Friday, May 31, 2019

Anna Karenina Essay examples -- Literary Analysis, Leo Tolstoy

In Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy presents conglutination in a realistic sense, marriage is non an easy institution couples must work through the rough patches in order for it to be strong he also presents passion as a force that tolerate have a positive influence, but simultaneously presents passion as a factor that can have a corrupting power on a persons life. These two couples, Levin and crapper and Vronsky and Anna, are compared throughout the course of the novel. Levin and slit differ from Anna and Vronsky because they do not communicate in the same ways. Kitty and Levin try to resolve issues as they arise, so that they do not create a bigger issue. Another disparity is that Ann and Vronsky are sheltered from society because of Annas position as a fallen woman. Both of the couples have children, Levin and Kitty raise their child however, Anna and Vronsky pay runty attention to their daughter. Their relationships have drastic differences. Where Anna and Vronskys relationship is based on passion, Levin and Kittys is more of a spiritual one.One of the key aspects of Kitty and Levins relationship, which lacks in Anna and Vronskys relationship, is communication. When issues arise in Levin and Kittys marriage, they try to resolve them by talking with each other and exposeking a solution to the problem. One instance is when Levin gets the cold feet syndrome before he gets married. Levin beings to wonder, suppose she does not love me (pg.404). Even though it is not custom for the groom to see the bride until the wedding starts, he goes and talks to Kitty. The issue is resolved. This has set the tone of their relationship because whenever an issue comes up, they talk about it. Another instance involves Kitty seeing Vronsky for the first... ...n a problem comes up and this causes a successful marriage. Because of Annas affair, she and Vronsky are not accepted by society. Children are also brought into each relationship. Kitty and Levin are in truth concerned p arents whereas Anna and Vronksy do not even take care of their child. Infatuation with passion can bring about final destruction (Gromeka, pg.769). Passion can cause a persons life to be completely altered, as it does with all of these characters presented. Annas passion for Vronsky leads to her death. By the end of the novel, Vronsky feels as if Anna is his save reason to live and because of her death commits suicide by joining the military. On the other hand, passion can present a positive influence, as it does with Kitty and Levin. They become closer and that eventually leads to their marriage, which causes them both to become confident people.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

The Impact of Divorce on Children Essay -- Family Issues

Divorce, once unheard of among most people, is now a commonplace event in families when the adults have decided that they can no longer work out their differences. Unfortunately, divorce tends to have a negative impact on the children in the family, particularly affecting children who already have psychological or emotional difficulties, such as ADHD (Patten, 1999). Problems that arise in children of divorce run the gamut from behavioral problems to later relationship/trust issues. Children of divorce more often display behavioral problems at school than do children from intact families, except when abuse is precede in the home (Corcoran, 1997). Children of divorce also have more academic trouble than children from intact homes. This holds true no matter how their academic achievement is scored, whether by grades, standardized tests, or dropout rates, children of divorce tend to have poorer scores than children in a two parent home (Patten, 1999). The problems faced by children o f divorce transmute depending on the childs age at the time of the divorce. Very young children (under age two) may not experience problems at all just from age three to age five, children may become more aggressive, tearful, and regress to younger behavior, such as going back to difficulty with independent toileting or needing the comfort of a security blanket (Patten, 1999). Preschool age children may withdraw, preferring to spend time alone rather than playing with other children. They may also strain out the attention of adults more often or become more anxious or angry (Patten, 1999). Young children are also often stipulation to fantasies about their parents reconciliation (Corcoran, 1997). Older school-age children tend to try and cope with the situati... ...Works CitedCorcoran, K. (1997, June) Psychological and emotional aspects of divorce. Web. 20 meet 2015 http//www.mediate.com/articles/psych.cfm?vm=rFoulkes-Jamison, L. (2001, January 1) The effects of divorce on chi ldren. Gainesville Family Magazine. Web. 20 March 2015 http//cpancf.com/articles_files/efffectsdivorceonchildren.asp?vm=rPatten, P. (1999) Divorce and children part I An interview with Robert Hughes, Jr., PhD. Parent News Web. 20 March 2015 http//www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/childrendivorce.html?vm=rShaw, D and Ingoldsby, E. Children of divorce. Web. 20 March 2015 http//www.pitt.edu/ppcl/Publications/chapters/children_of_divorce.htm?vm=rTemke, M. (2006) The effects of divorce on children. University of New Hampshire publication. Web. 20 March 2015 http//extension.unh.edu/Family/Documents/divorce.pdf?vm=r

