The Purpose, Impacts And Responsibilities Of Businesses

The Purpose, Impacts and Responsibilities of Businesses Aziken Ifeoma P14128621 MSc Engineering Management Green Business (ENGT5219) 2 March, 2015 SUMMARY: GREEN BUSINESS The need for businesses to adopt a sustainable approach to the creation of goods and services has become paramount in recent years as pressure to employ strategies that reduce or remove negative effects on the environment increases. In order for a business to successfully implement a sustainable approach to the provision of goods and services, they would have to take a critical look into the different aspects of day to day business operations, assessing these operations and re-modifying them to achieve standard sustainable practices. Sustainability is a broad term and involves the integration of a host of strategies to achieve a desired outcome with regards to the way businesses operate. Strategies such as, green technology, eco manufacturing, eco machining, clean production and so on, have to be employed to alleviate environmental concerns such as pollution, material toxicity, greenhouse gas emissions and much more. The challenge now for businesses is to redesign processes and practices that will result in less environmental and societal degradation, but at the same retain or increase their share in the global market. CONTENTS SUMMARY: GREEN BUSINESS 2 CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 Businesses: Why do businesses exist? 4 IMPACTS OFShow MoreRelatedThe Social Responsibility of a Business647 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿The Social Responsibility of Business: The role of business in the society became a major aspect across business after Milton Freedman wrote the most provocative article in 1970. As an economist, Freedman stated that the main purpose of businesses is to generate profits for its shareholders. 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The concept of corporate social responsibility came about because of the increased pressure of the businesses to have concern and discipline over the organizational stakeholders. Many businesses have successfully achiev ed their goals by embracing these practices and have influenced manyRead MoreCorporation s Social Responsibility : Green Marketing And The Effects On The Environment853 Words   |  4 PagesCritical Analysis Topic: Corporation’s Social Responsibility: Green Marketing and the Effects on the Environment PRINCIPLE: ï‚ § Coporation’s Social Responsibility defined is as an organization that uses business strategies for the purpose of improving human and environmental well-being (Lawrence Weber, 2014) ï‚ § Corporation’s should perform in a way that enhances society and the world’s occupants ï‚ § Created to maintain and protect the interest of employees, suppliers, consumers, and society (Norton

Cyber Security Social and Financial Advantages

Question: Describe about the Cyber Security for Social and Financial Advantages. Answer: Introduction (brief overview of the case study) Various heads of state have made it clear that cyber-security is a standout amongst the most vital difficulties confronted as a nation. Progresses in cyber-security science and building are earnestly expected to protect the Internet's social and financial advantages. With the objective of making cyberspace intrinsically more secure, the arrangement challenges the cyber-security RD people group to give strategies and apparatuses to stopping, ensuring, identifying, and adjusting to vindictive cyber exercises. The arrangement characterizes immediate as well as long haul objectives to direct and assess progress. Programming abandons, which are at present basic, additionally offer ascent to numerous vulnerabilities. Science and innovation advances are required for the outline and usage of programming, firmware, and equipment that are exceedingly impervious to malevolent cyber exercises. Furthermore, in light of the fact that framework breaks are frequently because of honest activities by well meaning clients, we likewise need to create compelling, quantifiable specialized and non-specialized security controls that consider human conduct and monetary motivating forces in cyberspace. Figure of the ENISA Safety System Approach for mitigating Risks Verton (2014) underlined the way that individuals inside an association ought to access set number of assets, in light of what they truly need to attain. The minute you guaranteed that exclusive the right arrangement of individuals have admittance to the right arrangement of assets, the association will have the capacity to keep an assault furthermore diminish the extent of it. He said dangers could be alleviated through personality administration, confirmation and appropriate access and breaking down movement examples of uses, end-clients and systems. Additionally Gordon Loeb (2012) said that an association ought to have a predetermined level of computerization implicit so that the association could make a move when a physical examination is impractical. The Most Significant Threat The most imperative risk to computer security is the malicious codes such as worms, Trojan horses, etc. Vindictive code is the sort of unsafe PC code or internet Script anticipated to create network exposure launching indirect accesses, safety breaches, stealing of records, as well as additional possible problems to records and registering frameworks. It is somewhat a threat, which may not be hindered by Antivirus (AV) software all alone. Some codes gives a cyber-criminal unapproved remote access to the assaulted framework got back to an application entryway which then uncovered delicate organization information. By unleashing it, cyber-offenders can even wipe out PC information or introduce spyware. These dangers can achieve an abnormal state: The legislature has even cautioned about the risk of malevolent code against national security. Major Risk Instrument At the point when associated with the Internet, families everywhere throughout the world can get to an abundance of data, speak with relatives abroad and appreciate a perpetual supply of advanced excitement. PCs and the Internet have improved family life; however, these new advantages bring new dangers particularly the danger of malevolent programming entering your computerized life. Otherwise called malware, these vindictive