Saturday, November 9, 2019
Carl Jung: The Undiscovered Self Essay
?The book of C. G Jung ââ¬Å"The Undiscovered Selfâ⬠was written during the cold war concerning communism. He saw during this time the trend toward collectivism as the utmost threat to the individual self. He expresses grief over the adoption of mass mindedness, and encourages its psychic depreciation. Witnessing the physical and psychological destruction of war, Jung provides the reader his analytic interpretation of the incomparable loss of self in the intrusion of secular religion and social collectivism. Jung shows that although science tries to impose order on the world, the unique thing about real facts, conversely, is their individuality. However, the psyche remains irresolvable puzzle. An individual have to understand not the humanity as a whole but rather than the self. Whenever individual is pressured by a group an effect will occur just like part of the individual self will be deprived in order to fit-in to the benchmark of the group. The individual stops thinking of itself as a result the group becomes the personality of the individual. The dilemma of a human being in the world he lives is losing his self in the process of balancing the factors that can affect him as an individual. We have to get ourselves in order before we can get the rest of the world in order. Yes, man as a social being cannot continue life in the long run without the link to the community. But it doesnââ¬â¢t mean that the community will define us. We are necessitated to have always the sense of balance between the state, religions, and of course our individual psyche. Seeing in the model these three are demonstrated by the two forces, the conscious and unconscious. Later on this paper, it will be further discuss more. Going back, if we have a propensity to maintain the balance between the three, we can attain the self-knowledge that will characterize us, as a real individual. The model shows that there are factors that can affect oneââ¬â¢s self knowledge. In the book, Jung tries to point out that the self-knowledge of a human being is a very limited knowledge since it only depends on the social factors that can affect it. There are many blind spots in self-knowledge, and these blind spots can have negative consequences for the self and for others. For example, one who overestimates the positivity of his or her personality or status is often disliked by others, whereas having insight into how others perceive the self and acknowledging oneââ¬â¢s flaws seems to attenuate the negativity of othersââ¬â¢ impressions. Poor self-knowledge is also associated with negative intrapersonal consequences, such as weak academic achievement and emotional problems. Likewise, lack of insight into how one will feel or behave in the future tends to result in poor decision making, disappointment with unpredicted outcomes, and ultimately lower life satisfaction. What we primarily know about our self is the conscious state. We are not acquainted that there is an inner state that is within us that can help to shape more our own self-knowledge. What I am talking about here is the unconscious psychic. We could have known that this unconscious psychic can outweigh the conscious psychic. In short, one cannot exist without the other. These two psychic forces should team up to promote a more apparent understanding of the self-knowledge. In reality there are conscious and unconscious agendas in the brain and both are important. It does not help to play the unconscious off against the conscious. In the brain at any time most of the agendas are unconscious, much of it is, however, consciousness-prone. The conscious and the unconscious always work together, not only in dreams but also in wakefulness. Our conscience for instance can admonish us out of the unconscious core from our memory, but by doing so it becomes conscious, and it is then the task of the reasoned will to draw the consequences out of it. The unconscious is not the ââ¬Å"bad somethingâ⬠Freud had conceived, a something that plays tricks on us. It is rather the ground worker for consciousness, the staff that supports the leader. And the leader is: The conscious, reasoned free will. Why the unconscious is termed as the ââ¬Å"evilâ⬠inside us? As a normal individual whenever we donââ¬â¢t like something about ourselves, or whenever we refuse to admit something about ourselves, we push those energies deep within the recesses of our psyche, creating cut off versions of who we really are. And to make matters even more difficult, we give those energies, bad names like ââ¬Å"shadowsâ⬠ââ¬Å"demonsâ⬠and ââ¬Å"negative vibes. â⬠As stated on the book, ââ¬Å"Since it universally believed that man is merely what his consciousness knows of itself, he regards himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to iniquity. He does not deny that terrible things have happened and still go on happening, but it is always ââ¬Å"the othersâ⬠who do them. â⬠Man has the fear of recognizing the shadow that is in the very first place was there. This fear of the unconscious psyche to be divulged slows down the understanding of self-knowledge. Since mentioned before, the conscious and unconscious must maintain equilibrium to achieve self-knowledge to the real extent. Human must not fear the shadow that dwells inside us. Where in reality, this shadow can help us to mold the individualism we want to resolve. If a general had no idea regarding what constitutes a favorable battle outcome, there would be no utility in simulating battle formations. Evaluating potential actions is challenging because it depends on taking diverse considerations into account (e. g. , physical or social consequences). Most knowledge regarding what is favorable is already embodied in the