Affirmative Action in the Hospitality Industry

Affirmative Action in the Hospitality Industry Abstract The paper explores how affirmative action influences employment decisions of managers in the hospitality industry. Affirmative action involves a process of ensuring fairness and justice in order to cultivate the spirit of diversity. The hospitality industry includes numerous types of corporations that provide vital services to the society. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how affirmative action is executed in the industry. Similarly, affirmative action has spread to virtually all industries; therefore, it will be appropriate to evaluate the status in the affirmative action. Human resource is an important section, not only in the hospitality industry but also other industries as well. The paper endeavors to understand how the function of human resource is handled with regard to affirmative action. The government has established a number of laws and policies that govern affirmative action in the hospitality industry as well as other industries. The paper aims at appraising the condition of affirmative action in hospitality industries. Special reference will be given to the process of appointing employees. Whether the industries appoint employees on the foundation of ensuring diversity or not will be the main focus. Introduction Affirmative action is a program that provides for the consideration of the minorities, marginalized and protected sections in the society. Therefore, fulfillment with affirmative action should result in the hiring of men and women at an equal rate. Similarly other factors like race and religion should be evaluated so as to ensure that all sections get an opportunity to obtain employment. The human resource function plays a vital role in affirmative action since hiring is a central theme in ensuring equal opportunities. The hospitality industry covers a wide range of service providers that operate throughout the world. These include hotels, restaurants, food chains and transporting. Therefore, a number of plans have been developed to effect affirmative action in the hospitality industry. Most of them have centered on the process on recruitment of employees. The essence of all these programs has been the cultivation of diversity in the work force. This has been driven by the growing tr end of affirmative action in all industries, government regulations requiring compliance with its affirmative action policies as well as the industries endeavor to have an inclusive approach to human resource. Aspects of the golden rule have had a far reaching effect on the industrys approach to hiring. In their endeavor to achieve unprecedented success in business, hospitality companies have endeavored to be inclusive in their process of hiring staff. This involves the consideration of women and other sections in the society that are considered marginalized. The development of affirmative action policies has been the trend in most companies. Therefore, the hospitality industry has joined other industries in embracing affirmative action. Affirmative Action in the Hospitality Industry Affirmative action has changed the manner in which human resource sections in companies carry out their operations. This is due to the increasing trend towards the aspect of diversity in the workforce. Therefore, corporations have realized that in order achieve success, an atmosphere of fairness must be created in the process of admitting employees into the companies (Herdman, Grubb Capehart 2009). This is gradually translating into diverse workforces who have been touted as healthy and therefore, a trajectory to success. This trend has also been inspired by the enactment of several laws that regulate the employing processes. These laws contemplate the fair consideration of all sections of society during hiring as well as the humane treatment of workers. This involves remunerations, work state of affairs and dismissal. Affirmative action has also resulted from the pressure of numerous activists and trade unions. Most of them have pushed for the introduction of fairness in the proces ses of employment in the industry. In compliance to these programs, the hospitality industry has gradually clinched affirmative action. This began with the considerations of all sections in the hiring progression (Makulilo 2009). As much as the process is still far from complete, the hospitality industry has established a number of frameworks through which affirmative action can be achieved. First among all is the inclusive recruitment course. Bargaining councils have been instrumental in entrenching affirmative action practices in the hospitality industry. Bargaining councils comprise of trade unions as well as organizations representing organizations. The councils have been instrumental in championing for the rights of workers at the work place. As much as this had little effect of the hiring procedure, it eventually led to the extension of fair treatment in the recruitment. The councils handle a number of tasks that involve compatible agreements (Kennedy 2010). They mitigate disputes and come up with numerous schemes and policies of employees. Such endeavors have contributed to the aspect of equality throughout the hospitality companies. Examples of these councils include The Tearoom, Restaurant Catering Bargaining Council and the Restaurant, Catering Allied Bargaining Council. Sectoral determination plays a significant role in the achievement of equality and better handling of staff. The hospitality industry has therefore, achieved a lot with regard to fairness especially in wages through the pressure of sect oral determination. Sectoral determinations have provided for the wage rate to be based on the number of employees in an organization. Therefore, organizations with small numbers of employees pay more. Several acts that are relevant with the hospitality industry have been instrumental in the practice of fairness and equality in the sector. Most of the acts have programs that ensure the achievement of good care and treatment for the employees (Taylor 2010). The Occupational Health and Safety Act endeavors to ensure that employees are accorded adequate healthcare and safety in the working environment. Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Deceases Act aims at ensuring that employees who incur sicknesses and injuries at the work place are taken care of. The act discourages discrimination of these workers and prescribes the kind of treatment that should be given to them. The Employment Equity Act seeks to uphold evenhandedness in the work environment. The act also promotes equivalent chances to all employees. All corporations that deal in hospitality attempt to realize merit in their operations. However, only companies that ultimately make use of the ability of racial and sexual diversity achieve their objectives. The diversity of the population provides for equal approach to hiring (Lickstein 2010). Therefore, only companies that consider the diversity of talent and society manage to navigate beyond normal performance. Furthermore, in order to compete favorably since the 1990s, companies have been forced to embrace equality in job opportunities at all stages. The job environments must conform to the standards of equality by all means. The demographic inclinations that are responsible for changes in personnel stipulate the skill of managing diversity be cultivated in all levels of administration (Lickstein 2010). The demographic indicators predict an increase in diversity of the society in the future. Therefore, corporations must cultivate the aspect of managing diversity among the managers at all levels. This will ensure that the corporations continually carry out their operations in the future. Without an open approach to diversity it will not be possible for hospitality organizations to operate. The indicators show that the majority of jobs in the future will arise from the service industry. Most of them will be about information. This shows that the jobs require intellectual prowess alone. As a result, gender, race and age will not be barriers. Corporations must therefore, embrace affirmative action since future jobs will be suitable for men and women as well as all races and groups. The rate of immigrants is going to increase (Kahlenberg 2010). This means that the number of immigrant workers will increase. Organizations must put in place equality mechanisms so as to take advantage of the increase in potential workers. Only those corporations that will have adopted affirmative action will benefit from the services of migrant workers. The hospitality industry is on the spot since projections indicate that economic development will rely directly on the claim of products are sensitive to incomes. These include restaurant meals, tourism, healthcare, and travel and luxury foods. Therefore, the industry must ensure that its operations are not obstructed by traditional approaches to employment and discriminations. Affirmative action remains the best way forwards in the restructuring of hospitality organization. Most of the fresh workers in the future will be minorities. Therefore, without a prudent approach to employee hiring based on equality, organizations will miss out on the new employees. The fact that, most new employees will be minorities indicates that, hospitality organizations must fully embrace affirmative action so as to be in a position to manage a diverse workforce. Diversity must be cultivated in the management and operation of the corporations. Most importantly, hiring decisions together with the managem ent of employees must be changed to confirm to norms of equality. The number of black women will rise unexpectedly. Black women will account for the largest share in the nonwhite work category. Consequently black women will surpass black men in the labor force. Gender based discrimination will have no place in the work force since most potential workers will be women. Affirmative action is the only way for companies to operate in the future. Accordingly racism must be brought to an end since blacks will form an integral account of the entire labor force. Similarly white males who have been the major component of the work force are slated to reduce drastically. They will only comprise of 15% of the entire workforce. Therefore, black and other minorities must be ready to take the dominant position in the workforce. Affirmative Action Support and Challenges Affirmative action has the backing of many people; it is perceived as the only means towards equality. Affirmative action is essentially founded of a moral and equitable platform with the best objectives. As a result, several organizations and sections of the public and society support the concept (Dodson 2010). This has been the key driving force in the success of affirmative action in the hospitality industry. Numerous corporations have initiated programs that aim at ensuring the full implementation of the affirmative action. This has led to the creation of several affirmative action policies by organizations. The policies have been informed by several consultations between these organizations and the relevant stakeholders. The role played by the government in setting guidelines has also been instrumental. The most viable transformation has been the attitudinal change. The society has fully come to embrace the aspect of equality as envisaged in the affirmative action. Most of these involve racism, sexism and other shapes of inequity. The work place has been the major battleground for all these forms of inequality. However, industry players have come to recognize the importance of initiating equality programs in their operations (Anim 2010). The most visible application of affirmative action has been identical opportunities during the appointing process. However, the implementation of affirmative action in the hospitality industry has been subject to a number of challenges. The greatest challenge has been the aspect of racism. The concept of racial preference has complicated efforts to cultivate equality in employment and workplace relations (Krotoszynski 2010). This has been brought about by the connection of race and preference. It has been burdensome to society since through this link racism is