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n Providingapersonal,cost-effectivedesign,illustration,print-buyingandsub-editingservice

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Design of corporate identity for start-up business psychology company together with redesign when the company had grown.

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business minds

Business Minds UK Ltd26 London RoadSt AlbansHerts AL1 1NG

Tel 01727 862862Fax 01727 842299

VAT Registration 640 2178 67Registration number 3119603Registered at Faulkner House, Victoria St, St Albans, Herts AL1 3SE

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business minds

Business Minds UK Ltd26 London RoadSt AlbansHerts AL1 1NG

Tel 01727 862862Fax 01727 842299

with compliments

Design of four separate corporate identities together with an ‘umbrella’ identity for The Vacations Group. Use was for full colour print, black and white press advertising and for the web. These were designed over a number of years as the company expanded into new areas.

Re-design of Mapac corporate identity. Recommendations made on how to have a more cohesive web presence and retail presence. Design of stationery, swing tags and POS material.

� Replace spine andouter cover withpersonal title page

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Mapac Group Ltd6 Mowat EstateSandown RoadWatfordHerts WD24 7UZ

Conrad JafféSales Manager

T 01923 655922 F 01923 250737 M 07776 131212 E [email protected] www.mapac.com


Tel +44 (0)1923 255525Fax +44 (0)1923 250737E-mail [email protected] www.mapac.com

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educational value, and reaching a larger, more diverse

learner population.

The key benefits delivered by these kinds of solu-

tions include:

Increased quality and value of learning achieved

through a combination of appropriate supporting

content, learner collaboration and interaction, and

on-line support.

Increased reach and flexibility, enabling learners to

engage in the learning process anytime, anyplace

and on a just-in-time basis.

Decreased cost of learning delivery, and reduced

travel, subsistence costs and time away from the

job.

Increased flexibility and ability to respond to evolv-

ing business requirements with rapid roll-out of

new and organisational-specific learning to a dis-

tributed audience.

There are enormous benefits to be achieved from

e-learning, the question is how do you achieve them?

In order to start to answer this question, you should

consider the following:

How do I determine whether e-learning is applica-

ble to my requirements?

How do I construct an e-learning programme?

What are the issues associated with designing and

developing a solution?

What products and tools do I use to support the

delivery of the programme?

Understanding Learning Requirements

There are many different kinds of learning require-

ments as well as many different subjects. These

requirements vary significantly, and may be out-

side what historically has been known as ‘training’.

Understanding the underlying dynamics of the learn-

ing requirement, and being able to map them into a

viable learning approach that can be implemented, is

fundamental to any success.

The design, the level of importance attached to core

components of the learning structure, the nature of

the content, and the participation and instruction/facil-

itation are all specific to the learning context. The key

is to understand the nature of the learning and the

audience and to build an appropriate learning design

approach. Table 1 gives some example scenarios and

their potential e-learning outcomes.

As you can see from the table, by understanding the

dynamics of the learning requirement, we can map to

an e-learning approach that can itself be mapped into

an e-learning solution. As well as defining the design

approach, this also helps clarify the associated e-learn-

ing technology requirements. By understanding the

underlying nature of the learning requirement and

the key dynamics of learning associated with it, we can

start to map out a sensible way of delivering it, and

ensure we are constructing an e-learning approach

where we deliver real learning value.

E-learning Technology

Having discussed the importance of understanding

the learning requirements and design, we now need

to talk about technology. The e-learning marketplace

is currently very fragmented and evolving rapidly. E-

learning products come in many forms including learn-

ing management systems, collaborative learning tools,

synchronous tools, assessment products, content devel-

People 3

Scenario

Company Takeover

Announcement training for existing employees.

ERP Application Rollout

Rapidly deliver core user skills for discrete

communities.

Induction Programme

Gain competency in core company processes

and systems.

Field Sales Training

Expanding knowledge to cover new products

and selling models.

Strategic Management Development

Increasing competitiveness and improving

performance.

Learning Model

Information Transfer

Corporate message and reasoning. FAQs.

Basic Skills Acquisition

Core skills and custom process implementa-

tion.

Basic Skills Acquisition

Broad use of company systems, processes and

organisation.

Advanced Skill Development

Detailed selling techniques based upon new

product directions.

Adaptive Expert Development

Evolving strategy and plan with peer-level

review and support from key industry experts.

E-Learning Outcomes

Intranet-delivered interactive presentation,

explanation and FAQs. Optional forum.

Interactive hands-on learning and practice with

inter-user discussion and directed instruction.

Mix of interactive and exploratory learning

with extensive supporting content, active dis-

cussion, role play and directed facilitation.

Heavily facilitated and interactive participation

with mix of supporting content and subject

expertise.

Coached collaborative sessions with structure

and content dynamically generated by partici-

pants.

Sample Duration

2 hours over 5 days.

1 day over 5 weeks.

5 days over 6

months.

Recurring 2 hours

per month.

Recurring 5 days

over 1 year.

Table 1

Example scenarios with e-

learning outcomes

E-learning is being presented in the marketplace as the

next evolution of the training and education industry

and the next phase in the digital revolution. However,

the e-learning market is very embryonic and although

evolving quickly, remains fragmented. With many dif-

ferent perspectives and many different organisations

positioning their e-learning solutions, there are some

key questions you need to answer as you venture into

this brave new world:

What really is e-learning?

How does it differ from existing technology-based

training?

Is it more effective than existing computer-based

training?

Can we replace some of our instructor-led class-

room training?

What kinds of e-learning tools and technologies

should we be looking at?

How do I develop a coherent strategy for e-learn-

ing?

The purpose of this article is to help you begin to

answer these questions and to present a perspective

on what is happening in this emerging marketplace,

together with the key issues you should consider.

Defining e-learning

As with many evolving technology-related terms, espe-

cially ‘e’ terms, e-learning encompasses many different

things. The term ‘e-learning’ has really emerged in the

last two years and is being used to cover almost any

technology-supported learning initiative.

Elliot Masie, a leading e-learning guru in the USA,

supports this view of e-learning: ‘On-line learning is

not about taking a course and putting it on the desk-

top. It is about a new blend of resources, interactivity,

performance support and structured learning activi-

ties.’ (www.masie.com).

A definition which we have been using since we

started working within the evolving e-learning market-

place in 1996, is that e-learning should be thought of

as the ‘combination of learning services and technol-

ogy to provide high value integrated learning; any-

time, anyplace’.

There are three key points to take from these defini-

tions:

1 E-learning is more than putting course contents

on the web – it is about using technology and the

web in particular to support the learning process.

This includes instruction, content, collaboration,

and assessment.

2 E-learning can and should be integrated with other

forms of learning such as classroom training.

3 E-learning is more than just the delivery of learn-

ing – it includes the support of all processes associ-

ated with learning including the management,

administration and tracking functions.

This perspective of e-learning is broader than is

often generally perceived when people start to look

at e-learning. There is a tendency to simply focus on

putting content online.

Examples

To illustrate, here are some examples of where e-learn-

ing has been successfully applied:

A major corporation uses interactive web-based

courseware with integrated instructional sup-

port and on-line forums to deliver a large-scale

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) rollout pro-

gramme.

An insurance company uses virtual classroom tech-

nology to interactively train their field sales force

at home, using monthly synchronous sessions with

supporting on-line materials instead of quarterly

classroom training in hotels.

A large company re-engineers its induction pro-

gramme to reduce classroom time and increase

levels of learning by using an on-line learning envi-

ronment with a new employee discussion forum.

A multi-national company reorganises training and

development as a corporate university and intro-

duces a global learning portal to provide access to,

and manage, all forms of learning including class-

room, e-learning and self-paced learning.

A pharmaceutical company re-engineers its senior

management development programmes using a

blended learning approach, supported by a learn-

ing community environment, to provide online

access to events, resources, collaborative assign-

ments and discussions.

Benefits

The above examples are typical of the type of learn-

ing requirements encountered on an everyday basis.

All of them are using technology to enhance or trans-

form a learning process, achieving real business and

2 People

Key Issues in E-Learningby David Wilson

On-line learning is not about taking a course and putting it on the desktop. It is about a new

blend of resources, interactivity,

performance support and structured

learning activities

In this issue we report on

the results of the recent

Survey of IT Decision

Makers, undertaken in col-

laboration with Computer

Weekly, focusing on the

particularly thorny issue of Board level representation

of IT.

With the Labour Government now re-elected and

the new Parliament in place, Government Watch looks

at how the ‘beginning of term’ reshuffle has affected

those MPs with specific IT interests as well as reviewing

the progress of e-government in general and the Ofcom

Bill in particular. Meanwhile Technology Watch con-

tinues to provide you with an insight into some of the

most interesting developments in the IT industry.

