Taking the Rap :: essays research papers

The role of rap as a music form and the perception of rappers as a whole has changed over the past ten years. It was a slow process for rap as a whole to be accepted as music and eventually be recognized by critics and award ceremonies. The advent of â€Å"gangster† rap brought about a new group of rappers with criminal histories and raunchy over the top lyrics. Many rappers today, like Eminem, have highly publicized criminal histories that overshadow the meaningful messages and damage the careers of otherwise model citizen rappers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eminem became the next hit in rap in 1999 with extremely violent and shocking lyrics that included descriptions of raping and killing his ex-wife and vicious slurs against homosexuals. I was a fan of the music simply for the shock factor like many teens of the time but I grew tired of it and moved on to more meaningful work. He followed this formula for two more albums which sold over a million copies just like his debut. He then backed up this image with drug, weapons, and assault charges in the following years. Then Eminem discovered the next â€Å"big hit† in rap when he signed 50 Cent, another convicted criminal who survived 9 bullet wounds. These are just a few cases of the media hyped crimes of a few rappers. All of these deliquent activities were used to stereotype rappers as a whole, while many other rapper’s positive activities and attempts for career advancement went unnoticed or were hindered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the same time Eminem released his controversial albums rap acts like Outkast, Goodie Mob, Mos Def, and The Roots produced albums with positive life morals, uplifting messages, and politically charged lyrics. I was displeased to see some of the albums sell well but gain none of the notoriety of the artists constantly in the news. Only rap fans and a few music critics were aware of these positive notes, while the rest of society only got the news story of the most recent rapper’s unlawful blunder. The effects were not fully realized until a large promotional deal between rapper Ludacris and Pepsi came to light.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ludacris signed a multi-commercial ad campaign with Pepsi in 2002 when the company began to look for a â€Å"hipper† image. Ludacris uses profane language and mature situations in his lyrics but it is humorous and so over the top it is obvious it is a persona that he knew would sell.

Employee Training & Career Development Paper Essay

Every business today wants to hire, motivate and train the most qualified employees. Every company wants to utilize these employees and place them in departments that are best suited for them and the company’s needs. This seems like an impossible goal however, this is goal is what many Human Resources departments do on an everyday basis. Human Resources provide this connection to assist in employee development to utilize each employee’s talent. Human Resources put forth the effort to increase employee improvements by providing training and development opportunities for employees to look for promotions within the organization. Job shadowing involves an employee following another employee while performing their job to see what the job is all about.† Job shadowing gives personnel chances to see first-hand the genuine job duties involved and the skill that is needed to perform the job themselves. (Wise Geek, 2011). Job shadowing works well as an in-house strategy to h elp distribute knowledge more largely in a company which, in turn, helps avoid job silos from starting and helps employees increase their expertise and skills to make their work experience more profound and pleasant. Job satisfaction plays an extremely significant role in workforce retention. (Wise Geek, 2011). Job switching is comparable to job shadowing and just like shadowing it prepares the workforce of tomorrow. It allows employees learn about different job opportunities within an agency, and it is most beneficial for offering extra job skills for employees who want to increase their knowledge through added training opportunities. It also assists in generating job back-up sources for essential positions within the company. Employees who want to learn about other jobs within the company or a different department basically switch jobs for a certain amount of time to learn more about distinctive jobs and how those different jobs intermingle to achieve company goals. (Wise Geek, 2011). Monitoring employees is another way to assist in employee development. Managers observe how an employee is progressing in their day to day tasks. This gives the manager an idea about how well the employee is progressing. Monitoring can help managers decide on what trainings are most  useful. It assists the managers to gain a relationship with the employee while giving on going feedback. It shows an employee that the manager cares about the success of the employee. If a manager did not monitor and give feedback it will then show a lack of interest and the employee will inherit that type of attitude as well. (Wohner, 2011). Many companies face the task of employee development with developing greater confidence, creativity, solutions-finding, and problem solving abilities amongst their employees. Companies need employees at all levels to be more adequate, ingenious, imaginative and independent. This attitude allows employees to perform at higher tactical level, which makes their company more industrious and aggressive. Employee’s efforts will create bigger results. It’s what all companies make every effort to succ eed. (Levine, 2011). For many companies these methods above would assist in helping a company be competitive and successful. However, these methods will not assist an employee to gain courage, maintain a belief in the company and these methods will not help in the maturity of the employee. This is where a company needs to focus on the personality of the employee and not the skills that the job requires. Every employee has a different personality, if a company y can recognize that then they can build up the confidence in their employees. For myself, managers who tell me that they believe I can do it really does not motivate me, they sound more like my mother. If a manger praises my work after I finish a project, then I become more motived to do the best I can. It is all about identifying different personalities. (Levine, 2011). Companies need to deliver learning and experiences that their employees would like for their own individual interest, progress and satisfaction. Performance and proficiency are reliant on the employee’s attitude and emotional maturity. Companies can help their employees to accomplish what they want on a personal level, and this offers a stage for trust, ’emotional contracting’ with the organization, and following skills, processing, knowledge growth pertinent to managing higher responsibilities, and teams. (About.com, 2011). The company that I work for has a program they offer every January call the Fellows Program. This is a program that is offered to college student who are in the junior or senior year. This program allows the student to see opportunities that Olympus is offering. College students can apply for a job within the company, however there is a catch. A college  student must take a job for two years. Within those years they are assigned a department for 6 months. After those 6 months the college student is moved to another department and this is the process for two years. By performing this program, Olympus is grooming their future employees. Most of these college students start to gain relationships and they become comfortable after working with us for two years. Most of the Fellows will stay with the company. This program is successful for the student who did not have to look for a job after graduating, and the company gains an employee that they molded to become successful. In my own career development, I was told early on that if people want to help or give suggestions to me then take it. I tried to act like a sponge and soak up all the information that I possibly could, and I still do to this day. If I am struggling with a project and an employee wants to assist me I allow it. I watch how they perform and I ask questions. I find that this way of learning is where I become most successful. You can tell me how to perform a task all you want however, if you take the time to show me, I will then pick up the knowledge of the task in half the time. Whenever I am offered training I make sure I sign up for it. Sometimes it has been difficult to receive constructive feedback however through time I have learned to deal with it. In 5 years I would like to see myself out of the corporation I work for. I really like working for small companies, these bigger corporations tend to treat employees like numbers. When I worked for a smaller company I knew who had kids, who was still in school, who just got married, it was a personal experience. The corporation I work for looks at employees as numbers, not people. References About.com. (2011). ..Training, Development, and Education for Employees. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/training/Training_Development_and_Education_for_Employees.htm Levine, L. (2011). Strengthen Your Business by Developing Your Employees. All Business. Retrieved from http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development/1240-1.html Wise Geek. (2011). What is Job Shadowing?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-job-shadowing.htm Wohner, N. (2011). How to Monitor Employee Performance. eHow. Retrieved from

Addiction For Cell Phone Addiction - 1293 Words

Cell phone Addiction is a devastating and pervasive issue in the whole world. â€Å"90% of U.S citizens own a cell phone.†(psychguides) Cell phones are majorly improving causing people to enjoy them more which results in them using the cell phone to much. â€Å"67% people admitted to checking their phone even when it didn’t vibrate or ring. â€Å"(Psychguides) This is called phantom vibration syndrome. â€Å"9 out of 10 people have phantom phone syndrome.†(WebMD) I have it and you most likely do too. Some symptoms of cell phone addiction are 1. A need to use the cell phone more and more often in order to achieve the same desired effect. 2. Not being able to use the cell phone less often. 3. Preoccupation with smartphone use. 4. Uses cell phone when they are†¦show more content†¦It is not something to blow off and take lightly. It can really take a toll on a young teenager. Since you are most likely hunched over when you are using a cellular device it is putting lots of strain on your back which can cause lots of problems to it and can leave some permanent damage. â€Å"According to 2015 statistics, 45% of young people aged 16 to 24 now suffer from back pain as their spinal disks are put under pressure. That’s a 60% rise from 2014. A 2014 study, published in Surgical Technology International, found that texting can add up to 50 pounds of pressure on a person’s spine, depending on the angle at which the person is texting.