In-Class Assisgnment #1 (Social Science) Assignment

In-Class Assisgnment #1 (Social Science) - Assignment Example The mere mention of this problem makes both the staff and the student body to feel uncomfortable. Administrators are trying hard to find the solution to this problem which has proved to be very challenging (Iarovici, Doris 33). I would use this information to advise the schools’ administrations to build upward and increase more parking garages so as to have more parking spaces. Students should also be advised to use alternative means to get to school like the public buses. Other parking lots are not far away from the schools, so students can usually walk from these places to get to school. Another concern is that the costs of books are not pocket friendly to students. This makes students not buy all the books that they require for their course work. One way to solve this problem is to have digital books available which will be affordable. Having a web site where these books are available can also be helpful since what the students will need to do is just to log in and search for the book online. But for the meantime the government should intervene and regulate the cost of the books to make them affordable. Another problem faced by college students is the length of some courses which are very long. This is not a good idea because most of the students will get lost along the way since it is not usually easy to keep track more so when the road is too long (Prince-Hughes, Dawn 50). For this concern, it would be advisable that if this courses can be integrated to smaller courses and be done in different semesters so as to save students the agony that they go through in the long

Taxation System of UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Taxation System of UK - Essay Example Finally the system of collecting taxes must be efficient. For example if the government spends more in order to collect a given amount of tax money it is useless having a system of taxation. In the UK the current system of taxation has a number of shortcomings such as collective bias in favor of those who are able to pay and structural deficiencies at the deduction level. The British system of taxation is basically determined by a desire to act in conformance with the age old principles of taxation as enunciated by Adam Smith. In the first instance taxes must be fair or equitable; secondly they must be convenient; thirdly they must be neutral; fourthly they must be efficient; fifthly they must be simple; and sixthly they must be adequate (Jones & Catanach, 2008). Yet how far these principles have been adhered to in the current situation in Britain is to be decided by each individual because there is much more to be desired in the British tax system with reference to the equity principle and the government's efforts to redistribute income on a nation-wide basis. According to the first maxim of Adam Smith as noted above every person should pay in proportion to that which is based on their respective revenue earnings and to the extent to which they enjoy protection of the government. Simply it is the "ability to pay" principle. Further he shows that tax should be levied on economic rent because the rent and the revenue were considered as synonyms in Smith's days. However according to the tax system revenue includes only income from an investment and it excludes wages and salaries. Thus in the18th century Britain most of the income was earned from landed properties. In the 21st century Britain where services have come to occupy a very important place, the old approaches to taxation might not be feasible though the fundamental principles remain intact. Secondly, tax payers must be certain about the current and future periods of time. Moreover, it must be predictable and should not be arbitrary. Each person should be aware about the exact amount that he/she has to pay according to their earnings. They should know reasons, exceptions/biases, and abatements when they are paying taxes. Government revenue budgets are either one year in duration or less (Ricardo, 2006). This affects businesses because they have to plan for corporate taxation a number of months, if not years, in advance. According to the third maxim, tax payment should be convenient to the tax payer. In fact the government should be flexible in the application of the tax rules. For example in demanding due payments, collecting payments and so on, tax authorities ought to identify more convenient ways so that the taxpayer isn't inconvenienced by way of haphazard schedules and rules as in the case of VAT financial penalty on late payers in Britain.Finally, tax system shoul d be efficient with reference to its determination cost and collection cost. Thus it ought to be as lower as possible. It is imperative that the cost of employing the tax officials should be less than the taxpayers' personal cost. However the British government has to spend a considerable amount of money on such things as maintaining records and form filling to collect taxes from people.

Telenor Group Case Study

Telenor Group Case Study CASE STUDY TELENOR 1. General information about the Telenor Group The Telenor Group is the leading telecommunications company in Norway and one of the leading mobile operators in the world in terms of subscription. The company is also the biggest provider of television services in the Nordic region, while at the same time being present as the mobile operator in some of the fastest growing markets. Headquarters of the Telenor Group are located in Oslo, Norway. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. With the end of the third quarter of 2009, the Telenor Group has achieved 172 million of mobile subscriptions worldwide and it currently employs approximately 40.000 people in thirty countries. As it is widely familiar, Norway, as well as other Scandinavian countries, is known as extremely developed technology market in the beginning of the 21st century, achieving some of the highest penetration rates for new technologies, such as mobile phones and high speed internet. This actually represents a kind of tradition of the country, having in mind the fact that in 1855 the first telegraph line has been built, followed by the first telephone network connecting the cities of Arendal and Tvederstrand in 1878. Furthermore, Norway was one of the first world countries to introduce mobile telephone system in 1967, which was analogue based and manually operated. In order to understand business operations of Telenor, it seems necessary to make a short historical overview of the companys origins. Beginnings of the Telenor Group date back in 1855 when it was established as a state operated monopoly, bearing the name Norwegian Telegraph Administration NTA (also known as Telegrafverket) and offering the provision of telegraph services. In the last decade of the 19th century, development of the Norways early telephone network was handled by private companies. Norwegian Telegraph Administration, which was in the ownership of the state, gradually took over the privately owned companies in the market and gained control over the sector. Since then, Telenor gained more than 150 years of telecom experience. In 1969, the NTA changed its name to Televerket, also known as Norwegian Telecommunications. With the purchase of Andebu, the last privately owned company in the sector of telecommunications in 1974, Televerket obtained control of the monopoly of t he services of telephone and telecommunications and retained that position till the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 1990s, the company pioneered a new generation of mobile telephone services based on the GSM protocol, which was later accepted and implemented thought Europe. GSM service was launched in 1993 and was followed by the expansion of the company in the field of television broadcasting. This strategic decision provided the company with the opportunity to position itself as the dominant provider of satellite based broadcasting in the Scandinavian region. Since the Norwegian authorities had a tendency to deregulate the telecom sector in the country, the process of deregulation commenced in 1994 and lasted till 1998, with a partial deregulation sector by sector. Even before the government deregulation began, Televerket started with the company restructuring which lasted for four years and included the transformation of the company from a state owned to a public company, as well as the change of the company name to Telenor in 1995. Additionally, the company was a subject of partial privatization in 2000, which gave it a substantial boost of 15.6 billion NOK[1] of new capital and listed it on the Oslo Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. At the beginning of the privatization process, the Government remained the owner of 77.7% of the company, while this percentage was reduced to 53% by 2006. The company was rankedtop performer bythe Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes in 2007 and 2008. The main services which Telenor provides to its consumers and companies worldwide include the following segments: voice, data, content and other services. * In the segment of Voice, Telenor provides people to talk to each other by using fast and reliable networks. This segment focuses on the conversation on the phone, including fixed line, mobile or IP telephony. Fixed voice communication services are provided for users in three countries of the Nordic region and mobile voice in twelve different countries in Europe and Asia. * The segment of Data encompasses of the Internet and broadband services. The company offers fixed line data services like ADSL and fiber-optic communications in the countries of the Nordic region, and mobile data services such as mobile broadband, GPRS, UMTS in 12 countries. From the beginning of 2008, the company has started 3G based mobile broadband services inseven of its markets. * In the field of Content, TV services and mobile content, Telenor offers TV services via cable, digital terrestrial and satellite networks in four Nordic markets. Furthermore, the company also provides mobile content services in several markets, such as mobile TV, sports, ring tones, music and movies. * As far as otherservices are concerned, Telenor has a diversified offer that consists of services, which are telecom related, and the service portfolio is different from one country to another. Depending on the market, the company provides services in the filed of maritime communications, IT consulting, and aircraft communications services. In several markets the company provides Net-centric services, which refer to the IT security for individual consumers and enterprises and machine to machine (M2M) services for enterprises. The major part of the Telenor`s activities is organized in three regions and includes thirteen countries: Asia: Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand and India. Nordic countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Centraland Eastern Europe: Hungary, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. From the beginning of the 1990s, Telenor begun with its international expansion in the field of mobile communications, penetrating the markets of the following countries: Russia in 1994, Bangladesh, Greece, Ireland, Germany and Austria in 1997, Ukraine in 1998, Malaysia in 1999, Denmark and Thailand in 2000, Hungary in 2002, Montenegro and Pakistan in 2004, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Serbia in 2006. Operations in Greece, Ireland and Germany were sold and the money obtained from this sale has been re invested in the emerging markets. Additionally, in 2005 Vodafone[2] in Sweden was acquired by Telenor. 