projects are intended to damage PCs and take client information. Luckily, families can shield against this advanced risk with solid malware assurance programming. Social Hacking issues Cyber dangers have been dependably a serious issue in any organization; just at this moment is that with the contribution in digitization process, dangers have turned into a specific barricade for the top administration. On the off chance that the administration puts parcel of information in the web and it is breached; it probably puts million lives in question. One of the ways to could take a gander at this is on account of these tasks have turned out to be so basic to the organization in general; including security ought to be a consistent procedure from the very first moment. Before beginning to contemplate executing an application, let us first perceive how to make it more secure. That is like an open door. In the event that a person looks at a portion of the hacks that happened internationally, certain underground programmer groups have finished them. There is no point following them back and attempting to sue them. An executive has to put sound arrangements not to give that a chance to transpire in an association once more. Simply scrutinizing the roots and making sense of how it happened and why it happened is not enough. A person cannot make anything secure however, he/she can take a proactive methodology. He/she should have a committed individual to deal with these assaults and the executive likewise ought to have a covered barrier approach, which implies that have distinctive level of innovation. He/she ought not have a solitary firewall and stay secured for now. An executive generally needs to make it troublesome for the programmers to misuse his/her information yet effective; no organization could play out a 100% security appraisal (Casella et al, 2014). The trends in Threat Probability Some trends emerge throughout any given year and their probability of happening are diverse because it depends on the knowledge of the Systems Administrator; who might fail to take pre-cautionary measures like updating the antivirus software and other computer programs. Based on the data provided in Table 2, drive-by downloads (web-based attacks) dropped to the second position in 2014 compared to the previous year. The first position in the rank of threats was taken by malicious code in 2014, up from position 2 in the previous year. There was no change in the injection of codes. Perhaps it was still serious. Exploits kits dropped to the eighth position in 2014 and the threat of Bot-nets increased to position 4 that year. Physical damage/theft/loss became less of a threat and therefore it dropped to number 10 on the ranks. This was perhaps due to assurance. Moreover, identity theft dropped to position 13 but denial of service as a threat in cyber security increased to five. On the other hand, phishing moved up to position seven in 2014. Spam increased in 2014 to be positioned at six, rouge-ware/ransom-ware/scare-ware became few, and thus the threat dropped to the last position in 2014. However, data breaches increased in that year to be ranked at five. Whats more, information leakage increased just one spot at 12. Targeted attacks (cyber espionage) remained the same throughout the evaluation of the threat landscape (Louise, 2014). Improving the ETL process The process of evaluating existing and emerging threats could be improved by forming a cyber security alliance consisting of antivirus vendors, Technology Companies, and any other interested group that could enhance a better digital life. Even the US government might be in the alliance, since the internet started in that country. Threats that are Challenging in the Future Based on Table 10, risks which might tough for ENISA in mitigating from 2016 and beyond are as follows: Denial of Service Malicious code Injection attacks Identity theft Data breaches Concluding Remarks To summarize this short paper, ENISA should be satisfied with its current state of IT Security because they have the best work force to tackle cyber security. Whether in government, the scholarly world, or the private initiatives, associations that support research, or prompt on such speculations have a chance to contribute. All these groups should cooperate to make cyberspace more secure. Web scripts in addition to infections might harm a computer by discovering sections, which make possible leakage of valuable information. Going by infected web pages and clicking an awful email link are key portals for malevolent cryptogram to slip inside a network. Briefly, popular Antivirus software, which covers a PC, malware evacuation abilities, network-scanning plus the capability to recognize a wide range of contaminations are the best guard. References Casella B., Jackson W. D., Jickling M. and Webel B. (2014) The Economic Influence of Cyber- Attacks, Congressional Research Service, Government and Finance Division. Washington DC: The Library of Congress Gordon L. and Loeb M. (2012) The Economics of Information Security Investment, ACM Transactions on Information and System Security, 5 (4) Louise M. (2014) Overview of current and emerging threats, ENISA Threat Landscape, EU Agency for Network and Information Security Verton D. (2014) DHS launches national cyber alert system, Computerworld. IDG. Retrieved October 4, 2016

Metallica - Kill ‘Em All free essay sample

This is Metallicas first album which was released in July 25, 1983. It was recorded in a short time, 2 weeks to be exact, and on a very small budget. The original album title was different but the studio urged them to change it. There so they changed it to what it is now. The album cover is of a shadow of a hand letting go of a bloody sledgehammer. Although this album is not as powerful as Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning but it is still a pretty good album. It has a much faster tempo than other releases and it also has a lot more thrashier sound. That is why this album is more of an original thrash metal album. This album isnt as fast or brutal as Slayer albums but its still cool to listen too and is pure thrash album. This album has those catchy guitar riffs, insane guitar solos, great vocal singing, and great drumming. We will write a custom essay sample on Metallica Kill ‘Em All or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Now lets talk about the songs: 1. Hit the Lights- This song begins with a fade in of the guitars and then Lars, the drummer, making a drumming pattern. After that the guitarist are on speeding fret boards. They have cool guitar riffs and throughout song have many miniature solos and then they go in to the real solo. This is a great opening song and has to be one of my favorites on this album. 