very agentic systems that, before the advent of suppression, controlled behavior directly. Unconscious conflict resolution processes thus furnish valuable information to conscious processes of planning for the future. Given sufficiently strong motivations and commitment to the planned course of action, specific plans such as ââ¬Å"when X happens, I will do Yâ⬠themselves operate automatically when the future opportunity arises, as in the implementation intention research of Gollwitzer and colleagues (e. g. , Gollwitzer, 1999). In this way, unconscious processes not only adapt us to the present situation, but they also influence the tracks we lay to guide our future behavior. As mention earlier in this paper, the state and religion including the individual psyche should maintain a sense of stability in an individual. Man should not let neither the state nor religion, take away his individuality. One chapter of the book was entitled ââ¬Å"Religion as the Counterbalance to Mass-mindednessâ⬠. Religion is defined as an, ââ¬Å"organized belief system that includes shared and institutionalized moral values, beliefs about God, and involvement in religious community,â⬠Individuals may be spiritual not religious, religious not spiritual, religious and spiritual, or neither spiritual nor religious. Often times the spiritual not religious individual is seeking meaning, connection with others, and completeness. The religious not spiritual person typically participates in religious institutions, holds theistic beliefs, and institutionalized moral values. The spiritual and religious person holds characteristics of both while the neither spiritual nor religious person holds few if any of these characteristics. In the book, Jung distinguishes between religion and creed, labeling religion as the relationship of an individual to God and a creed as a confession of faith in a collective belief. Creeds have codified their views, customs and beliefs and externalized themselves to such an extent that the external point of reference has become of minor importance. Jung tries to point out that, religion like the state yearn for the individual to sacrifice himself. The state and the religion have the same objective towards an individual but they have different line of attack to grasp it. Neither the state nor the religion is unscrupulous. In fact, we do need them, but they must be at the same rank in oneââ¬â¢s self. One should not override the other, for it must be keep upright. Examine the spirits that speak in you. Become critical. ââ¬âCarl Jung References: Carlson, E. N. (2013). Overcoming the Barriers to Self-Knowledge : Mindfulness as a Path to Seeing Yourself as You Really Are. Perspectives on Psychological Sciences , 2. Deecke, L. (2012). There Are Conscious and Unconscious Agendas in the Brain. 4. Morsella, J. A. (2008). The Unconscious Mind. 7-8. Nickles, T. (2011). THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN COUNSELING. 3-4.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Free Essays on St. Joan Of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc was born in champagne on January 6th, 1412, and lived until May 30th, 1431. She lived a relatively short life, but made the most of it while she could. Saint Joan of Arc was canonized in 1920 and is the patron saint of France. She was Famous for her voices she claimed to hear, her fulfilled military mission, and the miracles she worked. When she was around the age of thirteen she heard voices that summoned her to the rescue of France. The first one came to her at around noon, during the summer time, in her fatherââ¬â¢s garden. After the third time she realized the voice came from God, and knew it was Michael the Archangel, the protector of France. Years passed and St. Margaret and St. Catherine appeared to her frequently, their heads richly crowned, and voices soft. Once or twice a week they urged her to seek the king, and tell him of her mission, the God Himself was sending her to give help to the kingdom. She told nobody of these for quite some time, scared that she was just a poor maid, who knew nothing of fighting. At the age of sixteen she decided that it was time for her to follow her heavenly counselors. St. Joan of Arc joined the French army during the war of the roses. France was in a state of despair dealing with famine, inflation, and a king with no money or allies. The English held Normandy, Picardy, Pairs, and Guyenne. She met with King Charles, and after much debate and 3 weeks of captivity in the castle she passed all of the tests, and was allowed to go to Orleans and help the army. She told the king that, ââ¬Å" She must not be prevented from going to Orleans with the men-at-arms. To do so would be resisting the Holy Spirit and making oneself unworthy of the help of God.â⬠She never really had an official place in the army, but after a few days had inspired the entire force, and became their leader. She became the savior of Orleans and her country because of her unshakable conviction that she was w... Free Essays on St. Joan Of Arc Free Essays on St. Joan Of Arc Saint Joan of Arc was born in champagne on January 6th, 1412, and lived until May 30th, 1431. She lived a relatively short life, but made the most of it while she could. Saint Joan of Arc was canonized in 1920 and is the patron saint of France. She was Famous for her voices she claimed to hear, her fulfilled military mission, and the miracles she worked. When she was around the age of thirteen she heard voices that summoned her to the rescue of France. The first one came to her at around noon, during the summer time, in her fatherââ¬â¢s garden. After the third time she realized the voice came from God, and knew it was Michael the Archangel, the protector of France. Years passed and