International trade and restrictions such as tariffs

International trade and restrictions such as tariffs Introduction A tariff is a duty levied on a product when it crosses national borders. The most popular tariff is the import tariff, which is tax levied on an imported product. Most of the time, tariff is imposed for protection or revenue purposes. A protective tariff is designed to insulate import-competing producers from foreign competition. Though protective tariff is not indented to totally prohibit imports from entering the country, it does place foreign producers at a competitive disadvantage when selling in the market. A revenue tariff is imposed for the purpose of generating tariff revenues and may be placed on either export or imports. The important thing to be considered about tariff is who gains and who suffers. It means the impact of tariff on stakeholders. Government gains, because it gains revenue from the tariff. Domestic producers gain, because tariff protects them from foreign competitors. Consumers lose because they pay more. In general, two conclusions can be derived from the effect of import tariff. First, tariff is pro-producer and anti-consumer (domestic). While tariff protects domestic producer, at the same time it increases domestic price of the product. Second, Import tariff reduces overall efficiency of the world economy (large country). It reduces efficiency because protective tariff encourages domestic firms to produce more at home, but they can produce more efficiently abroad. The result is insufficient using resources. Besides, tariff raises employment in the protected industry (such as steel) by increasing the price of competing import goods. Industries that are primary suppliers of inputs to the protected industry also gain jobs. However, industries that purchase the protected product (such as auto manufactures) face higher costs. These costs are then passed on to the consumer through higher prices, resulting in decreased sales. Thus unemployment falls in these related industries. Tariff Welfare Effects (large country) http://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch90/90img47.gif Source of: http://internationalecon.com, International Trade Theory and Policy Welfare Effect of Tariff Welfare Effects of Import Tariff on Steel Stakeholders Imported country Exporting country Consumer Surplus -(A+B+C+D) +e Producer Surplus +A -(e+f+g+h) Govt. Revenue +(C+G) 0 National Welfare +G-(B+D) -(f+g+h) World Welfare -(B+D)-(f+h) Source: Suranovic S. (2004), International Trade and Investment Policy, ch 90 Domestic Consumers The consumers are affected by the market price. High price will reduce the consumer surplus because tariff reduces the purchasing power of consumers. As it is mentioned in the table, consumer loses: (A+B+C+D). Domestic Producers Producers are also affected by the market price. An increase market price will lead to increase the supply, and producer surplus will rise. High price is an incentive for the producers to increase production. It is obvious from the table producer gains: +A Domestic Government The government receives revenue as government impose import tariff. Beneficial from the revenue depends on how government will spend it. + (C+G) Domestic welfare Domestic welfare is summing gains and losses of the stakeholders. As a result, the domestic welfare is positive. +G-(B+D). Tariff Effects on Exporting Countrys Consumers As a result of the tariff, export countys consumers are happy. The price reduction in the export countries increases consumer surplus. . A decrease in the market price will lead to an increase in the quantity purchased and a large consumer surplus. +e Exporting Countries Producers Tariff leads price falls in the exporting country and the producer surplus reduces. Production decrease because, demand for the product diminish as it mentioned above for the large country. (e+f+g+h) Exporting Countrys Government Export country gains nothing, as tariff has no effect on the revenue. 0 Exporting Countries Welfare As usual the aggregate welfare is the summing of the gains and losses to consumers and producers. The welfare of the exporting country decreases. (f+g+h) Tariff Effects on: World Welfare If small country imposes tariff, it does not affect the world price. Contrary, if large country imposes import tariff it reduces the world price of the product as the demand decrease. If the world price falls, it diminishes world production and consumption. So the world welfare reduces. (B+D)-(f+h) Bushs Steel Tariff Case of U.S. Background of the Case Steel has traditionally been a very important industry worldwide. Steel is an important ingredient and symbol of an economy. As a result, governments around the world are willing to be highly protective of their steel industry. Global consumption of steel rose from 28million tons at the twentieth century to 780 million tons at the end-an average increase of 3.4 percent per year. Source: Michael, R. Czinkota (2005), International Business, 7th edition, part 2, p137 America is one of the worlds largest steel producer and consumer. But 31 American steel producers went bankruptcy, because of the cheap steel import. In November 2001, the International Trade Commission realized that the U.S industry had suffered serious injury from imports. It recommended that president impose tariff from 15 percent to 40 percent, depending on the type of the steel. Substantial tariffs on steel imports would raise U.S domestic price and will boost the industry. Without protection, nearly 60,000 U.S steel workers can lose their jobs. Besides, there are many steel consumers, such as automakers and construction companies. Increase the price hurt the consumers businesses. Steel consuming producers argue that because of the high price, they would lose competition with foreign rivals. Imposing tariffs on steel imports goes against U.S trade liberalization and EU warned U.S. Making the Decision President George W. Bush faced difficulties. If he eliminated the tariff it would lead more domestic steel producers to bankruptcy. On the other hand if he did too much of the tariff, it would cause trade war with steel-producer countries. On 5th of March 2002, President Bush decided to impose 30 percent tariff on importing steel. President Bushs Steel Trade Remedy Program of 2002-2003 Tariff Rates Products year1 Year 2 Semi finished slab Plate, hot-rolled sheet, cold-rolled sheet 30% 24% Tin mill products 30% 24% Hot-rolled bar 30% 24% Cold-finished bar 30% 24% Rebar 15% 12% Welded tubular products 15% 12% Carbon and alloy flanges 13% 10% Stainless steel bar 15% 12% Stainless steel rod 15% 12% stainless streel wire 8% 7% Source: Robert, J. Carbaugh (2006), International Economics,10th edition, ch 4,p122 According to political, it was the most aggressive action take by George Bush in order to protect domestic steel industry. http://www.bized.co.uk/images/steel_tariff.gif Source: http://www.bized.co.uk/images/steel_tariff.gif Reactions As it was expected, the first reaction was by leading steel-producing countries. Americas largest trading partner EU also increased its tariff against U.S producers. But Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Australia promised to take the United States to WTO arbitration panel. Despite U.S officials protested that it was just temporary safeguards. According to EUs Trade commissioner, Pascal Lamy: The international market is not the Wild West where everyone acts as he pleases. