Principles of Law Essay

QUESTION Malik runs a restaurant at Taman Desa Kluang, Johor. He ordered from Ah Chong Mini Market 50 bags of Pakistani basmati rice at RM40 per bag and 200 packets of sugar at RM2.20 per packet. It was expressly agreed between the parties that Ah Chong must pack the sugar in boxes containing 20 packets each. However, when Ah Chong delivered the goods to Malik’s restaurant, it was found that the sugar was packed in boxes containing 30 packets each. The basmati rice that was supplied was found to be from India not Pakistan. Malik wishes to reject the goods. Advise Malik. Problematic Issue Whether Malik can take legal action against Ah Chong for breach of implied condition by description. Principles of Law Section 2 of SGA â€Å"Every kind of movable property other than actionable claims and money, and includes stocks and shares, growing crops, grass and thing attached to or forming part of land which are agreed to be severed for sale or under the contract of sale† Section 15 of SGA If the contract is for the sales of goods by description, there is an implied condition that the goods must correspond with the description. Case: Moore & Co v Launder Facts: Contract for 3,100 cases of canned fruit packed 30 tins to a case. But half of the cases contained only 24 tins although the total quantity was met. Held: the goods not correspond with contractual description.The buyers entitled to reject the goods. Case: Nagurdas Purshotumdas v Mitsui Bussan Kaisha Previous contract- sale of flour which had been sold in bags bearing a well-known trade mark. Subsequent contract- flour ordered ‘the same as our  previous contract’. Seller supplied flour of the same quality but did not bear the same well-known trade mark. Held: there was a breach of condition as the goods did not correspond with the description. Application According to Section 2 of SGA, basmati rice and sugar are movable property. According to Section 15 of SGA, the basmati rice and sugar supplied by Ah Chong must correspond with the description stated by Malik. According to the case of Moore & Co v Launder, Malik ordered from Ah Chong to delivered 200 packets of sugar and pack the sugar in boxes containing 20 packets each but Ah Chong pack the sugar in boxes containing 30 packets each. According to the case of Nagurdas Purshotumdas v Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, Malik ordered Ah Chong to delivered basmati rice from Pakistan but Ah Chong supplied basmati rice from India not Pakistan. Conclusion Malik ordered from Ah Chong to delivered 200 packets of sugar and pack the sugar in boxes containing 20 packets each but Ah Chong pack the sugar in boxes containing 30 packets each. Malik also ordered Ah Chong to delivered basmati rice from Pakistan but Ah Chong supplied basmati rice from India not Pakistan.Therefore, Malik can take legal action against Ah Chong for breach of implied condition by description. Malik also can repudiate the contract or reject the goods. QUESTION Discuss the differences between conditions and warranties in a contract of sale of goods. CONDITIONS Section 12(2) of SGA-Definition of Condition Condition is a stipulation essential to the main purpose of the contract. Breach of Condition Contract can be repudiated, goods can be rejected. Exceptions (Situations where the innocent party cannot repudiate the contract) Section 13 of SGA – Where the buyers waives the condition. – Where the buyers elects to treat the breach of condition as a breach of warranty. – Where the contract is NOT severable and the buyer has accepted the goods. – Where the contract is specific goods the property in goods or ownership has passed to the buyer. WARRANTIES Section 12(3) of SGA-Definition of Warranty Warranty is a stipulation collateral to the main purpose of the contract. Breach of Warranty Can only claim damages but cannot reject goods or repudiate the contract.

Case Study on Adolescent Sexual Abuse Essay

Elias is a five year old Mexican American male who has recently been referred to the community counseling center due to the exposure of sexual abuse by his stepfather. Elias was a client of this community center approximately 18 months earlier. Elias had been referred for poor impulse control and hyperactivity. At that time he was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He also met with the agency psychiatrist who had prescribed Elias Focalin. His cased was closed after only a few sessions due to the family’s inconsistency and withdrawal from services. At this point in time Elias has been attending his sessions with his mother and baby brother. Stepfather’s whereabouts are unknown and he has not had any contact with the family since the abuse was exposed. Elias has returned to taking Focalin, since he failed to continue taking his medication after withdrawing from services. However, there have been no changes noted in his behavior since he has begun to take the medication. The psychiatrist believes that this may be due to the low dosage he has prescribed Elias and because of such, the psychiatrist has opted to slowly increase the dosage and closely monitor any changes. The clinician notes that Elias is extremely hyperactive and exhibits minimal impulse control. Other than his high levels of restlessness, Elias shows no observable signs or symptoms of reaction to the sexual abuse. When clinician has attempted to process with Elias about the abuse or his feelings about the abuse, Elias has changed the subject or ignored the clinician all together. Mother states that she has noticed no changes in his behavior since the abuse was discovered. Practice Effectiveness Questions  The special population in discussion is children, the social problems in focus are sexual abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which leads the target client group to be children who have experienced sexual abuse and have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our client is Elias who is a child, who has experienced sexual abuse and is diagnosed with ADHD. For the purposes of this discussion our practice effectiveness questions are: 1) What are effective interventions for children who have been sexually abused? and 2) What are effective interventions for children who have been diagnosed with ADHD? Search Description Procedures The databases utilized for this search were: Google Scholar, Social Work Abstracts, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Academic Search Complete, Professional Development Collection, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SocINDEX with Full Text Sociological Collection, Academic Search Premier, and JSTOR. It was also helpful to review the journal entitled Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment for relevant articles. While searching the aforementioned databases, the following keywords were utilized: ‘sexual abuse and ADHD’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions’, sexual abuse and co-morbidity’, ‘ADHD and co-morbidity’, ‘children and sexual abuse’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions. ’ All articles selected were peer reviewed, found in scholarly journals, and published within the last ten years. In searching for relevant articles regarding treatment of sexual abuse, most articles addressed interventions designed to treat perpetrators of child sexual abuse; a few articles were uncovered that discussed treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Fewer still were articles that identified interventions for children who are recent or current victims of sexual abuse. In order to find information relevant to our target client group, we began pulling sources from reference pages of relevant articles which provided more focused research relevant to treatment of children who have experienced sexual abuse. Results The result of our exhaustive search of available literature led us to identify eight articles to focus on. Out of these articles, four dealt specifically with children who have experienced sexual abuse, two focused on abuse of children which included physical abuse along with sexual abuse, two were focused primarily on ADHD, four focused on co-morbidity of either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or ADHD and sexual abuse, and four specifically discussed treatments and interventions. Half of the selected articles were literature reviews while the remaining four were reporting from the standpoint of a primary source on research studies of treatments and interventions. The research studies varied in their sampling and control or comparison groups; only two studies were able to utilize a true experimental design with random assignment of study participants to control and experimental groups. The literature reviews provided an extensive overview of relevant studies and interventions from a secondary source standpoint. The eight identified sources provided an assortment of research-based perspectives as well as a sampling of evidence based on authority by those who reviewed the literature and discussed their findings in literature reviews. Research Findings Description of Articles In the article Sexually Abused Children Suffering from PTSD: Assessment and Treatment Strategies by David Heyne, Neville J. King, Paul Mullen, Nicole Myerson, Thomas H. Ollendick, Stephanie Rollings, and Bruce T. Tonge states that sexual abuse of children is a major societal problem because of its high prevalence and devastating impact on the victimized child. Children who have been sexually abused often demonstrate anxiety, depressive moods, improper sexual behaviors, nightmares, social withdrawal, sleep difficulties, anger, shame/guilt and school problems. The authors did diagnostic interviewing with their participants. The authors interviewed thirty six children and sixty nine percent were primarily diagnosed with PTSD. Within the thirty six children four of the children with full PTSD had no other diagnoses. Nine had one co morbid diagnoses, ten had two co morbid diagnoses, and two had three co morbid diagnoses. PTSD is not always prevalent and at times other emotional and behavioral problems are prevalent. In fact, many studies confirm that on clinical evaluation a large proportion of sexually abused children meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD (Heyne, at el. , 2003). This particular article showed that often there are other diagnoses that go along with PTSD but in an article by Peggy T. Ackerman, Roscoe A. Dykman, Jerry G. Jones, W. Brian McPherson, and Joseph E. O. Newton, did research on groups that have been affected sexual, physically abused, or both. The article Prevalence of PTSD and Other Psychiatric Diagnosis in Three Groups of Abused Children (Sexual, Physical, and Both) was a study done with children that are sexually and or physically abused. Fortunately, many children who are victims of horrifying events do not develop PTSD or other psychiatric disorders (Ackerman at el. 1998). Very little is known as to why some victimized children do and others do not develop psychiatric disorders. Even such basic variables as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, intelligence, and age at time of trauma, have been inadequately studied. They were in a large children’s hospital in which sexual and or physically abused children were referred. The groups were divided into three, sexually and physically abused and both. Through the finding there were more boys who were physically abused and girls who were sexually abused. Anxiety and behavior disorders were more frequent than mood disorders. In concordance with clinical observation, abused boys, regardless of type abuse, had higher rates of behavioral disorders and abused girls had higher rates of two internalizing disorders: separation anxiety (caregiver reports) and phobic disorder (child report) (Ackerman at el. , 1998). Studies show most clearly that children who have been jointly physically and sexually abused are at greatest risk for psychiatric disturbance. There are many different treatment interventions one can go through to minimize PTSD and attention deficient disorders. Maryka Biaggio, Darlene Staffelbach, Dan Weinstein wrote the article ADHD and PTSD: Differential Diagnosis in Childhood Sexual Abuse which shows different interventions used for victimized children. Treatment interventions for ADHD children predominantly consist of behavior management, social skills training, and stimulant or other medication. Treatment interventions for children with PTSD generally consist of management and alleviation of emotional distress using play, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy modalities (Biaggio at el. 2000). Relaxation techniques and hypnosis have also been effective in treatment of PTSD in children. Misdiagnosis may lead clinicians to use inappropriate interventions for PTSD. Side effects experienced by ADHD children on stimulant medication may include difficulty falling asleep, lack of appetite, irritability, headaches, stomachaches, nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, muscle tics or twitches, slowed physical growth, and skin rashes (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Another undesired onsequence of ADHD misdiagnosis in SAC (sexual abused children) is the failure to address and treat the trauma symptoms of children who actually have PTSD. Given the risk of wrongly prescribing, untreated trauma, and negative impact on self-esteem for children misdiagnosed with ADHD, it is unfortunate little attention has been given to this issue (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Increased attention to clinical decision-making in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and PTSD may lead to more appropriate, beneficial, and timely interventions. Darcie) Allison M. Briscoe-Smith and Stephen P. Henshaw’s article entitled: Linkages between child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls: Behavioral and social correlates, was an excellent source to explore the relationship of sexual abuse and ADHD and begin to discuss the co-morbidity of these events for children. The article described a research study carried out with a sample of 228 females at a summer camp for girls with ADHD over a three year span. Each year cohort groups were created to identify the prevalence of abuse among girls diagnosed with ADHD and those who had not received a diagnosis of ADHD. Out of the twenty-four identified cases of abuse histories, twenty of these girls were diagnosed with ADHD, and of those abuse histories ten were sexual in nature which is much higher than any other form of maltreatment documented by the researchers. All girls who had abuse histories had a co-morbid diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder. The study found that girls with both ADHD and abuse histories were more likely to display externalizing behaviors and be negatively received by their peers. The study also analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of an abuse history and the rejection from peers and found aggression to partially mediate that relationship. The authors concluded that girls with ADHD were at increased risk of having abuse histories and questioned the accurate diagnosis of ADHD. It was suggested that the girls who had histories of abuse may more accurately be diagnosed with PTSD and/or share a co-morbid diagnosis with PTSD. Judith A. Cohen and Anthony P. Mannarino conducted a research study comparing two interventions to treat children who have been sexually abused; their findings were published in the article entitled: Interventions for Sexually Abused Children: Initial Treatment Outcome Findings. This article was one of few that specifically addressed interventions for children with the focus being treatment of sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 49 children between the ages of 7 and 14 who were randomly assigned to either sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy (SAS-CBT) or nondirective supportive therapy (NST) for a twelve week duration. The study found that children in the SAS-CBT group improved significantly in social competence and in the reduction of feelings of depression. Also, substantially higher percentages of children involved in SAS-CBT experienced what is considered clinically significant improvements. In regards to deterioration while in therapy, higher rates were found in children who received NST. For the safety of the other children in the groups, children who were consistently displaying repetitive extreme sexually inappropriate behaviors were removed from treatment groups; seven NST participants were removed from the study as compared to two children participating in SAS-CBT. Parental satisfaction with treatment was high in both treatment groups which either treatment modality. The clinical impressions of the authors conclude that sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy is superior to nondirective supportive therapy in the reduction of depressive symptoms. SAS-CBT was also favored due to the benefit of including parents in treatment (NST did not formally include parents). The authors also concluded that there is value and importance in providing a directive therapy technique in dealing with the effects of trauma caused by sexual abuse. Assessment of Evidence Implications of Evidence Interventions for sexual abused victim’s trauma may include based cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, parental involvement- parent training, behavioral therapy, coping skills training, psycho-education, and prevention awareness. PTSD interventions may include trauma based cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy. Attention deficit disorder can also be treated with behavioral management techniques, medication, social skills training, play therapy, parent training, behavioral classroom interventions and summer treatment programs. Many sexually abused children have other diagnosis along with PTSD and several possible co-morbid diagnosis are more than likely behavioral, but often can be confused with PTSD. When looking at interventions and treatments clinicians need to look at the client’s cultural background so that way we do not intrude on their lives.

