Exam Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam Case Study - Assignment Example Later to follow are the recommendations to overcome the stated problems and improve company’s performance. Problems faced Primary problems faced by Sunshine Shirts come under the category of delivery delays and bottlenecks in quality. Delays are attributed to factors like large number of inspections, inventory and warehousing issues and lengthy production cycle of shirts. Also, type and volume of orders in the three categories also contribute to delays in deliveries. For quality concerns, even large number of inspections is not proving beneficial since printing is not getting appreciated by the customers. Faulty shirts are also getting in the orders which are resulting in increased number of complaints and reduced customer loyalty. Delays in deliveries and quality pitfalls cumulate to rising costs but no increased profit margins. Thus, an indirect offshoot of the above mentioned problems is an urgent need for cost-cutting campaign which can not be realized unless careful and m eticulous strategic planning is undertaken. Following next are specific instances which have led to the above mentioned problems of faulty planning, delays and quality concerns. Sources of problems Superficially, problems seem to be very generic, trivial and operations based. However, upon careful observation and deep analysis, the sources of these problems vary from strategic planning to inventory management, quality management and even setting up of performance measures. Detailed breakdown of sources of problems is given below: Strategic planning Strategic planning is a wide concept covering numerous operations within a specific business. From human resources to operations, production to management and even after sales, strategic planning entails setting up of standards, crafting plans according to those standards and measuring actual outputs to find out deviations. At Sunshine Shirts, planning has not taken a serious form. Various loopholes exist in different functions and domain s. Opening sentences where it is mentioned that the company budgeted for but still reported losses is a clear example of poor planning. Next for example, the problem of delivery delays can primarily be attributed to planning glitch. Before actual inventory management, it is the work of planning to ascertain the flow of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods. Faulty planning has led to faulty warehousing and chaos at factory space. Secondly, customer complaints have increased at Sunshine Shirts due to printing issues as ink on shirts peels off. This might be due to wrong supplier selection of printing inks which is again a function of strategic planning in a company. Further, regarding costs, company officials and heads of various departments are suggesting different solutions- reducing number of inspections, outsourcing, and charging premium price for better quality and even enter women shirts market. However, consensus cannot be achieved in finalizing a solution. This i s because the company does not know whether its competitive advantage lies in low cost or better quality. As such, direction of its strategic planning is not focused on one of these dimensions, leading to disadvantages and losses in both. To cut costs, managers are recommending outsourcing some of the activities to nations where production costs are lower. However, they do not see that expenses incurred on its three types of customer segments outweigh the returns yielded by these. Thus, even customer profitability analysis is not

Immigration and Asylum Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Immigration and Asylum Law - Essay Example There comes a point at which, for some prolonged and unavoidable separation from this group seriously inhibits their ability to live full and fulfilling lives† (p89). Considering the psychological nature of human beings, the above statement affirms that human beings often interact as they live in sociable settings.2 As such human beings develop close relationships with each other to a point of desiring uninterrupted privacy of their persons or property. In the same light, humans derive a sense of belonging from their family members including spouses, children and other close relative. Therefore, anything including removal or deportation that threatens to separate such close family ties will be deemed to interfere with the victim’s right to enjoy private or family life. This paper therefore seeks to examine the relevance of the above mentioned statement with respect to immigration and asylum law. Besides, the paper provides critical arguments and practical circumstances u nder which the immigration and asylum law broadens its understanding to the reasoning of Lord Bingham. To that end, the arguments herein shall add to the archives of knowledge practical applications of the immigration and asylum law beyond the corridors of justice. 2. The statement was alluded in delivering the verdict in Huang and Kashmiri v SSHD [2007] UKHL 11 as depicted by Harvey, C 2000, Seeking Asylum in the UK: problems and prospects, London: Butterworths. The concept of Immigration and Asylum According to Hayes, Humphries and Cohen (2004, p162), immigration refers to the movement of persons from one state to another for purposes of seeking employment, visitation or temporary residence. In additions, the... From this research it is clear that immigration refers to the movement of persons from one state to another for purposes of seeking employment, visitation or temporary residence. In additions, the idea translates to the entry into another country other than the country of origin regardless of the protocol followed. As such, immigration could either be legal or illegal. With respect to the legality of movement, nations have developed amicable structures defining the procedures and circumstances under which the immigration relations apply. Moreover, the need to have a common method of handling foreign nationals has also necessitated the instrumentation of the immigration law in line with international standards of justice, protection and interaction. Druckman and Stern posits that people who travel to other countries for reasons outlined in the immigration law are termed as immigrants. Such people may have to apply for work permits and travelling documents to allow their movements and operations within the country of immigration. It is therefore a matter of convention to accord all immigrants necessary protection and assistance to ensure that they have full access to means of livelihood, family relations, propriety of justice as well as free movement and association for the entire period of their stay. While the country enjoys the right of admission, it confers reasonable expectation of protection and assistance to its immigrants in return for their allegiance. In the event that such mutuality is breached, the admitting state reserves the right to expel such individual and their persons. It is then that the concept of deportation emanates.