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder declared the Bush decision against free world markets, while French President Jacques Chirac called the move serious and unacceptable. The Major steel-Producing Countries, 2001 and 2000 Source: Michael, R. Czinkota (2005), International Business, 7th edition, part, p138 Russians said the tariff had a profound impact on the relations between the two countries. Russian official claimed that U.S hit a blow to one of the Russias major export industries. As a result, in March 2002, Russia began trade war between U.S as putting embargo against U.S poultry import as a reason of health concern. Impact of tariff on domestic market The Bush tariff provided some relief to U.S. steelmakers from cheap imports. But some cost-cutting occurred among steelmakers during 2002-2003: some producers merged and labor contracts were renewed. Large number of U.S. companies who use steel for production opposed against the Bush tariff. Chief executives of these firms noted that, tariff drove up their costs and imperiled more jobs across the manufacturing belt than they saved in the steel industry. President Bush found himself in difficult situation by opposing interests of steel producers and steel users. Removing Bush tariff After reviving the steel industry, Bush removed steel tariff in December 2003. He noted that the tariff provided steelmakers time for restructuring and regain competitiveness. But his removal of the tariff was primarily in response to the WTOs ruling. Impact of tariff on stakeholders However, both the issuing and the lifting of the tariffs caused controversy in the United States. All evidence points to the fact that the move seemed to have backfired as the price of raw material have risen, inadequate supply of these raw materials (steel scrap) leading to delivery delays, all of which are transferred to the consumers of steels (automobile manufactures) in form of high prices. In some cases, these steel consumers found it even cheaper to source from abroad, further cutting the steel market in the U.S. and eventually loss of jobs. Most of the car makers shifted their resource from steel to plastic. It left the consumers such as automobile makers to competitive disadvantage situation; because car prices were high and low quality (most of the parts were plastic). Steel scrap is an essential raw material for steel mills around the world. Mini-mills, which run on electricity instead of coal-fired furnaces, produce about one-third of the worlds roughly 900 million metric tons, and they rely exclusively on scrap steel. Nucor Corp. a Charlotte, N.C., a large U.S. steelmaker that operates electricity-fired furnaces, raised prices on its steel-sheet products by $40 a ton as rising demand gave it room to pass on rising raw-material costs to customers. Weirton Steel Corp. followed suit by adding a $25/ton surcharge to all its products. These price hikes has made U.S. steel uncompetitive in the global market. In addition, non-unionized and more efficient steel company (Nucor Steel Corp.), have as a result of the move, taken most of the market share from unionized companys operating old lines. The tariff also meant that Europe was bound to be flooded by the diverted steel, which was cause for concern. However, by 2002, whatever global steel glut that existed had vanished as a booming Chinese economy sucked in more steel imports, further undermining the American steel market. Hence, other foreign producers took the advantage presented by the emerging market s and kept the steel trade going while the U.S. suffered. Amid the fears of the tariffs imposed on steel imports, many in the U.S. regarded the move as wealth destroying and politically escapable. They argued that it did nothing to help the people it intended to in the short term and it failed to address the ensuing high costs, including legacy liabilities in health-care and pension benefits. The argument that the tariff gave the steel industry breathing space to adapt to a new market, has been viewed by some as the developed world version of the old infant industries line that has long been discredited by the Third World. In the global arena, the United States poised at the receiving end of retaliatory levies from Japan and some European countries. The Japanese threatened to impose retaliatory duties on a range of American products, from steel to gasoline and clothing if the U.S. did not drop the tariffs on foreign steel imports the WTO considered illegal. This move was intended to add $85 million a year to the price of American goods exported to Japan. Similarly, in August 2002, the WTO told the European Union it could impose some $2.2 billion in punitive tariffs on imports from the United States, ranging from textiles to pool tables and citrus products. Under retaliatory threat, the Bushs administration spent a good deal of time coming up with a package that would both avert a trade war and blunt criticisms from the domestic steel industry and its workers. The tariffs were lifted by Bush on December 4, 2003. The lifting of the 30 percent steel tariff was welcomed with applause although the administration indicated that it will still be monitoring imports in order to respond if cheap steel surges into the U.S. A major trade war was consequently avoided and within minutes of the announcement, the European Union had dropped its threat of retaliatory tariffs on $2.2 billion of U.S. products. Also joining the celebration were U.S. steel-consuming industries that had watched prices jump by more than 30%. An International Trade report found that in their first year alone the levies exacted a $680 million hit on the economy. Soon after the tariffs were lifted, steel prices in the U.S. rose. This continued through the first quarter of 2004. As of early April, 2004, steel warehouses saw no sign of significant in-bound steel from foreign shores that could drive the price of steel down to the level it had reached before Bush withdrew the tariffs. This indicates that U.S. steel producers may have imp roved its equipment and processes as intended, thereby, putting them at favorable competitive stance to trade steel within and outside the U.S. This can be improved more, if U.S. manufacturers reach a deal with labor unions in order to rid the industry of its legacy costs to employees. Though tariff saved about 60,000 of Americans who worked for steel using manufactures, it increased unemployment in steel consuming industries such as automobile manufacturers. Conclusion The lessons from this act of protectionism vary among individuals and groups of individuals. Indeed, some of the presidents political opponents, such as Representative Dick Gephardt, criticized the plan for not going far enough and some of the steel manufacturers advocated for more time and that tariff exemptions should not be made to countries, especially those that were threatening to impose retaliatory duties. The early withdrawal of the tariffs also drew political criticism from steel producers, as well as supporters of protectionism, but was cheered by proponents of free trade and steel importers. It is however, difficult to determine with certainty if President Bushs tariffs was the necessarily way to go. We have seen that while the tariffs have been somewhat restrictive, they have not fully prevented foreign steel from coming into the United States. In the global economy today where the tenets of free trade have been embraced by most nations, where nations are seeking ways of conveniently eliminating barriers to trade for the purpose of domestic and international economic emancipation the lesson learned is that protectionism will always backfire and it is in the best interest of the U.S. and other nations to stick to and defend the free trade principles.

Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of Ict

qFactors Affecting the Successful Implementation of ICT Projects in Government David Gichoya, Research School of Informatics, Loughborough University, UK D. M. [email  protected] ac. uk Abstract: A government is a huge and complex organisation, whose operations and strategic focus could be greatly enhanced by the well focussed application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to support improvements in productivity, management effectiveness and ultimately, the quality of services offered to citizens.While the benefits of ICT in government cannot be disputed, there are several concerns about its success as well as the strategies to be adopted in implementation of systems in various countries. In this paper, the characteristic challenges that developing nations face, which make ICT implementation in government fail to succeed are identified and synthesised. The paper presents results of literature review of case studies from both developed and developing countries and p reliminary studies grounded in the Kenya e-Government reality.The key factors are identified, synthesised and categorised under common broad categories. This results in a rich picture of ICT implementation experience that helps to identify possible solutions. A descriptive framework for categorising key factors in ICT implementation in government illustrated with references to the literature is proposed. The input variables are categorised into factors for success (drivers and enablers), and factors for failure (barriers and inhibitors). The output variables are categorized into organisational and technological benefits. Finally, an action for success is proposed.This action includes suggestions for increasing the impact of factors for success while reducing the impact of factors for failure and use of available good practice. Keywords: Government informatics, ICT projects implementation, e-Government, information system, ICT success and failure applied to various phenomena (Beynon- Davies 2002). Following this definition of informatics, government informatics can be defined as the application of information, information systems and information technology within government. This therefore includes application of eGovernment which is â€Å"primarily to do with making the delivery of government services more fficient† (Bannister, Remenyi 2005). 1. Background With the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and eGovernment, it is possible to improve efficiency and effectiveness of internal administration within government and to re-locate government service from government offices to locations closer to the citizens. Examples of such locations are cyber cafe’, telecenters or a personal computer at home or office. While the benefits of ICT in government cannot be disputed, there are several concerns about its success as well as the strategies to be adopted in implementation of systems in various ountries. This paper therefore p resents the findings of a literature review, knowledge acquired from reviewed case studies from developing countries and a preliminary study grounded on Kenyan government. The paper considers the characteristic challenges that developing nations face, which make ICT implementation in government fail to succeed. A descriptive framework for categorising key factors in ICT implementation in government and an action for success are proposed. The action for success is presented as response to situation specific challenges. In support of government informatics, Tapscott (1995, p. v) argues that ICT causes a â€Å"paradigm shift† introducing â€Å"the age of network intelligence†, reinventing businesses, governments and individuals. Ndou (2004, p. 2) quoting Kaufman (1977) observes, â€Å"the traditional bureaucratic paradigm, characterised by internal productive efficiency, functional rationality, departmentalisation, hierarchical control and rulebased management is being r eplaced by competitive, knowledge based requirements, such as: flexibility, network organisation, vertical/horizontal integration, innovative entrepreneurship, organisational learning, speed up in service delivery, and a customer driven trategy, which emphasise coordinated network building, external collaboration and customer services† all of which are supported by ICT. Informatics is a bridging discipline that is fundamentally interested in the application of information, information technology and information systems within organisations. Informatics is therefore the study of information, information systems and information technology ISSN 1479-439X 1. 1 e-Governments initiatives According to Kaul and Odedra (1991) governments around the world have been engaged in the process of implementing a wide 175  ©Academic Conferences Ltd Reference this paper as:Gichoya D (2005) â€Å"Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of ICT Projects in Government† The Electroni c Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4, pp 175-184, available online at www. ejeg. com Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) range of (ICT) applications. Countries have been classified by the United Nations according to their Computer Industry Development Potential (CIPD) as advanced or less developed Mgaya (1999). Advanced include, for example, the United States, Canada, West European countries and Japan; less developed include for example Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, Kenya and Bulgaria.For all countries, use of ICTs for government reinvention is increasing not only in investment but also in terms of visibility with a number of high-profile initiatives having been launched during the 1990s. According to Heeks and Davies (2000), this reinvention has taken place especially in the advanced countries. Western countries are convinced that the information society will result in economic and social benefits (Audenhove 2000). The author quoting Organis ation for Economic Cooperation and Development, notes that information infrastructures are expected to stimulate economic growth, increase productivity, reate jobs, and improve on the quality of life. Heeks (2002) observes that there is a big difference between ICT implementation and use between developed and developing countries. However, Westrup (2002) observes that similarities can also be expected. These similarities include funds which are never sufficient, bureaucracy and user needs. The difference is how problems are addressed in different countries. It can be argued that, with their adequate resources and advanced technology, the Western countries have an easier way of implementing ICT projects than DCs. Most developing countries are characterised by limited omputer applications in the public sector, inadequate infrastructure and shortage of skilled manpower (Odedra 1993). Odedra (1993, p. 9) notes that â€Å"this situation exists not merely due to lack of financial resourc es, but largely due to lack of coordination at different levels in making effective use of the technology†. This uncoordinated efforts can only result in duplication if each department implements its own ICT projects without due regard to compatibility within the government. technical and support staff and facilities including buildings. So far, the Government Information Technology Investment and Management Framework is onnecting all ministries to