Impact of Information Technology on Human Resources

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resources CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC Technology has affected every aspect of human life. Every field of business has been affected by it. It has changed the ways of living of human ,the way we communicate, the way we learn, the way think. It has a great impact on private and business sector as well. It provides huge opportunities to help the development of business. Due to technology many impossible things have been become very easier for businessmen. It has reduced the large need of employees, but increased the efficiency of work. In past times which work required a lot of people and a lot of time to be completed, nowadays only single person finish that work in just few minutes. For example, in past time the work of typing required many people to do that work, but now only a man can do that work in just few seconds. So we see how technology is affecting our business. Human resource management also has its great influence. Technology has affected directly organizations and HR functions. It has some positive and negative influences on HRM organizations and its functions. In this dissertation researcher have going to discuss the influence of information technology and telecommunications on human resource management. What are its good and bad effects on HRM, researcher will discuss in this dissertation. A) POSITIVE IMPACTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ON HRM In past few years it was a belief that human resource managers use technology only to fulfill few needs such as administrative tasks. But nowadays it is no longer like this, these days the whole structure of business depends upon technology. A single step cannot be taken further without the think of information technology. ‘The future growth and development of business will depend on the use knowledge of technology, information technology and services provided by them (Barley 1996). So these days information technology is helping businesses to grow and to develop on a large scale. It helps managers to recruit efficient employees, to save their personal information, for the motivation and good leadership if the employees, to finding new techniques of work, to increase profit and for future planning for business. So lets discuss the positive impacts of technology on human resource management: Recruitment of new employees: As we see these days maximum people rely on the internet, and according to the predictions of researchers number of people who use internet is growing in millions every year. ‘Well educated people, who have skills and full of ambitions, regular working with information technology and communication, have more influence of information technology (Bola and Truman, 2003). So many companies are taking advantage of this thing; they are recruiting efficient, skilled and passionate people online according to their needs. This procedure of recruitment is very much beneficial for the employers, one side it provides those efficient employees and on the other hand it is very cheaper and the third thing is it is a very quicker way of recruitment. By postal or any other way only limited people can be informed for the companys requirement, but via internet hundreds of people can be attracted by your job and company. So we see information technology has made recruitments very easier. To save employees full data: Because of information technology the whole data of each employee can be saved for years. Means even after 50 year it can be confirmed that who worked on which post that time. An employees personal details, job title, post, pay, duty hours etc can be saved for future use. Even his or her performance at work also can be measured, an organization can come to know that who is performing in the favor of the company and when time comes he or she can get promotion or can be fired from the job due to bad performance. On the other hand organizations required to save employees skills, work experience, his efficiency on work and his performance in previous job and his salary for that job. These all things organization can get through internet can save on their system. This information that firm can use in future, and if any employee needs any additional training then that firm can arrange it for him. Organizations are finding new ways of work: Because of developments of technology and communications now organizations are finding new advanced ways of work. ‘Communications and information technology is providing a wide range of opportunities to organizations to perform well (Lindstrome, mob erg and Rapp, 1997). These days organizations are adopting new ways of ways of work which are more efficient, advanced, and profitable for them. By using these ways they are getting more productivity and more presence of employees at work. Example: The most relative of changing ways of work due to technology is teleporting, in which method an employee of an organization can do his or her job sitting at home even in his bed. ‘In this term of work, work comes to the worker not worker goes to the work (Niles, 1998). Because of this term of work an organization can save a lot of money. If they will do work at offices then organization would have to provide a lot of facilities to the employees, like a table, chair, computer, and a lot of other things but in teleconferencing an organization can save the cost of all these things. There is another term of work which is being used in project oriented work with subcontracting. Today most skilled and ambitious people do not want to be bound with a company and organizations also hire those people who are necessary for their projects they need their assistance for work just for a limited time of period. So those people are not formal members of the company. It is very beneficial for the firms because they can get 100% benefits of the skills of that man, and they need not to employee him for a long time and if firm starts a new project then they can hire another man required to that project. ‘A huge number of people who work for an particular organization may be still work for the same job in future, but a slowly growing small number of people will not work like this. Part timer workers are the contractors for a limited period of time for an organization, (Ducker, 2001). Better information management Because of information technology and communications storage of data and information has become so easier. IT is providing a lot of possibilities for the betterment of information management in organizations. ‘By using IT an organization can protect its information from outside world and IT also provides simple storage, maintenance, and sharing of information among organizations members. These all are the essential tasks for a better information management (Marched et al. 2001). Information technology helps to improve the performance of a business so to improve the performances. For the motivation of employees: Information technology helps organizations to motivate its employees for better performance. They can offer their employees much psychological, financial reward. An organization can offer many beneficial policies to its employees, by these rewards an employee tends to be honest with his work the organization can achieve its goals because without the co-operation of employees organization cannot be successful. ‘Because of information technology we can think of many changes about the motivation of an organization employees (Bola and Truman, 2003). So we can say that information technology helps a lot for the motivation of the employees, an organization can allow them to know how it is going to satisfy its employees. Like this it can attract other firms skilled employees who are unsatisfied with their firm or organization. Technology used in training of employees: Nowadays many companies required employees trained with modern techniques of information technology because technology is developing with a fast pace and to compete in the industry organizations need employees with the knowledge of modern technology. Organization using technology for the training of employees, they can train them according to their requirements in a particular skill and they can be used for organizations favor and these trained workers can proved to be a profitable asset for the organization. Organizations need not to recruit a large number of employees, who are not perfect for that job, organization can spent money in a positive manner instead of giving wages to those employees who are not useful for them. Another term is related to that is a company can give training of more than one to a single person, it is beneficial for