The Rise of Human Trafficking Essay - 1789 Words

When innocence is violated, it is a significant crime against humanity. Sex trafficking is the epitome of this crime, because it exploits and degrades the victim’s body and mind. A common belief is that sex trafficking is a practice occurring mostly in foreign countries. Research indicates that it is already a thriving market within the United States, and one that continues to expand every year. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center assessed that there are one million children being sexually exploited for commercial purposes throughout the globe (Human Trafficking 1). Of these statistics, they estimate 244,000 American minors are â€Å"at risk of child sexual exploitation, including commercial sexual exploitation† (2). There is one†¦show more content†¦Sometimes victims would rather be subjected to sex trafficking than have their family and friends find out what their life is like. Victims may become depressed from the treatment they receive, and many feel they cannot escape. Some come to believe they deserve nothing better, and feel indebted to their captors for keeping them alive. If the trafficker can threaten to do something that would humiliate or harm victims or their family, it may intimidate them to such a degree that they are too afraid to escape. Many victims could escape if they tried, but their fear is crippling. Freedom often seems an impossible state to attain. Traffickers want their victims to feel as alone and helpless as possible, because it allows for the most power and control over them. Victims are sometimes viewed as no more than possessions or animals, and are treated in the most degrading and cruel ways imaginable. In a story entitled, â€Å"Teen Girls’ Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S.,† ABC News reported a story on two girls from Phoenix who were forced into the sex trade (Teen 1). Both of them suffered harsh treatment from their captors. One girl was held at gunpoint, kept in a dog cage and â€Å"crushed into a drawer under a bed†Show MoreRelated Child Trafficking Essays1660 Words   |  7 PagesChild Trafficking â€Å"The global market of child trafficking is at over $12 billion a year with over 2 million child victims† (â€Å"Stop Child Trafficking Now† 1). This statement from the article â€Å"Stop Child Trafficking Now† describes how serious this crisis is nationwide. Child labor, illegal adoptions and child prostitution are the three forms child trafficking typically exists as (â€Å"Riverkids Project† 1). There has been a rising number of Cambodian children being trafficked for sexual exploitationRead MoreThe Endless Cycle Of Human Trafficking1708 Words   |  7 PagesThe Endless Cycle of Human Trafficking Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force through deception of debts and or payments of a â€Å"real job†. The recruiters or agents come from all types of organizations such as the mafia as well as small and large crime organizations. Statistics and research prove that trafficking of humans is on the rise in the United States. â€Å"According to a U.S State Department study, someRead MoreThe Endless Cycle Of Human Trafficking1708 Words   |  7 PagesThe Endless Cycle of Human Trafficking Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force through deception of debts and or payments of a â€Å"real job†. The recruiters or agents come from all types of organizations such as the mafia as well as small and large crime organizations. Statistics and research prove that trafficking of humans is on the rise in the United States. â€Å"According to a U.S State Department study, someRead MoreThe Horrors and Statistics on Human Trafficking in the United States1146 Words   |  5 Pages500 people trafficked across our boarders. The issues of international human trafficking have only recently been brought to light as an increasing problem within the United States. The department of homeland security, which consists of many branches such as Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S Coast Guard, are some of the top combating agencies against human trafficking . With the rise of the amount of victims estimated to be trafficked into the U.S each yearRead MoreHuman Trafficking : A Global Perspective1402 Words   |  6 PagesIn Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective, Louise Shelley examines why and how human occurs. Dr. Shelley, founder and director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center and Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University is a lead expert on transnational crime and terrorism. She has written numerous works on all sides of transnational crime and corruption. The main focus of her work is on the former Soviet Union. Shelley does an excellent job on giving the readerRead MoreCambodia: A Place of Countless Struggles1545 Words   |  6 Pageseducation, abuse, and sexual trafficking consume most of Cambodia, and the government continues to let these issues flourish. One of the most prominent problems Cambodia battles with is the sex industry, with prostitution and trafficking rates skyro cketing. According to recent human trafficking statistics, an immense amount of victims are sexually trafficked and exploited in Cambodia each year, but 80% of victims are young women and girls (Bertone). While sex trafficking affects nearly every countryRead More Human Trafficking Essay1333 Words   |  6 PagesThe Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was created to prevent human trafficking, to protect the victims of human trafficking, and to prosecute traffickers. Although it was well crafted, the TVPA is ineffective in achieving its purpose. Since its enactment, only a small percentage of victims have received help, and the prevalence of human trafficking in the U.S. has not decreased. In fact, human trafficking may be on the rise in Arkansas. Therefore, although amending the TVPA would make moreRead MoreSex Trafficking And The United States1672 Words   |  7 Pagesterm human sex trafficking, they think of heinous acts that take place in other countries where adults, ch ildren, girls and boys are exploited to perform sexual acts in exchange for money or goods against their will. They think it typically occurs in places that are less developed than the United States. However, the reality of this horrific crime is that it is taking place in the United States, and it occurs more and more each and every day. Young girls are not solely the victim of human sex traffickingRead MoreSex And Sex Trafficking1310 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects Poverty has on Sex Trafficking Suffering from poverty makes life unbearable at times and is hard to escape from. Most individuals that live in poverty are vulnerable and have little hope to improve their lives. Being vulnerable and having no hope for life can often leads to desperation. Sex trafficking and become a means of survival for these individuals. Low income is a major cause for sex trafficking. Sex trafficking can become a reason for a single mother to feed her children or canRead MoreHuman Trafficking587 Words   |  3 PagesHuman Trafficking Human trafficking is a major problem in the world that I am passionate about. Every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims. Article 3, paragraph (a) of the  Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons  defines Trafficking in Persons as  the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction

An argumentative essay on why we should conserve our...

Why should we conserve plants and animals? I am arguing for conserving plants and animals. I will discuss how plants and animals have an impact on our lives and how this would be dramatically changed if they werent conserved. The word conserve means preservation, especially of the natural environment. In plants and animals case, it means, To keep in existence, to retain and to keep safe from harm or loss.1 Thousands of plant and animal species are being terminated every year due to many factors such as: removal of habitat, food reduction, human threats etc. From the 1700s to the year 2000, the number of species that have become extinct each year has soared from only 1 to 50,000. For example, the Mauritius dodo was extinct by 1690,†¦show more content†¦It is estimated that only 5,100 to 7,500 individual tigers now remain in the entire world. These remaining tigers are threatened by many factors, including growing human populations, loss of habitat, illegal hunting and the species they hunt, and expanded trade in the tiger parts for traditional medicines. One of the main reasons for poachers to kill tigers is their use in Chinese medicines. Tigers are worth more money dead than alive, which, if you think about it, is very sad indeed. Poachers who kill deer for their own purposes may not realise it but they are also destroying tigers one by one. Deer are one of the main sources of food for tigers and if they are cut down in numbers, ultimately so will the tigers be. Already efforts are being done around the world to try to conserve the tiger and its other endangered companions. In India the local people sell paintings of tigers and other wildlife in order to try and support theyre local tigers. Also, in 1990, Indonesia passed a law to give all subspecies of tiger within its borders full protection. And in 1992, passed a bill stating that anyone in possession of tiger pelts, or parts must have them registered and would require a permit. China also made tiger bone illegal in 1993. Each of these things contributes to the effort of saving the tigers. Elephant populations are also on the brink of extinction due to poachers who kill elephants for their ivory tusks. An internationalShow MoreRelatedLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 PagesPublishing Group, Inc. www.lu.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To our grandchildren Annika, Jacob, Katherine, Madison, Magnus, and Molly Contents Illustrations . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . Acknowledgments . The Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Auditing And Inherent Risk