1.1. Mission and Strategy Telenors primary objective is to create greater value for its shareholders, customers, employees and partners, and for the society in general. The company is dedicated to being at the forefront in creating, simplifying and introducing communication and content solutions to the marketplace. In order to comply with the given goal, Telenor bases its strategy on its customer oriented vision, Here to Help, as well as its core values, Make it easy, Keep promises, Be inspiring and Be respectful. Telenors main strategy is to upgrade the performance of the local mobile operations by combining Groups industrialization with local drive and responsiveness, in the regions where it conducts its business operations: Nordic region, Eastern and Central Europe and Asia. Furthermore, the company plans to maintain its leading position in the Nordic region with a diversified portfolio of communication services. This strategy could be defragmented to the following focus areas: Strengthening of the position of the company as an international mobile operator. Telenor plans to continue the process of strengthening its industrialization of the mobile operations by gaining control over chosen mobile companies. Control is crucial in order to benefit from synergies obtained by cross border activities, such as scale in procurement, development of new services and implementation of best practices, improvement of operational efficiency and the increase of the overall profitability. Telenor plans to manage the non-strategic investments as financial investments and to exit from international mobile operations where the company cannot obtain control over time. Strengthening of the companys position in the Nordic region. Telenor will continue to upgrade its services in the field of mobile and fixed telephony in the Nordic region by using the benefits obtained from economies of scale and cross-border synergies. The company strongly feels that its Nordic presence will improve support to the customers by improving upon its expertise both mobile and fixed services. To find itself at the forefront of communications services providers in Norway. Since the company is the leader in a broad range of services in both the residential and business markets in Norway, Telenor will try to obtain better results in the sense of its profit in the mobile and fixed fields of activity, through the introduction of new services and through various cost-cutting measures. Maintaining of the position of the leader in field of distribution of TV services to consumers in the Nordic region. Telenor additionally insists on finding new possibilities and solutions which will contribute to the strengthening of its strategic position as the leading distributor of subscription based television in the Nordic region. The company will dedicate its activities to contact and attract new users and increase revenue per user through its attractive content and new interactive services. Non strategic companies. Telenor will enhance the value of those companies, which are not strategic for its main business areas and dispose of all or part of its interest in such companies. 1.2. Regional presence Even though Telenor is present in the three dominant regions of the world, the Nordic region is the one where Telenor group has been present since 1855, and the company has held a strong position in the Scandinavian region ever since. The Nordic region is the one from which the majority of Telenor`s income comes from. As it is shown in diagrams 1 and 2, in the first quarter of 2009, 41% of total company revenues came from this region, as well as 37% of EBITDA[3] distribution. The three markets out of which the Nordic region is composed of, in fact represent specific markets with unique differences. For example, although Sweden still has a high use of fixed line telephony, it finds itself at the forefront of the mobile broadband services. Denmark is the market whose customers are the keenest users of SMS and are most interested in content services. Finally, Norwegian customers show growing interest in digital music services and Telenor Group has a high share on this market. The Nordic region is also significant since Telenor combines present and future technologies in the telecom field. As a supplement to existing offers, Telenor provides new broadband technologies, such as Fibre to the Home (FTH) and Long Term Evolution (LTE), the 4th generation mobile broadband standard. The strong distinction between fixed and mobile telephony is slowly vanishing in these markets. According to the data obtained from†¦..there is an evident transition from fixed to mobile networks. The data implicate that the mobile share of voice traffic has increased from 20% in 2003 to 60% in 2008. This is one of the reasons why Telenor acquired Vodafone in Sweden in 2006. Furthermore, the company now has 4G licenses in Norway and Sweden. In order to build networks and share spectrum of mobile communication, Telenor has joined Tele2[4] in a joint venture. The plan is to launch the LTE based broadband services by the end of 2010. This action will position Telenor as the leader of the 4G development worldwide. The same project is planned for Norway, with the difference that it will start in 2011. The Telenor Group has penetrated the Asian region in 1996, through the investment in Grameenphone[5] in Bangladesh. From the very beginning of its operations in Asia, the market has been the cornerstone of the development of the Telenor Group, enabling opportunities for growth in one of the most populated and fastest growing markets in the world. Additionally, mobile operations in Asia have a significant contribution to the total revenues and EBITDA of the Group. Data obtained in the first quarter of 2009 show that the region generated 30% of the revenues, 28% of the Groups EBITDA, and a total of 67 million mobile subscribers of the region. The company has received many awards for innovation and services in the past ten years and has been the driving force in the network development of Asia. Additionally, it has significantly increased the capacity of the regional network and provided coverage, connecting millions of people in new areas, who were previously unconnected. Over the past few years the Asian mobile market has been growing significantly. The growth is additionally stimulated by continuous innovations and new services provided by the company. The Group is active in the markets of Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh, and the company holds 3G license in Malaysia. Another important step of Telenor was the acquisition of Unitech Wireless[6] in India, through which the company penetrated one of the worlds largest and fastest growing markets. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the mobile markets of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia became a part of Telenor`s business operations. The main characteristic of these markets is the growth opportunity, making it significant part of the Telenor`s strategy in the years to come. Even though the markets of Central and Eastern Europe are challenging economic environment due to the process of transition, which these countries have undergone or are still undergoing, mobile operations of the Group deliver solid financial performances. The first quarter of 2009 shows that Telenor generated 17% of Groups total revenues and 32% of EBITDA. The region also generated 93 million of mobile subscribers. Also, the region of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia has achieved rapid growth in mobile subscription both in consumer, as well as business markets. The company is currently involved in investments in the 3G network in Hungary, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro. The priority is given to the n ew technological and eco friendly solutions, like the wind and solar powered base stations in Hungary, and testing of the new generation wireless broadband in Montenegro. 2. Telenor in Serbia Telenor`s presence in the Balkan region started at the beginning of 1990s when the company launched its operations in Hungary in 2002 by operating Pannon[7], followed by activities in Montenegro through Promonte[8] and finally, Serbia in 2006. Telenor penetrated the Serbian market through the purchase of the Serbian company Mobi 63, Serbias second largest mobile operator and this actually represents the largest privatization transaction in the central and eastern Europe in 2006, as reported by the audit company PriceWaterHouseCoopers. Telenor Group outbid two other short listed competitors at the auction (Mobilkom from Austria and Orascom Telecom from Egypt), offering a bid of 1.513 billion euros. Telenor took over the company on 31st of July 2006, upon the completion of all legal requirements and the signing of the Sales Agreement. The entire auction was broadcasted live on the Serbian national television and was attended by the highest state representatives. Mobi 63, formerly known as Mobtel, was formed by the Government of Serbia in the month of April of 2006, upon the revocation of the operators mobile license, which occurred due to the illegal dealings of the companys previous owners, who were suspected to have sold t he operators license in Kosovo to Mobikos, without requesting permission from the official authorities of Serbia. The Government then proclaimed that the sale was a threat to the national security. The acquisition of Mobi 63 made by Telenor includes a ten year license for GSM 900/1800 and 3G operation for the company, which is renewable for a successive period of ten years upon application. Additionally, the company also obtained Mobi 63`s existing assets, which included the base of approximately 2.5 million customers (in the end of 2005). In just three months upon its arrival to the Serbian market, Telenor invested approximately 15.3 million euros in the equipment of the highest technology, necessary to meet the requirements of the planned network expansion on the territory of Serbia. For this purpose, Telenor signed cooperation agreement with Erickson. Additionally, another contract with the Erickson Company worth 40 million euros for the purpose of network improvement was signed by the end of 2006. The main objective of these investments was to upgrade the quality and the capacity of the existing network, which consequently brings additional quality and services to its users. The actual benefit for the users of the Telenor network is its expanded coverage and good quality. Starting form March 1st 2007, the company enabled the use of commercial services in Serbia, provided by the 3G mobile broadband technology, which consequently provides its users with the possibility to get easier and faster access to the contents on the internet, such as movies, music videos or TV program. 