inculcated in society in the name of stigma that ought to be eradicated. Partisan treatment to certain races in the name of ensuring equality has been counterproductive. In fact quotas have been a setback in the affirmative action endeavors. This is because quotas and other forms of partisan treatments institutionalize inequality. In order for affirmative to be successful organizations must move away from any counterproductive practices that undermine equality. Equality in organizations can only be achieved through the adoption of structures that establish equal prospects for all. Any practice that seeks to assist certain sections of the society at the expense of others cannot achieve affirmative action. Therefore, the biggest threat to affirmative action in organizations is the focus on short-term goals. Some organizations have evolved a system of creating reservations and quotas for certain sections of the society. This practice might be fruitful in the short run; it has negative effects on affirmative action. Such organizations soon institutionalize inequality through the favoritism. Affirmative action in the organizations requires the culture of diversity coupled with prudent management of the same. Rigidity in organizations is another aspect that limits the implementation of affirmative action. To counter this trend, organizations ought to develop an atmosphere that cultivates diversity in the workplace. Such an arrangement will leave no room for unnecessary hindrances in the implementation of affirmative action. As much as the major attitudinal obstructions are found in societies, business organizations can play an important role by cultivating diversity and equality in their operations (Alam and Roy 2007). The first way is to ensure that hiring remains a transparent and equal forum for all sections of the society. This should be complemented by the provision of equivalent chances for all employees irrespective of their gender and racial background. The establishment of structure that favors affirmative action remains the best way to achieve equality in the organizations. Minorities ought to be accorded equivalent opportunities so as to allow them to grow and compete favorably in the organizations. The equal treatment of minorities will have several benefits in the organizations apart from ensuring equality. First will be the perpetuity of organizations. With respect to future projections, only organizations that provide equal treatment to minorities will survive. This is due to the fact that most potential worker will come from minority category. Organizations with no meaningful structures for diversity and equality often find it difficult to achieve their goals in the midst of the changes. It is virtually impossible to achieve growth in modern times without credible affirmative action policies. Equality can also not be achieved with the necessary structures in place. Companies in the hospitality industry that fully embrace equality mechanism as far as opportunity is concerned succeed because of the inherent mutual culture and structure. Through the commitment of the companies, right from the highest levels of management and accountability of the personnel development and the provision of equal chance, an inclusive diverse atmosphere is founded in which all people irrespective of their gender and race can make their contribution to the organization (Winston 2008). Through the success of their workforce, accommodative organizations often realize the efficiency, innovativeness and synergy to effectively compete and realize financial breakthrough. Therefore, such organization comprehend that unfairness is harmful to the individuals, corporations as well as the society. Organizations that wholly build and manage culturally diverse abilities of its employees normally derive benefit associated with them. Similarly rigid organizations cannot benefit from the services of culturally diverse workforce. Employees in culturally diverse organizations work in broadly environments. Their tasks are defined widely and they have the liberty to perform their jobs as well as come up with groups and methodologies they deem fit. Furthermore, the employees have the freedom to participate in new tasks. Diverse organizations concentrate of the development of their employees (Reistad et al., 2010). Therefore, such organizations often have efficient communication systems across the different departments of the organization. These corporations react constructively to change, have effective workers and encourage the growth of minorities. Great prominence is laid of training of workers. The benefits from these endeavors, pose these organizations for financial success as well as better future prospects (Reistad et al., 2010). Conclusion Affirmative action has taken root in several business organizations. This trend has been necessitated by the need to cultivate equality and diversity in the workplace. Companies in the hospitality industry have not been left behind. A number of measures have been taken by organizations in the hospitality industry, to entrench affirmative action in their operations. This has mostly involved the hiring practice. Organizations have evolved to ensure that all sections of society irrespective of gender and race obtain their equal share of opportunities of jobs. Furthermore, the working situations in several organizations from the hospitality sector have inducted diversity in their systems. The cultivation of a culture of diversity in these organizations has resulted in equal management of staff at the workplace. Most importantly, it has involved the uplifting of minorities through the opportunities for their growth. The entrenchment of structures that guarantee diversity and equality has been of great success in the organizations. The trend of affirmative action has been boosted by a number of factors. These include future projections which indicate an increase in minorities in the potential workforce category. Government policies have also pressed corporations to clinched affirmative action. Affirmative action has fully been embraced by most organizations in the hospitality industry.