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

The Postal Acceptance Rule Essay -- Business Law

Contractual agreement has always been viewed in terms of offer and acceptance. The universal prescript to contract uprightness has always been parties whitethorn get into an agreement in whichever way they deem fit and they are subject to certain terms as they choose. As far as legal requirements vital to their formation are binding contracts may be formed. Moreover a binding agreement may be manifested in terms of writing or in verbal form. One of the controversial depicted objects in the law of contract formation has always been the issue of distance contracts. Matters regarding to the types of ascertains that should be used to govern this type of contracts have always been a topic of debate. One of these recovers includes the age old Postal acceptance rule also known as the postal rule or the Mailbox rule. This paper seeks to examine the justification of the postal acceptance rule and its regulate in the modern world with the emergence of electronic means of communicationBac kground Postal acceptance rule dates back in 1818 when it was established in a court case of (adam v lindsell) In this case the code had to reach a verdict on the moment of contract formation by post. Apparently the courts found out that the parties communicating acceptance through post office were never certain at the exact time the acceptance had been sent. Since postal communication is subject to delay, the involved parties could never be simultaneously aware of the acceptance of the communication, that is, the communication was non instantaneous. As a result this created a series of problems that in turn led to the formation of the postal acceptance rule that still is in so much use todayThe postal acceptance ruleThe postal acceptance rule as accepted in the law legal systems... ... Journal (1997) 13.poggi, chrisopher T. Electronic commerce legislation An analysis of European and American approaches to contract formation. Virginia journal of international (n.d.).rule, The elect ronic formation of contracts and the common law mailbox. baylor law review. 8 april 2004.scott, Dave. Should the postal acceptance rule be utilise t email. 8 april 2012 .T, Poggi and Christopher. Electronic Commerce Legislation An analysis of European and American Approaches to Contract Formation. Virginia Journal OF International Law (2000) 224.watnick, valerie. THE ELECTRONIC FORMATION OF CONTRACTS AND THECOMMON impartiality mailbox rule. 6 november 2004.Yamaguchi, mikio. The problem of delay in the Contract formation Process A comparative study of contract law . cornell international law (2004) 357.

Chinese Cuisine - The Food of China Essay examples -- essays research

Chinese Cuisine - The Food of ChinaChinas food is very unique and traditional. Grains are the main food in China. strain is the favorite grain among the people in the South. In the north, people prefer wheat, which they make in to bread and noodles. Corn millet, and sorghum are also eaten. Vegetables, especially cabbage and Tofu rank second in Chinese diet. Roasted sweet potatoes are a popular snack eaten by the Chinese. Pork and fowl are the favorite meats in China. The people also like eggs, fish, fruit, and shellfish. Chop Suey originated in China. Chop sticks and soup spoons are served as the onlyutensils at a Chinese meal. Tea is the traditional Chinese beverage. Ice-cream has gainedpopularity in China. Food from the East and Southeast coastal areas includes fi...

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Free Essay: Passion and Evil in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Passion and Evil in The Scarlet Letter   In Nathaniel haws novel, The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan society of Salem excludes anyone who is in any way deviant and renders that person sinful. However, the society, the townspeople themselves, is not without fault. However they try to hold in and contain their passions and all their faults because of their fear of expulsion. All the characters in the book that are excluded from society are the most natural and true and possess a second-sense cognizance and almost magical intuition.   Hester Prynnes separation from the townspeople is both physical and mental. She is expelled from the town as an adulteress, and she goes to live with her illegitimate daughter to a cottage not in close vicinity to any new(prenominal) habitation. (68) They are despised by the whole town. Even children throw stones at them and chase them down the street. People do not dare to come close to Hester because of the mark as an outcast. To the townspeop le, Hesters character is something different and uncertain from the values that they are used to. Wherever Hester stood, a small, sluggish area - a sort of magic circle - had formed about her, into which none ventured, or felt disposed to intrude. (206) Hester is destined to forever wear a scarlet letter A on her chest - A for adulteress - a sign of her sin, shame and separation from the righteous people.   However, by existence unconnected from the Puritanical town of Salem and all its prejudices, Hester is able to look at the people objectively and see much she was not able to see before. go to and fro, with those lonely footsteps, in the little world with which she was outwardly connected, it now and then appeared to Hester that the scarlet letter gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts. (73) The people of the town are so busy covering up their faults and hiding their human passions, that they cannot see their own or each others faults. Hester , who wears her Cains mark of exclusion openly, does not have to worry about the opinion of others, and gains an intuition - an insight into the hearts of the people who throw her out.   Hesters mark of shame becomes a mark of being different, a mark of nonconformity.

