Champy states that it is imperative for an organization to have a brilliant idea and share their ideas amongst their peers. “Billions of dollars could be saved if companies shared processes with customers and suppliers that are now essentially redundant. The future belongs to companies that recognize the primacy of relationships in the networked marketplace” (Lynn). He also states that if your company creates the idea better than anyone else, it really will not matter if your competitors know what you are doing.

Champy also spoke about the importance of the use of global resources and the Internet, both of which are critical to make boundary-crossing connections. Another important factor is making sure that the organization is 100% onboard before attempting X-Engineering. Internal processes must be prepared for this change as well.

Relation of Article To Readings
Different types of managers can use X-Engineering in different ways with in their organization. The theories behind X-Engineering are simple. Reduce internal costs, eliminate redundant processes, focus on customer’s needs (both present and future). Depending on the manager and the level at which they work, different things can be done to put this process to work.

Top-level managers are most likely those who will need to bring the X-Engineering to light with in the organization. This is not something that can be brought about by lower level employees. These managers can commit to changes that are required for X-Engineering the organization, plan how the process will work with in the organization, and set the plan in motion with lower level management.
The lower level management will put the plan into action. They will openly look for ways to cut costs, eliminating redundant processes with in the organization, and looking for lower cost out sourcing of some processes.

The first level managers will work with the customers. They will find out the current and future needs of the customers. These needs will help determine the way that the organization reinvents itself.
All parts of management will in some way affect the way that the organization is reinvented. With out the cooperation of all parts of the organization, and 100% backing by the top level, X-Engineering will not work.

X-Engineering At Work At Iowa State Bank
I think that in this new economy, many organizations are in some way reinventing them selves, using X-Engineering or other methods. I believe that X-Engineering is something that is taking place with in the company that I work for. Whether they know it or not, many of the pieces of X-Engineering have already been implemented or are currently in the works.

Redundant processes have been cut at Iowa State Bank. In the past there have been multiple answers to the same questions, depending on how one would go about asking. Sometimes a client would apply for an account or loan at one location and be denied, while at another location the application would be approved. Much depended on the relationship between the client and the banker. If the banker knew the client from an outside organization, the chances of that person receiving a loan where much higher than that of a new client that is completely unknown by the banker.
Today, lending and account opening decisions are made primarily based on an outside company’s report about the client. Experia provides a fast, convenient decision-making process that helps the bank be consistent and fair. Experia also helps Iowa State Bank to cut costs and losses. Decisions from Experia are based on credit history, OFAC status, and other important credit related information. All of the factors taken into consideration help the bank know if the client in front of them will be a risk.

The Bank has many different other procedures that have been outsourced at a lower cost. All of these things help to make the Bank more profitable.

Recommendations For Iowa State Bank
I would recommend that Iowa State Bank continuously look towards the future in the way that we use outsourced processes and procedures. I believe that there are more options that could be explored in order to save money, time and eventually make this bank the envy of all of the “small banks” in central Iowa.

        

Hierarchical Database Model
The hierarchical model is the oldest of the three models discussed here. This model is an improvement of the flat-file database system since it employs a simple data relationship scheme. The relationships in the hierarchical model are child/parent relationships. The name “hierarchical” is derived from one major restriction on the child/parent relationships, that is, although a parent entity can have several child entities, a child entity can only have one and only one parent. For this reason all the relationships form a hierarchy that traces back to one root. In fact, this model is often visualized as an upside down tree, where the entity at the top is seen as a root and as such all other entities sprout from the root. A simple example is shown in Figure 1 below:

“Products” in Figure 1 above is the root entity of the hierarchical model in the example.
As shown in the diagram, one major problem with the hierarchical model is the increased risk of data inconsistency. In the case above, a separate “Customers” table must exist for every product line due to the fact that a child entity cannot have more than one parent. However, there is a great chance that there are many customers who purchased more than one type of product. Consequently, information about those customers must exist in more than one table causing data redundancy. Another problem with the hierarchical model is the inflexibility of the model. For example, in the diagram above, the database is restricted to three product lines. Adding a new product line would require redesigning the database since all the relationships must be predefined. Finally, another problem with the hierarchical model is in the child/parent relationship restriction. Every child must have a parent. Therefore, in the example above, it is impossible to add new customers who have not bought any new products yet. To overcome some of the limitations of the hierarchical model, the network model was created.