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CDI2Nero 0.9 beta7 - (C) 2001 by DeXT http://cdirip.cjb.net *** WARNING! This is beta software. It has not been fully tested and may *** contain bugs. Use it at you own risk. *** This tool must not be used to duplicate copyright-protected content. *** The author will not be responsible for its improper usage. Purpose ------- This little tool will convert a CDI (DiscJuggler) image to NRG (Nero) format. Both CDI 2.0 and 3.0 image versions are supported. It currently has support for: - CD-ROM/XA type CDs - Mode 2 and Audio tracks - Single session and Multisession images It lacks support for: - Audio-only CDs (TAO only) - Mode 1 data tracks These will be added soon. Usage ----- Usage is very simple, just double-clic the executable file and an Open File dialog will appear, select your source CDI image to convert and press OK. A Save File dialog will then appear on the same path as source image. Write the desired name for the destination NRG image (you don't need to write any extension) and press OK. Default name is "image.nrg". You can also use it from command-line. Syntax is: cdi2nero image.cdi [image.nrg] For command-line usage, if you don't specify a destination filename, the source image filename will be used but with NRG extension. Burning ------- Once converted you can burn the newly created image. If a DAO warning message appears, you should select Yes (although this depends on burner, I think). This will only appear on Multisession images. Notes ----- This is a unified DAO/TAO version, unlike previous ones, where you can select NRG image type when saving. DAO images are most standard ones, and is the only format that Nero itself is able to generate. TAO images are special ones, which lacks a cuesheet, and track positions are managed by the burner itself. Nero is not capable of generating these. On most burners, these images will be burned in "Track at Once" mode (hence the name) instead of default DAO. A general note is to burn in DAO (default) mode and if something fails, try TAO instead. But note that if your burner doesn't support "short" tracks (i.e. those below 302 sectors) you still will get errors when trying to burn such images. These errors are usually "cannot write track at correct position", or seeing CD-Extra discs as Audio-only (i.e. no data track). Below is a list of tested burners, reported by users, which get successful or failed in burning process: Success: Acer CRW 6206A BTC BCE-432IE Gateway 8x4x32 HP CD-Writer 7100i HP CD-Writer 7200e HP CD-Writer 8100i HP CD-Writer 9310i Iomega Zip CD 650 Iomega Zip CD USB (DAO only) Memorex CRW-1622 (DAO only) Mitsumi 4801TE OTI-975 Socrates Philips CDD3610 Philips CDD3801 Philips CDD4201 Philips PCRW404K Teac CD-R56S

Comparison and Contrast of Main Characters Essay

Nora and Tom are the main characters of two plays, the Doll House and the Glass Menagerie respectively. In comparing and contrasting these two characters, it is vital to analyze the plays and to gain and understanding of their personalities and relationships with other people. Nora is the wife of Torvald, and their marriage is characterized by the domination of Tovarld over Nora and her complacent passivity. As a wife during the late 1800s, it was typical of women to have been treated like children with little to no independence. However, it is the failure of Nora to remain stuck in her gender role as the immature ornament. Tom is the son of Amanda and the brother of Laura, and his position in the family is marked by the absence of his own father. Tom is expected to fully maintain the family, yet his youth and inexperience, coupled by his mother’s demanding exasperation, do not equip him to be a successful head of the household. In analyzing these two characters, it is interesting to note the ways in which Nora and Tom are similar and different in regard to gender roles and passivity. Gender Roles & Passivity In regard to gender roles and passivity, it is clear that Nora and Tom are caught up in the expectations of other people and playing out stereotypical functions to an extreme degree. Nora herself describes her situation as a wife with no ambitions and blames her husband, saying, â€Å"I lived by performing tricks for you†¦ you and father have done me a great wrong†¦ it’s your fault that my life has been wasted† (Ibsen, 1890, 117). In this comment, one can see the full frustration of Nora in regard to her plight as a fully dependent wife. However, one could dispute her allegation that all of the culpability rests on the shoulders of her husband and not at all on herself. As far as Tom is concerned, he is stuck taking care of his mother and sister, when he would truly rather be making more of a life for himself, stating â€Å"I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be† (Williams, 1999, 97). Tom expresses his irritation with the situation of him being expected to perform all of the duties as the head of the household, a role which he increasingly rejects. Similar to Nora, he finds himself playing a part which he does not want to be playing. However, a vital difference is that Tom takes responsibility for remaining passively in a role which does not suit him and does not try to place the full blame on other people. Conclusion Nora and Tom are both characters who find themselves doing the bidding of other people in response to social expectations, rather than following their instincts in living their lives more for themselves. While Nora finds herself shaming her husband for her life mistakes, Tom is more apt to shame himself. However, in the end, both characters are able to break free of the gender roles and passivity which have bound them all too closely and dependently to other people. Nora ends up leaving her husband, just as Tom ends up leaving his wife and mother. While Nora ends the play on a note of anger and full finger pointing, Tome ends the play with a sense of regret that he must leave his family. Nora and Tom are able to escape the oppressive forces in their lives, yet they have markedly different approaches to assigning fault. Works Cited Ibsen, H. (1890). A Doll’s House. W. H. Baker. Williams, T. (1999). The Glass Menagerie. New Directions Publishing.