the Internet under the Executive Network (Limo 2003). The government is also connecting the ministries to run integrated information systems for example the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and the Integrated Personnel and Pensions Database (IPPD). While developing countries may have similar characteristics, the Kenyan context presents various challenges that affect the successful implementation of ICT projects. Characteristics that define Kenyan ICT environment: †¢ Most ICT projects are initially dono r funded. †¢ Some donations are made without prior consultation or carrying out a needs nalysis by the recipient organization †¢ Operational/running costs are met by the government. Funding (capital and human resource requirements) ends with the project phase. †¢ The budgets for ICT are inadequate but rising. †¢ A lack of ICT policies and master plans to guide investment. To the extent that, with a number donors funding ICT, there have been multiple investments for the same product due to lack of coordination. †¢ A focus on ICT applications that support traditional administrative and functional transactions rather than on effective information processing and distribution within and without government epartments; †¢ Unstable ICT resources. This paper therefore helps to answer the following questions: 1. What critical factors or variables can be identified as important in terms of their effect on ICT project implementation in government? 2. Are there comm on variables and can the variables be synthesised and categorised under common broad categories for specific action to be taken? 3. Does the resulting analysis of the data lead to a framework that enables analysis and understanding of the ICT implementation experience in Kenya and can it help to identify problems and solutions? 4. Does this in turn result in a framework hat can be used to guide ICT 2. ICT Implementation in Government of Kenya Over the last five years, the Kenyan government has initiated some capital investment towards set up and installation of ICT infrastructure. Funding for these investments is achieved through partnerships between the government and development partners. The foreign funding component constitutes the largest percentage of this investment in terms of technology. The government contribution is usually in the form of www. ejeg. com 176  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya implementation in Kenya and other developing countries? 5. Does the resul ting framework build on revious frameworks either in terms of its applicability to real life situations, its inclusive nature, its cohesiveness, and its ability to generate questions for further research? The research strategy envisaged is close to one used by Doherty, King et al. (1998), since the objectives are partly confirmatory but primarily exploratory. The strategy involves use of in-depth interviews, observation and documentary review. This approach provides new insights, grounded in the Kenya e-Government reality, into factors that contribute to the success or failure of ICT projects. It also shows the relationship between the doption of good practice during implementation and the resultant level of success attributed to the operational systems. The methodology envisaged therefore has two dimensions, one theoretically based on ICT literature; and the other analytically based on case studies. This paper therefore includes knowledge acquired from a literature review and a pre liminary investigation grounded in Kenya. focus. Planning projects Implementation of ICT A familiar maxim says, ‘if you cannot plan it, you do not do it’. Another maxim says, ‘I never planned to fail, I just failed to plan’. Planning spans a whole project period. It begins once the roject planning activities determine the organization’s strategy and identifies the ICT projects. Within the framework of a few fixed constraints, project plans evolve with the lifecycle. The constraints are time and money so each project has a clear deadline and a tight budget. According to Moran (1998, p. 39), plans fall into one of the two categories: vision without substance and a budget without vision. The identified problems of vision without substance are vagueness of future vision, lack of institutional vision, current position and time. Identified issues of budget without vision are questions as to what roblem is being solved, what are the priorities and definitio n of the roles and responsibilities. With ICT projects being advocated for and financed by donors, budget without vision is likely to be the project plan. Maciaszek (2001, p. 10) has suggested some planning models and methods for ICT implementation. Further, Aineruhanga (2004) observes that planning as a tool can help in reducing waste by identifying the pre-requites conditions for successful ICT implementation rather than â€Å"rushing into a complex e-Government strategy without having first finalized a national ICT policy†. Figure 1 presents a research framework onstructed from these preliminary studies. The framework specifies the area of research interest and shows how ICT implementation success affects ICT facilities quality and information system quality. In turn ICT facilities quality and information systems quality affect the perceived benefits. An ICT project implementation can only be perceived to have succeeded if the perceived benefits are realised. ICT facilitie s quality can be assessed after careful evaluation of the infrastructure to determine technical functionality. For example if the facilities were for networking different departments, the question may be hether this has been achieved successfully. This will involve a technical and user evaluation of the functional communication systems. Information system quality can only be determined by evaluating the information they generate. For example if the information is for budgeting purposes, the question might be whether the information system can generate accurate and timely financial information. Three reasons are identified for poor project planning in organisations. These are; risk management had not been addressed, business systems had not been justified to the full and lack of involvement from management Knott andDawson (1999). These can be taken as the major reasons but are not exhaustive. This is due to the diversity of the implementation environments. Also, as noted by Bannister and Remenyi (2000), p. 1), when it comes to complex decisions, managers often rely on methods which do not fall within the traditional boundaries of so-called rational decision making. It is observed that managers sometimes base decisions on ‘acts of faith, gut instinct or blind faith’ (referred to as strategic insight). As noted by Harindranath (1993), though developing countries commit a sizable amount of economic resources to ICT, for hem to reap maximum benefits, ICT needs careful planning and coordination prior to implementation and use otherwise trial and error methods of implementation that characterise most government ICT applications will only succeed in the wastage of scarce resources Perceived benefits are the end products that can be used to judge the success of the whole system. If the perceived benefits like easier communication, networking, and system integration, timely, relevant, complete and useful information are not realised, then the system will be perceived to have failed. Attributes of each component are shown for clarity and www. ejeg. com nd 177 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) Figure 1: Research framework 1998, Heeks 2002, Mgaya 1999). However, a careful review of reasons for failure identifies other factors whose presence or absence determines success or failure of projects. To begin with, the researcher looks at the output variables which are the benefits to be achieved if the initiative succeeds. The purpose of this is to clarify the goal of ICT projects. These goals may form a key element to the planning process as described above. Achievement of these goals helps to determine how to classify ICT projects. In ddition, perceptions of, and reasons for ICT failure are reviewed and these helps to identify possible key variables. 