Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Infosys Case Study

Infosys Case Study Introduction Indian software industry: In the last few decades Indian software industry emerged as one of the best providers of software services and products globally, in the year 1999-2000 the software industry alone in India accounted for $5.7bn in revenues out of which $4bn come from software exports to other nations, which shows a positive signs and a 53% increase in software exports from previous year, 10% of the total exports of the country come from software only. In 1999 software industry shows some dramatic change in stock markets and it rose to $90bn from $4bn the same year on stock market, which further crash down due to NASDAQ crash, but till then 185 industries out of fortune 500 has already developed their offshore centres in India. (Palepu khanna, 2001). The rise in Indian software industry is due to cheap talent available in the country and gradually building reputations for reliability and high quality services and began to provide value added services as compared to the global industries. (Banerjee and Duflo, 2000). Infosys: Just with the mere amount of $300 Infosys consultants began its operations with visionary Mr. N.R. Narayanmurthy as its chairman, with a purpose of providing offshore and on site consulting on corporate programming by effectively utilising the inexpensive but well trained and talented software engineers of India. The first year successful operation resulted in revenues of Rs 1.16 mn which followed to Rs 100 mn down the lane in 10 years and success story is still going today. (Heitzman, 1999) To compete in the niche market Infosys developed some of the remarkable software products such as DMAP distribution management application package a suite of 600 programs used by Reebok in France. Eagle a ware house management package and BANCs 2000 a n automated banking package installed at over 60 banks branches in INDIA by 1195 ( Heitzman, 1999) In 1993 Infosys changed its name to Infosys technologies and listed the company on BSE with IPO and followed the corporate governance (Palepu Khanna,2001) Infosys terminated its arrangement with Kurt salmon and associates in 1996 and formed a new fully owned subsidiary called Yantra corporation based in Massachusetts for marketing and supporting its products in US Yantra purchased Eagle for US$ 10 mn. In 1996-97 Infosys invested some US$ 2 million in research and development so that it can focus on developing its new and innovative products only. Followed by huge success always Infosys revenues rose from US$2.64 million in 1991 to US$18.11 million in 1995 to US$39.59million in 1997( Heitzman, 1999) Company now adopted a structure bas on focusing on five strategic business units focusing on specific business domains plus 10 group focusing on specific product and management fields for e.g. education technology etc. Infosys has eight development centres in India, six sales offices in U .S. and two in Europe. (Heintzman, 1999). One of the major strengths of Infosys is its Human resources Infosys in March 1997 hired 1705 employees labelled them as Infoscions and intend to hire some 700 more which accounts for 36% of the total revenue of the Infosys. Infosys on an yearly average invest some 5% of its revenue on training and development of its staff. (Heintzman, 1999) Infosys corporate strategy: Corporate strategy: The overall strategy for a diversified multi service/ multi product organizations, tells the overall scope of the business in terms of product services and resource management. ( Thompson martin,2005) The emergence of strategic management discipline in 1960s resulted in four major corporate strategies SWOT in 1960s, Strategic planning matrix in 1970s, competitiveness in 1980s, and core competencies in 1990s (karki, 2004) . During that era corporate strategy is decided based on the assessment of frameworks and responsive to the imperatives of evolutionary and emerging contexts, but for the coming decade the imperatives for the India organisation are: From the evolutionary context Correcting the mindset of dependency on the government; going beyond rationalization of businesses; establishing tight linkages between corporate and business strategies with operations; venturing into new areas; and, building on success against multinational corporations. From the emerging context Large, growing, and internationalizing Indian economy; Globally integrated capital markets; information and communication technologies; Tenets of governance; and, management resource and capability (Karki,2004) Considering the above mentioned imperatives and comparing it with any other American business a new so called Root Branch corporate strategy is adopted for Infosys. Root Branch corporate strategy Root: Being Honest Being World Class Branch: India focused , India diversified and global focused( karki ,2004) Picture model of Root Branch Strategy Company specific factors Infosys A Infosys B Infosys C Branch Root 1. India Focused Being Honest 3. Global Focused Being world class 2. India diversified Industry specific factors Strategy of Infosys Root branch strategy is classified in three broad categories Root: the first level response of the organisation to the commonalities in the evolutionary and emerging contexts which are essential for the organisation. (karki,2004) Branch: the second level response are the strategic directions o the contextual imperatives which an organisation should adopt to meet the requirements in an appropriate manner.