Volvo Productive Model

What were the main design principles affecting process design at Volvo’s Uddevalla plant? In the 1970s, Volvo embarked on redesigning its production process in order to improve its competitiveness. This led to the establishment of Volvo’s Uddevalla manufacturing plant where workers played a key role in the production of cars. Volvo revolutionized the process of manufacturing cars by introducing the holistic or the reflective production model at its Uddevalla plant (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Volvo Productive Model specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The model upheld the principles of craftsmanship by relying on workers who utilized their expertise to produce high quality cars. In order to implement the new system, production processes were redesigned based on the following principles. To begin with, the company adopted a craft production system in which employe es worked in teams to produce an entire car. Thus, the Uddevalla production plant did not have an assembly line where various parts could be assembled sequentially to produce a complete car (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Unlike the assembly system where cars are moved from one station to another during production, the Uddevalla plant had docking stations where cars were built without being moved. Skill development and professionalism was an integral aspect of the holistic production model. The Uddevalla plant had low levels of automation since it focused on craftsmanship (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). As a result, human involvement in the production process was high. The employees had to acquire excellent skills and to demonstrate high standards of professionalism in order to produce high quality cars. In this regard, extensive on-the-job training programs were used to improve the employees’ skills and their understanding of the holistic approach to car production. Natura l assembly work was vital for the success of the holistic approach to production (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). The company established groups of employees who performed various production tasks. The teams were supported by a special parts delivery and order system that ensured timely delivery of supplies.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company also ensured that the production tasks were ergonomically sound to minimize discomfort and fatigue among workers (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). The production levels were variable to enable the workers to respond effectively to variations in demand. Additionally, the production process was characterized with long cycle times to enable each team to complete its work. In order to improve productivity, the company allowed each team to be autonomous (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Each team worked independently by managing its production tasks. Promoting autonomy in each team had the following advantages. First, it promoted individual innovation in each team. The, employees were likely to focus on product and process innovation if they were allowed to work independently and to make their own production decisions. Second, autonomy promoted individual motivation (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Workers were likely to be motivated if they were allowed to employ their creativity and independence to complete the tasks assigned to them. Finally, it facilitated adaptability and created opportunities to leverage unique abilities. Despite their potential to improve product quality, the principles used at Uddevalla plant did not promote knowledge transfer within the company. Lack of knowledge transfer was undesirable because it limited organizational learning, which in turn reduced the possibility of creating competitive advantages (Henderson Clark 1990, pp. 9-30). Additionally, the holistic approach did not i mprove efficiency because it was labor-intensive and lacked economies of scale. What is the relationship between process design at Volvo’s Uddevalla plant and the emergence of customer-oriented and built-to-order approaches to car manufacturing? Apart from adopting a new production model at Uddevalla, Volvo focused on improving its distribution system. This involved introducing the customer-oriented production (COP) system in 1992. The main objective of the COP system was to bolster Volvo’s responsiveness to customer needs (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Volvo Productive Model specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The introduction of the holistic approach to car production led to long cycle time, thereby limiting Volvo’s ability to fulfill customers’ orders in time. For instance, the Uddevalla plant required fifty hours to produce a car, whereas the Gh ent plant required only twenty-five hours to produce a car (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). In this regard, it was important to improve the distribution system in order to prevent further delays. Therefore, Volvo introduced the build-to-order (BTO) system to address its distribution challenges. Under the BTO system, Volvo produced cars according to the level of confirmed orders (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Moreover, it enabled the company to focus on the production of customized cars that met specific customer needs. A company that intends to implement a BTO system must be able to ensure flexibility in all aspects of its value chain. Specifically, there must be flexibility in production processes, product offering, and production volume. At Volvo, the emergence of the BTO system can be attributed to various process design factors at the Uddevalla plant. To begin with, the holistic model facilitated variation of production levels (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Consequently, it was possible to increase output in response to rising demand and vice-versa. In this context, flexibility in production facilitated the implementation of the BTO system by enabling the company to align its production schedules to changes in demand. The introduction of specialized parts delivery and improved order processing systems made it possible to match production to confirmed orders (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Specifically, specialized parts delivery systems ensured that the production plants had adequate car parts to produce the vehicles ordered by customers. The improved order processing system, on the other hand, enhanced the efficiency of the supply chain by improving the order booking process and delivery of confirmed orders. The Uddevalla plant was characterized with small-scale production because of low automation and the use of teams of workers that required long cycle time to complete their work (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Operating the Uddevalla plant was li kely to be uneconomical due to its lack of economies of scale.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this regard, the company had to improve the competitiveness of the plant through cost reduction measures such as reducing inventory, reducing cycle times in fulfilling orders and eliminating discounts. Since the BTO system facilitates achievement of the aforementioned requirements, it was adopted to enable the company to operate profitably. The focus on craftsmanship improved workers’ skills and professionalism (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). As a result, they were able to ensure flexibility in product offering by customizing the cars according to customers’ needs. In order to leverage this capability, the company had to implement a production and order processing system that could enable it to meet customers’ needs in terms of product specification and quantities. This led to the emergence of the customer-oriented production model that focused on satisfaction of market needs. What are the differences between the volume/ variety strategies pursued by Volvo a nd Ford? The main difference between the volume strategies adopted by the two companies is that Volvo focused on lean production and distribution, whereas Ford focused on mass production of cars (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Volvo had positioned itself as a luxury car producer in Europe. Moreover, Volvo lacked adequate capital to expand its output and to introduce new car models. Thus, it focused on producing small quantities of high quality cars in order to keep its brand promise. Given the decline in demand in the 1990s, Volvo was likely to make losses by embarking on mass production of luxury cars. Thus, the company adopted the BTO system to avoid the costs associated with holding excess stock of cars (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). Generally, Volvo’s