Critically evalutate the evidence that criminal profiling is effective Essay

Critically evalutate the evidence that criminal profiling is effective - Essay Example It is usually carried out in a three stage process: â€Å"First, police officers collect crime scene data and forward it to a profiler; second, the profiler conducts an analysis of the crime scene data; and third, the profiler provides predictions about the type of individual likely to have committed the crime in question.† (Snook et al,, 2007, 438) There was initial enthusiasm for this approach, especially in the United States where the FBI set up a special ‘Behavioral Science Unit’ which analysed crimes and made recommendations for the application of criminal profiling in serious crime cases. From the beginning it was clear that the process involves multiple skills and multiple agencies, being a technique that combines elements of both art and science (Cook and Hinman, 1999, 230) and crosses over traditionally constructed professional boundaries. There has been discussion about some of the tensions arising from this multi-disciplinarity, and the gulf between res earchers and practitioners. (Alison et al, 2004). Critical opinion on the practice of criminal profiling has been mixed, ranging from positive evaluations to serious doubts as to whether criminal profiling is any more valuable than common sense. This paper reviews the underpinning theories behind criminal profiling, discusses its methodologies and the problems that can arise in its use, and then finally evaluates its effectiveness. Theories behind criminal profiling. Psychology is the major science behind criminal profiling and its origins can be traced back to the beginning of the twentieth century: â€Å"the inferring of general characteristics of a person on the basis of a limited amount of information about them, has scientific roots in psychometric testing.† (Canter, 2000, p. 3) This in turn is based on a large body of research into the variation that exists between individuals. Psychologists searched for ways of isolating small individual features which, when considered together and against a large database can predict with some degree of accuracy what type of personality a person has and how they are likely to behave in different situations. The predictions are inferred, which means they start with what is known, but move into speculation based on a number of different areas of knowledge including past experience and databases collected and collated over the years. The so-called â€Å"homology assumption† asserts that â€Å"criminals who exhibit similar crime scene actions have similar background characteristics.† (Doan and Snook, 2008, p. 61). In practice this means that investigators in a case of rape, for example, will go on the assumption that there is â€Å"a positive linear relationship between the similarities of the crime scene actions and the corresponding similarities in the background characteristics for a sample of rapists.† Any inferences that are made are deliberately not absolute statements, but are based on li kelihood and similarity: â€Å"It’s certainly possible for some characteristics to be consistent or homologous, and indeed this can be demonstrated in some cases. However, it is not a reasonable assumption in every case or even in most cases.† (Turvey, 2008, p. 540) Additional factors such as drug or alcohol use and mental illness with or without adequate medication can affect the offender’s behaviour in unpredictable ways, causing a depart at times from his or her enduring characteristics. Because of these variables, some of which cannot be known by

Carbon Cap and Trade Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Carbon Cap and Trade - Research Paper Example Watch CO2Â  Now.org, the annual trend of CO2 emission has been on the rise since 1959 when the amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere was 315.97 ppm. In 2014, the amount had spiraled to 398.55 ppm. As such many countries have joined in the race to reduce the rate of carbon emission into the atmosphere by enacting environmental policies aimed at cutting down the volume of CO2 released into the atmosphere through human activities and oblige to the Kyoto Protocol. Having gone through an introduction to the state of global CO2 emission, it is prudent to look at policies countries are implementing to reduce the rate of CO2 emission into the atmosphere. This paper focuses on Carbon Cap and Trade as a means of reducing the emissions of CO2 through human activities. Cap and trade refers to an environmental policy mechanism that achieves its mission by imposing mandatory cap on carbon emissions. According to this mechanism, a regulatory body, for example, the federal government, device and puts a cap on the acceptable volumes of emission of a pollutant (CO2) for specified polluters such as manufacturing companies. The overall amount of permissible emissions under the cap is apportioned into single permits. Emission permits are permits that give polluters the right to emit certain ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. Each permit gives the authority to emit a given volume of the pollutant. These permits are then distributed to polluters covered by the program. The cap specifies the maximum amount of tons of carbon that a polluter is allowed to emit. The cap limits the number of permits that can be issued to polluters, thus making the permits financially valuable items that can be bought and sold in an open market. Consequently, companies that are capab le of lowering their emissions at cheaply can sell their surplus permits to companies with high cost of reducing emissions. This approach offers companies the freedom to choose how to meet their emission targets. However, market