Biology BSc third year biotech project; Manipulating Biomass and PHA Lab Report

Biology BSc third year biotech project; Manipulating Biomass and PHA Production in batch and continuous cultures of Paracoccus denitrificans - Lab Report Example This proves that the product formation is dependent on the substrate concentration. The concentration of the protein present in the given culture was determined using the Bradford assay at an absorbance of 595 nm. These readings are plotted against the standard protein data curve to find the actual concentration of the protein formed at various time intervals. It was found that the concentration of the protein was maximum after 69 hours. The biomass concentration was found after the 96 hours of culture for the different concentrations of the substrate succinate. It is found that the biomass concentration was maximum for the 50mM concentration. As the PHB are found inside the bacteria, if the biomass is higher then the PHB concentration is also found to be higher. Thus indicating that at a succinate substrate concentration of 50mM, the biomass and the PHB concentration was found to be higher. The biomass concentration was determined after the 96 hours culture. The concentration of the acetate varied from 10mM to 50mM. It is found that as the concentration of the acetate was increased, the biomass concentration was also found to increase. If the biomass concentration is higher then the PHB concentration must be also very high. From the graph, it was found that the biomass concentration was maximum after 60 hours and the concentration of the protein was maximum during the third day of the culture. From this graph we can find that the concentration of the protein was maximum after the cells have crossed the log phase. When the growth curve of P.denitrificans was observed in both continuous and anaerobic culture, it was found that the growth was higher in continuous culture. Comparatively the growth was 10 fold higher in the continuous culture When the growth of the bacteria was compared in different concentrations of succinate at aerobic and anaerobic cultures, it was observed that the

Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Portfolio - Essay Example It is done in five stages namely; Existing skills and knowledge are identified considered to be vital in the current business work; Future skills and knowledge are identified considered to be important in future career; Rating of your ability as strong weak, and somewhere in between; Reviewing of your ability ratings by choosing someone who is not afraid; Finally, utilizing the information to develop the skill and the knowledge areas. Behavioural skills include communication skills, self management and development, mathematical skills, time management, management of tasks, ITC skills, and applying initiative. The technical skills and knowledge is specific and inclines to the area of professionalism in this case business fraternity1 The benefits of skills audit include; There is improved skills and knowledge; Valuable and valid skills of the work place plans; Low development and training costs due to developmental efforts being much focused; Increase in productivity as employees are b etter marched to their positions. There are many techniques used to conduct skills audit based on the strategy and context of the organization. This is alignment is very vital in ensuring consistency with the strategy of the business and the value of the audit skills results. Key stages in skills audit is determining the skills required of each employee. Auditing the actual skills and it involves an individual skills audit and self-audit. On result analysis the audit information is utilized in planning purposes related to training and development2. The current strategies for skills audit implementation of individual self audit include the panel approach, one-on-one approach and finally consultant approach. The pitfalls to avoid when conducting skills audit include; the hallo effect, perfectionism and/ or non-perfectionism, the external factors, and self-perception. The principles of skills audits form the basis upon which skills audits are conducted. They should be strictly followed to ensure a valid and fair process. They comprise of; honesty, validity and reliability, transparency, and constructive feedback Skills Audit table PORTFOLIO ITEM 2: A current personalised CV plus discussion The employability skills that I needed were all geared towards building of my personalized CV as an accomplished business asset. The employability skills are grouped into six broad categories which include communication, customer service, cognitive/ analysis, numeracy skills, manual skills, and finally leadership and management. When you want to improve on the quality of your CV, you must actually start by sharpening the marketable skills and knowledge you posses before embarking on those that are new to you. The employability skills include; Regard to team work, must be able to show cooperation to others on a shared task; Oral communication skills, by showing the ability to give accurate and clear information by appropriately listening to others and making clarifications on yo ur stand; Written communication, having the ability to write well presented essays, letters, and reports for a mixture of audiences; Presentation skills, concisely and appropriately presenting ideas and information; Persuading and influencing, by being able to convince others that the my ideas are worth of consideration; Negotiation, ability to facilitate the reach of an agreement with a group or an

The Wedding Banquet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Wedding Banquet - Essay Example The wedding banquet represents the first attempt by Ang Lee to discuss gay relationships through the cinematic medium. Interestingly, Lee also makes a cameo appearance in the movies as a guest attending the wedding. The movie works as an intense comedy in the first half, and then it reveals the complexities of the how the secreted relationships burden all those involved. The characters Winston Chao and his lover Simon enjoy a convenient life style, until his parents demand a marriage and, more importantly, a quickly arriving offspring. This movie displays very intense emotional sequences as well as riotously funny movements that every audience expects in an intelligent comedy of this caliber. â€Å"The Wedding Banquet never becomes bogged down by its own seriousness. Lee manages to keep the production buoyant by including scenes that are often riotously funny† (Berardinell.1993). Although the movie offers Winston Chao’s acting debut, he exhibits no flaws or chinks in hi s acting skill.

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 120

Summary - Essay Example a guideline to those who may have developed interest in understanding student’s behaviors, conduct and development patterns while still under the experience of the campus life. The paper mainly focuses on family theories and characteristics based on their evolutionary-life in relation to student’s affairs, practices and mental development (Nilson, 2010). In essence, a doctor attempted to treat a psychiatric patient who failed to respond to services offered until her medical history was traced, and it has been clarified that there is a need to have a glimpse of patient history and absorb her experiences. Another psychological scholar Nilson (2010) illustrates that it is critical to understand the history of anybody suffering from mental disposition before treatment is administered. Moreover, majority of expatriates who are concerned with student affairs often believe in direct observation of patients other than listening to stories. Some theories include Cognitive development theory concerned with psychological issues, it allows for the synthesis of information thus enabling an individual to make a variation from very simple encounters to bigger events. Cognitive theory is mainly used in students to govern moral development. In addition, there is social identity theory that plays a critical role in giving contrast to different memberships that are claimed by an individual within a specific framework of representation. The most common social identities theories include ethnic identity or racial identity. Consequently, there is psychosocial development theory that focuses mainly on ho w a person relates to the social environment. Psychosocial development theory clarifies about the developmental period of a person based on his identity, value, career and family among other elements within the environment. The above article gives an evaluation and comparison of several theories associated with the development of a child. Despite such theories having been developed

Integrated Marketing Communications Plan for Travelpod Essay

Integrated Marketing Communications Plan for Travelpod - Essay Example The Travelpod is the world's first mobile hotel room. This 6m x 2.4m clear polycarbonate glass box replicates the conventional Travelodge hotel room. It has air conditioning, heater flat screen TV, DVD player, ambient lighting, tea/coffee making facilities and a washroom with biodegradable toilet and washbasin with running water. Travelodge are planning to be able to offer to transport these mobile hotel rooms to any outdoor venue such as music festivals, sporting events or large outdoor events for the same price as their conventional hotel rooms. Competitiveness in business the world over is so acute that survival is possible for only those organizations, which are ready to employ every possible means to increase profit by reducing cost in production, while remaining uncompromising in quality and aggressive in marketing. The role of marketing communication in modern business practices has been identified as a key factor in survival in modern day business. As part of the search for business effectiveness the entire process of marketing communication is being approached in a comprehensive and unified manner where by all activities of business communication functions in unison. This approach is called Integrated Marketing Communication. This is a relatively new concept in management. ... 3.1 The Importance of Integrated Marketing Communication An integrated marketing communications program guarantees that every chance to send a message to a customer functions efficiently and smartly. Many needs of the enterprise like increasing membership, ensuring member retention, or increasing non-dues revenue, entry into an impenetrable market etc is achieved by stretching and straining all the sinews and muscles of the enterprise. This can be also called persuasive communication. Chris Fill has observed the complexities that communication involves. Persuasion can be experiential in of a negotiation process between people. It might need propaganda material typically associated with the government. Sometimes the sender or speaker may be presenting their opinion to a large group of people with no chance for feedback from the crowd (Fill 1995). Marketing communication can succeed only if the communicator has a clear idea of his task. Based on the target market and target's need he or she should have a unique selling proposition. Communication should help the target group to see you differently form other competitors. In addition, the sales targets should be planned and achievable levels should ear marked and budgetary provisions and a marketing strategy should be in place to achieve these levels. The message delivered in all places, occasions should be consistent, and reliable quantitative tools should measure results. 3.2 Integrated Marketing communication-Barriers and Gateways The main problem in implementing integrated marketing communication is elitism at the helm. All organizations run the danger of developing an elite group who have become conservative and might try maintaining statuesque because of the self imposed image of superiority. These may

