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Study and design of Systems that support Decision Making in Organizations

Study and design of Systems that support Decision Making in Organizations

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Table of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Report on Organization and Decision Making Process PAGEREF _Toc374471713 h 3Summary of the organization PAGEREF _Toc374471714 h 3Management structure PAGEREF _Toc374471715 h 3Decision making process PAGEREF _Toc374471716 h 4Business value of decisions and impact of good and bad decisions on organizations PAGEREF _Toc374471717 h 6Study of Systems for supporting decision making PAGEREF _Toc374471718 h 7The effectiveness of DSS technology PAGEREF _Toc374471719 h 8Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc374471720 h 9References PAGEREF _Toc374471721 h 10

Report on Organization and Decision Making ProcessSummary of the organization

Saudi Aramco is an overseas company that is owned by the government of Saudi Arabia and its head quarters are in Dhahran. It is a global leader in the business of oil and gas and has joint ventures and affiliates in the republic of Singapore, China, Japan, Netherlands, Korea, United Arabs Emirates, among many others. To be able to do business well in all these nations with different cultures, the company had to familiarize itself with the culture in order to relate well with the native business partners and affiliates. .Culture affects behaviors, attitudes, values, norms and character of a person. Strategic measures have had to be undertaken by the company to understand all that to create a successful business relation. This has Marjory included appreciating that people in Singapore, Korea and Saudi are of different cultures and allowing room for the differences (Aramco Overseas, 2011).

Management structure

In order to effectively manage decision making process at Saudi Aramco Company, the following strategies were of great use to the company management team. To start with, the management should plan an effective marketing strategy for their services. The focus on the marketing is implementation of an effective marketing strategy that will aid in gaining a large market share of the products, and increasing the prices of the products. This will involve creation of the brand name of the company that will aid in adding value to the company. In addition, effective promotion methods adoption will take place to create customer awareness and enhance development of customer loyalty at the same time. The accompaniment of this is increase in the sales budget for the company.

There is an anticipation of demand increase of the sensors because of advertising and brand name creation. Therefore, price increment of the product will take place at the discovery of the demand increase. This is because demand and price have a linear correlation. That is, as the demand increases, the prices increase. The product development department does a nice work but with no cooperation between production and marketing, the company will be running at a loss. According to Lewis & Slack, management of a big organization entails linking all the department and ensuring they have good relationship in order to have good flow of materials from production to marketing (2003). Manager today has to make crucial decisions regarding business activities every single day. The greatest challenge is that the business environment is rapidly growing and highly aggressive. One finds that whatever business strategy that worked yesterday effectively is no longer relevant today.

Decision making processDecision making process forms one of the oldest concepts that started during the creation of mankind. All decision making processes take into account planned steps based on extensive reasoning. In the earlier days, decision making involved reading series marks and interpreting dreams. According to Anderson, Sweeney & Williams (2000), groups use decision making process in generating global levels of agreement. People should have planned approaches while making a decision in order to avoid regrets. Irrespective of the nature of the decision made, the parties involved must anticipate the potential impacts of the decision, and the ability to make it serve the intended purpose.

Basic decision making process composes of a person’s behavior and views on the prevailing situation. The person’s upbringing, emotional state, objectives and interests combined with a person’s instincts determines the order of decision making process. While making a decision, one should identify and define the most challenging parts (Hardman, 2009). In addition, getting into the main source of challenges draws attention and makes decision making easier. Identifying the obstacles in decision making assists the individual identify more options and methods necessary for resolving the issue at hand. According to Roth & Mullen (2002), the previous decisions made by a person bases the style of decision making developed. Moreover, a person should adapt a technique that contributes to quality decision making.

The following basic guidelines are necessary in decision making process. First, before making a decision a person must come up with a number of options that bear no relationship. Making the right choice entails assessing knowledge and coming up with a course of action, but not inevitably a decent choice amid right and wrong. When none of the suggested choices is ideal, a person makes typical decision depending on best existing options (McLucas, 2003). On the other hand, one should avoid making decisions in a hurry or out of hunger, especially those holding leadership positions. However, people in power need taking faster actions on less critical but more cautious in determining a given strategy. In addition, one should avoid making a fundamental decision based on a minor idea with expectations to manage a bigger picture.

Forecasting the upcoming events is difficult, no matter how smart a person is in decision making, it cannot be proven to be accurate or wrong. Active leaders and decision creators go through the decision making progress in a systematic and comprehensive approach, but should on no reason think they need to apply for forgiveness if a considered, well-thought-out, and strategic decision does not apply as well as anticipated (Allwood, 2001). In basic decision making, an individual should be rational facing complex matters in order to solve a problem. Moreover, creativity plays a significant role in adding to the complexity of the decision and increasing the level of understanding of the problem. In addition, a balanced judgment assists in the evaluation of a complex situation by reducing into a single best option (Anderson, 2002).

Business value of decisions and impact of good and bad decisions on organizations

With the present competitive global business, organizations should strategize on coming up with effective decisions over their operations. Most organizations look for better ways of increasing the effectiveness and productivity of employees and attracting more customers. Staff training forms one of the methods implemented by organizations to manage diversity in workplace. According to Aguinis & Kraiger (2009), employee training on cultural diversity is of great benefit to an organization because it increases the relationship between employees in an organization. In addition, effective training programs make it easier for human resource managers to control employees in an organization with minimum supervision. Organizations that include employee training programs in their schedule always record high productivity compared to organizations that ignore employee training programs.