them in case of one of the employees left the job who was working on a particular project then organization can recruit another employee from their own organization on the same post rather than finding another employee with the same skills, wasting time. Like this an organization can save a lot of time and money. More profit for the organizations: Today we can reduce the cost of organization with the effective use of information technology and the profitability of the organizations is increasing day by day with more improved technologies. There are a lot of things to get more profit for instance, these days due to technology; recruitment of people has been decreased. In past organizations had to recruit employees in a large number, their speed of working was less, but organization had to pay them a lot of money without getting much profit. But these days because technology has developed on a large scale so a large part of work which was done by people in past, now days by developments in technology has been done by fewer employees in a very short time period. Due to advancement in technology many HR functions such as recruitment of employees can be performed with less usage of time and resources and organizations can find easily the right persons for their jobs. Another thing is organizations can always keep an eye on the performance of employees, due to this employee cannot shirk work. He gives his 100%. So like this an organization can get more profit, and more productivity. So all these are the positive impacts of Information technology and communication but there are some negative impacts also. So lets discuss those too. B) NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS There are many positive influences of speedily improving information technology but there also some negative effects of it. Due to the developments in this field of business every aspect has been changed, strategy of work, planning of work etc. and it is continuously changing even in present too. So for employees who are working with the old techniques, it is hard to understand new techniques of working. Those organizations which do not adopt new method cannot meet the ever changing requirements of the industry and it is also very hard for an organization to find out right skilled person for them, because persons with the knowledge of latest technology are rare. Technology is directly affecting the functions of human resource management. So these all things are discussed here: Cutting jobs: As we have discussed above that technology is very cheaper and very fast, by technology any type of work can be done quickly as compare to men. So in past a huge number of employees had been recruiting. But nowadays organizations need a few employees with proper skill. As manpower planning a human being is referred as a machine in this technological era means if he is working or giving profit then its ok otherwise through him out. It is not fault of organizations or human beings rather it is the requirement of todays world. Because of technological developments organizations require less but skilled person for employment to compete the world. An organization cannot tolerate the burden of overstaffing, because it is wastage of money, so organizations are cutting jobs. This action gives harassment to many people, especially to them who were old employees of the firm, having comparatively less knowledge of information technology, but now companies have to kick them out, so they do not h ave any other way of survival. People are compelled to study technology. The competition among todays generation has been increased. They have to do hard work to have a good job, but cutting in jobs harass them. Unsatisfied employees of the company: Organizations are using advanced technology in their work to get more profit and to be more efficient but this makes many employees unsatisfied and angry with the organization because they do not know about that technology and how to deal with that, and they also afraid of to lose their job. So it results in strike or other activities like this which affect the whole structure of the organization. The latest example is ‘royal mails strike and strikes in bus and train departments because all these companies want to adopt new and advanced techniques but their employees are unsatisfied with them. The reason is same because they do not know how to deal with rapid changes in firms technology, they are also afraid of losing their jobs. Skill shortage for organizations: As we know that using new technology in todays era is necessary for organizations, but to use that technology properly organizations need proper skilled persons for each project but there is a shortage of skilled persons for the organizations, because people are known to last techniques of work, and if an organization immediately decides to adopt new technology then it results in shortage of skilled workers. For example, in last time period, Australian organization experienced growth in economic era, but suddenly they also faced crises due to the same problem of skill shortage as they want to adopt new technologies. So this thing is more challenging for the organizations, because on one time they have to consider about so many things, like they have to manage their staff properly, have to satisfy the needs of their staff, and have to maintain themselves in this competitive industry. Expenditure on employees for further training: To get employees with proper skills organizations have to train people themselves with new technology, it costs a lot. Organization spend a lot of money on the training of people, but it is not guaranteed that all of them who are taking training will be able to perform a good job, will stay in your company and work with you for long time. All these things are not guaranteed. Moreover, other thing is technology is changing day by day, so in future a new technology can be introduced so it will cost again for the organization to retrain their employees with these changes, so all these factors are affecting organizations. Hard to do for old people: If a company is adopting new technology, but its old employees who are working with them for a long time cannot tolerate this change because they are working with old techniques and new ones are difficult to understand for them. On the other hand, organizations also not want to train those people because they want to use new ideas from new generation and if organization will train those old people then it will cost them a lot because those people are near to retirement and spending money on them will be wastage. Next thing is due to changes in technology organizations are transforming people to one side to another side. So it irritates them a lot and results in strike etc. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed. It ends when an employee leaves your organization. Many writers and consultants are using the term â€Å"performance management† as a substitution for the traditional appraisal system. I encourage you to think of the term in this broader work system context. A performance management system includes the following actions. Develop clear job descriptions. Select appropriate people with an appropriate selection process. Negotiate requirements and accomplishment-based performance standards, outcomes, and measures. vProvide effective orientation, education, and training. Provide on-going coaching and feedback. As companies reorganize to gain competitive edge, human resources plays a key role in helping companies deal with a fast-changing competitive environment and the greater demand for quality employees. Effectively managing and utilizing people. Increasing the innovation, creativity and flexibility necessary to enhance competitiveness. Applying new approaches to work process design, succession planning, career development and inter-organizational mobility. Managing the implementation and integration of technology through improved staffing, training and communication with employees. PROBLEM STATEMENT To explore how much information technology is deeply rooted in the organization and effect the efficiency of employees in ICI Paints. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To find out the impacts of information technology on the ICI paints. To see the impact of independent variables i.e., data processing, work burden, record keeping, on the dependent variable efficiency of employees in ICI Paints. In this study researcher try to find out to what extent the work has become easy because of the use of computer based information technology in ICI Paints. HYPOTHESIS H1Information Technology is designed to make people more effective and efficient when performing daily activities. HoInformation Technology is not designed to make people more effective and efficient when performing daily activities. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY It has great advantage for H.R. It is useful for human resource department as well as executive level management. It has benefit of future and future decisions. It is useful for common people who are working in Human Resource Department and Accounts Department. It is helpful for maintaining records and retrieving records. It gives analysis reports of the employees. It helps for H.R managers for hiring the new employees in particular job. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Purpose of this research is to understand and to analyze the process of development of I.T to enhance the efficiency of H.R, so as to have better understanding of the MIS and to make an informed judgment about the future decisions. The purpose of this evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the process of development of I.T in HRM. Main purpose is to achieve future objectives of the organization. CHAPTER2 LITERATURE REVIEW To understand the nature of the IT impact on human resource and firm performance, we must consider the fit between the characteristics of the IT and the users tasks (Goodhue and Thompson 1995). Since the primary responsibility of professionals in public accounting firms involves information-intensive activities (Auditing Concepts Committee [ACC] 1972) such as gathering, organizing, processing, evaluating, and presenting data, the use of IT is likely to improve the productivity of accounting professionals (Pinsonneault and Rivard 1998). Teamwork is critical in a public accounting firm as audit engagements are performed by teams composed of professionals at different ranks. Therefore, the use of groupware technology is also expected to improve work collaboration and communication within teams, and thus enhance their productivity (Ellis et al. 1991). Although previous IT research has examined the impact of IT investments on firm performance in different industries such as manufacturing (Barua et al. 1995), banking (Parsons et al. 1993), insurance (Francalanci and Galal 1998), healthcare (Menon et al. 2000), and retailing (Reardon et al. 1996), empirical research has not examined the professional services industry, such as public accounting firms, in which information and knowledge work play a prominent role. Hence, examining the impact of IT implementation on public accounting firm productivity is of considerable interest to both academic inquiry and practice. Exploration of the productivity impact of IT implementation requires the recognition that the conversion from IT expenditure to business performance enhancement is a longitudinal process (Soh and Markus 1995). Proper IT management is essential to convert IT expenditure to IT assets. Appropriate use of IT assets generates organizational innovations and redesigned business processes, and favorable competitive dynamics enable improved organizational performance due to these organizational innovations. Davern and Kauffman (2000) extended this IT conversion process sequence to emphasize the importance of considering the impact of IT planning and selection activities on realized IT value. A few field studies have explored the longitudinal IT conversion process to identify the factors at different points of the process that determine the success of IT adoption. Venkatesh and Davis (2000) found that at different time points before and after IT implementation, factors such as subjective norm, voluntariness, job relevance, and output quality consistently influence users perceptions about the usefulness of the systems. Bergeron and Raymond (1997) reported that organizational support, implementation process, and control procedures impacted the initial realization of benefits from Electronic Data Inter exchange (EDI) adoption, but three years later, only organizational support and control procedures remained significant. While these studies have examined factors that may impact the IT value creation process, they did not estimate the improvement in firm performance, if any, due to IT implementation. Lucas et al. (1996) conducted a case study of the introduction of a financial imaging system at Merrill Lynch. Comparing the data flow diagrams of the old and the new business processes, they identified changes in organization structure, workflows, and operations. They reported improvement in customer service and reduction in costs. However, they did not conduct any statistical evaluation of improvement in firm performance after IT implementation. Some cross-sectional studies of IT impact have compared the business performance of firms with IT to those without IT, and statistically estimated the impact. Using data from Hardees fast food chain, Banker et al. (1990) compared the performance of the restaurants deploying the Positran technology (a computerized cash register point-of-sale and order-coordination technology) to those without Positran. They found that the use of the Positran technology is associated with a significantly greater productivity for stores with high diversity of sales. Analyzing data for 107 banks, Pennings (1995) found that the banks with ATM adoptions incurred significantly less non personnel operating expenses than those without. There are several IT productivity studies that evaluate the contribution of IT as an input factor in the production function, for example, Brynjolfsson and Hitt (1995) and Barua and Lee (1997) estimated the economic production function using cross-sectional data to evaluate the marginal contribution of IT on output. Wang et al. (1997) and Shafer and Byrd (2000) employed DEA to evaluate the role of IT investments in firm production. Our research differs from this stream of research in two important ways. We consider EU adoption as an event and evaluate the extent to which it shifts the production function for a firm, instead of the marginal contribution of the IT input that differs cross-sectional. Thus, we make a longitudinal instead of cross-sectional comparison of the impact of IT implementation. For IT to positively impact a users performance there should be a good fit between the IT and the users tasks (Goodhue 1995). In addition, training is a significant determinant of the IT users effectiveness (Igbaria 1990). The FIRM has designed the new IT program to fit the requirements of its professionals, and enforced the training in the use of the software. Our field interviews suggest that the IT changes had a positive impact on the auditors performance. Since an audit team is composed of professionals at different ranks (such as managers, seniors, and juniors) with different job responsibilities (Carmichael and Willingham 1989), IT adoption may benefit audit professionals at different ranks in different ways. IT Impact on Auditors The primary tasks that junior auditors perform are assigned audit procedures and preparation of working papers. Most of these tasks are relatively repetitive and involve substantial calculations and referencing across different accounts. Computer applications can automate such structured tasks and substantially reduce the processing time (Abbe and King 1988). In addition, the reduction in monotone work allows individuals to concentrate on more complex tasks and enhance their individual performance (Giuliano 1982). Our field interviews indicate that the principal benefits to a junior auditor from the IT changes are the savings in effort and the reduction in errors afforded by the electronic preparation of working papers. Incorrect computation is one of the major causes for misstatement (Bell et al. 1998), and by reducing such errors; IT use also benefits other audit team members. A junior auditor describes his experience using the new computerized systems as follows: The most important benefit to me is that I can develop the working papers electronically. Without the computer, I have to write down all the numbers by hand and make difficult calculations using a calculator. Sometimes I need to repeat the same entry several times on different sheets. For example, the amount of cash may appear on the balance sheet, the working trial balance, the cash flow schedule, the bank reconciliation and so on, and all the numbers are the same or related. I have to be very careful when I write those numbers down. It is very tedious! However, using the audit software, I only need to key in the entry once and make the appropriate choice. Then, all the related numbers are generated automatically and cross-referenced, and there is no need to punch any keys on a calculator. With a computer, my working hours on an engagement can be reduced by more than half of