volume strategy was to produce cars that just satisfied the existing demand in Europe. However, it served its export markets from stock rather than the BTO system. Ford’s volume strategy, on the other hand, focused on mass production of standardized cars. The aim of this strategy was to achieve economies of scale in production (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). The resulting reduction in the overall costs of production was expected to improve the competitiveness of Ford’s cars. In this regard, Ford expected to achieve high sales, thereby improving its profits. The variety strategies pursued by Ford and Volvo were also different. Before the takeover by Ford, Volvo focused on producing only a limited range of luxury cars. These included medium to luxury sedans and estate cars. By contrast, Ford hard a wide range of models, which included luxury cars, SUV, and medium sized cars (Holweg Pil 2009, pp. 353-365). After the takeover, the competitiveness of Ford and Volvo decreased because of the differences in the volume/ variety strategies that they pursed. Ford’s focus on mass production limited Volvo’s ability to continue pursuing the BTO distribution system. The resulting incr ease in the stock of cars forced Volvo to provide discounts to eliminate the excess stock, thereby reducing its profit margins. Similarly, Ford was not able to improve its earnings by increasing Volvo’s output. Which operation strategies should Geely pursue to volarise Volvo’s production technology and brand? Geely should pursue the following strategies in order to leverage Volvo’s technology and brand. First, the company should ensure that its governance and business model is strategically aligned to that of Volvo (Russo, Ke Tse 2010, pp. 1-8). This can be achieved by integrating the core business functions of the two companies so that they can achieve synergies by sharing product platforms, development costs, and production technologies. Integrating core business functions will also facilitate technological transfer from Volvo to Geely. In this regard, the core business functions that should be integrated include finance, production and distribution, as well as, research and development. Second, Geely should address the differences between its organizational culture and that of Volvo. In particular, the company must clearly define the objectives that it intends to achieve by acquiring Volvo. Furthermore, Geely must address the elements of organizational culture such as language barrier that may cause resistance to change after the acquisition (Russo, Ke Tse 2010, pp. 1-8). This can be achieved through diversity programs that focus on integrating the employees from the two companies. Generally, reducing cultural conflicts will help the two companies to pursue compatible strategies that will enable them to achieve their objectives effectively. Third, Geely should develop a comprehensive staff retention strategy to avoid losing the top management of Volvo (Russo, Ke Tse 2010, pp. 1-8). The rationale of retaining Volvo’s top leadership is to avoid reduction of staff morale that is likely to arise as top managers leave the company. Volvo’s employees are likely to continue working for it after the acquisition by Geely if they have high morale. Thus, Geely will avoid the risks of losing the talented employees who promote innovation and technological advancements at Volvo. Retaining Volvo’s employees is also central to the achievement of Geely’s objective of learning from Volvo. Specifically, it will facilitate technological transfer by enabling Geely’s employees to learn from their counterparts who work for Volvo (Maielli 2007, pp. 275-294). Technological transfer is important to Geely since it will enable it to maintain the brand image of Volvo and to improve the quality of its own brands. This will bolster the ability of the cars produced by the two companies to penetrate the global market. Undoubtedly, retaining Volvo’s employees will eliminate the staff acquisition costs that Geely is likely to incur in order to replace those who will leave the company. The funds saved thro ugh staff retention can be used for skill development in the two companies. Fourth, Geely should reposition Volvo’s cars to serve the mass market. Currently, Volvo serves the high-end segment of the market that consists of customers who are interested in luxury cars. However, Geely lacks experience in this market since it focuses on serving the mass market. Consequently, it might not be able to leverage Volvo’s brand if the company’s top leadership leave after the acquisition. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that the Chinese luxury car market is already dominated by established brands such as Audi and BMW (Russo, Ke Tse 2010, pp. 1-8). Although repositioning Volvo is likely to boost sales, it is also likely to create new challenges. For instance, Volvo might lose its global market share if its important attributes such as safety are lost after the acquisition. Besides, brand conflicts are likely to arise as Geely tries to reposition Volvo’s bra nds. These challenges can be addressed by clearly defining Volvo’s brand attributes that will be retained after the acquisition. Finally, Geely should implement cost reduction measures to improve the competitiveness of Volvo’s cars (Russo, Ke Tse 2010, pp. 1-8). Geely should restructure Volvo’s business model by improving its economies of scale. This will involve shifting Volvo’s supply base from Europe to China where it is building a new production plant. The resulting decrease in the cost of procuring supplies will reduce the cost of production. Moreover, the efficiency of Volvo’s distribution system should be improved to prevent accumulation of excess stock. Reducing production costs will enable Geely to sell Volvo’s cars at competitive prices in order to penetrate the market in China and other parts of the world. References Henderson, R Clark, K 1990, Architectural innovation: The recognition of existing product technologies and the fa ilure of established firms, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 35 no. 9, pp. 9-30. Holweg, M Pil, F 2009, ‘A break from the past: Volvo and its malcontents’, in M Freyssenet (eds), The second automobile revolution: Trajectories of the world carmakers in the 21st century, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 353-365. Maielli, G 2007, Counterfactuals, superfactuals and the problematic relationship between business management and the past, Management and Organizational History, vol. 2 no. 4, pp. 275-294. Russo, B, Ke, T Tse, E 2010, An inorganic approach to globalization: The marriage of Geely and Volvo. Web. This case study on Volvo Productive Model was written and submitted by user Will H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Visual Essay Mertons Theory Samples

Visual Essay Mertons Theory SamplesYou can start creating your own visual essay using Milton's Theory samples. Milton's Theory has many examples that can be used in the creation of your essay. I encourage you to read these samples and follow the instructions in order to properly use these examples.The first section of the writing sample is an example of the active voice in which the student will create their own article. If you know your audience and what their interest is, then the idea behind this is to write an article that will appeal to them. The active voice will allow you to use elements of a journal article style article while remaining creative.The second part of the sample involves a basic report. I am going to start by providing an example of what you can do with this. You could write this in two parts and only one part as an outline. This would give you room to research and include your own ideas about the topics that you want to include in your article.The third section of the basic report is an example of what you can do with a journal-style article. There are two parts to this article which are the introduction and the body. If you use this as an outline, then you can do the same thing with this as well. Then you can insert your own thoughts and information about the topic that you want to cover.The final paragraph that is included in the examples is an example of a story. This article can be told in two parts and then only the last part is to include your own thoughts.These are just a few of the many samples that can be found at Milton's website. The links that you can find include both articles and examples that are specific to Milton's Theory.You should be able to create a truly professional visual essay for your students.I encourage you to consider all of the resources that you have at your disposal to create your own essay. This will allow you to create a true masterpiece and benefit your students for years to come.