Saudi should offer training programs for its employees in order to increase its productivity and compete well in the global markets. The increasing need for employee training in Saudi could be traced to many demands, which include the maintenance of superiority in the global marketplace, increased productivity, and enhancing employees’ skills and knowledge. Training would act as one of the most pervasive methods for communicating organizational goals across different cultures working in the company. In addition, the human resource management should understand the potential impact and costs associated with employee training programs in order to come up with an effective design and evaluation features. According to Chen (2005), training follows two main steps. These are identification of stakeholder needs and turning decision into action. Saudi should place a tight surveillance system that tracks the behavior of employees while under training programs in order to monitor their actions.

Study of Systems for supporting decision makingThere is a high dependency rate on computers in the modern society , the probability of causing serious damage to a nation by interfering with communication systems through technology vulnerabilities is becoming a real threat, leading to increased risks (Inteco, 2007). DSS is an effective technology that can improve decision making process in an organization. The following technology is prone to many attacks from the main server requiring a qualified person to install and run. Application server attacks paralyze the daily activities, since most of country’s population depends on the internet in carrying out their daily duties, causing many delays in almost all sectors including businesses, transport, cabinet proceedings, education, and the media. The main aim of the attack is to interfere with the technical operations of the internet servers in the country, which continues for weeks before the Information Technologists found the solution. The amount of impact caused by the attack makes an organization lose many resource.

On the other hand, communication is a major aspect in all business decision making processes. Perfect communication between the group decision makers results into a perfect strategic plan that makes an organization progress in front of the competitors. Communication is very essential in an organization in order for various teams to know the location of their competitors. By using the DSS software, Saudi will be in a position to make effective decision making strategies and sell their products to many people. The tool gives room for groups to create awareness between different sectors and communicate on the necessary recommendations that bring proper understanding among groups (Steward, Davies & Dick, 1999).

The effectiveness of DSS technologyThe advancing technology controls the world we live in today. Most of these technological advancements make lives easier and secure. With the availability of large-scale computer networks and the increasing concern for identity theft cases, the use of an appropriate network and targeted device surveillance has become of significant importance. The desired personal identification systems should possess the ability to point out an individual accurately, rapidly, reliably, without invading privacy rights, in a cost effective, user friendly and manage to cope with the changing technology. The following discussion will focus on the network and targeted device surveillance. Under this surveillance system, various gadgets as mentioned above are used to assist in locating a person or device.

The DSS technology has ever since replaced human interference in organization decision making strategies The algorithms used by this system allows an organization come up with effective processes to enable employees and the management talk the same language. The DSS technology enables achievement of core technology used in the surveillance of communications between citizens. The following program allows an extensive monitoring and analysis of data packages sent via the internet. In addition, internet providers deploy DSS within the infrastructure they operate in that assist in scanning the traffic on their servers. Through this they achieve the following:

Network management

Network stability

Manipulation of websites for efficient transmission

Provides government with surveillance and censoring infrastructures

Blocking of channels that promote unlawful messages

Profiling for targeted advertising

Sample prototype of a simple dashboard in Excel using Pivot tables and Charts

Table 1: sales data for oil to different countries in 2012

Customer Name Customer Country Sales Channel Units Sold (000,000) liters Date Sold

Candice Levy Congo Direct 117 2012-08-09

Xerxes Smith Panama Retail 73 2012-07-06

Levi Douglas Tanzania Retail 205 2012-08-18

Uriel Benton South Africa Online 14 2012-08-05

Celeste Pugh Gabon Direct 170 2012-08-11

Vance Campos Syrian Arab Republic Retail 129 2012-07-11

Latifah Wall Guadeloupe Retail 82 2012-07-12

Jane Hernandez Macedonia Online 116 2012-06-03

Wanda Garza Kyrgyzstan Retail 67 2012-06-07

Athena Fitzpatrick Reunion Direct 125 2012-07-27

Anjolie Hicks Turks and Caicos Islands Retail 71 2012-07-31

Isaac Cooper Netherlands Antilles Online 22 2012-08-13

Asher Weber Macedonia Online 153 2012-08-22

Ethan Gregory Tuvalu Online 141 2012-07-04

Hayes Rollins Nepal Online 65 2012-08-01

MacKenzie Moss Oman Online 157 2012-07-12

Aphrodite Brennan Malawi Online 197 2012-08-24

Angela Wise Moldova Retail 10 2012-06-21

James Spencer Burkina Faso Retail 30 2012-06-03

Adria Kaufman Bouvet Island Retail 134 2012-07-13

Amir Alexander Liberia Retail 100 2012-08-21

Lani Sweet Vanuatu Online 142 2012-06-24

Clark Weaver Palau Online 135 2012-06-17

Leonard Cardenas Madagascar Retail 9 2012-07-24

Renee Padilla Yemen Online 69 2012-08-08

Joy Vazquez Korea Online 189 2012-06-17

Ingrid Bush Montserrat Online 141 2012-06-14

Deacon Craig Mongolia Online 166 2012-08-02

Rama Goodwin Tunisia Direct 170 2012-08-11

Jelani OdonnellAlbania Online 199 2012-08-18

Liberty McbrideFiji Retail 73 2012-07-03

Britanni Bender Angola Online 117 2012-06-30

Samuel Ayala Brazil Online 160 2012-06-22

Shad Delacruz Solomon Islands Retail 45 2012-06-09

India Gilbert Denmark Retail 37 2012-06-08

Ursula McconnellHungary Online 135 2012-08-12

Ryder Conner Virgin Islands, British Online 12 2012-07-28

Germaine Kidd Niger Online 104 2012-06-27

Rhona Clarke Palestinian Territory, Occupied Online 167 2012-07-07

Maxwell Parker Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Retail 108 2012-07-19