that without the computer. As the middle-level member of an audit team, a senior auditor assists in audit plan development, organization of audit activities, and supervision and review of the work of junior auditors. The firms audit software organized all required audit procedures in a common list and cross-referenced them to items in the working papers. Since electronic presentation of information facilitates users information acquisition (Jones et al. 1993), a senior auditor is likely to benefit from the convenient information gathering and organization enabled by the new software. A senior in the FIRM describes her favorite IT helper as follows: I like to use the audit software to edit my audit plan and programs. It helps me get organized. The software lists all the necessary planning items for me, so I dont need to worry about missing an important element. All related forms are available by clicking a button, which is really convenient. In addition, we also have a database of document templates that I can use for almost all occasions. IT Impact on Managers As supervisors and reviewers, audit managers do not benefit directly from the audit automation process, except for the convenience of computer-based presentation of information. Analyzing survey data from 260 public managers, Kraemer et al. (1993) found that managers perceived computer-based information to be more useful. Since the firms audit software organizes all audit evidence collected by juniors and seniors in an electronic format, audit managers are likely to be more effective when reviewing such data. Since the order of audit working paper documentation can impact the decision of the reviewers (Ricchiute 1992), electronic working papers that comply with a regular organization should provide more consistent audit decision quality. An audit manager expresses his support for electronic working papers as follows: I dont use many functions of electronic working paper software. I just review its output. However, I do enjoy the neat screen output because everything is clear. Also, every item is cross-referenced which makes it easy for me to trace them. I can easily switch around and search for the items I want to see. In the Notes, the FIRM includes various local and international databases regarding companies, industries, and regulations. Managers can easily search for information relevant to a certain client to help them perform analytical review (Cohen et al. 2000). In addition, the information in the databases is more reliable and objective (Reimers and Fennema 1999). The FIRM has also created some exclusive case databases that can be shared by its professionals. Such knowledge-sharing applications have been found to improve the quality of decision making (Orlikowski 1997). A manager describes his experience as follows: Our Notes database has helped me increase my professional knowledge. We share our case experience, and business regulations using the database. It helps a lot in problem solving and keeps me updated on the current trend. IT Impact at the Business Process Level A current trend is to create a paperless office environment that replaces paper documents with electronic documents so that information can be accessed easily and with much less effort. In the practitioner-oriented literature, advantages of a paperless office in improving work efficiency and reducing operating costs have been reported (Hunton 1994). Together with the audit software, the FIRM created a client database to store all related audit files for each client. The documents in the database can be easily retrieved by a search function or with associated links. Consequently, auditors in the same team can share audit files and significantly reduce the coordination effort of the senior auditors (Salamasick et al. 1995). An audit senior at the FIRM also observed that database storage allows quick reference and modification from previous audit plans and reports for the client and, consequently, work hours for a client can be reduced significantly. In addition, the FIRM uses Notes as a tool to manage internal resources and documents to save time and increase effectiveness. IT Impact at the Work Group Level A professional service firm stands to benefit substantially from the knowledge-sharing applications (Vandenbosch and Ginzberg 1996). The Professional Development Department in the FIRM updates the Notes database everyday and communicates the update to everyone by email. To encourage audit professionals to collaborate, a Question and Answer electronic bulletin board in the Notes was set up for the discussion of all types of work-related questions. The Professional Development Department checks the board periodically and ensures responses to all the questions. Network applications that enable real-time information circulation can also facilitate communications efficiency in a public accounting firm (Zarowin 1994). Email is the most important network application for the professionals in the FIRM to communicate with each other, clients, and overseas colle

Lessee Ltd.- Lease Case

| Lessee Ltd. – Lease Case| | | | | | 1. Was the junior accountant’s analysis correct? Why or why not? No, the junior accountant’s analysis is not correct in classifying the lease as an operating lease in accordance with IFRS. Whether or not a lease is classified as a finance or an operating lease depends on if all of the benefits as well as risks of ownership have been shifted from the lessor to the lessee.According to IAS 17-10(d), a lease must be classified as a finance if either â€Å"the lease term is for the major portion of the asset’s economic life† or â€Å"at the inception of the lease the present value of the minimum payment amounts to at least substantially all of the fair value of the lease asset. † With regards to this case, the term of the lease is equal to 75% of the equipment’s useful life. Also, the present value of the annual payments would equal $263,716 with the fair value of asset only being $265,000, which makes the present value of the minimum lease payment 99. % of the fair value of the leased asset. With these criteria being met it satisfies the requirements of IAS 17 and would therefore be classified as a finance lease 2. Was the senior accountant’s analysis correct? Why or why not? The senior accountant’s analysis is correct according to IAS 17. The way the senior accountant lays out his thought process in a step-by-step process creates a nice â€Å"checklist† to compare to the IAS.Beginning with step one, the senior accountant classifies the lease as a finance lease on the terms that the life of the contract encompasses the majority of the equipment’s useful life. According to IAS 17. 10, the senior accountant is correct. Whether a lease is a finance lease or an operating lease depends on the substance of the transaction rather than the form. Situations that would normally lead to a lease being classified as a finance lease include the following: [IAS 17. 0 ] * the lease transfers ownership of the asset to the lessee by the end of the lease term * the lessee has the option to purchase the asset at a price which is expected to be sufficiently lower than fair value at the date the option becomes exercisable that, at the inception of the lease, it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised * the lease term is for the major part of the economic life of the asset, even if title is not transferred * at the inception of the lease, the present value of the minimum lease payments amounts to at least substantially all of the fair value of the leased asset * the lease assets are of a specialized nature such that only the lessee can use them without major modifications being made In his second step, the senior accountant uses the wrong interest rate. He states, â€Å"Since the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate is greater than the lessor’s implicit rate in the lease, compute the present value of the minimum lease payme nts using the 11 percent rate. † This is wrong because IFRS does not permit the lessee to use the incremental rate if the implicate rate known. He should have used %10 for his calculations. At commencement of the lease term, finance leases should be recorded as an asset and a liability at the lower of the fair value of the asset and the present value of the minimum lease payments (discounted at the interest rate implicit in the lease, if practicable, or else at the entity's incremental borrowing rate) [IAS 17. 20] * PV of the minimum lease payments = $100,000Ãâ€"2. 4896 + $20,000 x 0. 