What Is It Governance Information Technology Essay

What Is It Governance Information Technology Essay IT governance is the process for controlling an organisation information technology resource, where these resources are defined to include information and communication systems as well as technology. An organisation management and owners (represented by the board of directors ) share responsibility for governing both enterprise and IT. Enterprise governance is the process of setting and implementing corporate strategy, making sure the organisation achieve its objectives efficiently, and manage risk. It governance is an increasingly important part of enterprise governance because of organisational dependent on information and communication, the scale of IT investment, potential for IT to create strategic opportunities, and the level of IT risk. IT governance also required controlling the process to ensure that it complies with regulatory, legal and contractual requirements. Organisation structure Boards and executive management have long known the need for enterprise and corporate governance. However, most are beginning to realize that there is a need to extend governance to information technology as well, and provide the leadership, organisational structures and processes that ensure that the enterprises IT sustains and extends the enterprises strategies andobjectives. Strategic alignment focuses on ensuring the linkage of business and IT plans; defining, maintaining and validating the IT value proposition; and aligning IT operations with enterprise operations. Value delivery is about executing the value proposition throughout the delivery cycle, ensuring that IT delivers the promised benefits against the strategy, concentrating on optimising costs and proving the intrinsic value of IT. Resource management is about the optimal investment in, and the proper management of, critical IT resources: applications, information, infrastructure and people. Key issues relate to the optimisation of knowledge and infrastructure. Risk management requires risk awareness by senior corporate officers, a clear understanding of the enterprises appetite for risk, understanding of compliance requirements, transparency about the significant risks to the enterprise and embedding of risk management responsibilities into the organisation. Performance measurement tracks and monitors strategy implementation, project completion, resource usage, process performance and service delivery, using, for example, balanced scorecards that translate strategy into action to achieve goals measurable beyond conventional accounting. ITGI: ISACA recognized this shift in emphasis towards IT Governance in 1998, and formed the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) to focus on original research, publications, resources and symposia on IT governance and related topics. In addition to the work carried out by the ITGI, ISACA addresses the topic through a regular column in and occasional dedicated issues of the Information Systems Control Journal, conference sessions and tracks, and education courses. TheIT Governance Institute (ITGI)exists to assist enterprise leaders in their responsibility to ensure that IT goals align with those of the business, it delivers value, its performance is measured, its resources properly allocated and its risks mitigated. Through original research, symposia and electronic resources, the ITGI helps ensure that boards and executive management have the tools and information they need for IT to deliver against expectations. ITGI: ISACA recognized this shift in emphasis towards IT Governance in 1998, and formed the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) to focus on original research, publications, resources and symposia on IT governance and related topics. In addition to the work carried out by the ITGI, ISACA addresses the topic through a regular column in and occasional dedicated issues of the Information Systems Control Journal, conference sessions and tracks, and education courses. TheIT Governance Institute (ITGI)exists to assist enterprise leaders in their responsibility to ensure that IT goals align with those of the business, it delivers value, its performance is measured, its resources properly allocated and its risks mitigated. Through original research, symposia and electronic resources, the ITGI helps ensure that boards and executive management have the tools and information they need for IT to deliver against expectations. Publications: There are two major publications from ISACA in the field of IT Governance. COBIT VALIT COBIT: The Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) is a set of best practices (framework) for information technology (IT) management created by the ISACA, and ITGI in 1996. COBIT provides managers, auditors, and IT users with a set of generally accepted measures, indicators, processes and best practices to assist them in maximizing the benefits derived through the use of information technology and developing appropriate IT governance and control in a company. COBIT supports IT governance by providing a framework to ensure that: IT is aligned with the business IT enables the business and maximises benefits IT resources are used responsibly IT risks are managed appropriately COBIT Framework and IT Governance Areas: COBIT Product: Briefly, the COBIT products include: Board Briefing on IT Governance, 2nd Edition—Helps executives understand why IT governance is important, what its issues are and what their responsibility is for managing it. Management guidelines/maturity models— Help assign responsibility, measure performance, and benchmark and address gaps in capability Frameworks—Organise IT governance objectives and good practices by IT domains and processes, and link them to business requirements Control objectives—provide a complete set of high-level requirements to be considered by management for effective control of each IT process IT Governance Implementation Guide: Using COBIT  ® and Val IT TM, 2nd Edition—provides a generic road map for implementing IT governance using the COBIT and Val ITTM resources COBIT ® Control Practices: Guidance to Achieve Control Objectives for Successful IT Governance, 2nd edition—Provides guidance on why controls are worth implementing and how to implement them IT Assurance Guide: Using COBIT  ®Ã¢â‚¬â€Provides guidance on how COBIT can be used to support a variety of assurance activities together with suggested testing steps for all the IT processes and control VALIT: Val IT is a governance framework that consists of a set of guiding principles, and a number of processes conforming to those principles that are further defined as a set of key management practices. The Val IT framework will be supported by publications and operational tools and provides guidance to: Define the relationship between IT and the business and those functions in the organization with governance responsibilities Manage an organizations portfolio of IT-enabled business investments; and Maximize the quality of business cases for IT-enabled business investments with particular emphasis on the definition of key financial indicators, the quantification of soft benefits and the comprehensive appraisal of the downside