Why Security Base Lines Are Important Essay Example for Free

Why Security Base Lines Are Important Essay Introduction: A Security Baseline defines a set of fundamental security goals which must be met by any given administration or framework. The goals are decided to be realistic and finish, and dont force specialized means. In this way, subtle elements on how these security targets are satisfied by a specific administration/framework must be archived in a different Security Execution Archive. These points of interest rely on upon the operational environment an administration/framework is sent into, and may, accordingly, innovatively utilize and apply any significant security measure. Disparagements from the baseline are conceivable and expected, and must be unequivocally checked. The procedure of building a frameworks security state is called baselining. The ensuing product is a security pattern that permits the framework to run securely and safely. When the procedure has been finished, any comparable frameworks can be arranged with the same baseline to accomplish the same level of security and insurance. Uniform baselines are basic in expansive scale operations. Creating a benchmark for your data security system will help you and your staff more successfully prioritize and coordinate your data security effort and showcasing exercises. Before you know which direction you need to take your information security program and your outreach and marketing efforts, you need to dig around to see where you are in the big picture. By understanding at the onset which capabilities your program possesses, you can ensure better use of both your staff and stakeholders’ time and resources, more easily replicate successes, understand where improvements need to be made, and demonstrate growth to your leaders and managers. It also assists all involved parties in making informed decisions based on thorough research, established priorities, and a common vision. The best place to start is with research. Regardless of  method used to collect information about your baseline, you should pilot the process with a sample audience to assess the clarity of the questions and determine if they need any revisions to elicit useful responses. A survey is often used as one tool to collect information. You want to use a survey designed to give you actionable results. Before you know which bearing you have to take your data security program and your effort and advertising deliberations, you have to burrow around to see where you are in the master plan. By understanding at the onset which abilities your system has, you can guarantee better utilization of both your staff and stakeholders opportunity and assets, all the more effectively repeat victories, comprehend where changes need to be made, and exhibit development to your pioneers and supervisors. It additionally aids all included gatherings in settling on educated choices focused around exhaustive examination, secured needs, and a typical vision. The best place to begin is with exploration. Notwithstanding system used to gather data about your standard, you ought to pilot the procedure with a specimen group of onlookers to evaluate the clarity of the inquiries and figure out whether they require any amendments to evoke helpful reactions. An overview is regularly utilized as one apparatus to gather data. You need to utilize a review intended to provide for you significant results. References: Impact And Issues Of Physical Security | Researchomatic. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.researchomatic.com/Impact-And-Issues-Of-Physical-Security-153570.html#buytopicstep Retrieved from http://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/physical/implementing-robust-physical-security-1447 Security Issues and Solutions Part 4: Physical Security and Auditing | Physical Security | Inform IT. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=25850

Land Management Agency Discretion :: essays research papers

Agency discretion towards land management has been an issue since the Forest Service’s conception. Gifford Pinchot had envisioned local foresters managing lands with ideas and guidelines that have been developed with modern science and conservation in mind. Since then, laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Wilderness Bill and Endangered Species Act have limited the amount of authority and discretion a land management agency has over a particular area. These laws along with the current forest plans under the Land & Resource Management plans under the 1982 Regulations have made it possible for agencies to be subject to public opinion of whether the forest plans are best suited for a particular area and if the agency is successfully implementing these forest objectives. Historically, land management agency discretion has been much greater than present day. Land management was left to scientists and forest professionals who were entrusted with managing public forests for the common good. This allowed for land management agencies to act without opposition from conflicting view points. But during the 1960’s and 70’s, America started to question the federal government and science. With the passage of NEPA, the public became more involved with policy decision making and opened agencies up to lawsuits and litigation. According to National Forest System Land & Resource Management Planning (1982 Regulations) Sec. 219.6, the intent of public participation in the National Forest system is to broaden the information base upon which land and resource management planning decisions are made. It is also the intent to ensure that the Forest Service understands the needs, concerns and values of the public. NEPA requires that the Forest Service issues Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), hold public comment periods, and issue a description of the proposed planning action that is available to the public. Though this limits agency discretion towards public lands, it is the values of the public that dictate how public lands should be managed. America’s National Forests and public lands are intended to represent the public’s values and interests. With the requirement that the land management agencies issue EIS reports, land management discretion has been limited. Not only are the agencies required to report the current environmental health of a proposed area, but offer alternative plans as well. NEPA has held agencies accountable for how the public’s National Forests are managed. No longer could agencies, at their own discretion, choose which the best way to manage public lands is whether or not it coincides with what the public wants out of its lands.

