Reaction on Disney’s ITIL Journey

 Information Technology Infrastructure Library or ITIL is a framework for organizations on how IT can be implemented in a way that will promote effectiveness and efficiency in the business. The Theme Parks and Resorts of Walt Disney Company’s move to ITIL is good strategy. Since its implementation the company has improved its system and become more efficient. Disney’s TP&R is capable of attracting many guests and is popular worldwide. Most people even go abroad just to visit Disney’s Theme Parks. Hence, it is important for the company that they set up a reliable backbone to ensure the everyday operation runs smoothly and gives a total experience to visiting guests. This is where ITIL comes into play, it sets the standard of how IT should run in the company in order to maximize its potential.

 When the company achieves effectiveness and efficiency in their operations, everything will follow. Since the system is already in place for Disney’s TP&A they can focus more on the thinking creatively on how they can better improve their guests experience in the parks. ITIL also helps the company in a way that it guarantees the company that their process is within the best practices in the industry.

I appreciate the way the head of the IT implemented the change in the process in the organization considering the large number of employees of the company. He picked champions to lead the implementation, who are not only technically knowledgeable but also has the capacity to influence others. This way, changes can be implemented easily and responsible persons are available to answer queries. They could also readily address issues regarding employees’ or casts’ resistance to change. They also exerted effort in educating employees on how the system works. This is important because it is the company who should run the system for themselves, every employee affected must have at least the basic knowledge in order to fully understand the system’s role in the company.

A Reaction on “Google Executive Emerges as Key Figure in Revolt”

As more and more people learn information technology and gain access to the internet, no wonder it has been the widely used medium for communication not only because it is cheaper than TV, print or radio but it has a global reach with just a click. It is not also surprising that Google executive Wael Ghonim, who is definitely a tech savvy, used such medium to gather supporters for revolt against Egyptian government. However, because of this effort which led to the largest revolution in Egypt, his security is at risk. I admire Ghonim’s deep love for his country and democracy. His use of the internet to gain supporters is really a history, unique and very genius. Because of this, our way of looking and using the internet has changed. Social networking has definitely contributed to the shape of societies. Revolt can now happen by just liking a Facebook account.

The news story tells how the internet can make changes in a nation. Facebook accounts were used to scatter information and encourage people to join a protest. This poses a question of how should a government position itself between the freedom an individual can have in the internet and the protection of the government system. The government regulates protesters and make sure that they are within boundaries and will not cause harm in the community nor say anything that will ignite destabilization in the government. But how should the government address these issues when the information is being dispersed in the internet. In the news article, management of Facebook closed one account of Ghonim exposing the brutal killing of Khaled Said and criticizing government. It was said that it is unknown whether the government has a hand on the closing of the account. The most severe that the Egyptian government has done to control the wide revolt going on the internet was to shut down the internet and cellphone network. By doing this, the government has stepped on a number of rights of its citizens like freedom of speech. What the government of Egypt should have done is to listen carefully to what the citizens are asking for, the more they commit human rights violation in order to stay in power, the more people outrage into a revolution and the more they attract criticisms from different parts of the world.

Right now, regulating the use of internet is hard task for the government, technology has given people a way to true freedom of speech.

Viability of E-commerce in the Philippines

Information technology and the use of the internet have rapidly changed the way businesses are conducted. From the time e-commerce was introduced, more and more Filipinos have accepted it, businesses use it as a way to improve their activities and reach customers, and buyers turn to it in search for best buys. This proves the viability of e-commerce in the Philippines.

Many researches show that the use of ecommerce in the Philippines will grow even more than double in the next years mainly because of the integration of information technology in schools and the growing number of educated middle class population. With the increase of internet use, more things can be done conveniently online, such as transferring funds in the bank, purchasing items, travel bookings and even transacting with government agencies. However, there are still factors that limit the growth of e-commerce in the country- the unavailability of computers and internet in the lower class sector and the many conservative Filipinos who are afraid to divulge information such as credit card in the internet.

The Philippine legislature has enacted RA 8792 of 2000 or the Electronic Commerce Act. The law recognizes the legally binding effect of electronic documents and signatures made electronically and its admissibility as evidence in court. However, this law lacks teeth in regulating most violations in the internet like fraud, content and privacy issues. When it comes to intellectual property rights, more than the current IP laws, the Philippines also adheres to rules of World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), which prohibits cyber squatting and protects domain names so as to avoid the use of internet to violate the rights of others.

With the fast growth of e-commerce, the government should be prepared and be ready to address issues connected to it by coming up with concrete rules or policies that will regulate the activities and will identify the dos and don’ts. This will give way to the full penetration of ecommerce and will benefit especially local businesses.

Personally, I have used the internet as a medium to advertise and sell items aside from maintaining a weekend store in Taguig. The wide reach of internet helped me establish customers especially those who buy in bulk not only in Metro Manila but also in provinces. Setting policies for e-commerce will surely help me maximize its potential and will assure me that all transactions made through the internet is valid and legal.

The Pinoy IT Manager

With the rapid growth of Information Technology and its significance to businesses, more and more companies are investing on infrastructure to further enhance their IT capabilities.

More than investing on the equipment, manpower resources is crucial and should be given the same attention. IT success can be measured not only in terms of facilities’ speed and capacity but also on the people behind the well managed use of information technology to meet business objectives.

The number of IT professionals may soon be insufficient to cater to the requirements of businesses. IT managers should be prepared to face this challenge. Pinoy IT managers compete with huge multinationals who can afford to pay attractive salaries for talents. With this happening, it has become expensive to maintain IT professionals. How should Pinoy IT managers address this dilemma? In an industry such as education, IT is important, but it may not afford to expend so much as the cost of education may also increase. Hence, managers must find ways on how to attract manpower the economical way.

As an HR Officer for 6 years, here are some of my suggestions:

-          The IT manager should be hands-on, this is sometimes the problem of staffs, they are bombarded with the leg work and the team leader gets the reward. An IT manager who knows how to perform every job in the department can better manage the group and the work assignments.

-          Recruit new IT graduates with good academic background and train them to do the job. New graduates are usually more eager to learn and stay in the job and since it is their first job they will try to prove that they can excel. This can be done by coordinating with registrars of reputable universities for list of graduates and their contact details

-          In order to keep existing IT staffs , they must be continuously motivated, the key is to know what motivates them and as much as possible be given to them. They must be also included in decision making to make them feel their worth in the company.

-          Existing IT staffs should also be trained to do multi tasking. In an IT department with limited budget for salaries, it is wise to keep few talented employees and pay them within standards or higher than many employees who do same jobs.

-          Hire staff on project basis, this will save the company from having to pay employees regularly even when the workload is below normal while making sure that it has the right number of people to work on a project until it is accomplished.

What differentiates a Pinoy IT Manager from the rest? Aside from his strong intellectual capacity, he is innovative and has good management skills that can make him successful even with limited resources.