Association of Women Police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Association of Women Police - Essay Example In order to safeguard the interests of the police women in the various police departments present in the different regions across the globe, the Women Police association was primarily setup. The Women Police Association had its origins in the year 1915, which was just a blue print and remained in paper. The Association was setup in Washington DC after about one year in 1916. (www.bookrags.com) When one looks back at the history of the United States of America, one can very well see that women had been in the police department’s right from the year 1845. It was in the year 1893 that a women by name Mrs. Mari Owens was inducted into the Chicago Department of Police and was been given the Policeman rank, which entitled her to the power of arrest. It was only in the year 1910, which another woman by name Mrs. Alice Stebbins Wells was named as the Policewoman. (www.bookrags.com) The modern society by then had very well looked into the benefits of the introduction of the women in th e police force and has rightly acknowledged the need for women police officers, to deal with crimes related to women and children in particular. Indeed the main aim that was behind the creation of the Woman Police Association, was to take preventive actions against the occurrence of the various kinds of problems and harassments, which were being created for policewomen in their workplace. The areas that were also looked into by the Women Police Association, mainly included places of public interest like the dance halls, movies, arcades, shopping malls and all other places of recreational interest for women and children which could also turn out to be problem spots. It can very well be said that it is this Women Police Association, which has really become a force to reckon with and has straight away empowered the women police officers in the law enforcement department. (www.bookrags.com) In fact women and more particularly the police women have always felt very insecure, without such an Association and this could have in turn drastically affected their freedom and their rights in the society and at their workplace. Hence it can be said that, the formation of the Women Police Association has been a blessing for the police women. The women Police Association has grown so much in strength all across the world that, it today has got so many branches across the world. The present Women Police Associations across the world is present in approximately 14 regions. This can be very well attributed to the fact that, most of the governments all across the world have found it important to form such an association, that would be entrusted with the duty of safeguarding the rights of the policewomen at their workplaces, which would enable them to rightly enforce crime detection and prevention activities. (www.bookrags.com) But with the increasing concern regarding the safety and security of the women and children across many countries, there is certainly scope for growth for more such women police force and their respective Women Police Associations. Thus due to the Women Police Association’s efficiency in prevention of harassments against police women, the association has grown tremendously in strength during the recent years. As a part of the annual activities this Association conducts training programs as well as conferences which

Admiralty law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Admiralty law - Coursework Example The nature of the rights and remedies, as well as the repercussion of the claims greatly differs, based on who presents the claims, and the nature of such presented claims. For example, the claim that a passenger presents have very different remedies, from such claims presented by the members of the crew (Charles, 2008 p11). Admiralty Law is very dynamic and amorphous, in that it changes the nature of defenses issued, through incorporating into the defense system some defenses that are not stipulated in the common laws, or by removing some standing laws that previously guided this practice. Consequently, the in-depth knowledge of Admiralty Law is necessary for any individual wishing to raise a claim under the law (Frakes, 2003 p22). This law consists of a combination of domestic laws governing the internal maritime activities and the private international laws, which guides the activities and the interactions of private entities that are operating within the seas (Eliot, 1963 p20). T he component o this law are major international treaties which have been enacted in the recent decades, to guide the relationships and business undertakings between countries and the private entities on the seas. The flag that a ship flies in the high seas determines under which jurisdiction of the law such a ship falls. The jurisdiction of the ship, and thus all the consequent cases arising from its activities and interactions with others fall with the country that the flag possessed by the ship belongs. However, the substance and the authenticity of such flag is a paramount issue, in Admiralty Law, in that some ships may fly flags that do not truthfully reflect the country they emanate from (Davis, 2008 p10). In our case, O charted its ship, the Costa Lotta, to go and carry a consignment of crude oil from Greece to the UK. The vessel was to carry the cargo that belonged to VC, which is domiciled to Greece, without any of its business operations in the UK. During the process of tra nsporting the crude oil, the vessel, Costa Lotta developed a problem, which arose from bad weather in the Mediterranean, when it was near the coastline of Italy. As a result of this problem, the cargo that was carried by the vessel got damaged, losing substantial of the crude oil into the sea. The master of the ship sought help from a salvage company, since the ship had been refused to dock in any port of Italy. With the assistance of the salvors, the remaining cargo of crude oil was salvaged, and the salvors helped in the clean up procedure that saw the clearance of the oil that spilled into the sea. Having been assisted, the savors are seeking compensation for helping salvage the cargo held by Costa Lotta. On its part, O, the company that owns the Costa Lotta is avoiding the salvors, by failing to compensate them for their salvage mission. More to this, O has gone ahead and sold Costa Lotta, the vessel that was salvaged to Bruno. This makes the subject of dispute in this case unav ailable. The master of the vessel was arrested and detained in France, required to explain the incidence that led to the sea pollution, which affected the coastline of France, rendering it inappropriate for visit by tourists. On the other hand, VC, the company that owned the cargo that was being transported by Costa Lotta has failed to complete the payment. VC argues that the loss of cargo that was incurred by the company should be set off against the remaining payment to O. Additionally; VC argues that the loss occurred due to the incompetence of the master of Costa Lotta. Thus, there are many legal issues underlining this case, which can be traced to the Admiralty Law. The first legal issue is whether O will succeed in raising a claim

Mackinsey and Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mackinsey and Company - Essay Example The challenge is that it is extremely difficult for modern leader-managers to motivate and inspire employees, analyze their needs and meet these needs. Lack of leadership and management skills may lead to a failure, low productivity and poor organizational performance. In modern environment, the main challenge is that leader-manager deals with culturally and economically diverse workforce, so he/she should be well aware of motivational theories and their practical application. Combs (2002) pays a special attention to leadership challenges and motivational problems typical for modern organizations. Motivation is one of the main factors which influence productivity and morale, feelings and human relations in the workplace. There are different theories of motivation which try to explain human needs and intentions, intrinsic and extrinsic drivers. People with a high degree of achievement motivation are more persistent, realistic, and action-minded than people with other kinds of motivat ional patterns. Silva (2005), Schultz (2003) and Meuse and Claire (2007) show that motivation has changed influenced by external and internal stimuli.This does not necessarily make them more productive; that seems to depend on whether the task requires some degree of personal initiative or inventiveness. If it does, the achievement-motivated person is very likely to leave his competitors far behind. A great deal can be learned from the cultural environment if attention is paid to complaints, compliments, surveys, and other opinions of employees and patterns of service demand. Finally, among the factors to be considered as part of the internal organizational environment are the structure of an organization, its history, its distinctive strengths and weaknesses, changes in its values, and its culture. Kiel (1999) and Barak (2000) examine and analyze Mallow's hierarchy of needs and motivation principles. Once basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are satisfied, he wants friends and to get folksy and group. Once these needs for belonging are satisfied, he wants recognition and respect from his fellowmen and he wants to achieve independence and competence for himself. One approach, widely known by managers, is set out by Abraham H. Maslow in his book "Motivation and Personality". Maslow's theory of motivation claims that human motives develop in sequence according to five levels of needs. These needs are: psychological (hunger, thirst), safety (protection), social (be accepted, belong to a certain group), esteem (self-confidence, achievements, respect, status, recognition), and self-actualization (realizing one's potential for continued self-development). This theory show that needs follow in sequence and when one need is satisfied it decreases in strength and the higher need t hen dominates behavior. This leads to the statement that a satisfied need is not a motivator. There is a doubt whether this really applies in practice to the higher needs as it is likely that self-esteem requires continues stimulation and renewal. Few attempts have been made to test the validity of Maslow's ideas. A big problem is that Bill does not satisfy higher-order needs through their jobs or occupations, and this cannot really be tested. Another point is that he viewed satisfaction as a major motivator and this is not directly related to

Overcoming Multimedia Addiction Essay Example for Free

Overcoming Multimedia Addiction Essay Some of the students nowadays are struggling to stay awake while the rest of the world is asleep just to read their friends’ posts and comments and status on Facebook. They even spend most of their time staring at the big screens of their personal computers just to play online games like DOTA and Counterstrike. Some also spend their money just to buy the latest mobile phones, mp3 players, and other techno gadgets out there. However, they must keep in mind that everything has its own limits. Otherwise, it can become a cause of concern and in extreme cases, addiction. Multimedia addiction can cause destruction and violence to students. Multimedia is simply defined as multi tasking of applications in a single device or gadget. This includes graphics, animation, pictures, videos, and other applications which can be opened simultaneously or consecutively. Smart phone, laptop, iPod, television, and mp4 player are some of many multimedia gadgets that are ‘in’ especially to students because of its amazing features. Consider the television. Whether it is a box, slim, or flat screen, it has become almost like another member of the household. It sits in the living room, in the kitchen, or even in the terrace of your house. It bombards us with all kinds of information about almost anything under the sun. It informs us on what laundry soap to use; what toothpaste to brush our teeth with, or which candidate to vote in the 2013 election. It brings us local news and news from around the world. And of course, it entertains us with sports, music, movies, telenovelas, lifestyle segments and variety programs. Cellular phones, on the other hand, are used for communication purposes. But because of technological advancements, new applications like built- in cameras are added to them. That’s why many people patronize it so much. Laptops are made for easy handling. Unlike personal computers, you can now bring it anywhere because of its small size. Almost every student today has his or her own laptops. The dependence on multimedia gadgets extend to students who became the primary beneficiaries of these gadgets. Tech- net survey said that 42 % of students are using mobile phones, 36 % are using laptop, 15 % are using play station, and 7 % are using mp3 players (â€Å"2012 Most Addicting Gadgets†, www. Technet.com). The use of multimedia gadgets can be constructive and destructive to students (Despabiladeras 15). Many of them consider the use of these gadgets constructive when they help them in their studies. Today, the internet is the major source of knowledge and information. In just one click, they can now find the answers to their assignments. They also use software like Microsoft office and the like for their project presentation. Many schools now use computer oriented techniques for teaching. The traditional way of teaching like writing too many lessons in a manila paper is already replaced by powerpoint presentations which are indeed favorable for the students. They no longer copy too many notes because there are handouts already prepared for them. Multimedia also gives information about the latest happenings and discoveries around the world. The use of social media sites like Facebook allows them to socialize with other people. Some also say that playing online games like DOTA and Counte rstrike have positive effects on them because they relieve stress from the hectic schedule of their schooling. In contrary, students say that multimedia gadgets can be destructive too. Problems begin when students became addicted to these gadgets to the point of discarding other activities which can truly affect their balance and studies (www. Gadgetforums.com). Because of these gadgets, they now prefer playing games that reading books. In most schools, use of cellular phones is banned but many of the students still carry them. They push their parents to buy them the latest mobile phone or other gizmos because their peers use it. The effect of this addiction is that they can no longer resist themselves from taking calls and accessing Facebook and other social networking sites during school hours. â€Å"The use of gadgets can be destructive when it makes your personality bad like when you become wild because of video games†, Bryan Capus said ( Despabiladeras 15). They forgot to budget their time because most of their time are consumed by these gadgets. The overuse of these also affects their health. Too much exposure to these gadgets can cause diseases like brain tumor and cancer caused by radiation (â€Å" Radiation From Gadgets†, www. Healthcare.com). They are prone to sickness because they no longer engaged in outdoor activities. It is alarming to know that 47 % of students nowadays are addicted to computers and other multimedia gadgets ( Despabiladeras 16.). Their parents have a big role in overcoming their children’s addiction. For example, most of the students are advised or told by their parents to limit their internet surfing time until 8:30 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. or but not to reach 10:00 p.m. as they have classes the next day ( Clifford 72). Some also advice their children to engage in other recreational activities like playing basketball or playing the guitar instead of watching T.V. or sitting all day in front of their PCs. One parent posted the following on gadgetforums.com: In today’s high- tech and modern world, we are all connected with each other through the miracle of working inventions and innovations like PC, tablets, smart phones, gaming, internet and so much more. And I think we feel that we won’t have a normal day without getting hooked to any one of these devices. The problem begins to rise when our children became addicted to these gadgets to the point of discarding other activities which can truly affect their balance and health. To avoid this, I try to ensure my son has balance in this area. Playing team sports has helped, that’s one thing in his like that doesn’t require gadget. Sports is one of the best ways to add moving activities to a child’s routine with the aim of creating a certain balance between studying and playing. We could not really avoid our children to get into gadgets as this is the wave of the future with the introduction of tablets which can he fully integrate with schools in the near fu ture ( www.gadgetforums.com). According to gadgetforums.com, there are eight ways to overcome gadget addiction. First, limit the amount of time you spent on any type of gadget. Second, learn to balance and manage your time. Make a time table on when to use your gadget. Third, spend most of your time in your studies. This will give you higher grades in return. Fourth, read books rather than playing games. Surfing the internet for recent news and discoveries will help too. Fifth, spend your free time with your family and friends. Go to an outing of family reunion that doesn’t require gadgets. Sixth, socialize with your true friends, not your ‘virtual’ friends. Your Facebook friends will never help you if you have a problem. Seventh, avoid buying newly released gadgets if you still have one that is still working. And the last is self discipline. It is interesting to know the opinions of students on multimedia gadget addiction; whether it is constructive or destructive for them and what their parents do in influencing their media habits. To prevent this addiction, students should analyze their gadget preferences and see what’s good of bad in it for them. They must set in mind that multimedia gadgets is there to help them, not to enslave them.