†(Leonard) Smartphones can also cause occipital neuralgia- a neurological condition where the nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp become compressed or inflamed. This causes the person to experience headaches or migraines. There are no known treatments other than numbing injections, yoga and not using your cell phone as much as you normally do, Most people describe it as a metal bar driving into their skull. Smartphones don’t just cause physical things l ike that, but they also cause emotional problems. Some people develop anxiety or depression because they expect updates or invitations and interaction with their friends. When they don’t get messages from them they get worried which leads to anxiety and depression. People can also get stress from cellphones because they expectShow MoreRelatedCell phone addiction1352 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Final paper about cell phone addiction Over the years, cell phone addiction has gained public attention. There are several reasons why this case can attract some many researchers to study this.. First of all, mobile phone is new technology and some people have curiosity. They try to understand what will happen when they download new cell phone application. Studying in this field would allow business corporation to earn much money. Second, certain mobile phone behaviors are considered to be problematicRead MoreCell Phone Addiction3059 Words   |  13 PagesDoes Cell Phone Addiction Exist? Miriam Smith Towson University Abstract As of 2012, almost everybody owns some form of technological device. These devices are accessible to all types of people, there is no discrimination. It has become more popular over the years through the expansion of smartphones. Cameras, music, social networking apps and practically anything you can imagine have become accessible at anytime, anywhere. With one tap, you can update your status, send a tweet, and send a pictureRead MoreThe Addiction Of Cell Phones Essay2215 Words   |  9 PagesThe Addiction of Cell Phones A bus driver, who was responsible for transportation of children from school to home, pulled out his phone and began texting. Soon after, the driver swerved the school bus and entered into another lane crashing into another bus and toppled over, killing two children and one adult (Murdock). Phone addiction is a new addiction associated with the use of cell phones and using it for many hours. In recent times, the falling prices of mobile phones have led to the affordabilityRead MoreCell Phone Addiction Essay1429 Words   |  6 PagesThe cell phone has become a centerpiece of everyday life as cell phones are evolving and have been increasing their functionalities. Today, we use them today for many others reasons than what cell phones were originally designed to do. People are using them so often that they are becoming dependent on their phones that they have even become addicted to them. Those who are addicted to their cell phones struggle to stay away from them for a certain period of time and become so indulged in all of theRead MoreAn essay on cell phone addiction.1227 Words   |  5 PagesCell Phones: Addicting or Not? Are we addicted to our cell phones? This is a common question that has arisen in the past several years as our phone technology and capabilities continue to increase. According to recent statistics, 85% of the U.S. population are cell phone users (Chen).We Americans use our cell phones to do just about everything. We talk, text, check our E-mail, surf the Internet, and interact in social networking, all on our phones. Because our phones have become so resourceful toRead MoreCell Phone Addiction Essay990 Words   |  4 Pagescivilization, cell phones are being relied on more by everyone and destroying society and the education of those in school. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a cell phone is a wireless portable communication device, but phones are seen as more of an answer to every problem rather than just a communicating device. Cell-phones are the center of todays society, they are relied on for everything from finding the answer to a simple question, to finding the defi nition of a word. Cell phones are seenRead MoreCell Phone Addiction Essay1897 Words   |  8 Pagesof technology has been rapidly increasing since the 1900s. When the cell phone was invented in the 1970s, nobody could have imagined how far they have come. What was once a luxury item is now an item that is rare to not have. With the widespread usage of cell phones comes the problem of addiction. The issue has become so bad scientists have keyed the term â€Å"nomophobia† as the fear of being out of reach of your mobile cell phone and the Internet. The world has slowly became more of an online worldRead MoreCell Phone Overuse Or Addiction?2080 Words   |  9 PagesEver since it was first introduced in the year 1973, the cell phone has evolved to become the device that holds the future within itself. Now referred to as the smartphone, the majority of the developing world’s population uses it now. It’s endless evolving functionalities, as apps and programs, a re making the users see this piece of technology as a holy grail, but only much more accessible. Ever since its integration into our society, cell phones have given us the opportunity to connect to people atRead MoreCell Phone Use A Social Addiction939 Words   |  4 PagesToday’s society is a generation that is being raised on conveniences, and with this generation, cell phone use has exploded. Millions of people are obsessed with their cell phones and literally will not leave their house without it. People center everything they do around their cell phone. People are checking their text messages and social media day and night. They face time, tweet, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat. Teens on their smartphones. Photo Credit Highwaystarz-Photography/iStock/GettyRead MoreCell Phone Addiction in Ncba College Student1123 Words   |  5 PagesCELL PHONE ADDICTION IN NCBA COLLEGE STUDENT A Research Paper Presented to Prof. Zenaida T. Miranda National College of Business and Arts Fairview, Quezon City In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for English 2 ( 9:30-10:30 MWF ) 2nd Semester 2007-2008 By: ________________________ Linn Dantlhee E. Estopace B.S.Accountancy March 7, 2008 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Cell phones in the country have not only broadened communications and introduced new and faster lifestyles

Analyzing Woolf´s View on Wealth and a Room of One´s Own...

Virginia Woolfs inspiring work tries to take on many problems in regard to womens work. She takes into consideration comparisons between womens and mens privilleges. Mans greatest advantages over woman would be their chances and opportunities to succeed and the chance to express themselves. Woolf believes , that wealth and a room of ones own is necessary in order to attain intellectual freedom is incorrect and misleading as it does not take into consideration education, having a good self esteem, access to all resources, not having domestic hindrances. These all inclusive of having wealth is essential for a writer to flourish. The access to all opportunities especially literature is essential to attain intellectual freedom as†¦show more content†¦For example Shakespeare could have had a â€Å" wonderfully gifted sister,† but she did not get the same opportunities to express herself as Shakespeare had. She must have had to stay at home , unable to be educated. She must have been forced into marriage,pressured by her parents , then run away from this torture and due to frustration killed herself because of her frustrated genius. Women in those days were necessarily not as smart as Shakespeare but they were definitely not talentless. Rather they were rather not given the same chances. As they were poor , uneducated, and enslaved by domestic duty. Shakespeare was not born as an intellect, he definitely had talent, however he was not those who was in the company of the uneducated or laboring people. Only when some one is amongst people of the same intellect level can they bounce their ideas off . Writers need to be nurtured and moulded to bring out the best of their capabilities. Only the Educated are free hence this underlines the importance of education, and even if a woman has a room of her own and five hundred pounds as she will still never be free as her creativity will be hindered without education. Another important factor to attain a good level of writing is Self – esteem. Self esteem enables you to have the right attitude to succeed at work . Sometimes since women had low self-esteem, it enabled men to take advantage of them and weaken them. Throughout the ages women were not encouraged to become artistsShow MoreRelatedThe Accounting Profession and Nat39077 Words   |  157 PagesScience of Accountancy EDITORIAL BOARD Prof. Edet Robinson Iwok, Ph.D, FCNA Prof. A. A. Okwoli, Ph.D, FCNA Prof. Abimaje Akpa, Ph.D, FCNA Prof. B. C. Osisioma, Ph.D, FCNA Prof. Edet B. Akpakpan, Ph.D, FCNA, Prof. A. C. Ezejulue, Ph.D, FCNA Prof. A. S. Mikailu, Ph.D, FNIA Chairman, Education, Training, Research and Technical Committee, ANAN Chief V. C. Azie Accountant-General of the Federation Auditor-General of the Federation Registrar, ANAN Chairman, Fed. Inland Revenue Service Director of ResearchRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pageswith assessment, assignments, grade tracking, and more manage time better study smarter save money From multiple study paths, to self-assessment, to a wealth of interactive visual and audio resources, WileyPLUS gives you everything you need to personalize the teaching and learning experience.  » F i n d o u t h ow t o M A K E I T YO U R S  » www.wileyplus.com ALL THE HELP, RESOURCES, AND PERSONAL SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS NEED! 2-Minute Tutorials and all of the resources you your

Police Force It s Not The Polices Fault - 2050 Words

Militarization of Police force: It s not the polices fault Would you like people constantly telling you how to do your job? A police officer deals with this on a daily basis. If you look at doctors or nurses, people would never tell them how to do their job, but it seems to be different for law enforcement. Police officers aren t called to the scene during the happy moments in one s life, they are called upon when people are at the lowest. Matthew Harwood stated that militarization of police have been growing stronger since the first Special Weapons and Tactics team were born in the 1960 s in response to that decades mix of riots and senseless violence. After 9/11 and the Homeland Security Act the government made it a priority for police to use advanced weapons and tactics to compete with modern criminals and terrorists. Some of the most argued topics people seem to look down on law enforcement for are proper funding and abuse of police authority. People are so worried about their tax money and seem to believe all their tax dollars are going to these police officers. But what people are missing is very important, many federal programs are doing their job to help local law enforcement acquire heavy equipment either by making funds available or providing the equipment directly. Some of the major programs that help out are the Homeland Security Grants which encourage the expansion of many federal programs to grant the states money to equip and train related toShow MoreRelatedThe Crime Of The Police Essay1629 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction When we think of the police, we normally think of the brave men and women out on the street, enforcing the law, catching criminals, helping out the public in cases of emergency and making us feel safe in general. Most of the Police in most of the world is like that which is a good thing, However in the United States of America the police here are a bit more ruthless. Most of the police officers are very nice people and they really do want to help out in their community, but unfortunatelyRead MoreVideo Evidence Builds Trust !913 Words   |  4 Pages Every police officer in the United States should wear body cameras in order to improve trust and rebuild relationships between citizens and law enforcement officers. Studies done across the country have shown a significant decrease in not only citizen complaints brought against the law enforcement but also a decline in incidents where police were involved in forceful activity or brutality. Body cameras will protect cops from false ac cusations while also protecting citizens from police brutalityRead