Involved In It Business Processes Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3271 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? After finishing my three semesters of masters degree the challenge of completing my study at university continued to draw. This dissertation is my final result of six months research and entails the post graduation project of the Masters of Business Administration. It has been carried out with support of Amity University. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Involved In It Business Processes Finance Essay" essay for you Create order All companies are vulnerable to events that could impact their reputation. These events can rise from various factors, such as a companys employment practices, natural disasters, pollution, poor governance, or poor management. Effective risk managers identify the different circumstances and factors that may impact on the reputation of a company, prior to the incident occurring. In order to assist risk managers, this dissertation proposes a structured approach to the management of risks, which would ensure that the impact on the reputation of the company is minimised. The proposed approach was collated and deduced from the actions taken by companies that have suffered attacks against their reputations, but have successfully mitigated the consequences and minimised the damage to their reputations. This approach is highlighted and confirmed by contrasting it to the actions taken by companies that failed to counter the attacks on their reputation. Abstract The management of risks in business processes has a subject of active research in the past few years. Many benefits can potentially be obtained by integrating the two traditionally-separated fields of risks management and business process management, including the ability to minimize risks in business processes (by design) and to mitigate risks at run time. One of the primary concerns in a small business is the problem of risk. Many who begin the start-up process terminate it in less than one year. Of those that survive, many are unable to achieve sustained growth and profits. Small-to-medium business enterprises (SME) have 50% to 90% chance of failure within the first five years. Information Technology (IT) business processes that resulted from the accelerated technological pace of change, will enable a path of growth and long term return on investment (ROI) for organizations. However, embarking on such large scale investments leave little opportunity to turn back, and sound go vernance and management of risks will required to effectively managing unforeseen issues during the life cycle, and if these fail the organizations will be constantly functioning in crisis mode. The absence of risk control and risk management can be destructive towards overall business performance. Management skills are therefore of paramount importance to reduce direct cost of projects and to handle increased challenges derived from improvements on existing IT infrastructures. The need for a robust risk management framework exists, although many industry standard methodologies are available to assist management in the ongoing task of project delivery. The specific research aims of this study include the following: To assess the current situation regarding risks that were common within organizations and how these risks were being effectively managed. There is no specific policy or legislation that is formulated in the management of risks. Regarding public liability, loss or damage, there is minimal consideration for the person affected and compensation takes the forefront. The protection of human beings should be considered. The health and safety of those involved in staging major events is important. Determining various systems and logical approaches that are required for a comprehensive, consistent, reliable and proactive way to ensure safe and successful organizations. To make organizations and students aware of the fact that it is important to manage a risk which is suitable for all minor and major organizations. Governance, as the binding glue for organizations, has been one of the fastest growing elements of risk management. Performance measurement is paramount to IT governance and must be set and monitored by measurable objectives. Various ISO standards can be used in conjunction with these management tools like the ISO 31000 risk management standard to guide management in the effective implementation of risk practices. While there has been an increasing amount of research aimed at delivering such an integrated system, these research efforts vary in terms of their scope, goals, and functionality. Through systematic collection and evaluation of relevant literature, this paper compares and classifies current approaches in the area of risk-aware business process management in order to identify and explain research gaps. The process through which relevant literature is collected, filtered, and evaluated is also detailed. Finally, a set of research agenda is