In addition, we have our usual mix of articles focus-

ing on some of the latest Business Process, People and

Technology issues. Featured this month are:

An introduction to the world of digital rights man-

agement, illustrating how this technology is helping

content owners distribute material electronically and

the business models that can be adopted.

A review of the rapidly emerging e-learning mar-

ketplace, with practical guidance on the range of

technologies available and how these should be incor-

porated within an e-learning strategy for your com-

pany.

A look at how developments in digital technologies

are impacting upon the global economy, the possibili-

ties and strategies for exploiting this digital revolu-

tion and the key steps that should be followed when

actually designing an e-business.

Over the past couple of months we’ve been strength-

ening our R&D capabilities at NCC, in this issue we've

taken the opportunity to introduce you to our new

team and provide a brief insight into our emerg-

ing research agenda. Collectively the R&D team will

be responsible for developing an increasingly wide

range of products and services for the membership, so

you’ll see and hear lots more from them in the coming

months. And of course our 14th Annual Conference is

just around the corner in September, providing an ideal

opportunity for all of us to meet with you in order to

discuss your own specific requirements in more detail.

In the meantime enjoy the summer break. Whilst

whiling away a few weeks on a sun-soaked beach wher-

ever you may be in the world, should you feel there is

any IT issue which remains a constant thorn in your side

then we’d be delighted to help. E-mail me at ian.jones@

ncc.co.uk

Ian Jones, Editor

Contentspage

People 2David Wilson, Managing Director of eLearnity, looks at the key questions you need to address if you are planning to implement e-learning solutions.

Research 6Christine Jack, Research Manager – Surveys NCC, reports on some of the key find-ings of the recent NCC Survey of IT Decision Makers undertaken in collaboration with Computer Weekly.

Technology Watch 7Brief reports on some of the recent trends and developments in the world of IT.

News from the Centre 8A round-up of the latest news from the NCC, including an introduction to our new Research & Development team.

Technology 10Barnaby Page explains the role of digital rights management in the distribution of electronic material.

Government Watch 13Richard Sarson, editor of IT @ Public Policy, reviews the latest IT developments in the new Parliament.

Business Processes 14Thomas Mucha, Manager of Global Marketing and Communications at DiamondCluster International, considers how to exploit developments in the new economy in order to build successful e-business solutions.

Published by: The National ComputingCentre Ltd Oxford Road Manchester M17ED United Kingdom

Tel: (0)161 242 2121 Fax: (0)161 242 2499

e-mail: [email protected] http://www.ncc.co.uk

Editor: Ian Jones

Design: Julie Oakley Design, St Albans

Printing: Peter Turpin Associates, York

myITadviser is the magazine for membersof the National Computing Centre.

© 2001 The National Computing CentreLimited. No part of this publication can bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system ortransmitted in electronic form or by anyother means (electronic, mechanical, pho-tocopying, recording or otherwise) withoutthe written permission of the publisher.Whilst every care has been taken to ensurethe accuracy of the editorial content thepublisher cannot accept any liability forinaccuracies that may occur. All trademarksare acknowledged.

The magazine for members of the National Computing Centre

NationalComputingCentre

myITadviser

Issue 7 July/August 2001

Editorial

Book your place now, log on to www.ncc.co.uk/conference or call 0161 242 2121

Thursday 20th and Friday 21st September 2001

Old Trafford Football Ground, Manchester

The IT management conference of the year

New and emerging technologies, processes and business models

are fundamentally changing the way IT is resourced, delivered

and managed.

This essential National Computing Centre conference will give you

the pertinent insight to managing technologies, processes and

people to leverage best advantage for your organisation. Listen,

learn and network to avoid the pitfalls and understand how best

to survive the shifting balance of power.

SHIFTINGTHE BALANCE OF

POWER

Keynote speakers include:

Jonathan ArmstrongSolicitor Eversheds Solicitors

Richard BarringtonDirector, Industry, Office of the e-Envoy

René Carayol CEO, Voodoo Ltd

Elena Christopher Senior Analyst, Gartner

Dr. Eddie Obeng FounderDirector, Pentacle The Virtual Business School

Gerry Pennell IT Director, Manchester 2002

Brinley Platts Director, IMPACT Programme

Other organisations represented include:

Cranfield School of Management IOD Cisco Systems Pilkington Glass IBM eCentre Consignia Sun

Warwick Business School

Through a mix of plenary and streamed ses-sions, the full conference agenda will exam-ine:

How to leverage business change with web technologies

How IT can get closer to business

Whether ASP is really an option. What are the advantages and drawbacks?

How to collect and use business intelligence

How to best manage multi-channel customer interfaces

How to develop an IT strategy for manufactur-ing that works

Developing effective intranets

How to implement rapid Web Application Development

What are the benefits and implications of adopting Open Source

What you can do to create a knowledge-based organisation?

How you can influence business decision mak-ers

Ways to secure the reputation of your com-pany

Your legal responsibilities in the new e-cono-my

Methods to develop leadership in IT

What the Government is going to do over the next term to make the UK a better place to do business

Managing project deadlinesADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS FOR 3 OR MORE DELEGATES FROM THE SAME ORGANISATION

DELEGATE DAY RATES AVAILABLE

Design of bi-monthly magazine for the National Computing Centre. The brief was to design a publication that had a hybrid bochure/magazine feel to it and had colour coded sections on the three areas the magazine would cover each issue

Some examples of work designed prior to the new corporate identity

The Faculties are specialist bodies of expertise offering you excellence, networking, influence and recognition. Based on their position as centres of excellence, which are recognised nationally and internationally by members and other professionals, the Faculties offer the best value for CPD and are their members’ contact with the Institute. The Faculties shape policy by lobbying government and regulators. This ensures your professional voice is heard, recognised and valued on technical issues that affect the way you, your colleagues and your clients work.

For more information about each of the five Faculties go to www.icaew.co.uk/facultiesor telephone 020 7920 8100

Do you wanT To enhance your perFormance?

Chartech b o o k s

A Manager’s Perspective on Database Management Systems

I T MANAGEMENT

Contentspage

News Review 1

Software 2

IT Monitor 4

Technical 6

Internal Control 8

Software 9

Security & Institute 10

Faculty Seminars 11

News Review 12

The News and Information Bulletin for Members of the IT FacultyISSUE NO 132 OCTOBER 2004

ChartechAccess Accounting hasreleased an updated versionof its flagship SQL Serverbusiness solution.Dimensions 2.41 containsof ten major enhancementsto existing functionality,including:� Stock allocation: new

features for prioritisingand ‘ring-fencing’ stockfor specific orders, facil-itating more cost-effec-tive delivery planning.

� Stock update to nomi-nal: real-time account-ing for stock valuationand cost of sales, pro-viding greater financialcontrol.

� Consolidated salesorders: for handling thedelivery and invoicingneeds of ‘tradinggroups’ and similarlycomplex organisations.

Transaction drill-down hasalso been strengthenedthroughout the system,with new enquiry screensand a ‘360-degree’ enquirywindow. Instead of display-ing transactions in isolation,the enquiry window shows how each item fits into theentire flow of a company’saccounting activity.

Managing Director ofAccess Accounting, AlistairO’Reilly, comments: ‘Wehave always been driven bythe real commercial needsof our clients. This latestrelease will widen theappeal of Dimensions,which already leads the SMEmarket for SQL solutions.’

www.access-accounts.com.

Access unveils significantenhancementsto Dimensionsbusinesssolution

Describing Grid technol-ogy as ‘tomorrow’sInternet’, the Commissionsays that this will giveeveryone access to theimmense computing powerand knowledge hithertoavailable only to the biggestcorporations and laborato-ries, thus boosting businesscompetitiveness and help-ing to create new marketsand services.

‘These projects will accel-erate Europe’s drive to turn

its substantial Grid researchinvestment into tangible economic benefits’, saidEnterprise and InformationSociety Commissioner OlliRehn. ‘Greater use of Gridtools is key for mobilisingEurope’s scientific and tech-

nological capital to delivergreater competitiveness andbetter products.’

The bulk of the EU fund-ing is going to four projectswhich each are receiving anEU contribution of around €9 million. Together witheight smaller projects alsonow being launched, thesebring together dozens ofuniversities, research insti-tutes, large and small com-panies from across Europeto muster the ‘critical mass’of expertise and resourcesnecessary to triggerchange.

For general information onGrid research, see: www.cordis.lu/ist/grids/

It may be a little early to be making New Year resolutions or planning your 2005 diary.However, the new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme comes into effectfor all members in January 2005, explains Tony Osude

There are five things you should know: � Firstly, the new scheme will apply to you.

� Secondly, it comes into effect on 1 January 2005.

� Thirdly, you will be provided with support services from the ICAEW including in particular the support of your IT Faculty, which will be an ideal source of CPD relevant information, products and services.