2. Four Horsemen- This song isnt as fast as the previous song but it has catchy guitar riffs and great solos. Though the solos are more classical solos. 3. Motorbreath- This song begins with a drum intro. The guitars dominate in this song though. 4. Jump in the Fire- This song is pretty fast though it has catchy riffs. At the end there is progressively more faster and long guitar solo that I enjoyed. 5. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth- is a long solo but its not guitar solo its a BASS SOLO! This song shows Cliff Burtons skills in his more classical background. Also he uses heavy distortion and a Wah-Wah Pedal. The only lyrics or dialog in this song is at the beginning where Cliff states: â€Å"Base Solo, Take One† Then also in the beginning there is no drum beat though they do kick in at about the 2:40 mark. 6. Whiplash- begins with low thumping of the bass drum then the guitars kick in and add spice to the song. 7. Phantom Lord- has its ups and downs. You can barely hear the vocals because they are drowned by the guitars. This song also has a cool guitar solo. Then it slows down again after that. Then another guitar solo comes in and speeds it up again. Just like I said it has its ups and downs. 8. No Remorse- has a cool rhythm to it and is still a good part of Metallicas live shows. 9. Seek Destroy- Finally we have come to my favorite song of this album. This has that famous opening guitar lick that I love. It also has catchy vocals that just keep so energized! Also those great guitar riffs that are so repetitive. This song also has a very cool guitar solo that then ends to the original melody of this track. 10. Metal Militia- is the most insane track out of all of these because it starts out fast and just has that pure thrash sound to it. Pretty cool song So my conclusion is that this is a great album if youre a Metallica fan. Although its not as good as the other albums that I listed but if youre a metal head then you will enjoy this great album by one of the greatest thrash metal bands.

Free Essays on The Matrix

The movie certainly leaves you thinking. This is how it affected me and made me think†¦aside from the obvious storyline. â€Å"The Matix† was obviously made in order to induce wonder along with the deep-thought process. Since you have probably gotten a bunch of movie reports on 1) the action or 2) the religious symbolism, and I don’t really want to write about those things, I am going to write about my thoughts after watching the movie. A few key things: The Matrix=dreaming=heaven How many times have you had a dream where you have brought back to life somebody that you had known before they died? Was it a grandparent, or a friend? Maybe we are not bringing them back to life at all. Maybe we are just momentarily inside their world. Have you ever had a friend who was mad at you, but in a dream everything was ok between the two of you? Maybe on some level the two of you have connected in a place that knows and understands forgiveness (a.k.a. Heaven). So what about nightmares? Consider that Hell is a nightmare. Ever heard the saying that â€Å"You are your own worst enemy,† or how about the one that goes along the line that â€Å"You will punish yourself more than anyone else possibly could?† Perhaps it is true. Having a nightmare is like creating your own personal Hell. The only way out of it is to forgive yourself, because unless you do forgive yourself- who else could possibly forgive you? Perhaps these aren’t the questions that should be asked, though. I am not one to wonder which world is â€Å"real.† I am one to wonder whether a) both worlds actually exist, or b) if they are real, can you exist in both of them at the same exact time? â€Å"The Matrix† is referred to as a dream-like place. My argument for actually existing in the matrix is the old saying, â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† You never cease to think, because if you did you simply would not exist. Therefore, even when you are dreaming†¦yo... Free Essays on The Matrix Free Essays on The Matrix The movie certainly leaves you thinking. This is how it affected me and made me think†¦aside from the obvious storyline. â€Å"The Matix† was obviously made in order to induce wonder along with the deep-thought process. Since you have probably gotten a bunch of movie reports on 1) the action or 2) the religious symbolism, and I don’t really want to write about those things, I am going to write about my thoughts after watching the movie. A few key things: The Matrix=dreaming=heaven How many times have you had a dream where you have brought back to life somebody that you had known before they died? Was it a grandparent, or a friend? Maybe we are not bringing them back to life at all. Maybe we are just momentarily inside their world. Have you ever had a friend who was mad at you, but in a dream everything was ok between the two of you? Maybe on some level the two of you have connected in a place that knows and understands forgiveness (a.k.a. Heaven). So what about nightmares? Consider that Hell is a nightmare. Ever heard the saying that â€Å"You are your own worst enemy,† or how about the one that goes along the line that â€Å"You will punish yourself more than anyone else possibly could?† Perhaps it is true. Having a nightmare is like creating your own personal Hell. The only way out of it is to forgive yourself, because unless you do forgive yourself- who else could possibly forgive you? Perhaps these aren’t the questions that should be asked, though. I am not one to wonder which world is â€Å"real.† I am one to wonder whether a) both worlds actually exist, or b) if they are real, can you exist in both of them at the same exact time? â€Å"The Matrix† is referred to as a dream-like place. My argument for actually existing in the matrix is the old saying, â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† You never cease to think, because if you did you simply would not exist. Therefore, even when you are dreaming†¦yo...