3. ICT performance evaluation ICT evaluation can be defined as establishing by quantitative, and/or qualitative methods the value of the ICT to th e organisation Khalifa et al. (2004). Performance cannot be judged as good or bad without the successful implementation of the project. In this paper, the technical or operational implementation of ICT infrastructure is of interest. Evaluating ICT projects can be quite problematic and can sometimes be quite subjective (Heeks 2002, Currie 1995, Bannister, Remenyi 2004, Irani 002, DeLone and McLean 2002, Bannister and Remenyi 2000) and there is no single ICT evaluation method that can be applied to all situations (Khalifa et al. 2004). Currie (1995) justifies this position using various case studies drawn from businesses in various developed countries while Heeks (2002) observes that evaluation is subjective and can depend on circumstances including time. Evaluation leads to the determination of success or failure of an ICT project. 4. 1 Output variables 4. ICT and IS success and failure Many benefits can be achieved using ICT in government. However, a word of caution given bySaul and Zulu (1994) is in order. The authors see ICT as a means to an end and not an end in itself. The value of ICT lies in its ability to assist the government in finding solutions to its problems. ICT expenditure can only be justified if there are benefits accruing to it and not adopting it for its own sake. Literature shows that planning and management of ICT projects has a very poor record in developing countries (Galliers et al. 1998, Qureshi The benefits are listed below: †¢ Cost reduction †¢ Quality of service delivery www. ejeg. com 178  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 5. Factors for ICT success and failureIncreasing capacity of government Improved decision making Transparency Improved efficiency Improved access to information Other technological benefits for example cheaper and efficient and access to large storage capacities within larger and more advanced computers While discussing factors for success and failu re, it is necessary to clarify the â€Å"opposite† effect of most factors. This means if the presence of a factor encourages success, the lack of it encourages failure (examples are, proper infrastructure and well motivated staff). The converse is true such that if presence of a factor causes failure, its bsence will cause success (examples are bureaucracy, poor project and change management). 4. 2 Categorisation of ICT projects failure Broadly, the assessment of worth of an ICT venture focus on considerations of the success and failure of IS. The issue of ICT failure can be analyzed by assuming that learning from IS failures will provide us with important lessons for formulating successful strategies for the planning, development, implementation and management of information systems. While discussing dimensions of ICT failure, Beynon-Davies (2002, p. 201) considers both the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the informatics model.The horizontal dimension is expressed in t erms of the difference between development failure and use failure. The vertical dimension is expressed in terms of failure at the level of ICT systems, IS projects, or organization, or at the level of the external environment. Six types of IS failure is identified as follows: †¢ Technical failure †¢ Project failure †¢ Organizational failure †¢ Environmental failure †¢ Developmental failure †¢ Use failure Beynon-Davies supports the argument with several case studies and quotes other models for IS failure put forward by Lyytinen & Hirschheim (1987). 5. 1 Factors for successFactors for success are those occurrences whose presence or absence determines the success of an ICT project. They can be drivers or enablers as described by (Moran 1998, Riley 2000, Doherty et al. 1998, Heeks 2003b, Mugonyi 2003, Heeks 2004, Khaled 2003). . Their absence can cause failure and their presence can cause success. Drivers are the factors that encourage or reinforce the suc cessful implementation of ICT projects. Some of these are listed below: †¢ Vision and strategy †¢ Government support †¢ External pressure and donor support †¢ Rising consumer expectations †¢ Technological change, modernization, and globalizationEnablers are the active elements present in society, which help overcome the potential barriers. Some of these are listed below: †¢ Effective project, coordination and change management †¢ Good practice 5. 2 Factors for failure The factors for failure are those occurrences that constraint proper/smooth implementation of ICT projects in government. These can either be barriers or inhibitors as described by (Khaled 2003, Gakunu 2004, Aineruhanga 2004, Heeks 2003a, Ndou 2004, Bhatnagar 2003, Saul and Zulu 1994). ICT success or failure in developing countries can be categorized into three depending on the degree of success (Heeks 2002).First, is the total failure of an initiative never implemented or in which a new system was implemented but immediately abandoned. Second is partial failure of an initiative, in which major goals are unattained or in which there are significant undesirable outcomes. Associated with partial failure is the sustainability failure where an initiative first succeeds but is then abandoned after a year or so. The last is success of an initiative where most stakeholders attain their major goals and do not experience undesirable outcomes. For the purpose of this paper, Heeks categorisation is more relevant since it can be sed to categorise the few projects implemented by the Kenyan government using the above criterion as the case may be. www. ejeg. com Barriers can be considered as those occurrences that hinder ICT implementation. Some of these factors for failure are listed below. †¢ Infrastructure †¢ Finance †¢ Poor data systems and lack of compatibility †¢ Skilled personnel †¢ Leadership styles, culture, and bureaucracy †¢ Attitudes 1 79 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) Inhibitors do not necessarily prevent the implementation of ICT projects but they do prevent advancement and restrict successful mplementation and sustainability. Some of these factors for failure are listed below. †¢ User needs †¢ Technology †¢ Cordination †¢ ICT policy †¢ Transfer of ICT idolisers †¢ Donor push far as they help in shaping the process of identifying the areas of weaknesses in ICT implementation in government. In this paper, functionality is considered to depend on ICT systems and usability and utility are crucial in determining stakeholder satisfaction, which increases stakeholder acceptance, and reduces resistance to adoption. 