St. Margaret and St. Catherine appeared to her frequently, their heads richly crowned, and voices soft. Once or twice a week they urged her to seek the king, and tell him of her mission, the God Himself was sending her to give help to the kingdom. She told nobody of these for quite some time, scared that she was just a poor maid, who knew nothing of fighting. At the age of sixteen she decided that it was time for her to follow her heavenly counselors. St. Joan of Arc joined the French army during the war of the roses. France was in a state of despair dealing with famine, inflation, and a king with no money or allies. The English held Normandy, Picardy, Pairs, and Guyenne. She met with King Charles, and after much debate and 3 weeks of captivity in the castle she passed all of the tests, and was allowed to go to Orleans and help the army. She told the king that, ââ¬Å" She must not be prevented from going to Orleans with the men-at-arms. To do so would be resisting the Holy Spirit and making oneself unworthy of the help of God.â⬠She never really had an official place in the army, but after a few days had inspired the entire force, and became their leader. She became the savior of Orleans and her country because of her unshakable conviction that she was w...
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
First-Grade Science Projects
First-Grade Science Projects First grade is a great time to introduce students to the scientific method, which involves looking at the world around you, coming up with an explanation for what you observe, testing yourà hypothesisà to see if it could be valid, and then either accepting or rejecting it. Even at such an early grade level, students can begin to learn concepts related to this method.à Harness Their Curiosity Young children are innately curious about the world around them. Introducing them to the scientific method helps kids begin to explore what they see, hear, taste, and feel in a systematic way. First-grade projects should be interesting to the student and mostly exploratory in nature. At this age, a teacher or parent needs to help plan the project and offer guidanceà on a report or poster. Some students may want to make models or perform demonstrations that illustrate scientific concepts. Project Ideas First-grade science offers a wonderful opportunity to explore how things work. Start your first-graders on the road to exploring science fair project ideas with some simple questions that might spark their interest, such as: What type of food attracts the most insects? (You can choose either flies or ants.) What do these foods have in common?In this experiment, students use vinegar to remove the calcium in chicken bones to make them rubbery. Questions for students: What happens to a chicken bone or an egg if you put in vinegar for a day? What would happen after a week? Why do you think it happens?à Do all students in the class have the same size hands and feet? Trace outlines of hands and feet and compare them. Do taller students have larger hands and feet or does height not seem to matter?You can also create a fun science project to determine whether mascaras are really waterproof. Simply put mascara on a sheet of paper and rinse it with water. Ask students to explain what happens. Do eight-hour lipsticks really keep their color that long? You may need to review theà concept of timeà with students if they have forgotten or are unfamiliar with hours, minutes, and seconds. Other Project Ideas Spark further interest by suggesting- or assigning- other science fair projects. Asking questions related to each project is the best way to elicit a response from young students. Project-related questions you can ask include: Do clothes take the same length of time to dry if you add a dryer sheet or fabric softener to the load?Do all types of bread grow the same types of mold?Do frozen candles burn at the same rate as candles that were stored at room temperature? All of these questions give you the opportunity to review- or teach- concepts that are important for first-graders. For example, explain to students thatà room temperature is a range ofà temperaturesà that denotes comfortable habitation for people. Talk About Temperature An easy way to demonstrate this idea is to turn up or down the temperature-control gage in the classroom. Ask students what happens when you turn the temperature control up or down. Some other fun projects include letting students figure out if raw eggs and hard-boiled eggs spin the same length of time/number of times, if light affects how fast foods spoil, and if you can tell from todays clouds what tomorrows weather will be. This is a great opportunity to take students outdoors, and as they peer at the sky, discuss the difference in outside temperature compared to inside.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Discuss the challenges that global warming presents to both Essay - 1