Network Database Model
The network model is an improvement to its predecessor, the hierarchical model. In the network model, a child entity can have more than one parent. Therefore, the design can be visualized as several inverted trees interconnected by branches as opposed to the single inverted tree characteristic of the hierarchical model. Figure 2 below illustrates the network database model of the hierarchical database discussed previously.

As shown above, the network database model eliminates the need to maintain several “Customers” tables. Data in the network model can be accessed from an entity as opposed to the hierarchical model that requires access from the root entity. The relationships between entities occur through unique set structures. Therefore, although the entities are not duplicated, a unique set structure is required to facilitate each of the one-to-many relationships.

Like the hierarchical model, the network model is also navigational. This poses a big problem in complex designs since the user has to understand the database structure in order to us the database. Furthermore, with a predefined structure like in the hierarchical model, modifying the structure of the database becomes a difficult task. The relational model eliminates many of the problems presented in the network and hierarchical models.

Relational Database Model
The relational model is based on the mathematical set theory. In this model, “data is stored in relations which are perceived by the user as relations” (Hernandez, 1997). Relations are made up of tuples (also referred to as records or rows) and attributes (also known as fields or columns). Each record is identified by a column with a unique value. The order of the rows and columns is of importance. Therefore, the relational model is independent of physical implementation, a quality that makes this model more preferable to the hierarchical and database models. Relationships in this model can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many. Regardless of the type of relationship, the model is transparent to the user, that is, the user does not need to understand the physical structure of the database in order to use it.

Relational databases also have their share of problems. The flexibility of the relational model comes with the price of performance speed since the relationships are not predefined like in the case of hierarchical and network databases. Flexibility, also introduces the complexity of enforcing integrity constraints. However, the existence of scientific rules for imposing integrity guarantees that database integrity can be ensured.

Summary
To sum it up, Table 1 below provides a concise analysis of the major differences between the hierarchical, network and relational database models. It is important to note that although the relational model is superior to its predecessors, there are situations that would warrant the use of the older models, especially where the application is simple and not likely to change.

Table 1: Major differences of the hierarchical, network and relational database models
Hierarchical Model Network Model Relational Model
Data access Navigational. Usually accessed from the root. User is required to understand database structure. Navigational. However, data access can start from an entity. User is required to understand database structure. Non-navigational. Database structure is completely transparent to the user.
Performance Faster because structure is predefined. Faster because structure is predefined. Slower because of the flexible arbitrary structure.

DBMS Not compatible with the other two models. Changes to the database structure must be reflected in the application as well. Compatible with the other two models. However, changes to database structure usually require changes in the application. Compatible with the other two models. The database structure is transparent.

Queries No query language unless it is predefined in to application. User needs to know the structure in order to query information. Versatile query language. Includes ability to run ad hoc queries.
Data integrity Plagued with redundancy due to the child/parent limitations Less redundancy than the hierarchical model. Since the network model is navigational it becomes harder to maintain integrity as the database’s complexity increases. Logical rules guarantee imposition of integrity constraints.
Changes Changes to the structure are difficult to implement since the entire structure is predefined. Changes to the structure are difficult to implement since the entire structure is predefined. Changes are easy to implement since the structure is transparent to the user and the application.

        

The first decision (not to install) would have been the right one. As Fanuchi mentioned, how would the public and employees react if they found out? Installing the viewing and listening devices brings up many ethical issues among which include privacy and informed consent. Privacy is held to be a fundamental human right and so it is immoral to violate anyone’s privacy. Even when there seems to be a good reason, this does not justify it. Since the workers were unaware of being monitored, they couldn’t have consented to their privacy being invaded. By not informing the workers and allowing them to choose whether to be monitored or not, Fanuchi robbed them of their freedom of choice. Her first choice was the right one but she bowed under pressure from Katwalski and the continued shrinkage.