risk Val IT addresses assumptions, costs, risks and outcomes related to a balanced portfolio of IT-enabled business investments. It also provides benchmarking capability and allows enterprises to exchange experiences on best practices for value management. Certification: Certified in the Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (CGEIT) is an advanced certification created in 2007 by the ISACA. It is designed for experienced professionals, who can demonstrate 5 or more years of experience, serving in a managing or advisory role focused on the governance and control of IT at an enterprise level. The certification is intended to: support the growing business demands related to IT governance increase the awareness and importance of IT governance good practices and issues define the roles and responsibilities of the professionals performing IT governance work Requirements: To earn the CGEIT credential, an individual must: Pass the CGEIT exam (first exam December 2008) Adhere to the ISACA Code of Professional Ethics Agree to comply with the CGEIT Continuing Education Policy Provide evidence of appropriate IT governance work experience as defined by the CGEIT Job Practice IT Governance experience Five (5) years required: Five (5) or more years of experience managing, serving in an advisory or oversight role, and/or otherwise supporting the governance of the IT-related contribution to an enterprise is required to apply for certification. This experience is defined specifically by the domains and task statements described in the CGEIT Job Practice. Specifically: A minimum of one (1) year of experience relating to the development and/or maintenance of an IT governance framework is required. The type and extent of experience accepted is described in CGEIT domain one (1) (see IT Governance Framework). Additional broad experience directly related to any two or more of the remaining CGEIT domains are required. The type and extent of experience accepted is described in CGEIT domains two (2) through six (6). These domains are:  § Strategic Alignment  § Value Delivery  § Risk Management  § Resource Management  § Performance Measurement Individuals can take the CGEIT exam prior to earning the above work experience. Substitutions for IT governance experience (2 years maximum) To recognize other management experience and/or the achievement of specific IT governance related credentials, advanced (post-graduate) degrees and certificates, up to two (2) years of the five years of required IT governance experience can be substituted. Specifically, each of the following will qualify (substitute) for one (1) year of IT governance experience, with a maximum of two years of substitutions being accepted. Other Management Experience—other management experience that is not specific to IT governance, such as performing consulting, auditing, assurance or security management related duties will qualify for up to one year of substitution. Specific Credentials, Advanced (Post-graduate) Degrees and Certificates—Credentials (in good standing), advanced (post-graduate) degrees and certificate programs which include an IT governance and/or management component or are specific to one or more of the CGEIT domains will qualify for up to one year of substitution. These include: Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) issued by ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) issued by ISACA Implementing IT Governance using COBIT and Val IT certificate issued by ISACA (available in 2008) ITIL Service Manager certification program Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP) issued by the British Computer Society Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) issued by the American Institute of CPAs Project Management Professional (PMP) issued by the Project Management Institute Information Systems Professional (I.S.P.) issued by the Canadian Information Processing Society Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors Certified Business Manager (CBM) issued by The Association of Professionals in Business Management Prince2 Registered Practitioner certificate from the Office of Government Commerce Advanced (post-graduate) degree from an accredited university in governance, information technology, information management or business administration (For example: Masters in Corporate Governance, Masters of Business Administration, Masters in Information and Operations Management, Masters of Information Systems Management, Masters in Information Technology) Exception: Two years as a full-time university instructor teaching IT governance related subjects at an accredited university can be substituted for every one year of IT governance experience. Applicants who have earned/acquired other credentials, advanced (post-graduate) degrees and/or certificates that include a significant IT governance and/or information management component and are not listed above are welcome to submit them to the CGEIT Certification Board for consideration. IT Governance Characteristics Sets direction and oversees compliance and performance Specifies the decision-making authority and accountability to encourage desirable behaviors in the use of IT Is a process for managing and controlling the use of technology to create value Are the rules and regulations under which an IT organization functions Ensures that everyone is playing by the same rules so that the computing environment works for everyone. Road Map for Implementing IT Governance The initial focus for developing an IT Governance Program is identifying needs and governance input rights and decision making based on:    Current state of IT within and supporting business organization and objectives      Internal and external requirements/regulations and applicable best business practices Business Alignment IT Business Executives set the IT Strategy, resolve issues, and shadow IT organizations eliminated Investment Board sets project priorities, costs,   oversees progress, reduced millions $ in costs Change Management and failures impacting users Changes managed actually blocked where not properly vetted or tested Number of user impact failures reduced from 200+ to Number of unauthorized application and infrastructure changes reduced to 1 or less per month Emergency changes reduced to less than 3% of total changes Improved results across the board, accountability built into personal performance evaluations Projects Projects on time, on budget increased by 60+% Improved from 40% SDLC compliance to 100% Technology Standards and architecture established and enforced via tech reviews reduced number of system software tools by over 50% 100% of the equipment on the network identified and none added unless authorized 24 hour server back-ups improved from 95% to 99.9% Security patches being performed within 24 hours of approval â€Å"System Admin Accounts† reduced by over 50% Governing Document Framework SAMPLE Conclusion: As we have discussed that in todays business environment information is the most valuable asset, therefore in order to protect the information we require a profound infrastructure that enables us to not only secure the information we have but to validate that information as well, plus enable the organization towards IT.