Question: Discuss about theAuditing And Inherent Risk. Answer: Inherent Risk at Financial Reporting- Causes Discussed: The chances of occurrence of misstatements or errors in financial recordings due to factors other than the lack of internal operational control are mainly attributed to inherent risk. The few main causes of the inherent errors can be discusses as: Complexity of financial transaction Dynamic nature of the controlling standards Higher level of stringency in statutory norms Necessity of maximum judgment during financial budgeting for any project or financial year In this context, Sanderson (2013) mentioned that the inherent risks are one of the significant risks that the assessors need to detect most essentially during the audit process. The audit process actually needs the thorough in-depth understanding of the total operations process on going in the organization, One Tel here, and evaluate the risks that can be associated to the overall process. The financial reporting is also evaluated during the process and the causes of inherent risk gets analyzed alike the other risks like control risks and detection risks. The most common occurrence of the inherent risks is observed in the financial service processes. The contributors of inherent risk indicate that the chances of inherent risk are proportional to the complications, changing nature and stringency of the norms which enhances the complicacy in the maintaining the financial services correctly. Here, the present scenario is to understand and realize the main contributors of inherent risk to the financial reporting at One Tel, Australia. Impacts of the following are identified to be maximum contributing in the inherent errors: Competition in the Telecom Sector: Lothe (2013) stated that the Australian telecom market is an over grown market with very dense competition. The overall sale volume or profit margin of any particular company is dependent and inter-linked with the marketing strategies and performance of thee other competitors in the market. With more than 35 odd telecom operators in Australia, the survival of a single operator is dependence on the competition in the market with the most leading operators in the region. One Tel occupied the fourth position among the largest telecom providers in Australia with extreme completion with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. The extreme level of competition and the variety of offers provided the customers with lots of option to select and even switch over depending on the availability of different offers at that particular phase of time. The customer behavior mapping at the beginning of the fiscal year can emerge out to be completely. Beck and Mauldin (2014) specified that the errors that can creep into the system due to the mismatch of the forecasts, can lead to the inherent errors in the financial records. The records maintained in the previous parts of the fiscal year keeping in view the future sale forecasts lead to inherent risks on the complete reversal of the market conditions. Effect of Multiple Substitute Services in the Market: The present condition of telecom market offers a series of multiple service providers in the market. The automatic impact of the excess of substitute services in the market provides multiple options for the customers which causes the constant switching over from one service provider to the other. Ihendinihu and Robert (2014) mentioned that customer loyalty is at a decreasing trend and the occasions of portability are mostly observed to lead to a bad debt for the previous service provider. The customers using post-pay services use the services for almost a whole bill cycle and when the bill is generated, the same remains a question on payment. The customers, who switch over mostly keep a pending bill and creating a bad debt for the service providers. One Tel also suffers from similar case and the recoding of the bad debt is highly essential as the correct figure can only lead to the actual revenue volume of the organization. One Tel need to be particular about the appropriate policies to recover the pending payments as far practicable. Else, the sales figure gets into ambiguous figures leading to inherent risks in every step. The profit margin and the tax calculation become ambiguous influenced by the incorrect bad debt figures incurring even more inherent risks in the process. Qualification of the Top Management: The top management of the organization consists of the board members and the directors including some of the senior most positions in the organization (Kannan et al. 2014). The top management of an organization deals with the main strategic operations of the same. Here, in case of One Tel, the composition of board members and the senior management is significant in determining the potential and effectiveness of the decisions taken by the team. One Tel like other organizations, have concentrated in taking more number of technical members in the board. In this context, Rust (2011) mentioned that the technical members can truly be helpful in operations teams and can prove to be most promising in resolving technical issues. On the contrary, to lead to a financially strong strategy to lead to a strong financial position in the market, board composition needs to have more number of financial experts in the organization. Only this can lead to lowering the inherent risks in the organization due to supervision and guidance of financial recordings under experts. Autonomy of Board: Study has revealed that inherent risks are incurred in the system of financial recordings once the board composition tends towards autonomy. In other words, William (2016) stated that independence of board members can lead to changes in decisions and financial recording processes in the organization. The changes in operations or recording processes lead automatically the inherent risks in the process. The autonomy of board is dependent on the fraction of non-executive members in the board (McNeil et al. 2015). Here, the non-executive board member is in equal proportion to the executive board members of One Tel leading to a considerable board autonomy leading to inherent risk to a considerable amount. Absence of Team to Manage the Auditing Process in One Tel: The senior team members of the finance and technical department need to constantly monitor the operations and financial recording process in One Tel. Here the most important part is that the internal auditing part can be performed by the selected senior team. According to Zeff (2016), the team need to oversee the complete audit process to ensure clear understanding of the complete operations process of One Tel in addition of assisting the external auditors through the audit procedures. On the contrary, Sadgrove (2016) mentioned the responsibility of the team is also to ensure no unfair non-conformity is placed on the organization. Being aware of the full process inside One Tel, thorough overseeing the operations, financial and auditing process by the team can reduce the chances of inherent risk in One Tel. Training and Development Program for the Employees of One Tel: The one process that can ensure continual development of the employees of One Tel is training and development. The senior team members can be given the responsibilities to train the finance team who maintain details of all the financial transactions and the records thereof. The inherent risk is caused mainly to lack of correct concept of recording the financial transactions. Training and development programs can help in clarifying the concepts leading to lowering the inherent risk associated with the misstatements in financial transactions. However, Zadek (2013) mentioned constant monitoring the performance of the trainees are equally vital in reducing the inherent risks in the organizations like One Tel. The variety of products is launched at every time and the financial recording processes get affected. The trainers need to be at constant monitoring so that the changes in processes cannot impact the recording processes. Issues Related to Ambiguity in Revenue Recognition: The dual mode of services of One Tel has different scenario for revenue recognition. In case of pre-pay services, when a customer purchases the talk time voucher or data card or even rate cutter packs for a stipulated period, the service is not used completely as soon as the voucher is purchased. The ambiguity is observed among the finance team in determining the revenue recognition time. Whether the purchase of voucher should be recognized as revenue or when the service usage notification reaches the service provider. On the contrary, Mironeasa and Codină (2013) mentioned that the post-pay services are used for a complete bill cycle and then the bill is generated and remains dependent on the customer for payment. Now the revenue recordings are to be done on usage notification or payment remains confusion for One Tel. Here, One Tel needs to have an expert team to remove the confusion to eliminate the inherent risk associated with the ambiguities. Causes of Inherent Risks at Account Balance Level: There are certain factors that may lead to inherent risk in any organization at the account balance level. It is necessary for the management to identify such inherent risks and devise strategies to eliminate the inherent risks. Some of the most common factors causing inherent risks are discussed below: Two Different Ways of Service Offering: Prepaid and postpaid are the two major modes of service offerings made by One Tel in the telecom market. Prepaid customers pay prior to using telecom services whereas postpaid customers are just the opposite of the prepaid customers who pay after using the connection. Presence of two completely different modes of service offering makes it difficult for the accountants to calculate the total figure of sales revenue on any particular date. Problem may also arise in regards to calculation of trade receivables as services are offered equally to both types of customers though the payment process is different. On the other hand, Bowling (2014) mentioned that determination of provision for bad debts is one of the challenging aspects related to accounting in the telecom sector due to multiple payment options and service types. Prevalence of Multiple Tariff Rates: One Tel, like any other telecom company in Australia has a wide range of tariff packs for its customers. These also differ depending on whether a customer is prepaid or postpaid. There are various top-up recharges, message packs, data packs, rate cutters and others available for prepaid customers of One Tel. On the other hand, there are different types of postpaid connections available from One Tel and the charges of call rates, data usage rates and others are determined by the type of connection taken by a postpaid customer. This makes revenue recognition and sales account difficult for the account of One Tel. On the other hand, accountants are required to segregate the total sales data into postpaid and prepaid ones to ensure that only confirmed sales are entered in the profit or loss account. Determination of bad debts also becomes difficult. Evaluation of the Going Concern Concept for One Tel: Going concern concept in the field of financial accounting is concerned with the sustainability of any organization. This accounting concept makes an assumption that a business organization is established with the intention of doing business for a considerably longer time frame. This requires a business to treat its financial transactions in a way to recognize this going concern concept. In this context, Gunin-Paracini (2014) stated that going concern concept requires companies to spread the cost of any asset throughout the entire life of the asset in a suitable proportion. On other words, a company is required to recognize its assets and expenses over the entire period in which benefits from the same is expected to be derived. However, here it is important that mere making assumptions does not ensure of long-term sustainability. Instead, there are certain internal and external factors that influence the sustainability of an organization. In addition, both financial and non-financial factors can influence the growth and non-sustainability of an organization. In current scenario, one of the most positive factors contributing to the long-term sustainability of One Tel is the high growth in the telecom sector of Australia. This has a positive impact on the sales revenues of the company. This would further strengthen the financial base of the organization. However, from a porters five forces model, the threat from new entrants needs to be considered as high for One Tel. This can be attributed to the scope of making high profits from the Australian telecom sector which might attract a large number of new firms into the market thereby raising the competition level. On the other hand, it is also important to consider the financial performance and financial position of One Tel. Analysis of the financial performance of the company reveals that there is not much need to be concerned about the liquidity position of One Tel as the same has improved considerably in 2000 compared to the same in 1999. On the contrary, One Tel is seen to be indulged in high degree of debt financing. As mentioned by Jang and Kim (2016), high level of debt financing can badly affect the financial performance of a company as interest payment associated with such high debt level reduces the profit margin of the company. Reference List: Beck, M.J. and Mauldin, E.G., 2014. Who's really in charge? Audit committee versus CFO power and audit fees.The Accounting Review,89(6), pp.2057-2085. Bowling, A., 2014.Research methods in health: investigating health and health services. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Gunin-Paracini, H., Malsch, B. and Paill, A.M., 2014. Fear and risk in the audit process.Accounting, Organizations and Society,39(4), pp.264-288. Ihendinihu, J.U. and Robert, S.N., 2014. Role of Audit Education in Minimizing Audit Expectation Gap (AEG) in Nigeria.International Journal of Business and Management,9(2), p.203. Jang, J.Y. and Kim, C.N., 2016. An Analysis of the Effects of Knowledge Complementarities on the Performance of Information System Audit: A Perspective of the Resident Audit in the Project Office.Journal of the Korea society of IT services,15(1), pp.113-129. Kannan, Y.H., Skantz, T.R. and Higgs, J.L., 2014. The impact of CEO and CFO equity incentives on audit scope and perceived risks as revealed through audit fees.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,33(2), pp.111-139. Lothe, R. 2013. Fish feed-research may help reduce world hunger, ScienceNordic, 17 Mar/13, Retrieved on 11, Jul/16 from: 20 https://sciencenordic.com/fish-feed-research-may-helpreduce-world-hunger. McNeil, A.J., Frey, R. and Embrechts, P., 2015.Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press. Mironeasa, C. and Codină, G.G., 2013. A new approach of audit functions and principles.Journal of Cleaner Production,43, pp.27-36. Rust, M., Barrows, F., Hardy, R., Lazur, A., Naughten, K., Silverstein, J. 2011. The Future of Aquafeeds, NOAA/USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS F/SPO-124, Retrieved on 11 Jul/16 from: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/docs/feeds/the_future_of_aquafeeds_final.pdf. Sadgrove, K., 2016.The complete guide to business risk management. Routledge. Sanderson, I., 2013. Tools for IT governance assurance: using recent updates of ISACA's Information Systems Audit and Assurance Standards alongside COBIT 5 can help auditors evaluate their organization's information systems governance.Internal Auditor,70(5), pp.51-54. Waldron, M., 2016. The Future of Audit.CFA Institute Magazine,27(3), pp.55-55. William Jr, M., Glover, S. and Prawitt, D., 2016. Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach.Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach. Zadek, S., Evans, R. and Pruzan, P., 2013.Building corporate accountability: Emerging practice in social and ethical accounting and auditing. Routledge. Zeff, S.A., 2016.Forging accounting principles in five countries: A history and an analysis of trends. Routledge.