Write about the picture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Write about the picture - Essay Example The colors are quite penetrating and forceful, particularly the white and the brown. There is not much of a contrast between the dark and light shades, the lines are blurred but very distinct. The viewers may have the feeling that they are observing a landscape, and the general impact is surreal. The impact of graphic closeness opposes the complicated strategies that were applied to the creation of the painting. Although this seems to be a hasty, spur-of-the-moment work, thorough analysis reveals that Vivian George perfected it in phases and picked and capitalized on her materials to highlight her imaginings and subtle meanings. As I look systematically at the painting, I am sometimes drawn to the light shades on the left, yet persistently returning to the center, where the whole image collapses into one indefinite appearance. This shift takes place mainly due to the contrast between the left and the right side, with the left side showing the few light touches. Most of the colors are vivid or quite saturated, and their contrast with one another also adds to the backward and forward movement of my eyes as I observe the details of the canvas. If the dark colors were not as saturated, greater emphasis would be on the left side of the canvas, it would hold greater ‘massâ⠂¬â„¢, and my eyes would focus at that side. Consequently, the composition of the painting would become uneven. The painting induces neither happiness nor sadness. The colors are intense, and pastel hues normally produce positive feelings, but I largely felt puzzled, and perhaps somewhat disordered. I would want to know more about the painting and the artist in order to understand the image. The colors are quite calm, and even the dark colors have lightness in them, yet the enclosing images show a natural landscape. Therefore, I believe this is what Vivian George is trying

GLOBAL MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

GLOBAL MARKETING - Essay Example This strategy employed by the counterfeiters thus happens to populate larger parts of the global market for fashionable and luxury products. However the counterfeiting activities in regards to the fashionable or luxury products are generally divided into two aspects-deceptive and non-deceptive in nature. Deceptive practices of counterfeiting are such where the purchaser is not aware that the product procured is not a branded product, rather counterfeit in nature. Replication is created as such to totally deceit the purchaser. However in the second case the purchaser becomes aware that the product procured are a counterfeit and not a real branded product. Herein the purchaser is rendered clues by the counterfeiter of the luxury or fashionable product in regards to the area from where such commodity is made available for purchasing. Further the quality and pricing standards of the products rendered also help the purchaser in rightly identifying that the products purchased are not genui ne branded ones but rather are counterfeit products (Juggessur and Cohen, 2008, p.390). Counterfeit as a Growing Threat to the Luxury Retail Market Observation made shows that regions like China are turning out as the greatest contributor of counterfeit products in the world. The Chinese economy is found to have become the largest manufacturer and exporter of counterfeit luxury products that are seeking entry into developed markets of the world like United States, United Kingdom, Russia and several other regions pertaining to Europe. Moreover the counterfeit products are also making a foray into several Middle East nations where the demand for luxury products is indeed huge in nature. This large expanse of trade and exports pertaining to the realm of counterfeit products in luxury retail is happening to render an impending threat to the market for genuine luxury products. Market shares for the luxury products are largely being taken over by the rise in counterfeit trade practices. F urther the rise in the level of counterfeit activities largely impacts the brand image of the original luxury brands thereby making the branded manufacturers to increase the level of expenditures pertaining to its marketing and promotion. Thereby the rise in the counterfeit market on a growing scale has made the markets of genuine brands to largely shrink thereby impacting the job markets and also in making the price for the products to increase. The growing threat and impact of counterfeiting practices in regards to luxury and fashionable products can further be observed from some statistics. During 2005, the customs body pertaining to United Kingdom happened to seize a huge package of products out of which around 64 percent was found to be counterfeited. Similarly another statistics revealed during 2003 reflects that a seize made by customs body pertaining to United States contained around 6500 counterfeit products valued to around $94 billion. During the same period the customs b ody pertaining to European Union conducted a huge seize of counterfeit pr

Drivers Of Business Internet Adoption Information Technology Essay