� Fourthly, an information pack will be sent to you in January. This is highly recommended reading, so watch out for it.

� Fifthly, and importantly, The big question is usually ‘what is it I need to do?’

What you’ll need to doSimply put, you will be required to provide the Institute with an annual declarationaffirming that you have reflected on your responsibilities, undertaken appropriate devel-opment activities and considered the impact of those activities, on an ongoing basis.

The first declaration will be due in November 2005 but you should be looking tocommence the process of ‘reflect, act and impact’ from January 2005.

More InformationFurther information, including details of the new scheme and examples of how members are intending to approach it, can be found at www.icaew.co.uk/newcpd.Alternatively, please contact the CPD team on 01908 248293 or [email protected]

Tony Osude is the Head of Post Qualification, in the Institutes Education and Training Directorate.

A €52 million package of twelve EU-funded researchprojects, that together aim to bring ‘Grid’ networkedcomputing out of research labs and into industry, hasjust been launched by the European Commission. Gridcomputing is networking many computers such thatthey are all working simultaneously on a single problemrequiring a vast amount of computing power or theprocessing of large volumes of data.

Are you ready for 2005?

EC grants €52 million toboost GRID technology

For information that’s

PracticalAccessibleJargon-free

Join the IT Faculty now

L O N D O N C H A P T E RTHURSDAY, 21 APRIL 2005 CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS ’ HALL

In Control or Out of Business?2005

B U S I N E S S I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M S

• Grappling with risks • Gripping opportunities • Grasping rewards

Chartech

Who do you think you are?

Business Intelligence

From little acorns…

£5.00

The Magazine for MeMbers of The faculTy of inforMaTion Technology ISSUE NO 138 OctOBEr 2005

ChartechWhy Software Compliance is Good for Business

Hacker Insurance

Annual Lecture Supplement

The Magazine for MeMbers of The faculTy of inforMaTion Technology ISSUE NO 140 FEbrUary 2006

£5.00

James M. Utzschneider MBAGeneral Manager for Strategy for Small and

Medium-Sized Businesses at Microsoft

The IT Faculty 2005 Annual Lecture

I.T. does Matter

Some examples of work designed after the new corporate identity design

www.icaew.com/itfac

IT FaculTy annual RepoRTJanuaRy–DecembeR 2006

CONTENTS page

Chairman’s Statement 2

Report on Faculty Activities 3

Financial Statement 8

Accountants’ Report 9

1

MAKING BETTER USE OF EXCEL

IT Faculty Autumn Roadshow, 2007

Using spreadsheets to work smarter not harder

Using Excel to make the most of your accounting data

In Partnership with

The Magazine for MeMbers of The inforMaTion Technology faculTy issue no 149 augusT 2007

£5.00www.icaew.com/itfac

REFRESHINGCHANGE

Access Databases (out of) control?

Introduction of the wEEE directive

INSpIRING CoNFIDENCE IN INFoRmAtIoN SyStEmS

CHARtECH

www.icaew.com/itfac

EFFECTIvE WIrELESS WOrkINguSABILITy, SECurITy ANd CONTrOL

CHArTECH BOOkS TECHNOLOgy SErIES

IT FaculTy/ISaca conFerence 2007

Secure Systems are Vital – The Devil’s in the Detail

Thursday, 28 June 2007Chartered Accountants’ Hall, Moorgate Place, London EC2 www.icaew.com/itfac

www.isaca-london.org

www.icaew.com/itfac

IT IN ACCOUNTANCY PRACTICES

A review of the market for accountancy software

Research ReportJanuary 2007

INSPIRING CONFIDENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMSINSPIRING CONFIDENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS FEBRUARY 2007FEBRUARY 2007

GET GEARED IT CASE STUDY

ACCOUNTING FOR IT IN THE

TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENTCHARTECH

www.icaew.com/itfac

SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF IT RISK

0605cover5.indd 2 29/1/07 9:02:31 pm

The Magazine for MeMbers of The inforMaTion Technology faculTy issue no 147 april 2007

Software as a ServiceSaaS

The InnocenThave noThIng To Fear

The IT catch 22

£5.00www.icaew.com/itfac

InSpIrIng conFIdence In InFormaTIon SySTemS

charTech

Design of 20 page annual report for the e-Learning Foundation which also needed to be an on-line report

AnnualReview2004-2005

e-Learning FoundationDorset HouseRegent Park297 Kingston RoadLeatherheadSurreyKT22 7PL

T: 01372 824372F: 01372 824481E: [email protected]

Company limited by guarantee No: 3978344Registered Charity No: 1086306

I wish to help close the Digital Divide by supporting the e-Learning Foundation’s ‘Access Denied’ Appeal.

Cheques should be made payable to e-Learning Foundation and sent to Simone Enefer at the address overleaf

Name

Address

Postcode

e-mail

Telephone

I enclose a cheque for £

If you use Gift Aid, your donation will be worth 28% more to the e-Learning Foundation. Just sign the declaration below – it’s as simple as that!

I am a UK tax payer and I wish my donation to be Gift Aid

Signature

Date

More details of other ways to donate are on our website www.e-learningfoundation.com

The route to our desired destination, where every child can access technology for their learning when and where they want to, remains rocky and unpredictable. The good news is that there have been a number of positive factors helping us on our way.

The price of computers, especially portables, continues to fall and this has helped schools make their ICT funding go further. Also, technology is evolving other forms of portable devices; Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), mobile phones and digital cameras are all valuable ways to access learning resources and develop ICT confidence and competence. The price of these is also falling and becoming increasingly affordable for even the most hard-pressed school and family budget.

Confidence in deploying ICT as a teaching and learning tool amongst teachers is also growing; and this is having a number of knock-on effects as schools are recognising that new strategies are needed to cope with the ever-increasing demand on their ICT resources. It is also highlighting the need for all children to have access to a computer to complete homework – and while general home ownership of a computer and an Internet connection is steadily rising, there are still many areas, particularly in inner cities and isolated rural areas, where access to a home computer is still rare.

Recent moves by local authorities to levy a charge for public Internet access in local libraries are of great concern as they will penalise those least able to afford home computer and Internet resources, and will particularly disadvantage schoolchildren for whom the first 30 minutes of free time will often be inadequate when working on a major piece of coursework or research.

The network of local e-Learning Foundations continues to grow and by April 2004 there were 37 registered e-Learning Foundations. We have always felt it important that local projects should reflect local needs and it is still the case that no single model has emerged as the preferred way of working. The Bowbridge e-Learning Foundation serves Bowbridge Primary School while the North-East e-Learning Foundation serves all the schools across the North East of England with over 1,000 schools and 400,000 children. Yet both are effective in meeting the aims of their Trustees and those they have been set up to help.

While we have come a long way in our first three years, there is still a lot to be done if we are to open the doors of opportunity for all young people in this country. Please support us in any way you can.

Valerie ThompsonChief Executive

Report from the Chief Executive Valerie Thompson

Case Study – The children’s taleNicky, Eve and Lisa-Marie attend the St Martin-in-the Fields High School for Girls in Tulse Hill, South London. The school caters for around 760 girls of between 11-16 and was one of the first schools to sign up to the Lambeth e-Learning Foundation. Established over 300 years ago, St Martin’s is a fully comprehensive school with Technology College status, committed to serving the local multi-ethnic community.

Pupils come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and there is a very high proportion of girls with English as a second language. The school is oversubscribed yet has more pupils with special educational needs than average. The majority of pupils come from areas of considerable social deprivation.

That said, the Ofsted report of 2002 stated, ‘This is a very good school… leadership is excellent… pupils achieve very well in response to high expectations and very good teaching. Standards are above average and show consistent improvement. Overall… standards are very high compared with

those of pupils in similar schools and are in the top five percent nationally.’

The e-Learning Foundation scheme at the school, which was started in 2001, gave all the girls in Year 9 a Psion NetBook to assist them in their studies. The funding came from the schools own fundraising efforts, a grant from the national e-Learning Foundation and parents were encouraged to give what they could in the form of regular donations to the e-Learning Foundation scheme.

Nicky, Eve and Lisa-Marie are Year 11 students just embarking on their GCSE exams. They are members of the original group who were in the right place at the right time to be included in the scheme. When Simone Enefer, Fundraising Director for the e-Learning Foundation visited the school, they talked excitedly about when they were first told they were going to get the computers and how their friends and families reacted when they knew:

‘When we first got them, it was like “wow”. Our friends in other schools can’t believe they will let us have them.’

‘My mum was very supportive of it. She thought it was a good idea.’

As time has gone on, they’ve found that more and more of their work has required the use of ICT.

‘Pretty much most of the course work is on the computer now.’

