THE EFFECT OF TAX AVOIDANCE IN ECONOMY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

THE EFFECT OF TAX AVOIDANCE IN ECONOMY - Essay Example Therefore, the study of tax avoidance is important in the implementation of a couple of constitutional loopholes upon which tax payers evade taxation for their own advantages. Tax Avoidance Tax avoidance is a subject concerned with the identification of the various legal loopholes surrounding taxation. The purpose of the study is to implement the various ways through which individuals benefit from the avoidance approach. Further, concerns rise as to whether the approach is ethical and of equal importance to the general economy. Studies reveal that mitigation and evasion of taxes differ from tax avoidance as they present a subject of illegality in the taxation clause. Tax avoidance is a legal taxation approach upon which the beneficiaries acquire a constitutional right to avoid taxes (Brooks & Dunn, 2010, p.56). The study reveals the implications emanating from tax avoidance, examples of tax avoidance in relation to the benefits cheat, the ethical issues arising thereof, and a compari son of the ethical issues to the subject of legality. ... However, the dream may be short-lived because of malicious proprietors who sought to identify loopholes in the taxation system and eventually avoid the taxes. Such acts may result in unhealthy competition in a country’s business economy and income imbalances (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2011:36). In the long-run, the business abiding by the set taxing criterion may suffer unhealthy competition from malicious competitors, thus resolving to exit the market. Global economies perceive taxation as the key to growth and implementation of adequate consumer and producer policies. As governments impose taxes to limit consumption of health hazardous products, the businesses involved in production and selling of the products will extend the total amount of the imposed tax to the final consumer. This approach will serve to reduce the consumer’s income as he tries to maintain marginal consumption of the restricted product. The eventual outcome is that the reduced income of the con sumer will injure the purchase of vital commodities as the addicted consumer maintains consumption of the restricted product (Moffat, Bean & Dewar, 2005, p.48). At this level, tax avoidance by the producers shall lead to reduced incomes among the consumers and increased poverty levels. Ethical Concepts in Tax Avoidance and Related Cases In accordance to taxation theorists, tax avoidance would pose a fair reflection whenever meant to imply the positive use of money. Authorities may assess different business entities and establish those which should avoid taxes and those that should remit through a constitutional approach. The business will eventually evade taxation but through

Reflection on Coatess Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection on Coatess Argument - Essay Example The black people were denied the opportunity to access good housing facilities since they were cut out of the legitimate home-mortgage market starting from the 1930s to 1960s.I also believe that previous efforts by the subsequent government to improve the living standards of Black Americans through welfare programs, affirmative action and subsidized housing have been minimal. In my view, although the current Constitution grants equal protection of the law, racism and discrimination against Blacks still exist and thus only reparations can address these social problems. Although the author argues that reparations may be expensive given the huge spending by the government on other social programs that benefit the entire American population, I differ since a debt to Black people is owed and American has the resources to pay the reparations.   The black people deserve reparations since the available statistics indicate that they are at the wrong end of all the socio-economic indicators. For instance, blacks are three times likely to encounter homicide than other racial groups while the infant mortality rate of black neighbourhoods is twice that of the national average. Although the current Black people might not have been slaves, the truth is that they were denied their inheritance and good upbringing since their parents were poor and mistreated by the government. There is a prove that slavery is responsible for Black Americans socio-economic status due to discrimination, lack of property rights and lack of voting rights.