Free Essays on Sililoquy

I went to work as any other day, walking around the mall with my best friend, staring, gazing into every transparent glass containing items for my wish list, leaving me with â€Å"wants†, yet will never become possessions. My phone rang, as my mother, carefully, yet failing to hide her tears, told me my cousin (Joshua), two years of age, had drowned. I felt your struggle I thought you had encountered. The splash of water, as it skillfully entered your windpipes, devouring your lungs until your eyes became bloodshot red, as you gasped for that last breath of air, only to swallow more water. And then, slowly your heart stops beating as your body swam along, allowing the current to be your guide. Your body drifted down the canal, but your soul drifted towards heaven. I held my uncle close, my shoulder accepting his tears and cries unheard for his beloved son. Nothing, no pain can ever compare to the injection of a lost loved one I was given when I hugged him, as I felt every breath of sorrow moisten my chest. His firm grip on my shirt held me without a thought of letting go, as he shed his tears on me, seeping through me shirt, my pores, through my soul and directly to my heart. The sharp pain causing your breaths to shorten and uncontrollable tears to fall with no bottom to reach. I heard his unheard cries for his son. That was a want that could never be fulfilled. That was a missing piece that could never be found. A child, every child, is certainly a gift from God. The creation of every human being, the growth, the heart, the mind; never knowing the capabilities it will endow. Never knowing the fullest extent of it’s imagination, enabling them to do anything, and everything it desires; and to take effect into my life is truly one of the many mysterious ways God has worked, in my life, and everyone’s life. Joshua, two years into this earth and yet I feel he has accomplished more than a man, yet no less than an ange... Free Essays on Sililoquy Free Essays on Sililoquy I went to work as any other day, walking around the mall with my best friend, staring, gazing into every transparent glass containing items for my wish list, leaving me with â€Å"wants†, yet will never become possessions. My phone rang, as my mother, carefully, yet failing to hide her tears, told me my cousin (Joshua), two years of age, had drowned. I felt your struggle I thought you had encountered. The splash of water, as it skillfully entered your windpipes, devouring your lungs until your eyes became bloodshot red, as you gasped for that last breath of air, only to swallow more water. And then, slowly your heart stops beating as your body swam along, allowing the current to be your guide. Your body drifted down the canal, but your soul drifted towards heaven. I held my uncle close, my shoulder accepting his tears and cries unheard for his beloved son. Nothing, no pain can ever compare to the injection of a lost loved one I was given when I hugged him, as I felt every breath of sorrow moisten my chest. His firm grip on my shirt held me without a thought of letting go, as he shed his tears on me, seeping through me shirt, my pores, through my soul and directly to my heart. The sharp pain causing your breaths to shorten and uncontrollable tears to fall with no bottom to reach. I heard his unheard cries for his son. That was a want that could never be fulfilled. That was a missing piece that could never be found. A child, every child, is certainly a gift from God. The creation of every human being, the growth, the heart, the mind; never knowing the capabilities it will endow. Never knowing the fullest extent of it’s imagination, enabling them to do anything, and everything it desires; and to take effect into my life is truly one of the many mysterious ways God has worked, in my life, and everyone’s life. Joshua, two years into this earth and yet I feel he has accomplished more than a man, yet no less than an ange...

Translating Names of Minerals to Gemstones and Back

Translating Names of Minerals to Gemstones and Back When certain minerals compress under specific conditions, most often below the surface of the earth, a process occurs which forms a new compound known as a gemstone. Gemstones can be made of one or more minerals, and as a result, some minerals refer to more than one gemstone name. In order to better understand the interaction between the two, reference the two charts below - the first details each gemstone and the minerals that combined to form it and the second lists each mineral and the gemstones it can produce. For instance, Quartz can form Amethyst, Ametrine, Citrine, and Morion (and a few more) gemstones depending on which other minerals and elements compress together and at what depth in the earths crust and temperature the compression occurs at. How Gemstones Are Formed Most gemstones are formed in either the crust or the very top layer of the earths mantle in the molten magma bubbling in the depths of the world, but only peridot and diamonds are formed deep in the mantle. All gems, however, are mined in the crust where they can cool to solidify in the crust, which is made up of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock. Like the minerals that make up gemstones, some are associated with one kind of rock in particular while others have several types of rock that go into the creation of that stone. Igneous gemstones are formed when magma solidifies in the crust and crystallizes to form minerals then an increase in pressure starts a series of chemical exchanges which eventually cause the mineral to compress into a gemstone. Igneous rock gemstones include amethyst, citrine, ametrine, emeralds, morganite, and aquamarine as well as garnet, moonstone, apatite, and even diamond and zircon. Gemstones to Minerals The following chart serves as a translation guide between gemstones and minerals with each link going to photos of the gems and minerals: Gemstone Name Mineral Name Achroite Tourmaline Agate Chalcedony Alexandrite Chrysoberyl Amazonite Microcline Feldspar Amber Amber Amethyst Quartz Ametrine Quartz Andalusite Andalusite Apatite Apatite Aquamarine Beryl Aventurine Chalcedony Benitoite Benitoite Beryl Beryl Bixbite Beryl Bloodstone Chalcedony Brazilianite Brazilianite Cairngorm Quartz Carnelian Chalcedony Chrome Diopside Diopside Chrysoberyl Chrysoberyl Chrysolite Olivine Chrysoprase Chalcedony Citrine Quartz Cordierite Cordierite Demantoid Garnet Andradite Diamond Diamond Dichroite Cordierite Dravite Tourmaline Emerald Beryl Garnet Pyrope, Almandine, Andradite, Spessartine, Grossularite, Uvarovite Goshenite Beryl Heliodor Beryl Heliotrope Chalcedony Hessonite Grossularite Hiddenite Spodumene Indigolite/Indicolite Tourmaline Iolite Cordierite Jade Nephrite or Jadeite Jasper Chalcedony Kunzite Spodumene Labradorite Plagioclase Feldspar Lapis Lazuli Lazurite Malachite Malachite Mandarin Garnet Spessartine Moonstone Orthoclase, Plagioclase, Albite, Microcline Feldspars Morganite Beryl Morion Quartz Onyx Chalcedony Opal Opal Peridot Olivine Pleonast Spinel Quartz Quartz Rhodochrosite Rhodochrosite Rhodolite Almandine-Pyrope Garnet Rubellite Tourmaline Rubicelle Spinel Ruby Corundum Sapphire Corundum Sard Chalcedony Scapolite Scapolite Schorl Tourmaline Sinhalite Sinhalite Sodalite Sodalite Spinel Spinel Sugilite Sugilite Sunstone Oligoclase Feldspar Taaffeite Taaffeite Tanzanite Zoisite Titanite Titanite (Sphene) Topaz Topaz Tourmaline Tourmaline Tsavorite Garnet Grossularite Turquoise Turquoise Uvarovite Uvarovite Verdelite Tourmaline Violan Diopside Zircon Zircon Minerals to Gemstones In the following chart, the minerals in the column on the left translate