MoreTrends And Aspects Of Policing Models776 Words   |  4 Pagessought to fight corruption within the police culture and asked officers to gather facts and nothing more. The effectiveness of the strategy was based upon crime statistics and response times to calls (Ibid, 1). Over the years, policing models have gone through periods of evolution and reform, leading to the establishment of numerous modes by either law enforcement agencies or universities. In time, the Professional model was transformed by public criticism of the police being out of touch with the publicRead MorePolice Enforcement And The Police1540 Words   |  7 Pagesresponsibilities of their job, they can not go against their word. The citizens look towards the police for protection and safety, so what happens when the police are the source of violence?Some people don’t believe that police are capable of injustice, but there is clearly en ough cases of police brutality. Are police responding to situations with excessive or unreasonable force or are their actions reasonable? Some police officers have taken advantage of their power and abuse their place in the communityRead MoreThe Justice System Against Ficer936 Words   |  4 Pagesthe officer does something out of line then one can take action by the justice system against the officer. But if you are ignoring the officer order, they have every right by law to control the situation to restore peace by any means necessary. It s standard protocol. Casebolt was then suspended when the video became viral on YouTube. The officer gave the girl multiple chances to leave the area and she didn’t respect the officer’s wishes. When an officer tells one to leave, you leave the areaRead MoreEthnicity and the Police Part I1646 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Ethnicity and the Police Part I Cheryl Cooper March 24, 2014 University of Phoenix Ethnicity and the Police There are many views of how the criminal justice treats different ethnic groups. Some say that police are fair and they are just doing their jobs. Some people believe that it is the fault of the suspects that cause the use of force scenarios. There is a possibility of this, but then I question if this was true why these incidents are only happening to ethnic groupsRead MorePolice Brutality And The Police1439 Words   |  6 PagesIn today’s society the police are harassed for supposedly abusing their power against people who commit crimes and innocent bystanders however the general public usually mix those two categories of people with each other. Officers are blamed for whatever course of action they decide to take in order to prevent a serious threat from arising. Consequently, the public is having a growing fear of the police, their own definitions of excessive force are biased, the police abuse their powers, etc. TheRead MorePolice Brutality And Its Effects On The Unit ed States898 Words   |  4 Pages Brutality, corruption, and misconduct in police, or people in high ranking organizations, can be backtracked all the way to early times. There was not a good way to keep record of these instances, but the earliest known case of police brutality happened on June 10, 1893 and was reported on by the New York Times. Officer McManus tried to subdue a suspect and when he the suspect did not comply, McManus used excessive force to subdue the man. This was seen and the New York Times was told and becauseRead MoreStand Your Ground Laws Are Relevant For American Society s Perception On Self Defense1124 Words   |  5 Pageswatchman in Sandford, Florida called police to report a suspicious individual in the area. According to a Feb. 7, 2016 CNN report, while Zimmerman is on the phone with a dispatcher, the dispatcher â€Å"asked him if he was following the teen. When Zimmerman replied that he was, the dispatcher said, ‘We don t need you to do that.â €™ Zimmerman was instructed not to get out of his SUV or approach the person†, but Zimmerman disregarded the instructions given to him by the police dispatcher (CNN, para.4). Read MorePolice Brutality : A High Speed Chase By A Black Male By The Name Of Rodney King1672 Words   |  7 PagesLogan Casem Professor Kriesel English 1A 4 April 2015 Police Brutality On March 3rd, 1991, Los Angeles police officers were led on a high-speed chase by a black male by the name of Rodney King. King was engaged in a high-speed pursuit after California Highway Patrol officers noticed him speeding on the freeway. After stopping King and the other occupants in the car, King was removed from the vehicle to be beaten and arrested by officers in a famous video recorded by George Holliday that eventually

Telecom Application Map (Etom, Release 3.1) Free Essays

string(478) " ly D e lyssiis ss essi s ig n g n NGOSS Supporting Tools s es ap s in s M Bu ces M\) O o Pr \(eT Co nt ra Ne c ut Tec t In ra h te l A no rf rc log ac hi y e te ct ur e In S f h Da orm are ta at d i \(S Mo on ID de \) l So An Souu An l l t to ii aa n De lyys on De l sis is ssg iig nnPr B Pr u oo Bus cc sin ee ssss ine e A sss De An s De naa ssg lyy iig l ss nn iss i Co m p Te lia st nce s \?TeleManagement Forum 2003 Figure P\." These process elements can then be positioned within a model to show organizational, functional and other relationships, and can be combined within process flows that trace activity paths through the business. The eTOM can serve as the blueprint for standardizing and categorizing business activities (or process elements) that will help set direction and the starting point for development and integration of Business and Operations Support Systems (BSS and OSS respectively). An important additional application for eTOM is that it helps to support and guide work by TM Forum members and others to develop NGOSS solutions. We will write a custom essay sample on Telecom Application Map (Etom, Release 3.1) or any similar topic only for you Order Now For service providers, it provides a Telco industry-standard reference point, when considering internal process reengineering needs, partnerships, alliances, and general working agreements with other providers.For suppliers, the eTOM framework outlines potential boundaries of process solutions, and the required functions, inputs, and outputs that must be supported by process solutions. This document consists of: An introduction to the role of the eTOM Business Process Framework. An overview of the eTOM Business Process Framework, from both Intra-Enterprise and Inter-Enterprise viewpoints, that sets out the main structural elements and approach. The implications and impact of ebusiness for service providers and their business relationships, and how eTOM supports them.  A description of extensions to eTOM for Business to Business Interactions. Several Annexes and Appendices, including terminology and glossary. An Addendum (Addendum D) describing the Service Provider nterprise processes and sub-processes in a form that is top down, customer-centric, and end-to-end focused. Process decompositions are provided for all processes from the highest conceptual view of the framework to the working level of the eTOM, and many selected lower level decompositions in the framework are also included. An Addendum (Addendum F) describing selected process flows at several levels of view and detail that provides end-to-end insight into the application of eTOM. A separate Application Note (GB921L) that shows how eTOM can be used to model the ITIL processes. ?TeleManagement Forum 2002 GB921v3. 5 Draft 4 Page 2 eTOM Business Process FrameworkAnother Application Note (GB921B, currently under development) outlining implications and impact of ebusiness for service providers and their business relationships, and how eTOM supports them, including a description of handling of Business to Business Interactions by eTOM. Note: Annexes and Appendices both allow material to be removed from the â€Å"in-line† flow of the document main body, so that the reader does not become embedded in too much detail as they read. However, they have a different status within a document. Annexes contain normative material, i. e. they have equivalent status to the material within the main body of the document, while Appendices are non-normative, i. e. they contain material included for information or general guidance but which does not represent formal agreement and requirements for users of the document.Addenda have a similar status to Annexes, but are presented as a separate document that is an adjunct to the main document. This is typically because otherwise a single document would become cumbersome due to its size. Thus, a document body, together with its Annexes and Addenda (and their Annexes, if any), represents the normative material presented, while any Appendices in the main document or its Addenda represent non-normative material, included for information only. Application Notes are a specific document type, used to provide insight into how a specification or other agreed artifact is used in a particular context or area of application. They are non-normative as they provide information and guidance only within the area concerned.The basic operations framework continues to be stable even as the Information and Communications Services industry continues to change, largely because, like the TM Forum’s previous Telecom Operations Map (TOM), the eTOM Business Process Framework: Uses a high level and generic approach Reflects a broad range of operations and enterprise process model views Reflects the way service providers run and are architecting their businesses eTOM is already being widely used eTOM is accepted as the Telco industry standard by Service Providers, Vendors, Integrators and Consultants. The eTOM significantly enhances the TOM, the previous ‘de facto’ standard for Service Provider operations processes for the industry. eTOM has become the enterprise process, ebusiness enabled, ‘de facto’ standard for the Information and Communications Services industry processes. For those familiar with the TOM, it may be helpful to refer to the prior release of this document (GB921 v3. 0) that includes appendices covering TOM to eTOM Chapter Comparison, and TOM To eTOM Process Name Changes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 3 Relationship to Standardization ActivitiesMuch of the management infrastructures upon which systems will be built are expected to be based on standard interfaces. Relating business needs to available, or necessary, standards is a primary goal of the TM Forum in promoting a standardsbased approach to information and communications services management. Where applicable, the TM Forum uses industry standards in its work to promote the acceptance of standards and to minimize redundant work. People active in management standardization (in the broadest sense) will find the eTOM useful in setting a top down, enterprise-level, customer-centric context of how management specifications need to work together.TM Forum uses existing standards as much as possible. As a result of implementation experience through Catalyst projects, TM Forum provides feedback to appropriate standards bodies. NGOSS and eTOM NGOSS is the TM Forum†™s New Generation Operations Systems and Software program, which delivers a toolkit to guide the definition, development, procurement and deployment of OSS/BSS solutions while also defining a strategic direction for a more standardized OSS marketplace. NGOSS uses a common business process map, systems descriptions, and information models and couples them with pre-defined integration interfaces, architectural principles and compliance criteria.NGOSS’s end-to-end approach enables service providers to redesign their key business processes in line with industry best practices while allowing suppliers to cost-effectively develop OSS software that can easily fit into a service provider’s IT environment. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 4 eTOM Business Process Framework S S A y A n ysstte na em m a D ly D e lyssiis ss essi s ig n g n NGOSS Supporting Tools s es ap s in s M Bu ces M) O o Pr (eT Co nt ra Ne c ut Tec t In ra h te l A no rf rc log ac hi y e te ct ur e In S f h Da orm are ta at d i (S Mo on ID de ) l So An Souu An l l t to ii aa n De lyys on De l sis is ssg iig nnPr B Pr u oo Bus cc sin ee ssss ine e A sss De An s De naa ssg lyy iig l ss nn iss i Co m p Te lia st nce s ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 Figure P. You read "Telecom Application Map (Etom, Release 3.1)" in category "Papers" 1: TM Forum NGOSS Framework Figure P. 1 shows the NGOSS Framework, and the vital role of eTOM within this. eTOM provides the Business Process Map for NGOSS. Moving around the NGOSS â€Å"wheel†, eTOM feeds requirements to the Information Model and thence to the Integration Framework and Compliance Criteria. More information on NGOSS is available through the TM Forum website www. tmforum. org GB921v3. 6 C S Coo Soollu n nff o uttiio o Te orrm n m n Te ssttii aanc n n ngg cee eTOM Business Process Framework Page 5Chapter 1- eTOM Business Process Framework Introduction Purpose of the Business Process Framework Traditionally in the telecommunications industry, service providers delivered end-toend services to their customers. As such, the entire value chain was controlled by a single enterprise, if necessary via interconnection arrangements with other service providers. However in a liberalized marketplace, service providers are having to respond both to the customer’s increased demands for superior customer service and to stiffer competition. They have therefore been expanding their markets beyond their self-contained boundaries and broadening their business relationships.Service Providers face very different regulatory environments and their business strategies and approaches to competition are quite distinct, nevertheless they share several common characteristics: Heavily dependent upon effective management of information and communications networks to stay competitive Adopting a service management approach to the way they run their business and their networks Moving to more of an end-to-end Process Management approach developed from the customer’s point of view Automating their Customer Care, Service and Network Management Processes Need to integrate new OSSs with legacy systems Focusing on data services offerings and Focusing on total service performance, including customer satisfaction Integrating with current technology (e. g. SDH/SONET and ATM) and new technologies (e. g. , IP, DWDM) Emphasizing more of a à ¢â‚¬Å"buy† rather than â€Å"build† approach that integrates systems from multiple suppliers Some Service Providers choose to operate their own network and/or information technology infrastructure, while others choose to outsource this segment of their business.The effective exploitation of this information technology and network infrastructure, whether directly operated or outsourced, is an integral part of the service delivery chain and directly influences the service quality and cost perceived by the end customer. Service Providers will need to become skilled at assessing outsourcing opportunities whether in information technology and/or network infrastructure areas or other areas and then, be skilled at integrating and managing any outsourcing arrangements. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 6 eTOM Business Process Framework To meet both existing and new demands, Service providers still urgently require wellautomated operations processes whether they are incumbent providers or new entrants, and whether communications service providers, application service providers, Internet service providers, etc. Some service roviders are struggling with high growth from a start-up phase, others with the commoditization of key cash-cow services, and yet others with the move from a manual-intensive, inconsistent, inflexible environment to one that provides significant improvement in customer focus, service quality, unit cost, and time to market. Service providers have to pervasively do business elec tronically with trading partners, suppliers and wholesale and retail customers. For the growing Mobile/Wireless and IP Services markets, these service providers are focused on quickly provisioning new customers and supporting service quality issues, while continually reducing development and operating costs.. For all service providers, there is an intense drive to introduce both new value-added services and dramatic improvements in customer support.There is also an increasing need for Service Providers to manage the integration required in mergers and acquisitions activity due to the consolidation trend the industry is now experiencing. For the full range of service providers and network operators, the leading focus of the TM Forum’s mission is to enable end-to-end process automation of the business and operations processes that deliver information and communications services. The eTOM is the business process framework for accomplishing this mission. The purpose of the eTOM is to continue to set a vision for the industry to compete successfully through the implementation of business process driven approaches to managing the enterprise.This includes ensuring integration among all vital enterprise support systems concerned with service delivery and support. The focus of the eTOM doc ument is on the business processes used by service providers, the linkages between these processes, the identification of interfaces, and the use of Customer, Service, Resource, Supplier/Partner and other information by multiple processes. Exploitation of information from every corner of the business will be essential to success in the future. In an ebusiness environment, automation to gain productivity enhancement, increased revenue and better customer relationships is vital. Perhaps at no other time has process automation been so critical to success in the marketplace.The over-arching objectives of the eTOM Business Process Framework are to continue to build on TM Forum’s success in establishing: An ‘industry standard’ business process framework. Common definitions to describe process elements of a service provider. Agreement on the basic information required to perform each process element within a business activity, and use of this within the overall NGOSS program for business requirements and information model development that can guide industry agreement on contract interfaces, shared data model elements, and supporting system infrastructure and products. A process framework for identifying w hich processes and interfaces are in most need of integration and automation, and most dependent on industry agreement. This document, the eTOM Business Process Framework and its associated business process modeling, describes for an enterprise the process elements and their relationship that are involved in information and communications services and technologies management. Additionally, the points of interconnection that make up the end-to-end, customer operations process flows for Fulfillment, Assurance, Billing within Operations, and for Strategy, Infrastructure Product are addressed. GB921v3. 6 ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 7 Note that, although eTOM has been focused on information and communications services and technologies management, this work is also proving to be of interest in other business areas.Service providers need this common framework of processes to enable them to do business efficiently and effectively with other entities and to enable the development and use of third-party software without the need for major customization. In an ebusiness envi ronment, this common understanding of process is critical to managing the more complex business relationships of today’s information and communications services marketplace. eBusiness integration among enterprises seems to be most successful through strong process integration. Recent industry fallout, particularly in relation to dotcoms, does not reduce the pressure for ebusiness automation – it strengthens the need to capitalize on ebusiness opportunities to be successful.However, the eTOM is not just an ecommerce or ebusiness process framework, it supports traditional business processes with the integration of ebusiness. Define Common Terminology The eTOM document also provides the definition of common terms concerning enterprise processes, sub-processes and the activities performed within each. Common terminology makes it easier for service providers to negotiate with customers, third party suppliers, and other service providers. See Annex B for the definition of eTOM acronyms and terminology. Consensus Tool The TM Forum produced the TOM initially as a consensus tool for discussion and agreement among service providers and network operators.Its broad consensus of support, which has been built on and extended with the eTOM, enables: Focused work to be carried out in TM Forum teams to define detailed business requirements, information agreements, business application contracts and shared data model specifications (exchanges between applications or systems) and to review these outputs for consistency Relating business needs to available or required standards A common process view for equipment suppliers, applications builders and integrators to build management systems by combining third party and in-house developments The anticipated result is that the products purchased by service providers and network operators for business and operational management of their networks, information technologies and services will integrate better into their environment, enabling the cost benefits of end-to-end automation. Furthermore, a common industry view on processes and information facilitates operator-to-operator and operator-to-supplier process interconnection, which is essential for rapid service provisioning and problem handling in a competitive global environment.This process interconnection is the key to ebusiness supply chain management in particular. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 8 eTOM Business Process Framework What is the eTOM? The eTOM is a business process framework, i. e. a reference framework or model for categorizing all the business activities that a service provider will use. It is NOT a service provider business model. In other words, it does not address the strategic issues or questions of who a service provider’s target customers should be, what market segments should the service provider serve, what are a service provider’s vision, mission, etc. A business process framework is one part of the strategic business model and plan for a service provider.The eTOM can be regarded as a Business Process Framework, rather than a Business Process Model, since its aim is to categorize the process elements business activities so that these can then be combined in many different ways, to implement end-to-end business processes (e. g. fulfillment, assurance, billing) which deliver value for the customer and the service provider. eTOM Release 3. 0 provided a member-approved eTOM Business Process Framework with global agreement from its highest conceptual level to its first working level. This eTOM Release 3. 5 builds on this to take account of real-world experience in applying this work, and to incorporate new detail in process decompositions, flows and business to business interaction.However, eTOM is still developing in areas such as further lower-level process decompositions and flows, and ongoing feedback together with its linkage with the wider NGOSS program, will be used to guide future development priorities. Note that the development of a total process framework is a significant undertaking with process work that will be phased over time based on member process priorities and member resource availability. This is visible in eTOM’s own history, from the original Telecom Operations Map (TOM) that was carried forward into the eTOM and broadened to a total enterprise framework, through several generations of detail and refinement, to the current Release. More information on TOM and its links with eTOM are provided in the previous release of this document (GB921 v3. 