2.1. Relationship towards the employees When Telenor acquired Mobi 63 in August 2006, the company had 926 employees. The newly appointed top management reached a strategic decision to take over the entire infrastructure of the company, as well as its personnel, meaning that there will not be any reduction in the number of employees. In fact, quite the opposite thing occurred in the next three years: the number of employees gradually started growing. In the end of 2007 there had been approximately 1000 employees. By the end of 2008, this number grew to 1100, and finally on December 31st 2009, Telenor had a total of 1207 employees. Having in mind that the field of telecommunications is exposed to everyday changes, Telenor`s employees are expected to adapt to them, set their own objectives in their segment of work, as well as to take on new responsibilities and discover their new talents. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the company organized a number of trainings, seminars and workshops for its personnel. Through these actions, Telenor tends to provide continuous professional growth and expertise opportunities. Some of the most important ones are: Trainings for future leaders Welcome trainings Codes of conduct Human resource management Communication skills trainings Telenor`s Code of Conduct is one of the key principles upon which the activities of the company are based. This document includes a set of employee policies that cover ethical and legal practices for nearly every aspect of the business. It focuses on the personal responsibility and each employee has to conduct business legally and ethically. Also, it defines ethical rules of behavior for the companys business partners, as well as users. Corporate ethics is very important in the company. The principles of corporate ethics are applicable to all members of the company, including the members of the managing board and top management and all other employees, who represent Telenor on any occasions. Furthermore, the company launched the so called HIT Project, which was encouraged by the television reportage made on one of Telenor`s subcontractors in Bangladesh, who was an obvious example of a company which contributes to bad work conditions, pollution of the environment and child labor. The project focuses on four elements: health, safety, security and environment, and its main objective is for Telenor to emphasize to its business partners the importance of respecting labor and human rights laws. Therefore, Telenor follows the activities of its suppliers in the field and remains in constant touch with them. Furthermore, human resource management conducts the employee satisfaction survey on a yearly basis in order to get a feed back from the employees about the level of their satisfaction, as well as the issues that could be improved and changed within the company. In 2009, the survey was conducted for the third consecutive year and a total percentage of employees which participated was 96.3%. The survey is conducted among all employees in the end of every working year, and concentrates on several important areas of employee satisfaction: satisfaction with job position and work conditions, communication and interpersonal relations within the company, leadership, bonus systems and career opportunities. Results obtained from the survey serve as the foundation for strategy planning for the upcoming years. This point is of particular importance in order to include the opinion of the staff in the process of future strategy defining and decision making, so that everyone can feel that they are a part of it. 2.2. Relationship with clients Top management of the company tends to combine its international experience and the local potential of the country where it operates. In the first year of its activities in the Serbian market, Telenor introduced a large number of significant innovations and new services important for the subscribers. Some of the most innovative products and services offered to the Serbian users are: New prepaid telephone numbers and new channel of sale Telenor Express. Mobile e mail service. The first internet parks in Serbia. Cheaper roaming prices for Telenor users in Hungary and Montenegro Telenor express is the channel of direct sales to customers, which has long and successful tradition in other markets where the company conducts its activities. The new prepaid numbers were introduced in all newspaper stands in Serbia, but could also be purchased through the Telenor Express channel of sale. Approximately twenty five express sales teams are traveling throughout Serbia with specially designed sales stands. In this way the company tries to have direct contact with the customers, to be closer and more available to them, as well as to offer new and innovative sales possibilities and good quality services. Additionally, new prepaid numbers are offered at a much lower rate than previously applied, and each package has higher value than the nominal value of the package. Persons, who decide to purchase a more expensive package, get substantially more free conversation minutes, as well as free text messages, than the ones who purchase a cheaper package. Mobile e-mail is a service dedicated firstly to those who are business users, with the main purpose to facilitate their activities when they find themselves outside the office and need immediate access to their computers. Furthermore, this service enables its users to access and handle their e-mails, calendar and phonebook. The service is compatible to the programs used on their original computers, and can be used by downloading a special software from the Telenor website. From December 1st 2006, Telenor users have the possibility to pay lower prices for roaming services in Hungary and Montenegro, thanks to Telenor network. At the same time, these prices are the lowest prices in comparison to other mobile operators in Serbia. On average, with this service, Telenor users in the Montenegro` s network Promonte are charged 15% less for their voice calls. Additionally, incoming calls from any destination are free of charge for postpaid users in this network. As far as the Hungarian Pannon mobile operator is concerned, prices of outgoing calls are approximately 60% lower, calls made to local mobile and fixed telephone numbers are 25% cheaper, including incoming calls. Calls made to other destinations are 40% cheaper. Additionally, Telenor subscribers have the opportunity to exchange MMS messages with people in ten different countries. The first countries and operators which established this kind of service with Telenor in Serbia are: 02 in Germany, Pannon in Hungary, Telenor in Pakistan, Telefonica 02 in Checz Republic, Sonofon in Denmark, Sunrise in Switzerland, ONE in Austria, Globul in Bulgaria, Telenor in Norway and DIGI in Malaysia. In June 2008, Telenor opened the first internet park in Belgrade, which at the same time represents the first park of this kind in Serbia. People can have free access to the internet and connecting of their portable computers to the internet network is possible either through the wireless connection, or via USB modems, which are located in different places in the park. In the first three months, citizens of Belgrade, as well as other visitors, had the opportunity to test all possibilities of the Internet network free of charge, while enjoying the open air at the same time. Instructions for the connection to the network are displayed on visible places in the park and offer simple explanations through several easy steps. In just several months upon the opening of the first internet park in Belgrade, similar concept was implemented in other Serbian cities: Nis, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Kraljevo. In this way, citizens of these cities have the possibility to check their e-mails or search the internet sites for various contents. 2.3. Corporate responsibility, young and socially jeopardized categories. Mobile communications contribute to the social integration, having in mind the fact that people can be in touch no matter where they find themselves. However, for a significant number of people worldwide, communication services still represent a luxury and are not available to them. Access to this type of services, in a way, represents the means to fight poverty, ignorance and bad health conditions, as well as to enable people to improve their living situation. One of the main objectives of Telenor is to strive towards creation of value in modern society by offering the possibility of communication services to as many people as possible. In 2007, the auditing company Deloit did a thorough analysis of Telenor`s markets in Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Ukraine and Serbia which pointed to a very close connection between mobile telephony penetration and the increase of the GDP exists. The analysis pointed out to the fact that the increase of 10% in mobile communications could lead to the GDP rise of approximately 1.2%. Furthermore, the study showed that business operations of Telenor have positive contribution to the upgrading of the productivity level, economic welfare, improvements in health and education systems, improvement of conditions in rural areas and social groups with low incomes. Besides the focus on its business operations, Telenor also directs its activities towards the responsibility towards the local community in which it operates. An evidence to support this claim is the fact that Telenor Group is listed in the first position among twenty four leading mobile operators in the world on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index list, which ranks companies according to the criteria of their overall financial, social and ecological impact on the environment. Upon its arrival to the Serbian market, the top management of the company immediately started to develop different strategies concerning the beginning of the work in the field of corporate responsibility. For that purpose, Telenor established its own Foundation in March 2007, and in this way the company continued to invest in the development of Serbias social potentials. â€Å"The main objective of the Foundation is to initiate and support different types of projects and to develop useful and sustainable solutions which are easy to implement on the territory of the entire country. This is the core concept upon which the corporate responsibility of the company is based and which is being implemented world wide. Members of the Foundations Managing Board were chosen upon the criteria of their expertise in different fields and this enabled for the activities of the Foundation to be guided not only by the companys business plans, but also to adequately respond to the necessities of the Serbian society, its growth and development. Additionally, members of the top and middle management are directly involved in the projects of the Foundation and follow their course. Employees are also invited to participate and to set an example by their involvement, volunteer work and individual efforts.