(karki,2004) Components based on organisations industry and company specific features. (Karki, 2004) Root has two components Being Honest in terms of customers by delivering fair products and services at the required time and in terms of employees by giving fair compensation rewarding achievements and contribution and meeting legitimate career aspirations which Infosys is pretty much following and known for its better employee satisfaction and in terms of investors Infosys should provide superior returns sharing all future plans and strategies with the stake holders better utilization of shareholders resources for better future profitability, and maintaining corporate governance effectively.( Karki, 2004) (Palepu and Khanna, 2001) Being World class: The strategy component results from existing and emerging competitive reality and do the business of a growing Indian economy and to match the cost responsiveness factors as a global company by reaching scale economies and facing vest competition in the domestic market to step further to global markets.(karki,2004) Branch has three aspects: India Focused: This strategic direction is high for Infosys as India is emerging as a global economy and there still many grounds to be covered by Infosys at Indian level, 185 of Fortune 500 companies have already settle their offshore software development centres in India. (Palepu Khanna, 2001) and still many more global organisations, Banks are willing to open their off shore centres in India seeking cheap Talent over there, Infosys should focus on Indian market and improve their market share in India as most of the Infosys revenues comes from software exports to U.S. India Diversified: Many remarkable examples in India organisations can be seen in Diversification Tatas, Reliance, Bharti group ,Aditya Birla group etc can be seen as success through diversification Infosys should focus on Diversify its business in India as India is highly populated market and a developing too, Infosys should go for software related diversify services such as Telecom operations etc. It can bring a larger market share as well as a bigger brand image for Infosys, diversification also provides ground for a company to compete in various markets and achieving scale economies and an ability to compete globally. Global Focused: As India software industry is now recognized as a very highly reliable and value added product services globally,(Palepu Khanna,2001) Infosys is known to be have some of the best software professionals globally seeking all these Infosys should come out with a strategy of a global brand by focusing on many other emerging economies such as Africa and Asia rather than keep focusing on U.S. as it may prove a mess later sometime if there is an economic crisis come in U.S same as in 1999 when NASDAQ falls. Infosys should also try to come out with its brand image as a truly India and a cheap talent company to boost up its revenue in global markets, for this Infosys should focus on appointing multi ethnic and multi cultural employees globally and some at very respective designations. To improve its brand image and globalisation Infosys should also focus on standardisation of its software products, which can be achieved by listing Infosys on various stock markets across the w orld and by penetrating new markets. (Karki,2004)(Palepu Khanna, 2001) Infosys BPO The current wave of globalisation give shapes to various new forms of international trade hence emerged with several new changes in which the talent can be mobilized combined across national boundaries. Business process outsourcing has become one of the vital part of this trend of globalisation. Infosys BPO is ranked as the 7th largest BPO industry in INDIA by NASSCOM [Bhargava,2007]. Some of the key consulting features which Infosys is providing in the form of BPO are mentioned as follows. Infosys in communications IPTV solutions Billing support operations Customer relationship management [CRM] tools Data centres consolidation Field optimization Tools Mobile applications. Revenue Assurance solutions. [Infosys] IPTV Solutions: Infosys Modular content accelerator (MCA) solution for IPTV established an IPTV product innovation centre that served as an interface between the stakeholders in consumer marketing and IT. [Infosys] Infosys MAC proved to be successful and accelerated the product development by 30%-40% Offered a platform capability to launch rich content services by leveraging technology from a global network of third party component drivers. Created a blue print for a rich set of product offerings to maximize customer revenue.[Infosys case study,2009] Billing support operations: Infosys BPO provides the client with a flexible platform, equipping them with an improved business process model. This has resulted in faster TURN AROUND TIME (TAT) and significant cost savings for the client/s. Key features : BPO with offline helpdesk. Better use of resources Focus on providing process improvements : achieved by process automation and process re-engineering tools and techniques provided by Infosys. Improve resource efficiency by eliminating repetitive manual tasks Reduce user applications, backlogs, increase transparency. Owing end to end process.