Free Essay: Passion and Evil in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Passion and Evil in The Scarlet Letter   In Nathaniel Hawthorns novel, The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan society of Salem excludes bothone who is in any way deviant and renders that person sinful. However, the society, the townsfolkspeople themselves, is not without fault. However they try to conceal and contain their passions and all their faults because of their fear of exclusion. All the geeks in the book that ar excluded from society are the most natural and true and possess a second-sense perception and almost magical intuition.   Hester Prynnes separation from the townspeople is both physical and mental. She is expelled from the town as an fornicatress, and she goes to live with her illegitimate daughter to a cottage not in close vicinity to any other habitation. (68) They are despised by the whole town. Even children throw stones at them and chase them down the street. People do not dare to come close to Hester because of the mark as an outcast. To the townspeople, Hesters character is something different and uncertain from the values that they are used to. Wherever Hester stood, a small, vacant area - a sort of magic circle - had formed to the highest degree her, into which none ventured, or felt disposed to intrude. (206) Hester is destined to forever wear a scarlet letter A on her chest - A for adulteress - a sign of her sin, shame and separation from the righteous people.   However, by being separated from the Puritanical town of Salem and all its prejudices, Hester is able to look at the people objectively and see much she was not able to see before. Walking to and fro, with those lonely footsteps, in the little world with which she was outwardly connected, it now and whence appeared to Hester that the scarlet letter gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts. (73) The people of the town are so busy covering up their faults and hiding their human passions, that they cannot see their own or each others faul ts. Hester, who wears her Cains mark of exclusion openly, does not have to worry about the opinion of others, and gains an intuition - an brainstorm into the hearts of the people who throw her out.   Hesters mark of shame becomes a mark of being different, a mark of nonconformity.