† Majority of the activities and projects which the Foundation conducts are directed towards the young population, their education and professional expertise, socially jeopardized categories, as well as the development of cultural production and art. Telenor`s Foundation accomplishes set objectives through various forms of initiatives: Cooperation with non governmental sector, public and private institutions in different types of projects. Programs of exchange of experts in the field of science and art, as well as providing opportunities for professional internships and scholarships. Exchange of information. Establishing the practice of round tables, seminars, conferences and other events which are in any way linked to the activities of Telenor. Organizing of tenders through which different types of trainings and research are offered. Particular emphasis is put on the young generation and talented people and socially jeopardized categories. 2.3.1. Activities of Telenor directed towards young population Foundation launches special programs, seminars lectures, classes and offers scholarships to those who are perceived as young experts in the fields which are relevant for Telenor`s activities. In 2007, Telenor introduced the award â€Å"Professor Ilija StojanoviĆ¡Ã¢â‚¬  in memory of professor Ilija Stojanovic, who was closely connected to the company and participated in its activities from the very beginning of its operations in Serbia. Every year the award of 1500 euros is given to young students, scientists and researchers for their achievements in the field of telecommunications, in three categories: Best paper / project in the field of telecommunications chosen from the Conference for electronics, telecommunications, informatics, automatics and nuclear technique, held on a yearly basis. Best paper / project chosen from the Telflor (yearly conference), held on a yearly basis. Best student of the Graduate School of Electro-technique (course telecommunications). The Foundation was among the first initiators for the cleaning of neglected areas of Belgrade. Participants of the campaign â€Å"Recycling of landscapes: Be creative and revive the city† were pupils of Belgrade high schools and various artists and the entire project was conducted on ten city locations: open cinemas in Vracar[9] and Zvezdara[10] municipality, summer stage and Pioneer city in Kosutnjak, yard filed of abandoned factory, Zvezdani gaj and other locations. The campaign was lasted throughout 2009 and in this period the locations have been cleaned, painted and decorated with art works. There had been approximately 1000 participants in the campaign and they had the opportunity to get acquainted with the creative art process. Development of the environment awareness was one of the key priorities of the project, which was realized in cooperation with the Belgrade City Assembly and Secretariat for sport and youth. The project became the part of the leading environmental project in Serbia â€Å"Let`s wake Serbia up†, under the patronage of the Ministry for the Environment Protection. , In cooperation with the National Television of Serbia, Telenor joined the campaign â€Å"Skola je Skul (School is Cool)†, which promotes school spirit, representing the most active schools that use creative methods Telenor Group Case Study Telenor Group Case Study CASE STUDY TELENOR 1. General information about the Telenor Group The Telenor Group is the leading telecommunications company in Norway and one of the leading mobile operators in the world in terms of subscription. The company is also the biggest provider of television services in the Nordic region, while at the same time being present as the mobile operator in some of the fastest growing markets. Headquarters of the Telenor Group are located in Oslo, Norway. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. With the end of the third quarter of 2009, the Telenor Group has achieved 172 million of mobile subscriptions worldwide and it currently employs approximately 40.000 people in thirty countries. As it is widely familiar, Norway, as well as other Scandinavian countries, is known as extremely developed technology market in the beginning of the 21st century, achieving some of the highest penetration rates for new technologies, such as mobile phones and high speed internet. This actually represents a kind of tradition of the country, having in mind the fact that in 1855 the first telegraph line has been built, followed by the first telephone network connecting the cities of Arendal and Tvederstrand in 1878. Furthermore, Norway was one of the first world countries to introduce mobile telephone system in 1967, which was analogue based and manually operated. In order to understand business operations of Telenor, it seems necessary to make a short historical overview of the companys origins. Beginnings of the Telenor Group date back in 1855 when it was established as a state operated monopoly, bearing the name Norwegian Telegraph Administration NTA (also known as Telegrafverket) and offering the provision of telegraph services. In the last decade of the 19th century, development of the Norways early telephone network was handled by private companies. Norwegian Telegraph Administration, which was in the ownership of the state, gradually took over the privately owned companies in the market and gained control over the sector. Since then, Telenor gained more than 150 years of telecom experience. In 1969, the NTA changed its name to Televerket, also known as Norwegian Telecommunications. With the purchase of Andebu, the last privately owned company in the sector of telecommunications in 1974, Televerket obtained control of the monopoly of t he services of telephone and telecommunications and retained that position till the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 1990s, the company pioneered a new generation of mobile telephone services based on the GSM protocol, which was later accepted and implemented thought Europe. GSM service was launched in 1993 and was followed by the expansion of the company in the field of television broadcasting. This strategic decision provided the company with the opportunity to position itself as the dominant provider of satellite based broadcasting in the Scandinavian region. Since the Norwegian authorities had a tendency to deregulate the telecom sector in the country, the process of deregulation commenced in 1994 and lasted till 1998, with a partial deregulation sector by sector. Even before the government deregulation began, Televerket started with the company restructuring which lasted for four years and included the transformation of the company from a state owned to a public company, as well as the change of the company name to Telenor in 1995. Additionally, the company was a subject of partial privatization in 2000, which gave it a substantial boost of 15.6 billion NOK[1] of new capital and listed it on the Oslo Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. At the beginning of the privatization process, the Government remained the owner of 77.7% of the company, while this percentage was reduced to 53% by 2006. The company was rankedtop performer bythe Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes in 2007 and 2008. The main services which Telenor provides to its consumers and companies worldwide include the following segments: voice, data, content and other services. * In the segment of Voice, Telenor provides people to talk to each other by using fast and reliable networks. This segment focuses on the conversation on the phone, including fixed line, mobile or IP telephony. Fixed voice communication services are provided for users in three countries of the Nordic region and mobile voice in twelve different countries in Europe and Asia. * The segment of Data encompasses of the Internet and broadband services. The company offers fixed line data services like ADSL and fiber-optic communications in the countries of the Nordic region, and mobile data services such as mobile broadband, GPRS, UMTS in 12 countries. From the beginning of 2008, the company has started 3G based mobile broadband services inseven of its markets. * In the field of Content, TV services and mobile content, Telenor offers TV services via cable, digital terrestrial and satellite networks in four Nordic markets. Furthermore, the company also provides mobile content services in several markets, such as mobile TV, sports, ring tones, music and movies. * As far as otherservices are concerned, Telenor has a diversified offer that consists of services, which are telecom related, and the service portfolio is different from one country to another. Depending on the market, the company provides services in the filed of maritime communications, IT consulting, and aircraft communications services. In several markets the company provides Net-centric services, which refer to the IT security for individual consumers and enterprises and machine to machine (M2M) services for enterprises. The major part of the Telenor`s activities is organized in three regions and includes thirteen countries: Asia: Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand and India. Nordic countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Centraland Eastern Europe: Hungary, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. From the beginning of the 1990s, Telenor begun with its international expansion in the field of mobile communications, penetrating the markets of the following countries: Russia in 1994, Bangladesh, Greece, Ireland, Germany and Austria in 1997, Ukraine in 1998, Malaysia in 1999, Denmark and Thailand in 2000, Hungary in 2002, Montenegro and Pakistan in 2004, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Serbia in 2006. Operations in Greece, Ireland and Germany were sold and the money obtained from this sale has been re invested in the emerging markets. Additionally, in 2005 Vodafone[2] in Sweden was acquired by Telenor. 