‘We can sit in the classroom and do research via the Internet. And we’re not all looking at the same thing, so we get a variety of information. It makes it more interesting.’

They have clearly found that they like to use the technology over and above more traditional methods of learning and they chatted about why

they prefer to use them:‘It’s the whole portable thing, the

mobile thing really.’‘It’s made it a lot easier to do work.

They are great when you can use them in different places.’

‘Using it all over the school is quite good because there aren’t enough desktop computers for everyone to use all at once so it’s just easier. I mean, you can’t expect the school to have like 700 desktops – that’s just impossible.’

‘I just find it nicer to type than to do it by hand. It saves cramp and things. It’s just easier really instead of scribbling.’

For many people, the security issues of carrying the NetBook around would have created a barrier for the scheme to take place at all. The girls were not complacent, but they said it had never been an issue for them:

‘Especially because they have the St Martin’s logo on them and they just fit in your bag.’

‘And because the only person who can use it is the one who knows the user name, there’s nothing they can get into so they can’t get on to the Internet or anything without the user name.’

They talked about why they feel it has been so important for them:

‘The only thing is with the world changing as it is, it all being technology now, if you don’t know how to use it then, every job you try to get you’re going to be stuck because everything uses at least some kind of computer. That’s why my sister can’t get a job. Everything’s technology. You can’t get away from it.’

‘You use a computer for everything now – typing, calculations, research

– it’s really good.’‘It would have been more difficult

because now I start work at school and then finish at home. I probably would have just waited till I got home and had to finish it all at once. This way, I mean, at lunchtime I can just get it out and do it.’

Finally, when asked if they would like to go back to not using the computers, the answer was a resounding ‘NO!’

‘I think we’re pretty lucky because most of the schools I know my friends go to they don’t have chances like this. I feel very privileged. We don’t take it for granted and it has most definitely helped us in our studies.’

about UsSchools rarely audit the scale or impact of home access on pupil’s learning

oFSTED May 2004

PagE Two

Schools need to develop strategies for ‘bridging the gap’ for those pupils who do not have access to ICT resources, including the Internet, at home

Impact2 study; Becta.

PagE ThREE

Design of three ranges of Guidelines. The designs needed to be able to be turned around very quickly. The matrix design for the cover and the one column of text enables these to be turned round at low cost and very quickly.

IdentIfyIng and ProtectIng your IntangIble assets

4|

ncc legal guIdelInes 8

5|

‘It is important to be

aware that although

intellectual property

is generally an asset

of the business,

it can also be a

liability if it is not

clearly identified and

properly protected’

One of the most striking observations is the wide variety of sectors and types of business listed in the table. There are service companies and manufacturers, fast moving consumer goods and automobile manufacturers. At number four is the old fashioned conglomerate General Electric or GE – ‘From jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information’ (not forgetting the white goods business on which their fortunes were originally based). Although dominated by American companies, there are German, Japanese and Norwegian companies too. Clearly it’s not just the software developer or the engineering company that has intellectual property worth protecting.

It is important to be aware that although intellectual property is generally an asset of the business, it can also be a liability if it is not clearly identified and properly protected. Just consider one of the most successful businesses of recent years. In 2002 a jury ruled that Research In Motion’s BlackBerry device infringed patents held by US firm NTP. Eleven of NTP’s sixteen patent infringement claims were upheld. In the end, Research In Motion and NTP agreed to settle the patent dispute over the BlackBerry device for a reported one off payment of $612.5m (£349.3m). Under the agreement, Research In Motion received a licence to NTP’s patents. However, were you aware that two of the patents at the heart of the dispute had been finally rejected by the US Patent office just two months before the settlement?

3. Identifying the IP Used in Your BusinessThe first step is to identify the IP used in your business. Figure 2 below outlines the main steps involved in identifying and evaluating your business’s IP.

The IP Protection Process

Identify

Evaluate

Perfect Imperfect

PerfectProtect

Figure 2

So what is IP? The Oxford Dictionary of Law defines IP as ‘Intangible property that includes patents, trade marks, copyright, and registered and unregistered design rights’. The word ‘intangible’ has a feeling of smoke and mirrors. It is unworldly, hard to put your finger on and hard to quantify. One dictionary defines ‘intangible’ as ‘unable to be touched; not solid or real; vague and abstract’. Another says ‘An intangible feeling or quality exists but you cannot describe it exactly or prove it’. Maybe not, however we have seen that Coke’s share of this intangible property is worth 67 billion dollars and did you know that a reported 38% of the cost of a Mercedes car is for the software?

To assist you with identifying the IP used in your business, this Guide will briefly review some of the features of the IP generally found in the workplace. Figure 3 below lists the main types of IP to be considered.

Intellectual Property Assets

The obvious ones

• Patents

• Trademarks

• Copyright

• Design rights

And then there’s

• Know-how

• Trade secrets

• Database rights

• Domain names

Figure 3

3.1 CopyrightCopyright arises automatically and does not need to be registered. It protects original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works (sometimes known as classical copyrights) as well as sound recordings, films, videos, broadcasts and computer programs (sometimes referred to as entrepreneurial copyrights). The owner of copyright in a work is generally the author (of work protected by classical copyright), or the creator (of work protected by entrepreneurialcopyright). Ownership automatically vests in the employer, if the author or creator is employed to produce the work in question. However, if work is commissioned, (under what is know in law as a contract for services, as opposed to an employment contract) – for example if a photographer is hired to take photographs – then the copyright in the commissioned works will remain the property of the author and not the commissioner.

Ownership of copyright enables a business to control the right to copy, issue copies to the public, communicate, perform, broadcast or adapt the work. In other words it provides the owner with moral and economic rights over the work whilst the work continues to be protected by copyright.

The duration of the copyright depends on the type of work being protected and may vary depending on the country in which the work is created or the author lives. In the EU, classical copyright generally lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, whereas entrepreneurial copyright can last for anything between 25 years and life of the creator plus 70 years. For example, copyright in a typographical arrangement will last for 25 years from publication of the work, copyright in a sound recording will last for 50 years from its making or later release and copyright in a film will last for 70 years from the end of the life of the last to die of the principal director, author of the screenplay, author of the dialogue or the composer of any commissioned music.

Copyright is a territory-based right, supported by international treaties under which nations respect the copyright of other nations. The copyright law which will define rights in any work is the law of the nation where the author is normally resident: so the copyrights of an American living in Paris will be governed by French law; the copyright in a novel an Englishman writes when on holiday in Greece will be governed by English law.

3.2 Trade MarksTrade marks provide brand recognition and represent brand values. A trade mark can be almost anything by which consumers can identify which business products and services come from. They can be signs, symbols, slogans, shapes, colour combinations and even sounds. Smells are harder to register as trade marks since a trade mark needs to be capable of graphical representation; however in the past the smell of freshly cut grass for tennis balls was registered as a European Trade Mark, in the UK the odour of beer has been registered for dart flights and the smell of roses for tyres. Trade marks include marks of origin for products from a particular region (e.g. the trade mark ‘Parma’ for the ham) and can represent a certain standard. Businesses can commercially exploit their trade marks by licensing them to third parties.

NCC TeChNiCal GuideliNes 1

7|

NCC TeChNiCal GuideliNes 1

6|

3.2 Laptop results

Laptop Results – By % of Maximum Available

Ubuntu5.10

Kubuntu5.10

FedoraCore 4

SuSE10.0 OSS

Novell Linux Desktop 9

Average (Mean)

Installation 53.7% 53.7% 53.7% 85.2% 85.2% 66.3%

First Boot 63.3% 60.0% 83.3% 96.7% 80.0% 76.7%

Devices & Peripherals 70.1% 69.0% 65.5% 71.3% 47.1% 64.6%

Applications & File-types 100.0% 100.0% 93.3% 100.0% 100.0% 98.7%

System Administration 100.0% 100.0% 85.7% 100.0% 100.0% 97.1%

Networking 50.0% 62.5% 62.5% 75.0% 12.5% 52.5%

TOTAL As % Of Maximum Available

71.7% 72.0% 71.3% 84.7% 69.0% 73.7%

Rank 3 2 4 1 5

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Ubuntu 5.10 Kubuntu 5.10 Fedora Core 4 SuSE 10.0 OSS Novell Linux Desktop 9

Installation First Boot Devices & Peripherals

Applications & File-types

SystemAdministration

Networking

Laptop Results by Section

3.3 Combined results

Combined Results – By % of Maximum Available

Ubuntu5.10

Kubuntu5.10

FedoraCore 4

SuSE10.0 OSS

Novell Linux Desktop 9

Average (Mean)

Installation 53.7% 53.7% 60.2% 88.0% 84.3% 68.0%

First Boot 76.7% 73.3% 86.7% 98.3% 90.0% 85.0%

Devices & Peripherals 76.7% 70.0% 76.7% 76.7% 60.7% 72.1%

Applications & File-types 100.0% 100.0% 93.3% 100.0% 100.0% 98.7%

System Administration 100.0% 100.0% 85.7% 100.0% 100.0% 97.1%

Networking 50.0% 62.5% 62.5% 70.8% 43.8% 57.9%

TOTAL As % Of Maximum Available

80.1% 78.9% 81.6% 93.0% 83.1% 83.3%

Rank 4 5 3 1 2

Installation First Boot Devices & Peripherals

Applications & File-types

SystemAdministration

Networking0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Combined Results by Section

Ubuntu 5.10 Kubuntu 5.10 Fedora Core 4 SuSE 10.0 OSS Novell Linux Desktop 9

4. Detailed Observations4.1 Fedora Core 4Desktop & GeneralFedora Core 4 installed in a very short space of time (40 mins) on the desktop PC. The DVD installation method meant that no disk-swapping was required and the installation could be carried out unattended. This is particularly useful for business or organisational installations as it means IT staff can move onto the next machine or work on other tasks.