managed healthcare of the elderly

Changes occurring in Health care delivery and Medicine are the result of social, economical, technological, scientific forces that have evolved in the 21st century. Among the most significant changes are shift in disease patterns, advanced technology, increased consumer expectations and high costs of health care. These factors have redefined medical practices to fit into the changing health delivery system. Thus, medical profession is ‘Accountable’ to the society. i.e,obliged to the laws regulating the professional activity. This ‘accountability’ is usually spelt out in â€Å"patient Care Documents† established by hospital associations and medical associations or councils of every country. In addition, medical profession has defined its standards of accountability through a formal code of ethics. There has been a recent significant increase in the number of elderly patients in palliative care units of hospitals in U.S.A and every healthcare delivery system aims to provide the elderly community in need of many services including physical therapy, speech therapy and chemotherapy due to many disabling and terminal diseases. But most of these elderly patients prefer to receive their end life care in a hospice rather than in palliative care units of hospitals. HOSPICE –A MANAGED HEALTHCARE FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ELDERLY PATIENTS Hospice is a coordinated programme of inter disciplinary care provided primarily in the home of the terminally ill patients. The palliative care is the comprehensive care for patients whose disease is not responsive to cure and hence are terminally ill. In the past two decades there has been a study of enormous magnitude in the palliative care segment and various factors have been identified like, respecting patient’s goals, preferences and choices, attending to the medical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the person, using strengths of interdisciplinary resources, acknowledging and addressing concerns and building mechanisms and systems of support. Many terminally ill elderly patients suffer only when they do not receive adequate care for the symptoms accompanying their serious illness. This is significant in the changing health care scenario where the patient is well informed, has the right to accept or refuse a treatment, issue advance directives and even appoint a proxy directive. Managed care for the elderly population is relevant in the present day health scenario where euthanasia and physician assisted deaths have found a legal niche as in the State of Oregon. THE MANAGED CARE ADVANTAGE Any health care delivery system is  primarily committed to the principles of patient self-care on the principles of Dorothea Orem (1971) with emphasis on client’s self-care needs. Self-care, according to Orem, is a learned, goal-oriented activity directed towards the self in the interest of maintaining life, health, development and well being. The ultimate emphasis of Orem’s theory is on client’s self care. Accordingly, care is needed when the client is unable to fulfill biological, psychological, developmental or social needs and the health care giver determines by duty why a client is unable to meet the needs or what must be done to enable the client to meet them. Health care of elderly population demands enormous resources of time, energy and money. Hence, every family looks up to any such programs with some faith element. Care of terminally ill population is   still more stressful for the family in a hospice setting and any hospice setting requires a inter disciplinary care provided primarily in the home of the terminally ill patients. Such patients are usually immobilized and it is not medically advisable to take them to a hospital for therapies. Thus, the significance of the services being taken to the patient’s home, especially the elderly, by health care organizations is the need of the hour and future with the time constraints faced by many families in the super fast world in taking these elderly people for a regular therapy, the advantages the patients get in terms of pain relief, effective communication capacity and symptom relief. This feature distinguishes the program from the rest of the health care programs that are currently available. The implementation schedule, i.e., the chronological sequence of events and activities that need to be achieved over a defined period of time to achieve the Goals and Objectives has to be defined