0). A great many service providers, as well as system integrators, ASPs and vendors, are working already with eTOM. They need an industry standard framework for procuring software and equipment, as well as to interface with other service providers in an increasingly complex network of business relationships. Many service providers have contributed their own process models because they recognize the need to have a broader industry framework that doesn’t just address operations or traditional business processes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 9 Customer Strategy, Infrastructure Product Operations Customer Market, Product Customer Market, Product and Customer Service ServiceResource Resource (Application, Computing and Network) (Application, Computing and Network) Supplier/Partner Supplier/Partner Supplier/Partner Suppliers/Partners Enterprise Management Shareholders  ©TeleManagement Forum October, 2001 Employees Other Stakeholders Figu re 1. 1: eTOM Business Process Framework—Level 0 Processes Figure 1. 1 shows the highest conceptual view of the eTOM Business Process Framework. This view provides an overall context that differentiates strategy and lifecycle processes from the operations processes in two large groupings, seen as two boxes. It also differentiates the key functional areas in five horizontal layers. In addition, Figure 1. also shows the internal and external entities that interact with the enterprise (as ovals). Figure 1. 2 shows the Level 0 view of Level 1 processes in the eTOM Framework. This view is an overall view of the eTOM processes, but in practice it is the next level – the Level 1 view of Level 2 processes – at which users tend to work, as this detail is needed in analyzing their businesses. This view is presented later in the document in a series of diagrams examining each area of the eTOM framework. Figure 1. 2 below shows seven vertical process groupings. These are the end-to-end processes that are required to support customers and to manage the business.The focal point of the eTOM (as it was for the TOM) is on the core customer operations processes of Fulfillment, Assurance and Billing (FAB). Operations Support Readiness is now differentiated from FAB real-time processes to increase the focus on enabling support and automation in FAB, i. e. . on line and immediate support of customers. The Strategy Commit vertical, as well as the two Lifecycle Management verticals, are also now differentiated because, unlike Operations, they do not directly support the customer, are intrinsically different from the Operations processes and work on different business time cycles. The horizontal process groupings in Figure 1. 2 distinguish functional operations processes and other types of business functional processes, e. g. Marketing versus Selling, Service Development versus Service Configuration, etc. The functional processes on the left (within the Strategy Commit, Infrastructure Lifecycle Management and Product Lifecycle Management vertical process groupings) enable, support and direct the work in the Operations verticals. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 10 Customer Strategy, Infrastructure and Product Operations eTOM Business Process Framework Strategy Commit Infrastructure Lifecycle Mgmt Product Lifecycle Mgmt Operations Support Readiness Fulfillment Assurance Billing Marketing and Offer Management Customer Relationship Management Service Development ManagementService Management Operations Resource Development Management Resource Management Operations Supply Chain Development Management Supplier/Partner Relationship Management Enterprise Management Strategic Enterprise Planning Brand Management, Market Research Advertising Enterprise Quality Mgmt, Process IT Planning Architecture Human Resource s Management Research Development Acquisistion Technology Financial Asset Management  © TeleManagement Forum October, 2001 Stakeholder External Relations Management Disaster Recovery , Security Fraud Management Figure 1. 2: eTOM Business Process Framework—Level 1 Processes As can be seen in Figure 1. , eTOM makes the following improvements to the high level TOM Framework: Expands the scope to all enterprise processes. Distinctly identifies Marketing processes due to heightened importance in an ebusiness world. Distinctly identifies Enterprise Management processes, so that everyone in the enterprise is able to identify their critical processes, thereby enabling process framework acceptance across the enterprise. Brings Fulfillment, Assurance and Billing (FAB) onto the high-level framework view to emphasize the customer priority processes as the focus of the enterprise. Defines an Operations Support Readiness vertical process grouping, applicable for all functional layers, except Enterprise Management. To ntegrate ebusiness and make customer selfmanagement a reality, the enterprise has to understand the processes it needs to enable for direct, and more and more, online customer operations support and customer self-management. Recognizes three enterprise process groupings that are distinctly different from operations processes by identifying the SIP processes, i. e. , Strategy Commit, Infrastructure Lifecycle Management and Product Lifecycle Management. Recognizes the different cycle times of the strategy and lifecycle management processes and the need to separate these processes from the customer priority operations processes where automation is most critical. This is done by decoupling the Strategy Commit and the two Lifecycle Management processes from the day-to-day, minute-to-minute cycle times of the customer operations processes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 11 Moves from a customer care or service orientation to a customer relationship management orientation that emphasizes customer selfmanagement and control, increasing the value customers contribute to the enterprise and the use of information to customize and personalize to the individual customer. It adds more elements to this customer operations functional layer to represent better the selling processes and to integrate marketing fulfillment within Customer Relationship Management. Note that eTOM Customer Relationship Management is very broadly defined and larger in scope than some definitions of CRM.Acknowledges the need to manage resources across technologies, (i. e. , application, computing and network), by integrating the Network and Systems Management functional process into Resource Management Operations. It also moves the management of IT into this functional layer as opposed to having a separate process grouping. eTOM is More Than One Document It is intended that the eTOM Business Process Framework will become a collection of documents and models. The current view is as follows: This document – the eTOM: The Business Process Framework – is structured as a core document that explains the overall framework approach and all its elements.In addition, two Addenda are associated with the core document: Addendum D provides process descriptions for the eTOM at Level 0, Level 1, Level 2 and selected Level 3 processes Addendum F provides examples of process flows that use the eTOM Business Process Framework and its component process elements to address high-priority business scenarios The eTOM Overview/Executive Summary is a â€Å"si ngle sheet† document that provides an overall view of the eTOM business process framework and highlights key concepts. The eTOM Business Process Framework Model provides a version of the eTOM framework, processes and flows intended for automated processing by modeling tools, etc.This is intended to be available in several formats: Tool-based (e. g. XML for import into a process analysis environment) Browsable (e. g. HTML) †¢ †¢ Using This Document A service provider’s specific process architecture and organization structure are highly specific and critical aspects of a provider’s competitiveness. The eTOM provides a common view of service provider enterprise process elements or business activities that can easily translate to an individual provider’s internal approaches. The document is not intended to be prescriptive about how the tasks are carried out, how a provider ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 12 eTOM Business Process Framework r operator is organized, or how the tasks are identified in any one organization. It is also not prescriptive about the sequence of Process Elements that are combined to implement end-to-end business processes. The eTOM provides a starting point for detailed work coordinated through TM Forum that leads to an integrated set of specifications that will provide real benefit to both suppliers and procurers in enhancing industry service provider enterprise management capability. This document is not a specification, in the sense that vendors or operators must comply directly. However, it does represent a standard way of naming, describing and categorizing process elements.It will enable unambiguous communication and facilitate the development of standard solutions and reuse of business processes. It is not intended to incorporate all the detail of eventual process implementation, but is more a guiding reference for the industry. One of the strengths of the eTOM is that it can be adopted at a variety of levels, in whole or in part, depending upon a service providerâ₠¬â„¢s needs. The eTOM can also act as a translator by allowing a service provider to map their distinct processes to the industry framework. As the process examples are developed, service providers can use and adapt these examples to their business environment.The eTOM Business Process Framework can be used as a tool for analyzing an organization’s existing processes and for developing new processes. Different processes delivering the same business functionality can be identified, duplication eliminated, gaps revealed, new process design speeded up, and variance reduced. Using eTOM, it is possible to assess the value, cost and performance of individual processes within an organization. Relationships with suppliers and partners can also be facilitated by identifying and categorizing the processes used in interactions with them. In a similar manner, it is possible to identify the all-important customer relationship processes and evaluate whether they are functioning as required to meet cust omers’ expectations. Intended AudienceThe eTOM aims at a wide audience of professionals in the Information and Communications Services Industry. For experienced Telecommunications professionals, the eTOM has proven itself to be intuitive; and a strong, common framework of service provider enterprise processes. Through TM Forum Catalyst projects and other work, it has been verified that the eTOM framework has strong application in many applications and throughout many companies. More information on use of eTOM within the industry is available at the TM Forum website www. tmforum. org The eTOM is aimed at service provider and network operator decision makers who need to know and input to he common business process framework used to enable enterprise automation in a cost efficient way. It is also an important framework for specialists across the industry working on business and operations automation. The document or framework supports, and is consistent with, many efforts under way in the industry supporting the need to accelerate business and operations automation in the information and communications services marketplace. GB921v3. 