The Centre for Visual Arts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Centre for Visual Arts - Essay Example The name of the exhibition is ‘In Lak’ech San Diego to Denver: You Are My Other Self’ and was characterized by artists involved in looking into immigration, cultural variations and equality. This statement has made me learn that artists in San Diego have taken up the role of promoting unity despite difference, shared reverence of manifestation, experiences, and variations. Lopez’ artwork in the Center for Visual Arts exhibition in Metropolitan State University was paintings from the Guadalupe series. The drawings covered white paper surface with oil pastels with dark and light crayons marks achieving changes in value. Lopez is renowned missionary artists and a pioneers and figurehead feminists of the Chicana art movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Using the Guadalupana images, Lopez manages to reveal different perspectives of politics, religious, and cultural aspects. The choice of the virgin in her artwork portrays the contemporary Chicana womanhood. The imag es demonstrate that Chicana women are expected to live their true self’s by remaining active, passionate, and indigenous mestizas and not Santa’s with white skin, acquitted, shy, genderless, and young. Consequently, Lopez intentions in the images of Guadalupe series define the true Chicana grandmothers and mothers. Lopez artwork evidently demonstrates the aspect of ‘In lak’Ech’ or ‘You Are the Other Me’ in that they bring out a sense of community and autonomy. Self-dependency does not mean individualism or prioritizing self, but something that is not just intimately our own but that belongs to others as well. For Lopez, a Chicana, the images represent a journey, relationship, experience and prayers through La Virgen de Guadalupe and relates to her appreciating being Chicana from her grandmother and mother.

The gender gap in rates of offending is closing. Critically evaluate Essay

The gender gap in rates of offending is closing. Critically evaluate this statement - Essay Example It is therefore easy to note a difference in the rate of offending between genders. Further it has been suggested that as a result of liberation of women, crimes that were mostly perpetrated by men are now committed by women (Rennison, 2009). This observation is said to be true in urban areas as opposed to rural; developed countries as opposed to developing countries and in races where the level of equality between men and women is high (Chesney-Lind, 2004). In countries such as England statistics show fewer female offending (Office for National Statistics, 2004). There are various theories advanced to explain this phenomenon. To a greater extend the reasons fit traditional theories on crime. Nevertheless, due to relationships, background and upbringing women find themselves in criminal activities. For example a girl who has a boyfriend trafficking drugs or in violent crime may find herself in the same situation (Chesney-Lind, 2002). It also applies to a wife who husband is a gang me mber. The former may get involved in crime for emotional and relational reasons (Chesney-Lind, 2004). In addition women in abusive relationships are more likely to commit violent crimes. Most cases of homicide originate from abusive relationships (Miller, 2001). â€Å"Crimes of a passion† are no different. These among other similar crimes are committed in developed countries where there is greater accessibility to weapons. The issue of whether or not the gap is closing is debatable. However according to official statistics the rate of female offending has increased in minor crimes (Merolla, 2008). Men however continue to dominate in all serious crimes (Steffensmeier D., et al., 2006). According to traditional theories the level of offence is less in women compared to men due to a number of reasons. First, learning theories allege that females are not so much exposed to the dictates of their peers (Barry, 2007). They are rarely influenced by

Financial Institutions Essay Example for Free

Financial Institutions Essay The best financial institution for the high debt and high income professionals looking to obtain insurance and investment advice and services is a financial planning services company such as Ameriprise Financial. Financial planning looks at life events and life goals such as retirement and estate planning and offers advice and provides products to help meet those goals. Many financial planning services companies also offer loans and deposit banking accounts. Generally one representative who is licensed to sell insurance, investments, and loans will work with this couple throughout their relationship with the company. The representative’s goal is to periodically review changes in life events and modify the couple’s insurance and investment portfolio to meet their changing goals and objectives. For this couple, the representative may suggest a product that combines insurance and investment such as an annuity or universal life insurance. The couple can establish a relationship with a financial services firm in a local branch or through an interactive website maintained by the company. In some cases the bank that they are already established with may have a financial planning division that they can access in the local branch or through the bank website. Scenario B The best financial institution for a student looking to establish a checking or saving account, establish credit, and develop a relationship with a financial institution should consider a credit union. A credit union is similar to a bank in that it offers deposit