Discuss the challenges that global warming presents to both governments and business - Essay Example These businesses include those reliant on fossil fuels in production or others that produce products that are the source of carbon emissions themselves. However, since everything comes at a cost, businesses are reluctant to combat the challenges that are bringing climate change. Climate change in general has affected businesses in all the industries regardless of their size. The primary reason for this assertion is the fact that the world is largely dependent on fossil fuels, the burning of which results in CO2 emissions, for its energy needs. Chief science adviser to Tony Blair, Sir David King believed that climate change has even greater threats than those posed by terrorism (Carey, 2004). The immediate reaction, as to what should we do in this regard, would be to develop alternatives for fossil fuels. What those alternatives are is then the challenge for businesses and governments to address. John Carey in his cover story for Bloomberg Business Week believes that the idea is to cu t down on usage of fossil fuels and to develop energy efficient vehicles and factories (Carey, 2004). The main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions however remains the energy sector. Surprisingly, and for the greater good, businesses adopting methods to address these concerns are thriving. Climate Group, an effort by companies and governments, helps to share stories of corporate success. Michael Northrop from the Climate Group says, "It's impossible to find a company that has acted and has not found benefits" (Carey, 2004). Although evidence exists of the energy sector benefitting from changes, the challenge exists in changing the dimensions of the industry to accommodate environmentally friendly substitutes to fossil fuels. Many companies are however reluctant to invest the appropriate amount of both time and money to find the most viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Oil companies have been primarily responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and have allegedly failed to restrict their contribution in the name of profit (Monteleone, pp. 144-154, 2007). Thus, it then poses a question to governments as to what should policy be aimed at. The answer is not that simple as even that comes at cost. Limits on pollution in the form tradable permits are being sought as a solution by the EU and the US in an attempt to curb greenhouse emissions. CEO of Xcel Energy Inc. Mr Wayne H. Brunetti says that one solution would be to give the companies the chance to figure out a solution and to allow them to set goals for 50 years down the road. He also stresses on the need for flexibility and the need for cooperation between institutions (Carey, 2004). The concerns of governments and environmental activists however are not restricted to the energy sector. Intel Corporation, the worldââ¬â¢s largest chipmaker has been under scrutiny for its contribution to climate change. The challenge then again for businesses is to look for substitutes.à Intelââ¬â¢s Stephen Harper says that the search for alternatives is still on and they are planning to find solutions to the growing concerns about climate change (Carey, 2004). Surprising enough is the contribution of animal farms to the greenhouse process. The contributions made by the animal agricultural sector to greenhouse gas em
Thursday, October 31, 2019
I'm not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
I'm not sure - Essay Example In addition to honoring elders, the path to virtue is found through restraint. This means that the individual must not indulge for personal satisfaction in order to stay on the path that will bring him/her to higher levels of achievement. When the individual behaves in a manner that expresses his/her position on the path as he/she is following the Way, the development of the community is achieved through right and moral good which in turn contributes to social betterment. Finding the Way is the path to finding virtue. The term virtue refers to moral worthiness, specifically and is referring to the power within the individual to act along the path. As Kong and Slingerland suggest, during the Shang period virtue was about the personal power within someone. This referred to charisma and the way in which the individual attracted people to them so that they would follow (242). This does not always mean that someone is good, however. A good example is that of Fidel Castro. One of the comme nts made by Barbara Walters when she had interviewed him was that she was wildly attracted to him and sexually compelled by his personal power (Ratcliff 130). In some interpretations of the Shang period of virtue, this would make Fidel Castro virtuous. The mark of this power was envisioned as a part of the divine right that was given to a leader as a blessing. The intention was to make the ruler seem that they were not to be questioned. The ruling position was deserved. The Zhou shifted this to mean that the observance of ritual was recognized by Heaven through which a ruler was then given divine blessing. What Confucius did was then place this not only within the power of the ruler, but into the power of the individual. This can almost be seen as the action that Martin Luther took when he opened up the path to God through the individual with the intervention of the priests no longer necessary. The sense of Heaven could be felt through the Way, and the way was accessible by the indi vidual (Kong and Slingerland 242). Dao is a reference to the Way. The Way refers to a path, which Confucius defines as a literal way of doing things in order to meet certain expectations of what it means to be a good and wholesome person. The Way is distinctly defined by a means to morality, the path through which the individual must go in order to move towards living a moral life. Kong and Songerland write that ââ¬Å"this Way is manifested in the ritual practices, music and literature passed down from the Golden Age of the Western Zhouâ⬠(243). This means that culture is highly important in fulfilling the path of the Way. Culture is of high importance to the practice of morality. In passage 1.6, the ââ¬Å"Master said, ââ¬ËA young person should be filial when at home and respectful of his elders when in public. Conscientious and trustworthy, he should display a general care for the masses, but feel a particular affection for those who are Good. If he has any strength left over after manifesting theses virtues in practice, let him devote it to learning the cultural artsâ⬠(Kong and Slingerland 3). This task is both difficult and easy, the mandate depending on the nature of the individual and their position within the world. The individual who is inclined to have respect for their elders and is consistent in showing respect for the people in his or her environment and who has a desire to seek the learning about the cultural arts can accomplish this goal. The