Discuss the implications of globalisation for both rich and poor Essay

Discuss the implications of globalisation for both rich and poor countries - Essay Example United Nation Development Program (UNDP) is concerned that inequalities and poverty level have increased in poor countries. UNDP indicates the major cause is global trade and finance system (World Bank, 2000). Another implication of globalization for the rich and the poor countries is that there is increased global protest and chaos. For instance, global trade means that investors from different countries have access to rich or poor countries thus increasing the chances of insecurity and drug trafficking. Security is important to poor and rich countries. While most countries join together to improve trade, in some cases insecurity is experienced. Likewise, illegal transactions have been reported for example importing of guns and elephant trunks which is mostly done by the residents of the countries (David, 2001). Drug trafficking like cocaine among other hard drugs is a threat to the countries residents especially to the youths since in most cases the drugs are sold to the youths thu s making a country lowers the economic status. This is based on the fact that young people support a country with the required output in the factories and in plantations among other areas. The rules and ideologies of globalization are that free trade is allowed, deregulation, privatization and structural adjustment which has left the poor countries residents to be homeless, landless and hungry. Since investors from other countries look for cheap labor, no training when recruiting new resources making the matter worse in poor countries. This means that access to health facilities, education, water, sanitation among other things is not easy thus resulting to negative effects on the productivity in such countries (Pritchett, 1998). On the other hand, the rich countries are not affected but rather they keep on increasing their wealth. For example, from 1986 to 2000, the total US wealth that was controlled by people increased from $7.2 trillion to $27 trillion. This

Information Systems Quality and Testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Information Systems Quality and Testing - Essay Example Therefore, in a bid to see this effected, the company has contracted Eclipse Web Solutions to steer the website project that will see the company develop a new website that will help in promoting their products and services (Rubin & Chisnell, 2008). The company is the major stakeholder of this website project as it is the one involved in its development. Therefore, the man aim of the company in suggesting this project is to see it join its competitors in using the latest technology available. Those in the company who are set to benefit from the project include the following; human resource manager, business development director, marketing manager, area manager and finance manager. The other stakeholder who will also be involved in this website project is Eclipse Web Ltd. This is the company contracted to manage the website project by Simply Events. The other stakeholders are the customers who the company is targeting with the use and adoption of this new method of business promotion. They are set to learn more about the company concerning its products and services in order to purchase them. Successful development and implementation of the business is set to improve the performance of this company. This will be achieved through discarding the old ways of doing things and adopting the new and innovative technology. Therefore the website is going to be of value through the following ways; increasing awareness both locally and internationally, improving the long and time wasting manual operations and finally earning the company a position in the global platform as it strives to deliver and satisfy their customers (Harrison & Waite, 2006). Human resource department will benefit from the website project due to cost reduction. Currently the department has been publishing or advertising job vacancies in the local newspaper which has

Brand management Hoyts Cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Brand management Hoyts Cinema - Essay Example This study looks into the Hoyts Cinema Company that is capable of distributing independent film shows to Australian cinemas and broadcast high quality modern blockbuster movies. Hoyts cinemas had been independent by the beginning of the 1990s later merging with big companies like 20th Century to boost its profits and increase their target market. The society’s trend to appreciate films is rapidly growing towards identification with popular production companies that are mostly recognized as the prime producers of excellent films. Hoyts realized this opportunity and increased merger with other large Hollywood based film industries by 2002 to attract a larger market that appreciates quality productions. There is also importance in increasing comfort in the cinema environments and improve the service that consumers are willing to pay to achieve entertainment. Excellent service delivery and customer satisfaction goes greatly in improving brand popularity and improvement among its c onsumers. Most businesses and service providers offer increased incentives and adjustments to improve their brand quality and overall marketing of their services. Brand audit aids in reviewing the changes needed to improve the overall service structure of a company and increasing