Monday, May 27, 2019

Acunpuncture: an Overview Essay

What is Acupuncture? How does sticking a bunch of needles into your body make you feel better? Is this stuff for real? These be all questions Ive asked myself, and have heard from others over the years. Acupuncture is a system of complementary medicine that involves pricking the skin with needles. Its used to assuage pain and to treat various physical, mental, and emotional conditions is one of the key components of conventional Chinese Medicine and is among the oldest healing practices in the world.In a 2007 Consensus Development Conference, The topic Institute of Health determined that According to the traditional Chinese medicine approach, stimulating specific stylostixis points corrects imbalances in the fly the coop of qi through channel known as meridians. Acupuncture can be dated back thousands of years, and as with any topic that old, on that point is a plethora of information available, and it sometimes can be hard to decipher.After researching the topic, and because of the context of the assignment, I narrowed my focus good deal to three specific areas theory, which covers qi, meridians, and acupuncture points history, which can be furrowed protrude into antiquity, middle history, and the modern era and lastly the length, diameter, and material of needles. The basis of acupuncture deals with manipulating the flows of qi through come to the fore the body.According to Daoist principles, qi is the active principle forming disperse of any living thing, and it is the central underlying principle in twain Traditional Chinese Medicine and martial arts. The literal translation of qi is breath, air, or gas however, it is frequently translated as life energy, life force, or energy flow. In A Clinical Introduction to Medical Acupuncture, the authors, Aung & Chen, state, Traditional Chinese medicine distinguishes not only one but several different kinds of qi.In a general sense, qi is something that is defined by phoebe bird cardinal functions. Th ese cardinal functions are what keep the body a follow. The first function qi provides is keeping the body, especially the limbs, warm during cold temperatures. The energy from it foments the blood, the extremities, and allows us to live and our biological processes to take place. Qi also enables the actuation of the biological processes such as breathing, sweating, it controls the nervous system, and most importantly the circulation of all the body fluids such as blood in its vessels.Qi also provides containment of those fluids in their proper spot it keeps blood, sweat, urine, and semen from leaking or excessive emission. We know now that food broken down by the digestion process, and that various enzymes convert it into blood, nutrients, and that theres a process for making the air we breathe into oxygen for our lungs. The ancient Chinese believed that qi did the change of food, drink, and breath into qi, blood, fluids, and the transformation of all of the latter into each othe r.The last function provided by qi, is defense against the Six Essences. The Six Essences are allegorical terms sometimes used to describe disharmony patterns in the body and their names are derived from environmental elements that were thought to pattern, or mimic, the symptoms. The first of the Six Essences is Wind, which is characterized by rapid flak of symptoms, wandering positioning of symptoms, itching, nasal congestion, floating pulse tremor, paralysis, or convulsion.The second of the Essences is Cold, which manifests itself in cold sensations, aversion to cold, relief of symptoms by warmth, watery/clear excreta, trying pain, abdominal pain, contracture and hypertonicity of muscles, (slimy) white tongue fur, and hidden, string-like, or slow pulse. Fire (or heat) is the third of the Essences. Its symptoms are recognizable by aversion to heat, high fever, thirst, c erstntrated urine, exit face or tongue, yellow tongue fur, and a rapid pulse.The last three Essences are Damp ness, Dryness, and Summerheat the symptoms of which are, respectively, sensation of heaviness, fullness, and symptoms of Spleen dysfunction dry cough, m out(p)h, throat, lips, skin, stool, and nosebleeds and either heat or mixed damp-heat symptoms. In order fulfill its functions, qi has to steadily flow from the inside of the body to the superficial body tissues of the skin, muscles, tendons, bones, and joints. It is assisted in its flow by channels referred to as meridians.Traditional Chinese Medicines identifies twelve regular and eight extraordinary meridians. (Aung & Cheng, 19-20) At various points along the meridians, are acupuncture points. The event of points has varied considerably over time. Initially they were considered to number 365 acupuncture points, symbolically aligning with the number of days in the year however, the modern total, while once considered 