[Infosys case study ] CRM Tools: Today CRM is the essential part of the communications industry. Infosys offers a wide range of services across major CRM products from structuring a road map to implementation and post product support .[Infosys] CRM challenges: Focus on new revenue markets Complex pricing models Increase channel efficiency Focus on customer retention and churn to reward loyal customers and increase stickiness. Product rationalization. Cost cutting. Infosys solutions: Oracle Telco lab solutions by Infosys offers a pre integrated suite of offerings to leverage oracles comprehensive offerings for the telecom industry A state of the art lab associated with the solution can incubate complex solutions concepts , model solutions to specific customer problems , showcase industry trends.[Infosys] Telecom order management solutions(TOMS) tool by Infosys helps CSPs in improving their efficiency in order management and increase revenues driven by changing customer needs.[Infosys] End to End Boss Framework by Infosys helps CSPs to enable rapid rollout of wholesale products, Intelligent order routing and order fallout management.[ Infosys] iBillcare business platform solutions: helps CSPs to focus on their core competencies with integrated applications , customer care and billing functions[Infosys] Data Centre consolidation Reduction in number of physical boxes by using virtualisation technology. (Infosys) Reduction in complexity of managing servers. Infosys solutions for data centre consolidation results in time management as well as the reduction in the costs to a much lower level. Which helps organisations to increase their efficiency and hence revenue.[Infosys] Field optimization Tools. Field optimization is the essential part in telecom organisations; Field optimization helps telcos to analyse the network problems and produce detailed reports on the basis of analysis, it helps telcos to improve the efficiency of their network, revenue and customer satisfaction.[Infosys] Mobile applications Various types of software applications are provided by Infosys to enhance features of mobiles and gain customer share in the market and increase revenue. [Infosys] Infosys in Banking, finance and Insurance Risk Management Anti Money laundering services Mobile banking Portfolio management Modernization by IT applications [Infosys] Risk management Infosys by its expert IT team made tools which helps in analysing markets for banking and financial organisations. The RMT helps in implementing and integrating process that analyse risk related data and predict liquidity. Anti Money laundering services Increasing crimes in banking and financial sector makes enormous demands for security of customer data. Infosys AML applications provides safeguard to many banking and financial organisations to safeguard their data and capital. [atul shukla] Mobile Banking Infosys Mobile banking applications helps banks to retain customer satisfaction as well as update the customer through SMS services about their banking details, Mobile banking provides flexibility ion the new age banking services. Portfolio Management Although Portfolio management is in practice by banking from decades but Infosys has give a solution inn PM by mixing it with IT. The IT portfolio management helps mangers to gain customers and analyze market data and provide best to the customers.(Infosys)

Monday, January 20, 2020

Science and Religion Essay -- History, Witchcraft, Magic

Humans do not engage the world in a neutral way. Instead, we see world through the reality that our culture creates. Without culture, humanity would have to continuously reinvent the wheel, perhaps even literally. It casts a web of reality over us that is inescapable. We are constantly in the grip of our culture. Therefore, it isn’t surprising to find societies with cultures which differ greatly from ours who come to very different conclusions about what reality is. When we are confronted with these differences in world views, we are often quick and confident to assert that our way of life is superior to others. This is behavior isn’t unique to tribes indigenous to foreign lands who believe in so-called â€Å"primitive† religions. It is even true of the Western world’s modern science. Science is another example of the cultural frameworks we use to understand the world around us. If this is the case, then science too must be part of a web of reality created by our culture, and is therefore not superior (nor inferior) to religion, but rather runs parallel to it. However, the Western mind generally recoils from the idea that science does anything but describe reality in hard, empirical detail. As mentioned, since these cultural frameworks envelope us, we often to not regard them as socially negotiated ways of engaging the world, but rather as absolute and unquestioned reality. The same is true of both religion and science. The unquestioned nature of this cultural framework was described by anthropologist Evans-Pritchard in his seminal work, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. In this ethnography, Evans-Pritchard examines how completely encompassing the Azande tradition of magic and witchcraft is to the people.... ...thin the same process. In this way, science seems superior to other methods of engaging the world. However, as we have seen, science has its limitations in describing certain categories of knowledge. It cannot be used to make ethical judgements or learn an ultimate truth. Such areas are outside its scope. In this way, magic and religion provide answers which science cannot. So science is not necessarily superior to religion and magic, neither is it inferior to it. It is another way of engaging the world, one which answers a different set of questions and solves a different set of problems from magic and religion. So long as a cultural framework benefits the society which implements it, it is useful. Furthermore, when these cultural frameworks are as deeply intertwined with everyday reality as is the case with the Azande’s witchcraft, they become necessary.