Drivers Of Business Internet Adoption Information Technology Essay E-business has introduced new opportunities within recent years for small and large organization to compete successfully in the global marketplace. Many speculators have noted that among the newest changes introduced by electronic communications is the approach of transforming and transmitting information for gaining competitive advantage by organizations in the market place. The internet has provided significant space of opportunities for many small businesses to move and build closer relationships with their new or existing customers and suppliers online to achieve customer attraction and retention. With the use of online, e-business services to both customers and suppliers has significantly reduce costs while providing new convenient ways and channel for purchase of goods and services. Through providing high-quality online services to customers, business can build and create a long lasting relationship with all stakeholders involved (chaffey, 2009) Drivers of Business internet adoption At a relatively early point in e-business adoption, a government report (DTI, 2000) identified two main categories of drivers, which is prevalent and relevant today: Cost/efficiency drivers Increasing speed with which supplies can be obtained Increasing speed with which goods can be dispatched Reduced sales and purchasing costs. Competitiveness drivers Customer demand Improving the range and quality of services offered Avoiding losing market share to businesses already using e-commerce (Chaffey, 2009). Perrott (2005) identifies four key areas driving performance, which are cost-benefits, competitive pressures, market advantage and value adding, for example improving customer satisfaction while building strong and long lasting relationship. The main business drivers for introducing e-commerce and e-business are opportunities for increased revenues and reducing costs, but many other benefits can be identified that improve customer service and corporate image (Chaffey 2009). Chaffey review the potential benefits use in identifying both tangible and intangible benefits (cost hard to calculate). Figure Tangible and intangible benefits from e-commerce and e-business (Chaffey, 2009) E-COMMERCE AND DIGITAL OPPORTUNITITES IN AFRICA Internet edition of the 2004 report on E-Commerce and Development published by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Report was intended to provide practitioners and policy-makers with information and analysis to better assess and understand the impact of the growing role of ICTs in economic development. From the report foreword by past UN Secretary General  Kofi Annan: Information and communications technologies have considerable potential to promote development and economic growth. They can foster innovation and improve productivity.  They can reduce transaction costs and make available, in mere seconds, the rich store of global knowledge. In the hands of developing countries, and especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, the use of ICTs can bring impressive gains in employment, gender equality and standards of living (ITU) (OVERVIEW OF THE ICT LANDSCAPE IN AFRICA) The latest evaluations of immerse digital opportunity across the continent of Africa is shown below. The  Digital Opportunity Index  assesses countries on eleven different indicators, organized into three clusters of Opportunity, Infrastructure and Utilization. Measurements of digital opportunity for Africa show that, in 2005, only three countries had a DOI score in excess of 0.40 (Seychelles, Mauritius and Morocco), while in 2006, seven countries had DOI scores greater than 0.40 countries includes Egypt, Algeria, South Africa and Tunisia joined with a DOI score of above 0.40 (ITU). http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/content/binary/Africa_WISR07-blog1.jpg Figure Digital opportunities index (ITU, 2007) Analysis of the DOI results shows that, in Africa, digital opportunity is without a doubt mobile. Mobile lines outnumber fixed lines by 5 to 1, the ratio is even higher in sub-Saharan Africa, where 9 out of 10 subscribers use mobile.   Mobile penetration in Africa increased from 6.5 per 100 inhabitants to 13.1 per 100 inhabitants from 2003 to 2005. Africas mobile market region was considered the fastest-growing market  in the world, with averaging of 50% growth per year since 2000; fortunate growth rates that strategic investors like Orascom, Celtel,  MTN and Vodacom are profiting from (ITU) The digital penetration of Africa is going to encourage local business to embrace the opportunities of e-business and attract foreign investors to invest in Africa regions. The important of digital technology in Africa cannot be over exaggerated neither can it be underscored. SUBSAHARA AFRICA 11 African countries have Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). At least around  eleven African  countries, including Nigeria, Ghana and  South Africa, presently now have Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). These countries  now benefit from effective and efficient peering arrangements among themselves and very cheaper international connectivity and bandwidth. Nigerian Internet Exchange (NIXP)  Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said that eleven sub-Saharan  African countries presently have international Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), following the commissioning of Nigerias Internet exchange in late 2006, at about 30 million naira cost. Rudman observed, that until now, all ISPs within Nigeria have been connected to overseas countries, Which means that Africa was paying foreign carriers to exchange local [continental] traffic on their behalf. This was very costly and inefficient.  