Nurse Staffing Essay Example for Free

Nurse Staffing Essay Adequate nurse staffing for patient care has been a major difficulty in the health care system . Patients’ acuity continues to grow at a fast rate while hospitals continue to struggle with the adequate number for nurse-to-patient ratio, leaving nurses in a very difficult situation while trying to provide the best care possible to their patients. The low nurse-to-patients ratio can be remedied when public and private hospitals realize the negative impact on the outcome of care. This paper will try to point out the negative effects of low nurse-to-patient ratio has on outcome of care. Like other professions that continue to face obstacles, nursing has its own obstacles that it must face from time to time. The world population increases so will the obstacles that nursing will have to face, but good administration can be used to defend the work conditions under which nurses are forced to work. Many studies have been done to point out the problem, with a pile of evidence to support the need to alleviate the burden on the nurses but to no avail. A study conducted in the Chinese hospital by Zhu, You, et al. (2012). Nurse Staffing Levels Make a Difference on Patient Outcomes: A Multisite Study in Chinese Hospitals proved, â€Å"more nursing staff per patient had statistically significant positive effects on all necessary nursing care, nurses’ reports of quality of care, their confidence on patients’ self-care ability on discharge from hospital, patient adverse events, as well as patients’ report of satisfaction (Zhu, You, et al, 2012, p. 266)†. The study was composed of 181 hospitals across mainland China. The sample that was used was 31provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions with level 3 hospitals. To show the strength of the study, the researchers applied statistics to prove their results. As much as the hospitals may not see the need to improve on the nurse to patient problem, the evidence is there. It is something that must be dealt with because it is dangerous to both nurses and patients. Further studies were also conducted on the problem by Nantsupawat A, Srisuphan W, et al. (2011). Impact of nurse work Environment and Staffing on Hospital Nurse and Quality of care in Thailand. This study was to prove the impact of nursing staffing on the work environment, the cause of burnout and the impact on quality of care in Thailand. Research elements was secondary data analysis of 2007 Thai Nurse Survey. The study took place at 13 general and regional hospitals in Thailand using a â€Å"multistage sampling†. Nurses were asked demographic questions about themselves both general and regional hospitals. Results shown the ratio of patient to nurse was 10:1. Nurses who worked in hospitals with fair patient to nurse ratio had less burnout. The study has great significance in nursing practice and can be used as proof to show the impact of high patients to nurses ratio. It was found that nurses in Thailand work environment have high burnout and great dissatisfaction of nurses. Nurse to patient is very low with a total of 1:10 per shift. At times, a nurse ended-up having to care for more patients. The high patients to nurse ratio brought with it adverse outcomes on patients’ care and place the patients at high risk of occurrences such as: mistaken one patient for another, patient falls, medication errors, pressure ulcers, and urinary tract infection. Furthermore, in the study conducted by Cho, June, Kim, et al (2009). Nurse staffing, quality of nursing care and nurse job outcomes in intensive care units. This study measured the proportion number of patients to nurse. As per the authors of the article, â€Å"nurses were more likely to rate quality of care as high when they care for two or fewer patients (odd ratio, 3. 26; 95% confidence interval, 1. 14-9. 31) or 2. 0-2. 5 patients (odd ratios, 2. 44; 95% confidence interval, 1. 32-4. 52), compared with having more than three patients (Cho, June, Kim, et al,, 2009, p. 1729)†. The research use for its design a â€Å"cross-sectional study with survey. Its method included 1365 nurses from 65 intensive care units in 22 hospitals in Korea, using â€Å"A Multilevel logistic regression model†. Two indicators were used, which are the number of patients for each nurse on the ward and the way the staff viewed adequate staffing. The research took place in the ICU units. Hence, the study also reported that in table #4 in the Sole ICU, there were largest number of patient 2. 8 + or – 0. 4 ( Cho, June, Kim, et al, 2009, p. 1733)†. What is proven is that when the ratio of nurses increases and the patient’s one decreases, there is a higher quality of care that takes place on the unit. This study has great significance to nursing and patient care, because nurses here in the U.  S often have similar complaints. In addition, the study from Manojlovich Sidani (2007). Nurse Dose: What’s in a concept. This is a pathway that the authors believed could alleviate the problem of nurse to patient ratio. The study provided an understanding between the link of nursing care and outcome of care. As stated by Manojlovich Sidani (20097), â€Å"by clarifying the conceptual and operational definitions of nurse dose, we offer a unified view of the inter-relationships among variables, with the goal of advancing research on nurse staffing and patient outcome (p. 11)†. With this concept of â€Å"Nurse Dose† future nurse staffing may greatly improve. Furthermore, in the research conducted by Al-Kandari Thomas (2008). Perceived Adverse patient outcomes correlated to nurses’ workload in medical and surgical of selected hospitals in Kuwait. It is understood that the proportion of patient to nurse ratio plays a vital part on the outcomes of care. The study shown that there is clear correlation that exist between the work load of the nursing staff and the outcomes of care. The research elements utilized for this study was â€Å"across-sectional survey conducted between RNs on medical and surgical units in five governmental hospitals. The result shown three major faulty outcomes were reported by nurses from their previous shift which were patients’ complaints and family concerns. The limitation of this study reports were only from the nurses on the units and future researches would need further details (Al-kandari Thomas, 2007, p. 589). It is impossible for nurses to give adequate care and expect good outcomes when nurses are stocked with non-nursing tasks to do. It was found that patients and families and medication miss dose were the two primary outcomes that added on the nurses’ workload. Second, occurrences tend to increase on the units as the workload of the nurses increased, and non-nursing tasks heavily impacted the workload of the nurses in Kuwait. The study shown great relevance to nursing practice, because it shows that hospitals need to employ other people to carry out non-nursing duties on the unit such as clerical work; which would alleviate the workload from nurses responsibilities. Hence, the article Relationships between Registered Nurse Staffing, Processes of Nursing Care, and Nurse-Reported patient outcomes in Chronic Hemodialysis Units by Thomas- Hawkins, Flynn, Clarke (2008) shown the importance of a high nurse to patient ratio in hemodialysis units. The authors reported in hemodialysis units, â€Å"higher RN staffing levels have lower odds of experiencing skipped dialysis treatments (Hawkins-T, Flynn, Clarke, 2008, p. 124)†. The study shows that it is to the benefits of the patients when there is a higher nurse to patient ratio on hemodialysis units because, patient will less likely experience any untoward events that are associated with the side effects of hemodialysis therapy. The study utilized a â€Å"cross-sectional method† for data collection which focused on the hemodialysis patient population. The study demonstrated the importance of having a high nurse to patient ratio in dialysis units. The higher the nurses to patient ratio, the less occurrences the patients will experience during hemodialysis treatment. The research used a type of questionnaire in order to find the most accurate adverse events that took place in the dialysis units. The limitations of this study was conducted with nurses who belong to an organization, the adverse patients’ outcomes were gathered from the nurses’ reports. The findings from this research were as follow: the nurse staffing levels played a significant role on patients’ outcomes during treatment. The ratio between patients and nurses is high, and each nurse had a patient load that consisted of 12 patients and sometimes more. This study has very good relevance to nursing practice due the fact that it shed light on a particular unit because it is a specialized unit. The study also demonstrated the importance of having professional RNs to perform such duties. Nurse staffing levels and Nursing outcomes: A Bayesian analysis, of Finnish-registered nurse survey data by Tero-h, Kiviniemi, et al (2009). Journal of Nursing Management, 17, 986-993. This report pointed out the impact of high patients to nurse ratio have on the nurses and their performance on the unit. Therefore, it is inevitable this kind of nurse staffing would bring negative patients’ outcomes. The design of this study used a survey of date collection from RNs in 46 units at five hospitals. The study found that many elements were contributed to occurrences on the unit such as mortality, failure to rescue, had a very closed correlation to the number of patients to nurse ratio. The study relates significantly to nursing, because it displayed the stress levels that nurses experienced due to heavy patient load assignment. Macphee, Ellis, McCutcheon (2005). Nurse Staffing and patient Safety. The Canadian Health Services Research foundation. This article brought up evidences of events that may occur in relation to lower nurse patient ratio. It is evident that with a lower nurse to patient ratio, patients are at greater risk of adverse outcomes such as increased rate of mortality, nosocomial infections. It is also proven that with a higher nurse to patient ratio, incidents can be greatly reduced. The study utilized sets of data collected from other researches. No specific population group was chosen for this research but the impact of having high patient to nurse ratio were strongly presented. The article displayed its use to the nursing practice with enough substantial facts. Ke-p. (2003) Relationships between Nurse Staffing and Patient Outcomes. Journal of Nursing Research, 11(3). The study was conducted on a medical –surgical unit in Taiwan with analyzed data from a â€Å"descriptive and multivariate inferential statistics†. The rational of this study was to demonstrate the co-relation that exised between high patients to nurse ratio and its impact on patient care outcomes. The results of this study were astounding. It was found that acquired infections, falls, pressure ulcers were the outcome results of inappropriate nurse to patient ratio. This study definitely has very good relevance to nursing practice. Curtin L. (2003). An Integrated Analysis of Nurse Staffing and Related Variables: Effect on Patient Outcomes. Online Journal of Issues in nursing, 8(3), 10913734. In this his study, the author shows a good co-relation between nurse staffing and the outcomes of care on medical patients. He also pointed out an increase in nurse staffing, that was associated with a reduction of 3 to 12 % in occurrences on the hospitals units. (Curtin, 2003). Here again it shows that the greater is the nurse to patient ratio, the better the outcome. Although, this study did not use a specific design, but the analysis it used shows the importance of having a low patient to nurse ratio. Therefore, it is vital for the hospitals to realize the great pain that are imposed on patients and nurses. It is time to remedy the problem. Aiken L. (2010). Safety In numbers: A mandatory minimum nurse to patient ratio improves outcome. Nursing Standard, 24(44). The author reported, â€Å"International Hospital Outcomes Study revealed that in England and the United States, hospitals with higher nurse staffing levels had lower mortality rates, nurse job dissatisfaction and burnout (Aiken, 2010, p. 2)†. The study was conducted in five different countries which survey 22,000 RNs in 604 hospitals in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It was found that nurse in California and the two other states that are closed to California with similar staffing mandatory rules had decreased their workload subsequently providing better care. Duffield C, et al. (2010). Staffing, Skill mix and the model of care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 2242-2251 dio: 10. 1111/j. 1365-2702. 2010. 03225. The study design was based on secondary analysis collection of data on selected medical/surgical units in 19 hospitals in South Wales, Australia. The experienced nurses worked during the night while the least experienced nurses worked day or evening shift. The limitation of this study was that skill mix RNs was beneficial to outcomes, but the number of years of experience on a unit were not studied. (Duffield, et al, 2010, pp. 2246, 2249)†. The relevance of this study to nursing was that it shows how a unit can benefit from having different levels of experienced skill nurses give care to patients. Sidani S, Manojlovich M, Covell C. (2010). Nurse Dose: Validation and Refinement of a Concept. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An international Journal, 24(3), dio: 10. 1891/154-6577. 24. 3. 159. The study used â€Å"Anonexperrimental, modified survey† a questionnaire was used with four sections that participants used to answer the questions. The targeted population was nurse researchers who are experts in services related to healthcare (p. 163)†. The result of this study shows how important it is for nurses to spend time with their patients to bring an effective outcome. The study shows great significance of this study in nursing. Welton JM. 2007). Mandatory hospital nurse to patient staffing ratios: Time to take a different approach. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 12(3). (13p) (52 ref) This article did not show a specific design that was used. The article stressed another component of the problem, the fact that hospitals are being pressured to increase their staffing without any reimbursement. The article presented two arguments one for and the other against the problem. As a result, hospitals diminished their staff from other area which helped them to compensate for the deficit. Although the acuity of patients continue to rise, hospitals failed to increase nurse to patient levels to enable good outcomes. Currie V, Gill V, et al. (2005). Relationship between quality of care, staffing levels, skill mix and nurse autonomy: Literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 51(1) 73-82. Using a â€Å"cross-sectional analysis design and magnet hospitals, the article poke through between the problem of patient to nurse ratio and the level of occurrences such as, mortality and failure to rescue. The findings were that units with higher nurse to patient ratio experienced lower occurrences. Yes, the article did prove its significance into nursing and patient care. In conclusion, studies are not always conclusive on a particular problem or issue. Further studies are often needed to shed new light on the problem. Hospitals have their parts to play in order to bring a higher nurse to patient ratio to fruition. It still remains that nurses have the responsibility to provide safe and effective nursing care to their patients, regardless of the environment. As a reminder, nursing is a humanistic profession, and its aim has always and will continue to focus on human needs, without regard to ratios. Nonetheless, nurses own it to themselves to be steadfast and never to soften their stand on their demands. Nurses to patient ratio is of utmost importance in the health care and patient outcomes depend on safe nursing staff. It is undeniably true that most professions are facing their own obstacles, and nursing is no different. Nursing has its own obstacles that it has been fighting and must continue to fight for, but a higher nurse to patient ratio is a must win fight, because the end result will be good patients’ care.

Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations

Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction This chapter provides a brief introduction about the research topic along with the research aims and objectives in detail. Further in this chapter, the scope of research, personal interest and the motivation to choose this particular research topic are all discussed briefly. Finally, the dissertation structure content of the six chapters is highlighted. 1.1 Introduction to the Topic The use of Internet and Intranet technologies within an organisation has changed drastically over the past ten years. Modern organisations are striving hard to maintain an appropriate strategy towards knowledge management in order to provide the employees of the organisation with the data related to their work. The main use of using a companys knowledge-base by employees is to help them develop their skills in all aspects and at the same time helps an individual to learn from any mistakes highlighted during projects undertaken. All past experiences and solutions provided at that time are recorded so experts can analyze these mistakes and make sure that they are not repeated in any of their future product developments or assignments. This research will evaluate whether knowledge management is an effective way to enhance an organisations profit and at the same time achieve employee training and development. Furthermore this research will evaluate whether Intranet and Internet services within an organisation play an important role in knowledge management process. 1.2 Personal Interest and Motivation During the learning process at the university, the author was exposed to different modules of Information Technology (IT), such as, Project Management, IT Management, Knowledge Management and Professional Issues that prevail in the present IT industry. Among these modules the author developed a kind of affection with the subject of Knowledge Management and wished to know more about it. Therefore the author has chosen to taken up this opportunity to explore this research topic and gain further understanding of knowledge management in more detail. This has not been an easy task, but with good guidance and advice from my mentors, tutors and my loved ones it has helped to finalize this topic choice and commence the research work. 1.3 Main Topics Discussed In this section, the main topics and sub topics discussed in the literature review are listed: Introduction to Intranet and Internet Services, Information Technology (IT), Impact of the Intranet on Organisations, Knowledge Management Studies, Knowledge Management, Types of Knowledge Management, Benefits of Knowledge Management Implementation in Organisations, Knowledge Circulation Process (KCP) for Organisational Performance and Management of Knowledge. All the above main topic and sub topics are related to one another which gives a complete understanding about the topic and its necessity within todays organisations. With this understanding a survey questionnaire is formulated which is analyzed at later stages of the research work/discussion. 1.4 Scoping of the Research The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether knowledge management systems are necessary in todays organisation and also the study is to point out the important features of knowledge management when implemented within organisations. This research topic has been a major attraction for many researchers; a lot of studies have been carried out on this topic. At present, the authors research identifies a few opinions about the topic and its importance within the scope of an organisation. 1.5 Aims and Objectives The main aim of this research study is to evaluate whether knowledge management is important in todays organisations and also to discover whether knowledge management helps in employee development and learning processes. Furthermore, the research also provides a chance to evaluate the role of the Internet and Intranet technologies in implementing knowledge management. Below is a list of objectives: To understand the research topic in depth Provide a clear understanding of the role of Internet and Intranet technologies Seek information in relation to Knowledge Management 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The dissertation structure is divided into six chapters and the contents of each chapter are briefly discussed below: Chapter One In this chapter, a brief introduction concerning the topic is discussed. Furthermore, the aims and objectives of the research topic are detailed, personal interest/ motivation, scope of the research, main topics and sub topics related to the research topic are discussed. Finally, the chapter concludes with a dissertation outline, this provides the reader with a structure of the research work that will be carried out. Chapter Two This chapter mainly focuses on the literature review based on the research topic. The discussion focuses on the analysis of a variety of researchers views and different authors opinions about the chosen topic area. Additionally, literature on knowledge management systems, types of knowledge management, and benefits of knowledge management when implemented within an organisation, knowledge circulation process, Internet and Intranet services within organisations are all briefly discussed. Chapter Three In these chapter different research paradigms, research strategies and data collection methods are discussed briefly, out of which only appropriate research paradigm, research methodology, research strategy are chosen based on the topic. Further in this chapter, assumptions and ethical issues are also discussed. Chapter Four In this chapter, the data collected from participants are gathered together, the data is stored in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the data is then analyzed by relating it to the research aims and objectives in order to meet them. Chapter Five This chapter includes a brief discussion of the analysed results of the obtained data from participants. The data is represented in the form of graphs and each graph is followed by a discussion. Chapter Six This is the conclusive chapter. In this chapter, the obtained results are compared to that of research aims and final conclusions are drawn from the analysis. The discussion focuses on relating to and linking the survey data to the aims and drawing conclusions. Finally, the chapter suggests future recommendations. 1.7 Conclusion This chapter has provided a brief outline of the dissertation structure where the researcher as well as the reader can gain a quick understanding about the work that has been planned. Additionally this chapter has introduced the topic chosen, highlighted the aims and objectives and briefly discussed the main topics within the study that will hopefully provide a clear understanding for both the author and the reader. Furthermore, this chapter also discusses the authors personal interest/motivation behind choosing this particular topic area and the scope of the research. In the next chapter, literature on the research topic is analysed and discussed this: includes opinions of different researchers and authors. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Introduction The use of intra-organisational information by employees is widely recognized as an essential part of knowledge sharing within organisations. This way of sharing knowledge helps an organisation to tackle supporting operational and strategic corporate decision makers within the organisation. Intranet technology has proven to be one of the effective ways of accessing and disseminating data or knowledge available within the organisation (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). The main problem that an organisation faces is the decision-making capability. Managers who are responsible for decision making within a project lifecycle are unable to make appropriate decisions due to the required data not being available. Due to large amounts of data that are available within the organisation, organisations are striving hard to find appropriate tools and techniques to manage their knowledge. Although, techniques such as data warehousing and digital libraries are implemented within the organisation, but these services are limited to a certain range. In order to manage these kinds of situations within an organisation, better solutions are evaluated and the term Intranet evolved (Tan, et. al., 2003). Expertise has identified services offered by the Intranet, some of these services that can be utilized are: alternative approach of managing dispersed enterprise data and decision support services. Intranet usage integrates individual, group, departmental, corporate communication and information sharing tasks together and provides a solution or option for each and every individual who uses it. Organisations have developed in terms of managing data available within their departments, sharing of knowledge within their departments, communication within company employees and sharing of knowledge are available for decision making was found to be improved (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). Intranets can develop the collaboration among employees who are working for an organisation by creating networks of share spaces which are developed based on common understanding. Employees of an organisation can use this service as a medium to share available knowledge and expertise amongst each other. They have the opportunity to interact with their team and share their advice on work carried out. Though the main use of the Intranet in an organisation was meant to be for data sharing, but the extra features with the use of Intranet in organisations made it popular and these services are widely used in organisation irrespective of their market area (Khasnabish and Saracco, 1997). Strategic engagements that are held by an organisation have seen a new topic that has emerged in the knowledge based view of an organisation. This provides us with a theoretical basis on how a knowledge based resource plays a vital role in increasing the sustainable competitiveness of the firm. It also provides us with a clearer picture of how changes could be brought about to ensure no hassle in the process of knowledge management (Hoegl and Schulze, 2005). If an organisation constantly checks on its resources and promotes knowledge based perspective that postulates a competitive advantage and also builds on the privately developed resources, then tacit and explicit knowledge in an organisation will exist. At the same time, the knowledge based view or perception of an organisation assumes that the present knowledge assets exist at any time provided a valid opportunity for sustainable competitive advantage (Kebede, 2010). The use of previously existing assets along with the creation, accumulation and sharing the new assets amongst the other individuals would happen in an easier way by employing Information Technology and an Information System (IS) in that particular organisation, this is considered here. In an organisational view, it can be explained in a convincing manner the reason why a certain number of organisations or firms are more competitive under the prevailing market conditions (Kebede, 2010). Knowledge assets pertaining to a particular organisation are all dependent upon the quality of organisational knowledge and also the intangible assets of the organisation in general. This generally depends on the methods that are used to store the knowledge within the organisational limits and the extent of its usage within its employees. There is a serious need for metrics and statistics to justify all knowledge management initiatives that are taken up on priority within an organisation. Taking the knowledge management process a step forward would help senior management to justify and also help them improve their ability to manage the knowledge assets in a better manner. The benefits that are extracted from the knowledge management are all intangible and there is one method of measurement called the Balanced Scorecard. This would take both the perspectives like Financial and also the others (e.g. customers or internal business processes, innovation and learning etc.) (Liebowitz and Megbolugbe, 2003). However it is not a justifiable fact to relate knowledge management initiatives to performance. One cannot relate knowledge management with performance in every situation within organisational life, There is a need to have a superior metrics system to assess knowledge management performance, with also the ability to clear it; and also at the same time it also suggests futuristic and strategic actions for an organisation to take up. This not just keeps the work organised, but also improves the performance for the knowledge management process. 2.1 KM Studies The discussion that is taken up in previous sections of this dissertation briefly highlights that knowledge management is built on multiple disciplines such as management, computer science and information systems theory. It also has been reviewed in previous knowledge management literature at the start and the same are summarized in Table 1 below by Lee et. al., (2005). Table 1: KM studies, (Lee et. al., 2005) There are few prior Knowledge Management studies that relates with the Managerial and the Social issues. These issues have brought about the needed change and also brought about the necessary importance into place on specific processes and activities within knowledge management such as the knowledge acquisition, generation, storage, distribution, application and also its measurement (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). On the same grounds, the research agenda and also the general perspective of knowledge management based on the literature review are all addressed with the priorities that were set for them without any deviations. There are few points that have taken the managerial perspective and have requested the reasons as to how a ‘learning organisation could obtain sustainable competitive advantage. Work needs to be conducted within the organisation to develop the same knowledge as there would not be any single individual in an organisation who has all the required knowledge. It is not predictable when an individual working with any certain organisation would choose to leave it, for the offer of a better poosition. Hence relying on a single individual for his knowledge could lead to very drastic effects. The way or the process within which the knowledge has been acquired and the way it is assembled and restructured particularly provides a definite competitive advantage for an organisation. As per the scholar Kebede (2010) states, the process of learning was the only sustainable competitive advantage and there has been a single learning situation that is resulted in organisational knowledge (or memory). Corporate memory has a remarkable effect on the present decisions that are taken and also plays a vital role in the success of an organisations operations and the responses to the changes and challenges. There are numerous attempts that are made and numerous methodologies that were put in place to improve and revive the present learnings and learning capabilities of the individual employees in an organisation, this helps an organisation become a ‘learning system (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). In the process of improving an organisations learning capabilities, there were problems that were identified at various stages of the process by a considerable number of scholars. These identified reasons and issues were then studied to give a better environment to resolve the same. There are also studies that mentioned the relationship of role of Information Technology in Knowledge Management (Lee and Kim, 2001) (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). There is a general consideration that a Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a specialized Information System for knowledge management using the latest available technologies (e.g. the Internet, Intranet, data warehouses, software agents) to synchronize, facilitate and also to expedite organisation wide knowledge management. Knowledge Management System research primarily consists of general and also conceptual principles, case studies, scenarios and thesis of such systems of a few organisations. A study by Lee and Kim (2001) states that how a KMS can enhance the effectiveness of the teams that sit and analyse the complex, non-recurring problems by improving all the trouble some areas and also improving the way these teams compositions evolve. Knowledge mining would be the synonymous phrase that could be used as like Data mining. Using this we would be able to see our self in a situation where you can provide the right information to the right persons at the right time (Kingston and M acintosh, 2000). The strategic use of the Internet for all such knowledge management activities is well dealt with in lot of activities. There has been a point that was mentioned regarding the usage of the Internet and Intranet in developing the distributed Knowledge Management systems by (Goodman, 2006). XML (Extensible Markup Language) was developed to transport and store data, this is considered as an ideal tool for knowledge retrieval and for use in knowledge management. 