Fanuchi had other options she could have taken. She could have called a general meeting, explained to the employees what was happening and asked them to come forward with any pertinent information. Alternatively the security people or plainclothes officers could have interrogated the employees. Or she could have told the employees they were being monitored without actually installing the devices in order to deter the culprit. Even if she did install the devices she could have simply told the employees about it and asked for their consent. Of course it is highly unlikely they would agree just as she would balk at the thought of having a hidden camera at her office. Alternatively since the security department knew they were looking for a thief already, they could have just installed the video and not the listening devices. After all a microphone is not required to catch a thief red-handed.

If any of the employees were to find out Fanuchi could find herself losing employees, dealing with low morale and resentful employees or even worse, being slapped with a lawsuit. These scenarios are all likely and will have a negative impact on the company both internally and publicly. The question arises of the way the information about the culprit was obtained. If Fanuchi fires the person without giving the real reason, he/she could sue her for wrongful dismissal. If she does reveal the reason the employee might spread the word and turn others against her or still sue for invasion of privacy. The same holds true of the consequences of using the information obtained through the microphones. It is a moral dilemma, for if the information gotten is used against the employees, it may lead to the problems mentioned above but if nothing is done, there will still be a negative effect on the company and they might even be liable to be charged with aiding and abetting a known criminal since they are aware of an employees drug abuse.

The best action would be for Fanuchi to not use the information directly but instead monitor the employees’ work closely and try to find a legitimate reason for letting them go. If they intend to keep the devices, all employees should be informed that they are being monitored. This will serve as a deterrent to all employees and may even encourage the already revealed employees to leave the company on their own.

I believe that Fanuchi did not act morally according to Kant’s ethics and prima facie principles but according to utilitarianism she could be morally right. Utilitarianism is concerned with the action that can bring about the greatest happiness for all, in the long run. It cannot be conclusively proved that installing or not installing the devices would bring more happiness to all in the long run. Indeed it is possible that by not installing the device and just letting it go, Fanuchi’s company would suffer, the problem would spread to other departments as Katwalski suggested, the department’s shrinkage would continue to rise and the public and employees could charge Fanuchi with negligence. These may all have a greater adverse effect than that of installing the devices. If that is the case or Fanuchi believed it, then her actions could be morally justified. On the other hand it can be argued that since Fanuchi did not consult the employees, she couldn’t obtain a proper measure of their happiness or lack thereof so she wasn’t practicing ‘true’ utilitarianism in the workplace.

Fanuchi’s action can be said to be morally wrong according to Kant’s categorical Imperative. The categorical imperative states that an action is morally right if and only if we can will that the maxim (principle) represented by the action be a universal law. In other words the person performing a action should be willing to have that action done to him/her as well. So Fanuchi’s action of installing the devices leads to the maxim: ‘Although everyone has a right to privacy, I can violate that right whenever I feel justified in doing so without having to inform the people concerned’. This is very difficult to make universally acceptable and indeed it is unlikely Fanuchi would agree to it if situations were reversed.

A Prima facie obligation is an obligation that can be overridden by another more important obligation. Ordinarily it could be argued that Fanuchi felt that finding the culprit was more important than protecting her employees’ privacy. The problem is that freedom of privacy is a moral right (specifically a human right) that every human is entitled to. So taking away that right cannot be justified without the permission of the individuals concerned or at the very least, their knowledge of it.

Many organizations disregard their employees right to privacy and informed consent. They monitor their phone calls, e-mails and some even snoop in desks after office hours. If employees give their consent, then there is no problem but if they are simply informed of it or not even told, this can great a lot of moral dilemmas and risks for the company concerned.

        

Flextime is basically allowing an employee to pick the hours of their workday around the core mid-day hours, such as 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. They determine their own starting and stopping hours to best suit them, but they must still put in their regular weekly hours of work. In practice most employers only give employees a limited amount of freedom in choosing their hours, such as an employee has to be in by 10 A.M., but to a mother who needs to have a few more hours of rest in the morning this could make a huge difference in her attitude toward work, job performance, and absenteeism. These are just a few advantages of the flextime work arrangements.