Technology and its effect on human freedom and happiness in society Essay

Technology and its effect on human freedom and happiness in society - Essay Example In most criterions, one would think that the Americans are happier now than they were in Middle of the 19th era. Oddly, however, if you asked Americans how exultant they are currently, you will discover that they are no better off than they were during 1946. This paper will discuss Technology its effect on human freedom and happiness in society. In attempting to decode how technology influences the well-being of a person, it is crucial to look at two things. Do better and more technology make individuals happy? Secondly, there exists something inherently uneven about people explanations of their individual states of mentality (Dick 32). Forget folks’ uncertainty concerning what will render them happy in the coming; can we trust that persons know what render them happy currently? Most sincerely, reflecting on technology is tough because persons adapt so rapidly to available technologies. Someone in 1870 would have been happier if she or he could had possessed a car that gave hi m or her freedom to voyage a great distance in a day at a relative cost. Today, however, people are not so thrilled about planes, cars and telephones. People recognize their use; however, they are likewise sources of stress and frustrations. For instance, a lottery winner is very, very happy when he or she wins, but after a while, that feeling of euphoria disappears. This is the same with technology that no matter how dramatic a fresh innovation is, people will eventually take it for granted. In the technological world, when the things become mundane or stop operating efficiently, people get frustrated (Postman 54). Does our swift incorporation of technological development denote that technology makes no change? No. It merely makes the issue of technological effect, for ill and good, more complex (Putnam 46). Beginning with the disadvantage: There are particular ways where technology renders life evidently worse. Traffic jams, telemarketing, and identity embezzlement all suggest the mselves (Kraut et al. 13). These phenomena make persons consciously unhappy. Nevertheless, for the great part, modern criticizers of technology have not focused very much in particular - the effect of technology on humanity. However, those criticizers have put out two seemingly opposed po ­sitions that nonetheless disclose a common cynicism about individuals’ ability to utilize technology towards their personal ends. The first opinion, seen in the books of Dick Philip K., is that technology development is steering to a constantly more controlled, rigid, soulless community, where it is simpler for persons to be monitored and manipu ­lated. The second view that has been thoroughly articu ­lated in hard covers of Putnam Robert Bowling Alone (pg. 44) and Postman Neil Amusing Ourselves to Death (pg. 55), is that technology remains crucial to the swelling privatization of experience that is in turn designing a fragmented, disordered society. A society where traditional relati ons are tougher to sustain, the community is gradually becoming an illusion, and folks’ relationships to one another, arbitrated as they regularly are by technologies, grow progressively tenuous. There is evidently an explanation to both opinions. Privacy has increasingly grown fragile in a globe of connected databases. In most workplaces, technologies such as keystroke observation

Special Features of Managing Human Resources Research Paper

Special Features of Managing Human Resources - Research Paper Example 2. Human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. (Guest, 1999) There are a number of things to notice in Storey's listing. Firstly, human resource management is clearly not simply the province of the human resource manager. Line managers play a critical role in human resource management and, in fact, could be argued to be the main organisational exponents of people management. Secondly, human resource management is firmly embedded in business strategy. Unlike the personnel manager, the HR manager is part of the top level strategic team in the organisation and human resource management plays a key role in the achievement of business success. Thirdly, the shaping of organisational culture is one of the major levers by which effective human resource management can achieve its objectives of a committed workforce. Thus, human resource management is concerned not only with the formal processes of the management of people but also with all the ways in which the organisational culture is established, re-inforced and transmitted. 3. Organizational development and innovation is ...ues, strategies, structures and practices so that the organization can better adapt to competitive actions, technological advances, and the fast pace of other changes in the environment. Organization development helps managers recognize that organizations are systems with dynamic interpersonal relationships holding them together. The reasonable next step was to try to change groups, units, and entire organizations so that they would support, not necessarily replace, change efforts. In short, the general objective of organizational development is to change all parts of the organization in order to make it humanly responsive, more effective, and more capable of organizational learning and self-renewal. It relies on systems orientation, causal models, and a set of key assumptions to guide it.4. The flexible model of working shows the ability of the company to also consider the needs of the employees in terms of time. This model shows h ow flexibility affects both the employers and the employees. There are advantages and disadvantages with using this model. The term flexible working refers to working practices, mutually agreed between employee and employer, which cover working hours, locations or patterns of work. Such arrangements have to comply with the law on working time, including hours, rest breaks and the working week. 5. As work has become less central to people's lives, vying for time with family and leisure, many have become concerned with what is termed the 'work-life balance'. 'Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and