by the Organizational Structure of the healthcare delivery system which identifies and describes the role of individuals, and their relationships in the system, who are key to the success of the program. THE DISADVANTAGE There is a perennial shortage of occupational, physical and speech therapists in the health care system in the USA. Thus, there is a growing demand and proportional short supply of professionals. Cognitive impairments pose a serious barrier on the reliability of geriatric assessments (Weiner et.al, 1999). Some of these patients may be marginally competent and some may be incompetent. Effects of cognitive impairment on the reliability of geriatric assessments has been studied recently to explore the relationship between cognitive status and reliability of multidimensional assessment data. The studies have proved that the reliability of the patient’s communication and sensory ability are affected by cognitive status. Thus, any such program aimed at the elderly population should be implemented with care with documented informed consent. REFERENCE Addington Thomas et.al, ‘Ethics and communication with the Terminally ill’, Vol 7(3), 267-281, 1995, Health Communication. Anderson Christina et, al, ‘Continuous Video recording; a new clinical research tool for studying the nursing care of cancer patients, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol 35(2), 257, July 2001. Astudillo Wilson et, al ‘How can relations be improved between the family and the support team during the care of terminally ill patients?.’ Supportive Care in Cancer Vol 3(1), 72-77, Jan 1995. Barrington Dianne et, al, ‘Facilitating communication and interactional skills with terminally ill patients’ -Teaching and Learning Forum 97, Australia. Chochinov Harvey Max et.al, ‘Prognostic awareness and the terminally ill’, Psychosomatics, Vol 41, 500-504, Dec 2000. Weiner D et, al, ‘Chronic pain associated behaviors in the nursing home : resident verses care giver’s perceptions’, Pain, Vol 80(3), 577-88, Apr 1999.

Cross-Cultural Understanding

The headline of the article is â€Å"Cross Cultural Understanding as a Basis for Lasting Business Relationship†. It is the article published in June 2009 by the author Anna Shevchenko, who is the senior consultant at Farham Castle International Briefing Center. The article originally appeared in the printed version of the RBCC Bulletin (Russo-British Chamber of Commerce-the monthly magazine for Chamber members) . It is addressed to the readership of this periodical publication, primary for businessmen. It is based on the needs of businessmen to connect each other even if they are from different cultural environments.The author focuses on differences between British people and Russians. The article begins with a major issue of the loss business due to misunderstandings between people and the importance of discovering other cultural to do successful business. The article includes a large amount of examples of cultural differences between involved citizens. The author gives a de tail description of cultural peculiarities of Russians and characterizes them as superstitious and truly people, but at the same time they are lazy, unpunctual and need to be controlled.Compare this to the British preference for statements â€Å"maybe† or â€Å"perhaps†, prefer to be punctual and to examine business in details. Further, the author admits that it will never be possible to fully comprehend another culture, as those values, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions are usually a set of unwritten rules formed for centuries. But also, the author states that understanding the culture will make work more enjoyable and less frustrating. In conclusion she suggests solution for the problem, offering services of Farham Castle International Briefing Center, which specializes in cross cultural management.I suppose this article is richly informative, but the author doesn’t mention the price of such services. Also, I doubt about a necessity of using it. I mean, under standing other culture, to my mind, scarcely ever comes in handy. I consider, prosperous businessmen are alike. Businessman should be punctual, as he values his time. He tries to study a work in details. He is assertive and hardworking. He likes controlling everything and doesn’t give a hoot about any signs (superstitious beliefs) in spite of his nationality.

The Physics Behind The Electric Vehicle - 1560 Words

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