar technologies and thus the platform for a given product can be used directly for extending the service from a completely new product. As an example, the cables for a telephone connection provided by Airtel can be used to provide broadband service to the customer without any significant change in infrastructure. The skills required from the technicians are also not very different and thus economies of scale are quite possible. The same logic can be extended to exploring the corporate relatedness. All the diversified businesses require similar managerial and technical expertise as can be seen in the example provided above. In pursuing this strategy, Airtel will have to be conscious of the fact that it can lead to diseconomies of scope. This can arise primarily from the very factor which Airtel is banking on similarity across its businesses. A wrong move in any one of the businesses can spill over to its other business and cause repercussions even in the short term. This is the very reason that the organization cannot afford to go easy on any of its domains and needs to keep up to speed in all its businesses. International Strategy Today Bharti Airtel operates in 19 countries throughout the world. Apart from being the largest cellular service provider in India, it is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world. It has about 207.8 million subscribers worldwide 152.5 million in India, 50.3 million are in Africa. This has helped Airtel to increase its global market share and revenues significantly. International Business Level Strategy We will view this in further detail using Porters Determinants of National Advantage model: It is worth noticing here that after the Indian subcontinent, Airtels main region of operation is Africa. It is possible that the company found it attractive to enter Africa because due to its economic conditions, countries there would be lacking in necessary factors of production. Domestic companies in Africa would be lacking in technological resources, human resources, and capital necessary in the telecommunications sector. On the other hand, there is no lack of such resources in India. This is one of the major reasons why Airtel chose to expand there. Although the demand for services provided by Airtel is increasing at a rapid pace in India, there is still a lot of competition and the demand is smoothing out slowly. To further increase its revenues and market share Airtel has to expand to other nations as well. Due to the lack of existence of bare minimum infrastructure in Africa and the slow but steady increase in its economic well being, the demand conditions over there should be very high. The related and supporting industries are also very competitive and there are a lot of players in the telecommunication sector, like Vodafone, BSNL and Reliance. International Corporate Level Strategy The business of Airtel has been divided into two units based on geography. Need for cost responsiveness There are three basic international corporate level strategies availaible to any firm: Need for local responsiveness Airtel has always made it a point to focus on the needs of customers and provide solutions to customers according to their requirements. For example, the mobile services that they offer vary even among the different states of India according to customers preferences. Similarly, the kind of services, offers, plans and value addition that they offer in India is very different than what they offer in other nations. For Airtel, need to address local responsiveness has always been of the utmost importance. On the other hand, the need for global integration is not very high. The two business groups, as shown above, are distinct from each other. Due to the lack of proximity of the locations where Airtel operates, and other strategic factors, it is best for Airtel to have low levels of global integration. Keeping the above points in mind, it is clear that Airtel follows a multidomestic strategy. Organizational Structure Bharti Airtel follows an integrated structure responsible for all aspects of its telecom business in India. Significant reorganization took place in October 2006 in line with the vision of making Airtel, the most admired brand in India by 2010. As quoted by their president, it is their endeavor to build an integrated business, leading to higher synergies efficiencies and creating an organization that has a truly national character in every aspect of business operations. The present structure marks the transition of Airtel towards a customer focused organization while building sustainability scalability to seamlessly manage 100 million customers and beyond. The new organization has been designed to enable strong corporate governance whilst ensuring operational freedom, through functional matrix reporting relationships. Actual Structure Bharti Airtel is structured into four strategic business units Mobile services, Broadband Telephone (BT) services, Enterprise services and DTH services. The mobile business provides mobile fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles. The BT business provides broadband telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. The top level management of Airtel across its four divisions is as shown in the following figure. In the case of Airtel, a matrix organization structure introduces, or at least recognizes, the real life complexity of a business environment. Geography, function, technology, business unit and technology (among others) are the important factors that are recognized in the matrix organizations structure. However, the above mentioned structure also introduces a higher level of internal complexity and some additional people management challenges, so there must be significant advantages that are seen by the organization that outweigh the matrix people management challenges. Matrix organization structures were initially introduced in complex projects such as the airspace industry