During the ‘post-install configuration’ stage, the mouse became unresponsive and the on-screen progress bar appeared to stop at 50%. Eventually, after around 10 minutes, the installation continued, however some users may view this as a fault and reboot their machine.

The default Fedora interface is very polished and welcoming to the user. Fedora also provides excellent update functions by way of an update widget and automatic schedule. This takes responsibility away from the user to update their installation and allows them to concentrate on working.

One feature to note is the automatic installation of SELinux[19] (security-enhanced Linux), which provides general support for role-based access control and multi-level security. Fedora is the only distribution tested that bundles SELinux by default.

Automatic mounting of USB keys and removable drives was sucessful. Icons were placed on the desktop which could be used to access removable drives efficiently.

LaptopOn first attempt, Fedora refused to install on the test laptop, complaining that insufficient space was available, despite being allocated the full hard-disk (80Gb) in a single standard ext3[20] partition. Three atempts failed. On a fourth attempt the text-mode installation option was successful.

The WiFi interface failed to configure in Fedora despite two separate configuration applications (which could be confusing). We suspect this was down to the lack of an included firmware package for the WiFi card. No-doubt the drivers can be installed manually, however a first time user would not find this to be a trivial task due to the non-standard way in which vendors release their drivers. This is a side-effect of the fact that there are a number of different packaging systems used in distributions.

The addition of an external monitor was successful with Fedora, however the aspect ratio of the mirrored image was uncorrected, and the resolution unacceptable. It was not immediately apparent how to correct this without hand-editing complex configuration files and risking rendering the operating system unusable.

4.2 SuSe 10.0 (OSS Version)Desktop & GeneralSuSe took a long time to install (2hrs 45 mins) in comparison with the other distributions tested, although it provided a great deal of configuration flexibility at install-time due to the inclusion of their exclusive YaSt[21]

installer. Disk-swapping meant that the installation needed constant attention. (SuSe 10.0 is also available as a DVD, although others have reported that the DVD installation also cannot be carried out unattended because the installer still asks for the individual disks, with success gained by simply pressing ‘return’.)

Automatic updates were also provided at install-time (of which there were many, including a kernel update), and this further increased the time needed. However, it should be noted that in distributions that don’t contain this feature the user would be expected to update the operating system post-install anyway. The fact that the user has a fully up-to-date system upon first boot is a major plus in terms of security.

The default installation contained clean, sensible branding and a welcoming feel for the user, including attractive boot-splash screens which shield the non-technical user from kernel and boot messages that can be confusing.

The YaSt tool provides a simple method to get the machine ‘up-to-scratch’ upon first boot. It is well-integrated into the desktop environment.

‘The default installationcontained clean, sensible branding and a welcoming feel for the user, including attractive boot-splash screens which shield the user from kernel and boot messages that can be confusing to a non-technical user’

Design of six page brochure

ExecutiveAssessment

Services

Our executive assessment serviceshave been developed in response to client needs, in particular the desire to avoid making costly selection mistakes.

When an appointment is critical to the success of the business, obtaining objective, comprehensive and relevant information is vital if you are to make the right selection decision.

Our executive assessment services can be helpful in a number of common recruitment situations:

when selecting for key appointments;

when it is difficult to choose between several candidateson a shortlist and more in-depth information is required;

when assessing the promotion potential of internalcandidates;

when you are trying to assess characteristics that are hardto measure in an interview ;

when you need expert assistance in making an assessment

We offer two levels of service depending on your specificrequirements; the Full Day Individual Executive Assessmentand our Standard Executive Service.

PositionRequirements

IndividualCharacteristics

Person Job Mis-match

StressLow Productivity

High TurnoverHigh Training Costs

PositionRequirements•Outcomes•Tasks•Competencies

IndividualCharacteristics

Competence Based Assessment

High Performance

“ ”

“Full Day Executive Assessment ServiceThis service is recommended for senior, business-critical roles. Candidates areassessed by our Chartered Occupational Psychologists on a one-to one basis. Thefull day will involve, personality and management style assessment, psychometricreasoning tests and business case study analysis exercises as required. The results ofthe assessment exercises will be discussed with the candidate on the day to verifyand enhance the results through Business Minds unique competency-based feedbackinterview, tailored to the role in question.

Assessment ProcessOur executive assessment service follows a number of key stages:

Agreeing the framework for the assessmentThis is the most critical stage of the process in which we identify and agree thecompetencies we need to measure the candidates against.

Recognising that each assignment is unique, we spend time taking a detailed brieffrom you that reviews not only the technical aspects of each position but the culturalfactors that inevitably impact on performance.

Our Chartered Occupational Psychologists will work with you to identify the skills,competencies and personal characteristics required in the role. We will use theAssignment Brief from your recruitment partners, where available, as our background.We will use the job description & person specification as a basis for designingthe assessment, together with a discussion with relevant personnel with expertknowledge of the target role.

Any specific areas of concern that you may wish to probe further can be included.

Where job competency information is not readily available job analysis consultancycan be conducted if required (at an additional cost).

Designing the assessmentThe assessment will be designed in close consultation with you. We willrecommend tests and exercises that measure the required competencies andwhich are relevant and appropriate both for your organisation and the industrysector in which it operates.

Our psychologists have access to over 5000 different test and we reviewthe market constantly for new developments. All tests are from reputableUK publishers and will be selectedbecause of their relevance to the job inquestion, their reliability and validity.Examples of tests and inventories wemay use include, amongst others:

Personality QuestionnairesOPQ®™, 16PF®™, PSYGNA©

Reasoning Tests Verbal, Numerical and AbstractReasoning Tests – GMA Series®™, SHL™ATB, MGIB, CRTB®, Watson GlaserCritical Thinking Test™, Able Series®™

Management Style Questionnaire– MSI©.

Online options are available for some instruments.

A very professional, flexible and personal service. Debra Beebee, Nationwide Trust Ltd. Easier to

develop

Harder todevelopAttitude

TraitMotive

The Iceberg Model

KnowledgeSkill

“ ”Work-related exercisesThe full individual assessment may also include jobrelated simulation exercises such as case studies,analysis exercises, in-trays, role-plays and oralpresentations as required.

These can be particularly useful tools whenmeasuring skills such as prioritisation, delegation,judgement, influencing decision-making andinitiative-taking.

Full day assessments also include Business Minds’competency-based Feedback Interview, where theassessment results are discussed with the candidateand probed for further behavioural evidence. Itenables us to explore the findings of the test and exercises in more detailwhilst giving the candidate the opportunity to talk through and commenton the findings.

Conducting the assessment At Business Minds we treat candidates with integrity and respect, withthe aim of helping them perform to the best of their ability within theassessment process.

We believe that candidates need to be kept fully informed, which meansproviding information about any tests that are used and explaining allprocedures in advance. Wherever possible, we provide candidates withpractice tests to give them an idea of the types of questions the test maycontain and overcome any feelings of nervousness they may be feeling.

The format for a typical full day executive assessment is as follows: thecandidate completes tests and exercises in the morning, our psychologistscores and analyses the tests over lunch; a feedback session is conductedin the afternoon to discuss the results and probe for further behaviouralevidence.

Assessments are conducted on an individual basis. Assessments can beconducted at your premises or suitable hired facilities.

Reporting and feedback of assessment results Business Minds will prepare a full report on each candidate outlining theirstrengths and development needs against each of the competenciesidentified earlier.

We understand that recruitment information is often required quickly andso we guarantee that reports will be sent to you within three working daysof assessment.

Our psychologists will also be to discuss the profiles with you over thetelephone as needed. We are also available to attend client meetings todiscuss profiles at an additional charge.

For the full day assessment service feedback is given to the candidate onthe day.