accounts and loan programs, but differs from banks in that credit unions are non-profit organizations that are owned and operated by members as opposed to being owned by stockholders and operated by executive boards. Credit unions generally offer higher interest rates on savings accounts, lower fees on checking accounts, and lower interest rates on loans and credit cards. Credit union membership is generally tied to an organization such as a labor union, many large corporations have employee credit unions, some churches or communities have credit unions for members. This student can establish a credit union relationship through parents or may become employed in a local business that offers credit union membership as an employee benefit. Organizations like the Credit Union National Association provides resources and information for consumers. Scenario C The best financial institution for a small business owner who needs multiple deposit and checking accounts, investment services, and access to branches in other cities should consider a national bank such as Bank of America that has branches nationwide as well as online account access. Bank of America, and similar national banks, offer online payroll processing, credit card processing for retailers, and provide businesses with the option of importing bank statement information into popular accounting software formats such as Quicken, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Money. National banks have departments dedicated to small business lending and offer various types of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. They also have services to meet the needs of specialty industries including financing and leasing partnerships with auto dealers. The business owner can establish a relationship with a banking professional at a local branch or can establish accounts online. National banks generally have extensive, interactive websites which provide information and guidance on establishing the business banking relationship. References Ameriprise Financial. Financial planning advice and financial advisors. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://www. ameriprise. com/default-home . asp Bank of America. Small business loans, payroll services other small business services. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from https://www. bankofamerica. com/smallbus iness/index. jsp Credit Union National Association, Consumer Info. Americas credit unions: where people are worth more than money. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://www. creditunion. coop/what_is_a_ cu. html

Indian Hegemony in South Asia

Indian Hegemony in South Asia India has been given a tag as the Regional Hegemon of South Asia. If not formally,then atleast the intentions are tagged as possessing hegemonic tendencies. This paper looks at the concept of Hegemony, Regional, the various reasons responsible for such a view and the various outlooks. I also throw light on the foreign policy of India to stress on the non-hegemonic tendencies of India. India believes in peaceful coexistence. The most important aspect which I wish to bring out is the change in the international scenario that makes Indias hegemonic status tough to survive. SOUTH ASIA A general outlook and evolution South Asia is the southern region of the Asian continent. South Asia typically consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Some definitions may also include Afghanistan, Burma, Tibet, and the British Indian Ocean Territories. Iran is also included in the UN subregion of Southern Asia,  [i]  although many sources consider Iran as being part of West Asia. South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the worlds population, making it both the most populous and most densely populated geographical region in the world. The region has often seen conflicts and political instability, including wars between the regions two nuclear-armed states, Pakistan and India. While the South Asia had never been a coherent geopolitical region, it has a distinct geographical identity. The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how  [ii]  South Asia is defined. South Asias north, east, and west boundaries vary based on definitions used. South Asias southern bord er is the Indian Ocean. The UN subregion of Southern Asias northern boundary would be the Himalayas, its western boundary would be made up of the Iraq-Iran border, Turkey-Iran border, Armenia-Iran border, and the Azerbaijan-Iran border. Its eastern boundary would be the India-Burma border and the Bangladesh-Burma border. Most of this region is a subcontinent resting on the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separated from the rest of Eurasia. It was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50-55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).The region is home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Almost all South Asian countries were under direct or indirect European Colonial subjugation at some point. Much of modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar were gradually occupied by Great Britain starting from 1757, reaching their zenith in 1857 and ruling till 1947. Nepal and Bhutan were to some extent protectorates of Great Britain until after World War II. In the millennia long history of South Asia, this European occupation period is rather short, but its proximity to the present and its lasting impact on the region makes it prominent. The network of means of transportation and communication as well as banking and training of requisite workforce, and also the existing rail, post, telegraph, and education