to cope with complex projects. Since then a number of organizations, often prompted by large strategy consultancies, have adopted or altered the matrix organization structure to help deal with internal and external complexity. In the following figure, a sample matrix organizational structure is shown. In the case of Airtel, the project manager refers to the managers of the different services provided by Airtel across its divisions. It is clear that this allows for sharing of resources across the various projects. At its simplest the matrix organization structure just reflects this external complexity in the internal structure. Airtel is a brand that is aiming for a global presence and realizes that geography is important but so are function, customer grouping, product and technology. Basically, a matrix organization structure is an acknowledgment of the notion that since it is improbable to specify the weightage of importance that can be attributed to these factors, there is a need to allow a structure that is flexible and permits balancing and prioritizing on a daily basis between the various divisions. Thus there is a conscious trade-off for clarity in return for more flexibility. An important issue to consider here is that while the organization structure itself is a good fit for Airtel, a lot of emphasis needs to be laid on the successful coordination of the people and their skill sets within the organization. Advantages As a synopsis, the advantages reaped by Airtel as a result of its organizational structure include: Improved resource accessibility across the old functional and geographic silos. Effective coordination on shared technologies across the organization (extended to a global level) Decentralization of management decisions Improved access to a diverse range of skills and perspectives. increased communication and coordination across the business Flexible as per the needs of global or regional customers Structural Issues Dual reporting structures run a risk of initiating power struggles. Dual lines of authority in the matrix often create power struggles between the vertical and lateral forces as each tries to secure member loyalty and budget rupees. Teams may develop groupitis, the matrix depends on team functioning, there may be an overdependence on group decision-making even where it is unnecessary. This can slow down projects and further be a point of frustration for people managers. It is a widely acknowledged fact that the matrix structure increases administrative overhead, it also ideally suits the progressive development of new ideas into projects. However, when a slump hits, one common tendency is to discard the matrix in favor of more traditional approaches. The matrix can become a scapegoat for inefficiencies. Decision strangulation matrix organizational structures legitimize multiple information flows throughout the organization, creating the danger that too much information will be processed before a decision will be made. Some project managers may feel compelled to check with everyone on every project decision. Corporate Governance Corporate Governance is a set of mechanisms used to manage their relationship among stakeholders and to determine and control the strategic direction and performance of organisations. An organisation is owned by its shareholders but is managed by the ownership (Principal Agent Issues). Many a times the decisions taken by the management may not be in the best interests of the shareholders and thus Agency costs arise. To ensure that such a scenario does not arise it is essential for the firm to have strong corporate governance tools. Bharti  Airtel limited firmly believes in the principles of Corporate Governance and is committed to conduct its business in a manner, which will ensure sustainable, capital-efficient and long-term growth thereby maximising value for its shareholders, customers, employees and society at large. Companys policies are in line with Corporate Governance guidelines prescribed under Listing Agreement/s with Stock Exchanges and the Company ensures that various disclosures requirements are complied in letter and spirit for effective Corporate Governance. As proof of the excellence of Bharti Airtel in the Corporate Governance it has been Rated Level 1 by CRISIL which is the highest Governance and Value Creation rating (GVC). One way to ensure strong corporate governance is by having independent directors on the board of Directors. Their sole purpose is to ensure that the decisions taken by the management are in the best interests of the shareholders. In order to ensure that this corporate governance tool is a sound check, Airtel has ensured the following: The board has 2 executive members and 14 non executive members. 50% of the members of the board are independent directors which is a good sign of corporate governance. The board meets regularly outside the presence of management. The chairman of the board is not the CEO or a former CEO of the firm. Else it may impair the ability and willingness of independent board members to express opinions contrary to those of management. Independent board members have a primary or leading board member in cases where the chairman is not independent. Board members are not closely aligned with a firm supplier, customer, share-option plan or pension advisor. This may lead to a conflict of interest scenario. Another suitable means of aligning the interests of the shareholders with that of the management is by means of changing the structure of executive compensation. Having parameters such as stock options as part of the pay will ensure that management will take decisions that benefit both the stockholders as well as themselves indirectly. This a strategy that is used extensively at Airtel particularly as far as the top management compensation goes. Other Corporate Governance Initiatives taken by Airtel are Shareholders Board of Directors Audit Committee Managing Director