Rudman estimated costs of over US$100 million each year in Nigeria for use of unnecessary international transit or international bandwidth for national data. Rudman noted, peering with other ISPs at the exchange point, means all local internet traffic will remain local within the seven ISPs connection to NIXP and Starcomms was the first public telecom operator to connect to it (ITU). African countries with Internet exchanges include:   Botswana, Angola,  Congo DR,  Ghana,  Egypt, Kenya,  Ã‚  Nigeria,  Mozambique, Rwanda,  Tanzania, South Africa,  Uganda  and Zimbabwe. Evaluation of the digital divide In 2007 World Information Society Report, ITU included the very  latest statistics monitoring the evolution of the digital divide, with the use of a variety of statistical  techniques. The digital divide narrowed most rapidly in mobile telephony, with 1 in 2 people in the world projected to have access to a mobile phone by end of 2007. Low-income countries was found having important gains in mobile telephony (figure below), with mobile phones outnumbering fixed lines by 7 to 1 in LDCs and by as much as 9 to 1 in Sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/content/binary/major-ICTs-small123.jpg Figure Distribution of ICT by income group of economies (ITU, 2007) The digital divide was also found narrowing in terms of Internet usage.   In 1997, almost three-quarters of worlds population living in low-income economies and lower-middle income economies was around 5% of worlds total Internet users.  In 2005, they accounted for around 32.5% or nearly about third  of all Internet users. The digital divide has evolved and gaps in access in the high-speed broadband technologies that matters most in today information economy are more marked low-income economies accounted for about 1% of total broadband subscribers worldwide, while lower-middle income economies accounted for around 20% or one fifth of the global total.   The digital is taking on new aspects in terms of speed, efficiency and the quality of access (ITU) http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/content/binary/africa-graph.gif Figure Growth in Speed WISD, 17 May 2007 (ITU, 2006) SERVICE PROVIDERS CELTEL AFRICA Celtel mobile phone service provider  has expanded its roaming service offer to customers in 12 African countries. Without incurring extra costs, enabling around  half of all Africans mobile phone users to communicate across national borders Celtel roaming service is available in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Malawi, as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Celtels roaming service extend services to a population of over 400 million people, the populations are living in an area twice as large as Western Europe.Anna Othoro, the marketing director at Celtel said. This is a feat that not even European firms have achieved .Although Celtel has not yet announces upgrade to 3G services like its major competitor Safaricom (ITU) MTN In third quarter of 2007 results, MTN Group serves over 54.1 million customers in 21 countries, making it the largest operator in the Middle East and Africa, and with over 64,000 new customers a day. MTNs South African network is the keystone of its activities, with subscribers increase of 3% to 14 million. Nigeria is other source of income for MTN, with 14.9 million customers and each spending an average of $17 a month. This represents about 7% increase in customers, as well as a healthy more than 4% rise in their spending. MTN is improving in fractures and investing heavily in Nigeria to cope with the growing demand. Middle East and North Africa region of MTN saw 36% growth in customers, with its new Iranian network winning more than 1.7 million more users. Irancell is serving over 3.7 million people and each is spending an average of $11 a month (ITU) E-business Challenges (Risk and Barriers to business adoption) E-business opportunities must be balanced against the risks of introducing e-business services, which varies from strategic risk to practical risk. An organization can make a wrong investment in e-business, which is considered strategic risk. Most business have realized the opportunity and made investment in e-business and gain a competitive advantage, but while others have invested, so much in e-business without returns (profits) either because of wrong strategic planning or wrong approach to the market. Negative attitude of the managing directors and CEOs to the business benefits of information and communication technology (Chaffey, 2009). The perception of the risks involved has limited adoption of e-business in many organizations. Figure Usage of different e-business services in European countries (Chaffey, 2009). A DTI (2002) Study evaluated some of the barriers to B2B e-commerce, which remain valid today. Reason for cost was the most important factors. This suggests the importance of managers assessing e-business to develop costs and the ongoing costs that form the total cost of ownership (TCO) against the value created from the tangible and intangible benefits (Chaffey, 2009). Figure Barriers to development of online technologies (Chaffey, 2009) BARRIERS TO ADOPTION OF E-BUSINESS IN AFRICA KENYA Natural limit to the mobile market in Kenya Celtel Kenya, CEO Mr David Murray, is suggesting the possibility natural limit to the mobile market size in Kenya. Telecommunication is the fastest growing market in the world with the highest in Mobile communications segment especially Africa,but Mr. Murray warns that, in spite of the growth, Kenyas economy will not be able to accommodate more than three operators. Mobile market in Kenya is divided between Safaricom and Celtel Kenya, France Telecoms and Econet Wireless recently acquired the controlling stake in  Telkom Kenya  and about to start operations in the country. With a population of 34 million, mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is less than $10 per month (ITU) Mr Murray reckons that survival of the operators will be determined by creativity and efficiency on the marketing front, network reliability and product development. For example,  International One Network service from Celtel, the first-ever international borderless mobile network without roaming call surcharges or additional payment to receive incoming calls.   