1.1. Mission and Strategy Telenors primary objective is to create greater value for its shareholders, customers, employees and partners, and for the society in general. The company is dedicated to being at the forefront in creating, simplifying and introducing communication and content solutions to the marketplace. In order to comply with the given goal, Telenor bases its strategy on its customer oriented vision, Here to Help, as well as its core values, Make it easy, Keep promises, Be inspiring and Be respectful. Telenors main strategy is to upgrade the performance of the local mobile operations by combining Groups industrialization with local drive and responsiveness, in the regions where it conducts its business operations: Nordic region, Eastern and Central Europe and Asia. Furthermore, the company plans to maintain its leading position in the Nordic region with a diversified portfolio of communication services. This strategy could be defragmented to the following focus areas: Strengthening of the position of the company as an international mobile operator. Telenor plans to continue the process of strengthening its industrialization of the mobile operations by gaining control over chosen mobile companies. Control is crucial in order to benefit from synergies obtained by cross border activities, such as scale in procurement, development of new services and implementation of best practices, improvement of operational efficiency and the increase of the overall profitability. Telenor plans to manage the non-strategic investments as financial investments and to exit from international mobile operations where the company cannot obtain control over time. Strengthening of the companys position in the Nordic region. Telenor will continue to upgrade its services in the field of mobile and fixed telephony in the Nordic region by using the benefits obtained from economies of scale and cross-border synergies. The company strongly feels that its Nordic presence will improve support to the customers by improving upon its expertise both mobile and fixed services. To find itself at the forefront of communications services providers in Norway. Since the company is the leader in a broad range of services in both the residential and business markets in Norway, Telenor will try to obtain better results in the sense of its profit in the mobile and fixed fields of activity, through the introduction of new services and through various cost-cutting measures. Maintaining of the position of the leader in field of distribution of TV services to consumers in the Nordic region. Telenor additionally insists on finding new possibilities and solutions which will contribute to the strengthening of its strategic position as the leading distributor of subscription based television in the Nordic region. The company will dedicate its activities to contact and attract new users and increase revenue per user through its attractive content and new interactive services. Non strategic companies. Telenor will enhance the value of those companies, which are not strategic for its main business areas and dispose of all or part of its interest in such companies. 1.2. Regional presence Even though Telenor is present in the three dominant regions of the world, the Nordic region is the one where Telenor group has been present since 1855, and the company has held a strong position in the Scandinavian region ever since. The Nordic region is the one from which the majority of Telenor`s income comes from. As it is shown in diagrams 1 and 2, in the first quarter of 2009, 41% of total company revenues came from this region, as well as 37% of EBITDA[3] distribution. The three markets out of which the Nordic region is composed of, in fact represent specific markets with unique differences. For example, although Sweden still has a high use of fixed line telephony, it finds itself at the forefront of the mobile broadband services. Denmark is the market whose customers are the keenest users of SMS and are most interested in content services. Finally, Norwegian customers show growing interest in digital music services and Telenor Group has a high share on this market. The Nordic region is also significant since Telenor combines present and future technologies in the telecom field. As a supplement to existing offers, Telenor provides new broadband technologies, such as Fibre to the Home (FTH) and Long Term Evolution (LTE), the 4th generation mobile broadband standard. The strong distinction between fixed and mobile telephony is slowly vanishing in these markets. According to the data obtained from†¦..there is an evident transition from fixed to mobile networks. The data implicate that the mobile share of voice traffic has increased from 20% in 2003 to 60% in 2008. This is one of the reasons why Telenor acquired Vodafone in Sweden in 2006. Furthermore, the company now has 4G licenses in Norway and Sweden. In order to build networks and share spectrum of mobile communication, Telenor has joined Tele2[4] in a joint venture. The plan is to launch the LTE based broadband services by the end of 2010. This action will position Telenor as the leader of the 4G development worldwide. The same project is planned for Norway, with the difference that it will start in 2011. The Telenor Group has penetrated the Asian region in 1996, through the investment in Grameenphone[5] in Bangladesh. From the very beginning of its operations in Asia, the market has been the cornerstone of the development of the Telenor Group, enabling opportunities for growth in one of the most populated and fastest growing markets in the world. Additionally, mobile operations in Asia have a significant contribution to the total revenues and EBITDA of the Group. Data obtained in the first quarter of 2009 show that the region generated 30% of the revenues, 28% of the Groups EBITDA, and a total of 67 million mobile subscribers of the region. The company has received many awards for innovation and services in the past ten years and has been the driving force in the network development of Asia. Additionally, it has significantly increased the capacity of the regional network and provided coverage, connecting millions of people in new areas, who were previously unconnected. Over the past few years the Asian mobile market has been growing significantly. The growth is additionally stimulated by continuous innovations and new services provided by the company. The Group is active in the markets of Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh, and the company holds 3G license in Malaysia. Another important step of Telenor was the acquisition of Unitech Wireless[6] in India, through which the company penetrated one of the worlds largest and fastest growing markets. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the mobile markets of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia became a part of Telenor`s business operations. The main characteristic of these markets is the growth opportunity, making it significant part of the Telenor`s strategy in the years to come. Even though the markets of Central and Eastern Europe are challenging economic environment due to the process of transition, which these countries have undergone or are still undergoing, mobile operations of the Group deliver solid financial performances. The first quarter of 2009 shows that Telenor generated 17% of Groups total revenues and 32% of EBITDA. The region also generated 93 million of mobile subscribers. Also, the region of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia has achieved rapid growth in mobile subscription both in consumer, as well as business markets. The company is currently involved in investments in the 3G network in Hungary, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro. The priority is given to the n ew technological and eco friendly solutions, like the wind and solar powered base stations in Hungary, and testing of the new generation wireless broadband in Montenegro. 2. Telenor in Serbia Telenor`s presence in the Balkan region started at the beginning of 1990s when the company launched its operations in Hungary in 2002 by operating Pannon[7], followed by activities in Montenegro through Promonte[8] and finally, Serbia in 2006. Telenor penetrated the Serbian market through the purchase of the Serbian company Mobi 63, Serbias second largest mobile operator and this actually represents the largest privatization transaction in the central and eastern Europe in 2006, as reported by the audit company PriceWaterHouseCoopers. Telenor Group outbid two other short listed competitors at the auction (Mobilkom from Austria and Orascom Telecom from Egypt), offering a bid of 1.513 billion euros. Telenor took over the company on 31st of July 2006, upon the completion of all legal requirements and the signing of the Sales Agreement. The entire auction was broadcasted live on the Serbian national television and was attended by the highest state representatives. Mobi 63, formerly known as Mobtel, was formed by the Government of Serbia in the month of April of 2006, upon the revocation of the operators mobile license, which occurred due to the illegal dealings of the companys previous owners, who were suspected to have sold t he operators license in Kosovo to Mobikos, without requesting permission from the official authorities of Serbia. The Government then proclaimed that the sale was a threat to the national security. The acquisition of Mobi 63 made by Telenor includes a ten year license for GSM 900/1800 and 3G operation for the company, which is renewable for a successive period of ten years upon application. Additionally, the company also obtained Mobi 63`s existing assets, which included the base of approximately 2.5 million customers (in the end of 2005). In just three months upon its arrival to the Serbian market, Telenor invested approximately 15.3 million euros in the equipment of the highest technology, necessary to meet the requirements of the planned network expansion on the territory of Serbia. For this purpose, Telenor signed cooperation agreement with Erickson. Additionally, another contract with the Erickson Company worth 40 million euros for the purpose of network improvement was signed by the end of 2006. The main objective of these investments was to upgrade the quality and the capacity of the existing network, which consequently brings additional quality and services to its users. The actual benefit for the users of the Telenor network is its expanded coverage and good quality. Starting form March 1st 2007, the company enabled the use of commercial services in Serbia, provided by the 3G mobile broadband technology, which consequently provides its users with the possibility to get easier and faster access to the contents on the internet, such as movies, music videos or TV program. 2.1. Relationship towards the employees When Telenor acquired Mobi 63 in August 2006, the company had 926 employees. The newly appointed top management reached a strategic decision to take over the entire infrastructure of the company, as well as its personnel, meaning that there will not be any reduction in the number of employees. In fact, quite the opposite thing occurred in the next three years: the number of employees gradually started growing. In the end of 2007 there had been approximately 1000 employees. By the end of 2008, this number grew to 1100, and finally on December 31st 2009, Telenor had a total of 1207 employees. Having in mind that the field of telecommunications is exposed to everyday changes, Telenor`s employees are expected to adapt to them, set their own objectives in their segment of work, as well as to take on new responsibilities and discover their new talents. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the company organized a number of trainings, seminars and workshops for its personnel. Through these actions, Telenor tends to provide continuous professional growth and expertise opportunities. Some of the most important ones are: Trainings for future leaders Welcome trainings Codes of conduct Human resource management Communication skills trainings Telenor`s Code of Conduct is one of the key principles upon which the activities of the company are based. This document includes a set of employee policies that cover ethical and legal practices for nearly every aspect of the business. It focuses on the personal responsibility and each employee has to conduct business legally and ethically. Also, it defines ethical rules of behavior for the companys business partners, as well as users. Corporate ethics is very important in the company. The principles of corporate ethics are applicable to all members of the company, including the members of the managing board and top management and all other employees, who represent Telenor on any occasions. Furthermore, the company launched the so called HIT Project, which was encouraged by the television reportage made on one of Telenor`s subcontractors in Bangladesh, who was an obvious example of a company which contributes to bad work conditions, pollution of the environment and child labor. The project focuses on four elements: health, safety, security and environment, and its main objective is for Telenor to emphasize to its business partners the importance of respecting labor and human rights laws. Therefore, Telenor follows the activities of its suppliers in the field and remains in constant touch with them. Furthermore, human resource management conducts the employee satisfaction survey on a yearly basis in order to get a feed back from the employees about the level of their satisfaction, as well as the issues that could be improved and changed within the company. In 2009, the survey was conducted for the third consecutive year and a total percentage of employees which participated was 96.3%. The survey is conducted among all employees in the end of every working year, and concentrates on several important areas of employee satisfaction: satisfaction with job position and work conditions, communication and interpersonal relations within the company, leadership, bonus systems and career opportunities. Results obtained from the survey serve as the foundation for strategy planning for the upcoming years. This point is of particular importance in order to include the opinion of the staff in the process of future strategy defining and decision making, so that everyone can feel that they are a part of it. 2.2. Relationship with clients Top management of the company tends to combine its international experience and the local potential of the country where it operates. In the first year of its activities in the Serbian market, Telenor introduced a large number of significant innovations and new services important for the subscribers. Some of the most innovative products and services offered to the Serbian users are: New prepaid telephone numbers and new channel of sale Telenor Express. Mobile e mail service. The first internet parks in Serbia. Cheaper roaming prices for Telenor users in Hungary and Montenegro Telenor express is the channel of direct sales to customers, which has long and successful tradition in other markets where the company conducts its activities. The new prepaid numbers were introduced in all newspaper stands in Serbia, but could also be purchased through the Telenor Express channel of sale. Approximately twenty five express sales teams are traveling throughout Serbia with specially designed sales stands. In this way the company tries to have direct contact with the customers, to be closer and more available to them, as well as to offer new and innovative sales possibilities and good quality services. Additionally, new prepaid numbers are offered at a much lower rate than previously applied, and each package has higher value than the nominal value of the package. Persons, who decide to purchase a more expensive package, get substantially more free conversation minutes, as well as free text messages, than the ones who purchase a cheaper package. Mobile e-mail is a service dedicated firstly to those who are business users, with the main purpose to facilitate their activities when they find themselves outside the office and need immediate access to their computers. Furthermore, this service enables its users to access and handle their e-mails, calendar and phonebook. The service is compatible to the programs used on their original computers, and can be used by downloading a special software from the Telenor website. From December 1st 2006, Telenor users have the possibility to pay lower prices for roaming services in Hungary and Montenegro, thanks to Telenor network. At the same time, these prices are the lowest prices in comparison to other mobile operators in Serbia. On average, with this service, Telenor users in the Montenegro` s network Promonte are charged 15% less for their voice calls. Additionally, incoming calls from any destination are free of charge for postpaid users in this network. As far as the Hungarian Pannon mobile operator is concerned, prices of outgoing calls are approximately 60% lower, calls made to local mobile and fixed telephone numbers are 25% cheaper, including incoming calls. Calls made to other destinations are 40% cheaper. Additionally, Telenor subscribers have the opportunity to exchange MMS messages with people in ten different countries. The first countries and operators which established this kind of service with Telenor in Serbia are: 02 in Germany, Pannon in Hungary, Telenor in Pakistan, Telefonica 02 in Checz Republic, Sonofon in Denmark, Sunrise in Switzerland, ONE in Austria, Globul in Bulgaria, Telenor in Norway and DIGI in Malaysia. In June 2008, Telenor opened the first internet park in Belgrade, which at the same time represents the first park of this kind in Serbia. People can have free access to the internet and connecting of their portable computers to the internet network is possible either through the wireless connection, or via USB modems, which are located in different places in the park. In the first three months, citizens of Belgrade, as well as other visitors, had the opportunity to test all possibilities of the Internet network free of charge, while enjoying the open air at the same time. Instructions for the connection to the network are displayed on visible places in the park and offer simple explanations through several easy steps. In just several months upon the opening of the first internet park in Belgrade, similar concept was implemented in other Serbian cities: Nis, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Kraljevo. In this way, citizens of these cities have the possibility to check their e-mails or search the internet sites for various contents. 2.3. Corporate responsibility, young and socially jeopardized categories. Mobile communications contribute to the social integration, having in mind the fact that people can be in touch no matter where they find themselves. However, for a significant number of people worldwide, communication services still represent a luxury and are not available to them. Access to this type of services, in a way, represents the means to fight poverty, ignorance and bad health conditions, as well as to enable people to improve their living situation. One of the main objectives of Telenor is to strive towards creation of value in modern society by offering the possibility of communication services to as many people as possible. In 2007, the auditing company Deloit did a thorough analysis of Telenor`s markets in Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Ukraine and Serbia which pointed to a very close connection between mobile telephony penetration and the increase of the GDP exists. The analysis pointed out to the fact that the increase of 10% in mobile communications could lead to the GDP rise of approximately 1.2%. Furthermore, the study showed that business operations of Telenor have positive contribution to the upgrading of the productivity level, economic welfare, improvements in health and education systems, improvement of conditions in rural areas and social groups with low incomes. Besides the focus on its business operations, Telenor also directs its activities towards the responsibility towards the local community in which it operates. An evidence to support this claim is the fact that Telenor Group is listed in the first position among twenty four leading mobile operators in the world on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index list, which ranks companies according to the criteria of their overall financial, social and ecological impact on the environment. Upon its arrival to the Serbian market, the top management of the company immediately started to develop different strategies concerning the beginning of the work in the field of corporate responsibility. For that purpose, Telenor established its own Foundation in March 2007, and in this way the company continued to invest in the development of Serbias social potentials. â€Å"The main objective of the Foundation is to initiate and support different types of projects and to develop useful and sustainable solutions which are easy to implement on the territory of the entire country. This is the core concept upon which the corporate responsibility of the company is based and which is being implemented world wide. Members of the Foundations Managing Board were chosen upon the criteria of their expertise in different fields and this enabled for the activities of the Foundation to be guided not only by the companys business plans, but also to adequately respond to the necessities of the Serbian society, its growth and development. Additionally, members of the top and middle management are directly involved in the projects of the Foundation and follow their course. Employees are also invited to participate and to set an example by their involvement, volunteer work and individual efforts.† Majority of the activities and projects which the Foundation conducts are directed towards the young population, their education and professional expertise, socially jeopardized categories, as well as the development of cultural production and art. Telenor`s Foundation accomplishes set objectives through various forms of initiatives: Cooperation with non governmental sector, public and private institutions in different types of projects. Programs of exchange of experts in the field of science and art, as well as providing opportunities for professional internships and scholarships. Exchange of information. Establishing the practice of round tables, seminars, conferences and other events which are in any way linked to the activities of Telenor. Organizing of tenders through which different types of trainings and research are offered. Particular emphasis is put on the young generation and talented people and socially jeopardized categories. 