its identity in the competitive market. Through the application of various processes entailed in brand audit process, Hoyts cinema is capable of identifying areas of improvements. The brand auditing process identifies the weak areas of the brand improving on its overall performance and increasing its competitiveness in the market. ... Brand Auditing Jelsema in his article explains six factors considered when undertaking a successful brand audit process. The overall positioning of the brand, its market segmentation, differentiators, internal environments of the company, overall brand positioning, personality and brand metrics help identify a company in the competitive market7. These factors are the developmental strategies applied by a company to check on errors limiting development and its advancement when considering growth. In addition, areas of improvement are highlighted and adjustments made according to the overall requirements8. In general, a company’s brand will be defined by its overall outlook, name used or logo that stands out from the other brands9. Brand Culture and Image The culture in the brand is the image that has been drawn on the consumer’s image for prolonged period often articulated to the ability to memorize it by name or image. Hoyts Cinemas have been in the Australian markets f or decades establishing its dominance among other film providers in the state10. The ability of the company to deliver modern films that the audiences often require in the time of their release has led to the growth in its marketing11. Consumers would recommend other users to seek their services through mentioning its name and its signature logo. It is vital for the management and the staff to depict the overall culture of the brand to adjust into serving the long time clients who may be used to a particular routine in service delivery12. To understand this concept better, businesses often apply the use of a service triangle that puts the customer, the employees and the overall

Damage That Has Been Done to Children of Divorce Essay Example for Free

Damage That Has Been Done to Children of Divorce Essay When a marriage is not working, there is a breakdown of communication, common goals, or trust, and often this ends in divorce. A divorce is a very painful process with detrimental effects on children that are involved (Wienstock 5). The general trauma of a divorce and the level of severity it has on a child are mainly due to the childs age when a divorce takes place. The psychological effects are normally considered long term and the hardest to deal with for children involved (Persons 1). The easiest of all effects of a divorce is a child is behavior outburst normally displaying aggression and a feeling of not caring about anything or anyone anymore. The general effects of a divorce can affect everyone involved, but often the children will show the stress and emotions of a divorce more openly that an adult would. The fear of abandonment and losing one of the parents is devastating on a child (Wienstock 3). How a children perceives their homes normally sets the level of damage children are going to have to cope with through out the divorce and thereafter. If a child perceives the home as stable, they may handle a divorce well, but if a child perceives a home as freighting and scary place, they may try to avoid dealing with it at all. The trauma that a child endures will probably be worse than a child in a stable household environment. The most important issue that affects the level of perception and a level of damage is the age of a child when the parents divorce (Wienstock 3). Younger children will normally take a divorce of their parents more personally and handle it worse than an older child would. The psychological effects are more categorized as long-term effect that leave the children feeling responsible and blaming themselves for the guilt of a divorce everyone going through. Most children exercise a sense of loss during a divorce that can only be compared to as lost of a loved one (Children of Divorce 4). Feeling of rejections and loneliness normally confuses a child to the point of depression and some times suicide. The struggle as a child trys to keep in contact with the absent parent without  offending the parent that they are still are with becomes stressful and some times damaging to a young child (Wienstock 4). The deepest of all emotions is anger, and it is the easiest to recognize in older children that are coping with a divorce (Persons). The anger is normally turned toward both parents and sibling in the household (Wienstock 4 5). The behavior change in a child is almost immediate after the announcement of a divorce. The behavior outburst and disruption in a childs life are signs that a child is having a hard time dealing with the idea of parents splitting up. Academic problems with school activities and grades and physical displays of anger are the first of behavior effects to be seen in a family that is falling apart (Wienstock 5). Older children and even younger children are turning to drugs and alcohol to cope with the emotional stress of losing one of the parents in the household . Girls tend to become sexual active with older partners, as they long to find a father like figure to replace the parent that is no longer a direct part of their lives (Wienstock 5). Boys tend to have shorter relationships refusing to get close for fear of being rejected again as they might have felt when their mother left them with his father