to the gemstone name on the right, with links contained therein forwarding to more information and additional of the minerals and gemstones associated. Mineral Name Gemstone Name Albite Moonstone Almandine Garnet Almandine-Pyrope Garnet Rhodolite Amber Amber Andalusite Andalusite Andradite Demantoid Garnet Apatite Apatite Benitoite Benitoite Beryl Aquamarine, Beryl, Bixbite, Emerald, Goshenite, Heliodore, Morganite Brazilianite Brazilianite Chalcedony Agate, Aventurine, Bloodstone, Carnelian, Chrysoprase, Heliotrope, Jasper, Onyx, Sard Chrysoberyl Alexandrite, Chrysoberyl Cordierite Cordierite, Dichroite, Iolite Corundum Ruby, Sapphire Diamond Diamond Diopside Chrome Diopside, Violan Grossular/Grossularite Hessonite, Tsavorite Garnet Jadeite Jade Lazurite Lapis Lazuli Malachite Malachite Microcline Feldspar Amazonite, Moonstone Nephrite Jade Oligoclase Feldspar Sunstone Olivine Chrysolite, Peridot Opal Opal Orthoclase Feldspar Moonstone Plagioclase Feldspar Moonstone, Labradorite Pyrope Garnet Quartz Amethyst, Ametrine, Cairngorm, Citrine, Morion, Quartz Rhodochrosite Rhodochrosite Scapolite Scapolite Sinhalite Sinhalite Sodalite Sodalite Spessartine Mandarin Garnet Sphene (Titanite) Titanite Spinel Pleonast, Rubicelle Spodumene Hiddenite, Kunzite Sugilite Sugilite Taaffeite Taaffeite Topaz Topaz Tourmaline Achroite, Dravite, Indigolite/Indicolite, Rubellite, Schorl, Verdelite Turquoise Turquoise Uvarovite Garnet, Uvarovite Zircon Zircon Zoisite Tanzanite

Describe the elements of the communication process and explain the Term Paper

Describe the elements of the communication process and explain the process of interpersonal communication. Discuss the Barriers - Term Paper Example As a sender, he can talk directly to the employees, or send an email requesting to have a meeting with them on a particular date. In this case, the perception of the receiver on the message sent influences the manner in which communication is interpreted, received and responded to. For that reason, the sender should be fully aware of the purpose of the communication and the receiver’s aptitude to decode and comprehend the message as far as interest and language is concerned (Hesse par 2). The Message Messages take various forms and can include signs, symbols or words. To avoid distortion, the sender must ensure that the message is simple and clear. Moreover, the receiver should take care of the body language such as facial expression if the message is to be communicated verbally. Finally, the sender must consider the abilities and the competence of the receiver, when creating a message, to reduce barriers that might hinder effective communication (Priya 5-6). For example, a ma nager who needs information from an employee on how to increase profits and heighten employee retention must ensure that he or she communicates in a language that the worker understands. Additionally, he must make sure that the employee is competent enough in that area; hence, the ideas given are credible enough to be taken into consideration. The Channel Priya (5) assert that the channels of communication play an imperative role in communication; hence, senders should select an appropriate channel or medium of communication to ensure that the message is not distorted. Examples of channels of communication are e-mail, phones, radio, television and internet among others. If an advertiser decides to place an advert in the radio or television, for instance, he should consider the audience or the people who will listen or see the advert. In that case, he must ensure that the intended people get to listen to the advert, and that the right language is used to avoid misinterpretation. It i s essential for businesses to choose when and how they will send their messages. A building society can, for example, only send messages about a new product to their members by email or text if that is the agreed channel of communication. It should be understood that sending of messages through the internet to persons who cannot receive an email results to miscommunication. Receiver The receiver or the decoder is the person who is responsible for decoding or extracting the meaning from the message conveyed. He or she ensures that a feedback is sent to the sender, and his work is mainly to interpret the message. In that case, for the message to be effectively understood and right feedback given, the receiver should be able to read and understand what has been written down. If not, this may lead to distortion of the message by the decoder, and an equally wrong feedback (Priya 5-6). Feedback Feedback is the most vital element in the communication process as it helps in determining whet her the receiver grasped the intended meaning. Without a feedback, the communication process remains incomplete. For instance, when one sends a short message through the phone to a friend and fails to get a feedback, it is likely that the intended recipient did not get the message, or did not understand it. In that case, the language used is imperative and both parties should communicate in a

Capacity Planning and Performance Modeling SLP Research Paper

Capacity Planning and Performance Modeling SLP - Research Paper Example Capacity planning is thus seen as a strategic process used to match data center resources with the business demand to provide acceptable service levels at a minimum cost. Capacity planning is an important operation management process that closely works with performance management, service level management, and configuration management. Performance management becomes an integral part of the capacity planning process because the goal of performance management is to manage current system performance in a proactive manner. The proper management of the parameters of system performance such as throughput and latency will provide the client with adequate results and minimal downtime (Mitchell, 2007). For firms that are involved in large-scale operations, keeping track of all the operations within the system can be a daunting task. Fortunately, the advent of technology has made it much more manageable to evaluate the activities that lead to a good performance and optimal capacity levels of the organization. Table 1 shows three capacity planning software that provides management with the necessary tools to keep up with its system. I chose this three software because they appear to be the most popular and the most effective in accomplishing the required goals of a capacity planning software. Other than capacity planning sof tware, many organizations are likewise investing in performance measurement software to automate their measurement and reporting systems. I went on to Performance-measurement.net and was introduced to two of these software. Table 2 shows the description, advantages and disadvantages of each one.

Information Technology Advantages and Disadvantages