Isaac Wolf Panama Online 105 2012-07-27

Guinevere Key Colombia Direct 176 2012-08-17

Deanna Santana Solomon Islands Online 131 2012-06-01

Jared Sandoval Botswana Online 188 2012-08-26

Ima Cummings Philippines Online 93 2012-06-08

Oprah Ellis Dominican Republic Retail 113 2012-07-04

Dara Cunningham Saint Helena Online 112 2012-07-09

Buckminster Hopkins Sierra Leone Retail 201 2012-06-23

Kenyon Joyce Canada Direct 41 2012-06-17

Forrest Macdonald New Caledonia Online 18 2012-06-12

Thomas Barnes Mayotte Online 28 2012-07-06

Cruz Pacheco Palestinian Territory, Occupied Online 137 2012-07-15

Maxine Gentry Panama Online 95 2012-08-10

Anika Tillman Burkina Faso Online 109 2012-07-12

Robert Juarez Svalbard and Jan MayenOnline 137 2012-06-01

Kay Buckley Malta Retail 196 2012-07-17

Shea Cortez India Online 48 2012-07-09

Sylvester Roy Gibraltar Online 4 2012-08-03

Lance Little Croatia Retail 125 2012-06-15

Kareem Mays Holy See (Vatican City State) Online 211 2012-08-13

Arsenio Knowles Malaysia Retail 20 2012-06-10

Colby Knapp Pakistan Retail 135 2012-08-29

Noble Warner Burkina Faso Online 193 2012-08-13

Isadora McclureIndonesia Online 184 2012-06-22

Katelyn Joseph Slovenia Online 126 2012-08-21

Fletcher Jimenez Chad Online 176 2012-07-31

Keaton Wolfe French Southern Territories Online 102 2012-07-15

Melinda Cobb Uruguay Online 203 2012-07-23

Aurelia Flores United Kingdom Online 177 2012-08-04

Bevis McdonaldAmerican Samoa Retail 51 2012-08-04

Yael Carter Malaysia Retail 203 2012-07-11

Sawyer Stokes Malta Online 106 2012-08-05

Silas Battle Niue Retail 14 2012-08-17

Noble Gilbert United States Online 116 2012-08-13

Petra MckenzieMorocco Retail 7 2012-07-01

Bell Prince Guinea Retail 82 2012-07-07

George Best Western Sahara Retail 178 2012-08-12

Basil VangMoldova Retail 41 2012-07-11

Lael Gould El Salvador Retail 85 2012-07-05

Noel Key Gambia Online 77 2012-06-27

Paul Duke Puerto Rico Online 122 2012-06-28

Josiah Yates Bangladesh Retail 42 2012-08-23

Winifred Cantu Kazakhstan Online 64 2012-08-22

Devin Abbott France Retail 208 2012-08-29

Aretha Patton Bouvet Island Retail 13 2012-07-29

Nell Maddox Azerbaijan Retail 147 2012-06-28

Tad Mack Iceland Direct 163 2012-08-25

Amery Frazier Georgia Retail 126 2012-07-22

Hiroko Acevedo Burundi Retail 188 2012-06-25

Nyssa Quinn Cocos (Keeling) Islands Retail 151 2012-08-03

Iliana Porter Poland Retail 89 2012-07-07

Zahir Fields Canada Retail 168 2012-06-10

Gwendolyn MccartyMadagascar Retail 84 2012-08-03

Victoria Solis Palau Online 16 2012-06-27

Colette SargentNorfolk Island Retail 80 2012-06-21

Cyrus Whitley Denmark Online 50 2012-07-17

Joel Rivers Australia Online 41 2012-06-11

Kyra Harding Cameroon Online 19 2012-07-11

Barrett MckinneySyrian Arab Republic Retail 37 2012-06-13

Benedict Byrd Mauritania Online 184 2012-07-07

Jerry Alvarado Korea, Republic of Retail 179 2012-08-18

Lesley Aguilar Viet Nam Retail 190 2012-07-20

Mercedes Humphrey Turkey Online 47 2012-07-03

Gwendolyn Walton Cuba Retail 165 2012-07-09

Zia McmillanDenmark Retail 178 2012-06-19

Roary Dixon Saudi Arabia Online 10 2012-06-24

Emerson Beard Niue Online 150 2012-08-25

Ivor MclaughlinUnited States Minor Outlying Islands Retail 77 2012-07-02

Clark Orr Indonesia Direct 63 2012-06-29

Doris Williams Trinidad and Tobago Online 204 2012-08-15

Phillip Perkins Nigeria Online 22 2012-08-12

Maite Henson Bangladesh Retail 95 2012-07-24

Ebony Mercer Cape Verde Retail 57 2012-08-14

Brittany Burris Palau Retail 5 2012-06-30

Imogene Bradshaw Niger Online 85 2012-07-23

Eleanor Hopper Madagascar Online 43 2012-06-15

Brynne McgowanFinland Retail 157 2012-06-18

Desirae Perkins Chile Online 65 2012-08-27

Ivory Chang Tonga Direct 95 2012-07-22

Gwendolyn David Cape Verde Online 159 2012-07-22

Quintessa Levine Turkey Online 14 2012-06-16

Rosalyn Lopez Faroe Islands Retail 39 2012-07-18

Basil Bates Portugal Direct 9 2012-07-28

Adrian Alvarez Monaco Online 50 2012-06-08

Brynn Strickland Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Online 107 2012-08-15