Business Minds made a perceptive and effective contribution from the first meeting with our client that continued throughout the duration of this complex assignmentJames Conchie, Managing Director Consortea Ltd

“

”

Standard Executive Assessment ServiceWe have developed our Standard Executive Assessment Service for clients who:

• are familiar with using specific psychometric tests within their own organisationas a benchmark and wish to use these

• require a broad psychometric assessment of personality and reasoningcapability

• may have a several of candidates to assess.

Our standard executive psychometric assessment service involves the following:

Selection of psychometric tests Our Standard Executive Assessment Service is intended to provide you with abroad assessment of your candidates’personality preferences and reasoningcapabilities. We will use one major personality questionnaire and up to threereasoning tests as part of the assessment. The specific tests for the assessmentwill be chosen in close consultation with you.

Examples of questionnaires and tests that may be used include:

Personality Questionnaires (select one)PSYGNA©

OPQ Concept 5.2®™

16PF®™

Reasoning TestsWatson Glaser Critical Thinking®™

GMA Abstract, Verbal and NumericalReasoning®™

SHL™ Advanced Tests – Numerical &Verbal ®™

SHL™ Critical Reasoning Tests®™

Assessment of candidatesAt Business Minds we treat candidates with integrity and respect, with the aim ofhelping them perform to the best of their ability within the assessment process.

We believe that candidates need to be kept fully informed, which meansproviding information about any tests that are used and explaining allprocedures in advance. Wherever possible, we provide candidates with practicetests to give them an idea of the types of questions the test may contain andovercome any feelings of nervousness they may be feeling.

Assessments are conducted on an individual basis and will take around two ½hours depending on tests used. Assessments are conducted at hired premises inSt. Albans.

Reporting and feedback of assessment resultsWe understand that recruitment information is required promptly and henceBusiness Minds will prepare a general report outlining the test results for eachcandidate, that will usually be emailed to you within one working day, with prioragreement and depending on the volume of candidates. Our psychologistswill make themselves available to give candidates telephone feedback, once aselection decision has been made.

In the many projects we have undertaken together, evaluating the characteristics and competencies of UK, European and African nationals, I have always valued the ways in which Business Minds tailor the recommendation of evaluative tools very much around both the job requirements and client company environment.They always objectively point out the limitations of psychometric testing/assessment methods and stress the interpretation of these within the broader context of other evaluative/analytical measures that are used in both selection and career evolution exercises.

The summary reports produced by the Business Minds’ team present objective and quantifiable results that add value to both our recruitment consultancy processes and a successful outcome for our clients in ensuring the hiring of high calibre individuals for key senior roles. I will, therefore, be delighted to continue to use Business Minds’ services based on our successful collaborations over some 15 years to date.

Steve Nicholson, B.Sc. Econ. (Psychol.), C.M.C.I.P.D., Director, London & International, Adderley Featherstone plc

“Contact usBusiness Minds UK LimitedNorton House35 Waverley RdSt AlbansHerts AL3 5PH

Tel 01727 862862Fax 01727 842299www.businessminds.co.uk

E-mail [email protected]

Business Minds UK Ltd is an SHL Partner

OPQ is a registered trademark of SHL Group. 16PF is a registered trademark of IPAT inc. IPAT is a wholly

owned subsidiary of OPP Ltd. W-GCTA is a registered trademark of the Psychological Corporation.

GMA Series, Steve Blinkhorn, 1985, © ASE

Critical Reasoning Tests, Pauline & Chris Whetton, 1992, © ASE

“

”

When I am on a journey to find a specialist with particular skills, aninitial referral from a trusted source and a company on top of their briefare two indicators that I may have arrived at my destination – Business Minds met both of those criteria. The appointment of senior personnel is a key strategic decision, and expensive if the wrong candidate is selected. Business Minds immediately engendered a feeling of confidence and they carried through their brief perfectly and cost effectively, and I would have no hesitation in using Business Minds again and importantly, recommending them to others. Tony Hulatt, Managing Director CLM Fleet Management

ExecutiveAssessment

Services

Design of Rapid Survey Results brochures for the National Computing Centre.

Security and Information Risk Survey

How advanced are your legacy applications? � How advanced are your legacy applications? �

In March 2006 Atos Origin commissioned the National Computing Centre (NCC) to deliver a survey looking at ‘How advanced are you with your legacy applications?’. The aim of the survey was to investigate organisational strategies and perceptions in relation to their Legacy Applications.

Legacy means different things to different people. For the purposes of this questionnaire we defined legacy to include those applications that are potentially unsupportable, that have a relatively high total cost of ownership, where there is a critical skills shortage, and are possibly inflexible relative to changing business and regulatory requirements.

The Appendix-Tables at the back of this report display the figures on which the charts and written commentary are based.

2.1 Survey MethodologyThe survey took the form of an NCC Rapid Survey which is a short web-based questionnaire available to NCC contacts for a limited timeframe. The survey questionnaire was developed in consultation with Atos Origin and consisted of 18 questions all in optional answer format.

Participation was primarily by invitation, however, the survey was advertised on the NCC website so anyone interested in participating could do so. NCC members and contacts were e-mailed an invitation to participate in the research. A further e-mail reminder was dispatched to members two weeks later. The survey was open for responses for just three weeks from 3rd to 24th March 2006.

2.2 RespondentsOne hundred and sixty eight responses were received by the closing date and this report is based on 152 useable responses.

3.1 Which of the following best describes the main business activity of your organisation?

We asked respondents to select the most appropriate business activity to describe their organisation.

Of the overall responses, two-thirds were from private sector organisations, but the largest single sector representation was from the public sector with 29% (and the remaining 4% from the Health sector). This is not surprising as traditionally the public sector has considerable interest in legacy.

Other 14%

Public Sector 29%

Health 4%

IT Services 5%

Business Services 8%

Finance 9%

Transport & Travel 4%

Retail & Wholesale 4%

Construction 5%

Manufacturing 18%

14%

29%

4% 5% 8%

9%

4%

4%

5%

18%

Q1.1 Main business activity of responding organisations

3.2 How many employees do you have in your organisation?The largest grouping represented in the survey results is organisations with between 1,001 and 5,000 employees (33%), followed by organisations with between 100 and 500 employees. The least represented are the smaller enterprises (less than 100 employees) which make up only 7% of responses.

more than 10,000

5001-10,000

1001-5000

501-1000

100-500

less than 100

11%

11%

33%10%

28%

7%

Q1.2 Number of employees

Background2 About the Organisation3

‘It is clear that legacy systems are inhibiting business improvement and potentially damaging the perception of IT in the boardroom’

‘The largest grouping represented in the survey results is organisations with between 1,001 and 5,000 employees’

N C C R a p i d S u R v e y R e S u l t S – M a y 2 0 0 6

How advanced are your legacy applications?

Security and Information Risk Survey � Security and Information Risk Survey �

Atos Consulting commissioned the National Computing Centre (NCC) to conduct a UK survey focused on the issues of security and information risk across both public and private sector organisations. The survey solicited the opinions of senior risk management professionals across a variety of industries. Our aim has been to gauge the levels of commercial, financial and technical sponsorship which security and information risk groups believe they are experiencing as well as to understand the current and emerging enterprise risk drivers that propogate the behaviours, insights and consequently investment decisions of these groups.

Survey MethodologyThe method employed a short web-based questionnaire which has been made available to Atos Consulting clients and NCC contacts for a period of six weeks. The questionnaire framework was developed by Atos Consulting in consultation with the NCC and consisted of 20 questions which combined both optional (click select) and free text answers.

Participants were invited to take part in this research via a mixture of calls and emails from the Atos Consulting partnership and volume email shots from the NCC. A further reminder emailing was dispatched to NCC contacts one week prior to the survey closing date.

RespondentsBy the closing date 99 responses had been received.

Respondents to the survey represented a broad range of industry sectors. Almost 18% of respondents were from the IT Services sector, 17% were from Government – either local or central or their agencies – and 17% from the Finance sector. The Distribution sector – including retail and wholesale – was the least represented with just 1%.

Other Services 10%

Business Services 11%

Health 4%

IT Services 18%

Government 18%

Finance 17%

Distribution 1%

Education 3%

Utilities 4%

Manufacturing 14%

10%

11%

17%

3%

18%

18%

4%1%

4%

14%

Respondents by Industry Sector

Background2

‘Our aim has been to gauge the levels of commercial, financial and technical sponsorship which Security and Information Risk groups believe they are experiencing as well as to understand the current and emerging enterprise risk drivers which drive the behaviours, insights and consequently investment decisions of these groups’

Q1.1 Are your security and information risk issues gaining more or less attention from your management team?

For the majority of respondents the level of attention to security and information risk issues is increasing for the management team and therefore security and information risk, as an issue, is gaining more attention across all areas of the business.