2.2 Impact of the Intranet on Organisations Intranet services are growing rapidly within every possible sector of business due to its wide range of benefits. Some of the impacts where Intranet has changed the business strategy are listed below: It is less expensive to implement as it runs inside the organisations network. Excellent performance enhancement can be achieved because of limited user access Employee performance is increased due to availability of necessary resources and advices due to better communication with their expertise. Effective communication amongst the employees Efficient knowledge sharing process within different departments of an organisation Helps to maintain effective customer relationship Immediate access of data regarding organisational data and documents is possible with the help of Intranet service (Bernard, 1996). 2.3 WEB WEB is known as World Wide Web. It is a hypertext document which can be accessed over the Internet. With the use of these links an individual can actually access almost everything, right from an mp3 (MPEG- Moving Pictures Experts Group) file to video files. Different types of documents and books can be read or downloaded using this process. With the help of this facility an individual can perform some of his daily tasks in a different and a convenient way. The use of the Internet and web technology has changed the entire scenario of database management within an organisation on any given day. Due to the popularity of the web, a newer version of World Wide Web is launched and named it as the second version of it. With the help of web 2.0 one can experience a user friendly approach while accessing the Internet. The quality of web pages that are available is different and more exciting when compared to earlier version of web (W3c, 2010). 2.4 Knowledge Management Knowledge management in general tries to organise and make available important information like the know-how, wherever and whenever it is actually needed. This includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, formulas, best practices, forecasts, fixes and the like (Maglitta, 1996). This process is not only used for managing organisations knowledge base but also looks for the proper management of the same. Utilization of this knowledge within the organisation at right time and at the right place is also ensured as a part of its activities. Success of an organisation depends less on developed products and more on the appropriate utilization of available information, appropriate sharing of information when needed. Thus knowledge management plays a vital and a key role for all these years and it will be change the future of managing the knowledge within an organisation as well (Kebede, 2010). 2.4.1 Types of Knowledge Mainly there are of two types of knowledge that is available for the individuals of an organisation and they are: Explicit Knowledge: This knowledge can be expressed in terms of specific language and is normally expressed in terms of data or formulae. The information obtained can be stored within the Organisational premises easily and reused whenever there is any need for it. Tacit Knowledge This type of knowledge is completely opposite to explicit knowledge. Knowledge is more personal and cannot be stored. It ‘indwells in a comprehensive cognizance of the human mind and body (Kebede, 2010). In simpler words, this type of knowledge is held within an individual and is not available for any other individuals of the organisation. This kind of knowledge in an individual builds a dependency on him and then the works would actually finish in a slower and un-organised manner. 2.4.2 Benefits of KM Implementation in Organisations One can expect an interactive environment around the organisation where people strive for knowledge and also to show their skills, some benefits of KM implementation are listed below: Provide new ways to collaborate. Boosts up productivity. Leads to innovation within the organisation. Overall profitability. Motivation and encouragement within employees. Reusability of resources (Dalkir, 2005). 2.4.3 What are Knowledge Based Systems? Human-centred would be an apt definition for a Knowledge Based System. Knowledge Based Systems derive their roots from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and there are evident attempts from scholars to understand and also to imitate human knowledge in Computer systems. In whatever way we see, a Knowledge Based System falls short of the human intellect and the human touch. The system lacks creative powers like reproducing the same knowledge and also the learning capabilities are relatively primitive (Dreyfus, 1986). Compared to a human as such, there is no comparison with the Knowledge Based System. There is a wonderfully acknowledged fact that the intelligence of a Artificially Intelligent System is quite different from human intelligence. There are a second set of definitions that are defined and which only looks for the characteristics in the architecture of a Knowledge Based System. In such a way of defining a Knowledge Based System, it mainly categorizes four components namely: Knowledge base Inference Engine Knowledge engineering tool A specific user interface and is often natural language based (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007) The core of a Knowledge Based System is defined by the first two components namely the Knowledge Base and the Inference Engine wherein the former one is an active collection of ‘formal knowledge or an active database with lots of ‘formal knowledge, its primary purpose being how that data may be used in Practical life. The latter part, inference engine on the other hand defines the ways in which the knowledge base can be put to use to help resolve the situations at hand for an organisation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). The remaining two factors are just the added supplements for the Knowledge base and the Inference engine as these offer instruments for filling the Knowledge base with knowledge and act as a dedicated user interface for the user to understand and view the knowledge. Characteristically a Knowledge Based System user interface has to provide the basic know how and should also question itself letting the system explain its behaviour when the system deals with any particular problem. Definitions of a Knowledge Based System that are defined on the basis of architectural peculiarities are not at all satisfactory as compared to the definitions that are defined on the basis of human intelligence, there is an obvious resistance in the way they actually work with such definitions also (Akerkar and Sajja, 2009). The difference in the definitions could be seen when we consider a system based on neural nets and there are no separating aspects of a knowledge base, inference engine. There would hardly be any difference between the knowledge base and an inference engine in such cases where neural nets are considered for a system. Such definitions take the wrong meaning historical form chosen in several Knowledge Based Systems for the hallmarks of such systems. There is also a third set of definition that is given to a Knowledge Based System to indicate all the organisational IT applications that prove helpful and needful for managing the knowledge assets within an organisation. Few examples for such kinds of Knowledge Based Systems could be expert systems, groupware, data warehouses or even the Intranet. The mentioned applications in an organisation provide the individuals all the information that is needed to them to help them in all their day-to-day activities. These definitions are flatly rejected as these lead to the erosion of the meaning of the term Knowledge-based system. Knowledge Based System in our view is not just any IT system that is used to deal with the Knowledge that is present with an organisation (Leondes, 2000). The definition of a Knowledge Based System that provides the most satisfactory organisation-centred viewpoint comes when we focus on the â€Å"Knowledge Modelling†. Key activity in building a Knowledge Based System in that case is to find a formal model that allows the description of knowledge at a conceptual level or at the knowledge level itself, aiming at uncovering the basic schema linking the central concepts of a given domain in a particular organisation (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). The best suited examples of formalisms for the knowledge representation are the production rules, predicate logic, frames, neural nets and objects. The definition of a Knowledge Based System as an outcome of the knowledge modelling process is very useful and it actually does not direct any discussions pertaining to the organisational values of it to the characteristics of the technology as such. The actual goals of knowledge modelling process could be achieved only by examining the elements of knowledge validly and then has to be described in any of the formalisms for knowledge representation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). Given the focus on the process of knowledge modelling not only aids in gaining the best insight into the characteristics of the knowledge, but also guides the discussions concerning the pros and cons of the use of knowledge. It then leads to the identification why or in which aspect of formalisation is not possible or not advisable (for example, it reduces the flexibility or does not do justice to any specific intricacies). The knowledge modelling process thus acts as a vehicle to show and focus thought about the organisational knowledge and also its functionality. The basic aim is to explore that part of the organisational knowledge and how to capture in the formal schemata, and to describe the benefits and the pitfalls that are implied. There are associated benefits of having a Knowledge Based System in place in an organisation. These act as a way to retain the knowledge even after an individual who has created/compiled it has opted out of the organisation or in their absence. These systems could be used for the new comers in their on-job training purposes to fetch whatever the details that are needed of them. There is a consistent way to improve the decision making process and also helps in increasing the availability of the needed expertise. They provide the building blocks or the Corporate Memory and also promotes of knowledge sharing etc. If the knowledge is well documented under KBS, the sole repository for all such information and knowledge then there wouldnt be any potential rivalry between these two. If there is any discrepancy then the risks that have to be incurred is not imaginary also (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Then those would not be considered the failure of a KBS installation but would unnecessary a nd undesirable side effects of a successful KBS implementation. Stating to the earlier point, these mainly derive from the fact that KBS totally depends on the determining and storing of the knowledge at a given point of time. It would be very tough and would be next to impossible to assess all the critical empirical assessments of the harm that a KBS may cause to an organisation. Considering such a point, there would be a definite negative impact on Job satisfaction and also on the labour quality. Once a KBS is implemented in an organisation, there should be an established value that has to be assigned to the same. The friendliness and the rivalry that exists between the KBS and the knowledge that is with held in the hands of an organisation are like the two poles of a continuum. The whole responsibility of having the data be accessible over the Internet/Intranet for all the individuals of an organisation is solely taken up by the organisation. The main area that is concentrated here in this discussion would be the organisational value of KBS, its assessment, and the effective know how process. There should be a proper and a systematic way to respond to all the questions that could be raised on the three issues (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). Firstly there should be an assessment of the role and the value of the knowledge of the organisation; the measures of their activation. Only after this is done, there would be a proper understanding of the things that are to happen at a later stage in an organisation. Knowledge management is the whole process of considering and implementing measures that would be dealing with the organisational knowledge. There is always a need to have a suitable definition of this concept. Secondly, the provided definition for a KBS has to be appropriate to the context of investigation of the organisational aspects of knowledge. The relationship between the knowledge management and Knowledge Based Systems has to be established and the same should stand on sound grounds. If there are any mismatches found in the definitions, it would affect drastically on both the knowledge and the method through which the knowledge management is achieved. Thirdly, with a proper assessment of the value of a KBS, it needs a careful description of how a KBS relates to the other aspects of an organisation and the disposition of its knowledge. There is also a question that remains unanswered that is the earning that a KBS can obtain the tools that are used for knowledge management. To do all this, there is a particular framework that has to be presented. 2.5 Management of Knowledge There is a certain need for every organisation to crave for more knowledge than what is acquired by an organisation as it has to survive the competition that exists in the market. Every individual that is linked with any process of an organisation, they have to perform their day-to-day activities and routines; it may even add value to the work that an individual does. The knowledge that is acquired or retained within the organisational limits could be put into use by all the individuals in their day-to-day work. The knowledge that is already retained by an organisation has to be used in all the present scenarios and at the same time there are to be ardent efforts to create new knowledge or information are the only two core areas of concern for any organisation that is considered for this research study (Frappaolo, 2006). The knowledge that is acquired and maintained within an organisation should be relevant to the work that an individual works on and the same differs or changes over the time without any doubts. An organisation maintaining the Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction This chapter provides a brief introduction about the research topic along with the research aims and objectives in detail. Further in this chapter, the scope of research, personal interest and the motivation to choose this particular research topic are all discussed briefly. Finally, the dissertation structure content of the six chapters is highlighted. 