670, has been subsequently expanded due to more recent interest in auricular (ear) cupuncture and the treatment of further conditions. These acupuncture points are mainly, but not always, lay down at specified locations along these meridians and acupuncturists use the points to manipulate the qi and restore harmony and balance to the body. Though most of these points are put together along the meridians, there is a second group of points, called extraordinary points, which are found outside the meridians and are credited with special therapeutic properties.Examples of these are the pressure points in the net between the thumb and forefinger, just inside the arch of the foot, the temples, and the anterior base of the neck. Lastly, a third category of acupuncture points called A-shi points have no fixed location but represent tender or reflexive points appearing in the course of pain syndromes. The history of acupuncture can be broken down into three distinct eras that of antiquity, which goes back to its origins its middle history dating, from the early 11th century through the 1800s and the modern era, which picks up in the early twentieth century.The precise start date of acupunctures use in China and how it evolved from early times are uncertain however, there are a myriad of theories and explanations as to how it came about. One explanation is that soldiers wounded in battle by arrows were believed to have been cured of chronic afflictions that were otherwise untreated. Another is the sharpened bian shi stones found in China, which evidence suggests the practice may date back to the Neolithic or Stone Age (Acupuncture in Medicine 10 929). at that place have also been hieroglyphs found dating from the Shang Dynasty, which ran from 1600 through 1100 BCE.It is believed that Korea was the second country acupuncture spread to outside of China, and in 1023, the emperor of China ordered the yield of a bronze statuette depicting the meridians and acupuncture points then in use. The practice of acupuncture lost a lot status subsequently song Dynasty. In the 16th century, Portuguese missionaries were among the first to bring reports of acupuncture to the West, and a Dutch surgeon traveling in Asia described the practice in both Japan and Java however, in China itself the practice was increasingly associated with the lower-classes and illiterate practitioners (Barnes, 589. The middle era of acupuncture came to an end in 1823, when an edict from the emperor banned the practice and teaching of acupuncture within the Imperial Academy of Medicine, as unfit for practice by gentlemen-scholars. The modern era of acupuncture came in to being around the time of the Chinese civil war, 1927-1949. Early Chinese Communist Party leaders ridiculed Traditional Chinese Medicine, claiming that it worked against the partys commitment to science as the way of progress.chairwoman Mao reversed that position, and rewrote its theory in order to make it fit into the Chinese political doctrine. Acupuncture gained wariness in the United States when President Richard Nixon vis ited China in 1972, and his delegation was shown a patient undergoing major surgery while awake however, it was later found out patients were chosen because they had naturally high pain tolerance, were indoctrinated into the method, and were on morphine IVs which were claimed to have been essential nutrients and fluids.The greatest exposure in the West came after a New York Times reporter received acupuncture in Beijing for post-operative pain in 1971 and wrote about it in his newspaper column. From there, the first juristic acupuncture center was opened in Washington D. C. in 1972, and in 1973, the IRS declared acupuncture was allowed to be deducted from taxes as a medical expense. The last fit of acupuncture, and arguably the most essential, is the needle. While there are certain methods that do not involve needles, most of them do.The needles have evolved over the years, originally starting out as bone, or stone now, however, most of the acupuncture needles are made of stainles s steel, with some cultures using copper. Needles vary in length ,between 13 to one hundred thirty millimeters (0. 5 in to 5 in. ), with shorter needles used near the face and eyes, and longer needles in more fleshy areas, and range in diameter from 0. 16 mm (0. 006 in) to 0. 46 mm (0. 018 in), with thicker needles used on more robust patients.After this brief overview of acupuncture, Ive answered a lot of my own questions and concerns with acupuncture The three aspects of acupuncture theory are qi, meridians, and acupuncture points. It long history has unknown origins, and edict from Chinese Emperor banned teaching in academy, but it brought back my Chairman Mao, and made popular in America by a reporter in the 70s. Needles are mostly made of stainless steel, and they vary in length, and diameter,