“At Ernst and Young, the focus is on results, not face time,” says Denny Marcel, a member of the company’s New York-based Office for Retention. “Employees know that they can choose flexible work arrangements (FWA) and still be competent. We empower people to decide how, when, and where they get their jobs done.” Flextime often gives employees a sense of empowerment and motivation to their jobs. Flextime scheduling often works as a motivator. By letting employees more or less set their own hours, an employer is telling them two things: “I trust you to put in the time and to be productive,” and, “This is your chance to show you can be a self-starter.” Both of those are powerful motivating messages.

Flextime can also help retain a company’s most prized employees. This excerpt is from a September 2001 issue of Sales and Marketing Management.

“One morning in 1998 Bruce Fleischmann, a sales manager with Pfizer, was out making calls with a salesperson who had just returned from maternity leave. Fleischmann noticed that the woman, whom he knew well, just wasn’t herself. She seemed anxious and preoccupied. So Fleischmann asked if something was on her mind. “She just burst into tears,” he recalls. “She said she felt torn about whether or not to be home with her child or at work; that even though she liked her job, it was tough to do that and be a new mother.” A few weeks later the salesperson quit, unable to find a way to combine work and parenting. “It’s a typical situation,” Fleischmann says. “Her productivity was high and from a financial point of view, it costs Pfizer tens of thousands of dollars to replace someone at that level of sales,” Fleischmann says. “It’s downright painful to lose them.”

In an effort to stem the turnover of productive salespeople like these, Pfizer recently began offering a limited number of its highest performers the opportunity to work shorter, more flexible hours. Flextime reps would work 60 percent of a full-time schedule, with several scheduling options to choose from. Their income would also be scaled back to 60 percent, but bonuses, awards, and health benefits would stay the same.”

As one can see that if an effective flextime program would have been in place at Pfizer loosing valued employees such as this could be avoided. Not only does Pfizer face the task of hiring a new salesperson, but also must pay to train the new salesperson as stated in the example. Many employers have no idea that they have lost a valued employee because of an unfilled lack of flexibility.

Flextime can also help attract the most talented of employees to work for a company. When employees see that a corporation cares about their personal lives and their well being then the company will be one that many people will want to work for. In fact according to the book 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, one of the top areas for improvement has been sensitivity to work and family issues. Many of the companies cited in the book showed major advancement in dealing with the problems of family care and flexible work schedules, offering such options as flextime. Flexible working hours are also more important than money to many new job seekers. Flexible working hours are more important than money for nearly a third of people looking for a new job, according to a recent survey. The online poll, carried out by recruitment website reed.co.uk with the Department of Trade & Industry’s Work-Life Balance campaign, surveyed more than 4,000 job-seekers. They found that 68% of jobseekers would like the chance to work more flexible hours when necessary. 77% of parents with children under the age of six said that work/life balance is an important factor in deciding whether to apply for a new job, and 60%of workers view their work/life balance as an important factor in deciding whether to take a new job. Flextime is a major advantage to companies who are seeking new talented employees.

In fact just having a flextime program in place also reduces stress on the job. “Most of those employees won’t actually take advantage of flextime, but just knowing they can take advantage of it makes all the difference,” says Maria Bailey, founder of Blue Suit Mom .com, a work/life balance consultancy based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Having a flextime program gives a sense of comfort to employees, and allows them the freedom they need when they might need it. Having this reduces job related stress tremendously.

Flextime can also lead to loyalty to the company from the employee. With the economy in a downturn many employees are not looking to change jobs at this moment, and with money tight companies want to keep employees. Flextime offers ways in which employees can work hard when they want to. An employee is more loyal to a company who works with them and gives them more options than just a paycheck. Many employees view loyalty as a two way street in which the employer must show loyalty to them also. Flextime is a great way to show the loyalty that the employee deserves.

Flextime is a flexible hour program that could very well change the way work is done in America. Flextime can lead to less stress, better employees, employee loyalty, employee retention and motivated employees. If a flextime program is not an integral part of a corporation it is not only the employees who loose, but also the corporation. More than a quarter of full-time workers, or 25 million people, work flexible schedules. With the benefits of flextime and other flexible options both employees and employers can benefit from their advantages.