International management and change Essay

When Pascal made this statement, globalization had yet to take place. People lived in different societies remaining cut-off from each other. Each society had its own perception of truth and reality. Then came along the advancement in technology bringing along inventions such as computer, internet and telecommunications making the world a global village. Perceptions started changing as information flow across the globe happened at the speed of light. People from all across the globe started sharing their experiences with each other thus reducing the differences in various cultures. However, the act of globalization has yet to reach its peak. Cultural differences still exist within different societies and the level of information and technology is still heterogeneous around the globe. I would now highlight some distinguishing features of the management styles of various regions. We observe that the beliefs and values of people vary across various cultures. The Japanese work as a group and organizational system is based on community work. The reward system is based on the level of seniority and is also group based. The organizational structure is cooperation based whereas American organizations often are based on competitive style where individuals are rewarded based on their performance levels. Similarly the management style of French is also very different from that of US. French follow a more creative thinking pattern and do not like to adhere to strict rules and regulations. The European management style has some key points that distinguish it from the American management style. The European management style even differs within the European countries and two countries deserve a special focus — France and Germany — because, among other reasons, the bureaucrats in those countries have long been regarded as â€Å"mandarins† by the field of public administration (Dogan 1976). European management style can be classified into different clusters based upon Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s cultural variables (Goliath, 2004) according to which European management style can be sub-divided into: Anglo-Saxon culture (Ireland, UK, and USA), Nordic culture (Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, and Finland), Germanic culture (Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland), Frankophile culture (France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain) and Italian culture. These cultures also differ greatly from the US and Japanese styles of management thus requiring different management practices. The pay for performance system can work with the European management style as employees in Europe are mostly achievement oriented and perform good work for better rewards. The cultural beliefs and values of Europeans are pretty much different from the people of US and hence the marketing techniques used in Europe should be different from those applied in US. For example, Europeans are very much reluctant to providing personal information as compared to US customers; also the credit card usage in Europe is considerably lower than in US (Heilbrunn, 1998). The introduction of new logo and implementation of matrix structure allowing a flatter organizational structure can work relatively better in the European business environment The company operations in South America demand a completely different approach as Latin American culture significantly differs from US culture in terms of communication process. The US culture emphasizes on completion of task and sentences are interpreted in their direct meaning. However Latin American society focuses on relationships and context of the communication may involve more than just the spoken words (Wederspahn, 2001). So the marketing and sales efforts in South American cannot be standardized with the US practices since the Latin American customers tend to perceive communication messages in a very different way from their US counterparts. The new logo can be introduced, however introduction of a flatter organization with matrix structure may not be feasible in South America as the type of culture prevalent in this society is not conducive to the working of non-hierarchical organizations. If we study the culture of Middle Eastern countries, it is found that the business practices again differ significantly from those of US. The business is mostly chaotic and based upon word of mouth rather than written agreements, the cultural values are mostly Islamic and respect for relationships is held supreme; also the marketing regulations in Middle Eastern countries are very strict as compared to US or rest of the world (Kwintessential Ltd). The middle eastern management style is mostly authoritarian and based upon Douglas McGregor’s Theory X motivational leadership style (Daniel Workman , 2008). Thus employees have little or no motivation to work on their own and will perform only when directed by the superiors. Thus bright managers from US and other Western states often try to avoid working in Middle East and so they must first be provided proper cultural training in authoritative styles thus enabling them to adapt to the management practices of the Middle East. The Australian business is more similar to that of US as compared to the rest of regions as described above. The language and dress code is pretty much similar. However, Australian society is strictly based upon egalitarian principle where nobody like being bossed around. People don’t like to consider others as superiors and there is almost no hierarchical system (Slideshare, 2009). So authoritarian style of management will not be welcomed in the Australian business. The meeting and negotiation styles as well as the general beliefs of the Australian society are pretty close to the American beliefs. However according to a study on behavior of 35,000 managers from Australia and New Zealand, the Australian managers consistently try to avoid responsibilities and do not take initiatives (Gettler, 2002). Thus FES should provide cultural and leadership training to Australian manager before implementing any kind of central strategy. Discrimination issues also prevail in Australia that can make life for foreign managers very difficult. However, recently steps have been taken to strongly implement anti-discrimination laws. The roles of front line managers are also changing in Australia as they are provided more and more freedom and responsibility (James Saville, & Mark Higgins, 1994). The sales and marketing strategy in Australia can be aligned with the US strategies relatively easily because of the similarity in both societies. So the dilemma of FES is choosing between centralized and decentralized approach. Centralization can be defined as, â€Å"the degree to which decision-making authority is kept at top levels of management. † while Decentralization can be defined as, â€Å"the degree to which decision making authority is pushed down to lower levels of the firm† (Schilling 2008). Both approaches have their own pros and cons. FES has seen tremendous growth over the years and has been expanding into new regions at a very quick rate. Thus the organization requires a large amount of flexibility in its decision making that can be provided by a decentralized approach. However, due to rapid expansion, the organization requires tighter control of finances and close monitoring of all its operations to reduce costs and maintain quality. These measures can be achieved through a more centralized approach. So what approach suits FES bests can be determined by a cost benefit analysis where each advantage and disadvantage of delegation authority has to be carefully analyzed in light of the company objectives. Thus aligning the decision making process with the vision of the organization. A centralized approach can benefit the organization by significantly reducing the administrative cost related to employee management. Infrastructure handling will also be more efficient and it will be easier for the headquarter