Why I Want to Become a Teacher free essay sample

The reason I want to become a teacher is very simple. Teacher of the year (2011) noted that its not what you make but what you make possible. I believe that I can make a difference with the children. They inspire me to show them the possibilities in life and how to make it possible. Showing them the way in life, showing them that I do care what life brings them and how I can help them in their Journey. The thing that inspired me to teach is children. I have always loved children and also have two of my own. Teacher of the year (2008) stated l teach because I love kids and they know it. Is also how I feel because when I work with children they know that I love them and care for them and their future, I have been inspired to teach by many different teachers from my past growing up because they showed me what I could become and how I could make it possible Just by setting a goal and sticking to it, and that is what I want to show the children that I teach. We will write a custom essay sample on Why I Want to Become a Teacher or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I want to teach the children that are in kindergarten through third grade because I believe that is one of the most radical times for a child to learn and I always wanted to be a part of that.Teacher of the year (2008) l teach because I want children to know they have limitless opportunities that are available to them. This goes along with what I am saying I want to do. I want to show the children that there are so many opportunities In life as long as they chose what is best for them and what they want. I want them to learn that nothing should stand in their way of their dreams, because If you set your mind on doing what you want in life nothing Is Impossible.The characteristics I possess that would make me a good teacher Is I am loving, caring, and very honest. I want the children to know that I am there and care for them and no matter what I will be truthful to them and I will help them In any way I can. Children make me happy, I cherish and love them and want to help them choose the path they want to take In life.

Importance and Solution of Culture Differences Essay Example

Importance and Solution of Culture Differences Essay In the case that Professor Zhao gave us we can see clearly that Mr. Moto met with a lot of serious problems in an intercultural negotiation. And all these problems had a bad influence on the international connect. The case also has left us two questions. The first is that whether the different between high context culture and low context culture is that important and whether the difference will destroy the negotiation if one can’t handle it properly. The second question is that whether the only solution for the conflict is to give up one’s own culture and accept everything in another culture. The first question So let’s first deal with the first question that whether the difference between two cultures is so important. In my opinion this difference really makes a very big problem. And let’s see some examples. Once a Chinese enterprise wants to have a business negotiation with an America company. When meeting with the negotiator of the America Company the Chinese company sends him an expensive watch. So in the high context culture, a gift is really a way to show the respect or the willing to build a relationship with the receiver. But in the eye of the American guy the gift is really a bride. So he refuses to accept the present. Chinese company insist in him accepting the gift, and finally he accepted it but after that he told the matter to his company and his company charged the Chinese company bride their officer and at last the business is failed because of this affair. So we can see that neglecting the difference of two cultures is really fatal. Let’s analyze why this culture difference can make such a big influence in intercultural negotiation. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance and Solution of Culture Differences specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Importance and Solution of Culture Differences specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Importance and Solution of Culture Differences specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer I think this is because of the focus of the two cultures when connecting with others is different. In the high context culture, people mainly focus on build the relationship with others and even some times they will think that the result of the negotiation is not that important than the relationship they had already build up. But to the in the people in low context culture, they mainly think of the true purpose of the negotiation and in their mind other action is meaningless. In their mind the negotiation is the game of the profit. Once they reach the balance point the negotiation can be over. So here we can see that the core difference between the two cultures is trust. In the high context culture people don’t trust others, so they want to build relationships to reduce the danger of being betrayed. All the other non-verbal behaviors is a way to show one’s respect and want to get the trust from others. While in the low context culture the trust problem is not that important, people will usually believe on what others had said and not suspect on others. So when the two different cultures meet, the person in high context culture will usually find it’s very difficult to believe in the person in low context culture. Also when showing the respect by the non-verbal way such as gift or name card the person in low context will very likely doesn’t take it seriously and this will made the person in high context culture feel being offended and he is losing face. So from the analysis we can see the reason why the difference of the two cultures is so important. It’s very difficult to say whose fault it is, but both of the cultures will think the other unacceptable. In my own experience I have also met with such kind of question. Once I had a lunch together with a guy called Josh from America. At first I introduced myself very politely and asked some questions about him, but him ignored my words and directly asked me some sensitive questions about Tibet and Taiwan. I am really very angry feeling that I’m offended by his attitude, but I still answered his questions. Then he rebuts my words and said something that offends our nations territorial integrity directly. So all this make me really not that happy, and I had a debate with him that day. Besides that later he told me that he is an ABC (America-born-Chinese) this makes me even more angry since that being a Chinese, how can he say the territorial problem about China. And I no longer take him as a friend. But the second day he invited me to watch a basketball game together. All this makes me very obscured since we had a quarrel one day before and I don’t think I ‘m his friends. So I refused him and had never connected with him anymore. So now I know that it’s really not his problem of performing like that, it’s just the difference between cultures, even his is a Chinese but all of his surrounding culture is in s low context way. The second question The second question is that whether the only solution for the conflict is to give up one’s own culture and accept everything in another culture. My answer to the question it is that, whether give up or give up how much depend on the situation. And unless in some extreme traditions it’s unnecessary for one to give up all culture traditional behavior. I think that in the situation that you want to your company enter a country or you want to show your respect of that country, you shall give up some of your own culture problems that may conflict with the culture you want to connect with or accept some basic traditional culture behaviors. For example when Obama, president of the United States visit Shanghai and gave a public speech his first word is â€Å"DaJiaHao† in Shanghai tongue. This action makes us feel very friendly and can fully show his respect and willing to be a friend with China. Also when you company want to make a contract with a company in another country has different culture with your country, and the contract is really very important to your company, this time you should give up most of your culture habits to make sure there will be no accident. But when in the situation that your position is equal or stronger to other company or country you can maintain mainly of your own culture customs, you need only pay attention to the culture point that may cause unnecessary problems. And I think sometimes some unique point in your own culture will make you more real and give you more benefits. We can see that in the APEC held in 2003 China, when taking photos, the head of every country was taking Tang suit. All this shows the strong of China and gave the world a deep impression. I think the culture differences are not just the cause of most international conflicts. The culture difference can also cause the respect by others. In my opinion if a culture behavior is so unique and can doesn’t offend other cultures, it will very like to be the point that attract other’s attentions. And this called the attraction of unique culture customs. So we can get a conclusion that the difference between high context culture and low context culture is very large. So it is very necessary to get a fully idea of the culture differences and have a preparation for it when someone wants to have an international business communication. And after collecting all the information about the culture difference, one should then analyze the situation. All the solution can be found in the situation above, and then all of them can know whether they should give up their own culture traditional behaviors. I believe that by dong all this there will less and less culture conflicts will happen.

Clintons Presidency essays

Clinton's Presidency essays On December 19th of 1998, Congress passed two articles of impeachment against our then president, William Jefferson Clinton. These actions taken by the house were a result in Clinton having an inappropriate sexual relationship with his intern, Monica Lewinsky. This investigation spear-headed at Clinton was the work of prosecutor Kenneth Starr. Starr seemed poised to the task to bring Clinton down. Starr went as far as turning down a opportunity to obtain a prestigious occupation at Pepperdine law school in California. Starr did months of investigation and provided thousands of written documents. Starr also presented physical evidence, including gifts given to Lewinsky from Clinton. However the most condemning part of Starrs case was recorded conversations held between Linda Tipp and Monica Lewinsky. Tripp worked with Lewinsky and cohersed her into talking about her intimate relationship with President Clinton (Fierro). My main motivation for writing my paper on this topic was because an impeachment trial has only taken place twice in American history. Clintons impeachment case was one of these two cases. Also, this scandal and case set a standard for what is considered the private lie of our Leader and what is considered a situation that will effect our Presidents power and actions. In Jeffrey Toobins novel A Vast Conspiracy. He discusses in great details the Clinton trials, mostly through the eyes of the media. He uses a timeline of the events that occurred around the time of the trial. Toobin says the first person to break the story of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal was Matt Drudge, who operates the Drudge report. At that time the information only basically alleged that Clinton had a sexual relationship with an intern. Clinton denied on several occasions having an affair with Ms. Lewinsky. The first denial of the issue was during a videotaped deposition in the Pa...

Economics for Business and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Economics for Business and Management - Essay Example Therefore, the invisible hand is that process where while an individual is pursuing self interest, he/she promotes the overall societal welfare but not intentionally. On the contrary, Smith says that he had never in his lifetime known the goodness of the persons who involved in trade to achieve the main goal of the public welfare. In his book â€Å"The Wealth Of Nations† Smith has only one stand, that the invisible hand is the prime determinant of the public welfare. (Suntum, 2005 pp1-5) Command and Mixed Economies A command economy, which is also referred to as a planned economy, is one which has the state regulating resources. The state is the decision maker to come up with the allocation or utilization decisions of the available resources. It uses the services of certified planners who are just below the state in power to implement these decisions. (economicwatch.com, 2011) A command type of economy is not without merits and demerits alike. The merits of a command economy m ay include the main fact that they ensure that collective interests for the public good are maximized. Also governments which do their operations under this type of economy are able to mobilize as well as respond swiftly to raise capital and commence the process of production if need arises. (businessspan.com, 2011) The demerits associated with a command economy are the likes of the denial of sovereignty for individuals as regards the expression, working, earning and making expenditure choices. It as well assumes that people should be fully committed to work and they should aim at overall national welfare. There is the demerit of slowness in ensuring economic growth unlike the capitalist type of economy. Equality does not thrive in a communist economy since there is stratification. Lastly, there is lack of flexibility when it comes to moving from one decision to another for the welfare of the public. On the other hand, a mixed market involves a blending of the two major types of eco nomy. That is, a command and a market type of economy. This is mostly the kind of approach by Italy, India, France and Sweden. Here, there is the government controlling of resources and the private sector. There are sectors in which distribution as well as production is under the state’s management. Sectors which have both the state and the private sector jointly involving in production and distribution and the sectors under which private control is in entirety. (Aswathappa, 2008 pp269,270) A mixed economy may be characterized by several advantages. Some of the advantages of a mixed economy are with the inclusion of the good regulation of prices in the market. Here, the state always ensures that prices do not soar above actual prices. It as well provides a level playground since there are private sectors involved in the market without compromising on the quality of commodities in the market. Natural resources are also optimally utilized due to there being the government and t he private sector being involved in the allocation. People in a mixed economy have ample power when prices and quality of commodities is put into consideration. Monopoly cannot also thrive in a mixed economy as both the private enterprises and the government gets their hands in every business. (benefitsandadvantages.com, 2010) Critics state that a mixed economy is not the best type of

Lessons Learned From War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lessons Learned From War - Essay Example This paper will explore some of the lessons that can be learned from wars and the manner in which these lessons can be helpful. It is also going to discuss whether leaders learn the right reasons or not from war. Conceivably one of the most major lessons that can be learned from wars is that only the dead experience the end of the war. When the war starts between two or more nations, it takes time before the two states can take diplomatic actions and negotiations to end the war (Worrell 27). Meanwhile, it is the soldiers at war and innocent civilians who die or suffer casualties while the leaders keep on giving orders on where to attack next and what actions should be taken to protect their territories. On the war front, it is only the dead who do not experience the war since they are already dead. The rest of the people whether soldiers or civilians are put in a position where they worry about their life. They are at war and every move that their enemy makes becomes a threat to their lives. Stoessinger asserts that, despite the large sum of people that perished in the Vietnam War, it was just a passage of history and it was in vain for the combatants and civilians to suffer or land becoming devastated (132). The lesson derived here is that even as the war keeps on consuming the lives of the innocent it will still continue until the political leaders settle their differences. To this end â€Å"unless communist belligerency was deterred promptly and effectively, a third was between Communist and the non-Communist states were inevitable† (Stoessinger 68). This shows that it is until when leaders come to the agreement that wars do end. Unfortunately, during all this time it is the innocent civilians and the soldiers at war that suffer. Over the years, wars have shown that the impact is hugely felt by the civilians but only fewer leaders pay the price for their mistakes. Millions of civilians and hundred thousand soldiers died during World Wars with many others getting wounded. Regrettably, very few leaders suffered as a result of the war.  