facilities have evolved out of the base established in the colonial era, often called the British Raj. As an aftermath of World War II, most of the region gained independence from Europe by the late 1940s.Tibet at times has governed itself as an independent state and at other times has had various levels of association with China. It came under Chinese control in the 18th century, in spite of British efforts to seize possession of this Chinese protectorate at the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1947, most South Asian countries have achieved tremendous progress in all spheres. Most notable achievements are in the fields of education; industry; health care; information technology and services based on its applications; research in the fields of cutting edge sciences and technologies; defence related self-relianc e projects; international/global trade and business enterprises and outsourcing of human resources. Areas of difficulty remain, however, including religious extremism, high levels of corruption, disagreements on political boundaries, and inequitable distribution of wealth. However,a combined effort by the nations has helped the nations in overcoming the various obstacles and settling the disputes peacefully. India has played a major role in the development of South Asia as a region of resources,technology and even as a power to some extent. However,at several occasions the actions of our nation have been seen as steps taken towards the goal of becoming the Regional Hegemon. HEGEMONY Hegemony is a term defined as the leadership(formal) especially of a state within a group of states. This is how any standard dictionary would define hegemony  [iii]  . In Hegemony and Socialist Strategy, political theorists Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe define hegemony as a type or form of political relation in which a given collectivity performs some kind of social task which is not natural to them  [iv]  .However, the term hegemon is generally used in a negative sense to signify dominance, coercion or influence in the vaious fields. India has often been accused of possessing hegemonic tendencies in its foreign affairs and policies by various writers and nations altogether. A countrys foreign policy, in general, aims to achieve three basic objectives-securities, stability, and status (George Liska ). George Modelski in his book A theory of Foreign Policy defined foreign policy as the system of activities evolved by communities for changing the behaviour of other states and adjusting their own activities to the international environment  [v]  . In this sense any country big or small, which endevours to further its policies to achieve its desired world order is hegemonistic. The word hegemony is pejoratively used when the great powers practice policies in seeking predominance over others. Literally hegemon means a leader who seeks predominance over others. This requires the existence of some subordinate states too, whose politics and policies hegemon would try to influence. In the Ancient World, Sparta was the hegemon (leader) city-state of the Peloponnesian League, in the 6th century BC, and King Philip II of Macedon was the hegemon of the League of Corinth, in 337 BC, (a kingship he willed to his son, Alexander the Great); in Eastern Asia, it occurred in China, during the Spring and Autumn Period ( 770-480 BC), when the weakened rule of the Zhou Dynasty lead to the relative autonomy of the Five Hegemons who were appointed, by feudal lord conferences, and were nominally obliged to uphold the Zhou dynastic imperium over the subordinate states. In late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century-Japan, hegemon applies to its Three Unifiers   Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu   who exercised hegemony over most of the country. In the modern world hegemony has contours in imperialism. Imperialistic powers all over their empire had hegemony. After Second World War the beginning of cold war led to a grouping up of countries in t wo major camps. The groups had strong NATO countries as well as weak countries like Pakistan. Weak countries, which entered into such alliances to secure themselves from the hegemony of other countries, were subjected to veiled hegemony, and military bases of the stronger countries were often accommodated there. This has been an accusation for India too for several years. India has been accused of being influential in policies of different nations by making them dependent on it in terms of economy, military strength, resources and even in the political aspect. REGION AND REGIONAL What precisely is meant by the region which is specified in the term Regional Hegemony. We talk of South Asia as a region. Amitava Acharya in his Regional Worlds in a Post-hegemonic Era says Regional world subsumes regional order and regional institutions, as well as economic regionalization. Regional Worlds are not just material constructs.  [vi]  They offer sites for ideational and normative contestations, resistance and compromises, involving both states and civil societies which transcend regional boundaries and overlap into other regional and global spaces. Regional worlds are not autonomous entities, nor purely subsets of global dynamics. They create, absorb and repatriate ideational and material forces that make world politics and order. This definition brings out the important aspect of the term regional which are economic, ideational and so on. It is true that regional worlds are not autonomous entities since nations within a region are not only dependent on each other b ut are also affected by as small factors as the water problem which a any day take a bigger form. The policies of one nation affect the other in some way. Winston Churchill and Walter Lippmann were of the view that world order could best be attained by regional spheres of influence. Robert W.Cox in his Gramsci,Hegemony and International Relations: An essay in method, talks of the different phases in the world hegemony where he mentions the period of U.S hegemony from 1945-1965 and then mentions the phase which starts from 1965 which was characterized by the fall of the U.S hegemony with the rise of the third world and the fragmentation of the world economy  [vii]  . Amitava Acharya puts up a question asking whether the end of US hegemony might open the door to the rise of regional hegemonies such as East Asia under Chinese, South Asia under Indian, the Caucasus and Baltics under Russian, and southern Africa under South African, west Africa under Nigerian and south America under Brazilian, dominance. Would the end of American hegemony be replaced by such distinct or over-lapping regional hegemonies? Such questions have often come up and have forced the nations to think of any single nation progressing at a higher speed as a potential hegemon. In his Tragedy of Great Power Politics, John Mearshimer argues that great powers, including rising or aspiring great powers seek to achieve regional hegemony, a goal more necessary and attainable than global hegemony  [viii]  . It is true that in todays bigger than before world, global hegemony is a distant goal though some still vouch for the U.S hegemony. The point of concern comes to the fear of regio nal hegemons due to Hegemony often being understood as a first step towards imperialism. Regional imperialism of a kind in limited sense can not be avoided. If a country is bigger or stronger its foreign policy stakes would be higher and its objectives are to be set accordingly which may or may not be compatible with the interests of other regional states. South Asia as such did not have any real issues, however a psychological scare of big brother often posited smaller states in this region in defensive posture more as an over reaction. India is one such example of a state caught in a dilemna. INDIAS FOREIGN POLICY- non hegemonic When India got liberation from the imperialistic rule of British Empire in 1947, it was to adopt a policy, which should fulfill its aspirations of a changed world order and thereby confer a status, provide the country an economic stability and security to its borders. The ideological cover of non-alignment and panch sheel was best suited for this. One of the basic tenets of Panch sheel is peaceful co-existence, which implies non-interference in the internal matters of neighbors. In an effort to achieve its objective of word order where new nation states could progress together was to be the objective of Indias Foreign policy. Thus the hegemony over the neighboring states or in South Asia couldnot have been a part of Indias Foreign Policy. On the contrary it was against the policy of peaceful co-existence and Panch sheel. Indias efforts to allay the fears of its neighbors was one of the highlights in all these fora, be it NAM conferences or other international symposiums. Indias forei gn policy of non-alignment and its assumed role of third world leader however is one of its strength. But in a natural corollary to this surrounding countries felt weak and insecure due to natural fear lest India start acting as big brother in the region. Though Indias foreign policy of non alignment was more aimed at providing a new world order where the new states could survive without participating in the cold war between the super powers of post world war era, a big brother scare among the smaller countries is logical and could not have been avoided. There are various reasons that have led to these fears. WHY THE TAG? Countries that surround India, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bagladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma are nowhere at par with India, be it in their size, population, economic development or skilled human resources. The natural resources available in theses countries also do not make these countries competitive. India dominates the whole area geographically. She is the only country that shares a large coast line with all the other six states while none of them have common borders with each other. China after the occupation on Tibet in 1950,reached the borders of the Asian subcontinent but faces problems of accessibility due to the difficulties of the northern terrain. K.M.Pannikar said Geography constitutes the permanent basis of every nations history. It is true since it is because of the rich geographical features that India possesses, landlocked nations like Nepal and Bhutan can hardly survive economically without Indias cooperation. Pakistan and Bangladesh too are dependent on India for water supply. Giantism as called by John.P.Lewis has its far reaching regional ramifications. The enmity with Pakistan continues since the partition days and is yet much behind India in all aspects other than nuclear status and that too is unclear. Three wars with Pakistan have almost established military supremacy of India in South Asia. In 1971 war India could successfully achieve its objective of dismembering Pakistan from various issues in spite of opposition of United States of America. Inspite of the various attempts of friendsihp including the recent cultural cross border efforts through Aman Ki Asha, Indo-Pak meetings always end up as what Nawaz Sharif had once described as zero meeting. Pakistan still doesnot grant