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Swot Analysis †Wal-Mart

Strengths Best positioned global retailer Established business objective & doctrine that is understand organization wide Firm focus on the strategy of cost leadership by offering everyday emit prices (EDLP) through everyday lower-ranking costs (EDLC) Efficient procurement and logistics system Strong and stable fiscal capital punishment and positive cash flows for reinvestment in improving operations Weaknesses Significant dependence on the US food market to maintain strong sales performance Wal-Marts mass market approach as a retailer creates opportunities for market nichers to sustain specific market segments which may be overlooked. Wal-Marts extensive range of products limits its ability to give direct attention to understanding all its nodes as opposed to its more focused competitors. FIFO method of accounting for inventory, in the external markets, may non effectively support the strategy of everyday low prices. Opportunities There argon opportunities to expand in countr ies with emerging economies There are also opportunities to resuscitate growth in the US market Innovations in engineering present the opportunity to further integrate the honor chain for plusd efficiency to drive EDLC.Threats The unstable economic climate in the USA volition continue to negatively impact on Wal-Marts performance Wal-Mart can lose guests to more focused competitors if they (competitors) are able to develop a value proposition greater than the simple offering of everyday low prices. Wal-Marts global exposure exposes the organization to currency risk, political influences, and other uncertainties that can impact its operations. Wal-Marts cost leadership strategy creates intensive price competition which poses a serious risk to profitability if operational costs are not ffectively managed. Wal-Mart is a large retailer that is keenly focused on the business philosophy of saving people money so they can live better. This philosophy drives the organization-wide quest of achieving EDLCs which are leveraged in delivering EDLPs. Based on corporate information, Wal-Mart has a total of 9700 retail units spread across 28 countries, as at magisterial 2011. This represents approximately 985 million square feet of retail space from which sales are generated.This broad network of superstores, discount stores, neighbourhood markets, suppliers, and customers are interconnected in a value delivery network fuelled by information technology. In this system, suppliers are able to track Wal-Marts inventory levels in real-time to ensure that products are available on time, in the right quantities, outdo quality, and at the lowest possible price. Simultaneously, Wal-Mart is able to track purchasing patterns, brand preferences, register customer feedback, and capture other related information for their sales and marketing programme.When it is all put together, Wal-Marts use of information technology empowers it to consistently deliver on its contract of everyda y low prices, a reliable supply of its vast range of products, and capture an understanding of its customers and members that it serves over 200 million times per week. This, in turn, drives customer satisfaction and loyalty which is reflected in Wal-Marts strong financial performance compared to other global retailers. For the 2011 financial family, Wal-Marts sales grew by 3. 4% to US$419b and operating income grew by 6. 4% to US$25b. EPS grew by 12% to US$4. 8 and a total of US$19. 2b was paid out to shareholders through dividends or share repurchases. Between the 2009 and 2010 financial years, Wal-Mart has maintained a ROI of 19. 3% falling slightly to 19. 2% in 2011 due mainly to economic challenges within the US market. For comparison, Wal-Marts closest global competitor, Carrefour Group, generated a USD equivalent of approximately $158b in sales for the 2010 financial year (latest full year results available). At the close of the second quarter of their 2011 financial year ( August 31, 2011), Carrefour experienced a 2. % increase in sales at the USD equivalent of $58. 3b. However, underperformance in France, Greece, and Italy, due to seek economies, resulted in a 22% reduction in operating income at a USD equivalent of $1. 1b. These results cements Wal-Marts position as the worlds largest and best positioned retailer with respect to sales revenue. On the flip side, Wal-Mart appears to be dependent on its dominance in the US market which showed a flat performance by generating US$260b in sales for the 2011 financial year, compared to US$259b in 2010.Despite expanding during the year to create more retail space, there was reduced customer traffic due to rising unemployment and a 2. 3% reduction in the income of the middle class according to the US Census Bureau. A 1% increase in the poverty rate to 15. 3% also had a negative impact on Wal-Marts performance and highlights the challenges within the US economy. In the international segment, the FIFO approac h at inventory management and accounting may not entirely support its established strategy of everyday low prices as it does not allow for cost savings to be quickly passed on to its customers.It may also distort the true picture of the companys financial performance. Putting it all together, the assessment of Wal-Marts strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identifies the need for a strategic approach towards achieving its objective of 4-6% growth in sales revenue for the 2012 financial year and beyond. Given its dominance in the US market, the company should strategically move to hold/defend its market position by continuing to leverage IT for EDLCs and EDLPs. rough sales promotions, especially through eCommerce, should be used to improve on the flat sales performance for 2011.Wal-Mart should, however, look to the emerging economies for further growth and blowup as they show a faster rate of economic recovery and a growing middle class. China, India, Pakistan, Indones ia, and Saudi Arabia are ranked in the earn five on the market potential index for emerging markets with respect to market growth rates. China, India, Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia are ranked in the top five found on market size. Pending further PESTEL Analysis, these emerging markets could potentially hold the key for Wal-Marts future expansion.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