7. Action plan for success The best way to achieve maximum benefit for ICT implementation is to have all the factors for uccess with no occurrence of the factors for failure. However, in real world that is not the case. Given su ch a situation, an action to increase the chances of success is required. Clockwork (2004) suggests the following framework for implementing e-Government projects. 6. Previous models for ICT project success Several models for assessing success, failure and the way forward for ICT systems in general DeLone and McLean (2002) and developing countries Heeks (2002) have been suggested. These and other models are considered relevant to this paper. The model proposed by DeLone and McLean (1992, p. 87) was later overlaid on a impler scheme of functionality, usability and utility by Beynon-Davies (2002). This overlaid model introduces the idea of functionality and usability, which are considered relevant to ICT implementation. Beynon-Davies argues that, the worth of an IS will be determined in the three contexts of functionality, usability and utility. The framework consists of five stages: †¢ Examine national e-Readiness †¢ Identify and prioritize themes †¢ Develop a program of action †¢ Apply to target groups †¢ Implement solutions – the final stage of the framework, is to implement the solutions. A key factor in this implementation is to ensure that the rganization is ready and in place to realize the new activities and corresponding changes. Some ICT best practices that have been â€Å"harvested† from a review of successful applications are suggested by Clockwork. Given their simple situation, developing countries are in a position to make effective and speedy use of such best practices for their own purposes. This can be viewed from an angle of ‘technology leapfrog’ which can be achieved through appropriate technology transfer (Ifinedo 2005). DeLone and McLean (2002, p. 2) acknowledged the difficulty in defining information system success and noted that different researchers ddress different aspects of success, making comparisons difficult and the prospect of building a cumulative tradition for I/S research simil arly elusive. The ITPOSMO model seeks to explain the high rates of failures of information systems in developing countries Heeks (2002). This model assumes the designers of IS are remote which means their contextual inscriptions are liable to be significantly different from user actuality. It assumes the designers come from developed countries or have been trained in developed countries and their knowledge of the local circumstances is at variance with the local reality.This model can be used in explaining some of the reasons as to why implementation of ICT in Kenyan government fails. However, the interest of the paper is on the whole of the ICT implementation which views IS as a passenger. The suggested best practices in ICT are: 1. Do not underestimate the complex environment in which ICT programs evolve. ICT projects are too often believed to have a technology focus. 2. Be sure to select a project that is expected to demonstrate the greatest benefit for your target group. 3. Gove rnment staff should be ‘re-skilled’ to anticipate the changes that accompany an ICT structure and new roles 4.Identify the right technologies. 5. Make a decision on how an organizational process fits your technology. 6. Strong program and project management is essential to develop and implement successful ICT solutions. The first two models deal with ICT/IS in general but Heeks model is for ICT/IS implementation in government and especially in developing countries. All these models act as useful guides in highlighting some of the key variables that affect ICT success. They are considered in this paper as www. ejeg. com 180  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya 7. Do not underestimate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of an ICT project.The above best practices might not be sufficient but they can act as a basis for further research. In this paper, the best practices have been analyzed but their adoption in Kenya is not clear at this early stage of e-Government imple mentation. prophylactic against failure and should be adopted more widely. 7. 3 Local improvisations According to Heeks (2002), local improvisation is done to reduce actuality-reality gaps. This can be through hybrids that recognize local capacities and improve success rates. However, Heeks notes that schemes to develop these hybrids in the DCs are virtually nonexistent thus hampering improvisation.Participative approaches to implementation e. g. group working and end-user involvement; have to be carefully considered since most have been developed for the industrialized countries. Examples of how these participative IS techniques were a failure, are the case of Mexico’s General Hospital and an enduser development initiative for health IS in South Africa (Heeks 2002). The implementations failed because of the large gap between design assumptions and requirements and actuality of organizations into which ICT was introduced. The conclusion drawn is that these implementations fai led because there was too large a gap between he design assumptions and requirements of those techniques and the actuality of organizations into which they were introduced and not necessarily because of participative design is necessarily wrong. 7. 1 Conducting e-Readiness assessment In this paper, e-Readiness refers to the government ability to take advantage of the ICTs as a facility to enhance and improve its administrative functions. e-Readiness has several components, including telecommunications infrastructure, human resources, and legal and policy framework. e-Readiness assessment suggested above can be conducted on: †¢ Data systems infrastructure Legal infrastructure †¢ Institutional infrastructure (standardization of various departmental means of communication and the technology that is used) †¢ Human infrastructure †¢ Technological infrastructure †¢ Leadership and strategic thinking readiness (short, medium and long term plans by specific governmen t ministries) In this regard, e-Readiness assessment can be used as an information-gathering mechanism for governments as they plan their strategies for ICT implementation. It can help the project team to better understand what impediments to ICT implementation exist and what initiatives are needed to overcome them. . A descriptive conceptual framework for developing countries context A framework for mapping the knowledge gained from both the literature and the case studies is given in figure 3. The framework gives a pictorial representation of a conceptual format of the literature for representational purpose. Input variables are all those factors considered as inputs to an ICT project. Some of these factors though necessary might be absent and are considered to be factors for failure. Other factors are present but their presence becomes obstacles to success. These are categorised as factors for failure. 7. 