India the status of MFN (most favoured nation) though SAFTA has been in force for some time now. Although Indias self-perception might be that it has acted with considerable restraint in prior crises with Pakistan, for example, in the 2002 standoff after the attacks on the Indian parliament, in the 1999 Kargil crisis and even in the1971 war, from the Pakis tani perspective the trauma of disintegration suffered in 1971-when India significantly assisted in the creation of Bangladesh-overshadows all Indian actions. China, though not a part of South Asia plays an important ole in the affairs of the region. China remains what Andrew Hurrell calls the best example of pragmatic accommodation  [ix]  and inspite of being a true friend and permanent member in the United Nations Security Council has often participated in discouraging Indias development in military, or as the permanent member of the United Nations Security Council or in the India-Pak wars or even the increasing friendly ties of India and U.S. India is a growing power and is a major market for Chinese goods as well as a major service provider at the global level. Hence, China has often displayed its displeasure at Indias hegemonic tendencies. Nepal is more or less dependent on India for its economic development. Nepals overtures with China in order to have an independence from the shadow of India could be an example of this over defensive posturing. India and Nepal have had a friend ship treaty since the days of King Tribhuvan. The treaty facilitated both countries to have trade across their borders without much of custom formalities. Nepals economic dependence on Indias economy and its geographical land locked position impelled Nepal to have this treaty. Nepal however never stopped searching for alternatives such as route to the sea through India and Bangladesh to increase its international trade. Invitation to China to build roads in Nepal was one such step to send a clear message that their country has other options too and as efforts to avoid dominance by one nation. Bangladesh came into being almost with the single handed initiative of India. Even their Mukti Bahini was trained by Indian Army. Soon after liberation from Pakistan, Bangla Desh started pursuing a policy to exert independence in its foreign policy. The fanatic elements in Bangla Desh however were not satisfied with this subtle and gradual posturing and assassinated their first President Sheikh Mujiburrahman for his being pro-Indian. Governments successively after his assassination had to pursue Controlled Anti Indian Stance in their Foreign policy in order to satisfy their domestic compulsion in expressing opposition to Indian hegemony. Sri Lankas foreign policy has been more independent in the region. However its domestic compulsion and gradual increase in the power of fanatic Buddhist elements in its politics and their pro-majority policies have complicated the domestic politics. This led to rise of Tamil resistant groups in Sri Lanka and then their establishment of a limited control over the Tamil majority areas in Northern and North eastern Sri Lanka. Indias limited role of sending IPKF to restore Sri Lankan control over these areas was also be seen as an effort to prove its hegemony in South Asia. Mohammed Ayoob wrote in India matters, that given its advantages in terms of both technically skilled manpower and command over the English language by a substantial section of the working population, India has the capacity to play an increasingly important role in the sphere of service industries. He also brought in another aspect which could have been responsible for the fear of Indias role as a regional hegemon  [x]  . It could be the strengthening ties between India and U.S. Ayoob brings in an interesting reason for the close bonds between India and U.S. He says Indian and U.S. concerns do not coincide merely on the issue of maintaining a stable and secure order in Asia in general and in South Asia in particular.A major threat to both regional and global stability and securitycomes from a particular variety of terrorism that has targeted both India and the United States. This is true that post the twin tower attacks in U.S,terrorism gained importance all over the world which owes it highlight to U.S because the 11 September attacks proved that terrorism could shake the super powers too. Hence,started the Indo-US friendship which continues and the signing of the nuclear deal was another step towards the friendship. That was another reason which made the neighbours uneasy about Indias increasing power. The question was whether India was trying its hand at friendship with the hegemon to follow it.  [xi]   Absence or weak democratic institutions in these countries, and Indias established democracy has further weakened the ties countries surrounding India. Nepal has had Monarchy for most of the part in last sixty years. The intervals of democratic governments there have so far not been able to establish a workable democracy. Pakistans army still calls the shots even if democratic governments come into power. Bangla Desh has had its own problems with democracy where the successive governments after being elected have tried to wipe out opposition, more of an inheritance from Pakistan. Sri Lanka has had democratic traditions which have weakened, off late, due to the rise of the fanatic elements in politics and government as well. Perhaps, Kants Perpetual Peace works here too in increasing the suspicions of other nations regarding India. The establishment of SAARC meant to have closer regional cooperation could not allay the fears of smaller states around