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Ethics - Case Study Example The police officers of every nation are empowered to ensure the safety of their communities and to arrest people that they suspect of being criminals. This level of power, for some officers, gives them the facility to abuse the authority accorded them by enaging in corrupt activities. The issue of ensuring police accountability is probably one of the hardest to achieve for police leaders (Miller, 2010). This is because police officers are in the first place empowered to use coercive tactics when enforcing the law. The law enforcement profession, in contrast to other proffesions, has numerous opportunities for acts of corruption. Corrupt acts in the police profession include taking bribes, giving false witness against a suspect, or pilfering itmes from a scene of crime. There have also been many cases in the past of police officers misusing physically battering suspects to get quick albeit wrong confessions. Such acts are then hidden by coworkers. These are just some of the problems t hat are faced by police leaders. The challenges that many police organizations face at present could be categorized into three groups; as administrative, operational, and political issues (Kaariainen, Lintonen, Laitinen and Pollock, 2008). Operational challenges are basically focused on order maintenance and crime control police operations. These operations include controlling drug-trafficking, prosecuting organized crime, and gangs, violent crime, and controlling social disorder. It is in these areas where most corrupt practices such as the use of brutality and bribe taking are prevalent. Administrative challenges have to do with allocating resources, engineering the transfer of officers, defining service quality, and handling daily administrative issues. Police leaders have in the past dealt with challenges in the officially prescribed manner. This can affect the induction of new regulations that will positively affect the police force. The hierarchical structure which stipulates that all direction flows from the top down can actually stifle any efforts of ordinary officers to improve their departments. Political challenges have to do with being affected by the communityââ¬â¢s political environment. There have been many instances in the past when police actions were compromised by the influence of owerful political players who interfered criminal investigations. Such realities put a lot of pressure on police leaders because they know that they can be adversely affected by refusing to accede to the requests of powerful politicians operating within their jurisdictions. Reasons why these Challenges Need to be Addressed in Light of the Organizationââ¬â¢s Mission, Values and Culture Police corruption basically refers to any acts that contravene the very rules that police officers are expected to uphold. Police officers, like all other members of communities, have basic needs and wants. Some police officers simply enter the force in order to earn a good livi ng whle serving their communities. Morever, their idealistic views of what is right and what ois wrong might be negatively affected once they are exposed to the world of crime and discover that criminals actually make more money than they do. Once this point is reached, it takes an extremely dedicated officer to refuse the temptation of large bribes in order to allow criminal elements in the society to
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Toyotaââ¬â¢s problem revealed
Toyotaââ¬â¢s problem revealed 1. Abstract A system can be defined as a collection of interrelated parts that taken together form a whole system such that the collection has some purpose and a change in any parts leads to or result from change in some other part(s). Information system is organized system which comprises input unit, process unit and output unit with a feedback mechanism that receives raw data and converts into a sensible information. Management information system is a system that provides information for the management activities carried out within the organization. This system consists of hardware and software that accept data and store, process, and retrieve information. This information is selected and presented in a form suitable for managerial decision making and for the planning and monitoring of the organizations activities. Essential to the idea of a management information system is the ability to retrieve data and use it for the production of targeted information for different purposes. Much data will be stored as the result of transaction processing operations. It is important that this data is seen as a central resource for the entire management information system and not tied to the application that produced it. In order to achieve the objective of common availability, the data needs to be managed as a central resource. The software that creates this database and handles access to it is called a Database Management System. This ensures the data is controlled, consistent and available to provide information. The database serves as a permanent store for the results of transaction processing, as a temporary store during processing and as a store for the records of the transaction processing and the database is handled by the database management system software. This protects the database from direct contact with the application programs and maintains data consistency. 