Kofi Annan, in 2000, remarked, It has been said that arguing against Essay

Kofi Annan, in 2000, remarked, It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity. Discuss the full implications of his claim - Essay Example ase, globalization refers to the increasing interconnectedness of places and people due to advancements in information, communication, and transport technologies, which have precipitated a wave of cultural, economic, and political convergence. The laws of gravity, on the other hand, propose that all particles in the universe attract each other with a directly proportional force to the product of the particles’ masses (Gondhalekar, 2011: p21). This condensed law of gravity has been proven scientifically to be inevitable and irrefutable. Based on Kofi Annan’s analogy, globalization, despite being a controversial concept, is inevitable and irrefutable. Perhaps the most important evidence as to the inevitability and irrefutability of globalization is the United Nations. Indeed, the biggest function of the UN is to act as an international forum for the organization of dialogue and meetings where government representatives from around the world can come together to adopt shared values and standards (Kunkel, 2014: p240). As globalization has hastened the transfer of power from state actors to non-state actors, non-state actors like the UNHCR, UNDP, and UNEP have become increasingly influential on transnational issues. Today, there are growing calls for the strengthening of the UN in the face of new challenges like human rights violations, humanitarian crises, environmental and health concerns, and armed conflicts. Never has the UN been called on to solve so many challenges, which is evidence of states becoming more globalized. The UN, as an organization where different state and non-state actors can dialogue, has provided an avenue wh ere governments form partnerships and relationships, in turn accelerating the pace of globalization (Rasche & Gilbert, 2012: p108). Another issue where the phenomenon of globalization has greatly affected is the relationship between EU member states, which have witnessed increased integration since the end of WWII. However, apart from