Ashely Macdonald Macao Retail 118 2012-06-18

Michael Hart Italy Direct 39 2012-08-13

Cynthia Gilliam Russian Federation Retail 126 2012-08-02

Tanner Turner Yemen Retail 176 2012-06-27

Keefe Cooley Cayman Islands Retail 111 2012-08-14

Rooney Wynn Israel Online 71 2012-07-03

Odette Logan Malaysia Online 113 2012-08-23

Garrett May Malawi Retail 105 2012-07-31

Susan Grimes Antarctica Retail 169 2012-07-27

Katelyn Adams Guinea Retail 116 2012-06-29

Moses Huff Turkey Online 208 2012-07-10

Susan Schultz Western Sahara Direct 45 2012-07-24

Leah Golden Norway Retail 193 2012-06-19

Ina Montgomery Romania Retail 108 2012-06-05

Maia Mitchell Switzerland Direct 205 2012-07-29

Macy Romero Mozambique Online 88 2012-07-28

Molly Crane Armenia Online 46 2012-06-28

Cedric Rivera Albania Direct 73 2012-08-03

Hanna Dyer Martinique Direct 207 2012-08-05

Linda Morales Saint Lucia Retail 202 2012-07-22

Keaton Meyer Costa Rica Online 209 2012-06-11

Fatima Case Netherlands Antilles Retail 48 2012-07-31

Cyrus Peters Svalbard and Jan MayenRetail 52 2012-06-22

Cooper Brooks Hong Kong Online 202 2012-06-30

Reagan Leach Pakistan Online 138 2012-08-06

Yuri McguireSaint Pierre and Miquelon Retail 77 2012-06-27

Aaron Edwards Togo Retail 168 2012-08-24

Arden Conrad Holy See (Vatican City State) Online 114 2012-07-08

Colleen Huff Singapore Direct 170 2012-08-02

Isadora Ford Zambia Retail 116 2012-08-04

The pivot table generated will help the company management in making an effective follow-up of sales data to various countries and keep better records. In addition, these tables and charts will assist in decision making as the company determines who her frequent customers are in order to offer discountsConclusion

In conclusion, before making a decision one must think of the positive or negative influences it poses. Information Technology governance models require an aspect of strategic management in regard to the economic costs of decisions involved. Strategic planning systematically evaluates a business in an effort of defining the long-term and short-term objectives, identifying goals and locating resources necessary to achieve these strategies. Gathering information from different people assists in resolving a given issue in a quick and timelier way. In addition, basic decision making processes could develop into many problems especially when the decision maker has no originality. People must always learn to make sound decisions that are of benefit to the individual and group.

Most organizations make use of various simulation techniques required in facilitating their strategic plans taking into consideration the present business competition and the advancing technology. Business simulations are rapidly evolving, since they form the fundamental tools for developing perfect strategies that encourage growth and development in today’s business organizations. The advancement in information technology has led into many innovations that have replaced traditional approaches to strategic planning

ReferencesALLWOOD, C. M. (2001). Decision making: social and creative dimensions. Dordrecht,

Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

ANDERSON, B. F. (2002). The three secrets of decision making. Portland: Single Reef Press.

ANDERSON, D. R., SWEENEY, D. J., & WILLIAMS, T. A. (2000). An introduction to management science quantitative approaches to decision making (9th ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub.

ARAMCO OVERSEAS. (2011). Retrieved from:

http://www.aramcooverseas.com/en/about-us/about-saudi-aramco

AGUINIS, H. & KRAIGER, K. (2009). “Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams, Organizations, and Society”. Annual review of Psychology. Rice University.CHEN, H.-T. (2005). Practical program evaluation: Assessing and improving planning,

implementation, and effectiveness. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.

HARDMAN, D. (2009). Judgment and decision making: psychological perspectives. Oxford,Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

LEWIS MICHAEL, & SLACK NIGEL. (2003). Operations Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management. London: Routledge.

MCLUCAS, A. C. (2003). Decision making: risk management, systems thinking and situation

awareness. Canberra, Australia: Argo press.

STEWARD, H., DAVIES, A. & DICK, B. (1999). The Johari Window and the Dark Side of

Organisations. Southern Cross University.

Study Abroad

Study Abroad

Introduction

In the last few decades the number of students going to study abroad has increased exponentially. Anna notes that countries like UK, Italy, China, Spain and France ranked at the top as the best destinations for students going for study abroad programs. This rise has even been observed more among the students going for business related courses. Even with recent global economic crisis this rise has not been decelerated. There are many reasons and benefits for promoting the study abroad programs. One of the most obvious that those providing business related courses have used to promote their programs is that students are prepared to work in a multicultural and global business environment. However, studies also indicate that a student who goes for the study abroad program is able to attain personal growth in the oversea country. Study abroad has been linked with over 97 percent development in personal maturity among students (Dwyer n.p). Other researchers promote the study abroad program for their economic incentives. Michael et al states that students engaged in study abroad contribute A$8.2m to the local economy of Victoria. Additionally, the study abroad program is also flexible to the pockets of individual student. Taryn notes that there are scholarship options for the needy students. There are many reasons why a student should pursue study abroad. This paper explores all the benefits and pleasure associated to study abroad and economic gains made by the host country. Study abroad is fun and beneficial for the economy.