2. Toyotas Problem Revealed Toyota is all about the customer. Technology does not drive business processes at Toyota but the various systems employed in it like Toyota production system(TPS),Corporate Customer Information System, Just-In-Time System, Customer Relationship Mangement,Enterprise Resource Planning are, few systems to name ,which drive the business processes on Toyota.Psabilla (2006). Major problems faced by Toyota can be broadly classified into Organizational/Technical and Management Problem. 2.1 Organizational/technical problems at Toyota: 2.1.1 Problems with Corporate Customer Information System (CCIS) CCIS is a central repository of up-to-the-minute customer information linked to all transaction systems. CIS is designed around customers, providing information about the products and services they use and their relationships with other customers and the organization. CCIS can reduce the costs associated with redundant systems by functioning as a single, central point of entry for creation, inquiry and retrieval. Because it readily accepts information from a variety of systems, CCIS easily accommodates virtually any financial institutions system environment. In order to build and sustain a competitive edge, service organization need to strive to maintain a superior quality of services in an effort to gain customer loyality, hence improving customer retention rates.(Kadampully,1998) Many organizations find they are surrounded by data that come in variety of forms: records, instructions, design, blueprints, maps, image, sounds, metadata, detailed data, and summarized data, to name just a few. Yet much of it does not truly satisfy their information need. This information may be stored in places ranging from file cabinets to databases and from library shelves to the Internet. Todays organizations have achieved quantity of data and information, but not necessarily quality of either, meaning that the data or information lacks one or more vital characteristics necessary for it to be fit for use. Problems with the quality of data and information are further compounded by the struggle many organizations are experiencing as they try to improve their systems for knowledge management and organizational memory. This is the main area where Toyota had crucial problem. Toyotas database had several million records that had to be checked. Some database had wrong addresses, wrong vehicles, and wrong motors. 2.1.2 Information- and Data quality challenges Toyota relied on its Corporate Customer Information System to provide the information about its customers and other service problems. Data from system identified Lexus owners with troublesome tyres, and Toyota began mailing the owners cheques for $400 or more to replace troublesome tyres. But some of these cheques went to the people who did not even own a Lexus and one was mailed to a Toyotas auditor for a vehicle he no longer owned. These mistakes pointed to a massive data quality problem because the Corporate Customer Information System used customer data stored in 15 databases in different parts of the company. So the company had to bear a huge financial loss. 2.1.3 Root causes of poor data quality in the Corporate Customer Information System Multiple data sources: Multiple sources of the same information can contain different values for information, including values that were accurate at a prior point in time. Subjective judgment in data production: data collected using subjective judgments and technique can lead to biased information being recorder. Bypassing input rules and too strict input rules: bypassing database edit checking without careful examination may produce missing or error nous information when individuals either arbitrarily change a value to pass the edit check or skip entering the field. Input rules that are too strict may further encourage data entry clerks to seek ways to bypass onerous edit checks. Volume of data: Large volume of stored information may make it difficult to access information from multiple system Distributed heterogeneous systems: distributed heterogeneous systems can lead to inconsistent definitions, formats, and values as well as excessive time spent to select and aggregate information from multiple systems Researcher and practioners are continuing to discover and explain the roots causes of poor quality data so that the systems that collect, process, and disseminate data can be improved. One of the best examples of this type of research is an article by strong, lee, and Wang (1997) that identifies ten key problems that often lead to data-quality problems 2.1.4 Cost of poor data and information quality are difficult to quantify The costs associated with poor data and information quality are often difficult to quantify because they involve both tangible and intangible components. Without accurate cost estimates, organizations may not realize the impact that poor data and information quality is having on their bottom line and, therefore, improvement is not a priority. Knight(1992) Redman (2003) estimates that without an active quality program in place, the cost of poor data and information quality for a typical organization is about 20% of the revenue. Although the fear of bad publicity keeps many companies silent about this issues,Knight(1992).thats why,Toyata also suffered a huge financial loss due to decline in its sales revenue. The presence of poor quality data and information can lead to higher costs in several ways. First there is the cost of remedying the mistake caused by the poor quality data or information along with the cost of correcting the data or information problem itself. rectifying the harm caused by poor data and information quality may involve dealing with cleanup effort, loss