2 Design divisibilityDivisibility of local design can decrease chances of f ailure as explained by Heeks using the Volta River Authority (Ghana) as an example (Heeks 2002, p. 109). Divisibility is achieved by: modularity (supporting one business function at a time by allowing separation of, for example, accounting and personnel functions), incrementalism (providing stepped levels of support for business functions by allowing separation of, for example, clerical and management support). In Kenya this has been achieved to some extent. Both the personnel and accounting functions are computerised with varying degrees of success within the ministries.This has been done through the implementation of Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and the Integrated Personnel and Pensions Database IPPD). Heeks (2002) observes that design divisibility is therefore a www. ejeg. com The input variables that act as the foundation of the ICT project and are considered as main ingredients to ensure the success of the project are referred to as drivers or prer equisites while those variables that encourage success are referred to as enablers or essentials. As ICT projects are implemented, it is necessary to map the input variables to assess where action should e taken. Output variables are represented as either organisational or technological benefits. The 181 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) organisational benefits are the benefits that accrue to the organisation. Technological benefits may not necessarily accrue to the organisation but are regarded as benefits resulting from implementation of the technology. These benefits can be enjoyed by individuals, the organisation and the public. situation specific action. Input and output variables are considered as far as they affect the success and failure of ICT implementation.The framework takes cognisance of broad premises (benefits, challenges and impact) of the Kenyan perspectives discussed in this paper and those observed by (Avgerou and Wa lsham 2000, Berleur and Drumm 2003, Heeks 2002) for both research and action. Lastly the framework shows the response which is presented as action for success. The response proposed has three characteristics. First, it analyses the situation, second, it looks at the various factors contributing to success and/or failure and finally an action for success to a In the response, action is taken to increase the chances of project success by reducing the mpact of the factors for failure and increasing the strength of the factors for success. Drivers (Prerequis ites) Factor for s uccess Input variables 1. Fina nce 2. Infrastruc ture 3. Attitudes 4. Coordination 5. Strategy 6. Skills 7. O thers E nablers (Essentia ls ) Action plan for s ucce ss : 1. Conduct an e-readiness assess ment 2. Strategy and Policy – a decla ratio n b y the government stating goals and objectives by appointing a board for co-coordinating ICT impleme ntation 3. Local improvisation inc lud ing design divisibili ty 4. Encourage public-private partne rs hip to create sustainable ICT programs 5. O thersResponse O utput varia ble s 1. Organis ational be ne fits †¢ Improved efficienc y †¢ Improved access to information †¢ Tra nsparency 2. Te chnological be ne fits †¢ Cheaper and efficie nt communication †¢ Large stora ge †¢ Real time process ing Barriers Facto rs for Failure Inhibitors Figure 3: Descriptive framework or region within which their work is located (Avgerou and Walsham 2000). As the literature reviewed suggests, developing countries are still far behind in implementing e-Government and it is hoped that successful implementation of ICT projects will act as a strong foundation for eGovernment initiatives. 9. ConclusionTo fulfil the development needs of ICT projects, those involved in the design, implementation and management of IT-related projects and systems in the developing countries must improve their capacity to address the specific contextual chara cteristics of the organisation, sector, country www. ejeg. com 182  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya cooperation from development partners on ICT projects †¢ To produce guidelines that the governments can use to help define their needs and agendas with regard to government ICT implementation and use †¢ Provide a basis for assessing good practice for ICT implementation in government Contribute to the body of knowledge on ICT implementation According to Doherty et al (1998), the factors that influence the ultimate level of success or failure of informatics projects have received considerable attention in the academic literature. Doherty et al (1998, p. 3) summarised studies on success factors and current research objectives involving empirical studies. Future papers will include the findings of cases studies done in 9 ministries of the Kenyan government. Therefore, this further research will identify and categorise the factors influencing ICT implementation accordin g to their degree of influence in Kenya and suggest ossible actions. In this paper, the factors affecting ICT implementation have been categorised into factors for success and factors for failure. These have been further categorized as either drivers, enablers, barriers or inhibitors. The paper does not classify the factors in terms of their influence. However, vision and strategy and government support are considered important for success while lack of funds and poor infrastructure are considered as major factors for failure. As many arguments for ICT planning prove, ICT project implementation is a complex exercise and more research is needed to identify challenges, ood practice and solutions for successful implementation. This paper analyses and syntheses both all information gathered to develop a framework that hopefully can be used during ICT infrastructural planning and implementation in developing countries. The response framework discussed in this paper is expected to be used to: †¢ Provide a basis on which to analyze and specify international support and References Aineruhanga, M. , 2004. Focus on the ‘Kenya ICT Week'. Chakula Newsletter, (9),. Audenhove, L. V. , 2000. Information and communication technology policy in Africa: A critical analysis of rhetoric and practice.In: C. AVGEROU and G. WALSHAM, eds, Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing company, pp. 277-290. Avgerou, C. and Walsham, G. , 2000. Introduction: IT in developing countries. In: C. AVGEROU and G. WALSHAM, eds, Information technology in context: Studies from the perspective of developing countries. 1 edn. Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing company, pp. 1-7. Bannister, F. and Remenyi, D. , 2005. The Societal Value of ICT: First Steps Towards an Evaluation Framework. http://www. ejise. com/volume6-issue2/issue2-art21. htm edn. Reading, England: Academic Conferences Limited. Bannister, F. and Remenyi, D. , 2004.Value Perception in IT Investment Decisions http://www. ejise. com/vo lume2/volume2-issue2/issue2-art1. htm edn. Nr Reading, England: Academic Conferences Limited. Bannister, F. and Remenyi, D. , 2000. Acts of faith: instinct, value and IT investments. Journal of Information Technology, 15(3), pp. 18. Mar. 2004-pp. 231-241. Berleur, J. and Drumm, J. , 2003-last update, information technology transfer to developing countries [Homepage of ICT research and consulting], [Online]. 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Available: http://csdl. computer. org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2002/1435/08/14350238. pdf [08. 12. 