Body

The number of students going for the study abroad program has gone in excess of double. A recent report in 2011 indicated that the number of students registered in the higher education institutions in the US for study abroad, has increased by more than three times. Study abroad has been observed in recent years to be on the increase with the only slight difference being observed in the 2008/2009 global recession. The number of US students going for the study abroad has also been reported to be on the rise in the last few reports by Open Doors (Ann n.p). A look at the country they prefer shows that UK, Spain, Italy, China, and France are their prime locations. The number of US students preferring to study in China has more than tripled with statistics indicating that in 2009/2010 close to 14,000 students registered for the study abroad there compared to less than 3,000 observed between 1999 and 2010. This report shows a shift in selecting destination with students preferring non English speaking countries and nations outside the Western Europe. In addition, this report also shows that students are also having fun by working as interns in oversea countries.

Study abroad is also a lot of fun for the student because there are many chances for having that unique experience. An n abroad student can for instance have a great moment because of travelling to different places in the destination country. An itinerary for the student to various destinations can create a memorable experience in a lifetime. It is also a rare opportunity to explore different weather. The student is able to adventure in the foreign environment in their own free time. Greater pleasure can also be acquired when this is done as a group leading to more intimate relationship.

Study have also shown that students going for the abroad study are better intercultural communicators, globally minded, more cultural proficient and more open to diversity as compared to those who do not participate in such programs (Wright & Larsen 121). A study abroad offers a rare opportunity to learn more than one language. One can become bilingual for taking a course abroad. In activities outside classwork one can learn to speak a different language, which can help to build their resume, It is reported that when a company has to pick a potential candidate between two candidate who have the same merits, chances of a bilingual being selected are 33 percent higher than those of a normal candidate (Taryn n.p). Therefore, study abroad enhances individual chances of being employed. A hiring manager is likely to consider an individual who has worked or studied abroad as a valuable asset. An internship during study abroad can also communicate a lot of things to the potential employer including ones readiness to take on new challenges.

Dwyer argues study abroad is definitely likely to transform a participant. It contributes to their personal growth. It improves an individual’s world-view, career path, and self confidence. The study abroad contributes immensely to the personal growth and development of a participant in ways that continues to shape them throughout their life. Those who have participated in the abroad program have suggested that it offers a unique experience compared to their home schools because they learn more about others. in a study looking at its contribution to personal growth, participants reported 97 percent improved maturity, 96 percent suggested it led to better self-confidence, another 89 percent claimed it made them more tolerant, while 95 percent claimed it changed their world view. Apart from that a study abroad program also contributes in many other positive ways. For instance, U.S students engaged in the study abroad report that it leads to improved friendship with others and continues to shape their relationships years later. Additionally, it can influence the student family life later (Dwyer n.p). Many people have gone on to pick their spouses by engaging in abroad study. Therefore, there is a lot of enjoyment and pleasant things that a student can do while taking a course abroad.

Study abroad is also beneficial to the student as they prepare to work in a global environment. Study abroad prepares the student by equipping them with necessary language skills, international experience, and cross-cultural communication skills they require to make it in the global economy. It compels these students to learn about different ways of life of other people in different parts of the world. It teaches them to accommodate people from different backgrounds from theirs and enable them to eradicate stereotypes formerly held about such people. This way such students are able to develop their global leadership skills and are prepared to handle the global challenges such as increasing hunger, fight diseases and address threat of terrorism (Goodman n,p). Therefore, a good course abroad can be the difference that a student needs to make it in this global economy.

Apart from the student, the local or destination country economy befit by hosting abroad students. In a study of behavior of student in these programs in Australia it was discovered that they contribute immensely to the local economy in terms of travel to attraction sites. Their expenditures as tourist in Australia were estimated to be A$8.2m. The study involved a total of 600 participants taking their courses in the State of Melbourne. Te study among other things noted that attraction sites like the Great Ocean Road and Queen Victoria market were very popular among the abroad students. The income earned for the economy is even more when visits to friends and relatives are included (Michael et al 57). This indicates that study abroad is also an important program that is transforming the local economies and lives of the citizens of destination countries.

However, to attain all these benefits there is a monetary cost that student is likely to part with. This means that a student planning to go for a course in foreign country will need to learn a few things before selecting the country and the course. A student should consider the cost of tuition, accommodation and other expenses involved in living in a foreign country. For instance, an extra cost can be incurred depending on where the student chooses to stay from the college. The extra cost would be incurred in form of travel cost either by airline or other means. Besides, travelling around the region for other purposes can also contribute to increase in the total cost incurred. Some programs may also include extra cost for housing, while in other this may be provided in form of a homestay or dormitory. This calls for careful planning for the entire program to ensure that the course period are not extended, which would add significant cost. Nevertheless, there is still an opportunity to apply for a scholarship for the tuition expenses. This would greatly reduce the cost of studying abroad and enable a participant to enjoy the benefits that comes with it.