1.1 Introduction to the Topic The use of Internet and Intranet technologies within an organisation has changed drastically over the past ten years. Modern organisations are striving hard to maintain an appropriate strategy towards knowledge management in order to provide the employees of the organisation with the data related to their work. The main use of using a companys knowledge-base by employees is to help them develop their skills in all aspects and at the same time helps an individual to learn from any mistakes highlighted during projects undertaken. All past experiences and solutions provided at that time are recorded so experts can analyze these mistakes and make sure that they are not repeated in any of their future product developments or assignments. This research will evaluate whether knowledge management is an effective way to enhance an organisations profit and at the same time achieve employee training and development. Furthermore this research will evaluate whether Intranet and Internet services within an organisation play an important role in knowledge management process. 1.2 Personal Interest and Motivation During the learning process at the university, the author was exposed to different modules of Information Technology (IT), such as, Project Management, IT Management, Knowledge Management and Professional Issues that prevail in the present IT industry. Among these modules the author developed a kind of affection with the subject of Knowledge Management and wished to know more about it. Therefore the author has chosen to taken up this opportunity to explore this research topic and gain further understanding of knowledge management in more detail. This has not been an easy task, but with good guidance and advice from my mentors, tutors and my loved ones it has helped to finalize this topic choice and commence the research work. 1.3 Main Topics Discussed In this section, the main topics and sub topics discussed in the literature review are listed: Introduction to Intranet and Internet Services, Information Technology (IT), Impact of the Intranet on Organisations, Knowledge Management Studies, Knowledge Management, Types of Knowledge Management, Benefits of Knowledge Management Implementation in Organisations, Knowledge Circulation Process (KCP) for Organisational Performance and Management of Knowledge. All the above main topic and sub topics are related to one another which gives a complete understanding about the topic and its necessity within todays organisations. With this understanding a survey questionnaire is formulated which is analyzed at later stages of the research work/discussion. 1.4 Scoping of the Research The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether knowledge management systems are necessary in todays organisation and also the study is to point out the important features of knowledge management when implemented within organisations. This research topic has been a major attraction for many researchers; a lot of studies have been carried out on this topic. At present, the authors research identifies a few opinions about the topic and its importance within the scope of an organisation. 1.5 Aims and Objectives The main aim of this research study is to evaluate whether knowledge management is important in todays organisations and also to discover whether knowledge management helps in employee development and learning processes. Furthermore, the research also provides a chance to evaluate the role of the Internet and Intranet technologies in implementing knowledge management. Below is a list of objectives: To understand the research topic in depth Provide a clear understanding of the role of Internet and Intranet technologies Seek information in relation to Knowledge Management 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The dissertation structure is divided into six chapters and the contents of each chapter are briefly discussed below: Chapter One In this chapter, a brief introduction concerning the topic is discussed. Furthermore, the aims and objectives of the research topic are detailed, personal interest/ motivation, scope of the research, main topics and sub topics related to the research topic are discussed. Finally, the chapter concludes with a dissertation outline, this provides the reader with a structure of the research work that will be carried out. Chapter Two This chapter mainly focuses on the literature review based on the research topic. The discussion focuses on the analysis of a variety of researchers views and different authors opinions about the chosen topic area. Additionally, literature on knowledge management systems, types of knowledge management, and benefits of knowledge management when implemented within an organisation, knowledge circulation process, Internet and Intranet services within organisations are all briefly discussed. Chapter Three In these chapter different research paradigms, research strategies and data collection methods are discussed briefly, out of which only appropriate research paradigm, research methodology, research strategy are chosen based on the topic. Further in this chapter, assumptions and ethical issues are also discussed. Chapter Four In this chapter, the data collected from participants are gathered together, the data is stored in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the data is then analyzed by relating it to the research aims and objectives in order to meet them. Chapter Five This chapter includes a brief discussion of the analysed results of the obtained data from participants. The data is represented in the form of graphs and each graph is followed by a discussion. Chapter Six This is the conclusive chapter. In this chapter, the obtained results are compared to that of research aims and final conclusions are drawn from the analysis. The discussion focuses on relating to and linking the survey data to the aims and drawing conclusions. Finally, the chapter suggests future recommendations. 1.7 Conclusion This chapter has provided a brief outline of the dissertation structure where the researcher as well as the reader can gain a quick understanding about the work that has been planned. Additionally this chapter has introduced the topic chosen, highlighted the aims and objectives and briefly discussed the main topics within the study that will hopefully provide a clear understanding for both the author and the reader. Furthermore, this chapter also discusses the authors personal interest/motivation behind choosing this particular topic area and the scope of the research. In the next chapter, literature on the research topic is analysed and discussed this: includes opinions of different researchers and authors. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Introduction The use of intra-organisational information by employees is widely recognized as an essential part of knowledge sharing within organisations. This way of sharing knowledge helps an organisation to tackle supporting operational and strategic corporate decision makers within the organisation. Intranet technology has proven to be one of the effective ways of accessing and disseminating data or knowledge available within the organisation (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). The main problem that an organisation faces is the decision-making capability. Managers who are responsible for decision making within a project lifecycle are unable to make appropriate decisions due to the required data not being available. Due to large amounts of data that are available within the organisation, organisations are striving hard to find appropriate tools and techniques to manage their knowledge. Although, techniques such as data warehousing and digital libraries are implemented within the organisation, but these services are limited to a certain range. In order to manage these kinds of situations within an organisation, better solutions are evaluated and the term Intranet evolved (Tan, et. al., 2003). Expertise has identified services offered by the Intranet, some of these services that can be utilized are: alternative approach of managing dispersed enterprise data and decision support services. Intranet usage integrates individual, group, departmental, corporate communication and information sharing tasks together and provides a solution or option for each and every individual who uses it. Organisations have developed in terms of managing data available within their departments, sharing of knowledge within their departments, communication within company employees and sharing of knowledge are available for decision making was found to be improved (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). Intranets can develop the collaboration among employees who are working for an organisation by creating networks of share spaces which are developed based on common understanding. Employees of an organisation can use this service as a medium to share available knowledge and expertise amongst each other. They have the opportunity to interact with their team and share their advice on work carried out. Though the main use of the Intranet in an organisation was meant to be for data sharing, but the extra features with the use of Intranet in organisations made it popular and these services are widely used in organisation irrespective of their market area (Khasnabish and Saracco, 1997). Strategic engagements that are held by an organisation have seen a new topic that has emerged in the knowledge based view of an organisation. This provides us with a theoretical basis on how a knowledge based resource plays a vital role in increasing the sustainable competitiveness of the firm. It also provides us with a clearer picture of how changes could be brought about to ensure no hassle in the process of knowledge management (Hoegl and Schulze, 2005). If an organisation constantly checks on its resources and promotes knowledge based perspective that postulates a competitive advantage and also builds on the privately developed resources, then tacit and explicit knowledge in an organisation will exist. At the same time, the knowledge based view or perception of an organisation assumes that the present knowledge assets exist at any time provided a valid opportunity for sustainable competitive advantage (Kebede, 2010). The use of previously existing assets along with the creation, accumulation and sharing the new assets amongst the other individuals would happen in an easier way by employing Information Technology and an Information System (IS) in that particular organisation, this is considered here. In an organisational view, it can be explained in a convincing manner the reason why a certain number of organisations or firms are more competitive under the prevailing market conditions (Kebede, 2010). Knowledge assets pertaining to a particular organisation are all dependent upon the quality of organisational knowledge and also the intangible assets of the organisation in general. This generally depends on the methods that are used to store the knowledge within the organisational limits and the extent of its usage within its employees. There is a serious need for metrics and statistics to justify all knowledge management initiatives that are taken up on priority within an organisation. Taking the knowledge management process a step forward would help senior management to justify and also help them improve their ability to manage the knowledge assets in a better manner. The benefits that are extracted from the knowledge management are all intangible and there is one method of measurement called the Balanced Scorecard. This would take both the perspectives like Financial and also the others (e.g. customers or internal business processes, innovation and learning etc.) (Liebowitz and Megbolugbe, 2003). However it is not a justifiable fact to relate knowledge management initiatives to performance. One cannot relate knowledge management with performance in every situation within organisational life, There is a need to have a superior metrics system to assess knowledge management performance, with also the ability to clear it; and also at the same time it also suggests futuristic and strategic actions for an organisation to take up. This not just keeps the work organised, but also improves the performance for the knowledge management process. 2.1 KM Studies The discussion that is taken up in previous sections of this dissertation briefly highlights that knowledge management is built on multiple disciplines such as management, computer science and information systems theory. It also has been reviewed in previous knowledge management literature at the start and the same are summarized in Table 1 below by Lee et. al., (2005). Table 1: KM studies, (Lee et. al., 2005) There are few prior Knowledge Management studies that relates with the Managerial and the Social issues. These issues have brought about the needed change and also brought about the necessary importance into place on specific processes and activities within knowledge management such as the knowledge acquisition, generation, storage, distribution, application and also its measurement (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). On the same grounds, the research agenda and also the general perspective of knowledge management based on the literature review are all addressed with the priorities that were set for them without any deviations. There are few points that have taken the managerial perspective and have requested the reasons as to how a ‘learning organisation could obtain sustainable competitive advantage. Work needs to be conducted within the organisation to develop the same knowledge as there would not be any single individual in an organisation who has all the required knowledge. It is not predictable when an individual working with any certain organisation would choose to leave it, for the offer of a better poosition. Hence relying on a single individual for his knowledge could lead to very drastic effects. The way or the process within which the knowledge has been acquired and the way it is assembled and restructured particularly provides a definite competitive advantage for an organisation. As per the scholar Kebede (2010) states, the process of learning was the only sustainable competitive advantage and there has been a single learning situation that is resulted in organisational knowledge (or memory). Corporate memory has a remarkable effect on the present decisions that are taken and also plays a vital role in the success of an organisations operations and the responses to the changes and challenges. There are numerous attempts that are made and numerous methodologies that were put in place to improve and revive the present learnings and learning capabilities of the individual employees in an organisation, this helps an organisation become a ‘learning system (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). In the process of improving an organisations learning capabilities, there were problems that were identified at various stages of the process by a considerable number of scholars. These identified reasons and issues were then studied to give a better environment to resolve the same. There are also studies that mentioned the relationship of role of Information Technology in Knowledge Management (Lee and Kim, 2001) (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). There is a general consideration that a Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a specialized Information System for knowledge management using the latest available technologies (e.g. the Internet, Intranet, data warehouses, software agents) to synchronize, facilitate and also to expedite organisation wide knowledge management. Knowledge Management System research primarily consists of general and also conceptual principles, case studies, scenarios and thesis of such systems of a few organisations. A study by Lee and Kim (2001) states that how a KMS can enhance the effectiveness of the teams that sit and analyse the complex, non-recurring problems by improving all the trouble some areas and also improving the way these teams compositions evolve. Knowledge mining would be the synonymous phrase that could be used as like Data mining. Using this we would be able to see our self in a situation where you can provide the right information to the right persons at the right time (Kingston and M acintosh, 2000). The strategic use of the Internet for all such knowledge management activities is well dealt with in lot of activities. There has been a point that was mentioned regarding the usage of the Internet and Intranet in developing the distributed Knowledge Management systems by (Goodman, 2006). XML (Extensible Markup Language) was developed to transport and store data, this is considered as an ideal tool for knowledge retrieval and for use in knowledge management. 