The roles and impacts of computers and communications technology Essay Example for Free

The roles and impacts of computers and communications technology Essay What are the roles and impacts of computers and communications technology in the increase of trans-border economic activity? I am specifically going to speak about foreign workers handling UK consumer calls and IT jobs in general, better known as offshoring or out-sourcing. Below I have tried to out-line some of the good and bad points about the subject Benefits The advocates of offshoring describe it as having high potential; moving jobs to a low cost labour market will save money and provide a good source of employment for the local people. Also as developing countries become richer, they will also buy more from us and invest more in our economy. UK exports of goods and services to India alone are already worth around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.5billion a year, securing thousands of UK jobs. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) believe that the UK also stands to gain from growing world prosperity and a bigger global market for British goods and services. Offshoring will allow Britain to remain competitive, ensuring that the UK economy continues to generate new and sustainable jobs and new business opportunities. There is also the opportunity to gain from global partnerships. Problems Offshoring can have a negative effect on the morale of remaining onshore staff; furthermore, the low wages offshore could put downward pressure on remaining workers wages. The company risks trade union and public criticism, which could affect customer loyalty and satisfaction. Overseas workers at call centres may be unable to help beyond their training script, so there could be a reduction in quality. There are a number of challenges the offshore workforce will face: cultural differences may create difficulties in forming relationships, managing remotely can be difficult and the service may require local knowledge, such as geography, or an understanding of British systems, i.e. NHS My personal opinion I am totally fed up with ending up in call centres in India. It makes the whole experience lengthy, stressful and frustrating. I hate not being able to speak normally, having to repeat and spell almost everything said and the whole experience is one I could do without. I already have changed a bank for this reason. It Is ridiculous. Why should people have to put up with it? It seems to me just a way to make companies have a healthier bottom line, also no executive wants to give up their perks! As a student soon to be looking for work in the UK, I am fully in support of those who hold the view that companies that served mainly British customers should support jobs in Britain. They should be punished if they dont, either by consumer boycotting or by government taxes or both. Since many corporations are copying each other due to corporate greed there is mass influx of unemployed highly skilled workers, without a place for them to go, it will only take so long of being unemployed for them to either move offshore themselves or move to another occupation. I think offshoring has a large share of the blame for the job shortage here in Britain. Its amazing to see how the definition of cheap labour has changed at first the term was only associated with people working in terrible conditions for next to nothing. But now it extends to multinational companies and corporations moving skilled jobs abroad to save money, all at the expense of the British people. Below is a couple of articles I found that I think compliment what I have written. Bank customers fury at India call centres 12:41pm 18th October 2005 Staff at Lloyds TSB are facing high levels of customer dissatisfaction about the banks policy of transferring work to India, a union has claimed. A survey of nearly 2,000 branch managers and staff found that 96 per cent of people thought customers werent happy dealing with staff in India, while 83 per cent thought customers received worst service as a result. More than half of staff claimed they received complaints or adverse comments about the Indian operation every day, and a further third of people said they received them at least every week. Nearly two-thirds of those questioned reported seeing significantly more errors and mistakes being made by the Indian operation, and 64 per cent said offshoring had made it more difficult to promote the banks products. Around 85 per cent of staff thought the bank would lose many customers because of its decision to offshore work to India, while a similar proportion thought people would be likely to switch to financial services companies that were committed to the UK, according to the Lloyds TSB Group Union. Lloyds ignoring concerns But the union said Lloyds TSB was ignoring these concerns and continuing to transfer back office processing and telephone operations abroad. Steve Tatlow, assistant general secretary at Lloyds TSB Group Union, said: The survey confirms what we have known all along. That staff dealing with customers day in and day out are having to deal with considerable customer hostility at having their accounts handled abroad. The results show that whatever Lloyds TSB might say about the customer service provided by its India operation, hordes of customers are complaining across the UK each and every day of the week. Senior Management will have to make a choice. Either to continue with cost cutting in the teeth of customer opposition to its offshoring plans, or else refocus its strategy towards putting customers first. A Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said: Customer service is essential to us. The call centre in Mumbai has taken seven million calls over the past year and we do monitor the quality and look at customer satisfaction. We have found that levels of customer satisfaction are as high on calls to India as to the UK. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/money/money.html?in_article_id=365776in_page_id=1804 The Impact of Global Sourcing on the UK Economy 2003-10, commissioned by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an umbrella organisation for IT software and service organisations in India, estimates that by 2010 the UK could face a shortfall of 700,000 jobs as a result of an aging population and slow population growth. If the problem isnt addressed it reckons that economic growth in the UK could slow, leading to a loss of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½113 billion. Outsourcing would not only bridge that gap, it would also help generate extra income. For the report claims that for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of work outsourced offshore, up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½141 is re-invested directly back into the UK economy. This upbeat assessment of the benefits of exporting jobs comes even though the report acknowledges that more than 250,000 UK jobs would be lost as a result of offshoring. But it argues that while the impact of offshoring on the UK workforce is real and will lead to the displacement of workers, it insists that the UK labour market is flexible enough to deal with the problem. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/01/28/sending_jobs_overseas_could_boost/