The Emergence of IT Governance in Greece

The Emergence of IT Governance in Greece Introduction The emergence of IT Governance The cases of Enron, Worldcom and other corporate and financial scandals in the early years of the century have raised the significance of corporate governance and control. Regulatory environments have been formed with quite distinctive characteristics, depending on the needs of each country, and the needs of specific industries. The implementation of the controls required by regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley for the publicly listed organisations in the U.S. and Basel II for European banks relies heavily on IT. That dependency, combined to the required controls on IT itself, have forced top-level executives to have a look towards the proper management and governance of the information and communication technologies that power their organisations. At the same time, the high percentage of failed IT projects, ranging between 60% and 90% depending on the definition of failure, has alarmed many executives who see their resources to be wasted on failed projects, to be followed by more failed projects. Clear decision processes and proper project management aiming at efficiency and effectiveness, are the obvious answers to the problem; both of which point directly to IT Governance. The high cost of IT investments, which is more than half of the annual CAPEX for most organisations, calls for control, accountability and risk management, not to mention cost reduction. Information security, industrial espionage, regulations for the confidentiality of the data and the privacy of employees and customers, are all gracefully handled by a proper IT Governance structure. These are only some of the reasons that have led quite a few organisations worldwide to add IT Governance in their board agenda. The status in Greece Greece has control regulations for specific industries only, such as telecommunications, an industry largely affected by the Hellenic authority for communication security and privacy. Other industries are affected by pan-European control regulations, such as banking industry that needs to comply with MIFID and Basel-II alongside the directives issued by the Bank of Greece. Finally, just a few companies are listed in foreign stock exchanges such as NYSE listed PTT, subsequently affected by the SOX act. Nevertheless, although the environment in Greece is complex, and the IT infrastructure is no simpler than any other countrys, there is no published empirical academic research on the status of IT Governance in Greece. Even surveys that are conducted in wider geographical areas and not to a specific country do not usually include Greece; probably because it is a small market. The only data that has been found are some papers mentioning the benefits of IT Governance, as taken from the international practice; the data though is not adapted to local needs and circumstances. Research Objectives This research, titled IT Governance in Greece: Status, Drivers and Barriers aims to evaluate and present the IT Governance related practices in Greece. What percentage of Greek companies are using IT Governance frameworks and best practices, which is the preferred framework between the two prevalent (ITIL and CobIT), and which is the decision model selected by the companies that employ IT Governance. An attempt will be made to find any relationships between these results, and the size of the organisation or the size of the IT department. The reasons for which Greek organisations select to implement or not an IT Governance framework will also be linked to that data and outsourcing strategies which are known to require careful governance will be evaluated. For the organisations that choose to not implement a formal governance framework, the barriers to implementation will be analysed, as well as the potential good practices which do not constitute a framework, nevertheless help to the prudent governance of an organisations IT assets and resources. The research questions that are expected to shed some light to the main areas of the status of IT Governance in Greece are formulated as follows: The penetration of ITIL and CobIT in Greece as IT Governance frameworks Which are the most common factors that prevent or delay the acceptance and deployment of an IT Governance framework (barriers)? Which are the most common reasons that led organisations to deploy, or plan the future deployment of an IT Governance framework (drivers)? Which (if any) are the management methods used if a full IT Governance framework is not deployed? Personal Interest The author has followed a career path in Information Technology for the last 15 years, acquiring positions of raising responsibilities. In alignment to that career path, the MBA was considered a good choice, providing a broader view on all areas of management such as organisational behaviour and culture, human relationships, finance and marketing, strategy and implementation. The subject of this dissertation combines the two worlds, that of management and of information technology, giving a more thorough and business oriented view to the authors subject of work. Beyond the obvious curiosity that is created by the lack of data in the Greek market in which the author lives and works, there has always been an interest in IT Governance, IT management and risk management, and this dissertation comes to cover at least some of these areas. Structure of the dissertation The rest of the dissertation has a typical structure the introduction that was just provided constitutes the chapter one. Chapter two provides a review of the existing literature and previous studies on IT Governance; that should form the basis for the research that was necessary for this dissertation. Chapter three analyses and justifies the methodology that was used for the sampling, the data collection and data analysis methods that were selected. This chapter also presents and analyses some limitations related to the methodology, and presents the ways in which these limitations may affect the data analysis and the conclusions. Chapter four is the data analysis, in which all data that were collected are analysed and presented, relations are drawn and comparisons to findings from previous research are performed in order to fully answer the research questions set in this dissertation. Chapter five draws on the conclusions of the previous chapter. It summarizes the research objectives, the findings and the implications of the results. Generalization issues and data validity is further discussed. This chapter provides also recommendations for future studies, identifying details that were not included in this survey and questions that have emerged from the results of the current dissertation. Finally, this chapter reflects on the dissertation, assessing the weaknesses of the work performed and the obstacles faced; it also identifies the areas in which the author has gained knowledge and experience. Literature Review Introduction A literature review is vital to any research project, in order to collect, present and critically analyse, what is already known in the subject under research. The evaluation of previous research leads to a better understanding of the subject, of the areas of consensus between academics and practitioners, and the points of conflict and potential gaps. Towards the answer of the status of IT Governance in Greece, an attempt will be made to explain the term IT Governance and clarify any misconceptions regarding IT Governance and IT Management. The different types of IT Governance models that have been developed in the past, along with the key roles in IT Governance, will be identified, presented and compared. The necessity for IT Governance as suggested in the literature will be evaluated, and the most commonly mentioned benefits and implementation barriers will be presented, in order to serve as potential answers to the questionnaire of the research. Previous reports on management methods that may be used instead of a full framework implementation will also be evaluated for the same reasons. The definition of IT Governance IT Governance is a subject that has gained significant focus during the last years. As a term, IT Governance, has too many definitions in the literature (Buckby, Best and Stewart, 2009; Lee and Lee, 2009; Lee, Lee and Lee, 2009). Simonsson and Ekstedt (2006) tried to find a common definition on 60 different relative articles; and came up with yet another definition, which includes many of the previous ones. The definitions used by researchers, depend on their view on what IT Governance can offer to an organisation. IT Governance is sometimes perceived as a framework or a process for auditing the use of the IT infrastructure and operations. Some other times sometimes it is perceived as an IT decision making tool which allocates the decision rights in order to encourage a predictable behaviour in the use of IT, while for others IT Governance is a branch of corporate governance focusing on the control and the strategic view of IT (Musson, 2009). Not few have used definitions that mix and match more than one of these views, such as Peterson (2004), Higgins and Sinclair (2008) and Simonsson and Johnson (2007). A definition that is, in the authors opinion, quite clear and inclusive, is the following: IT Governance is a framework for the leadership, organizational structures and business processes, standards and compliance to these standards, which ensures that the organizations IT supports and enables the achievement of its strategies and objectives. (Calder, 2007) Lee and Lee (2009) make the link of IT Governance with Corporate Governance. They suggest that IT Governance is a mix of Corporate Governance and IT Management; meaning that IT Governance addresses the transparency and control that corporate governance focuses upon, and the efficiency and effectiveness that IT management aims at. IT Governance as part of the corporate governance is also suggested by Peterson (2004), Bhatttacharjya and Chang (2009), ODonohue, Pye and Warren (2009). Several researchers have pointed out that IT Governance is not the same as IT Management. The former refers to the definition of who has the rights for major decision making, while the later refers to the actual making of the decisions and the implementation itself (Broadbend, cited in Buckby et al., 2009; Calder, 2009; Sambamurthy and Zmud, 1999; Toomey, 2009; Van Grembergen and De Haes, 2009). Regarding the subject and scope of IT Governance, the IT Governance Institute suggests five distinct but interacting domains: The Strategic Alignment, Value Delivery, Risk Management, Resource Management and Performance Management. The need for IT Governance The need for IT Governance has not been extensively debated; almost everybody agree that the proper governance of IT is necessary. The reasons though provided to support this argument vary, and the organisations do not seem to have been persuaded by that position. A quite common reason provided to support the necessity of IT Governance, is the increased complexity of the IT infrastructure that is caused by the amount of data that an organisation holds, and the role of this information (Laplante and Costello, 2006). IT is not only complex, but it also has its own fast changing and unique conditions, as such the need to apply sound management disciplines and controls is even greater (NCC, 2005). Risk management is one more reason for IT Governance. Risk is caused by the growing dependency of organisations on IT resources which should not be neglected; the percentage of companies that are vitally dependent on IT for their continuing operation, was over 75% in 2004 (KPMG, cited at Musson, 2009). That dependency makes the potential unavailability of IT based services a significant problem for organisations such as banks and hospitals. The lack of availability is not the only danger caused by that dependency; cyber crime, fraud, information inaccuracy are just a few more issues that need proper identification and management (Van Grembergen and De Haes 2009). Instead of implementing IT solutions, the focus now has shifted to changing the business processes, to be enabled by IT. The solutions implemented are generally more complex due to this shift, and subsequently there is a greater risk with the implementation of IT-enabled business processes (Higgins and Sinclair, 2008). From the management perspective, that dependency means that management needs to be more aware of the critical IT risks, and to be assured that they are adequately managed (NCC, 2005). High organisational performance is another reason found in the literature, although that one is debatable. Liew believes that IT Governance can ensure proper measurement and preservation of an achieved performance (cited at Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009), nevertheless Young has pointed out through a literature review that there is no convincing evidence that superior business performance is a result of any of IT Governance guidelines (Young, 2006). Typically, IT investments are significantly high. They account for over 50% of the average organisations annual total capital investment (Baschab and Piot, 2007; Carr, 2003; Weill and Woodham, 2002), as such their management in a responsive, effective and efficient way is usually a requirement that should be set by the management board. On the monetary field, cost optimisation of the IT projects and service delivery, are also considered important issues by several researchers (Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009; Fairchild et al, 2009; Menken, 2009; Peterson, 2004). The amount of money spent is important, but the need that the enterprises investment in IT is in harmony with its objectives is usually considered more significant (Buckby et al, 2009). This is called Business IT Alignment, which is a quite old issue; several studies from mid-80s have focused on the alignment of the IT operations with the business objectives (Brown and Magill, 1994). Some researchers do not agree with the need for the Business IT alignment at all (Sillince and Frost, 1995). Koh and Maguire (2009) also suggest that Business IT alignment maybe the wrong strategy for smaller businesses, which may be agile enough to change course quickly following the new ICT arrivals in the business. They also mention that Venkatraman questions the logic behind alignment; nevertheless, this is a false interpretation of Venkatramans study, who clearly states that IT needs to support the business logic. Carr (2003) has written one of the most controversial articles on the issue, statin g that IT is not able to provide the competitive advantage that organisations need. Laplante and Costello (2006) make clear that they do not agree with that view, while Harris, Herron and Iwanicki (2008) get the opportunity to provide metrics on the value that IT can provide, instead of just dismissing Carrs argument. According to a different should of thought, Business IT alignment has been identified as a significant management concern (Brown and Magill, 1994; Cameron, 2007; Kashanchi and Toland, 2006; Silvius, 2007) and effort is put in order to identify the potential benefits of Business IT alignment. In fact, a recent study by Nash (2009) proves a positive correlation between firm level sales and the so-called Strategic Alignment Maturity; i.e. the maturity level of the business IT alignment. By considering Business IT alignment as something that organisations want to achieve, it is yet another reason to exercise governance of the IT. The relationship between IT governance and Business IT alignment has been proven (BMC Software, 2007; Musson and Jordan, 2006). Additionally, IT governance is strongly suggested by researchers as the best option for the