7513 = $263,716 Lastly, the senior accountant uses the wrong number from step 2 and therefore is incorrect in determining the amortization tables. Table 1 below shows the corrected table. * Finance lease payments should be apportioned between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability (the finance charge to be allocated so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability) [IAS 17. 25] * The depreciation policy for assets held under finance leases should be consistent with that for owned assets.If there is no reasonable certainty that the lessee will obtain ownership at the end of the lease – the asset should be depreciated over the shorter of the lease term or the life of the asset [IAS 17. 27] 3. How would the answer differ under U. S. GAPP? Under U. S. GAAP many things in the Senior Accountant’s computations would change. First you would allocate the payments based on the 10 percent implicit rate from the lessor not the 11 percent incremental borrowing rate from the lessee. This would change the total Lease Obligation to $263,716. Below is the new table allocating payments between interest and lease obligation. Table [ 1 ] Year| Cash pmt| Interest expense (10%)| Reduction in Lease Obligation| Balance of Lease Obligation| 0| | | | $263,716| | $100,000| $26,372| $75,131| $190,088| 2| $100,000| $19,009| $80,991| $109,097| 3| $100,000| $10,910| $89090| $20,007| The balance is the residual value at the end of the lease ($20,007? $20,000). The journal entry to record the lease obligation would have to change based on the correct percentage. Leased Equipment under Capital Lease $263,716 Lease payable$263,716 The correct journal entry to record Year 1 payment would be: Rent Expense $2,000 Interest Expense$26,372 Lease payable$73,628 Cash$102,000 There would not be any depreciation recorded on this leased equipment due to the title not transferring or a bargain purchase option.

Education and Globalization Essay

This research attempts to investigate the importance of technical & vocational institution. This research is also carried out to find out the various methods objective of research. What is the expectation to fulfil the requirement of being indusrtialized nation?. Well, having the existence of technical & vocational institution are mainly to produce hands on skills on students as well as to develop them to become a part of industrialized nation. In developing our country , technical & vocational school has come to existence to give students opportunity to choose skills that can be learned. This research is carried out to find out the advantages of having technical & vocational institution in Malaysia. Besides that, this research to investigate the effectiveness of having this kind of school in our country and ways to improve vocational & technical education system. 1. 1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH This research is carried out to provide awareness of the existence of technical and vocational institution as well as to introduce the importances of this institution. Nowadays, we are facing problem that this kind of institution is out of date and is lacking systematically and also having doubts whether it is meeting the current industrial needs in the country. Therefore, this research is carried out to introduce and emphasized on the importance of this institution. The background of this research is based on its development. The formal technical and vocational education system under the Ministry of Education starts at the upper secondary level, where there are 70 secondary vocational schools with an enrolment of 33,751 students and nine secondary technical schools having a total 5,339 students. The secondary vocational schools offer a course structure that covers the same core subjects as in other upper secondary academic schools. In addition to these core subjects, the vocational school students select a group of vocational subjects in accordance with the vocational course following. Vocational studies make up about 50 percent of the total course content in the secondary vocational school. Based in nature and technical subjects offered are less practical in nature. Technical studies make up only about 17 per cent of the total course content in the secondary technical school. At the post-secondary level there are six polytechnics with a student population of 15, 000 with about 12,000 students undergoing courses at the certificate level and 3,000 students at the diploma level. The objective of the polytechnics is to produce trained manpower at the semi-profesional level in various areas of engineering and commerce. At the certificate level about 80 percent of the students are following engineering courses. Female students make up about 25 percent of the total student population. Some examples of training government agencies are MARA- skills training institutes Ministry of Youth and Sport – Youth Training Centres and Ministry of Welfare Services- Training Centres. 1. 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Statement of problems: 1. It shows that lately technical & vocational institution is out of date. 2. Students mainly are not aware of the avantages of technical & vocational institution. 1. 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This researh method to meet the following objectives: * To investigate the importances of technical & vocational institution. * To find out ways to improve tecnical & vocational education system. 1. 4 RESEARCH QUESTION The following research question is translated in order to meet the research objective. * Which is the importance of technical & vocational institution?. * What is the implication to students on the importance of having technical & vocational institution?. 1. 5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of the study is to help students and teacher to indentify the importance of having technical & vocational institutons. Vocational and technical education is important because not everyone should be expected to take the path of going to a university and getting a university degree. Some people prefer to take a non-academic path because this is where their passion and interests lies. As such, having a good vocational and technical training and education program is important to ensure that students who are inclined towards these sectors have a respectable channel to pursue skills in this area. In Malaysia, making the pursuit of these skills is one of the ways to reduce school dropout rates and to increase the skills and earning power of those who do not lean towards the academic arena. Most students graduate without actually obtaining a real tertiary education, and the good students also suffer because the intellectual discourse that is supposed to happen in classes never materializes. This is a truly unfortunate side effect of the governments drive to produce more graduates. Enrollment criteria into universities get lowered every year because of the competition to get students at all costs, so quality suffers even more. 1. 6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This research covers only students from Universiti Industri Selangor ( UNISEL ) where the research was conducted to find out the results and point of views regarding the topic of research. Besides that, the research only covers students aged between 18 to 25 years old for oipinions and point of view on the matter of the topic. The research also covers only soe student from technical & vocatioanal school. 1. 7 CONCLUSION. This chapter gives brief explaination, definition on the background of the study where researcher aim to investigate the mportance of technical & vocational institution and the affectiveness of having this kind of school in our country as well to support our country to become and industrilized country. This chapter also gives the background of the study and significance of the study. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 INTRODUCTION Literature review comprises of related literature which is definition of topic, a general overview, advantages and also types of technical & vocational institution. In this chapter it shows the types of technical institution available. Besides that, the current importance is shown in the advantages as well as the implication of the topic. The variations of institution is also mentioned in this chapter to give clear view of the types of school available, thus emphasizing on the importance of this research. 2. 2 RELATED LITERATURE 2. 2. 1- Definition of technical and vocational institution. 2. 2. 2- Advantages of technical & vocatioanal institution. 2. 2. 3- Types of technical & vocational institution. 2. 2. 