        

Besides strengthening their banking and financial sectors to address the crisis, Asian economies have been urged to do business in a cleaner and more ethical manner with better corporate governance. Towards this end, present and potential businesspeople and executives in Asia must be favorably predisposed towards a high level of corporate ethics and social responsibility. This poses a major challenge to the extent that even businesses in the West have been criticized for their limited adoption of CESR. Accentuating the difficulty is the fact that this commitment depends on the cultural, institutional, and organizational environments under which managers operate as well as their personal characteristics.

Despite the increasing research attention paid towards CESR in the West, its theorizing and empirical analysis in Asia is limited. A notable exception was McDonald and Pak who found that neutralization and self interest were the most significant factors considered by business managers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Canada in resolving ethical business dilemmas. Instead, researchers have tended to focus their efforts on how foreign enterprises can adapt to Asian business practices. However, extant knowledge of Asian business practices may furnish insights into the role of CESR in the region. As observed by de George, although CESR is not a popular nor well-known notion in much of Asia, businesses that can see through unethical practices in Asia are likely to profit from this insight.

Specifically, it may be useful to examine how such cultural factors as guanxi and mianzi, constructs so intimately related to Asian (particularly Chinese) business, may impact CESR beliefs. Guanxi is generally conceived as the interpersonal connections which an individual attempts to cultivate with relevant parties, while mianzi or face relates to the need to preserve one’s social standing. These factors tend to be studied in the Chinese culture although they are not necessarily exclusive to the East. For instance, the “old boys’ club,” a notion familiar in the West, shares some characteristics as guanxi. However, it is documented that in Chinese communities, both guanxi and mianzi are practiced for long-term personal relationships. Additionally, Brunner and Taoka suggested that comparative research indicate Chinese to place more emphasis on building relationships than their American counterparts; while Alston has touted! guanxi as an Asian value. Given the prevalence of these fundamental factors in this region, we argue that they are important considerations in influencing CESR beliefs among Asians.

In addition, we analyze the impact of Machiavellianism on CESR beliefs in Asia. Machiavellian denotes at least an amoral (if not immoral) way of manipulating others to accomplish one’s objectives. The construct has been found to correlate negatively with CESR in Western research. Whether this relationship holds in an Asian setting will be assessed in this study along with the more indigenous cultural variables of guanxi and mianzi.

Moreover, it would be beneficial to assess whether beliefs in CESR vary across Asian countries. Possibly, such cross-national differences may arise between Asian countries with different business philosophies and macro-economic management approaches. For example, Hong Kong is known to have a more liberal and laissez faire attitude towards business than Singapore, even though both were former British colonies and are Chinese-dominated. Likewise, the relative impact of the three explanatory variables of interest on CESR beliefs may differ between Asian nations.

Finally, while it may be useful to obtain insights from managers who deal with such issues in their work, it would also be helpful to analyze these issues from the perspective of business undergraduates for at least three reasons. First, while they may lack first-hand knowledge given their relative inexperience, their responses are not likely to be completely arbitrary. This is because such undergraduates would have been exposed to the basic issues involved in this study in their course work. Second, the focus of this research is on theory testing of relationships between constructs. To the extent that the variables of concern are likely to vary within the undergraduate population, their use is justifiable and may also control for such background conditions as company size, job classification, and other factors which may impact the findings if executives were employed instead. Third, should data among youths support the hypotheses, there would be important long-term impli! cations for the cultivation of stronger beliefs in CESR in the region.

Thus, this study has three objectives. First, we examine the impact of guanxi, mianzi, and Machiavellianism on the CESR beliefs of Hong Kong and Singapore business undergraduates. Second, we investigate whether Hong Kong and Singaporean youths vary in their CESR beliefs. Third, we determine whether nationality interacts with guanxi, mianzi, and Machiavellianism in predicting CESR beliefs.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The literature review next outlines the four concepts of concern in this study as well as formulates hypotheses relating the impact of the explanatory variables on CESR beliefs. Next, the research method employed in the study is detailed, followed by the results of the survey. Finally, implications of the findings are discussed and directions for future research suggested.