History of Womens Football in England Essay

I have elect to do my canvass about the history of wowork forces footb every(prenominal) game in England. Ive chosen to write about this because it is a topic which I am interested in as I play for a girls football team inside school and out. Also I would bid to find out more about wo workforces football and where and when it all started. In this essay you pass on find out about the basic history of womens football heading all the way back from 1895 to present day. I will also write a comparison betwixt mens football and womens and share my opinion about1895-1920 On the 6th April 1895 the initiative ever womens football game took place at Preston Park, Brighton. The event was organised to raise funds for local medical charities. In the match north beat South 7-1. Up to 1920 no more womens matches took place until the kickoff womens international game when Dick Kerrs English ladies took on the French Ladies. The result was a 2-0 victory to England this game had a huge audience of 25,000 great deal. On Boxing Day 1920 a match took place between Preston and St Helens, Preston winning 4-0. It was the biggest crowd to date for a womens match with 53,000 spectators.1921 In 1921 a nonher big match was supposed to take place between capital of the United Kingdom and Paris. This match never went ahead due(p) to the FA. The FA issued a ban against womens football. They stated the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged. This meant whatever women caught playing football on the grounds of an affiliated club would be punished for breaking the law. Many women were disgusted by the decision and thought it was very(prenominal) unfair to do this. If I was around in this time I would also be very aggravated by the decision and I would be offended that they still allow men to play.1969-1971 After 48 years of womens football being banned women wanted to change this. They started to become very wet a started campaigning. After a few campaigns 44 women got to bilkher to form The Womens Football Association (WFA). They were hoping that they would slowly gain back the right to play womens football. two years later in 1971 the FA council bring up the ban against women which allowed women to play football once again. It had been fifty years since they had been allowed to play so they knew that the game would be no longer as popular as it was and it would take a while to buy off it back to the way it was. Not long after the ban was lifted women were advertising for football teams all around the countrified.1991-1994 Since 1971 womens football slowly grew bigger and bigger with many small local leagues playing all around the country. In 1991 the WFA launched a national league. It started off with 24 clubs from all around the country it was pretty similar to the womens league we have today. Two years later they put together that the league had been very successful so the WFA decided to host a cup competition. In 1993 the WFA held a national cup competition with 137 teams entering from across the nation. Womens football was slowly becoming bigger and gaining popularity. In 1994 the FA took on the administration of the Womens Nation compact and the League Cup competition. The league then became The FA Womens Premier League (FAWPL).1997-1998 In 1997 the FA decided that they were going to develop womens football from the grassroots to the elite level. This meant that more young girls could get twisty to gain popularity. In 1998 the offshoot 20 Centres of Excellence were established for young girls. Sponsors were gained for the league and the cup competitions this raised the profile of the womens game. Also in 1998 Hope Powell was appointed as the first full-time coach for the Englands Womens international side. This was a very big thing for the nation. I stand for this helped the game increase its popularity because it got more people involved in the game from an early age which meant in the future decades womens football should be a very popular game.1999-2002 In 1999 England entered their first Fifa public Cup. The competition was held in the USA and which saw tickets sold out for most matches and over 90,000 at the Final. There had been a competition called the Womens World Championship. This was just like a world cup and it was held in 1991 but England didnt participate. In 2002 researchers found that football had become the top participated sport for girls and women of England. The FA had not planned for this to happen for another 3 years, so they were well ahead of schedule.2005-Present In 2005 the UEFA Womens Championship was held in England. The opening matches attracted around 29,000 spectators per game, with around 2.9 million people watching the games live on BBC Two. The tournament was attended by over 115,000 fans within 15 matches. England went out in the group stages, but got a throne of recognition across the nation. Since then womens football h as gradually become more popular and has reached the level it is at today. I think it has done well to rule its popularity after the fifty year ban, but I dont think it will ever get back to the popular state which it was in before the game got banned.FAs Plan for the Future of Womens Football The FA has many plans to increase the growth of womens football. They are introducing it to younger people across the country by holding taster days and trials for many football clubs. Also the FA is trying to expand the womens football league into two different leagues just like the mens. Here is an extract from the article the FA released The Football Association is considering introducing a two-tier Womens Super League (WSL) in 2014. The eight teams that took part in the first WSL season, which ended in August with Arsenal winning the title, have been offered new licences. Sixteen teams had initially applied for membership in 2010, with Sunderland and Nottingham Forest missing out. An FA disputation said Plans being discussed include exploring the introduction of a second tier in 2014. I think this is a good idea because it will confine the game become more popular across the country. Also with more leagues being introduced this means more spectators which will mean more money is being funded into the tie beam.What I think of the Future of Womens Football I think womens football has done very well to get back to where it is today due to the ban for fifty years. However, I dont think that womens football will ever get to the stage like mens because mens football has had a lot more time to reach this popularity. Also in that location is a huge amount of money in the association and it would be practically impossible for women to get to that amount. I do think that womens football will grow bigger and younger girls will start to get involved. The only problem with this is it will take quite some time but they have to make up the time from the ban.Comparison When it comes to football men and women play the exact same game but one seems to be a lot more popular, the mens. Mens football was first found in 1314 which is nearly 700 years ago and womens football was first found in 1895 which is not even 120 years ago. Therefore in that respect was 581 years between men and womens football. Somehow this has managed to affect the popularity in the game as it is very rare to find womens football on television when it is averaged that there is one male football match per hebdomad shown on television. If you wanted to be a professional footballer whatever sex you are you would get paid, but there is a significant amount of money difference between the genders. The average male Manchester City player would receive around 86,280 per week plus bonuses and the average female Arsenal player would receive around 3,000 per week that means that there is 83280 different in the wages they receive each week.Opinion I think that womens football is different today than mens because the FA banned it. I think if women were able to play football all the way through the 20th Century I think womens and mens football would be similar in popularity and the wages. I also think that is very silly that the games are case-hardened differently because they both play the same game, 90 minutes each week and the male are treated much better and receive the better pay when they both do the same job.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Analysis of Phaedo by Plato