Conclusion

Indeed a study abroad offers lot of fun and is of economic value to the destination country. In going for study abroad as opposed to taking home based courses, a student gets an opportunity to explore many things outside their home country. It is an opportunity to travel around in the destination country and enjoy new environment. It is also a rare opportunity to interact with people from different backgrounds. This is good for personal growth and development. It enables one to be a better communicator by learning different languages from their own. A student is also able to shake off stereotypes held about other people which enhance tolerances for diversity. This is beneficial in the future career path especially now that many companies are moving out to global market. Additionally, when studying abroad one also goes for international internship. This is very good for the resume because potential employers are always on the lookout for candidates with international exposure. Another benefit of study abroad is to the home country that is hosting the student. Economy in such a country can grow very fast because it has invested in education sector. This is because students in abroad programs usually spend extra money in form of tourism activities to various attraction sites in the country. However, a student should consider the extra cost of engaging in these activities especially where such costs were not considered when preparing to go for the study abroad.

Works Cited

Ann, Stock. Study Abroad by U.S. Students Rose in 2009/10 with More Students Going to Less Traditional Destinations. Institute Of International Education. Web.

Dwyer, Mary M, Peters, Courtney K. “The Benefits of Study Abroad” IES Abroad News. Web.

Goodman, Allan E. “Every Student Should Study Abroad”. The New York Times. 17 October 2013. Web.

Michael, Ian, Anona Armstrong, and Brian King. The travel behavior of international students: The relationship between studying abroad and their choice of tourist destinations. Journal of Vacation Marketing 10.1 (2004): 57-66. Print.

Stansbury, Taryn. Thinking of Studying Abroad? It’s Not All About Cost. Fox Business. Web.

Wright, Newell D, & Larsen, Val. Every Brick Tells a Story Study Abroad as an Extraordinary Experience. Marketing Education Review, 22.2 (2012): 121-142.

Students Self-Service Website for Mobile Devices

Students’ Self-Service Website for Mobile Devices

Name:

Number:

Course:

Lecturer

1.0 Information Gathering 

1.1 The purpose and goals of the mobile self-service.The purpose and goals of mobile self service web system is to offer suitable solution for students to access personal and course associated materials. The self service system is to make this possible by means of design and implementation of the service. The service is to make use of user friendly human computer interface that will permit the students to use the web system with ease. The system is to run on iPhone, iPad, Droid, Blackberry and other mobile devices in the process of accessing the web service system by the students at Strayer University. To reach the target goal, the system is to use appropriate design strategies and other approaches like prototyping in order to successfully implement the mobile web system which can be maintained for prospect growth.

1.2 The target audience

The audience in this case includes the university administration staff that has requested for the development of this system and which will be responsible for overseeing the implementation process. Students are the second group of audience who are expected to be the major users of the system.

1.3 The audience needs and wants

The audience needs a self service system that meets the attributes of a good web system. They will require user friendly system that is easy to learn and understand. They will also require a system with better user interface, that is, an attractive interface that is flexible in terms of navigation using command such as back and forward. The audience will also need a system that is scalable and available to enable them to access course related materials and other individual information at will with minimal down time (Khan, 2012).

They will also need an interactive user interface that is simple in such a way that it is not overcrowded for visibility purposes. The audience who are also users in this instance will in addition require graphical user interface with simple commands and icons that are easy to remember. They will also need an interface that allows proper flow of control between human and machine process. Also needed is the system with high quality of output and high throughput in addition to good speed of performance in terms of response time (Khan, 2012)

Other human performance needs include reliability in terms of low rate and type of errors. The system should also take shorter time to learn by the audience, low frequency of reference to documentation, high rate of user or human retention of commands overtime and transfer of training. The audience also needs explanation from the system in case of any error during usage. The self service web system should also have good internal interaction styles in the form of restricted and open features. Restricted features include question and answer dialogue boxes, menus and forms while open features comprises of commands, natural language and direct manipulations (Khan, 2012).

1.4 Resources required in achieving the desired output.

The resources needed comprises of hardware and software resources, human resources, data and financial resources. The hardware resources include laptop or desktop computers to be used for coding and documenting the system. The laptop can also be used for data collection from the field given that it is portable. The laptop can also be used to access the developed web system. Other hardware devices are iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and other mobile phones to be used for interfacing with the developed software and for accessing the completed web system.

The software resources comprises of application software such as word processing, programming language, other web development tools and a stable operating system. The word processing will be used in typing the user documentation part of the system. Programming languages and other web tools will be useful in the implementation of the web mobile system through the coding process. The stable operating system is also required to control all operations and other software to be used in the computer for system implementation.

The human resources necessary in this case comprises of skilled programmers and the university top administration. The programmers will have the responsibility of coding the already designed system into software equivalent. The University top administration will be responsible for overseeing the entire process of design and implementation by acting as a catalyst in the process of change. Other human resources are users who are students in this case who will be very useful in the user acceptance testing process of the system.

Data is another major resource that will be required for successful implementation of this system. The data will help the analyst to determine program and system specification such as input, output and processing operations that relates inputs and outputs to give the expected output information. The data will be gathered from users of the system (students) and university staffs with the main aim of determining what the users exactly want the system to have in terms of functional requirements. The collection of this data can be conducted by use of methodologies such as interviews, questionnaires, observations or a combination of the best two methodologies that will appear more economical. The data will also be analyzed and used to design the system in terms of interface design, data design, algorithm design and component level design.