Issues In Managed Care Health And Social Care Essay

Issues In Managed Care Health And Social Care Essay Managed Care has increasingly become prevalent in the United States. Overtime, it has continued to evoke strong ethical concerns regarding its applicability in our contemporary society. Such instances have been exemplified by the issue of efficacy; provision of a product or service with minimum input in terms of resources. Efficacy, as postulated, conjures more pressure on the medical practitioner to increase his/her productivity with minimized incentives. Moreover, Managed Care has been associated with capitation of contracts by Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) where medical officers are paid not to attend to patients. However, a clear understanding of this practice would be essential if we were to term it as ethical or unethical. The history of Managed Care can be traced back to early 19th century, when a number of healthcare structures and systems emerged to provide subsidized health services for impoverished communities. These structures appeared in different communities across the United States with the aim of helping a few selected groups access medical care. This initiative was mainly meant for rural and marginalized communities in mining, lumbering, and railroad areas. Locals were asked to pay a small amount of the fee so that they could conveniently get access to medical care. However, in urbanized societies, charitable institutions settled the fee for marginalized communities. It is believed that Health Maintenance Organizations evolved from these practices and thus later came to be known as Managed Care (Wolff Schlesinger, 2002). Nonetheless, with the different faces that Managed Care has adapted over the years, criticism for such practices has been heightened. Inasmuch as many communities have benefitted from this initiative, medical practitioners and professionals have sounded an alarm over the continued adoption of this practice. Health standards have been lowered due to the subsidized medical services. Physicians have been forced to offer their professional services at lowered prices thereby rendering poor services. This is one of the most notable ethical concern that has been associated with Managed Care. Moreover, a number of misconceptions have also been insinuated that try to render Managed Care inappropriate. However, there is need for clarifying some of these ethical concerns by determining whether they have impacted negatively on the society and as to whether its continued practice would compromise societal ethical norms. In this regard, this paper will define the social understanding of Managed Care, identify more instances where it has been associated with unethical practices, clarify such instances and describe its positive contributions towards the development in the faculty of medicine. Some of the issues to be discussed will include: efficacy in medical practice; capitation of contracts; quality in medical care and exploitation of these services. Furthermore, positive attributes such as cost-effectiveness; guarantee of medical attention; provision of preventive services and care coordination will also be evaluated thereby elucidating clear perceptions on Managed Care Plans. Therefore, the purpose of this paper will be to outline past, present and future trends in Managed Care. Furthermore, it will acknowledge the contribution made by Managed Care towards general health sustainability and clarify some of the social misunderstanding associated with it. It shall also seek to clearly distinguish between negative and positive attributes of Managed Care, thereby reducing fallacious thinking regarding universal and social approval of this practice. Lastly, it will provide a schema for further research on this subject by determining some of the areas that need further research. Conclusion Through Literary review, we have observed a number of past trends and issues in Managed Care as well as discovered present and future trends that will continue to affect Managed Care systems. Such trends include the collapse in relationships between a patient and a doctor. This has been attributed to the fact that, through Managed Care, patients are restricted to a particular doctor under a companys payroll. If a patient opted to visit a doctor that is not necessarily linked with the organization, he/she either accommodates the demands of the extra service or the company contributes just a small percentage (Wolff Schlesinger, 2002). This affects doctor-patient relationship. Moreover, patients cannot develop lasting bonds with their doctors since the company may decide to terminate the services of a particular physician or seize to be identified with a specific medical group. It is in such a case that Managed Care impacts negative in the medical field. Secondly, through capitation, some forms of Managed Care have created the provision through which doctors can now spend very little time on a particular patient. This trend has been observed in the Preferred Provider Arrangement system where for a physician to compensate for the little incentives he received, he would make sure he sees many patients. For him to see many patients, it would mean that he would spend the minimum time possible on a particular patient. Consequently, this also affects the patient-doctor bonding process, exploration of available treatment options for the patient and does not guarantee exhaustive analysis of the patients problem. Furthermore, the doctor may end up making the wrong diagnosis hence put the life of the patient in danger (Bierman, A. S., Haffer, S. C., Hwang, Y. T., 2001). There have been cases where patients have been diagnosed with the wrong illness and thus ended up succumbing due to wrong prescription or treatment. Mental care plans have been greatly discriminated