HR/ Remuneration Management Operations ESOP Compensation Investor Grievance Corporate Governance Mechanisms at Airtel Audit Committee Six members, two-third of which is independent directors. At least four times a year. (Max time gap 4 months) The Committee Chairman shall attend the Annual General Meeting. To ensure that the financial statements are true and accurate and provide sufficient information. Recommending to the Board, the appointment, re-appointment and, if required, the replacement or removal of the statutory auditor and the fixation of their audit fees. Human Resource (HR)/ Remuneration Committee Six non-executive directors, out of which four members including the chairman are independent directors. Attraction and Retention strategies for employees. Employees Development Strategies. Compensation All Human Resources related issue. ESOP Compensation Committee Constituted in accordance with SEBI Guidelines, 1999. Six members of whom four are independent and all are non-executive Formulate ESOP plans and decide on future grants. Formulate terms and conditions Employee Stock Option Schemes of the Company Investor Grievance Committee Constituted in accordance with Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement. Four members of whom three members including the Chairman, are non-executive directors Ensure speedy disposal of various requests received from shareholders from time to time (within 7-10 days from the date of receipt of complaint). Redressal of shareholders and investor complaints/ grievances. Monthly meeting The above detailed initiatives clearly point towards the importance that Airtel gives to Corporate Governance and this is further reaffirmed by Level 1 rating for GVC by CRISIL again in 2006. Organizational Controls They guide the use of strategy, indicate how to compare actual results with expected results and suggest corrective measures when the difference is unacceptable. It is an important part of the organisational structure and its key to a firms plans to exploit its core competencies. The organisational controls can be broadly classified as Strategic control: It is used to determine the fit between what a firm might possibly do on the basis of opportunities in the environment and what it can do on the basis of its core competencies and competitive advantages. In other words, the process of evaluating strategy, is practiced both after the strategy is formulated and after it is implemented Financial controls: They are used to measure the performance of the firm against set thresholds and analyse the reasons for being unable to meet them if the case by. Such controls generally include measures like Return on Investment (RoI), Return on Assets (RoA). Management control: It focuses on the accomplishment of the objectives of the various sub strategies comprising the master strategy and the accomplishment of the objectives of the intermediate plans. Operational control: It is concerned individual and group performance as compared with the individual and group role prescriptions required by organizational plans. Each of these types of control is not a separate and distinct entity and, in fact, may be indistinguishable from others. Moreover, similar measurement techniques may be used for each type of control. While both Financial and strategic controls are important the extent of importance accorded to each is determined by the firm strategy. Airtel which is following a cost leadership strategy focuses more on financial controls more than strategic ones. However a firm should not get too carried away along just one set of controls as that would hurt the long term sustainability. So if a firm focuses just on strategic controls while giving a cold shoulder to financial ones, it may soon face a scenario wherein it will run out of cash. The organizational control to a very large extent is determined by the Organisation Structure. Recommendations Considering the heavy fragmentation of the Indian mobile market, we propose the following recommendations so as to ensure that Airtel continues to be the market leader in this domain. As the above figure suggests, there has been a heavy influx of new players in this arena of late which has seen the market share of Airtel fall from above 50 % to about 30 % in half a decade. This means that Airtel should look at hereto untapped markets specially in developing countries with low penetration. Thus following the Multi Domestic strategy more aggressively is crucial to continued success Moreover the ARPU (Average Revenue per User) in India is pretty low. Thus more acquisitions like that of Zain telecom (ARPU of $55 vs Bharti ARPU $7) makes sense. There is no point in proliferating the number of subscribers if Airtel cannot charge them at competitive prices Since the competition in India has intensified, most players are engaging a price war which can be deleterious to the companys short term prospects. Herein Airtel should leverage its strong network and brand equity and not engage in a price war and try in move towards an integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy. The urban market penetration is about 95 % and hence the only way of expanding revenues from this stream is by introducing quality VAS (Value Added Services). These give high margin services and are going to be in much greater demand as the smart phone market swells. Entry and quality innovations into this niche domain (presently) would give it a big first movers advantage. Forging strategic alliances with mobile phone manufacturers specially those of high end handsets will be a great way to tap the premium segment. This segment often has very high usage and contributes significantly to the revenue stream. By locking them in with Airtel at the point of purchase itself, Airtel guarantees itself a long customer lifetime value. Also given the economic spurt, many such players have expressed their keen interest to enter the Indian markets.