maintenance of the alignment of IT to the continuously evolving organisational needs (Cameron, 2007; Harris et al, 2008; Pultorak, 2006; Sambamurthy and Zmud, 1999). Although Business IT Alignment is a common issue, it puts IT in a passive role; it makes it a follower. Proper governance can transform IT from a follower to a leader; IT is able to set the business agenda and partially affect the organisations strategic objectives (Addy, 2007; Baschab and Piot, 2007; Weill and Woodham, 2002). A research by NCC (2005) has identified a potentially widening gap between what IT departments think the business requires, and what the business thinks the IT department is able to deliver. This can be addressed by IT Governance, through which an organisation wide view of IT may be generated and promoted (Laplante and Costello, 2006; Weill and Woodham, 2002). That means that IT should have a thorough understanding and a participation in the improvement of business processes and their interdependencies. The other way round is also important, i.e. organisations need to obtain a better understanding of the value delivered by IT, both internally and from external suppliers. Measures are required in business (the customers) terms to achieve this. Key elements for that understanding include the enterprise wide view of IT budget (Addy, 2007; Weill and Woodham, 2002). One more reason found in the literature to promote IT Governance, is the compliance to regulatory requirements. Specific legislation and regulatory requirements, such as Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) almost dictate the use of an IT governance framework (Buckby et al., 2009; Higgins and Sinclair, 2008). Others, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and Basel-II do not dictate, but certainly describe an IT Governance framework through their requirements for accountability on investments, information security and assurance, risk management and decision processes (Harris et al, 2008; Higgins and Sinclair, 2008; Pultorak, 2006; Network Frontiers, 2008; NCC, 2005; van Grembergen and De Haes, 2009). Yet another commonly stated key benefit of proper IT Governance is clear and transparent decision making regarding IT resources (Baschab and Piot, 2007; Brown and Grand, 2005; Lee and Lee, 2009; Tshinu, Botha and Herselman, 2008). The lack of clarity and transparency for the decision making process, can lead to reluctance to take risks, and subsequently failure to seize technology opportunities (NCC, 2005) Separate decision processes followed by the IT and business, may mean that there is not enough shared ownership and clarity of resources, which also means that there may be a lack of accountability. IT Governance models Although IT Governance sets the decision making process, it does not define who decides. IT Governance decision authorities may be structured in different models, depending on the organisation. The three prevailing ones are the centralized, decentralized and federal (hybrid) according to their modes of distributing authorities and responsibilities for decision-making (Brown and Magill, 1994; Fairchild et al, 2009; Peterson, 2004; Sambamurthy and Zmud, 1999), while the pair of centralized / decentralized may also be found as the only choices (Laplante and Costello, 2006; Robb and Parent, 2009). Ross and Weill (2002) and Cameron (2007) expressed their quite strong preference on centralized IT Governance model, i.e. decisions being made centrally, but Ross and Weill revisited that view in 2004; they suggested that there are six (6) archetypes / models of IT Governance, on 5 different IT domains. From more centralised to less centralised, they identified Business monarchy, IT monarchy, Federal, IT Duopoly, Feudal and Anarchy. The two monarchies are quite clear, meaning that Business or IT respectively has the major responsibility for decisions. Anarchy is quite clear as well, meaning that there is no standardization. Federal and IT duopoly involve business executives and IT executives in the decision making process, with federal to give more power to the business than IT duopoly. Finally, feudal archetype brings the decision level down to business units or processes. The IT domains on which decisions need to be made, are IT principles such as funding and role of the IT in the business, IT Architecture which refers to the identification and development of the core business processes of the enterprise and relative information, IT infrastructure, business application needs such as the owner of the outcome of each project and IT investment and prioritization. That model classification from Ross and Weill is unique; as stated earlier, most other researchers have selected a simpler classification scheme. Ein-Dor and Segev (cited at Tavakolian, 1989) found that the revenue of the organisation is positively related to centralized IT Governance but there is no relation between the governance model and the size of the organisation. There is empirical proof that a link between the IT structure with the organisational competitive strategy exists; conservative organisations are more centralised than aggressive ones (Tavakolian, 1989). These results are supported by more recent research with consistent findings; Weill and Woodham (2002) and Weill and Ross (2004) found that top performing firms on profit were mostly centralized, while top performers on growth were mostly decentralized. A link between the organisations industry type and level of de-centralization of IT Governance has not been found (Ahituv et al, cited at Brown and Grant, 2005). It has to be noted that the model of IT Governance in an organisation may also be dictated by external factors, such as SOX which promotes a centralized IT Governance model, while Australian governance frameworks (mainly, AS 8015) drive the organisations towards a de-centralized IT Governance model (Robb and Parent, 2009). IT Governance Frameworks Information Technology Infrastructure Library The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework of best practices for IT Service Management. It is comprised of five books which focus on five different aspects of IT Service Management and Service Lifecycle: Service Strategy Service Design Service Transition Service Operation Continual Service Improvement Each one of the books, defines a set of processes such as IT Financial Management, Supplier Management, Change Management, Incident Management and Service Measurement and Reporting; a total of 23 processes are defined with a set of actions and roles required for each process. The definition of several of the processes and the subsequent roles is consistent with the IT Governance definition we used earlier; nevertheless a big amount of the defined processes such as event management and validation and testing, are much more focused on the management part than to that of the governance. ITIL is considered to be the framework that is closer to service management than control, from the other two frameworks, CobIT and ISO/IEC 38500:2008 and has a more narrow scope than CobIT (Van Grembergen and De Haes, 2009; Simonsson and Ekstedt, 2006; Simonsson, Johnson and Wijkstrà ¶m, 2007; Sallà ©, 2004; McBride, 2009). That focus of ITIL to service delivery and management was more obvious in version 2, which did not address issues such as Risk Management, Performance Monitoring and IT Governance (generic strategic direction and alignment) at all. As such it was mostly perceived as a framework for service desk management. Although the effectiveness of ITIL version 2 to the alignment of IT with business objectives has been repeatedly pointed out (BMC Software, 2007; Harris et al, 2008; Pultorak, 2006) and even experimentally proven (Kashanchi and Toland, 2006), it was never the primary driver for ITIL adaptation. A survey conducted by Bruton Consultancy for the Helpdesk Institute Europe (now renamed as Service Desk Institute) for the value that ITIL has brought in companies that have implemented it, indicated that the contribution of ITIL to the business strategy was not even considered as an issue by the majority of the correspondents (70%). The same holds for the perception of the participants on t he competitive advantage that may be provided by proper IT management through ITIL. More than half (66%) responded that this was not considered in the decision for ITIL implementation (Bruton, 2005). With version 3, ITIL gained a broader scope than version 2 and added significant emphasis on business strategy. That change, led some IT management consultants to declare ITIL version 3 as inappropriate for helpdesk and service management processes (Bruton, 2007), not strange since version 2 focused on processes while version 3 focuses on Business Value (Harris et al, 2008). Beyond the not strategic enough type of criticism, ITIL has also been criticised as a flawed and uneven framework. Dean Meyer identifies pitfalls in its implementation; nevertheless, he also states that it is an implementation issue and not a framework issue (Meyer, 2009 web site). ITIL has also been characterized as a too generic framework, which is not able to provide value if used off-the-shelf without significant adaptations (Baschab and Piot, 2007), an unfair criticism as ITIL is promoted as a set of best practices, not as a complete, fits-all framework. This concession should invalidate yet another criticism raised by Simonsson (2008), the lack of a maturity model. Another criticism of ITIL is that the documentation is not free (Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009). That is a valid point, nevertheless the cost of the books is quite low for companies (less than  £400 for the whole set). Other criticisms include the stifling of the creativity of those who implement it, and that it b ecomes a goal by itself having a heavy administrative burden (Addy, 2007). All these points are valid, but they can be attributed to the extension of ITIL. Control Objectives for Information and related Technology Control Objectives for information and related Technology (CobIT) is a control framework developed by the IT Governance Institute. CobIT defines processes and controls, and uses the grouping of activities in four domains: Plan and Organise Acquire and Implement Deliver and Support Monitor and Evaluate Each domain contains a set of processes, 34 at total, and each process defines specific controls, which sum up to 210 for all processes. CobIT defines inputs and outputs, as well as a maturity model for each process, making the control of compliance a very easy task. RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted and informed) charts are also provided, drawing a clear guideline on who should be involved in every process step. Goals and metrics, in the form of outcome measures (key goal indicators KGIs) and performance indicators (key performance indicators KPIs) respectively are also provided, mapping business goals to IT goals, which can be achieved by one, or the interaction of several processes. CobIT is generally used where there is a need for auditing functions, in comparison with ITIL, which is better suited to operational process improvement (ODonohue et al, 2009). In contrast to ITIL, CobIT has extensive documentation available free of charge, including the framework itself and several case studies. Several implementation documents though are only available for purchase, such as CobIT Quickstart, while others are available free for ISACA members or for purchase for non-members such as Security Baseline and User Guide for Service Managers. Several consultants and practitioners criticise CobIT that it only states the obvious, that it is very high level, is only a generic framework and does not provide specific and repeatable implementation steps (Culmsee, 2009; Toigo, 2005). This is not a common view, as others find CobIT to be quite prescriptive (Pultorak, 2006; Robb and Parent, 2009). That may be explained by the fact that although CobIT framework itself is indeed high level, a different publication is provided by ISACA, named CobIT Control Practices which is quite prescriptive. Academics criticise CobIT as providing little support for improved decision making, although many metrics are defined (Simonsson and Johnson, 2006). Others state that CobIT is expressed almost entirely in terms of process, focusing on how to govern but not what to govern (Lee et al, 2009). Another criticism states that CobIT is significantly more focused on auditing, largely ignoring other aspects of governance such as software development an d service delivery (NetFrontiers, 2005). CobIT is also characterized as a framework that needs significant knowledge and know how for a successful implementation (Simonsson et al, 2007), and that it takes time to introduce solid IT Governance through it (Rogers, 2009); although the opposite would be strange, given the wide area of processes and functions that CobIT addresses. Finally, while ITIL is known as the framework that guides you on how to get where you want to be, CobIT merely focuses on where you should be; that may be good or bad, depending on ones point of view and needs. ISO / IEC 38500:2008 The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) attempted to solve the confusion between IT Management and IT Governance, and at the same time provide guiding principles on IT Governance, in the recently published ISO/IEC 38500:2008. Because ISO/IEC 38500 establishes principles to guide the behaviour of organisations, it complements frameworks that focus on process, such as ITIL and COBIT. Thus, with the right frameworks or processes, complemented by the right behaviours, organisations are more likely to establish highly effective systems of governance. After all, it has been stated that ITIL and CobIT are not mutually exclusive; they are rather complementary and organisations will probably benefit from a mixed approach, adopting what is more applicable in every case, from the two frameworks (Chickowsky, cited at Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009). ISO/IEC 38500 can also be combined with these two and ITGI has even issued a specific document demonstrating how and which specific CobIT and ValIT controls support the adoption of the standards principles and implementation approach. Nevertheless, ISO/IEC 38500:2008 is very recent to be evaluated. As of the time of conducting this research, there is not enough information on the implementation, benefits or drawbacks of ISO 38500:2008. Common drivers for IT Governance implementation While the need for IT Governance has well been described, the benefits sought, i.e. the reasons for the implementation of an IT Governance framework vary, sometimes depending on the point of view of the observer. As drivers, we consider the motivator factors, which may lead an organisation to the implementation of an IT Governance framework. For IT Managers, IT Governance is a mechanism for the alignment of the IT with business on the projects that are going to be pursuit. For IT Auditors, it is mainly a control mechanism that can help them achieve compliance with regulations, and to manage the risks that are related to IT projects better. For IT Service management professionals, IT Governance ensures that not only the IT services offered are aligned to the current and future business needs, but they are also managed for efficiency, effectiveness and specific quality objectives (Pultorak, 2006). Recent surveys have indicated that the most important benefits expected from the implementation of an IT Governance framework are proper risk management, the resource management of IT, the performance measurement of IT and the business IT alignment. Along these, cost reduction, productivity improvements and organisation wide view of IT are commonly mentioned. (ITGI, 2008; BMC Software, 2007; Milne and Bowles, 2009; Yanosky