as a child during a divorce. These children are just trying to find someone that they feel will not abandoned them as they feel their parents have done to them. The painful process that is broken into stages is navigated by a child and adults alike that have been subject to a divorce. The loss of the other parent is compared by most specialists to a death of a loved one. In therapy, the psychological effects in children are normally over looked as a child grows up and into adults themselves. These children typically are found to have poor relationships and an unbalanced social life as they struggle to find where they belong in this world. The physical effects that affect everyone are the choices that children make while thinking that they will never survive the divorce. Drugs, alcohol, and the sexual behaviors of the older children are just a few effects that a divorce can have on the children. The poor decisions of the current generation to enter in to marriage lightly at such a young age, leaves our society open for a generation of emotion basket cases of parents to raise the our future  generations..

The Evolution Of Corporate Espionage Business Essay

The Evolution Of Corporate Espionage Business Essay Espionage is the use of illegal means or deceptive practices to gather information. It is also commonly referred to as industrial or economic espionage. Industrial Espionage (or Economic Espionage) is the clandestine collection of sensitive, restricted or classified information. This information by its very nature is not openly accessible and can only be obtained through covert collection means. Industrial Espionage might include the theft of sensitive or restricted competitor information (such as financial data, restricted manufacturing processes, customer accounts, etc.), covert recruitment of sources within a competitors firm, and other such methods. Each and every day covert activities are being conducted for the purpose of obtaining information that can create value for another organization, be it a business or another government. Corporate initially meant united in one body (1398, from L. corporatus or corpus which means body  [1]  ). However, in due course of time the term the connotations attached with it finally paved way for the new age definition which is pertaining to a corporation or a group come together for a common goal. Moving onto Espionage, it means the systematic use of spies to get military, political or industrial secrets (1793, from Fr. Espionage  [2]  ). Corporate Espionage basically suggests impregnating a corporate system or structure with spies or systems so as to facilitate leakage of information which could in all probability mar the growth, financial stability the prospects of the victim organization to have sustained development in future. Corporate Espionage would cover illicit activities like theft of trade secrets, bribery, blackmail technological surveillance. And with developments that followed in the recent years, even attempts to sabotage a corporation may be conside red corporate espionage. Basically there are three primary motivations behind corporate espionage. First, an individual corporation may use corporate espionage to advance their goals towards maximizing shareholder value. Secondly, state-sponsored corporate espionage is an essential ingredient of modern day economic warfare or military application of the intellectual property. Thirdly, special interest groups may conduct corporate espionage to gather data to further their cause (i.e. environment interests). There are also instances where the distinction between legal and illegal intelligence gathering activities is blurred. Probably the most notorious case of corporate espionage that has been dealt in this study is Proctor and Gambles attempt to find out more about Unilevers hair care business by hunting through their garbage bins. Distinction between corporate espionage and competitive intelligence The difference between competitive intelligence and industrial espionage, is significant. By definition, industrial espionage refers to illegal activities which range everywhere from outright theft to bribery and everywhere in between. Conversely, competitive intelligence collection is governed for the most part by adherence to corporate and professional ethics which preclude the use of illegal means to obtain information. Moreover, the distinction between the two is in terms of modus operandi. At bottom, the competitive intelligence process consists of collecting information as elements which when legally, ethically but rigorously collected and analyzed, can provide the same kinds of information as might otherwise have only been available through such illicit means as theft. Burglary, outright theft or bribery might be some of the ways that criminals would resort to in order to obtain what a competitor may need constituting an act of corporate espionage. The evolution of corporate espionage over decades and the rationale behind its use The history of corporate/industrial espionage probably dates back to the sixth century when Justinian, the Byzantine emperor hired two monks to visit China. He wanted them to gain an understanding of silk production in China and to smuggle silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds out of that country to break its worldwide monopoly on silk production. The monks smuggled these eggs and seeds out of China in hollow bamboo walking sticks. Subsequently, in a few years the Byzantine Empire