Information Technology Advantages and Disadvantages The importance of Information Technology The importance of technology comes from that Technology has an important impact on innovation and the development of societies and economies. This impact can be observed in three steps. The first step is substitution, new technology substitutes for the old. For example, consumers start substituting their fixed telephone lines with mobile telephones. The second step is the diffusion, when adopting the new technology is widely across society because it is law cost or better or more effective than the previous technology. The final step is transformation when the new technology ways start working and emerging because the new technology is diffused so widely in society. For example, the widespread adoption of the networking has led to interesting innovations in the communication patterns of individuals such as executives conducting business while waiting in airport lounges or traveling in trains.( DUTTA MIA , 2001)World Economic Forum. ICT offers more opportunities for economic development and plays very important role in international competitiveness, rapid economic change, and productive capacity of improvements for developing countries. ICTs offer the developing countries many opportunities, as it has done in the developed world, when it created unprecedented possibilities for them. Studies have emphasized that there is evidence of a strong linkage between GDP growth and ICT investment showing the importance of ICT investment for development. According to an OECD research project, which was conducted in the year 2002, there is an impact of ICT on the economy. In addition, in the GDP growth per capita, ICT investment accounted for between 0.5% and 1.3% (Nodu, 2004). Also, Organizations have increased their investment in information technology IT for planning in order to increase the efficiency of their business processes. Support management decision making and improve productivity. So IT become important tool to attaining competitive advantage for the organization and improves employees productivity and efficiency (Kim Lee Law, 2007) Besides, Many researches investigate the relation between IT investment and increase the productivity and the performance in the companies one of these studies (sircar et al, 2000) which found several organization success with the spending on the IT but others were failed. (Agarwal karahanna, 2000) argue in this result that IT investment will be successful when IT utilized by the organization intended user in the way contribute to the strategy and the goals of the firms. Thus user acceptance is the key for the successes of the IT investment (Darsono, 2005). Also, for more than two decades information technology has been the focus for researcher in information system this is because IT considers as the key to lead the organization for the good performance so many researches focus in the initial usage for IT or continuous usage foe IT (Premkumar Bhattacherjee, 2005). The advantages and disadvantages from adopting information technology (brien maracas, 2008, management information system, edition 8, chapter 1, p55) the advantages (for strategy advantage). Information technology uses to support the competitive strategy in helping the companies to reduce the costs of the company to give special offer for its products and services and give better care about customers and suppliers and to develop unions among the company and the company with the environment around the company and increase the virtue of its investment in IT resources. By using the information technology the organization or the companies will be able to develop the value of its business through out making the customer value the focus of its strategy which is to keep track of its customers preferences to supply its products and services anytime anywhere by using the internet or intranet and extranet(e-commerce websites). A lot of organizations/companies use information technology and internet to reengineering its business process because information technology can make integration for the organization to work for the same goal of the organization and this improves the design of the work flows or the requirements of the job even the organization structures even improve the efficiency and the effectiveness. Information technology provides the communication and the information required for the managers in order to manage the different activities within the organization and the resources from the partners to get the advantage from the changes in the market environment. Information technology can support the organization competitive strategy by making the organization as the knowledge creating to make innovation by creating its process style or product and service for its work or learning organization by doing similar in what the another companies created by using the internet to get the knowledge that it needs. The disadvantages Some disadvantages of information technology include: Unemployment While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed. Privacy Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge. Lack of job security Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure. Dominant culture While information technology may have made the world a global village, it has also contributed to one culture dominating another weaker one. For example it is now argued that US influences how most young teenagers all over the world now act, dress and behave. Languages too have become overshadowed, with English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else (http://www.smallbusinessbible.org/advan_disadvan_informationtechnology.html# 3/4/2009 5:10am). Lecture review Behavior intention According to (Davis , 1989: Kiraz Ozdemir, 2006: Hwang Y. Yi, 2002: Phau Gan, 2000)The technology acceptance model TAM consists of four main factors as major determinants of technology acceptance these factors are perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, the attitudes toward the usage and the frequency of use of technology. That means if people want to accept or reject any specific technology they should increase users believes that this technology will help them do their work better and this refer to perceived usefulness and extend their believes in that the system is ease of use and the benefit is more than the effort from the use for this technology. In another wards, If the users perceive easy of use from that technology and perceive usefulness from the technology for their work purposes .that means, there are Positive attitudes toward the technology usage n have a positive relation with the behavior intention to use the technology. Therefore, (Chang, 2004) was conducted The study which purposed to explore the validity of the extension of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) based on social and facilitating as main factors to predict intranet/portal usage because those factors are most dominant in the educational environment. The study found that there was strong positive relation among Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and users attitudes towards the intranet. And the Attitude has strong relation with the user intention to use. And the intention to behave had a strong relation with the actual usage this conform the positive significant relation in TAM and its constructs are to predicting the user acceptance of the intranet/portal. Even there are relation between experience and perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Even experience is a stronger predictor for perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness than age does. So, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which created by (Davis Bagozzi Warshaw, 1989; Davis et al., 1989) Studied some important factors affecting in the use of the information technology. the TAM explained how the behavior intention to use the technology effected by one basic factor to cause the actual use for the new system, therefore the behavior intention to use the technology is the merely or only determined related to actual use for the system, beside that the latest studies confirmed that the behavior intention to use the technology is the merely mediated factor. In another words, the TAM explains attitude factors affecting the behavior intention to use with putting the focus on the attitudes as a factor to use the technology (Kiraz Ozdemir, 2006). And in