2.3.1. Activities of Telenor directed towards young population Foundation launches special programs, seminars lectures, classes and offers scholarships to those who are perceived as young experts in the fields which are relevant for Telenor`s activities. In 2007, Telenor introduced the award â€Å"Professor Ilija StojanoviĆ¡Ã¢â‚¬  in memory of professor Ilija Stojanovic, who was closely connected to the company and participated in its activities from the very beginning of its operations in Serbia. Every year the award of 1500 euros is given to young students, scientists and researchers for their achievements in the field of telecommunications, in three categories: Best paper / project in the field of telecommunications chosen from the Conference for electronics, telecommunications, informatics, automatics and nuclear technique, held on a yearly basis. Best paper / project chosen from the Telflor (yearly conference), held on a yearly basis. Best student of the Graduate School of Electro-technique (course telecommunications). The Foundation was among the first initiators for the cleaning of neglected areas of Belgrade. Participants of the campaign â€Å"Recycling of landscapes: Be creative and revive the city† were pupils of Belgrade high schools and various artists and the entire project was conducted on ten city locations: open cinemas in Vracar[9] and Zvezdara[10] municipality, summer stage and Pioneer city in Kosutnjak, yard filed of abandoned factory, Zvezdani gaj and other locations. The campaign was lasted throughout 2009 and in this period the locations have been cleaned, painted and decorated with art works. There had been approximately 1000 participants in the campaign and they had the opportunity to get acquainted with the creative art process. Development of the environment awareness was one of the key priorities of the project, which was realized in cooperation with the Belgrade City Assembly and Secretariat for sport and youth. The project became the part of the leading environmental project in Serbia â€Å"Let`s wake Serbia up†, under the patronage of the Ministry for the Environment Protection. , In cooperation with the National Television of Serbia, Telenor joined the campaign â€Å"Skola je Skul (School is Cool)†, which promotes school spirit, representing the most active schools that use creative methods

Essay example --

With new technologies such as interactive smart-displays, touch screen kiosks, augmented reality, real-time data tracking, and more, Intel Corporation wants to bring your retail stores, headquarters, and store management processes, into the future. The world has seen rampant technology growth over the past decade. Since 2000, the percentage of the US population using the internet has grown 150%, with roughly 45% of North Americas’ population being regular online shoppers and virtually every person in North America has a cell phone plan and some form of mobile device. These are statistics that would have never been seen as little as 5 years ago. The world has become an interconnected powerhouse of technology, driven by the need and desire for new and innovative solutions to classic problems, and through this change, retail brick-and-mortar stores have been left in the technological dust. By implementing our â€Å"Connected Store† solutions to your retail franchise, we can guarantee an increased consumer base, higher foot traffic in local stores, increased workforce productivity, higher customer morale, more accessible management tools, more efficient, accurate data tracking, and, of course, a vast increase in sales percentages. All introduced through easy to use, intuitive software and hardware that is not only completely customizable and personalized, but upgradeable to ensure continued use for the foreseeable future. First and foremost, by utilizing our new video analytics technology we can gather vast amounts of anonymous customer metrics, such as age, gender, height and even average attention span, all in real-time through individual storefronts. By coupling this technology with dynamic digital signage and interactive kiosks and sa... ...eyond traditional environmental standards. This also enables retailers to power down devices when stores are closed, and turn them back on prior to opening. And of course, all of this can be monitored, controlled, and customized from a remote location of your choosing. By implementing Intel’s’ Connected Store solutions, you will be on the cutting edge of technology, seamlessly blending truly personalized, shopping experiences, with a mass customer appeal able to rival internet shopping. Combining unique, dynamic digital signage, interactive kiosks, mobile connectivity, and anonymous analytical data gathering with easy-to-use, intuitive software and hardware on both consumer and management ends of the retail shopping experience, Intel hopes to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping, bringing you closer to your customers, and your customers closer to you.

Finance Proposal Essay

.1.INTRODUCTION: This research is an overview that how organization can improve their output by information system planning and implementation? Ethical and professional practices as well as effective risk management, improving the outcomes and monitoring the performance.ERP system gives flexibility, quick response.ERP was introduced in early 1990’s to cope with the requirements of the market. This system is difficult to get in practice as it has many modules and can be modified according to the need of an organization. 1.1Company’s introduction SSGC (Sui Southern Gas company limited) is the Pakistan’s most leading company. Its purpose to provide natural gas to all the regions of the country. Beside transmission construction off all high and low pressure distribution systems. The vision of the company is to provide excellent services by maintaining high level of ethical and professional standards. The mission of the company is to meet the needs of the customers in friendly environment and securing the the responsibility of all stakeholders. 1.2ERP Overview: Question arises what is actually ERP? How it works? ERP are software packages comprise different modules e.g. Human resource, sales, marketing etc. These software’s can be modified according to the needs of the department of an organization.ERP system is not a project which will end one day, they are the way of life. However ERP does not guarantee the solutions of the problems but those who will understand and implement it will be most likely to succeed. 1.3Importance of ERP: ERP is the most important and effective tool used in today’s time across the globe. It is not that easy for business people to start competing on global scale because there will be complications and hardship for them to line-up their operations and processes and makes them works smoothly.ERP is not the solution to all problems . Researches From the beginning ERP was the most expensive tool only handful companies afford it at that time. Even it was difficult for workers to accept and work with new tool, due to lack of knowledge about the ERP tool workers failed to make it useful and how to implement it companies’ purchases falling in loss. Setting up the ERP system in organization is complex and time consuming minimum time for fully implementation for big organization is six months and maximum eighteen months for some reasons. It is important for workers to understand and have plenty of knowledge about the tool so it gone a be easy for organizations to meet its needs, Every organization have different needs and make it ERP tools more effective to meet the needs of an organization. 1.4Dominant factors in ERP: Different studies has been conducted on critical factors that should be carefully analyzes to make possible and successful implementation of an ERP project. Implementation of ERP project on all levels carried out by these factors. Researches highlighted these factors play important role in ERP implementation. These factors monitor all stages of ERP implementation top management, experienced project management, world class training are all main factors of ERP project. 1.5Dimensions and phases of ERP: ERP life cycle phases contains many stages that ERP system goes through longer span of life hosting within an organization. Following are the phases of life cycle of ERP. 1. Adoption decision phase 2. Acquisition phase 3. Implementation phase 4. Maintenance phase 5. Evolution phase Retirement phase. In ERP dimensions first preference is to analyzing phases of life cycle which are 1)product 2)process 3)People 4)change management. 1.6Advantages and disadvantages of ERP: ERP system has more advantages than disadvantages. Its been used to solving number of problems that are faced by large organizations. Using this technology a company can get a path to sucees but it does not guarantee it, This technology costs very high so every organization can not implement it .It is complex system only trained employees can modify it according to the need of an organization Otherwise it is useless and wastage of time and money. 1.7 Research problem: * To find out the factors of implementation of ERP. * To analyze the structure and planning of ERP in Sui Southern Gas Company Limited. 1.8Objective: * To overview the implementation of ERP in Sui Southern Gas Company. * To explain the importance of ERP as best practice in an organization. 1.9Limitations: There are many limitations in our current study due to which our research work got effected. Due to limitation of time(4 months) we do not at this point differentiate between alternative explanations for our findings. Also due to the limited financial resources. 2.Literature Review 2.1Social capital: Social capital :is the way to secure benefits via social networks. These benefits include gaining knowledge about network norms. It also represents the benefits of the benefits of members of human networks and communities. Repetition of interaction between people while they perform routine actions and work and procedure will form and transfer information .Social capital bridges the gap between the people within organization. Social capital; enhances communication, collaboration, knowledge access between the employees of organization. Social capital exploits knowledge and information skills. It is positively much related to post implementation learning. 