of lives, valuable equipments or production time, rework, lawsuit or penalties, and costumer appeasements such as offering rebates or issuing apology letters. Redman (1996,1-16) also cities other quality-related expenses such as different department within the same organization maintaining their own stores of redundant information because no one trusts the information in the others data base: managers forming poorer, less-confident decisions that take longer to make; and organizational difficulties in adopting new technologies such as data warehouse or business- re- engineering projects. Beside causing additional expenses, the presence of poor quality data may cause revenue reduction due to dissatisfied customers and partners opting to do business with someone else.Dealing with the effects of poor quality data and information can frustrate employees, lower job satisfaction, and raise levels of organizational mistrust. In a tight labor market, organizations may find that poor quality data and information inhibit their ability to attract and retain skilled employees. All these findings are echoed by Hansen and Wang (1991), who found that data and information quality impact corperate profits by interfering with an organizations ability to deliver customer service, management support, and productivity gains. 2.2 Management Problem at Toyota ââ¬Å"In Toyota, Technology plays a critical role by supporting, enabling and bringing to life on a mass scale the processes derived by adhering to Transaction Processing System(TPS).Over the years, Toyota refined a number of other concepts and production methods that support the two central TPS pillars.They are Just-in-time and Genchi Genbustsu(meaning- Go and see for yourself) . And behind each of those pillars are information systems, supporting and enabling the processesâ⬠-Evans,P(2002). Data and information quality represent an important and maturing area in the field of management information system. This pursuit is fraught with the challenges as organizations discover the difficulties surrounding the definition, measurement, analysis and improvement of quality for data and information. For the help in dealing these challenges, organizations can turn to a growing body of research on data and information quality. (Coleridge,S.T 2003). The major management challenges face by the Toyota is as follows: Financial Loss: The Company had a huge financial loss due to error on the customer information system. Company had to pay huge value for the customer service resulting into tangible loss for it. This introduced a financial risk to the company. Ineffective customer service and support: The Company offered monetary compensation to Lexus owners with troublesome tyres but unfortunately, it reached to such group of people who never owned such vehicles. On other side of the coin, the incentive never reached to deserving candidates. This action gave wrong message to the public. Customers were totally dissatisfied with the customer service and support system of the company resulting a problem in the customer retention program of the company. Ineffective decision support system: the poor quality data led to inaccurate information to transaction processing system. This resulted poor reports which are tools for decision making in the Management Information System. This entire problem resulted its effect on the company on its strategic planning area i.e. Executive Information System. Human Resource Problem: Huge number of employee had to recruited throughout various branches distributed in different geographical locations. Laying off these unnecessary workforce was a big problem to the company as they had to handle the distributed information system. 3. Management Initiative to solve the problem 3.1 Installation of Centralized Database: Toyotas management called for a single centralized customer database to solve the problem regarding the data quality. The advantages of a centralized database approach can be summarized in that it leads to a system where data management and control are more effective and the ability to share data is increased. Advantages of database can be summarized as follows: Data redundancy is reduced: In the application led, file based approach; data such as employee name may be unnecessarily duplicated in various files. This is a waste of storage and can be reduced, if not entirely eliminated, in a database system. Data consistency can be maintained: A corollary of the elimination of redundancy is that update inconsistency is reduced. Some inconsistency may result unless care is taken in database design, because some duplication of data is not eliminated. Independence of data and programs is possible: In the file based approach, the application programs are closely interdependent with the file structure. For example, the payroll programs will need to ââ¬Ëknow how the employee file is organized in order to access to records. It makes a great deal of difference whether the file is organized sequentially by employee# or organized with an employee# index. At the level of the record, the order of the fields and the length of each will probably need to be ââ¬Ëknown by the program. It is not possible to change the file organization or change the record structure without changing the program or program that access it. The program is dependent on the data. In a database system, many programs will share the same data. It is not desirable to require each program to be changed when there is a change in the physical form of storage of data.