contrast that, the attitude not the only the factor who is affecting on the behavior intention to use but there are another factors can affect the behavior intention to use as in the study was conducted by (Gong Xu Yu, 2004) which aimed to identify additional determinants factors for the technology acceptance in the education sector. The study found that there are direct and indirect significant effect for perceived usefulness on the behavior intention to use the system and this effect is strong on the behavior intention to use more than the effect on the attitudes and the attitude was formed by perceived usefulness. Beside, that perceived ease of use has effect on perceived usefulness and the attitudes of the users but the effect on the attitudes was not significant this due to the combination of the factors like organization, subjects and the technology or due to the users have one month experience and they need to use the system easier and free of effort .and self-efficacy has strong direct effect on intention to use and perceived ease of use but on ease of use more effect than intention to behavior. Another study was conducted to confirm that intention to behavior is determined the actual behavior by (Aversano, 2005) which purposed to explore why some people refuse to use the mobile telephone in USA. The study used the theory of Ajzen to give exploration of human behavior to understanding a persons actions in behavior like social attitude and personality trait it considered as important to explain human behavior. And the study used TPB to confirm that intention to behavior is determined the actual behavior. And there are three factors predicting the Intention to behavior are attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavior control as same as TRA with focus in the important of the intention to behavior with the adoption for the technology. Even the study used the TAM2 which explains perceived usefulness in terms of cognitive and social influence processes. (Aversano, 2005) was conducted the study which purposed to explore why some people refuse to use the mobile telephone in USA. The study used the theory of Ajzen to give exploration of human behavior to understanding a persons actions in behavior like social attitude and personality trait it considered as important to explain human behavior. And the study used TPB to confirm that intention to behavior is determined the actual behavior. And there are three factors predicting the Intention to behavior are attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavior control as same as TRA with focus in the important of the intention to behavior with the adoption for the technology. Even the study used the TAM2 which explains perceived usefulness in terms of cognitive and social influence processes. Moreover, in the latest studies, like the study was conducted by (Hwang Yi, 2002) in the intrinsic motivation and computer self-efficacy research to Technology Acceptance Model in order to predict the use of web-based information systems. The study found that behavioral intention and self-efficacy have a significant effect on actual use. Even perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy were significant determinants of ease of use. Even was found that self-efficacy was a strong determinant for ease of use and actual use. The study supported all the relations were purposed in the technology acceptance model. Even the studies (Klloppiing McKiinneyy, 2004: Jones S. Hubona, 2005) support that relation. Also, the study was conducted by (Jones Hubona, 2005) which aimed to determine the effect of staff seniority, age, and education level on usage behavior. The study supported all TAM construction. Even Education level would directly affect actual usage behavior besides effect on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. But in contrast, the study was conducted by (Al Mutairi, 2007) which goaled to examine TAM applicability in Kuwait ministries. The study finding did not support the relationship between the variables as were in TAM. In another ward, the study didnt find relation between ease of use and usefulness this in one hand and in the other hand there is no relation between ease of use and usefulness with actual usage. And the study mention that maybe because the differences in the national cultural, public organization context, dependent variables nature. Also, in the study was conducted by (Chismar Patton, 2002) which made among the physicians to examines their intention to adopt Internet-based health applications by using the applicability of the (TAM2). The study found that the strong determinant for intention to use was perceived usefulness. Intention to use by physicians was explained by the effects of usefulness and output quality. And the relation between perceived usefulness and intention to use was significant, whereas image, subjective norm and perceived ease of use were not significant. And that due to that physicians have high level of adaptability, cognitive capacity and intellectual, they comprehend faster than the normal people for new technologies. And they are willing to adopt information technology that has beneficial applications even if it not easy to use. Attitudes and Believes According to (Davis , 1989: Kiraz Ozdemir, 2006: Hwang Y. Yi, 2002: Phau Gan, 2000)The technology acceptance model TAM consists of four main factors as major determinants of technology acceptance these factors are perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, the attitudes toward the usage and the frequency of use of technology. That means if people want to accept or reject any specific technology they should set up their attitudes by increase users believes that this technology will help them do their work better and this refer to perceived usefulness and extend their believes in that the system is ease of use and the benefit is more than the effort from the use for this technology. In another wards, If the users perceive easy of use from that technology and perceive usefulness from the technology for their work purposes .that means, there are Positive attitudes toward the technology usage n have a positive relation with the behavior intention to use the technology. Therefore, in order to put spotlight in the important of mediating the attitudes for the relation between the beliefs and the actual usage for the technology (Chang, 2004) conducted The study which purposed to explore the validity of the extension of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) based on social and facilitating as main factors to predict intranet/portal usage because those factors are most dominant in the educational environment. The found were that there was strong positive relation among Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and users attitudes towards the intranet. And the Attitude has strong relation with the user intention to use. And the intention to behave had a strong relation with the actual usage this conform the positive significant relation in TAM and its constructs are to predicting the user acceptance of the intranet/portal. Even there are relation between experience and perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Even experience is a stronger predictor f or perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness than age does. Also, the study was conducted by (algahtani, 2004) which aimed for more understanding of the acceptance for the technology in different cultures. The study found that there is strong support for the effect of the attitude in the behavior to use the computer and satisfaction. Even though this was supported in the study was conducted