to align organizational goals with the functional and departmental goals ( Dezaree Seeds, & Alan S. Khade , 2008). Centralized approach will also make reporting procedure simple resulting in standardized organizational policies. Thus in this way it will further help the organizational objective of flattening the organizational structure and in creation of a matrix organizational setup. A decentralized approach on the other hand can benefit the organization by providing flexibility and empowering employees at the divisional and functional level. As explained above, different regions in which FES is operating have different working environments and the condition of energy industry in Europe, Australia, Middle East, US and South East Asian regions are very different from each other. Thus decentralization of HR and marketing policies will allow the organization to cater to the customer needs in the ways most suited to specific regions. It will also allow greater local control and the ability to act quickly to gain local resources ( Dezaree Seeds, & Alan S. Khade , 2008). Decentralization will also allow the organization to better deal with the cultural diversity and provide training to the employees as and when the need arises. â€Å"One thing that business, institutions, governments and key individuals will have to realize is spiders and starfish may look alike, but starfish have a miraculous quality to them. Cut off the leg of a spider, and you have a seven-legged creature on your hands; cut off its head and you have a dead spider. But cut off the arm of a starfish and it will grow a new one. Not only that, but the severed arm can grow an entirely new body. Starfish can achieve this feat because, unlike spiders, they are decentralized; every major organ is replicated across each arm† (Beckstrom and Brafman 2008). The type of approach taken by FES depends upon the nature and present condition of the global energy industry. The energy industry around the world is in a continuous state of flux. As more and more energy companies around the world become private and become free from the control of state, the nature of competition is changing (ExxonMobil, 2004). Demand for power is increasing at an exponential rate and the competition from private as well as government owned companies is fierce. In the power generation sector, each country has established different laws and tariff rates for multinational organizations. Thus on a whole it seems wiser to maintain a decentralized organizational setup which is flexible enough to quickly respond to the changing conditions of the industry. FES should maintain its present functional structure by keeping the finance, production and HR departments centralized. However using the same marketing and sales techniques all across the globe has a lot of negative implications. Thus allowing the regional marketing departments to work according to their specific environment is the best possible option. So in order to maintain decentralization in the marketing and sales department, the top management has to establish strong ties with all of its regional departments. A strong organizational culture based upon a clear vision and mission of the company should be communicated to all of its employees. Perhaps FES can create a hybrid model which allows centralization of decision making with respect to financial and important managerial decisions and at the same time, the marketing campaign is allowed flexibility according to the specific needs of the region. A key concern for FES is to harmonize its rapid global growth. Power and gas generation has to be taken in new countries and new plants need to be setup. The international operations have expanded a lot and efforts must be made to consolidate the existing business while growing in new regions of the world. As part of the consolidation effort FES must conduct extensive employee training program instilling in each employee the vision and objective of the organization. The company should consolidate its major decision making power in the Headquarter thereby allowing Headquarter to maintain a close monitory system on all of its subsidiaries. By centralizing its finance and management activities, the company can also approve marketing budgets for different regions from its Headquarter, thus building coherence in the finance and marketing goals. However the marketing and sales strategies for each region should be decentralized thus instilling greater flexibility and freedom among marketing departments to cater to their local markets. The pay for performance system can work smoothly in few of the regions but as explained earlier, some regions such as Middle East and some parts of South East Asian cultures demonstrate a more hierarchical structure and it will be extremely difficult to introduce pay for performance system in these regions. Also the parameters should be clearly defined before introducing the pay for performance system in different regions. Because same results usually do not show same amount of performance in different regions. What kind of performance and what kind of pay should be decided and communicated to all regional offices. The parameters for monitoring performance should be based upon different standards for different regions. Similarly some of the major HR policies should be centralized but mostly HR of each region should be independent in choosing the who, what, when and where about its employees. For example, Middle Eastern region is very warm in summers as compared to the European region and the work habits and optimum level of work during different seasons is different for both these regions. Thus separate working policies should be established for each of the region. The R&D department should remain centralized at the American Head Office. As a centralized R&D approach is more beneficial for a company like FES which has not expanded business into a variety of categories (AB, 2001). However taking technological inputs from all across the globe may help the R&D department in improving its efficiency and effectiveness. Thus technological integration should be built where all global units of FES are directly integrated with its Head Office and the information flow between Head Office and different regions should be quick and efficient. The production department should carry out its role from the center, managing the manufacturing process across the globe from the Head Office. So it can be seen that different aspects of FES operations require different level of centralization and decentralization. Also different regions require different level of authority delegation based upon their internal environment and national cultures. It is relatively easier to introduce standard policies in Europe and Australia as both of these cultures are very similar to that of US. However, standardizing procedures across Middle East and South America is not a feasible option. The regional business units should remain decentralized as there should be some form of flexibility to make the decision making process quicker. The regional heads should be sent directly from the Head Office, however if some regions in Middle East are not being managed effectively by American managers, then leadership services of local managers should be availed after providing them extensive cultural training programs at the Head Office. The regional units should be linked to the Head Office through the fastest technology available so that there is no or little information gap between the center and regional units. Thus in light of the cultural differences prevailing in various regions of the world, the best suited approach should be to take a hybrid approach while showing some restrain in application of a centralized approach and making some variations in the standards for implementation in different regions. The integration of overall business can be achieved by proper use of technology and defining proper hierarchical system for flow of information between Head Office and various regional units.