1 DEFINITION OF TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL INSTITUTION Tecnique means a particular way of doing something, especially one in which you have to learn special skills. Besides that, it is the skill with which somebody is able to do something practical. ( Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7 Ed, 2006). Institution on the hand is defined as a large important organization that has a particular purpose, for example, a university or school. In this case, institution is a place where it serves the need of educating technical skills as well as basic subjects to students. While cited in the web Wikipedia, vocational education or Vocational Education and Training (VET), also called Career and Technical Education (CTE), prepares learners for jobs that are based in manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic and totally related to a specific trade, occupation or vocation, hence the term, in which the learner participates. It is sometimes referred to as technical education, as the learner directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques or technology. 2. 2. 2 ADVANTAGES OF TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL INSTITUTION In this chapter, researcher will be emphasizing in the advantages of technical & vocational institution. Nowadays,not everyone should be expected to take a path of going to University and getting a university degree. Therefore, having technical & vocational institution is to ensure that students who are inclined towrd these sector ( technical & vocational ) have a respectable channel to persue skills in this area which is to technical & vocational scholls as well as institution. Besides that, having technical and vocational school is to reduce school dropout  rates and to increase the skills and earning power of those who do not learn toward academic area. These students will have quality hands on skills and is useful in providing them job opportunity in future especially in the techinical industry. Students also are abe to develop their skills as well make use of it in the current development. On the other hand, some student are able to study basic subjects and favoured skills as they want to. This increase the capability of learning and creats creatve individuals for the nation. Besides being a stepping stone, yhis hands on students in developng skill and providing job opportunity. Iit also produces active quality manpower in the country 2. 2. 3 TYPES OF TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Technical and vocational institution is diveded into two levels first is the upper secondary level (Form 4 and Form 5) is the level where technical and vocational education formally commences. Here, the technical and vocational schools offer the same core subjects as normal academic schools. These cover several core subjects for the languages, mathematics, and sciences but in addition the students are required to take selected technical and vocational subjects from a group of several different options. Secondary Technical Vocational School has 3 streams for selection which includes:Technical Stream, Vocational Stream and Skill Training Stream. Upon completing 2 years of studies at this level, the technical or vocational school students are required to sit for the common public examination called the Malaysia Certificate of Education or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination similar to those academic school students from the secondary academic schools. However students from the Skill Training stream will sit for Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia* (Malaysian Skill Certificate) after which a government skill qualification is awarded for Level 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. The higher level is Technical and Vocational Education at Post Secondary Level – This post-secondary level of technical education, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education, comprises the following public institutions: Polytechnics, Community Colleges, Technical University Colleges and Public Universities. There are currently 19 polytechnics in the country conducting technical and vocational education offering 37 diploma and 26 certificate programmes covering study areas like engineering, commerce, food technology, marine, hospitality and Design. Community Colleges were first established by the government in the year 2000 with the primary objective of providing alternative skill training and education for secondary school leavers and those who have left the formal education system. In order to upgrade the image and professional level of technical and vocational education due to the increasing importance of employment in the industrial sectors, the government has, since 1999, set up 5 technical university colleges to focus on higher technical education offering engineering and related technical programmes designed to produce graduates with strong theoretical and cognitive knowledge and who possess high competency in application skills. They are:Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia ,Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn,Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia,Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan Utara Malaysia and Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan & Teknologi Malaysia. There are currently a total of 17 public universities in the country which is inclusive of the abovementioned 5 technical university colleges. Besides the 5 specialist technical universities colleges, many of the regular public universities, particularly the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia offer many technical and technological as well as engineering programmes leading to diploma and degree qualifications. In the meantime, as for technician/sub-professional and craft-level courses, the government training agencies which are involved in conducting training for student trainees include the Ministry of Human Resources. These agencies carry out the programmes through Industrial Training Institutes, MARA, under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development, through the Skills Training Institutes, the Ministry of Youth & Sports through Youth Training Centres, and the Ministry of Welfare Services through its Training Centres. In addition, training is also conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture to produce Junior Agricultural Assistants at the Agricultural Institute. Mention must also be made of the training conducted by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) in various specialised fields for the public and private sectors, as well as training by the National Productivity Centre for the public and private sectors in areas of management and administration. 2. 3 CONCLUSION This chapter gives explaination, definition, development as well as the importance of technical & vocational institution. This chapter comprises of variety of institution available and its fuction as well it effect n education system. Besides that,his chapter involves the development of institution from establishment to the current development. The importance which is the advantages is clearly in this chapter to match the objective of the research. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 1 INTRODUCTION This research attempts to investigate the importance of technical and vocational institution. This chapter outlines the methodologies engaged in the research. This chapter is extremely important as it determines the success or failure of this research whereby it takes into account of the methodology and procedure used by the researchers to get the necessary and wealthy information. 3. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN In this research, the researchers have chosen to use a qualitative approach in order to collect data. In this research, a set of questionnaires will be administered to a selected number of people. This step is necessary for the researchers to gather the necessary data and submit the findings in a form of report. The data or information obtained from the questionnaire administered will be interpreted in Chapter 4. 3. 3 POPULATION AND SAMPLES The sample of this research will mainly be university students specifically University Industri Selangor (UNISEL) students. The sample will be approximately 20 students. The students will comprise of both male and female students from all races. The subjects will be randomly picked comprising of students with different point of view. 3. 4 INSTRUMENTATION In this research, the instrumentation would be in the form questionnaire. The instrument is revised for its clarity and importance towards the research. The questionnaire will be given to each student. It aims to research on how to improve the technical and vocational education system and make it up to date as well as to research on the importance of this institution in education. Besides that, the questionnaire is to gain opinions and suggestions from the public. 