2.2Post implementation: It is the process in which knowledge is created through experience. Post implementation gives an idea to look after its implementation. Post implementation focus on effectiveness of training before making any project operational.ERP is the complex system and limits the amount of knowledge. There is a gap between the usage and potential of technology. Post implementation learning realizes the firm specific of knowledge within the organization which is the key to know the potential of technology. Social capital is positively related to Post implementation learning Post training Self efficacy: 2.3Post training Self efficacy: Self efficacy defines ones maximum capabilities to perform its task to accept the situations face by an organizations which brings changes in behavior and decisions taken by employee. According to Campeau and Higgins (1995)introduce to IT field that’s computer self efficacy is only the believe that how an individual can use computer effectively. Self-efficacy is just a construct during the acqui ions of new technology. Self-efficacy can be improved by trading internalizing the conceptual models into their mental model to fill the gaps in understandings, it can provide knowledge and experience. It also provides the firm believer of an individual to perform specific task according to his or her ability after training, self- efficacy positively related to motivation learning and skills. 2.4ERP usage: ERP performs different task and it refers to the usage of the ERP system on individual basis in an organization such as problem solving and customer services.ERP usage gives competitive advantage competency and increase in productivity. The ERP system integrative the characteristics that learn new knowledge and skills training gives the brief idea of proper implementation of ERP systems and it doesn’t ensure that sustain the stability. Post implementation and obtaining knowledge based on practical work communication and feedback and knowledge transfer to improve ERP usage and major progress can be seen in the financial suggestion of an organizations it also give vast area for knowledge transfer from social networks ERP system has different modules and factors usage of ERP highly dependent on the training of employs and modification of ERP software’s according to the need of an organizations. 2.5ERP Impact: ERP gives a brief summary on the research of success of information system concluding six major categories system quality, quality of information, use, user satisfaction, individual and organization impact. ERP impact depend on the individual uses of knowledge and information of the technology. According to delone and mclean (1992) suggested that â€Å"Individual impact is closely related to performance with the impact indicating whether IS has given the users a better understanding has improved their productivity has produced to change their activities and change the perception of importance and usefulness of IS.† Continuous learning of the system leads to the reminding and modifying but absence will cause the gap and will effect the performance of individual work 3.Conceptual Framework: 3.1.Independent variable: * Social capital * Post training self efficacy Social Capital ERP impact ERP usage Post implementation learning Post training Self efficacy Fig. 2.Conceptual Framework 3.2. Dependent variable: * Post implementation learning * ERP usage * ERP Impact 4. Research methodology: Research methodology is financial in this research. It focuses on the implementation and planning of ERP system in SUI southern gas company. financial assessment helps us to analyze the financial position of organization. trends and abnormalities can also be highlighted and determined through these analysis. 5. Sources of data collection: 5.1.Primary source of data collection: Data for this research has been collected from the visits of company and help was taken from personal contacts, meetings and discussions and with executives. 5.2. Secondary source of data collection:It was collected from annual reports, institute magazines, department manuals, and the data was gathering by the 6 published research paper. 5.2. Statistical tools: Descriptive statistic and other test are employed. 6. Findings: Analysis shows positive trend in the company. As the profitability increases every year. The abnormalities shown in the analysis are clearly defined in notes at the back of annual report.The company indicates good asset position of the company. The company also got sufficient reserves and Surplus to meet the future financial contingencies of the company. Company considers Corporate Social Responsibility as one of the pivotal functions to accelerate the process of overall sustainable development and make significant contribution to Nation building. 7. Conclusion: The research which we have done gives a relative briefing by the ERP system. We have analyzed that ERP usage can give Competitive atmosphere in productivity and personal competency, by the powerful and integrative characteristics of ERP usage, the knowledge and skills increases. ERP usage and impact increases after the implementation. Although ERP is the best practice but it does not guarantee success.

Religion as a Tool of Control Essay

â€Å"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people† (Marx 260). This statement implies that religion is a powerful concept that encourages people to accept their conditions instead of revolting against their plight. Indeed in the wrong hands, it can be perverted to justify countless atrocities and so be used as a tool of oppression. In her novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood portrays a dystopian society, a fictional republic called Gilead, whose rulers use the power of religion to validate their terrifying personal agenda. She satirizes the political system that uses faith to validate its mandate, and justify its more questionable laws. Clearly the use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel; Atwood takes a set of fundamentalist religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In Gilead, politics and religion go hand in hand. The Sons of Jacob use religion and psychological tactics to control the masses and bend them to their will. Consequently the republic makes extensive use of religious terminologies for example domestic servants are called â€Å"Marthas† referring to a domestic character in the bible, the soldiers are called â€Å"Angels† while the local police are the â€Å"Guardians of the Faith†. The ruling government officials are called the â€Å"Commanders of the Faithful†. Even the names of shopping stores have biblical references like All Flesh, Milk and Honey, Loaves and Fishes. The purpose of this extensive use of biblical language is to deceive the people of Gilead into believing that their rulers enact the will of God Himself. Moreover the government only adopts certain aspects of Christianity while it shuns those that it finds inconvenient. For example Aunt Lydia, a teacher to the handmaids, says â€Å"I’ve learned to do without a lot of things, you get too attached to this material world and forget spiritual values. You must cultivate poverty of spirit. Blessed are the meek. † (Atwood 110) at this point in the novel Offred notes that Aunt Lydia says nothing about inheriting the Earth. Thus the republic used religious justification to demand docile behavior from the handmaids. Therefore religion is used as a powerful political tool in Gilead. Women play a very limited role in Gilead’s society; biblical allusions are used to weaken their status. A Commander makes the following speech at the women’s prayvaganza. â€Å"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved by childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. â€Å"(273) Therefore, by drawing an interpretation from a single biblical story the role of women is limited to reproduction. Moreover, in order to prevent the women from getting libertarian, secular ideas mass censorship takes place in Gilead. The country is cut off from the outside world as it does not even allow international television to be broadcasted; Offred notes this while watching the television â€Å"Serena clicks the channel changer. Waves, colored zigzags, a garble of sound: it is the Montreal Satellite Station being blocked. â€Å"(101) Furthermore all books deemed heretical by the republic are burned and women are not allowed to read at all, the bible is kept under lock and key so that the Commanders can read out only those parts that are prescribed by the government. Offred’s commander reads out the following passage from the bible on the day of the monthly ceremony â€Å"Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear fruit upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. â€Å"(112) This biblical tale, narrated in the novel by the Commander, forms the basis of the concept of a handmaid which is why it is given special significance in Gilead and it is also another one of the archaic stories from the bible that are used to enforce highly questionable obligations on women. Thus the women of Gilead are subjugated by a warped version of Christianity. Religion is supposed to emancipate man. But The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a society in which it is used to shackle people, to brainwash them, to force them to conform to a lifestyle permitted by their government. Margaret Atwood compares the people living in Gilead’s repressive society to rats trapped in a maze, she points out â€Å"A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere as long as it stays in the maze†(363). In fact those that rebel to the established norms are dealt with harshly; they are punished at a seudo-religious ceremony called the Particicution, where they are lynched to death by a mob of women for false crimes they did not commit. Regarding this, the dissident handmaid, Ofglen remarks â€Å"He wasn’t a rapist at all, he was a political. He was one of ours. â€Å"(350) What this entails is that the society in the novel is highly autocratic and it does not allow the freedom of expression, in fact it uses fear to control its citizens and induce thei r piety, as Offred notes â€Å"We must look good from a distance: picturesque, like Dutch milkmaids on a wallpaper frieze. Soothing to the eye, the eyes, the Eyes, for that’s who this show is for. We’re off to the Prayvaganza to demonstrate how obedient and pious we are. † (266) This highlights the peoples’ inherent paranoia, the fear of being found unfaithful, that has been slowly cultivated into their hearts and minds. Truly the establishment defiles the true spirit of religion by going against its very essence: the spiritual liberation of mankind. The use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel; Atwood takes a set of religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In conclusion, Margaret Atwood portrays a horrifying alternate reality in which religious fundamentalists dominate and religion comes to dictate every aspect of human life. The topic of religion carries a lot of significance in the novel; in fact the novel serves as a warning against the extremist views held by many modern think tanks.