proposed. Acknowledgements As I reach the end of the journey towards my masters, I am filled with gratefulness towards so many whose directions, blessings, guidance and mentorship helped me to accomplish this goal. I would like to take this opportunity to thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who helped me in pursuing this research. I wish to acknowledge several great individuals who have supported me in this endeavour: First very special thanks to my brother and my mentor, Ms. Sakshi Singh, for their undying support, love and guidance. Table of Contents Title Page Preface Abstract Acknowledgement CHAPTER 1 Introduction Background of the Study Problem Statement Objectives of the Study Primary Objective Secondary Objectives Scope of the Study Research Methodology Limitations of the Study Summary CHAPTER 2 Governance IT Governance IT Governance Domains Roles Governance Tools COBIT COBIT Construct Applicability to the Organization Recommended Action Plan SOX SOX Construct Applicability to the Organization Recommended Action Plan ISO 31000 ISO 31000 Construct Applicability to the Organization Recommended Action Plan Summary CHAPTER 3 Risk Introduction What is Risk? Different Types of Risks Market Risk Management of Market Risk Business Risk Management of Business Risk Financial Risk Management of Financial Risk Credit Risk Management of Credit Risk Reputation Risk Management of Reputation Risk Conclusion CHAPTER 4 Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) Platform Selection General Considerations Functional Requirements Non-functional Requirements Selection Process Walk Through Summary CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 1 Nature and Scope of the Study Introduction Organizations face many uncertainties in their day-to-day operations (such as IT infrastructure malfunction or share market movement). The effects of these uncertainties on organizational objectives are known as risks, while the applications of relevant principles, framework, and processes to effectively manage risks are known as risk management. The purpose of this study is to propose and define a general reference framework that describes an optimal risk management process plan for information technology processes from various industry types in India. We call a system which allows the reasoning about and management of risks in business processes a risk-aware business process management (R-BPM) system. Many benefits can potentially be obtained by integrating the two traditionally-separated fields of risk management and business process management (BPM), including the ability to analyse risks and incorporate risk mitigation strategies in a business process model during design time, to monitor the emergence of risks and apply risk mitigation actions during run time, as well as to identify risks from logs and other post- execution artifacts. Furthermore, it may also aid businesses to comply with various rules and regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A vast array of academic articles and research focus on risk management practices. However, in this study an attempt will be made to create general reference frameworks that combine various risk management aspects to supply a holistic approach to managing the critical elements of an organizations information technology (IT). Companies must develop the mindset and tools to explore the many dimensions of risk with each activity and opportunity as a passive risk management stance in this dynamic and competitive world will not be sufficient. Background of the Study Growth and profitability are exhilarating words for investors and stakeholders in companies all over the world although they can be illusory and destructive measures of performance in the absence of risk control and risk management. An organization may regard Information Technology (IT) as a necessary evil, something that is needed in order to stay in business, while others may see it as a major source of strategic opportunity, seeking proactively to indentify how IT-based information systems can help them gain a competitive edge. The primary reason of increased IT risks is due to the accelerated technological pace of change. Organizations who fail to conduct an initial business impact assessment of the changes that result from the business process design activity will lead to project cost and schedule overruns. Organizations typically contain large number of information that must not only be secured but also transformed into value for management to assist in the decision mak ing process and the positioning of the organizations competitive stance. Strategies must be developed to manage this information as a resource and to share existing knowledge within an organization to boost performance. With IT at the core of most 21st century businesses, and with todays focus on compliance and risk management as a result of legislation like can Sarbanes Oxley, organizations can no longer afford to have IT governance by default or bad IT governance by design. IT governance at its most basic is the process of making decisions about IT. By this simple definition, every organization has some form of IT governance. Good IT governance ensures that IT investments are optimized, aligned with business strategy, and delivering value within acceptable risk boundaries taking into account culture, organizational structure, maturity, and strategy. Problem Statement Recent years have seen increased concern and focus on risk management, and it became evident that a need exists for a robust framework to effectively identify, assess, and manage risk. Risks are unavoidable