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Justinian’s Military Battles Essay

Justinian carried on the unending war against the Persians with mixed success. His general Belisarius lost a battle at first in 528, then completely routed the Persians at Daras, near Nisibis (June, 530); but on 19 April, 531, the Romans were defeated near Callinicum on the Euphrates; in September a peace was arranged on fairly equal terms. The emperor then conceived the plan of reconquering Africa and Italy, lost to the empire by the Vandal and Gothic invasions. In 533 a fleet of five hundred ships set sail for Africa under Belisarius. In two battles the Romans annihilated the Vandal kingdom, took the king, Gelimer, prisoner to Constantinople, and re-estabished the authority of Caesar in Africa. In 535 Belisarius sailed for Sicily. The island was conquered at once. After a reverse in Dalmatia that province was also subdued. Belisarius in 536 took Rhegium and Naples, entered Rome in triumph, seized Ravenna, sustained a siege in Rome till 538, when the Goths retired. A second general, Narses, then arrived with reinforcements from Constantinople; Milan and all Liguria were taken in 539, and in 540 all Italy up to the frontier of the Frankish Kingdom was reunited to the empire. In 542 the Goths revolted under their king, Totila; by 553 they were again crushed. Narses became the first Exarch of Italy. Verona and Brixia (Brescia), the last Gothic strongholds, fell in 562. The Roman armies then marched on Spain and conquered its south-eastern provinces (lost again in 623, after Justinian’s death. ) Meanwhile the Crimean Goths and all the Bosporus, even the Southern Arabs, were forced to acknowledge the rule of Rome. A second war against the Persians (540-45) pushed the Roman frontier beyond Edessa. From 549 to 556 a long in Armenia and Colchis (the Lazic War) again established the empire without a rival on the shores of the Black Sea. So Justinian ruled once more over a colossal world empire, whose extent rivaled that of the great days before Diocletian. Meanwhile the emperor was no less successful at home. In 532 a very dangerous revolt (the Nika revolution), that arose from the factions of the Circus (the Blues and Greens), was put down severely. Bury says that the result of the suppression was â€Å"an imperial victory which established the form of absolutism by which Byzantine history is generally characterized†. (Later Roman Empire, I, 345).

Friday, January 3, 2020

Biography of James Whitey Bulger

James â€Å"Whitey† Bulger (September 3, 1929–October 30, 2018) was an infamous Irish-American crime boss associated with the Winter Hill Gang in Boston, Massachusetts. He was given the nickname â€Å"Whitey,† a name he greatly detested, because of his pale skin and fair blond hair.  In June 2013, at age 85, he was convicted of dozens of counts of racketeering, including complicity in eleven murders. Fast Facts: James "Whitey" Bulger Known For: Notorious crime boss who led Boston’s Winter Hill Gang in the 1970s and 80sBorn: September 3, 1929 in Everett, MassachusettsParents: James Joseph Bulger Sr. and Jane Veronica Jean BulgerDied: October 30, 2018 in Preston County, West Virginia Early Life Bulger was born in Everett, Massachusetts on September 3, 1929, but later moved to a housing project for low income families in South Boston along with his parents, two sisters, and two brothers. One of his brothers, William, would go on to be the president of the University of Massachusetts as well as of the Massachusetts State Senate. In school, he was cited for being restless and argumentative with both the nuns at his Catholic school and the teachers from his later years in public school. Starting at age 13, Bulger was frequently arrested, sometimes for violent crimes but more often for larceny and other thefts. In many instances, the cases were dismissed, or Bulger was found not guilty, or he won an appeal. In January 1949, Bulger joined the Air Force for nearly four years. Despite being arrested for robbery, rape, desertion (AWOL), and grand larceny, he was never sentenced and instead was honorably discharged from the Air Force in August 1952. Prison Sentence Upon his return from the Air Force, Bulger resumed his criminal behaviors, robbing freight trains and selling the contents on the street. Eventually, he connected with Carl Smith, an Indiana bank robber, with whom he stole tens of thousands of dollars from banks across the United States. Despite dying his hair in an attempt to avoid recognition, Bulger was arrested in a Boston nightclub for armed robbery of the various banks. He willingly named his associates, including Smith, in exchange for leniency. Regardless of this cooperation, he was sentenced to 20 years in a federal penitentiary. He first served in Atlanta Penitentiary where he was a subject of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA experimentation, which researched methods of mind control in exchange for a lessened prison sentence.  