Thanksgiving Speech

A thanksgiving speech is known to be given on the special occasion of the holiday celebration. The American culture is highlighted by the amazing event of Thanksgiving, providing gratitude and honor for the people, who have contributed much to the personal or common goal accomplishment. There are several topics to be considered as central in the thanksgiving speech. These range from general gratitude for the surrounding goodness to honoring specific individuals or circumstances that have benefited you. It is also possible to provide a thanksgiving speech for the recognition of ones or community success as well as effort. The main feature of such speech is the acknowledgement of the contribution of others. I am honored to share this Thanksgiving meal with the people I love and care for most in this world. This is just another occasion for me to express my gratitude for everything that each of you has done in my life. I would not be who I am today without the care and passion for teaching me how to have a happy life, free of worries and complications. My dear parents, the contribution that you have done to shape my personality is immense and I cannot express how blessed I am for having you comfort and support me. You have been my role-models since little, inspiring me to do things beyond my potential, making me eager to accomplish the wildest dreams. I think we should each think about thanks needed to be given to parents, who spent countless hours caring for us when we were little and worrying for our well – being now as adults. I am thankful to all of my friends, who are fantastic listeners and guiding lights in the darkness of doubt. I am absolutely honored to have each of you by my side, being able to share, support, criticize, laugh and share the experiences together. Friends play a very important role in life of each individual, but for me, you have done more than anyone could have dreamed of. The time spent together on the chosen activities made us rely on each other, showed the essence of friendship and love. I can proudly state that I have friends for a life-time, whom I will support with each opportunity I have, trusting and being thankful for each contribution into my life and happiness of my family. Thank you for being with me today and sharing yet another fantastic occasion in such friendly atmosphere. There is also a huge need to think about the goodness in our lives and forget about the worries or troubles that each of us had in the past year. Let us think of the incredible moments of laughter, love, hope and joy, being grateful to each other and life for providing us with excitement and fun. Life is not always easy, taking each us by surprise in the most uncomfortable circumstances. However, we do need to value the positive moments and maintain thankful for the possibilities that are offered and memories shared with ones we care for and love. Thank you all!