One Network service  was recently been extended to cover more twelve countries, an area equivalent twice the size of the European Union (ITU). UGADA High taxes threaten growth in Uganda An excellent study by Eria Hisali, consisting of data and statistics, researcher at Makerere University, concludes that Ugandas telecom markets high taxes threaten to choke growth. Recent study published by the  Uganda Communications Commission,  shows that recent mobile market in Ugandan is slow. Usage tax on mobile pre-paid services in Uganda is 30% (18% VAT and 12% excise duty), this is the second-highest level of  service taxes on mobile communication use  internationally, as claimed by the report.  Telecoms accounted for about 4% of  Ugandas total VAT revenues in 2000-2001, and 6.5% of VAT revenues in 2005-2006. Although,  Uganda Communications Commission latest statistics released, shows that the number of mobile subscribers is in increase, the report finds that, interestingly minutes of use is reduced significantly in both fixed line and mobile use.   More people are using mobiles, but less often and for a shorter period. Tax as a proportion of revenues for the telephone sub-sector  rose from 5.7% in 2001  to 19.6 or nearly a fifth in 2005. The Report suggests that high taxes may result in a slowdown in growth of the telecommunication industry by reducing investment in the sector. It also suggests that uniform tax rates may mean that poorer households bear a higher burden than higher-income households. The Report concludes that, if market growth  is  to continue, there is urgent need to change the current tax policy on telecommunications sector (ITU). BOWSTNA Botswana Telecommunication Authority and Orange High Court of Appeal in Botswana ruled recently that the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) should stop receiving tax revenues thier mobile phone operators from sale of voucher cards and free airtime operators offers their customers. Orange and Mascom, Botswanas two private mobile operators, have paid 3% of net turnover on quarterly basis from 2002, the beginning of private cellular phone operation in Botswana. However, the company had appealed the payment of tax on freebies or free airtime Orange occasionally offers to its customers, on the basis that it was free airtime, without profit. The High Court of Appeal ruled that Free airtime given by Orange to its customers is not an amount invoiced nor does it otherwise accrue to Orange for purposes of computation of net turnover. BTA stand a chance of refunds and  stands to lose a substantial amount of future  revenue (ITU). NIGERIA Security Nigeria has set up a movement (Nigeria Anti-Scam Network) composed of concern youths of Nigeria fighting cybercrime and spam. The Nigeria professional are interested in change to redeem Nigeria image from the bad reputation of online crime. The Network realizes that;  throughout the world, cyber crime is a very serious topic and a very contentious one at that. Many countries are losing a lot of money due to the activities of cyber 419s. Nigeria has been touted as the major breeding ground for most of these online frauds. Nigerias ranking in the corruption index have been very discouraging for the past three years and we know that this is not only as a result of Government officials corruptness, but also as a result of activities of online scammers. To be better prepared to fight these menace and bring back our lost reputation, some young Nigerian professionals started the Nigerian Anti-Scam network and have been doing extensive research on the activities of these scammers and ways of salvaging the countrys image (ITU). E-business Strategy Assessment of an organizations existing e-businesses capabilities is a starting point for the future development of their e-business strategy. The future direction and action of any company approach to achieve some specific objectives most be defined. Chaffey (2009) Defined E-business as the approach by which applications of internal and external electronic communications can support and influence corporate strategy. Google Africa As Google has become global, and it isnt neglecting Africa. Google is betting on the powerful impart the internet will bring to improve and transform business and society on the continent, even if the region remains one of the world least connected parts. Anyone in Ghana interested in buying a goat, computer, an iPad or Hummer 2011 model can now  go to Google site   and set up a link to sellers and buyers who have internet connection and SMS messages. Recently, Google hired Ory Okolloh, as its Policy Manager for Africa in a clear sign of its ambitions. In 2010, Google launched  Baraza, an interactive online space where Africans can be able to ask questions and also post answers to others. The goal of Baraza is to facilitate knowledge sharing within and outside Africa about locally relevant issues. According to Aneto Okonkwo Product Manager. Questions include everything from What is the economic impact of the tax increases in the Ghana 2011 budget? to Is it safe to take charcoal tablets during pregnancy? and Where do grasshoppers come from? Google senior official Nelson Mattos noted that any company that most succeed in Africa would have to do a good job by providing content relevant to the local market (Reuter). Google started earlier in Uganda before launching its trade service in Ghana.  