in any project, particularly IT projects, and if project managers do not apply sound risk management principles, the project manager may be constantly in crisis mode. For any risk program to be successful, sound risk-based decision-making is crucial to drive the enterprise toward the formalization of risk management processes with the required accountability, transparency, and measurability. Risk management is the assessment of potential reasons for failure of projects and developing strategies to reduce risks. Information project risk management must be carefully evaluated and aligned with the general organizations strategy as a new IT project has an enormous impact on core business functions. Risk identification can get very complex and organizations can fail to understa nd their level of exposure. Organizations have two ways to address risk: the wrong way or the right way. The wrong way is to assume that people can understand all the vast amount of risk exposures. This is however not possible and risks and opportunities must be organised and accepted at various levels by risk owners. In order to gain competitive advantage, top management must ensure that information management is executed as an essential asset and that IT projects are not only the IT departments responsibility, but the organization as a whole. An effective IT risk management process provides executives with the required information to implement smart business decisions with confidence in order to reduce, avoid, transfer or live with IT risk. Governance has been one of the fastest growing elements of risk management, with the separation of risk governance from all IT governance and the layering of risk governance entities that emerged as best practices. From the above it is clear that a need exists for a robust risk framework to assist management in the execution of projects; assurance towards shareholders; alignment with business strategies; and required governance practices; as these risks are unavoidable in the IT environment. Objectives of the Study The research objectives are divided into general and specific objectives: Primary Objective: The primary objective of this research study is to the theory for managing IT related risks from an integrated governance perspective by researching literature, expert visions, executive cases and current frameworks methods and approaches. Comparing these frameworks and methods provide a comprehensive overview exposing possible gaps and flaws. Secondary Objectives: The secondary objectives of this research are: Analysis of risk, and IT management and all the relevant process phases. Governance as part of the organizational strategic layout. Evaluation of existing methodologies and frameworks to assist and guide management. Using the theoretical concepts, a possible approach for risk management processes will be devised to assist in the IT industry. Scope of the Study The study will evaluate best practices for business processes from a risk perspective but the underlying implementation and legislation will focus on the Indian IT industry. Research Methodology Chapter 2 GOVERNANCE To govern means to control the actions or behaviour of. In organizations, governance (or the act of governing) is becoming a widespread term. Programmes and projects are now governed by a programme or project board, or by a steering committee. Governance is provided by internal audit, and operational governance ensures for the day-to-day activities of the organization are implemented and followed. Corporate Governance Corporate governance can be defined as the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a company is directed, administered or controlled. Although corporate governance is designed for the protection of its external funders, it also applies to government, not-for-profit and other membership organizations. In this context, the external funders become stakeholders who could, for example, be members of the public, or special interest groups to the whom to whom the body is accountable. Corporate governance is the glue that blinds organizations together in the continuous pursuit of its objectives, while risk management provides the resilience. Linked with corporate governance is the design and implementation of IT governance that needs to be a cohesive, integrated process. IT Governance IT governance integrates and institutionalises good practices to ensure that alignment exist between the organizations IT and the general business objectives of the organization as a whole. The key elements of enterprise governance include the following:- Assurance of the value of IT. Management of IT-related risks. Increased requirements for control over information with value, risk and control as the core drivers of IT governance. Performance measurement is paramount for IT governance that must be set and monitored by measurable objectives of what the IT processes need to deliver (process outcome) and how to deliver it (process capability and performance). Although additional regulatory compliance adds more operational weight to an organization, improved performance and growth will result from the alignment of IT with business to further enable processes and drive innovation. IT Governance Domains IT governance domains includes Strategic alignment- alignment between business and IT objectives. Value Delivery- executing the value proposition throughout the delivery cycle and also to ensure that IT meets its promised return on investment. Resource management- focus on the key issues of knowledge and infrastructure. Risk management- require risk awareness by senior corporate officers, a