replaced China as the largest silk producer in the world. Over the centuries, industrial espionage practices continued to play a major part in the development of many countries. In the 18th century, alarmed by the industrial and military supremacy of Great Britain, France sent its spies to steal the latters industrial secrets. Corporate espionage gained more attention in the last few decades. Some of such instances are mentioned herein: In 1999, one of the most famous cases of corporate treachery, a Taiwanese company head was arrested as he was convicted to have paid an Avery Dennison (U.S. Label manufacturer) employee $160,000 for the secret formulas for the companys pressure-sensitive adhesive. In 1996, General Motors sued Volkswagen, charging that GMs former head of production had stolen trade secrets turned them over to Volkswagen. In 2000, Oracle Corporation head Larry Ellison had hired an investigation firm to dig out embarrassing secrets about Bill Gates headed Microsoft. In 2001, FBI arrested two employees from Lucent Technologies for conspiring to steal lucent trade secrets sell them to the Chinese government. In 2003, Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari charged Toyota with stealing the design for its Formula One racing car. Looking at the recent trend it becomes clear that corporate espionage cases have been increasing by leaps and bounds. The reasons for this can be attributed as: -advent of the information age with its tools and technologies has made it much easier to gather information and analyse intelligence. -Trained intelligence analysts can easily ferret out deeper information through masqueraded phone calls, purported interviews of the victim companys employees, going through their garbage, creating e-relationships with employees or joining use nets frequented by them. -The second issue that places most companies at risk is lack of employee awareness and education. At times, the management is to blame for the myopic approach that IT security should safeguard its intellectual property. The misplaced over-dependence on technology to protect the companys intellectual property is ridiculous, given that, even in the most digitised companies, over 70 per cent of critical information is still in non-digital forms. -Companies that invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in firewalls and PKIs (public key infrastructure) forget that over 15 per cent of their employees are talking to prospective new employers (or competition) at that very moment. Or that several third parties and temporary employees are swarming all over their organisation with complete access. -The single factor that makes corporate espionage devastating is its transparent nature. Physical assets when stolen get noticed and things can be attended to rapidly. But a company could be getting robbed of intellectual property or competitive advantage for years and might still not know what exactly is going wrong. Thus what began as that innocuous glance at what competition is doing, just to keep oneself abreast of the latest developments in the business one was in, is now taking the ugliest forms of ethical and legal violation. And this includes the entire gamut of wrongdoing: the selling of technological knowhow, product design, research papers, client lists and other trade secrets by loyal employees, infringing intellectual property law, teams resigning en masse from a company, taking along with themselves upscale, lucrative customers to the new entity, selling defence secrets in the lure of monetary kickbacks, and what not. In fact, corporate espionage has moved far from within the confines of the corporate sector to foreign nations, with many IT expatriates and even foreign employees with acquired citizenship acting as a conduit for the flow of confidential information from one corporate to another, from one nation to another. Cross border businesses and employees, remotely located custom ers in an era of E-Commerce, telecommuting contractual employees-all these are adding to the ease with which these acts of malfeasance are being committed. It is interesting to examine the Annual Report to U.S. Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, FY 2008, it brings out the following:- The threat to the United States from foreign economic intelligence collection and industrial espionage has continued unabated since the publication of the Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, 2007. Economic espionage cases went up slightly and nearly every day brought reports-in the press and in the classified world-of new cyber attacks against US Government and business entities. Additionally, the increasing use of new modes of communication and social networking provided uncharted opportunities for transferring information and spying on the part of enterprising foreign intelligence services. According to evidence amassed by the US CI community, a wide variety of foreign entities continued to try to illegally acquire US technology, trade secrets, and proprietary information. With companies encouraging outsourcing of research and development (RD) and establishing foreign bases of operation, foreign entities had more opportunities to targe t US information and technologies and mask their collection activities. As a result, it was increasingly difficult to measure fully the extent of their espionage and illegal acquisitions. Nonetheless, the CI community assessed that the cost in FY 2008 remained high, given the number of legal cases, investigations, and technologies targeted. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The FBI opened 55 new cases and pursued 88 pending cases during the reporting period, slightly more than reported in FY 2007. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ ICE made 158 arrests in FY 2008 and achieved 187 indictments that resulted in 143 convictions for export-related criminal violations, more than any other Federal law enforcement agency. These efforts-similar to the previous year-significantly contributed to preventing sensitive US technologies, as well as weapons, from reaching terrorists, hostile countries, and violent criminal organizations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ DOC/BIS participated in more than 792 export investigations. This resulted in 40 criminal convictions, $2.7 million in criminal fines, over $800,000 in forfeitures, 56 administrative cases, and $3.6 million in administrative penalties. Wide Ranging Group of Actors According to information compiled during the reporting period, businessmen, scientists, engineers, and academics, as well as state security services from a large number of countries, continued to target US information and technology. The bulk of the collection activity, however, came from a core group of countries. Enduring Acquisition Methods While the most frequently reported collection methods remained the same during the past year, requests for information (RFI); exploitation of open-source media; and requests to purchase or share technology were often used. Some reports indicated an increase in the use of multiple methods in single contacts. General techniques included: RFIs Collectors used direct and indirect requests for information in their attempts to obtain valuable US data. These types of approaches often included requests for classified, sensitive, or export-controlled information. Solicitation or Marketing of Services Foreign companies sought business relationships with US firms that would enable them to gain access to sensitive or classified information, technologies, or projects. Acquisition of Technology Collectors continued to exploit direct and indirect acquisition of technology and information via third countries, the use of front companies, and the direct purchase of US firms or technologies in 2008. Conferences, Conventions, and Trade Shows These public venues offered opportunities for foreign adversaries to gain access to US information and experts in dual-use and sensitive technologies. Official Foreign Visitors and Exploitation of Joint Research Foreign government organizations, including intelligence and security services, also targeted and collected information, frequently through official contacts and visits. Statistics on visits and assignments to DOE facilities indicate that the number of visitors remained relatively stable compared to 2007. The statistics also show that visitors made multiple visits to individual facilities. China and Russia accounted for a considerable portion of foreign visits to DOE facilities during FY 2008. Cyber Attack and Exploitation Cyber threats are increasingly pervasive and are rapidly becoming a priority means of obtaining economic and technical information. Reports of new cyber attacks against US Government and business entities proliferated in FY 2008. Several adversaries expanded their computer network operations, and the use of new venues for intrusions increased. Threats against mobile telephones rose as well. Blackberry and iPhone-essentially general purpose computers-are susceptible to malicious software, according to opensource reporting. Foreign Targeting of US Travelers Overseas Foreign collectors also targeted US travelers overseas. Collection methods included everything from eliciting information during seemingly innocuous conversations to eavesdropping on private telephone conversations to downloading information from laptops or other digital storage devices. Targeted Information and Sectors Foreign collectors continued to seek a wide range of unclassified and classified information and technologies. Information systems attracted the most attention; aeronautics, lasers and optics, sensors, and marine systems were other top targets. Where as in case of India a report by Leslie DMonte Sapna Agarwal / Mumbai  February 10, 2007 from Business Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/corporate-espionage-goes-undetected-unsolved-in-india/274229/) highlights the existing state of affairs , in that Corporate espionage virtually goes undetected and unresolved in India. The arrest of a VSNL employee for allegedly leaking information to a competing company is one of the few cases of corporate espionage to have come to light. However, a majority of corporate espionage cases go undetected. If detected, very few complaints come to light. And in the few cases that complaints are registered, hardly any action is taken. Only 20 per cent of corporate espionage cases are detected. Of this, a mere 20 per cent get reported and only 10 per cent can be solved, says Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group. Moreover, there have been very few convictions in India till date for corporate espionage or data theft, while not a single case has been registered under Section 66 of the IT Act 2000 the recent online ticket booking fraud cases where airlines were duped, is a case in point. In data theft cases, proving the crime is difficult. Besides, it could span across countries, under different