India. It is more used as a forum for venting the feelings against India in a veiled manner. Before each SAARC meeting the diplomatic channels would have been working overtime to manage this in place of finding new avenues of regional cooperation. However the platform is often used to malign the Indian image by doing an all year roun survery of Indian intrevention in the affairs of other nations and that highlights the hegemonic tendencies of India. Indias role of being party to good offices and mediation in managing international crises could be another reason for the rising suspicions. Initially,oweing to the non-aligned status,India was accepted as a mediator by several belligerent states like in the Korean War,South African apartheid and so on. But the Bangladesh crisis was seen as an unnecessary intervention by Pakistan and even the Sri Lankan crisis which later led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Many such interventions were seen as a display of unwanted disciplinary acts by India just like U.S played the role of a police man in the world scenario post world war. Indias new nuclear status has been seen as a disapproving move by Pakistan , China and several other nations of the world. The world today is basically divided on the basis of nuclear haves and have-nots. India joined the club with its first peaceful nuclear tests in 1974. India refused to sign the discriminatory treaties like NPT and CTBT and went ahead and signed the much criticised nuclear agreement with USA. USA came forward to accept India as a major global player and made an attempt to delink Indo-US relationhship from its relaionship with Pakistan. It was held that Indo-US civil nuclear deal was designed to serve Indian security needs and provide a basis for the development of bi-lateral relations with the USA. Though India declared its intention to sign similar nuclear cooperation treaties with other countries too and that her decision was not against any other nation, Indias nuclear status was not taken in good spirits by te neighbours and even beyond the neighbourhood. Indias role in Afganistan has often been seen as a hegemonic tendency. In the GIGA working papers,Melanie Hanif discussed the Indian involvement in Afganistan and said that India as a rising regional power is the only country in the region that might possess the capabilities,the willingness, and the legitimacy for a long-term engagement in Afghan security.  [xii]  India provides scholarships for Afghan students and fosters its commercial ties with the country, something which has, however,been hindered by Pakistans denial of direct access. India has also offered training to the Afghan National Security Forces, but this has not been realized due to Pakistani opposition.India is committed to development and infrastructure projects in various sectors in Afghanistan, especially the reconstruction of overland roads. In terms of soft power, Indias asset is the high popularity of Indian music, movies and television shows in Afghanistan. With a view to military capabilities, India has en hanced its presence in Central Asia through the establishment of its first airbase outside India, in Farkhor/Aini, Tajikistan.All this points to Indias willingness and preparedness to become more involved in the attempt to reconstruct and stabilize Afghanistan. Although most of the external parties are likely to accept a prominent role of India in Afghanistan,two important veto players remain, one within and one outside South Asia: Pakistan and China. IS INDIA A REGIONAL HEGEMON? All these reasons together see India as a regional hegemon. The tag has resulted in both seeing India as a leader as well as a threat. More than a threat, it is the suspicion and anxiety of other nations, which has given India the tag. Power is seen as a zero sum quality. The power gained by one nation is the loss of the other. India with all the resources and power is hence seen as an expansionist maybe not in the earlier imperialist ways but by means of soft power and mediation. However, it is highly doubtful to call India as the hegemon because hegemony would mean supremacy in decision making and policy making for all the other nations of the region. Pakistan is a major example of Indias faulty hegemony. Andrew Hurrell talks of the potential great powers in the world and calls them BRICs, i.e. Brazil, Russia, India and China.  [xiii]  He says that countries like Brazil, India and China are acquiring enough power to change the face of global politics and economics. However, he also brings out another aspect. He says that though these nations have the capacity to become great powers, these nations share certain uncertainties especially regarding the behaviour of the leader, United States. A second characteristic that these nations share is a sense of vulnerability. It is true for India too. Though the size may increase options and like every other nation, India too may have a belief in its natural right to an influential international role yet it is aware of its vulnerability. When Hurrell talks of India as a great power, he questions what would happen if the developing country identity of India comes into conflict with the aspiring great power identity. This argument brings the as pect of Indias aspirations for being a great power, which would be the aspirations of any nation. Any nation has the goal of being counted among the influential ones. That does not necessarily imply hegemonic tendencies. The most important aspect is the recognition. For India to be a regional hegemon, it is a precondition that other nations acknowledge the position desired. To be a