and McCredie The Emergence of IT Governance in Greece The Emergence of IT Governance in Greece Introduction The emergence of IT Governance The cases of Enron, Worldcom and other corporate and financial scandals in the early years of the century have raised the significance of corporate governance and control. Regulatory environments have been formed with quite distinctive characteristics, depending on the needs of each country, and the needs of specific industries. The implementation of the controls required by regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley for the publicly listed organisations in the U.S. and Basel II for European banks relies heavily on IT. That dependency, combined to the required controls on IT itself, have forced top-level executives to have a look towards the proper management and governance of the information and communication technologies that power their organisations. At the same time, the high percentage of failed IT projects, ranging between 60% and 90% depending on the definition of failure, has alarmed many executives who see their resources to be wasted on failed projects, to be followed by more failed projects. Clear decision processes and proper project management aiming at efficiency and effectiveness, are the obvious answers to the problem; both of which point directly to IT Governance. The high cost of IT investments, which is more than half of the annual CAPEX for most organisations, calls for control, accountability and risk management, not to mention cost reduction. Information security, industrial espionage, regulations for the confidentiality of the data and the privacy of employees and customers, are all gracefully handled by a proper IT Governance structure. These are only some of the reasons that have led quite a few organisations worldwide to add IT Governance in their board agenda. The status in Greece Greece has control regulations for specific industries only, such as telecommunications, an industry largely affected by the Hellenic authority for communication security and privacy. Other industries are affected by pan-European control regulations, such as banking industry that needs to comply with MIFID and Basel-II alongside the directives issued by the Bank of Greece. Finally, just a few companies are listed in foreign stock exchanges such as NYSE listed PTT, subsequently affected by the SOX act. Nevertheless, although the environment in Greece is complex, and the IT infrastructure is no simpler than any other countrys, there is no published empirical academic research on the status of IT Governance in Greece. Even surveys that are conducted in wider geographical areas and not to a specific country do not usually include Greece; probably because it is a small market. The only data that has been found are some papers mentioning the benefits of IT Governance, as taken from the international practice; the data though is not adapted to local needs and circumstances. Research Objectives This research, titled IT Governance in Greece: Status, Drivers and Barriers aims to evaluate and present the IT Governance related practices in Greece. What percentage of Greek companies are using IT Governance frameworks and best practices, which is the preferred framework between the two prevalent (ITIL and CobIT), and which is the decision model selected by the companies that employ IT Governance. An attempt will be made to find any relationships between these results, and the size of the organisation or the size of the IT department. The reasons for which Greek organisations select to implement or not an IT Governance framework will also be linked to that data and outsourcing strategies which are known to require careful governance will be evaluated. For the organisations that choose to not implement a formal governance framework, the barriers to implementation will be analysed, as well as the potential good practices which do not constitute a framework, nevertheless help to the prudent governance of an organisations IT assets and resources. The research questions that are expected to shed some light to the main areas of the status of IT Governance in Greece are formulated as follows: The penetration of ITIL and CobIT in Greece as IT Governance frameworks Which are the most common factors that prevent or delay the acceptance and deployment of an IT Governance framework (barriers)? Which are the most common reasons that led organisations to deploy, or plan the future deployment of an IT Governance framework (drivers)? Which (if any) are the management methods used if a full IT Governance framework is not deployed? Personal Interest The author has followed a career path in Information Technology for the last 15 years, acquiring positions of raising responsibilities. In alignment to that career path, the MBA was considered a good choice, providing a broader view on all areas of management such as organisational behaviour and culture, human relationships, finance and marketing, strategy and implementation. The subject of this dissertation combines the two worlds, that of management and of information technology, giving a more thorough and business oriented view to the authors subject of work. Beyond the obvious curiosity that is created by the lack of data in the Greek market in which the author lives and works, there has always been an interest in IT Governance, IT management and risk management, and this dissertation comes to cover at least some of these areas. Structure of the dissertation The rest of the dissertation has a typical structure the introduction that was just provided constitutes the chapter one. Chapter two provides a review of the existing literature and previous studies on IT Governance; that should form the basis for the research that was necessary for this dissertation. Chapter three analyses and justifies the methodology that was used for the sampling, the data collection and data analysis methods that were selected. This chapter also presents and analyses some limitations related to the methodology, and presents the ways in which these limitations may affect the data analysis and the conclusions. Chapter four is the data analysis, in which all data that were collected are analysed and presented, relations are drawn and comparisons to findings from previous research are performed in order to fully answer the research questions set in this dissertation. Chapter five draws on the conclusions of the previous chapter. It summarizes the research objectives, the findings and the implications of the results. Generalization issues and data validity is further discussed. This chapter provides also recommendations for future studies, identifying details that were not included in this survey and questions that have emerged from the results of the current dissertation. Finally, this chapter reflects on the dissertation, assessing the weaknesses of the work performed and the obstacles faced; it also identifies the areas in which the author has gained knowledge and experience. Literature Review Introduction A literature review is vital to any research project, in order to collect, present and critically analyse, what is already known in the subject under research. The evaluation of previous research leads to a better understanding of the subject, of the areas of consensus between academics and practitioners, and the points of conflict and potential gaps. Towards the answer of the status of IT Governance in Greece, an attempt will be made to explain the term IT Governance and clarify any misconceptions regarding IT Governance and IT Management. The different types of IT Governance models that have been developed in the past, along with the key roles in IT Governance, will be identified, presented and compared. The necessity for IT Governance as suggested in the literature will be evaluated, and the most commonly mentioned benefits and implementation barriers will be presented, in order to serve as potential answers to the questionnaire of the research. Previous reports on management methods that may be used instead of a full framework implementation will also be evaluated for the same reasons. The definition of IT Governance IT Governance is a subject that has gained significant focus during the last years. As a term, IT Governance, has too many definitions in the literature (Buckby, Best and Stewart, 2009; Lee and Lee, 2009; Lee, Lee and Lee, 2009). Simonsson and Ekstedt (2006) tried to find a common definition on 60 different relative articles; and came up with yet another definition, which includes many of the previous ones. The definitions used by researchers, depend on their view on what IT Governance can offer to an organisation. IT Governance is sometimes perceived as a framework or a process for auditing the use of the IT infrastructure and operations. Some other times sometimes it is perceived as an IT decision making tool which allocates the decision rights in order to encourage a predictable behaviour in the use of IT, while for others IT Governance is a branch of corporate governance focusing on the control and the strategic view of IT (Musson, 2009). Not few have used definitions that mix and match more than one of these views, such as Peterson (2004), Higgins and Sinclair (2008) and Simonsson and Johnson (2007). A definition that is, in the authors opinion, quite clear and inclusive, is the following: IT Governance is a framework for the leadership, organizational structures and business processes, standards and compliance to these standards, which ensures that the organizations IT supports and enables the achievement of its strategies and objectives. (Calder, 2007) Lee and Lee (2009) make the link of IT Governance with Corporate Governance. They suggest that IT Governance is a mix of Corporate Governance and IT Management; meaning that IT Governance addresses the transparency and control that corporate governance focuses upon, and the efficiency and effectiveness that IT management aims at. IT Governance as part of the corporate governance is also suggested by Peterson (2004), Bhatttacharjya and Chang (2009), ODonohue, Pye and Warren (2009). Several researchers have pointed out that IT Governance is not the same as IT Management. The former refers to the definition of who has the rights for major decision making, while the later refers to the actual making of the decisions and the implementation itself (Broadbend, cited in Buckby et al., 2009; Calder, 2009; Sambamurthy and Zmud, 1999; Toomey, 2009; Van Grembergen and De Haes, 2009). Regarding the subject and scope of IT Governance, the IT Governance Institute suggests five distinct but interacting domains: The Strategic Alignment, Value Delivery, Risk Management, Resource Management and Performance Management. The need for IT Governance The need for IT Governance has not been extensively debated; almost everybody agree that the proper governance of IT is necessary. The reasons though provided to support this argument vary, and the organisations do not seem to have been persuaded by that position. A quite common reason provided to support the necessity of IT Governance, is the increased complexity of the IT infrastructure that is caused by the amount of data that an organisation holds, and the role of this information (Laplante and Costello, 2006). IT is not only complex, but it also has its own fast changing and unique conditions, as such the need to apply sound management disciplines and controls is even greater (NCC, 2005). Risk management is one more reason for IT Governance. Risk is caused by the growing dependency of organisations on IT resources which should not be neglected; the percentage of companies that are vitally dependent on IT for their continuing operation, was over 75% in 2004 (KPMG, cited at Musson, 2009). That dependency makes the potential unavailability of IT based services a significant problem for organisations such as banks and hospitals. The lack of availability is not the only danger caused by that dependency; cyber crime, fraud, information inaccuracy are just a few more issues that need proper identification and management (Van Grembergen and De Haes 2009). Instead of implementing IT solutions, the focus now has shifted to changing the business processes, to be enabled by IT. The solutions implemented are generally more complex due to this shift, and subsequently there is a greater risk with the implementation of IT-enabled business processes (Higgins and Sinclair, 2008). From the management perspective, that dependency means that management needs to be more aware of the critical IT risks, and to be assured that they are adequately managed (NCC, 2005). High organisational performance is another reason found in the literature, although that one is debatable. Liew believes that IT Governance can ensure proper measurement and preservation of an achieved performance (cited at Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009), nevertheless Young has pointed out through a literature review that there is no convincing evidence that superior business performance is a result of any of IT Governance guidelines (Young, 2006). Typically, IT investments are significantly high. They account for over 50% of the average organisations annual total capital investment (Baschab and Piot, 2007; Carr, 2003; Weill and Woodham, 2002), as such their management in a responsive, effective and efficient way is usually a requirement that should be set by the management board. On the monetary field, cost optimisation of the IT projects and service delivery, are also considered important issues by several researchers (Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009; Fairchild et al, 2009; Menken, 2009; Peterson, 2004). The amount of money spent is important, but the need that the enterprises investment in IT is in harmony with its objectives is usually considered more significant (Buckby et al, 2009). This is called Business IT Alignment, which is a quite old issue; several studies from mid-80s have focused on the alignment of the IT operations with the business objectives (Brown and Magill, 1994). Some researchers do not agree with the need for the Business IT alignment at all (Sillince and Frost, 1995). Koh and Maguire (2009) also suggest that Business IT alignment maybe the wrong strategy for smaller businesses, which may be agile enough to change course quickly following the new ICT arrivals in the business. They also mention that Venkatraman questions the logic behind alignment; nevertheless, this is a false interpretation of Venkatramans study, who clearly states that IT needs to support the business logic. Carr (2003) has written one of the most controversial articles on the issue, statin g that IT is not able to provide the competitive advantage that organisations need. Laplante and Costello (2006) make clear that they do not agree with that view, while Harris, Herron and Iwanicki (2008) get the opportunity to provide metrics on the value that IT can provide, instead of just dismissing Carrs argument. According to a different should of thought, Business IT alignment has been identified as a significant management concern (Brown and Magill, 1994; Cameron, 2007; Kashanchi and Toland, 2006; Silvius, 2007) and effort is put in order to identify the potential benefits of Business IT alignment. In fact, a recent study by Nash (2009) proves a positive correlation between firm level sales and the so-called Strategic Alignment Maturity; i.e. the maturity level of the business IT alignment. By considering Business IT alignment as something that organisations want to achieve, it is yet another reason to exercise governance of the IT. The relationship between IT governance and Business IT alignment has been proven (BMC Software, 2007; Musson and Jordan, 2006). Additionally, IT governance is strongly suggested by researchers as the best option