At Board level 52% see an increase in attention, whilst 41% perceive Board level attention to be unchanged. The high proportion expecting there to be no change in the level of attention may be due to the significant profile that security and information risk issues already hold in many enterprises.

Over a quarter are aware of significantly higher attention to security and information risk issues from heads of IT/Chief Technology Officers (CTO), or heads of IT Operations or heads of an IT department. Potentially indicating that the digital risk landscape is gaining profile for many of our respondents.

0 20 40 60 80 100%

Significantly lessSomewhat lessThe sameSomewhat higherSignificantly higher

Board level

CIO level

Head of IT/CTO level

Head of IT Operations level

IT Department Head level

IT Team Leader level

Security and information risk issues – attention level

Q1.2 Who has direct responsibility for information security in your organisation?

In almost two-thirds of surveyed organisations the person responsible for information security is someone who sits within the IT function, i.e. IT manager, IT operations manager, or head of risk.

Just 12% have a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) which implies the function is still quite immature but developing.

29% have a Chief Information Officer (CIO) with responsibility for information security.

Head of Risk 12%

IT Operations Manager 10%

CTO 7%

CIO 29%

IT Manager 26%

CSO 4%

CISO 12%

12%

10%

29% 12%

7%

4%

26%

Who has the responsibility for information security

About your organisation3

Design of six page conference brochure for Ashridge Business School

An advanced five

day programme

for corporate and

divisional managers

Andrew Campbell

Marcus Alexander

Michael Goold

Group Level

Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 1NS, United KingdomTelephone: +44 (0)1442 843491 Facsimile: +44 (0)1442 841209 Email: [email protected] Corporate website: www.ashridge.comRegistered as Ashridge (Bonar Law Memorial) Trust. Charity number 311096. So

vere

ign

Colo

ur L

itho

Full details of all our programmes can be found on our corporate website: www.ashridge.com

Strategic Decisions

An advanced five-day programme that examines decision making within the context of a hierarchy and looks at both the technical and political aspects of the process.

Dates: 20-15 May 200118-23 November 2001

Fee: £3,900 (+VAT)

Venue: Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Strategy & Finance

A five-day programme aimed at managers unfamiliar with the tools of strategic and financial analysis.

Dates: 12-16 February 200125-29 June 200110-14 September 200110-14 December 2001

Fee: £3,550 (+VAT)


Making Successful Acquisitions

This programme is designed for managers concerned with improving acquisition decisions

Two day courses

Dates: 24-25 April 200118-19 September 20014-5 December 2001

Fee: £1,285 (+VAT)

Venue: Central London

Three day courses

Dates: 13-15 June 207-9 November 2001

Fee: £2,470 (+VAT)


About Ashridge Strategic Management Centre

Ashridge Strategic Management Centre is a research body,

established by Ashridge, whose purpose is to develop an

improved understanding of strategic decision-making. Its primary

concern is the management of multi-business companies. The

Centre carries out research projects and publishes reports and

articles, as well as providing short courses and seminars for senior

management. The Centre is financially supported by a number of

major organisations who have become corporate members. These

include Astra Zeneca, Barclays, BG/Transco, Boots, BT, Diageo,

DSM, Kingfisher, Mars, Philips, Shell, Unilever, and Whitbread

For further information concerning the work of Ashridge Strategic

Management Centre, please contact:

Ashridge Strategic Management Centre

17 Portland Place, London, W1N 3AF England

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7323 4422

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7323 0903

E-mail: [email protected]

World wide web: http://www.ashridge.org.uk

Location

Group Level Strategy is run at Ashridge, which is situated 30

miles north-west of London, just outside Berkhamsted in

Hertfordshire, within easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick

airports and the main rail and motorway networks. It is set in

a 150 acre estate, surrounded by National Trust woodlands, the

imposing main house being the former country residence of the

Duke of Bridgewater. It has 173 individual study bedrooms, each

with its own bathroom and telephone, in addition to a range of

fully equipped conference and syndicate rooms. The catering,

accommodation and extensive sports facilities are all of the

highest standard.

Other ProgrammesFaculty

Group Level Strategy brings together the three

directors of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre

who co-authored the seminal book “Corporate Level

Strategy: Creating Value in the Multi-business company”

(John Wiley, 1994). The programme incorporates their

latest research work in this area, and is acknowledged

as a unique, state-of-the-art event.

Michael Goold

Michael is programme director of

this course.

Before Ashridge, he was a Senior

Fellow at the London Business

School’s Centre for Business

Strategy. Previously he was a

Vice President of the Boston

Consulting Group. During twelve years with BCG he

helped establish their London office and worked on a

range of strategy studies for clients in the UK, Europe

and the USA. He gained an MBA with distinction from

Stanford Business School, USA.

Marcus Alexander

Prior to joining Ashridge, Marcus

was co-founder of a consulting

company focused on strategic

process and previously worked

at the Boston Consulting Group

and in Investment Banking. He

was the Ford scholar at Harvard

Business School where he gained his MBA, and was

also a Harkness Fellow and Baker Scholar.

Andrew Campbell

Prior to joining Ashridge, Andrew

Campbell was a Fellow in the

Centre for Business Strategy at

the London Business School.

Before that he was a consultant

for six years with McKinsey &

Co, working on strategy and

organisation problems in London and Los Angeles. He

also spent three years as a loan officer with Investors

in Industry. Andrew Campbell holds an MBA from

the Harvard Business School where he was a Harkness

Fellow and Baker Scholar.

The

Cour

se A

dmin

istra

tor

Ashr

idge

Stra

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anag

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17 P

ortla

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lace

Lond

on W

1N 3

AF

Unite

d Ki

ngdo

m

Berkhamsted

Brighton

FolkestoneDover

Bristol

StanstedAirport

GatwickAirport

Milton Keynes

Oxford

M40

M4

M3

M25

M1

LutonAirport

Birmingham

Cambridge

Ashridge

Heathrow Airport

London

Southampton

Group Level Strategy is about the role of the corporate centre and divisional levels in companies that

are made up of a number of separate business units or profit centres. It focuses on how these upper

management levels, which we call the corporate parent, can make their overall groups worth more than

the sum of their parts.

In many multi-business companies, the group strategy is simply an aggregation of the individual business

strategies. This fails to provide a value-added rationale for why the group should exist as a unified entity.

Simply slimming down corporate functions and reducing head office costs is no substitute for a more

positive group-level strategy.

In any multi-level company, whether it is focused on a related set of businesses or diversified more

widely, the corporate parent needs a clear value-added role. This programme will help managers to

identify and implement such a role.

Group Level Strategy

Who is the course designed for?The programme will be valuable to all those who work at levels above the individual business unit. This includes multi-business division managers and chief executives, corporate and divisional functional managers, and external advisors and analysts working with complex corporations.

It will be particularly valuable to those who have recently moved into a corporate or divisional role, or whose group has recently become more multi-unit or multi-level, perhaps through acquisition. Whilst primarily focussed on the private sector, public sector managers in multi-level organisations find the concepts generally relevant.

Programme designThe programme has been designed to help managers improve the quality of their group-level strategies. The design is based around the notion of ‘parenting advantage’ and a framework for corporate strategy developed over several years of research at Ashridge Strategic Management Centre. This framework helps managers address issues of portfolio composition and corporate centre design by focussing on the need for ‘fit’ between different elements within the group. It avoids ‘one-size-fits-all’ thinking and recognises critical differences in business unit needs, corporate cultures and parenting skills.

The programme starts by exploring Ashridge’s overall framework for assessing and developing group level strategy. It then addresses specific topics that group level strategists need to be able to handle. Throughout the week, case studies and exercises concerned with participant’s own companies are used to bring alive the frameworks and concepts presented. The emphasis is on practical problems, applications and decisions, using the depth of personal experience of the Ashridge faculty.

Learning approachCase studies, group exercises and external speakers bridge the gap between the main concepts put forward and application to the participant’s own organisations. Each participant is urged to work on a live group level strategy issue during the week, acting as a focal point in applying the programme’s concepts, and a practical link back to daily life.

What topics does Group Level Strategy cover?The programme will cover:

Understanding the corporate parent- mental maps- structures, systems and processes- staffs- people and skills- decentralisation

Understanding the businesses- business definitions- critical success factors- competitive positions- industry attractiveness- parenting opportunities

Analysing rival corporate parents- alternative ways of adding value

Trends and scenarios- coping with change and learning

Group strategy- corporate objectives- sources of parenting advantage- performance improvement- portfolio composition- creating synergies

Implementing the strategy- grasping opportunities to add value- changes to the corporate parent- organisation design choices- resource allocation and portfolio choices- mergers, acquisitions and divestments- corporate versus divisional roles- practical problems to anticipate

About the course Programme

Sunday

20.30–22.00 Introduction: group level strategy and

the concept of parenting advantage.