3. 4. 1 QUESTIONNAIRE The student was given a set of questionnaire comprising of 8 closed-ended questions and 2 open-ended question. The questionnaire is used to save time as the result of the questionnaire is easy to be evaluated. The questionnaire is formed in respond of Yes or No answers. The students need to choose and tick or circle the options accordingly. 3. 5 DATA ANALYSIS This research will be analysed using the results of questionnaire carried out the with the university students. The data will then be analysed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) computer software that enables the researchers to do many types of statistical analyses. The percentage of questionnaire results will be analysed and calculated through this software. Then, the researchers will make references based on the statistical analyses. This allows the researchers to have a better quality of research outcomes. CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS 4. 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter will mention the results of questionnaire after they are analysed and calculated. The data collected is based on the qualitative approach. The data presented will include the total of 20 samples (students). The questionnaire will be further analysed according to 10 different questions given. 4. 2 QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS. In this section, the data with references to the topic of the research has been collected by distributing 20 set of questionnaires to the university students. The feedbacks and responses from the students have been positive for the researchers to draw a certain conclusion. 4. 2. 1 Q1 The first question in the questionnaire is â€Å"Are you aware of the existence of technical and vocational school? † The question’s objective is to find out whether students are aware of this kind of school’s existence. Based on the questionnaire results, the 20 students who took the survey comprises of 20 samples with different answers. The results is that almost 95% of the students answered yes, and are aware of the existence of this type of institution while 5% of the students were not aware of the existence of this type of institution. This shows that mostly Students are aware of the existence of this type of institution. 4. 2. 2 Q2 The second question in the questionnaire is â€Å"Is technical and vocational institution beneficial? † This question is aimed to find out the importance of this type of institution. Almost 85% of the students agreed that this type of school is beneficial. While 15% of the students did not agree that this institutions were beneficial. This result shows clearly that students in majority agreed that this institution is giving advantages while minority have doubts on its advantages. 4. 2. 3 Q3 The third question is â€Å"Does it helps develop skills? †This question is to determine whether the main medium in this school will help students develop skills. 90% of the response agreed that it develop skills while 10% of the responses found that attending this school does not help develop skills. 4. 2. 4 Q4 & Q5 The fourth and fifth questions in the questionnaire are inter-related to each other. Question 4 â€Å"Is technical & vocational education up to date? †60% of the students agreed that it was not up to date while only 40% agreed that it was up to date. Question 5 is â€Å"Is it efficient in training skills? † Only 39% agreed that it is efficient while 61% agreed that it was not efficient. This proves that the efficiency of its productivity has link with the current development of this type of institutions. . 4. 2. 5 Q6 & Q7 The sixth question in the questionnaire and the seventh question is inter-related too. â€Å"Is it necessary to have vocational & technical education system? The results was 90% agreed it is necessary while 10% agreed the other way around. Question seventh is â€Å"Do you think Malaysian vocational & technical institution meets the current industrial need? † 40% think it meets the current industrial need while 60% disagree with it. This shows that in question sixths result that it is important to have this type of institution. 4. 2. 6 Q8 The eight question is â€Å"Does it help proving job opportunity in future? † this question aims to prove one of its advantages. 85% agreed that it helps providing job chances while 15% disagree it help in providing job opportunity. This shows that it is important to have this type of institution for students in our country. 4. 2. 7 Q9 & Q10. The ninth and the final question in this questionnaire is an open-ended question which is â€Å"In your opinion, what benefit does technical & vocational school provides? and â€Å"Suggestions on ways to improve vocational and technical education system†. This final question is to give the students a chance to express their idea or suggestion. Based on the suggestions given, most of the students feel that the main benefit is it develops in training students skills. Besides that, it also provides job opportunity to students and it gives student who are not academically successful an opportunity to excel in a different field of study. The suggestions given was more focused in upgrading the system, the facilities, the study tool, the learning environment as well as the materials in order for Malaysia to take a step forward in industrial development as well as vision 2020. 4. 3 SUMMARY Based on the data collected and using SPSS for the questionnaire, there are more advantages than the disadvantages of having this type of school. Besides that, the importance of technical & vocational institution is that it is the current demand of the era that each country produces its own manpower and nation with good quality skills which is useful for the development of the country. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION & SUGGESSTION 5. 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter incorporates the last aspect of the research which is the most important part of the research. The first section of the chapter will cover the survey of the findings which is based on the main findings. The second section is on implication and suggestion or recommendation. The third section is on the final summary or the conclusion of this survey. 5. 2 SURVEY OF FINDINGS Based on the main findings, it clearly shows that students mostly almost all the students are aware of the importance of the technical & vocational institution. Besides that, in building an industrialized nation we have to be aware of the importance keeping and upgrading this type of school to its best level. In a nutshell, there are loads of advantages having and attending technical & vocational school. 5. 3 IMPLICATION AND RECOMMENDATION According to the suggestions gathered through the survey, the students strongly agrees that the institution to be upgraded and improved both in its syllabus and also education system to provide conducive learning to take place. Besides that, the skills taught should be inclined with the industries upgrading demand. 5. 4 CONCLUSION In fulfilling the vision 2020, our country of all parties should upgrade its education system. Besides that, having technical and vocational skills is not just as a place for students who are not successful in academic but it should be an institution which produces good quality skilled professionals in future. It should also be a stepping stone for every student attending this school in obtaining better jobs in future. The importance of technical and vocational school is clearly aware by students. Therefore, this institution should be taken seriously into consideration by students as it provides extra knowledge as well as helps develop hands on skill in students. This institution has a great advantage in the industry especially in producing and moulding new generation with certified skills therefore each and every nation should support its development and existence. In a nutshell, everyone should play a major role in keeping the importance of this technical and vocational institution and also support its function in education to make it more efficient. REFERENCES http//:www. wikipedia. com http//:www. studymalaysia. com. my Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7 Ed, 2006 RESEARCH: THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL INSTITUTION NAME: Susanthi Rani Rajoo 4091008981 Noorfara Ashikin Ahmad Tarmizi 4091009991 Alyani Mohd Radzi 4091009561 Lisa Mastura Muhd Zahid Poh4073010421 GROUP: 1A SUBJECT: Philosophy and Development of Education Industry In Malaysia LECTURER: Mr Baghawi PROGRAMME: Bachelor Of Education (Hons)(TESL) FACULTY: Faculty Of Education and Language Studies.