clear understanding of the enterprise of the enterprise appetite for risk, understanding of compliance requirements, transparency about the significant risks to the enterprise and embedding of risk management responsibilities into the organization. Performance Management- tracks and monitors strategy implementation, project completion, resource usage, process performance and service delivery, using, for example, balance scorecards that translate strategy into action. Roles Corporate boards and executives perceive risk management as a strategic discipline for improving business performance. They are under more pressure implement risk management with their auditors, regulators and credit-rating agencies, which calls for effective risk management programs. It is the executives and the Board of directors to ensure that IT governance is implemented and monitored with the needed leadership, organizational structures and processes to ensure that the organizational IT objectives sustain and extend the overall strategy and objectives of an organization. Board Overall responsibility for IT governance. Provide a balance between risk and control investment in an often unpredictable environment. Senior Management Provide ongoing assurance and the security and control measures of the IT services. The contemporary IT risk manager is likely to work on an overall enterprise governance structure. A lack of Board oversight of IT activities can p ut an organization in as much risk as a lack of underlying controls ensuring the quality of financial. Top management involvement in IT risk on the other hand can be improved by implementing an effective IT risk reporting framework that is closely linked to key IT processes. The critical success factors required for the implementation of such a framework consist of the following: Close involvement by all parties and the understanding in the identification and assessment of the risks and their relation to the Corporate Technology (CT) process portfolio. Allow for customization in the reporting in order to improve management ownership levels improving the risk management process. Mutual IT process portfolio derived from a combination of sources such as ISO 31000 and COBIT. The study will now look at the literature that supports these governance tools and techniques that can assist managers in IT risks. Governance Tools COBIT SOX ISO 31000 ITIL CHAPTER 3 Risk Introduction Risk is an important component of a companys investment strategy. It is, thus, important to know the source of the risk, as well as to identify and evaluate factors contributing to risk. The relationship between the different types of risk is evaluated in this chapter, and the definition of risk, as well as the management thereof, is given and explained. Reputation risk is introduced, and different indicators, whereby reputation risk can increase, are identified. Risk managers have a crucial part to play in responding to and preparing for reputational events. Extensive risk management procedures have to be integrated. Managers can only respond to reputation risk once they have identified traditional risks, and then worked out events that could impact reputation. What is Risk? ISO 31000 define, risk is the effect of the uncertainty of an outcome. A company is vulnerable to all types of risk. Risk is inherent in business, not only because the organization operates in a risky environment, but also because the business itself is continuously changing. Certain risk relates to variability in returns caused by factors that are unique to the company, such as the type of industry in which the company operates, and the product that it sells. This is often referred to as unsystematic or unique risk. An investor may eliminate this type of risk by diversification. The other risk that remains is the non-diversifiable portion or the market risk. Variability in a shares total returns, which is directly associated with overall movements in the general market or economy, is called systematic risk. Systematic risk directly encompasses interest rate, market and inflation risks, and cannot be avoided through diversification. Different Types of Risks A company is exposed to all kinds of risk; however, the basic types of risk that affect a company are the following: Market risk Operational risk Business Risk Financial risk Credit risk Reputational risk Market Risk Market risk is the risk associated with movements in security prices, especially in share prices. If an individual buys a share and the market as a whole declines, the price of the specific share will probably fall. Conversely, if the market increases, the price of the share will also tend to increase. Essentially, understanding market risk assists in understanding price behaviour. The causes of changes in market price are usually beyond the control of the company. An unexpected war, the end of a war, an election year, political or terrorist activity, speculative activity in the market or the outflow of gold are all tremendous psychological factors in the market. Whatever the reason, the drop in the market is a temporary cyclical swing that causes a temporary drop in the price of the share. For most companies, interest rates and foreign exchange rates are the main market risk exposures. Alternatively, some companies are exposed to commodity and energy prices. Where the corporati on is subject to volatile market risks, or where it uses derivatives to manage its market risk, measures must be adopted in order to control the exposures from the different elements apparent in the market. There are four key Market Risks: ddddddddd ggggg bbbbbb