6 ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 13 The eTOM will continue to give providers and suppliers a common framework for discussing complex business needs in a complex industry with complex technologies.For both service providers and network operators additional complexities arise from: Moving away from developing their own business and operations systems software, to a more procurement and systems integration approach. New business relationships between service providers and network operators The creation of new business relationships and the move away from developing internally are a reaction to market forces. These market forces require service providers and network operators to increase the range of services they offer, reduce time to market for new services, increase speed of service, as well as to drive down systems and operational costs.The eTOM is also aimed at service provider and network operator employees involved in business process re-engineering, operations, procurement and other activities for: Understanding the common business process framework being used to drive integration and automation Getting involved in providing processes, inputs, priorities and requirements The eTOM Business Process Framework is also aimed at designers and integrators of business and operational management systems software and equipment suppliers. They can benefit from understanding how management processes and applications need to work together to deliver business benefit to service providers and network operators.An equally important and related audience is suppliers of management applications, management systems, and networking equipment, who need to understand the deployment environment for their products and solutions. The eTOM Business Process Framework provides a common framework useful in supporting the significant amount of merger and acquisition activity. Common process understanding and a common process framework can greatly improve integration performance for mergers and acquisitions. eTOM is applicable for an established service provider or a new entrant, ‘green field’ provider. It is important to note that not all areas defined in the eTOM are necessarily used by all providers.As mentioned earlier, the framework is flexible, so that the process elements the specific service providers require can be selected on a modular basis and at the appropriate level of detail for their needs. Benefits of Using eTOM eTOM makes available a standard structure, terminology and classification scheme for describing business processes and their constituent building blocks eTOM supplies a foundation for applying enterprise-wide discipline to the development of business processes eTOM provides a basis for understanding and managing portfolios of IT applications in terms of business process requirements ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 14 eTOM Business Process FrameworkUse of the eTOM enables consistent and high-quality end-to-end process flows to be created, with opportunities for cost and performance improvement, and for re-use of existing processes and systems Use of the eTOM across the industry will increase the likelihood that off-the-shelf applications will be readily integrated into the enterprise, at a lower cost than custom-built applications GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 15 Chapter 2 – eTOM Business Process E nterprise Framework The main purpose of this Chapter is to provide a formal description of the eTOM Business Process Framework, with two distinct viewpoints: The Internal Viewpoint, which considers the processes that characterize the â€Å"internal behavior† of a Service Provider; The External Viewpoint, which considers the processes necessary for a Service Provider to handle external interactions (e. g. xecute electronic transactions) with Customers, Suppliers and Partners in a Value Chain. In the following sections both of these viewpoints are presented. The Internal Viewpoint follows the structure of former releases of GB921, the External Viewpoint is new material and a general overview is provided. Internal viewpoint The eTOM Business Process Element Enterprise Framework considers the Service Provider’s (SP’s) enterprise, and positions this within its overall business context: i. e. the business interactions and relationships, which allow the SP to carry on its business with other organizations. These wider aspects, together with the implications for an eBusiness and eCommerce world are introduced in Chapter 3.This section introduces the eTOM Business Framework and explains its structure and the significance of each of the process areas within it. It also shows how the eTOM structure is decomposed to lower-level process elements. This explanation is useful for those who decide where and how an Enterprise will use eTOM, and those who may be modifying it for use in their Enterprise. To assist the reader in locating the process area concerned within eTOM, a graphical icon of eTOM, alongside the text, is provided to draw attention to the relevant eTOM area. This is highlighted in red to indicate the focus of the following text or discussion. eTOM Conceptual View The eTOM Business Process Element Enterprise Framework represents the whole of a service provider’s enterprise environment.At the overall conceptual level, eTOM can be viewed as having three major areas of process, as shown in Figure 2. 1. Strategy, Infrastructure Product – covering planning and lifecycle management Operations – covering the core of operational management Enterprise Management – covering corporate or business support management ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 16 eTOM Business Process Framework Customer Strategy, Infrastructure Product Operations Market, Product and Customer Service Resource (Application, Computing and Network) Supplier/Partner Sup pliers/Partners Enterprise Management Shareholders Employees Other Stakeholders  © TeleManagement ForumOctober, 2001 Figure 2. : eTOM Business Process Framework Conceptual Structure The Conceptual Structure view provides an overall context that differentiates strategy and lifecycle processes from operations processes in two large process areas, seen as the two large boxes towards the top of the diagram, together with a third area beneath which is concerned with enterprise management. It also differentiates the key functional areas in four horizontal groupings across the two upper process areas. In addition, Figure 2. 1 shows the internal and external entities (as ovals) that interact with the enterprise. eTOM is a structured catalogue (a taxonomy) of process elements, which can be viewed in more and more detail.When viewed in terms of the Horizontal Functional groupings, it follows a strict hierarchy where every element is only associated with or parented to a single element at the next higher hierarchical level. In a taxonomy, any activity must be unique, i. e. it must be listed only once. Figure 2. 1 shows the top level (Level â€Å"0†) Groupings that eTOM is decomposed into. Because the purpose of the eTOM framework is to help SPs to manage their end-toend Business processes, the eTOM enhances the TOM practice of showing how process elements have a strong association with one (or several) end-to-end business processes (e. g. Fulfillment, Assurance, Billing, Product Development etc. which are introduced later in this Chapter). These Vertical End-To-End groupings are essentially overlays onto the hierarchical top-level horizontal groupings, because in a hierarchical taxonomy an element cannot be associated with or parented to more than one element at the next higher level. Because eTOM was developed to help build and implement the process elements for a Service Provider, it was decided from the start that the primary top-level hierarchy of process elements would be the functional (horizontal) groupings, rather than the endto-end process (vertical) groupings. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 17To understand the eTOM Business Process Framework, each process area is analyzed and decomposed into further groupings and processes. For each level of analysis or decomposition, the process area, grouping or process element itself is presented with a brief, summary-level description. At this highest level, the three basic process a reas are outlined below. The Operations Process Area is the heart of eTOM. It includes all operations processes that support the customer operations and management, as well as those that enable direct customer operations with the customer. These processes include both day-to-day and operations support and readiness processes.The eTOM view of Operations also includes sales management and supplier/partner relationship management. The Strategy, Infrastructure Product Process Area includes processes that develop strategies and commitment to them within the enterprise, that plan, develop and manage infrastructures and products, and that develop and manage the Supply Chain. In the eTOM, infrastructure refers to more than just the IT and resource infrastructure that supports products and services. It includes the infrastructure required to support functional processes, e. g. , Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These processes direct and enable the Operations processes.The Enterprise Management Process Area includes those basic business processes that are required to run any large business. These generic processes focus on both the setting and achieving of strategic corporate goals and objectives, as well as providing those support services that are required throughout an Enterprise. These processes are sometimes considered to be the corporate functions and/or processes. e. g. , Financial Management, Human Resources Management processes, etc†¦ Since Enterprise Management processes are aimed at general support within the Enterprise, they may interface as needed with almost every other process in the Enterprise, be they operational, strategy, infrastructure or product processes.The conceptual view of the eTOM Business Process Framework addresses both the major process areas as above and, just as importantly, the supporting functional process groupings, depicted as horizontal groupings. The functional groupings reflect the major expertise and focus required to pursue the business. The four functional groupings are described below: The Market, Product and Customer processes include those dealing with sales and channel management, marketing management, and product and offer management, as well as Customer Relationship Management and ordering, problem handling, SLA Management and billing. The Service processes include those dealing with service developm ent and configuration, service problem management, quality analysis, and rating. The Resource processes include those dealing with development nd management of the enterprise’s infrastructure, whether related to products and services, or to supporting the enterprise itself. The Supplier/Partner processes include those dealing with the enterprise’s interaction with its suppliers and partners. This involves both processes that manage the Supply Chain that underpins product and infrastructure, as well as those that support the Operations interface with its suppliers and partners. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 18 eTOM Business Process Framework Additionally, in the diagram (Figure 2. 