2.0 Design Strategy 

2.1 The design of the Website for mobile devices

The design for the design and development of this self service system will cover responsive technology versus mobile applications interlinks with other networks and web services in the world of Google. This includes the adoption of embedded data approaches depending on specifications.. The design and development will also embrace a number of aspects which include content management system, provision of relationships and interconnections with both social and public services. It will also include the re-use of information from different sources (Pastore, 2012).

The design strategy will also use other aspects to be taken into an account. Some of these aspects include structuring information of various kinds by using general mark up languages and web languages to be processed,, enriched, re-used and rendered. Next aspect is the implementation of a simple work flow for content production and publishing. Another aspect is the aggregation of information from different sources as well as embedding web applications and links to social sites. Next is the integration of several web services that exist as public interfaces and offered by various enterprises such as Google and its applications like the Google maps, calendar and others (Pastore, 2012).

The design strategy also considers to use the actual web content management system that exist as distinct solutions like the open source and commercial ones which offer a number of these features as core components or add-ons that require customization based on the context situation which in this case is the institutional web site. There are thus different strategies for web site management in order to offer users with information when open standards and constraints are considered and the requirements brought by working in the ubiquitous world. The center of concentration is on content that have to be processed, rendered and structured on various types of devices. Nevertheless, this has to remain the same, irrespective of the environment such that a change of the user towards mobile devices will have changed their behavior in the use of web along with its applications (Pastore, 2012).

In addition, the design strategy will be made for mobiles rather that for desktop. This is because of the extensive spread of Smartphone and tablets in some cases ( Pastore, 2012). The strategy will use technologies that are founded on hypertext markup language (HTML), JavaScript and cascading stylesheet (CSS). Other languages include hypertext pre-processor (Php) for server side scripting and MySql for servers for the design of databases HTML,CSS and JavaScript languages are some of the content management system solutions that are built on solutions of open standards. These languages adopt HTML5 version and CSS version of markup and presentation in that order (Pastore, 2012).

2.2 Interfaces applicable to the mobile devices. 

The responsive touch screen interface is applicable to mobile devices as it appears to create an extra personal, even intimate clink by becoming part of user’s personal identity. The screen size and touch screen interface of Smartphone such as iPads tends to invite users to center exclusively on program that runs on the foreground. This may present a welcome opportunity, to capture, at least for a short time, the entire attention of the learner when it comes to educational uses. There will be also some similarity of carryover from the usual programming language platform to the mobile platform. For instance, the basic functionality together with the user interface design can be similar in both the environments. Nevertheless, programming will be different altogether and will be carried out with the help of various tools within the mobile platform (Godwin-Jones, 2011).

The user interface in this case will have home page with login form. The form design will contain user identification (user ID) and password which the user is expected to enter. The user then clicks the login button after entering login information the home page will in addition contain the name of the university whose mobile web system is being built. The user interface will also consist of self service web page where the student user can enroll for the courses by use of their mobile devices. The design in general is a simple graphical user interface with few icons and commands which the user interacts with by means of mobile touch screen platform (Godwin-Jones, 2011).

The mobile user interface thus offers fresh human computer interaction sequences such as multi touch interfaces, image recognition, augmented reality and others that were not previously explored in traditional software engineering approaches. The design of universal user interface for different mobile phones, however, is difficult for various reasons. First is that mobile user interface development is associated with screen size and resolution which all differs in all different mobile phones. For instance, apple devices are restricted to two sizes depending on the size of the iPhone and iPad while Windows 7, Android and Blackberry offers screen f different sizes and screen resolutions. Every mobile phone thus has a unique guide to tackle user interface requirements for the developer (Dehlinger & Dixon, 2011).

2.3 The home page for a mobile device interface

The home page above provides the user with log in details, that is, user Id and password. The LOGIN command button is clicked after entering the details in the text boxes. If the user ID or the password or both are wrongly entered, then a click event to the LOGIN button returns an error on the screen to the user. The error dialogue box is expected to have one command button labeled “Re-enter” to allow the user to enter the details afresh. If all the details are entered correctly, then a click event to the LOGIN button will allow the user to get the right of entry into the self service mobile web system where he/she will be able to access the enrollment form shown in section 2.4 bellow.

2.4 Self service enrollment page

The enrollment form has a number of text box controls where the user enters the respective details. The text boxes with arrows facing up and down gives a list of options which the user should select one of them. This ensures that data entry errors by users are reduced by the system. Therefore, the information about gender, department and course enrolled for fields are already available in the list box for selection. The arrow facing left on the top most left of the form helps the user to simply navigate backward to the home page. On the other hand, the arrow facing to the right on the top right corner f the form helps the user to navigate the system to the next web page without any complication.

The form has three command buttons. The click event to the command button after filling in all the necessary details correctly will send the details of the user to the server database. In case there is any incorrect information filled within the text box, the OK button returns an error message to the user on the screen. Any click event to the CANCEL button will cancel the details already entered within the text boxes and thus will not be sent to the database. Clicking the EXIT button will automatically close or exits the enrollment form.

3.0 Prototyping 

3.1 The prototypes that could be created

The proposed mobile software application should use a prototype for wireless keyboard and a mouse consisting of touch pad through the wireless network. This kind of prototype is proven to be capable of carrying out the majority of actions that a standard computer keyboard and mouse do perform. The prototype should thus perform click operations, multi touching, multi scrolling and zooming. Moreover, the prototype should allow the student users to use keyboard function that operate precisely like the normal computer keyboard. The users should be capable of using the keyboard to type in order to search for things on the web, write emails and even chart. The client and server applications are the most crucial factors that this prototype should present. The client application is to be developed using Android SDK then installed on user devices as web applications. To be accessed using the web browser. The server application will work as a pair to the client and will be used to transmit the message to the listener. The server application is developed using Php scripting language (Chong,Chong & Ajiroba, 2013).