2004]. Delone, W. H. and Mclean, E. R. , 1992. Information Systems Success: The quest for the dependent variable. Information systems research, 3(1), pp. 87-95. Doherty, N. F. , King, M. and Marples, C. G. , 1998. Factors Affecting the Success of Hospital Information Support Systems. Loughborough: Loughborough University Business School. Gakunu, P. , 2004-last update, E-Government Strategy for Kenya.Available: http://www. apc. org/apps/img_upload/6972616672696361646f63756d656e74/egov_Presentation_for_ICT_Conven†¦ [10. 5,2005]. Galliers, D. R. , Madon, S. and Rashid, R. , 1998. Information Systems and Culture: Applying the ‘stages of growth' concepts to development administration. Information technology for Development, 8(2), pp. 89-100. www. ejeg. com 183 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) Harindranath, G. , 1993. Information Technology Policies and Applications in the Commonwealth Developing Countries: An introduction. In: G. Harindrabath and J.Liebenau, eds, Information technology policies and applications in the commonwealth developing countries. 1 edn. London: Commonwealth secretariat, pp. 1-5. Heeks, R. , 2004-last update, Building Transparency, Fighting Corruption with ICTs [Homepage of iconnect online], [Online]. Available: http://www. iconnect-online. org/base/ic_show_news? sc=118&id=2363 [20. 04. 2004]. Heeks, R. , 2003a-last update, Building E-governance for Development: A framework for national and donor action [Homepage of Institute for development policy and management], [Online]. Av ailable: http://idpm. man. ac. uk/publications/wp/igov/igov_wp12. df [18. 02. 2004]. Heeks, R. , 2003b-last update, Causes of E-Government Success and Failure [Homepage of IDPM, University of Manchester], [Online]. Available: http://www. e-devexchange. org/eGov/causefactor. htm [24. 08. 2004]. Heeks, R. , 2002. Information Systems and Developing countries: Failure, success, and local improvisations. http://www. fes. uwaterloo. ca/crs/plan674d/isysanddcountries. pdf edn. Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis. Heeks, R. and Davies, A. , 2000. Different Approaches to Information Age Reform. In: R. HEEKS, ed, Reinventing Government in the information age. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 2-48. Ifinedo, P. , 2005. Measuring Africa ‘s e-Readiness in the global networked economy: A nine-country data analysis http://ijedict. dec. uwi. edu/viewarticle. php? id=12=html edn. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology. Irani, Z. , 2002. I nformation systems evaluation: Navigating through the problem domain. http://www. sciencedirect. com/science? _ob=MImg=B6VD0-46BS994-27=5968=browse=10%2F31%2F2002=999599998=c=dGLbVlzzSkWW=C000010119=1=122878=14fc7e06636944bc46cfc4c4229e9358=f. df edn. online: Elsevier. Kaul, M. and ODEDRA, M. , 1991. 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The Protestant Reformation, Religious Unity, and Calvinism...

Introduction The Protestant Reformation of the Catholic Church devastated the religious unity of Christian Europe, resulting in a great deal of antagonism, which in turn led to the persecutions, denial of civil rights, expulsion, and ultimately the torture and death of many men, women and children. The ongoing conflict was not consigned to one distinct European nation, but was experienced in every European nation that the Catholic Church ruled and reigned. There was no worldview in Europe at that time that allowed for the religious differences of men to coexist peaceably. As quoted by McGrath in his book, French Protestantism to the Present Day. From Britain in the west to Hungary and Poland in the east, thousands of towns and†¦show more content†¦In October of 1534, the Affair of the Placard occurred, what made this event of great importance, was that it was a planned, written Protestant attack on the Catholic doctrine of Mass. These posters, which condemned the practice of Mass, also appeared just about simultaneously in several major cities of France overnight to include Paris, where Calvin lived. Francis I, retaliated harshly and swiftly possibly, because of the recent treaty that he had signed with Spain to end the Thirty Year War. Francis, possible to ensure his loyalty toward the Pope and the treaty arrested and executed the Protestants whom were responsible. Calvin like many other fearing for their safety left France, Calvin choosing to escape to Switzerland. Reforming Christianity When Calvin arrived in Geneva, William Farel saw in Calvin the leader that Geneva needed â€Å"and he urged the young scholar to go no farther but to stay in the city and help establish the work there† (Shelley, 2008, 256) . Calvins patronage from Geneva helped with the growth and development of the French Protestant movement in the 1550s. Calvin trained French Protestant pastors at the Geneva Academy, and helped to smuggle them back into France to establish and develop local congregations. It was also during this time he wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion, in 1536, that put into words theShow MoreRelatedThe Protestant Reformation And The Reformation916 Words   |  4 PagesThe Protestant Reformation took place in the 16th century and was a major European movement whose goal was to reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This movement led to people worshipping God as they wanted and no longer relying on the Catholic Church for guidance with re ligious matters. Even though people were doing what they believed, the Protestant Reformation brought many conflicts. Religious disagreements caused bloody conflicts all over Europe. 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Report on Consumer Behavior Towards Technological Goods...

Assignment: Report - Consumer buying preferences towards technological goods produced using sustainable business practices. Table of Contents 1. AbstractPage 3... 2. IntroductionPage 3-4 3. Literature ReviewPage 4-5 4. MethodologyPage 5... 5. ResultsPage 6-8 6. ConclusionPage 8... 7. BibliographyPage 9... 8. AppendixPage 10-11 1. Abstract This report shows data on consumer behaviour as primary research and secondary data from literature about sustainability, sustainable business practices and consumer behaviour towards sustainable produced goods. The terms sustainability and sustainable business practices will be examined in more detail. Data gathered from primary research†¦show more content†¦The questionnaire took approximately 10 minutes to complete and participants were asked that the oldest member of each household should return the results by end of the month. Surveys are one of the fastest methods to gather information nowadays, due the possibility to conduct them online as well. In the questionnaire participants of ages 30 and above were asked basic questions like name, email, gender and age. Furthermore the questionnaire asked more specific questions like how would you best describe your household, annual household income, if participants would buy sustainable produced goods over normal competitors e ven if the price was little higher and more to gather information about consumers buying preferences. The questionnaire was designed to gather a lot of information in a short time. To achieve better results, phrases around the topic sustainability and sustainable business practices were formed so that participants had just to tick their favourite answers. Limitations in primary research may be that the sample size could be increased more by surveying under 30 year olds as well. 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