Critical Analysis of Phaedo by Plato Much of the Phaedo by Plato is composed of arguments for the nature of the physiologic world and how it relates to the afterward aliveness, for subject, the way our senses perceive the world and how indulging in those senses has negative consequences in our after lives. These arguments find basis in scientific analytic thinking of the time as swell as the mythos of the his age. One of the key talking points within the story is the theory of forms.The aforementioned theory is formed from two beliefs, the first of which is that our senses deceive us and that theres an existential plane where perfect beings exist and the perfect ideas of the material things in the world are there too. All of these concepts are intricately intertwined through turn out the story although Plato doesnt explain all of them in great detail. That leaves one to question whether he writes them to justify his life or if perhaps hes figured something out that we as the readers book not.Despite how questionable some of Platos hypotheses are there are a couple that provide an interesting perspective on our world. The theory of forms spans the entirety of the withstand and is the most important argument in the Phaedo. This theory is the basis for the classic cave metaphor as well as one of the most reference beliefs through out the text. The theory of forms comes from the belief that there are two planes of existence consisting of the world we can see and that world that is beyond ours. Within the latter(prenominal) plane there are the perfect forms of all the things that we know.A form in the Phaedo is a perfect representation of the bodily objects and ideas of our world they are also divine, deathless, intelligible, uniform, indissoluble, unceasingly the same as itself. 1 For example, the form of a bow is the perfect idea of what a table should be while an actual table is just the fragile physical representation of that form. According to Pl ato its not possible for us to ever build a table as strong as the form of table because our senses are flawed and they dont allow us to perceive the world perfectly.The last point in the explanation of a form is another part to this argument. Plato makes it well known that he doesnt retrieve that people should trust their senses because we are naturally prone to deceiving ourselves. Such an idea isnt scientifically possible only if the concept rightfully sticks when you look at it not as a1 statement for reality but as a statement for the metaphysical. That is to say that when you apply this concept to our human world one could say that theres something beautiful hidden in the notion that we can never achieve perfect beauty.Theres no point arguing that which isnt plausible but theres a lot of value in applying it to other aspects of our mortal lives. The second belief that is prevalent through out the Phaedo is the belief that our senses deceive us. The most benefit example fro m the text of this comes from a conversation between Simmias and Socrates in which Socrates asks What again shall we say of the actual acquirement of knowledge? is the body, if invited to share in the inquiry, a hinderer or a helper? I mean to say, have sight and hearing any truth in them?Are they not, as the poets are always relative us, inaccurate witnesses? and yet, if even they are inaccurate and indistinc This is belief finds scientific basis in things that occur naturally in the world. For example, a very common example for this belief is refraction in water. When this occurs one could argue that it is indisputable proof that our senses deceive us. The evidence presented in the Phaedo for this subject is not debatable. The case could be make though for the belief that we have scientific tools now that allow for us to view our physical world quite accurately.However, the Theory of Forms spans more than just the physical concepts in our world but it also extends in to the me taphysical such as our emotions and concepts such as beauty and perfection and none of these things are adapted of being accurately perceived. Perhaps, despite what Plato has said earlier about our senses deceiving us, with all the technological advances we have to better understand our world there is the possibility that we have further skewed our ability to analyze the world.All the tools scientists use in this day and age come from mathematical calculations and human senses. Plato at times conveniently dialogue about how the philosopher upon death is destined to live in Hades, a place where all souls go when they die. However, he also makes the claim that a philosopher doesnt just go to Hades but he is destined to spend time among the gods understanding the forms that they live among. he who has lived as a true philosopher has reason to be of goodness cheer when he is about to die, and that after death he may hope to receive the greatest good in the other world. 2 This belief h as an subterranean motive, Plato spends a great deal of time arguing that indulging in your senses in any way from eating food that you love to having an intimate kindred is wrong despite the fact he had a wife and kids. He also claims that only the common man fears death because they are obsessed with these physical responses from the things in our world. Thinking realistically as opposed to idealistically theres no reason that an idiosyncratic cant indulge in the pleasures of the world and continue to gather knowledge.Many philosophers would disagree with Platos analysis of the human condition. That is to say that, many philosophers look towards expanding our experience in the physical world as an optimistic and healthy endeavor. Platos belief that our experience in the physical world isnt as important as the afterlife is very dangerous and limited thinking because it encourages individuals to live their life with a very small gear up of reference. If Platos belief transcript ion was commonly accepted then we wouldnt have the chance to understand the complexities of emotion and our relationships with other people.Nor would individuals understand the impact of drugs on their body and the life experience that comes from using those substances. As mentioned earlier, its extremely limited thinking and damaging to the quality of life of most individuals in society. However, despite Platos limited belief system I think a lot of what he said holds a lot of value in his time. Itd be hard in Platos era for an individual to sort through the obvious mistruths communicated within the Phaedo due to the lack of science as it relates to our biological functions.But what an individual cant take from Platos Phaedo theres a lot they can. For instance, if one cant believe in Platos Theory of Forms they can still appreciate the value of knowing that if there was a perfect form of beauty that humans could never understand then at least theres still things in this world that cause our hearts to stop for a moment in awe of their beauty whether it be a spouse, the ocean, or earth from from more than 12,000 feet in the air. Bibliography Eva, Brann, Kalkavage Peter, and Salem Eric.Platos Phaedo. Newburyport, MA Focus Publishing. Roland, Jon. The Constitution, Platos Phaedo. Last modified 2012. Accessed October 30, 2012. http//www. constitution. org/pla/phaedo. htm. 1 . . Eva, Brann, Kalkavage Peter, and Salem Eric. Platos Phaedo. Newburyport, MA Focus Publishing. 2 . Roland, Jon. The Constitution, Platos Phaedo. Last modified 2012. Accessed October 30, 2012. http//www. constitution. org/pla/phaedo. htm.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Telecom Application Map (Etom, Release 3.1)

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