Monday

09.00–13.00 Framework for group level strategy (1)

- assessing the current strategy.

14.00–18.00 Framework for group level strategy (2)

- developing a new strategy.

20.30–22.00 Exercise to apply framework to

participants’ companies.

Tuesday

09.00–13.00 How and when the parent can add

value (1)

- identifying opportunities

- implications for portfolio choices.

14.00–18.00 How and when the parent can add

value (2)

- implications for corporate and

divisional management systems,

processes and staffs.

20.30–22.00 External speaker.

Wednesday

09.00–13.00 Synergy: creating value from linkages

between business units.

14.00–18.00 Organisation design: structures, roles

and relationships.

20.30–22.00 Review and work on participant issues.

Thursday

09.00–13.00 Mergers and acquisitions.

14.00–18.00 Integrative case study.

19.30–22.00 Course dinner and speaker.

Friday

09.00–12.00 Participant issues workshop.

12.00-13.00 Programme summary and review.

Booking information

Group Level Strategy

An advanced programme for managers dealing with a group

of individual business units.

A five-day, fully residential programme which starts on Sunday

evening and ends on Friday afternoon. The programmes are

held at Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

The programme is run once per year. The 2001 date is:

14-19 October 2001

The fee is £4,650 (+VAT) payable in advance, which includes

all residential costs, tuition fees and learning materials.

To reserve a place on this programme, please complete

and return the tear-off card. A full registration form will

then be issued.

Enquiries concerning bookings should be addressed to

Maggie Sampson, Ashridge Strategic Management Centre, at

the address overleaf, or contact:

Tel: +44 (0) 207 323 4422

Fax: +44(0) 207 323 0903

Email: [email protected]

I wish to reserve a place on the Group Level Strategy

programme: 14-19 October 2001

Name

Job title

Company

Address

Postcode

Telephone

Nominator (if appropriate)

Job title

Address (if different from above)

Postcode

Telephone

12345

Understandingthe parent

Analysingrivals

Making changes in the parent

Assessing fit

Achievingfit

Formulating the Group’s Strategy

Understandingrelevant business

characteristics

Analysing trendsand exploring

scenarios

Making changes in the portfolio

“Case histories were helpful in turning theory into practice”

“It has been a fantastic practical

way of learning”

“Very enjoyable, a good balance

between class room and case

studies”

“Good mix between theory and case “Excellent insight into a new topic for me”

An advanced five

day programme

for corporate and

divisional managers

Andrew Campbell

Marcus Alexander

Michael Goold

Group Level

Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 1NS, United KingdomTelephone: +44 (0)1442 843491 Facsimile: +44 (0)1442 841209 Email: [email protected] Corporate website: www.ashridge.comRegistered as Ashridge (Bonar Law Memorial) Trust. Charity number 311096. So

vere

ign

Colo

ur L

itho

Full details of all our programmes can be found on our corporate website: www.ashridge.com

Strategic Decisions

An advanced five-day programme that examines decision making within the context of a hierarchy and looks at both the technical and political aspects of the process.

Dates: 20-15 May 200118-23 November 2001

Fee: £3,900 (+VAT)


Strategy & Finance

A five-day programme aimed at managers unfamiliar with the tools of strategic and financial analysis.

Dates: 12-16 February 200125-29 June 200110-14 September 200110-14 December 2001

Fee: £3,550 (+VAT)


Making Successful Acquisitions

This programme is designed for managers concerned with improving acquisition decisions

Two day courses

Dates: 24-25 April 200118-19 September 20014-5 December 2001

Fee: £1,285 (+VAT)

Venue: Central London

Three day courses

Dates: 13-15 June 207-9 November 2001

Fee: £2,470 (+VAT)


About Ashridge Strategic Management Centre

Ashridge Strategic Management Centre is a research body,

established by Ashridge, whose purpose is to develop an

improved understanding of strategic decision-making. Its primary

concern is the management of multi-business companies. The

Centre carries out research projects and publishes reports and

articles, as well as providing short courses and seminars for senior

management. The Centre is financially supported by a number of

major organisations who have become corporate members. These

include Astra Zeneca, Barclays, BG/Transco, Boots, BT, Diageo,

DSM, Kingfisher, Mars, Philips, Shell, Unilever, and Whitbread

For further information concerning the work of Ashridge Strategic

Management Centre, please contact:

Ashridge Strategic Management Centre

17 Portland Place, London, W1N 3AF England

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7323 4422

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7323 0903

E-mail: [email protected]

World wide web: http://www.ashridge.org.uk

Location

Group Level Strategy is run at Ashridge, which is situated 30

miles north-west of London, just outside Berkhamsted in

Hertfordshire, within easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick

airports and the main rail and motorway networks. It is set in

a 150 acre estate, surrounded by National Trust woodlands, the

imposing main house being the former country residence of the

Duke of Bridgewater. It has 173 individual study bedrooms, each

with its own bathroom and telephone, in addition to a range of

fully equipped conference and syndicate rooms. The catering,

accommodation and extensive sports facilities are all of the

highest standard.

Other ProgrammesFaculty

Group Level Strategy brings together the three

directors of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre

who co-authored the seminal book “Corporate Level

Strategy: Creating Value in the Multi-business company”

(John Wiley, 1994). The programme incorporates their

latest research work in this area, and is acknowledged

as a unique, state-of-the-art event.

Michael Goold

Michael is programme director of

this course.

Before Ashridge, he was a Senior

Fellow at the London Business

School’s Centre for Business

Strategy. Previously he was a

Vice President of the Boston

Consulting Group. During twelve years with BCG he

helped establish their London office and worked on a

range of strategy studies for clients in the UK, Europe

and the USA. He gained an MBA with distinction from

Stanford Business School, USA.

Marcus Alexander

Prior to joining Ashridge, Marcus

was co-founder of a consulting

company focused on strategic

process and previously worked

at the Boston Consulting Group

and in Investment Banking. He

was the Ford scholar at Harvard

Business School where he gained his MBA, and was

also a Harkness Fellow and Baker Scholar.

Andrew Campbell

Prior to joining Ashridge, Andrew

Campbell was a Fellow in the

Centre for Business Strategy at

the London Business School.

Before that he was a consultant

for six years with McKinsey &

Co, working on strategy and

organisation problems in London and Los Angeles. He

also spent three years as a loan officer with Investors

in Industry. Andrew Campbell holds an MBA from

the Harvard Business School where he was a Harkness

Fellow and Baker Scholar.

The

Cour

se A

dmin

istra

tor

Ashr

idge

Stra

tegi

c M

anag

emen

t Cen

tre

17 P

ortla

nd P

lace

Lond

on W

1N 3

AF

Unite

d Ki

ngdo

m

Berkhamsted

Brighton

FolkestoneDover

Bristol

StanstedAirport

GatwickAirport

Milton Keynes

Oxford

M40

M4

M3

M25

M1

LutonAirport

Birmingham

Cambridge

Ashridge

Heathrow Airport

London

Southampton

n Packagingandillustration

Design of corporate identity and packaging for scented candle manufacturer. This developed into design of packaging for numerous ranges of candles.

Design of an exclusive range of candles to be sold through the Cancer Research Campaign mail order catalogue.

theBathroomcandle Creating an atmosphere for your home

Keep wick trimmed to a quarter inch.To protect your furniture, do not burn candle to

the bottom of the tin. This tin may get hot.DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED

www.potterscrouch.co.uk Burns for

approx 35 hrsWeight

200 grams

the Bathroomcandle

theBoudoir candle

theKitchencandle

Creating an atmosphere for your homeKeep wick trimmed to a quarter inch.

To protect your furniture, do not burn candle tothe bottom of the tin. This tin may get hot.

DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDEDwww.potterscrouch.co.uk

Burns forapprox 35 hrs

Weight200 grams

theBoudoircandle





Weight200 grams

the

candle





Weight200 grams

the Kitchencandle

Examples of illustration work

Why work with Julie Oakley Design?

n ManyyearsofexperienceofaverygoodworkingrelationshipwiththeInstitute

n Flexibilityandadaptability–workcanoftenbeturnedroundatthelastminute

n Youalwaysgetthemostseniorpersonhandlingyourjob

n Cost-effective,younevergetanynastysurpriseswhenquotedorinvoiced

n Excellentattentiontodetail

n Thecontentofallpublicationsisreadanddouble-checkedsoyouknowthatasecondsetofeyesischeckingforgrammar,spellingandstyleinconsistencies

julie oakley design presentation

Documents

uz tel

vacations group

umbrella identity

registration number

uz conrad jaffsales

afbpssmanaging directoremail

separate corporate identities

cohesive web presence