Ã‚  Though internet penetration rates is very low in sub Saharan Africa, the recent launch of undersea fiber optic cables in Western Africa and East could significantly improve connectivity. The spread of mobile phones and SMS messaging motivated Google offering in Africa. It is important in raising the Bar and bringing together governments, international organizations, business, experts and civil society in focusing on leveraging Africas potential e-commerce strategic role in the global arena. It should feature innovative partnerships to sustain growth and addressing the human and infrastructure capacity constraints Africa is face with, and assessing strategies with opportunities for improving Africa investment climate.   The overviews of the ICT landscape in Africa, considers the relationship existing between ICTs and competitiveness. With reference to the latest researches, examining the changing regulatory policy in Africa landscape, providing the latest  summary statistics on service providers (operators) and markets information on various planned infrastructure initiatives shows the rate at which the private sector is forging ahead with the introduction and improvements of new technologies to grow the broadband  and mobile markets in Africa.  African  rise of strategic investors such as Celtel, Vodacom and Orascom to boast e-commerce  growth  is very impressive. Africa subscribers (WiMAX) WiMAX Counts.Com  by the end of 2007 reported that WiMAX has expanded rapidly in Africa over 2006-2007. Beginning of 2006, WiMAX subscribers numbered just a few thousand. However, by the end of 2007, Africa subscribers accounted for more than 20,000. Business was mostly customers, with 10s or 100s of internal users, in contrast to personal use. Over the years, subscriber numbers increased at an average rate of 28% per quarter, and in 2007 of 36% growth from Q2 to Q3 alone. Several new deployments took place during the second half of 2007, about 15 commercial deployments of BWA/WiMAX to the region, with a further 10 WiMAX network operators trailing and evaluating the implementation (ITU). Unavailability of traditional fixed line telecom infrastructure in Africa opened the door for big opportunities for WiMAX which provided broadband Internet rural and underserved areas that that is not possible with wired technologies. African operators are on the edge to spread the benefits of WiMAX. There is low penetration of broadband subscribers in Africa. From the 922 million inhabitants at 2006, only about 43.6 million were Internet users and around 1 million had a broadband connection. The  Digital Opportunity Index (DOI), is one of the two indices officially endorsed by the  World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)  (Geneva 2003-Tunis 2005),  can be used as a practical tool to track the changing dynamics driving the Information Society worldwide. 2005 DOI scores are sharply differentiated according to region. The region with the poorest countries in the world is Africa and it is greatly impacted by the digital divide. Americas, Europe and Asia have average DOI scores of more than 0.37 world average, while Africa has 0.20 average DOI score, mainly because of fixed line infrastructure and limited Utilization. When compared with other regions, Africa with an average regional DOI score ranked last with barely one-third that of Europe (0.55). African strong-performers regions are the Seychelles, Mauritius and North African countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt). The DOI map of Africa indicates high scores among the North African economies regions (Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia). Egypt was in only country in the Top 15 gainers in the DOI, having a 32% in digital opportunity  from 2000-2005. In contrast, economies with low ranking are mostly inland, in Sub-Saharan including economies likes, Eritrea, Chad, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Niger (ITU) Many African countries are showing impart and making progress in reducing their internal gaps. Africa as a region has the highest growth rate in mobile cellular subscribers a 66% growth rate in 2005, with Egypt, Algeria, South Africa and Nigeria accounting for about 60% of the new mobile subscribers in the region. Nigeria In 2005, alone added 9.7 million subscribers; this represents about 7% of its total population. Three-quarters of all phone connections in 19 countries in Africa are mobile phones. This shows the tendency of e-commerce and e-business development in developing countries. From the perspective of telecommunication policy, high-ranking countries have illustrated the influence of liberalization, competition in promoting opportunity for infrastructure deployment. Most North African countries, as well as South Africa and Senegal, opened their fixed mobile markets to competition and creating rapidly increasing high-speed network deployment. Competition is reducing tariffs and introducing new service packages that responded efficiently to the needs of the people. For example, In Algeria the presences of a third wireless cellular provider successfully triggered new strategies for prepaid services that was not previously offered by the incumbents providers. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/content/binary/Africa11.png Figure DOI of Africa World Information Society Report 2006 (ITU, 2005)