by Managed Care plans. Mental problems are far much financially demanding as compared to other illnesses. Therefore, many health management organizations have tried to avoid the inclusion of this package in their Managed Care system. The gravity of this issue prompted the drafting of a number of legislations which were presented to Congress for deliberation. For instance, the watered-down parity law, which was effected in 1998, prohibited companies from defining the maximum financial limit for mentally ill patients. Currently, many insurers are championing against this law by weakening it in a bid to render it inapplicable. In this regard, Managed Care programs seem to have failed in establishing parity in all health related illnesses. This is a huge shortcoming for Managed Care practices as it exhibits aspects of biasness. Lastly, one striking trend that will pose a great challenge to Managed Care structures in the future is the issue of Medical practitioners in Medical schools influencing their students thinking towards Managed Care. Presently, it has been established that most medical students across the United States are anti-Managed Care. This is attributed to the fact that most lecturers, who are health practitioners outside lecture rooms, are influencing their students thinking towards this practice. With this trend, physicians who are in the making will ravage this practice in the future thus hurl impoverished communities back to their medical poverty. Therefore, the imparting of negative ideological mindsets by lecturers and faculty members in medical schools should be stopped before it spills out of control. We need to safeguard the much we have achieved and work towards providing more that we could provide. However, Managed Cares influence on the issues outlined below has shown its positive c ontribution towards general health sustenance. Positive conclusions can be drawn hence act as an advocate for the maintenance of this practice. Throughout history, people have struggled to gain adequate medical assistance and this has been linked to lack of financial stability. Managed Care has created a cost-effective working environment where patients, regardless of demographic, racial or cultural background can get convenient healthcare. Structural cost-effectiveness has been realized with incentive impacted cost and inter-group negotiations being simplified. The task of negotiating the price for medical services has been left for the employer and the physician thereby offloading some of the financial burden from the patient, (Bierman et al., 2001). Moreover, in extreme circumstances, patients are able to get access to professional medical care, with modern equipment, medication and follow-up activities that would guarantee a patients full recovery. This is one of the most significant achievements realized through the application of Medical Care. Quality medical practices can be defined in terms of customer satisfaction and medical outcomes, or both. Studies have indicated that Managed Care has heightened responsiveness in creating value products thereby broadening provider networks. Furthermore, it has enhanced corporative relationships among providers and consumers. Utilization controls have also been loosened as compared to fee-for-service systems. A more notable finding postulated that there was not much, if any, difference in terms of quality of services offered between Managed care and fee-for-service schemes. Moreover, a tremendous increase in quality of medical services has also been observed in marginalized areas where such services were minimal. This growth has reduced health vulnerabilities in such areas thus augmenting the general quality of health in the area. Counter claims have been made imploring whether the quality of healthcare has been lowered or raised. Nevertheless, with a reflection on the customer satis faction model and medical outcomes, most communities have acknowledged a tremendous positive growth. Lastly, perhaps the most significant contribution of Managed Care is the ease of access to medical services. Medical practitioners defined access to medical care as the ease of patient entrà ©e to medical providers and procedures. We can all affirm that the initial aim of Managed Care, which was to provide access to medical facilities, especially for impoverished populations, has been achieved. Insured and uninsured company staffs are legible for Managed Care as long as their affiliate company has provisions for Managed Care (Bierman et al., 2001). Initially, most employees opted to have their own health insurance programs which locked out those who could not afford an insurer. However, Managed Care, with some minimum fee, each employee becomes technically insured. Therefore, Managed Care has eased the way in which people get access to medical care thus achieved its primary goal. In conclusion, having critically looked at the trend that is affecting Managed Care today and which may as well pose a great challenge in the future, we are still left with one question that remains unanswered. What criterion could be used by employers and medical practitioners in selecting viable Managed Care systems? Managed Care is prone to exploitation by both employers and physicians. Moreover, while physicians are crying foul, they should have an opportunity of drafting their demands, which are reasonable and considerable, especially for the poor man, hence stop providing poor services on the pretext of underpayment. Therefore, a study should be carried out that would seek to find a neutral way of assigning medical affiliations. Patients, employers and physicians interests should be evaluated and generate a possible strategy that would be less controversial in Managed Care. This research, therefore, will also offer recommendations for proper legislation of its implementation.