( changes in physical storage can be made for reasons of technical efficiency.) The database management system maintains the same view of the data to the accessing program no matter how the data may be reorganized physically on the disk. A logical view is presented to the user or user programs: following from the last point, it is clear that the view of the data presented to the users or user programs must be independent to the physical storage details it must be logical. Many database management systems allow different logical views of the same data to be presented to different users or programs. This is important as it frees programmers from a need to pay attention to the physical details of storage and allows them to concentrate on the applications to be coded. In the example covered earlier in this chapter, it is much easier for programmers to develop the cost allocation program if it is not necessary to consider the physical details of data retrieval. Program can concentrate on how to do a task, not on how to obtain the data to do Applications development is enhanced because data sharing is possible: The ability to use the database management system to retrieve data across the database in any required form once it has been stored opens up the range of applications for which the existing data can be used. Standards can be enforced: The factor that all access to data occurs via the database management system allows the individual responsible for this , the database administrator (DBA), to ensure that applications standards are followed in the representation of data. Security is more easily implemented: The DBA will control access to the database. The DBA can ensure that authorization code for users are set restricting their access to only parts of the database and for only for the functions (read,write,copy)that are legitimate to their data purposes. Databases allow more effective control over access than the dispersal of responsibility associated with file- based systems. However, a breach of security may lead to a greater risk, as more data is accessible than with a traditional file- based system. (Curtis,G.,Cobham,D.(2002) 3.2 Application of Informaticas Power Mart: Informatica is data integration software. Thousands of companies rely on the informaticas platform to lower the IT costs and gain greater business value from all their information assets both on-premise in traditional IT computing system and in the internet cloud. Two main elements of this software are : Data mining It is a collection of tools and techniques. It is one of the several technologies required to support a customer-centric enterprise. In broader sense, data mining is an attitude that business actions should be based on learning that informed decisions are better than uninformed decisions, and that measuring resulting is beneficial to the business. Data mining is also a process and methodology for applying the tool and techniques for effective relationship with its customers. (Berry, Michael J. A.Linoff, Gordon S. 2004) Data mining helped Toyota to identify the hidden trends in the database. Various software modules present in the data mining were used to realize the dependency of data and its relationship with other entities in the database repository. This helped Toyota to make decision in the real-time. Data Warehousing Data warehousing is a logical repository of an organizations electronically stored data. It fulfills the organizations need for reliable, consodiated,unique and reporting and analysis of its data at different levels within the organization. The practical reality of Toyota is that their data infrastructure was made up by a collection of heterogeneous systems like customer relationship management, Enterprise Resource planning, transaction processing system, decision support system etc, throughout all the branches distributed in different geographical locations. so same information of different entities were repeated all over in the database. Data warehousing tools and module helped to keep these information in more scientific way in the form of data marts. Some of the benefits that a data warehouse provided are as follows: A data warehouse provided a common data model for all data created whatever the datas source may be. So it was easier to report and analyze information Before storing data into the data warehouse, inconsistent data were identified and resolved which made it easy to report and analyze the trend of data. The information in the warehouse can be stored safely for long periods of time. Data warehouses provide retrieval of data without slowing down operational systems because they were separated from operational system. Data warehouses added the value of operational business applications especially CRM. Data warehouses helped decision support system applications to produce trend reports, exception reports, and reports that show actual performance versus goals. 4. Conclusion: By implementing a new information system, Toyota was able to maintain data quality within the database. As we know ââ¬Å"Too much of Information kill informationâ⬠, the main challenge in every business is not creating and storing the information but the challenge lie on the capability of company to manage it and use it as par need. Efficient management of the database helped Toyota to increased its annual vehicle sales revenue from 750000 to 1.7 million. This is a huge financial benefit to the company from market share viewpoint. Toyota also gained the intangible benefits of ââ¬Ëfirst-mover advantage which made them a leader in using a new process or system that were difficult for competitors to follow yielding strategic competitive advantage. This helped them to stay in the business despite of the huge system failure. Other intangible benefits like staff morale, customer satisfaction,reputation,customer-management, value chain management, organizational learning were also o bserved by the management.
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