He was transferred three times before being granted parole in 1965 after serving nine years. Winter Hill Gang Bulger returned to find Boston in the midst of a gang war. He began working for the Kileen Brothers, then turned on the Kileen gang and began to side with the Mullen Gang, then finally joined the Winter Hill Gang with his close partner Steve Flemmi. In 1971, Bulger and Flemmi were approached by FBI agent John Connolly, who grew up with the Bulgers and even looked up to Whitey’s younger brother Billy. The two gangsters became informants for the FBI, whose main objective was taking down the Italian Mafia. With the protection of the FBI, Bulger began to put out hits on long-standing enemies, knowing that he could easily mislead his handler by pointing to someone else as the perpetrator. Flemmi and Bulger also killed Flemmi’s long term girlfriend Debra Davis, since she knew of their relationship with the FBI. Though she was officially reported missing, the FBI allegedly covered this up and reported that she was seen alive in Texas. Connolly consistently tipped of Bulger and Flemmi to the FBI’s investigations and he became a fierce protector of the two gangsters. Many others within the FBI and the Massachusetts State Police consistently protected them as well. Bulger and Flemmi quickly became the ring leaders of Boston’s organized crime as they took over leadership of the Winter Hill Gang. During this period in the 1980s, they became involved in arms trafficking, further racketeering, and extortion of drug dealers, among other things. He was especially involved in supporting the Irish Republican Army by sending caches of arms and ammunition to the Irish terrorist organization. Downfall and Manhunt In 1994, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Boston Police began investigating Bulger and his associates for gambling charges (not any of the murders). Connolly, who had since retired, warned Bulger about the impending arrest. Bulger fled Boston in December 1994. Flemmi refused to flee and was imprisoned, but cooperated with the authorities understanding that he was protected as an FBI informant as long as he did not admit to any murders. However, Bulger’s other associates, realizing that Flemmi would name them in his testimony, told investigators about the murders that took place throughout the 1970s and 1980s. John Martorano and Kevin Weeks provided most of the information which also led to the realization that the FBI had been instrumental in covering up many of the murders. In 1999, former agent Connolly was arrested for alerting Flemmi and Bulger to the FBI’s impending arrest. A year later, he was charged for racketeering and second degree murder, since the information he provided the two men led to their decision to kill the two men whom were under investigation for ties to the Winter Hill Gang. He was given a 10 year federal sentence and 40 year state sentence. During this period, Bulger was still at large with his girlfriend Catherine Greig. For 16 years, he moved around the U.S., Mexico, and Europe without capture. He was eventually found and captured in his Santa Monica apartment after an intense media campaign in which he was consistently featured on programs such as America’s Most Wanted. Convictions and Death Bulger was ultimately convicted of 31 counts of racketeering, after he pled not guilty to 32. Of these counts he was also charged for 11 out of the 19 murders that he was indicted for. On November 23, 2013, Bulger was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 5 more years. He has also been indicted in Oklahoma and Florida, but the two states have yet to pursue a trial which could end in the death penalty. At age 85, Bulger entered United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida. On October 29, 2018, he was transferred to the Federal Penitentiary in West Virginia. The next morning, he was killed by multiple inmates at the penitentiary. James â€Å"Whitey† Bulger’s legacy remains that of a notorious Boston crime boss who kept relationships with both state police and the FBI, which allowed him to conduct massive criminal operations for decades. Although Bulger made claims that he was never an FBI informant, a litany of witness testimony and other evidence contradicts these assertions. Because of his association with the FBI, Bulger lost much of his prestige within crime circles and is sometimes referred to as the King Rat. Sources Cullen, Kevin. Whitey Bulger: Americas Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice. Norton, 2013.â€Å"Whitey Bulger Bio Profiles Bostons Most Notorious Gangster.† New Hampshire Public Radio, 2014, www.nhpr.org/post/whitey-bulger-bio-profiles-bostons-most-notorious-gangster#stream/0.â€Å"Whitey Bulger: The Capture of a Legend.† The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2013, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/bulger-timeline.html#/#time256_7543.