for the maintenance of the alignment of IT to the continuously evolving organisational needs (Cameron, 2007; Harris et al, 2008; Pultorak, 2006; Sambamurthy and Zmud, 1999). Although Business IT Alignment is a common issue, it puts IT in a passive role; it makes it a follower. Proper governance can transform IT from a follower to a leader; IT is able to set the business agenda and partially affect the organisations strategic objectives (Addy, 2007; Baschab and Piot, 2007; Weill and Woodham, 2002). A research by NCC (2005) has identified a potentially widening gap between what IT departments think the business requires, and what the business thinks the IT department is able to deliver. This can be addressed by IT Governance, through which an organisation wide view of IT may be generated and promoted (Laplante and Costello, 2006; Weill and Woodham, 2002). That means that IT should have a thorough understanding and a participation in the improvement of business processes and their interdependencies. The other way round is also important, i.e. organisations need to obtain a better understanding of the value delivered by IT, both internally and from external suppliers. Measures are required in business (the customers) terms to achieve this. Key elements for that understanding include the enterprise wide view of IT budget (Addy, 2007; Weill and Woodham, 2002). One more reason found in the literature to promote IT Governance, is the compliance to regulatory requirements. Specific legislation and regulatory requirements, such as Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) almost dictate the use of an IT governance framework (Buckby et al., 2009; Higgins and Sinclair, 2008). Others, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and Basel-II do not dictate, but certainly describe an IT Governance framework through their requirements for accountability on investments, information security and assurance, risk management and decision processes (Harris et al, 2008; Higgins and Sinclair, 2008; Pultorak, 2006; Network Frontiers, 2008; NCC, 2005; van Grembergen and De Haes, 2009). Yet another commonly stated key benefit of proper IT Governance is clear and transparent decision making regarding IT resources (Baschab and Piot, 2007; Brown and Grand, 2005; Lee and Lee, 2009; Tshinu, Botha and Herselman, 2008). The lack of clarity and transparency for the decision making process, can lead to reluctance to take risks, and subsequently failure to seize technology opportunities (NCC, 2005) Separate decision processes followed by the IT and business, may mean that there is not enough shared ownership and clarity of resources, which also means that there may be a lack of accountability. IT Governance models Although IT Governance sets the decision making process, it does not define who decides. IT Governance decision authorities may be structured in different models, depending on the organisation. The three prevailing ones are the centralized, decentralized and federal (hybrid) according to their modes of distributing authorities and responsibilities for decision-making (Brown and Magill, 1994; Fairchild et al, 2009; Peterson, 2004; Sambamurthy and Zmud, 1999), while the pair of centralized / decentralized may also be found as the only choices (Laplante and Costello, 2006; Robb and Parent, 2009). Ross and Weill (2002) and Cameron (2007) expressed their quite strong preference on centralized IT Governance model, i.e. decisions being made centrally, but Ross and Weill revisited that view in 2004; they suggested that there are six (6) archetypes / models of IT Governance, on 5 different IT domains. From more centralised to less centralised, they identified Business monarchy, IT monarchy, Federal, IT Duopoly, Feudal and Anarchy. The two monarchies are quite clear, meaning that Business or IT respectively has the major responsibility for decisions. Anarchy is quite clear as well, meaning that there is no standardization. Federal and IT duopoly involve business executives and IT executives in the decision making process, with federal to give more power to the business than IT duopoly. Finally, feudal archetype brings the decision level down to business units or processes. The IT domains on which decisions need to be made, are IT principles such as funding and role of the IT in the business, IT Architecture which refers to the identification and development of the core business processes of the enterprise and relative information, IT infrastructure, business application needs such as the owner of the outcome of each project and IT investment and prioritization. That model classification from Ross and Weill is unique; as stated earlier, most other researchers have selected a simpler classification scheme. Ein-Dor and Segev (cited at Tavakolian, 1989) found that the revenue of the organisation is positively related to centralized IT Governance but there is no relation between the governance model and the size of the organisation. There is empirical proof that a link between the IT structure with the organisational competitive strategy exists; conservative organisations are more centralised than aggressive ones (Tavakolian, 1989). These results are supported by more recent research with consistent findings; Weill and Woodham (2002) and Weill and Ross (2004) found that top performing firms on profit were mostly centralized, while top performers on growth were mostly decentralized. A link between the organisations industry type and level of de-centralization of IT Governance has not been found (Ahituv et al, cited at Brown and Grant, 2005). It has to be noted that the model of IT Governance in an organisation may also be dictated by external factors, such as SOX which promotes a centralized IT Governance model, while Australian governance frameworks (mainly, AS 8015) drive the organisations towards a de-centralized IT Governance model (Robb and Parent, 2009). IT Governance Frameworks Information Technology Infrastructure Library The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework of best practices for IT Service Management. It is comprised of five books which focus on five different aspects of IT Service Management and Service Lifecycle: Service Strategy Service Design Service Transition Service Operation Continual Service Improvement Each one of the books, defines a set of processes such as IT Financial Management, Supplier Management, Change Management, Incident Management and Service Measurement and Reporting; a total of 23 processes are defined with a set of actions and roles required for each process. The definition of several of the processes and the subsequent roles is consistent with the IT Governance definition we used earlier; nevertheless a big amount of the defined processes such as event management and validation and testing, are much more focused on the management part than to that of the governance. ITIL is considered to be the framework that is closer to service management than control, from the other two frameworks, CobIT and ISO/IEC 38500:2008 and has a more narrow scope than CobIT (Van Grembergen and De Haes, 2009; Simonsson and Ekstedt, 2006; Simonsson, Johnson and Wijkstrà ¶m, 2007; Sallà ©, 2004; McBride, 2009). That focus of ITIL to service delivery and management was more obvious in version 2, which did not address issues such as Risk Management, Performance Monitoring and IT Governance (generic strategic direction and alignment) at all. As such it was mostly perceived as a framework for service desk management. Although the effectiveness of ITIL version 2 to the alignment of IT with business objectives has been repeatedly pointed out (BMC Software, 2007; Harris et al, 2008; Pultorak, 2006) and even experimentally proven (Kashanchi and Toland, 2006), it was never the primary driver for ITIL adaptation. A survey conducted by Bruton Consultancy for the Helpdesk Institute Europe (now renamed as Service Desk Institute) for the value that ITIL has brought in companies that have implemented it, indicated that the contribution of ITIL to the business strategy was not even considered as an issue by the majority of the correspondents (70%). The same holds for the perception of the participants on t he competitive advantage that may be provided by proper IT management through ITIL. More than half (66%) responded that this was not considered in the decision for ITIL implementation (Bruton, 2005). With version 3, ITIL gained a broader scope than version 2 and added significant emphasis on business strategy. That change, led some IT management consultants to declare ITIL version 3 as inappropriate for helpdesk and service management processes (Bruton, 2007), not strange since version 2 focused on processes while version 3 focuses on Business Value (Harris et al, 2008). Beyond the not strategic enough type of criticism, ITIL has also been criticised as a flawed and uneven framework. Dean Meyer identifies pitfalls in its implementation; nevertheless, he also states that it is an implementation issue and not a framework issue (Meyer, 2009 web site). ITIL has also been characterized as a too generic framework, which is not able to provide value if used off-the-shelf without significant adaptations (Baschab and Piot, 2007), an unfair criticism as ITIL is promoted as a set of best practices, not as a complete, fits-all framework. This concession should invalidate yet another criticism raised by Simonsson (2008), the lack of a maturity model. Another criticism of ITIL is that the documentation is not free (Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009). That is a valid point, nevertheless the cost of the books is quite low for companies (less than  £400 for the whole set). Other criticisms include the stifling of the creativity of those who implement it, and that it b ecomes a goal by itself having a heavy administrative burden (Addy, 2007). All these points are valid, but they can be attributed to the extension of ITIL. Control Objectives for Information and related Technology Control Objectives for information and related Technology (CobIT) is a control framework developed by the IT Governance Institute. CobIT defines processes and controls, and uses the grouping of activities in four domains: Plan and Organise Acquire and Implement Deliver and Support Monitor and Evaluate Each domain contains a set of processes, 34 at total, and each process defines specific controls, which sum up to 210 for all processes. CobIT defines inputs and outputs, as well as a maturity model for each process, making the control of compliance a very easy task. RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted and informed) charts are also provided, drawing a clear guideline on who should be involved in every process step. Goals and metrics, in the form of outcome measures (key goal indicators KGIs) and performance indicators (key performance indicators KPIs) respectively are also provided, mapping business goals to IT goals, which can be achieved by one, or the interaction of several processes. CobIT is generally used where there is a need for auditing functions, in comparison with ITIL, which is better suited to operational process improvement (ODonohue et al, 2009). In contrast to ITIL, CobIT has extensive documentation available free of charge, including the framework itself and several case studies. Several implementation documents though are only available for purchase, such as CobIT Quickstart, while others are available free for ISACA members or for purchase for non-members such as Security Baseline and User Guide for Service Managers. Several consultants and practitioners criticise CobIT that it only states the obvious, that it is very high level, is only a generic framework and does not provide specific and repeatable implementation steps (Culmsee, 2009; Toigo, 2005). This is not a common view, as others find CobIT to be quite prescriptive (Pultorak, 2006; Robb and Parent, 2009). That may be explained by the fact that although CobIT framework itself is indeed high level, a different publication is provided by ISACA, named CobIT Control Practices which is quite prescriptive. Academics criticise CobIT as providing little support for improved decision making, although many metrics are defined (Simonsson and Johnson, 2006). Others state that CobIT is expressed almost entirely in terms of process, focusing on how to govern but not what to govern (Lee et al, 2009). Another criticism states that CobIT is significantly more focused on auditing, largely ignoring other aspects of governance such as software development an d service delivery (NetFrontiers, 2005). CobIT is also characterized as a framework that needs significant knowledge and know how for a successful implementation (Simonsson et al, 2007), and that it takes time to introduce solid IT Governance through it (Rogers, 2009); although the opposite would be strange, given the wide area of processes and functions that CobIT addresses. Finally, while ITIL is known as the framework that guides you on how to get where you want to be, CobIT merely focuses on where you should be; that may be good or bad, depending on ones point of view and needs. ISO / IEC 38500:2008 The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) attempted to solve the confusion between IT Management and IT Governance, and at the same time provide guiding principles on IT Governance, in the recently published ISO/IEC 38500:2008. Because ISO/IEC 38500 establishes principles to guide the behaviour of organisations, it complements frameworks that focus on process, such as ITIL and COBIT. Thus, with the right frameworks or processes, complemented by the right behaviours, organisations are more likely to establish highly effective systems of governance. After all, it has been stated that ITIL and CobIT are not mutually exclusive; they are rather complementary and organisations will probably benefit from a mixed approach, adopting what is more applicable in every case, from the two frameworks (Chickowsky, cited at Bhattacharjya and Chang, 2009). ISO/IEC 38500 can also be combined with these two and ITGI has even issued a specific document demonstrating how and which specific CobIT and ValIT controls support the adoption of the standards principles and implementation approach. Nevertheless, ISO/IEC 38500:2008 is very recent to be evaluated. As of the time of conducting this research, there is not enough information on the implementation, benefits or drawbacks of ISO 38500:2008. Common drivers for IT Governance implementation While the need for IT Governance has well been described, the benefits sought, i.e. the reasons for the implementation of an IT Governance framework vary, sometimes depending on the point of view of the observer. As drivers, we consider the motivator factors, which may lead an organisation to the implementation of an IT Governance framework. For IT Managers, IT Governance is a mechanism for the alignment of the IT with business on the projects that are going to be pursuit. For IT Auditors, it is mainly a control mechanism that can help them achieve compliance with regulations, and to manage the risks that are related to IT projects better. For IT Service management professionals, IT Governance ensures that not only the IT services offered are aligned to the current and future business needs, but they are also managed for efficiency, effectiveness and specific quality objectives (Pultorak, 2006). Recent surveys have indicated that the most important benefits expected from the implementation of an IT Governance framework are proper risk management, the resource management of IT, the performance measurement of IT and the business IT alignment. Along these, cost reduction, productivity improvements and organisation wide view of IT are commonly mentioned. (ITGI, 2008; BMC Software, 2007; Milne and Bowles, 2009; Yanosky and McCredie