1), the major entities with which the enterprise interacts are shown. These are: Customers, to whom service is provided by means of the products sold by the enterprise: the focus of the business!Suppliers, who provides products or resources, bought and used by the enterprise directly or indirectly to support its business Partners, with whom the enterprise co-operates in a shared area of business Employees, who work for the enterprise to pursue its business goals Shareholders, who have invested in the enterprise and thus own stock Stakeholders, who have a co mmitment to the enterprise other than through stock ownership. eTOM CEO Level View Below the conceptual level, the eTOM Business Process Framework is decomposed into a set of process element groupings, which provide a first level of detail at which the entire enterprise can be viewed. These process groupings are considered the CEO level view, in that the performance of these processes determines the success of the enterprise. The eTOM Business Process Framework is defined as generically as possible, so that it is independent of organization, technology and service. The eTOM is basically intuitive, business driven and customer focused. To reflect the way usinesses look at their processes, the eTOM supports two different perspectives on the grouping of the detailed process elements: Horizontal process groupings, which represent a view of functionallyrelated processes within the business, such as those involved in managing contact with the customer or in managing the supply chain. This structuring by functional groupings is useful to those who are responsible for creating the capability that enables the processes. The IT teams will look at groups of IT functions which tend to be implemented together e. g. the front-of-house applications in the Customer Grouping, back-of-house applications which focus on managing information about the services sold to customers, the network management applications which focus on the technology which delivers the services.For processes delivered by people there is a similar separation of workgroups – the front-of-house workgroups in the Customer Grouping, back-of-house workgroups which focus on managing information about the services sold to customers, the network management workgroups which focus on the technology which delivers the services. Vertical process groupings, which represent a view of end-to-end processes within the business, such as those involved in the overall billing flows to customers. This end-to-end view is important to those people who are responsible for changing, operating and managing the end-to-end processes. These people are more interested in the outcomes of the process and how they support customer need rather than wor rying about the IT or the workgroups that need to work together to deliver the result. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 19 The overlay of the Functional (horizontal) groupings of process elements and the endto-end process (vertical) groupings forms the inherent matrix structure of eTOM. This matrix structure is the core of one of the innovations and fundamental benefits of eTOM – it offers for the first time a standard language and structure for the process elements that are understood and used by both the people specifying and operating the end-to-end business, as well as those people who are responsible for creating the capability that enables the processes (whether automated by IT or implemented manually by workgroups).The integration of all these processes provides the enterprise-level process framework for the information and communications service provider. This is the ‘Level 0’ view of the enterprise and shows the vertical and horizontal process groupings that are the decompositions of the process areas introduced above. These groupings are ‘Level 1’ process groupings in the parlance of the eTOM business process model, e. g. Customer Relationship Management, Fulfillment. The Level 0 view, which reveals the Level 1 process det ail, is shown in Figure 2. 2. As process decomposition proceeds, each level is decomposed into a set of constituent process elements at the level below.Thus, Level 0 is decomposed into Level 1 processes, Level 1 into Level 2,and so on. The Enterprise Level 0 view decomposes into seven Vertical (or â€Å"end-to-end†) Level 1 process groupings as well as eight Horizontal (or â€Å"functional†) Level 1 process groupings in four layers. These Vertical and Horizontal process groupings represent alternative views relevant to different concerns on the way that processes should be associated. Note that we will see that these alternatives have been selected to yield a single, common view of the Level 2 processes defined at the next level of decomposition, and hence do not represent a divergence in the modeling.In addition, there are eight additional enabling and support Level 1 process groupings within Enterprise Management. This full view of the Level 1 processes is shown in Figure 2. 2. Customer Strategy, Infrastructure and Product Operations Strategy ; Commit Infrastructure Lifecycle Mgmt Product Lifecycle Mgmt Operations Support ; Readiness Fulfillment Assurance Billing Marketing and Offer Management Customer Relationship Management Service Development ; Management Service Management ; Operations Resource Development ; Management Resource Management ; Operations Supply Chain Development ; Management Supplier/Partner Relationship Management Enterprise Management Strategic ; Enterprise PlanningBrand Management, Market Research ; Advertising Enterprise Quality Mgmt, Process R esea rch ; D evelo p m en t ; IT Planning ; Architecture ; T ech n o lo g y A cq u isistio n Human Resources Management Disaster Recovery, Security ; Fraud Management Financial ; Asset Management  © TeleManagement Forum October, 2001 Stakeholder ; External Relations Management Figure 2. 2: eTOM Level 0 View of Level 1 Process Gr oupings ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 20 eTOM Business Process Framework eTOM Operations Processes To be useful to a Service Provider, the eTOM Process Element Framework must help the SP to develop and operate their business processes.This sections shows how the matrix structure of eTOM offers for the first time a standard language and structure for the process elements that are understood and used by both the people specifying and operating the end-to-end business, as well as those people who are responsible for creating the capability that enables the processes (whether automated by IT or implemented manually by workgroups). â€Å"OPS† Vertical Process Groupings The Operations (OPS) process area contains the direct operations vertical process groupings of Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing, together with the Operations Support ; Readiness process grouping (see Figure 2. 3). The â€Å"FAB† processes are sometimes referred to as Customer Operations processes. Customer Operations Operations Support and Readiness Fulfillment Assurance Billing Figure 2. : eTOM OPS Vertical Process Groupings The TOM was focused only on the direct customer processes represented by FAB. However, FAB processes were not on the TOM framework map, they were rather an overlay. In an ebusiness world, the focus of the enterprise must be enabling and supporting these processes as the highest priority. Therefore, in the eTOM, Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing are an integrated part of the overall framework. Fulfillment: this process grouping is responsible for providing customers with their requested products in a timely and correct manner. It translates the customer’s business or personal need into a solution, which can be delivered using the specific products in the enterprise’s portfolio.This process informs the customers of the status of their purchase order, ensures completion on time, as well as a delighted customer. Assurance: this process grouping is responsible for the execution of proactive and reactive maintenance activities to ensure that services provided to customers are continuously available and to SLA or QoS performance levels. It performs continuous resource status and performance monitoring to proactively detect possible failures. It collects performance data and analyzes them to identify potential problems and resolve them without impact to the customer. This process manages the SLAs and reports service performance to the customer. It receives trouble reports from the customer, informs the customer of the trouble status, and ensures restoration and repair, as well as a delighted customer. GB921v3. 6 ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 21 Billing: this process grouping is responsible for the production of timely and accurate bills, for providing pre-bill use information and billing to customers, for processing their payments, and performing payment collections. In addition, it handles customer inquiries about bills, provides billing inquiry status and is responsible for resolving billing problems to the customer’s satisfaction in a timely manner. This process grouping also supports prepayment for services.For a high-level view of how the eTOM Process Elements can be used to create Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing process flows, please see document GB921 v3. 5 Addendum â€Å"f†, Process Flow Examples. In addition to these FAB process groupings, the OPS process area of the eTOM Framework contains a new, fourth vertical process grouping: Operations Support ; Readiness (see Figure 2. 3). Operations Support ; Readiness: this process grouping is responsible for support to the â€Å"FAB† processes, and for ensuring operational readiness in the fulfillment, assurance and billing areas. In general, the processes are concerned with activities that are less â€Å"real-time† than those in FAB, and which are typically concerned less with individual customers and services and more with groups of these.They reflect a need in some enterprises to divide their processes between the immediate customer-facing and real-time operations of FAB and other Operations processes which act as a â€Å"second-line† in carrying out the operational support tasks. Not all enterprises will choose to employ this split, or to position the division in exactly the same place, so it is recognized that in applying the eTOM Business Framework in particular scenarios, the processes in Operations Support ; Readiness and in FAB may be merged for day-today operation. Nevertheless, it is felt important to acknowledge this separation to reflect a real-world division that is present or emerging in many enterprises. The separation, definition and execution of the Operations Support ; Readiness processes can be critical in taking advantage of ebusiness opportunities, and is particularly important for successful implementation of Customer Self Management. â€Å"OPS† Horizontal Process Groupings In the OPS process area of the eTOM Framework, there are four OPS functional process groupings that support the operations processes discussed above, and also the management of operations to support customer, service, resource and supplier/partner interactions (see Figure 2. 4). The original TOM Process Framework used the ITU-T TMN Logical Business, Service, and Network Layers to organize the core business processes. This facilitated mapping of the Management Functions defined in TMN, to the TOM processes.As the eTOM Business Process Framework is an evolution of the TOM Process Framework and because the TMN layering approach is still relevant, the TMN Logical Layers continue to be loosely coupled to the functional process groupings. The TM Forum is working with ITU-T to harmonize the eTOM and TMN models. See reference 3 for further information on ITU-T TMN. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 22 eTOM Business Process Framework Cu stome r Oper ati ons C usto mer R el ation ship Manag emen t Serv ice Man ag ement ; Op eration s R eso urce Man ag em ent ; Op erat ion s (Applicati on, C om puting a nd N etwor k) Sup plier/Partn er R elat ionsh ip Man ag em en t Figure 2. : eTOM OPS Functional Process Groupings Customer Relationship Management (CRM): this process grouping considers the fundamental knowledge of customers needs and includes all functionalities necessary for the acquisition, enhancement and retention of a relationship with a customer. It is about customer service and support, whether storefront, telephone, web or field service. It is also about retention management, cross-selling, up-selling and direct marketing for the purpose of selling to customers. CRM also includes the collection of customer information and its application to personalize, customize and integrate delivery of service to a customer, as well as to identify opportunities for increasing the value of the customer to the enterprise. CRM applies to both conventional retail customer interactions, as well as to wholesale interactions, such as when an enterprise is selling to another enterprise that is acting as the ‘retailer’. The introduction of CRM is a key feature of eTOM over TOM. At the highest, most general level, the TOM Business Process Framework included two process groupings to manage relations with customers, â€Å"Customer Interface Management† and â€Å"Customer Care†. In the TOM, it is explicitly mentioned that Customer Interface Management may effectively be a distinct process within Customer Care or may be performed as part of the lower level Customer Care processes. However, eTOM advances the TOM in several key ways: It expands Customer Care to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which is management approach to supporting and interacting with customers, that enables enterprises to identify, attract and increase retention of profitable customers. CRM focuses on collect ion and application of customer data and managing relationships with customers to improve customer retention and customer value contribution to the enterprise. CRM is more than Customer Care or Customer Interface Management, it is the integration of customer acquisition, enhancement and retention through managing the customer relationship over time. For eTOM, CRM also represents the integration of Sales and Service processes and ensuring a consistent customer interface across all CRM functional processes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 23 eTOM integrates Customer Interface Management for Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing across all the CRM functional processes and with customer processes. Customer Interface Management represents any type of contact, e. g. , phone, email, face-to-face, etc. It expects an integration and coordination across these different interface types, to provide a consistent interface and highlights the requirement for customer process control and customer self management. eTOM also encourages the design of solutions so that systems interfaces used within the enterprise are the same as those used by customers.TOM CRM processes include an expansion of TOM Customer Care processes to: †¢ Focus on customer retention †¢ †¢ †¢ Improve enterprise process exception customer response Integrate marketing fulfillment execution Better represent the billing function at the customer level and the need to assure revenue. Service Management ; Operations (SM;O): this process grouping focuses on the knowledge of services (Access, Connectivity, Content, etc. ) and includes all functionalities necessary for the management and operations of communications and information services required by or proposed to customers. The focus is on service delivery and management as opposed to the management of the underlying network and information technology. Some of the How to cite Telecom Application Map (Etom, Release 3.1), Papers

Effects of Service Quality Dimensions

Question: Discuss about the Effects of Service Quality Dimensions. Answer: Introduction In this study, the importance of hospitality and tourism industry will be discussed on Qantas Airways Australia that comes under the tourism industry. The hospitality and tourism sector is the one that provides enjoyment to the people and provide them satisfaction. Hospitality is something which is very royal and luxurious in nature. Hospitality and tourism industry comprises of different services like travelling, food and beverages, accommodation, entertainment sectors, and recreation. There is a boom in the airlines industry. In this study, the company on which the discussion takes place is Qantas Airways Australia. It is one of the finest airlines in not only Australia but also in the entire world. It provides full range of flights, charted planes, different classes like economy, business, etc. that re so luxurious for the travelers, vacations, tourists, etc. The discussion will be made on the marketing analysis and strategies of this airline industry of Australia. The Qantas Airways Australia is the 3rd largest airline industry of the world. It provides best services to its customers and accomplishes all goals that are related to the customers. They have particular strategies and policies to attract a huge amount of customers in their organization. The services provided by this company are also very unique that is liked by royalty of people. They use updated technology to set the competitive advantage (Jennings, 2001). Sector of organization Qantas Airways The sector of this organization is tourism operation sector that is one of the most growing sector of todays world. As the demand for the transport in increasing, the development and growth is taking place in the same. It contributes to a large part of economic sectors. Qantas Airways Australia is also belongs to transport sector. There is an intensive necessity of infrastructure in transport sector due to which it is a vital part of economic growth and development. Qantas airways are more in the global economy in which the opportunities have been rising related to the mobility of goods, people, and also the information, (Benckendorff, 2009). The transport sector for Qantas Airways Australia is tourism sector which is one of the most prominent and developing sector not only of Australia but also of many other countries. It has also contributed in the development of transport sector and provides huge employement opportunities for the individuals of Australia. The number of employees working with Qantas airways is approx 35,000. It provides fight services in approx 42 nations and 173 destinations (Fuglestvedt, et.al. 2008). The transport sector of Australia covers a huge variety of many activities including airline services, aircraft, charted planes, etc. It also maintains the GDP of the country by expanding the business activities takes place in the country. It is a key driver for the economy of Australia. The transport sector contributes approx 66.1 per cent of its total gross domestic added to the growth of the country by development of infrastructure, fulfillment of requirement, economic growth, etc. The airlines indust ry of Australia like Qantas airways contributes to earn the foreign direct investment for the country (Getz, 2008). Products, services and offers of Qantas Airways Australia Airbus A 333-200 Airbus A 330-300 Airbus A 380-800 Boeing 737-800 Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-400 ER Boeing 787-9 On August 2015, Qantas Airways Australia have many of its subsidiary 299 aircrafts in which 70 aircrafts are of Jetstar airways, 81 aircrafts are of Qantas Airways Australia link brands airlines, 8 aircrafts by the jet connect, 13 aircrafts by network aviation, and 5 aircrafts by express freighters Australia (Qantas, 2016). They provide unique services to its customers to have a competitive advantage. One of the most unique services is "retro roo" liveries in which the theme is retro livery based on the airways and the colors are according to the 1970s. The icon was used is of flying kangaroo on the tail of the airlines. Many other were decorated as promotional liveries in which the telecommunication was communicated and promoted in which Disney motions pictures are drawn on the planes (Myung, McClaren, and Li, 2012). In order to provide entertainment to the passengers, there are entertainment systems installed in the aircrafts. This experience is termed as on: Q: this entertainment is basically provided through videos and songs hat is audio and video entertainment. There are cabins in the flights to give passengers a different experience. There are first class cabins in which suites are provided. It has various facilities like moving seats, dining, sleeping, widescreen HD monitors, USB ports, flat bed seats, etc. (Kotler, 2006). Target market of Qantas Airways Australia The target market is a market where the probability to have more customers increase for the airlines company. It is a segment of total customers that are divided into a particular group and the concentration of the company is on that segmented group. In this, the process of the marketing is specified according to a particular group of customers. for example in Qantas Airways Australia that is a hospitality and tourism sector have different types of business like airlines, food and beverages services, leisure, family holidays, etc. that come the same place. The target market for Qantas Airways Australia is tourists and travelers of each and every category/. This company tries to fulfill the demands and desires of all the travelers through diversified products and service range. They make sure that the customers will remain satisfied with the services and products provided by them (Jennings, 2001). Some methods that guide Qantas Airways to reach to its target audience The Qantas Airways Australia use Ansoff matrix to decide the products and services that can help to enhance the market and customers. The promotional strategies used by Qantas airways through TV, radio, internet advertising, magazines, brochures, and billboards, etc. (Sanchez, et.al, 2007). The strategies are framed after the proper identification and analysis of needs and wants of the target markets and the potential customers. This model helps in analyzing the growth and development that depends on the existing and new products launched by the company. According to the market segment and position, Qantas Airways Australia frames the plans and strategies at very reasonable and competitive prices. In this way, this organization attracts a large group of travelers (Kayaman, and Arasli, 2007). References Benckendorff, P., 2009. Themes and trends in Australian and New Zealand tourism research: A social network analysis of citations in two leading journals (19942007). Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 16(1), pp.1-15. Fuglestvedt, J., Berntsen, T., Myhre, G., Rypdal, K. and Skeie, R.B., 2008. Climate forcing from the transport sectors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(2), pp.454-458. Getz, D., 2008. Event tourism: Definition, evolution, and research. Tourism management, 29(3), pp.403-428. Jennings, G., 2001. Tourism research. John Wiley and sons Australia, Ltd. Kayaman, R. and Arasli, H., 2007. Customer based brand equity: evidence from the hotel industry. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 17(1), pp.92-109. Kotler, P., Bowen, J.T., Makens, J.C., Xie, Y. and Liang, C., 2006. Marketing for hospitality and tourism (Vol. 893). New Jersey: Prentice hall. Myung, E., McClaren, A. and Li, L., 2012. Environmentally related research in scholarly hospitality journals: Current status and future opportunities. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(4), pp.1264-1275. Qantas, 2016. About Qantas, [Online], Accessed on: 11 January 2017, Available at: https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/about-qantas/global/en Sanchez Perez, M., Carlos Gazquez Abad, J., Maria Marin Carrillo, G., Sanchez Fernandez, R. (2007). Effects of service quality dimensions on behavioural purchase intentions: A study in public-sector transport. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 17(2), 134-151. Yoo, M., Lee, S. and Bai, B., 2011. Hospitality marketing research from 2000 to 2009: topics, methods, and trends. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(4), pp.517-532.