The prototype should therefore ensure that users can remotely use their mobile devices to access their computers easily through limited distance. The prototype application is expected to enhance to enhance the level cost savings, relaxation and convenience. The prototype functionality is also expected to contain four major functionalities namely login page, menu page, enrolment page and the controller page and touch pad layout screen all on the client side to be installed on the devices. The server side will contain two functionalities. The first functionality is that the user should be in a position to install server application in his or her computer. Second is that the server application have to be run as required after installation .The prototype is thus expected to practically change the mobile phone into a wireless keyboard and mouse by means of wireless network through portable mobile devices that runs under Android platform operating system (Chong,Chong & Ajiroba, 2013).

3.2 The type of usability test for determining the design that provides the best user experience.

The mobile application usability testing will be used to determine the design that offers the best user experience. Usability according to ISO 9241 can be defined as the scope at which the product can be used by particular users in order to obtain some particular goals with efficiency, effectiveness as well as satisfaction within specified use context. The aspects of usability that are employed in this type of usability testing are those that applies for all software types: easier to learn aspect where operations can be learned through object observation, more user satisfaction aspect which meets user expectations and extra efficient to use aspect which involves taking less time to accomplish a given task.. Usability tests for these aspects helps in reducing usability challenges in the mobile system (Nayebi, Desharnais Abran, 2012).

Usability testing, also called user testing consists of parameters that involve various kinds of users such as novice and expert users. This helps in finding various kinds of usability problems aimed at capturing performance of users via distinct types of observation and satisfaction of the user while testing the mobile web system interface (Panda, Savain & Mall, 2015).3.3 The evaluation methods for determining the design provide the best user experience.The mobile application evaluation methods will apply. In general, the evaluation methods include evaluators based evaluation method, also called heuristic testing evaluation; tool based testing evaluation and user testing evaluation method. Heuristic testing evaluation method refers to usability engineering approach used for finding and examining usability issues that exist in a given user interface design. This forms part of process for interactive design. The tool based testing evaluation involves the use of several types of software tools in order to find various kinds of usability issues. The tools in this case will automatically examine whether the commonly embraced set of principles are followed by the website. The user evaluation testing method employs a group of parameters that comprises various types of users. This is also aimed at capturing performance of different levels of users ( Panda, Savain & Mall, 2015).

The specific methods to be used in evaluating mobile usability consist of field studies, laboratory experiments and use of hands-on measurements. In field study, mobile users are offered with mobile applications and then asked concerning their experience of use. The laboratory experiments involve the use of human participants to carry out particular tasks by means of mobile applications in a laboratory environment that is controlled. The use of hands on measurements will comprise of defined features of mobile applications which are directly measured for the purpose of evaluating usability (Nayebi, Desharnais & Abran, 2012).

Implementation 

Since the university already offers self service website for non-mobile students, parallel implementation approach will be applied which will ensure that both the existing and the fresh system runs concurrently for the time being. This will allow changes to take place gradually as non-mobile students will be required to acquire and learn the use of mobile phones with time. As part of implementation, various web programming languages and tools will be used. The HTML5 version mentioned earlier will be applied to avoid the much work of writing separate codes for various mobile device application platforms. The Php language and My Sql will be used will be used for implementation of sever side functionalities. On the other hand, Javascript, HTML5,CSS and Android will be used to implement client side functionalities

Maintenance and Growth 

The maintenance process will be aimed at ensuring that the self service website is kept current. To achieve this, four types of maintenance practices will be necessary. They include corrective, preventative, adaptive and perfective maintenance. Corrective maintenance will simply help in the correction of errors that might still exist in the mobile web system after implementation. Preventative maintenance will be aimed at ensuring that no future errors or malfunction occurs in the system. Perfective maintenance will be carried out for the main purpose of enhancing the efficiency of the self service system. Last but not least is the adaptive maintenance which will be very instrumental in ensuring that the self service system adapts to the changing technology as newer mobile devices are being introduced at a rapid rate. As a result, the adaptive maintenance will help in ensuring future growth of the self service system.

References

Pastore, S. E. R. E. N. A. (2012). Website development and web standards in the ubiquitous world: where are we going. WSEAS Transactions on Computers, 11(9).

Godwin-Jones, R. (2011). Emerging technologies: Mobile apps for language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 15(2), 2-11.

Dehlinger, J., & Dixon, J. (2011, October). Mobile application software engineering: Challenges and research directions. In Workshop on Mobile Software Engineering.

Chong, S. C., Chong, L. Y., & Ajiroba, S. B. (2013). A Mobile-Based Computer Controller via Android Technology. International Journal of Information Technology & Computer Science, 5(3).

Panda, S. K., Swain, S. K., & Mall, R. (2015). An Investigation into Usability Aspects of E-Commerce Websites Using Users’ Preferences.

Nayebi, F., Desharnais, J. M., & Abran, A. (2012, April). The state of the art of mobile application usability evaluation. In CCECE (pp. 1-4).

Khan, E. (2012). Natural language based human computer interaction: a necessity for mobile devices. International Journal of Computers and Communications, (4).