In Malaysia by (Mohd Syed-Mohamad Zaini, 2005) to identify the relation between information quality and the acceptance of doctors for Electronic Medical Record System (EMR) in one of Malaysian hospital. The study found that the information quality has significant relationship with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use .even the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have significant relationship with attitude of using EMR system. Moreover, the user acceptance factor Information Quality has significant relationship with attitude of using EMR system through out easy of use and usefulness. The study conducted by (Gong Xu Yu, 2004) which aimed to identify additional determinants for the technology acceptance in the education sector. The study found that there are direct and indirect significant effect for perceived usefulness on the behavior intention to use the system and this effect is strong on the behavior intention to use more than the effect on the attitudes and the attitude was formed by perceived usefulness. Beside, that perceived ease of use has effect on perceived usefulness and the attitudes of the users but the effect on the attitudes was not significant this due to the combination of the factors like organization, subjects and the technology or due to the users have one month experience and they need to use the system easier and free of effort .and self-efficacy has strong direct effect on intention to use and perceived ease of use but on ease of use more effect than intention to behavior. In contrast to The study conducted by (Gong Xu Yu, 2004), The study was conducted by (Yang, 2007) which Focus on the time in the affect of perceived usefulness and ease of use on the attitudes, which aimed to study the usage of the technology acceptance model for doing another examination of the relationships between students attitude toward the use of WebCT and the determinants of the actual usage in light of social presence and sociability. the study found that The perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use was supported by self-efficacy, but more strong to the ease of use and both perceived usefulness and ease of use support the attitude toward the actual usage this was in the first test for the relation and in the second test was found that the subjective norms was negative value to the social presence and the actual use but lower support for the actual use. The study focuses on the time which makes the effects of the variable in the attitude. Which means perceived usefulness directly changed by times after use the system. And the study was conducted by (Yalcinkaya B.A M.S, 2007) to investigate the acceptance for the police officer for the POLNET system in Turkish. The study found that Perceived ease of use has a positive effect on attitude and intentions to use the system. And the study considers that the variable ease of use considered the main factor effecting in the attitude toward behavior attention to actual usage. This Result supported the result for the last study by (Venkatesh Davis, 2000) which conformed that perceived ease of use is strongly related to the system usage. Beside that the study found that there is positive affect for Perceived ease of use on perceived usefulness of police Officers using the system. In another ward, those police officers preferred to use the system because its easy to use. And the same for Perceived usefulness has a positive effect on the attitude and has a strongly effect on Attitude and Intention to Use the information technology, the study mentioned that T urkish police officers using the system because they perceive the system is useful. Hence, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are very strong predictive factors on attitude and intention to use the system. From the pervious two studies, both studies (Yang, 2007: Yalcinkaya B.A M.S, 2007) confirm that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness affect on the attitude which in the same time attitude affect on the behavior intention to use toward the actual use for the technology. Regardless the stronger affect on the attitude. The study conducted by(Ahn Ryu Han, 2007)which its goal to investigated the playfulness effect ion on user acceptance of online retailing , tested factors of Web quality and the relationship between those factors and user acceptance behavior. The study found that there are significant between playfulness and attitude and behavior intention to use. Even there is significant and influences for service quality, perceived strengths of system and information on playfulness, usefulness, and perceived ease of use. Even there are significant for System quality influence on usefulness, ease of use and playfulness. Even Information quality had significant influenced on usefulness, ease of use and playfulness. Service quality had significant influence on playfulness, ease of use and usefulness. Besides that Playfulness considered an important factor affecting the attitude and intention to use online retailing users. In contrast, to the study conducted by (Kiraz Ozdemir , 2006) which target the utilization of technology integration in the classroom focused on educational ideology, a factor not related to technology that also affects decisions in terms of educational applications. The study found that there is a direct effect of perceived usefulness on the actual use, and there is also a direct affect of perceived ease of use on attitudes. Besides, this study showed that attitudes towards the usage effected by perceived usefulness, and there is no significant effect of attitude towards usage and the actual use, this contrast the result in (TAM).Also, the study shows that there is no significant relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. In another wards, there is a strong positive relationship between pre-service teachers perceived ease of use of educational technology and their attitudes toward use. The study mentioned that all of the ideologies were mentioned have effe cts on attitudes toward use. Moreover, educational anarchism, educational libertinism, and educational intellectualism have an effect on the perceived usefulness of technology. Both studies show that there is affect for perceived ease of use and usefulness on the attitude towards the behavior intention to use toward the use of the technology. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness It is important to understand that the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of use of the technology are not formed solely by the usefulness and ease of use of the technology. According to the study was conducted by (Park Brien Caine Rogers Fisk Ittersum Capar Parsons, 2006) which aimed to identify variables that can provide more understanding for technology acceptance. The study mentioned that there are many variables affecting the technology acceptance like technology characteristics, organization characteristics, subjective norm, User characteristics all interacted with the acceptance through out a positive effect on perceived usefulness. Beside that, the study was conducted by (Kishore Lee McLean, 2001) which used social cognitive theory (SCT), computer self-efficacy (CSE), technology acceptance model (TAM), the risk management, personal general innovativeness and specific computer self-efficacy to extend TAM. The study was mentioned that perceived usefulness and ease of use were granted as the main factors effecting in the actual usage. Also, the study was conducted by (goeke, 2006) which aimed to examine the effects of experience and expertise on the actual use for the data warehouse by using