2.2 Impact of the Intranet on Organisations Intranet services are growing rapidly within every possible sector of business due to its wide range of benefits. Some of the impacts where Intranet has changed the business strategy are listed below: It is less expensive to implement as it runs inside the organisations network. Excellent performance enhancement can be achieved because of limited user access Employee performance is increased due to availability of necessary resources and advices due to better communication with their expertise. Effective communication amongst the employees Efficient knowledge sharing process within different departments of an organisation Helps to maintain effective customer relationship Immediate access of data regarding organisational data and documents is possible with the help of Intranet service (Bernard, 1996). 2.3 WEB WEB is known as World Wide Web. It is a hypertext document which can be accessed over the Internet. With the use of these links an individual can actually access almost everything, right from an mp3 (MPEG- Moving Pictures Experts Group) file to video files. Different types of documents and books can be read or downloaded using this process. With the help of this facility an individual can perform some of his daily tasks in a different and a convenient way. The use of the Internet and web technology has changed the entire scenario of database management within an organisation on any given day. Due to the popularity of the web, a newer version of World Wide Web is launched and named it as the second version of it. With the help of web 2.0 one can experience a user friendly approach while accessing the Internet. The quality of web pages that are available is different and more exciting when compared to earlier version of web (W3c, 2010). 2.4 Knowledge Management Knowledge management in general tries to organise and make available important information like the know-how, wherever and whenever it is actually needed. This includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, formulas, best practices, forecasts, fixes and the like (Maglitta, 1996). This process is not only used for managing organisations knowledge base but also looks for the proper management of the same. Utilization of this knowledge within the organisation at right time and at the right place is also ensured as a part of its activities. Success of an organisation depends less on developed products and more on the appropriate utilization of available information, appropriate sharing of information when needed. Thus knowledge management plays a vital and a key role for all these years and it will be change the future of managing the knowledge within an organisation as well (Kebede, 2010). 2.4.1 Types of Knowledge Mainly there are of two types of knowledge that is available for the individuals of an organisation and they are: Explicit Knowledge: This knowledge can be expressed in terms of specific language and is normally expressed in terms of data or formulae. The information obtained can be stored within the Organisational premises easily and reused whenever there is any need for it. Tacit Knowledge This type of knowledge is completely opposite to explicit knowledge. Knowledge is more personal and cannot be stored. It ‘indwells in a comprehensive cognizance of the human mind and body (Kebede, 2010). In simpler words, this type of knowledge is held within an individual and is not available for any other individuals of the organisation. This kind of knowledge in an individual builds a dependency on him and then the works would actually finish in a slower and un-organised manner. 2.4.2 Benefits of KM Implementation in Organisations One can expect an interactive environment around the organisation where people strive for knowledge and also to show their skills, some benefits of KM implementation are listed below: Provide new ways to collaborate. Boosts up productivity. Leads to innovation within the organisation. Overall profitability. Motivation and encouragement within employees. Reusability of resources (Dalkir, 2005). 2.4.3 What are Knowledge Based Systems? Human-centred would be an apt definition for a Knowledge Based System. Knowledge Based Systems derive their roots from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and there are evident attempts from scholars to understand and also to imitate human knowledge in Computer systems. In whatever way we see, a Knowledge Based System falls short of the human intellect and the human touch. The system lacks creative powers like reproducing the same knowledge and also the learning capabilities are relatively primitive (Dreyfus, 1986). Compared to a human as such, there is no comparison with the Knowledge Based System. There is a wonderfully acknowledged fact that the intelligence of a Artificially Intelligent System is quite different from human intelligence. There are a second set of definitions that are defined and which only looks for the characteristics in the architecture of a Knowledge Based System. In such a way of defining a Knowledge Based System, it mainly categorizes four components namely: Knowledge base Inference Engine Knowledge engineering tool A specific user interface and is often natural language based (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007) The core of a Knowledge Based System is defined by the first two components namely the Knowledge Base and the Inference Engine wherein the former one is an active collection of ‘formal knowledge or an active database with lots of ‘formal knowledge, its primary purpose being how that data may be used in Practical life. The latter part, inference engine on the other hand defines the ways in which the knowledge base can be put to use to help resolve the situations at hand for an organisation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). The remaining two factors are just the added supplements for the Knowledge base and the Inference engine as these offer instruments for filling the Knowledge base with knowledge and act as a dedicated user interface for the user to understand and view the knowledge. Characteristically a Knowledge Based System user interface has to provide the basic know how and should also question itself letting the system explain its behaviour when the system deals with any particular problem. Definitions of a Knowledge Based System that are defined on the basis of architectural peculiarities are not at all satisfactory as compared to the definitions that are defined on the basis of human intelligence, there is an obvious resistance in the way they actually work with such definitions also (Akerkar and Sajja, 2009). The difference in the definitions could be seen when we consider a system based on neural nets and there are no separating aspects of a knowledge base, inference engine. There would hardly be any difference between the knowledge base and an inference engine in such cases where neural nets are considered for a system. Such definitions take the wrong meaning historical form chosen in several Knowledge Based Systems for the hallmarks of such systems. There is also a third set of definition that is given to a Knowledge Based System to indicate all the organisational IT applications that prove helpful and needful for managing the knowledge assets within an organisation. Few examples for such kinds of Knowledge Based Systems could be expert systems, groupware, data warehouses or even the Intranet. The mentioned applications in an organisation provide the individuals all the information that is needed to them to help them in all their day-to-day activities. These definitions are flatly rejected as these lead to the erosion of the meaning of the term Knowledge-based system. Knowledge Based System in our view is not just any IT system that is used to deal with the Knowledge that is present with an organisation (Leondes, 2000). The definition of a Knowledge Based System that provides the most satisfactory organisation-centred viewpoint comes when we focus on the â€Å"Knowledge Modelling†. Key activity in building a Knowledge Based System in that case is to find a formal model that allows the description of knowledge at a conceptual level or at the knowledge level itself, aiming at uncovering the basic schema linking the central concepts of a given domain in a particular organisation (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). The best suited examples of formalisms for the knowledge representation are the production rules, predicate logic, frames, neural nets and objects. The definition of a Knowledge Based System as an outcome of the knowledge modelling process is very useful and it actually does not direct any discussions pertaining to the organisational values of it to the characteristics of the technology as such. The actual goals of knowledge modelling process could be achieved only by examining the elements of knowledge validly and then has to be described in any of the formalisms for knowledge representation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). Given the focus on the process of knowledge modelling not only aids in gaining the best insight into the characteristics of the knowledge, but also guides the discussions concerning the pros and cons of the use of knowledge. It then leads to the identification why or in which aspect of formalisation is not possible or not advisable (for example, it reduces the flexibility or does not do justice to any specific intricacies). The knowledge modelling process thus acts as a vehicle to show and focus thought about the organisational knowledge and also its functionality. The basic aim is to explore that part of the organisational knowledge and how to capture in the formal schemata, and to describe the benefits and the pitfalls that are implied. There are associated benefits of having a Knowledge Based System in place in an organisation. These act as a way to retain the knowledge even after an individual who has created/compiled it has opted out of the organisation or in their absence. These systems could be used for the new comers in their on-job training purposes to fetch whatever the details that are needed of them. There is a consistent way to improve the decision making process and also helps in increasing the availability of the needed expertise. They provide the building blocks or the Corporate Memory and also promotes of knowledge sharing etc. If the knowledge is well documented under KBS, the sole repository for all such information and knowledge then there wouldnt be any potential rivalry between these two. If there is any discrepancy then the risks that have to be incurred is not imaginary also (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Then those would not be considered the failure of a KBS installation but would unnecessary a nd undesirable side effects of a successful KBS implementation. Stating to the earlier point, these mainly derive from the fact that KBS totally depends on the determining and storing of the knowledge at a given point of time. It would be very tough and would be next to impossible to assess all the critical empirical assessments of the harm that a KBS may cause to an organisation. Considering such a point, there would be a definite negative impact on Job satisfaction and also on the labour quality. Once a KBS is implemented in an organisation, there should be an established value that has to be assigned to the same. The friendliness and the rivalry that exists between the KBS and the knowledge that is with held in the hands of an organisation are like the two poles of a continuum. The whole responsibility of having the data be accessible over the Internet/Intranet for all the individuals of an organisation is solely taken up by the organisation. The main area that is concentrated here in this discussion would be the organisational value of KBS, its assessment, and the effective know how process. There should be a proper and a systematic way to respond to all the questions that could be raised on the three issues (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). Firstly there should be an assessment of the role and the value of the knowledge of the organisation; the measures of their activation. Only after this is done, there would be a proper understanding of the things that are to happen at a later stage in an organisation. Knowledge management is the whole process of considering and implementing measures that would be dealing with the organisational knowledge. There is always a need to have a suitable definition of this concept. Secondly, the provided definition for a KBS has to be appropriate to the context of investigation of the organisational aspects of knowledge. The relationship between the knowledge management and Knowledge Based Systems has to be established and the same should stand on sound grounds. If there are any mismatches found in the definitions, it would affect drastically on both the knowledge and the method through which the knowledge management is achieved. Thirdly, with a proper assessment of the value of a KBS, it needs a careful description of how a KBS relates to the other aspects of an organisation and the disposition of its knowledge. There is also a question that remains unanswered that is the earning that a KBS can obtain the tools that are used for knowledge management. To do all this, there is a particular framework that has to be presented. 2.5 Management of Knowledge There is a certain need for every organisation to crave for more knowledge than what is acquired by an organisation as it has to survive the competition that exists in the market. Every individual that is linked with any process of an organisation, they have to perform their day-to-day activities and routines; it may even add value to the work that an individual does. The knowledge that is acquired or retained within the organisational limits could be put into use by all the individuals in their day-to-day work. The knowledge that is already retained by an organisation has to be used in all the present scenarios and at the same time there are to be ardent efforts to create new knowledge or information are the only two core areas of concern for any organisation that is considered for this research study (Frappaolo, 2006). The knowledge that is acquired and maintained within an organisation should be relevant to the work that an individual works on and the same differs or changes over the time without any doubts. An organisation maintaining the