Profile of Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is one of the richest countries in the world and has consistently ranked high for its quality of life. Switzerland is known for its history of being neutral during wartimes. It is the home of many international organizations like the World Trade Organization, but it is not a member of the European Union. Fast Facts: Switzerland Official Name: Swiss ConfederationCapital: BernPopulation: 8,292,809 (2018)Official Languages: German (or Swiss German), French, Italian, RomanshCurrency: Swiss franc (CHF)Form of Government: Federal republic (formally a confederation)Â  Climate: Temperate, but varies with altitudeTotal Area: 15,937 square miles (41,277 square kilometers)Highest Point: Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet (4,634 meters)Lowest Point: Lake Maggiore at 639 feet (195 meters) History of Switzerland Switzerland was originally inhabited by the Helvetians and the area that makes up todays country, which became part of the Roman Empire in the first century BCE. When the Roman Empire began to decline, Switzerland was invaded by several German tribes. In 800, Switzerland became a part of Charlemagnes Empire. Shortly thereafter, control of the country was passed through the Holy Roman emperors. In the 13th century, new trade routes across the Alps opened and Switzerlands mountain valleys became important and were given some independence as cantons. In 1291, the Holy Roman Emperor died and, according to the U.S. Department of State, the ruling families of several mountain communities signed a charter to keep peace and independent rule. From 1315–1388, Swiss Confederates were involved in several conflicts with the Habsburgs and their borders expanded. In 1499, the Swiss Confederates gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire. Following its independence and a defeat by the French and Venetians in 1515, Switzerland ended its policies of expansion. Throughout the 1600s, there were several European conflicts but the Swiss remained neutral. From 1797–1798, Napoleon annexed part of the Swiss Confederation and a centrally governed state was established. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna preserved the countrys status as a permanently armed neutral state. In 1848, a short civil war between Protestants and Catholics led to the formation of a federal state modeled after the United States. A Swiss Constitution was then drafted and was amended in 1874 to ensure cantonal independence and democracy. In the 19th century, Switzerland underwent industrialization and it remained neutral during World War I. During World War II, Switzerland also remained neutral despite pressure from surrounding countries. After the war, Switzerland began to grow its economy. It did not join the Council of Europe until 1963 and it is still not a part of the European Union. In 2002, Switzerland became a member of the United Nations. Government of Switzerland Today, Switzerlands government is formally a confederation but it is more similar in structure to a federal republic. It has an executive branch with a chief of state, a head of government that is filled by the president, a bicameral Federal Assembly with the Council of States, and the National Council for its legislative branch. Switzerlands judicial branch is made up of a Federal Supreme Court. The country is divided into 26 cantons for local administration, and each has a high degree of independence. Each canton is equal in status. People of Switzerland Switzerland is unique in its demography because it is made up of three linguistic and cultural regions. These are German, French, and Italian. As a result, Switzerland is not a nation based on one ethnic identity; instead, it is based on its common historical background and shared governmental values. The official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Economics and Land Use in Switzerland Switzerland is one of the wealthiest nations in the world and has a very strong market economy. Unemployment is low and its labor force is also very highly skilled. Agriculture makes up a small part of its economy and the main products include grains, fruit, vegetables, meat, and eggs. The largest industries in Switzerland are machinery, chemicals, banking, and insurance. In addition, expensive goods such as watches and precision instruments are also produced in Switzerland. Tourism is also a very large industry in the country due to its natural setting in the Alps. Geography and Climate of Switzerland Switzerland is located in Western Europe, to the east of France and to the north of Italy. It is known for its mountain landscapes and small mountain villages. The topography of Switzerland is varied but it is mainly mountainous with the Alps in the south and the Jura Mountains in the northwest. There is also a central plateau with rolling hills and plains, and there are many large lakes throughout the country. Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet (4,634 m) is Switzerlands highest point but there are many other peaks that are at very high elevations as well—the Matterhorn near the town of Zermatt in Valais is the most famous. The climate of Switzerland is temperate but it varies with altitude. Most of the country has cold and rainy to snowy winters and cool to warm and sometimes humid summers. Bern, Switzerlands capital, has an average January low temperature of 25.3 degrees F (-3.7 degrees C) and an average July high of 74.3 degrees F (23.5 degrees C). Sources Central Intelligence Agency. CIA. The World Factbook -Switzerland.Infoplease.com. . Infoplease.comSwitzerland: History, Geography, Government, and Culture.United States Department of State. Switzerland.