TAM. The study found that perceived usefulness and ease of use had significant effect on the usage for the technology and the usefulness stronger in the effect then ease of use. Even there is direct effect for the usefulness in the actual usage for the system. Also found there is direct effect for ease of use on perceived usefulness. And there is positive effect for the external variable on both perceived usefulness and ease of use. The result from (goeke, 2006) was supported in the study was conducted by (Brown, 2002) which aimed to examine perceived ease of use for the technology web-based in learning environment in developing country not developed country. And the finding was that the study confirms TAM relations that ease of use predicts the usefulness and the actual usage but usefulness doesnt predict the actual usage. besides, there are significant influences for self-efficacy and ease of finding and ease of understanding on perceived ease of use and ease of understanding more influences than ease of finding on perceived ease of use and the self-efficacy is the strongest influences on the ease of use but computer anxiety was the fewer influences. Inconsistent with prior research (Bani-Ali Money, 2005) the effect of ease of use is lower than other proposed factors. A possible explanation is that users level of experience with new software may influence the relative importance of system ease of use. Despite, the study which contacted by (Hasan Ali, 2006) to distinguished between general, system-specific CSE and examines the effects of both levels of CSE on two key training outcomes: reactions and learning performance. Reactions were examined with respect to perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The findings were that general CSE had significant effects on perceived ease of use and far-transfer learning. Even the study found that GCSE demonstrated a non-significant positive effect on perceived usefulness. On the other hand, SCSE exhibited a non-significant negative effect on perceived usefulness this because study were measured two weeks after training. Also, The Study was conducted by (Saeed Helm, 2008) which proposes that perceived usefulness affected by information quality and system integration which will then drive post adoption usage of the IS. The study findings support that system integration and information quality are significant predictors for usefulness, even usefulness positively and significantly relates to extended usage and exploratory usage. The Study mentioned that perceived usefulness affects the initial acceptance of IS, that means, there is a stronger relation between exploratory usage and usefulness. More over, the study was conducted by (Gyampah Salam, 2003) which aimed to examine ERP training and ERP project communication, will affect the TAM variables only through the psychological variable-shared beliefs in the perceived benefits of the ERP system. The study found that perceived usefulness is the important factor affecting in the beliefs to make positive attitudes towards the system. Even that the study supports that perceived ease of use not affect attitude towards using particular system. This supports others studies that show that perceived ease of use does not have a significant on attitude in the usage for the system. Even was found that training has important and significant positive influences on the shared beliefs in the benefits of the system and shared beliefs influence both the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system through out affect attitude, which in turn affects intention to behavior. Study confirms that communication with effective train ing affect the core TAM variables. And the training on the system has significant affect on perceived ease of use. Besides that, the study was conducted by (Yi Hwang, 2003) in the intrinsic motivation and computer self-efficacy research to Technology Acceptance Model in order to predict the use of web-based information systems. It found that behavioral intention and self-efficacy have a significant effect on actual use. Even perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy were significant determinants of ease of use. Even was found that self-efficacy was a strong determinant for ease of use and actual use. The study supported all the relations were purposed in the technology acceptance model. Even the studies (Klloppiing McKiinneyy, 2004: Jones S. Hubona, 2005) support that too. Perceived usefulness and playfulness considered as importance from the inexperienced e-commerce shoppers prospective. That means sites playfulness is essential to perceptions of usefulness, while for more experienced e-commerce shoppers, the perceived usefulness of the site can be evident independent of its playfulness, that was proved in the study was conducted by (Klopping McKinney, 2006) which conducted to examines the role of experience on consumers intentions to shop online. The study found that experience has direct and indirect effects on intention to use e-commerce, and there are moderating effects on perceived usefulness, playfulness, and self efficacy to intention to use e-commerce. Besides, there is a significant difference in the relationship of playfulness on perceived usefulness between inexperienced e-commerce shoppers and experienced e-commerce shoppers. Even, in the study was conducted by(T-Pikkarainen K-Pikkarainen Karjaluoto Pahnila ,2004) which aimed to increase the understanding of the factors that influence online banking acceptance from the technology acceptance model (TAM) prospective and to study consumer acceptance of online banking in Finland . it found that Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, information on online banking, and security and privacy have an impact on the acceptance of online banking and Perceived usefulness and the amount of information on online banking the most factors influence the use of online banking services. And found that Perceived usefulness was more than Perceived ease of use effective in explaining technology acceptance. There is significant in the relation between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use for accepting the technology, that was supported by (Almutairi, 2007) which aim to test the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in Kuwaiti ministries in order to understand the information technology in the government utilities, that also was supported in The study conducted by (Singletary Akbulut Houston, 2002) which purposed to identify factors that effect the acceptance of high school students for software application when the initial use of the application is mandatory. The finding was that there are positive relationships between perceived usefulness, ease of use and innovative usage behavior and there is a positive relationship between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The study was conducted by (Venkatesh Morris, 2000) which aimed to investigated gender differences in the context of individual adoption and the study conformed technology usage in the workplace by using technology acceptance model. The study found that There is a difference between women and men in that men perceived usefulness to a greater longitudinal than women in using a new technology. And perceived ease of use was more important to women compared with men after basic training and by the time with more experience in using the system that make not significant and not affect on the intention to use the system. But for women ease of use consider the important to affect the intention to use the system. Individual differences Individual acceptance for IT becomes an issue for resea