Management Information Systems :: Technology, Internet Banking, PDAs

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS) The most common technology applied by MFIs is the management information system known as MIS. MIS is an integrated computer-based application used to access useful, timely and accurate information to allow the user to make appropriate decisions, and to manage information effectively and efficiently. MIS includes modules such as loans portfolio tracking, human resources, internal control, accounting, and financial analysis (CGAP, 2010). MIS is often one of the major factors that enable MFIs to achieve significant growth. Kashyap (2009) stressed that â€Å"It is difficult for an MFI to upscale significantly and maintain the accuracy and transparency of its loan portfolio without an MIS†.(PAGE?) PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDA) A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a palmtop computer, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. MFIs employ PDAs to ease loan processing, improve loan officer efficiency, and increase data accuracy and access in the field. To get the maximum benefits from PDAs, MFIs should have a stable MIS, and high speed access to data from their branches (Waterfield, 2004). SMART CARDS Smart Cards are wallet-sized plastic cards have an embedded microchip that allows data storage, and works like an electronic passbook that allows MFI clients to carry all their related information on this microchip. Smart cards are used to manage savings accounts, disburse loans or make transfers (Whelan, 2004). Reliable electrical power for card readers, software integration between card readers and the central management information system, together with processes, policies, and staff resources for handling lost, stolen or damaged cards are required prior to the introduction of smart cards (Whelan, 2004). POINT OF SALE (POS) Point of sale (POS) is a device or system often linked to computers, bank card readers, or even mobile telephones, that is located at a physical location such as a retail outlet, in order to perform an electronic transfer from one account to another or from a customer to a retailer. Some MFIs have implemented this technology in order to increase the security of financial transactions, reduce transaction cost in order to serve clients, and to reach new areas without branch infrastructure (Owens, 2009) MOBILE PHONES Mobile banking is a way for clients to perform balance checks, account transactions, payments, etc. using a mobile phone. Mobile phones provide a new and rapidly developing technological alternative delivery channels to extend financial services to those excluded from formal financial systems. Mobile phones allow clients to call into an automated system to conduct business transactions, and to access and request information. Management Information Systems :: Technology, Internet Banking, PDAs MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS) The most common technology applied by MFIs is the management information system known as MIS. MIS is an integrated computer-based application used to access useful, timely and accurate information to allow the user to make appropriate decisions, and to manage information effectively and efficiently. MIS includes modules such as loans portfolio tracking, human resources, internal control, accounting, and financial analysis (CGAP, 2010). MIS is often one of the major factors that enable MFIs to achieve significant growth. Kashyap (2009) stressed that â€Å"It is difficult for an MFI to upscale significantly and maintain the accuracy and transparency of its loan portfolio without an MIS†.(PAGE?) PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDA) A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a palmtop computer, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. MFIs employ PDAs to ease loan processing, improve loan officer efficiency, and increase data accuracy and access in the field. To get the maximum benefits from PDAs, MFIs should have a stable MIS, and high speed access to data from their branches (Waterfield, 2004). SMART CARDS Smart Cards are wallet-sized plastic cards have an embedded microchip that allows data storage, and works like an electronic passbook that allows MFI clients to carry all their related information on this microchip. Smart cards are used to manage savings accounts, disburse loans or make transfers (Whelan, 2004). Reliable electrical power for card readers, software integration between card readers and the central management information system, together with processes, policies, and staff resources for handling lost, stolen or damaged cards are required prior to the introduction of smart cards (Whelan, 2004). POINT OF SALE (POS) Point of sale (POS) is a device or system often linked to computers, bank card readers, or even mobile telephones, that is located at a physical location such as a retail outlet, in order to perform an electronic transfer from one account to another or from a customer to a retailer. Some MFIs have implemented this technology in order to increase the security of financial transactions, reduce transaction cost in order to serve clients, and to reach new areas without branch infrastructure (Owens, 2009) MOBILE PHONES Mobile banking is a way for clients to perform balance checks, account transactions, payments, etc. using a mobile phone. Mobile phones provide a new and rapidly developing technological alternative delivery channels to extend financial services to those excluded from formal financial systems. Mobile phones allow clients to call into an automated system to conduct business transactions, and to access and request information.