jurisdictions, making it more difficult for law enforcement agencies, explains Vijay Mukhi, president, Foundation of Information Security and Technology (FIST). Every company I meet knows they are victim of some or the other form of data theft, but are not aware of how to deal with it, he adds. Any corporate leveraging intellectual property rights (IPR), offering cost-effective solutions or innovative or ingenuous solutions and not taking structured measures to protect its IPR, loses 5-10 per cent of their revenues to data theft, corroborates Raman. We get at least one or two cases every month, besides many inquiries; our clients ask us for specific information from their competitors or send dummy interviewees to find out salary packages, says Sunil Sharma, CEO, Authentic Investigation, Delhi. Ajay Jugran, Partner of law firm, Lawcombine, says, This malady is deep-rooted. Its prevalent when PSUs call for bids. Trading in bidding information is rampant. Companies are even using annual maintenance (AMC) contractors to plant surveillance software in rival firms. The software gives a daily log of the data via e-mail. Corporates have not woken to this fact despite the fact that the law (unless for national security purposes) does not permit this, explains cyberlaw expert and Supreme court lawyer, Pavan Duggal. Corporate Espionage has risen to epidemic levels. Espionage strategies range from illegal to merely seedy. In most cases, the best defense is employee awareness. The current organisational focus on risk management, governance, and compliance has, for some, blurred the responsibility for ensuring the security of an organizations assets. Corporations have to reconsider the effectiveness of their overall security programs, given the current threat of corporate espionage. Comprehensive security programs should address this threat. Though espionage cannot be eliminated, implementing multi-layer safeguards will at least minimize losses. What Can Companies Do? As competition in the global market place increases, so will the instances of corporate espionage. Therefore, companies both big and small need to take steps necessary to protect themselves from becoming a victim. Here are four necessary steps to help protect valuable data from falling into the hands of competitors. 1. Companies must identify what information is sensitive and classify it as such. Information such as RD processes and innovations or new market strategies are easily identified as sensitive. However, other information such as personnel files, pricing structure, and customer lists are often overlooked and left unprotected. 2. A company should conduct a risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities, and the probability that someone will exploit those vulnerabilities and obtain sensitive information. 3. Establish, review and update security policies and appropriate safeguards, both procedurally and technologically, to thwart attempts to exploit vulnerabilities and gain access to valuable company data. 4. Train all employees. Users, managers and IT staff all need to be trained in what business information needs to be safe guarded, techniques that can be used to gain access to sensitive data, and what procedures should be taken to report compromises or suspected attempts to solicit sensitive information. Government Involvement in the Espionage Threat Countermeasures -The government must conduct a threat assessment to determine risk and External / Internal flaws in the security the major corporations both private and public sector undertakings so as to prevent any possible attack of espionage. This would help protect such information as is necessary for keeping the economy of nation on track and preventing from it from any derailment by the financial loss that might be caused due to espionage activities. -There is a need of initiative on the part of government to make policies and procedures that would help in controlling the rampant increase of espionage activities. Such policies and procedures must be in writing and easy to understand and should be accessible easily. Further it is also needed that such regulations passed by government must be disseminated so that it becomes friendlier for the victim of corporate espionage to take recourse to the measures provided under this. -The government must also stay updated with regard to various developments that take place in the corporate world. For this revision of such policies and procedures is required from time to time. Such policies must also be updated annually so as to keep in touch with the latest technological developments. -The government must also take care of its assets, its people, its information, and its property so that it can utilize all these resources properly without any threat of being espionage by enemy organizations. -The government while handling various public sector undertakings must take care of its human resources. There must be Proper Position Descriptions of all the employees which must be accompanied with Pre-Employment Investigations about their background. It must be followed by Periodic Investigations so as to check any change in the behavior of a disgruntled employee. -The government must also advocate for the publication and release of Audits and Investigations. There must be regular audits of all areas, as this would help in investigations of losses and investigations of violations of policy. After doing this the government would be successfully able to check corporate espionage.