hegemon, India would need the support and recognition by the entire region. This is highly unattainable in todays times of globalization and freedom. All the nations are sovereign and are free to take their decisions on the basis of their national interests. There is interdependence but not domination. There is the whole process of settlement of disputes by mediation but the mediator remains only that and nothing more. The world today is anarchic where there is no overarching authority. There are sections that advocate for some authority but there is no such authority present. Even United States, which could be called once the leader or the hegemon, is met with opposition now by developing nations like India. The Gulf War met with a massive opposition and international pressure. India is nowhere near USA in any development al field. In his book The Production of Space, Henri Lefebvre posits that geographic space is not a passive locus of social relations, but that it is trialectical   constituted by mental space, social space, and physical space   hence, hegemony is a spatial process influenced by geopolitics.  [xiv]  This is true because inspite of being a huge nation India is still behind Japan in the technology aspect. If we look at Asia, we have China as a competitor. Infact, though China is not a part of South Asia, it is very much a part of the decision making process. Whether we talk of the Indo-Pak relations or the Kashmir issue which had affected almost all the nations of South Asia in some way, China ha always had a say. It is quite powerful and enjoys a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. It could always be called as the hegemon of Asia if we consider development and relations with U.S to be a criterion for the tag. China has for years maintained a balance in is re lation with the west in spite of it being a communist nation. In spite of being a communist nation, it enjoys a special place in the world. That is power. The benchmark for every Indian step is the Chinese strength. SOUTH ASIA: INDIAS RESPONSIBILITY? K.P.S.Gill in the article Freedom From Fear Regional Security India can redeem South Asia, called South Asia the most volatile area of the world, as the epicenter, the new locus of terrorism, as the venue of a resource-sapping and futile arms race and of a possible and devastating nuclear confrontation  [xv]  . Gill says India is the regional giant of South Asia and accepts that it has been thought of as an ambitious regional hegemon. India is the home to a resurgent economy, led by sections of the hi-tech manufacturing and information technologies sector, has attracted significant and growing international investments and multinational participation. Much of this globalization, though, is still within the category of speculation and predatory capitalism, rather than a deep structural reorientation or long-term commitment by international partners. India is also home to the largest pool of technical and skilled manpower in the world, though its quality may be somewhat uneven. Despite these drawbacks, the countrys potential to seize the opportunities of the new technological revolution is unquestionable. Gill says that India being on the way to the developed status has to take the responsibility of bringing up the entire region. To do this, it must accept the notion of its own centrality, not as hegemon or big brother, but in processes of genuine friendship and shared concerns with its neighbours. But, before doing that India would have to deal with the suspicions regarding Indias interventions and initiatives. This true because even the slightest initiatives taken by any nation for the progress of another nation, are looked at as expansionist and hegemonic tendencies. In the absence of direct imperialism and old forms of power, a new term has come up and that is Soft Power which has been discussed by Joseph Nye is what operates today. In todays times, power has changed its face. It is no more confined o traditional instruments like military and economic assistance, because they are rarely sufficient to deal with the new dilemmas of the world politics. Today multinationals are the ne w sources of the co-optive power. India has gained a lot from these multinationals. As India liberalized her economy, these multinational corporations entered t

User Perceptions of Web 2.0

User Perceptions of Web 2.0 Abstract With the advent of the internet and the evolution of e-business, the widely held perception is that we operate in a know ledged-based economy. Many organisations have realised that changing and adapting their business processes to leverage information technology is vital for sustainability. The traditional paradigm of focusing on products has gradually eroded and organisational rhetoric has shifted towards services. In fact the notion has been permeated that the customer has taken centre stage in corporate strategy . Focus is now drawn to building sustainable relationships with customers and involving them in the decision making processes. Customers are now involved in core organisational processes such as development of new products and services. Customers services in the traditional approach has mainly consisted of assisting customers before or after the purchase of products. With the customer taking a central theme in organisational strategy and with the introduction of Informatio n technology as an enabler of organisational change . IT Organisations have looked at information systems such as Customer relationship management solutions to manage all aspects of customer communications. CRM systems have been rolled out with the promise to enhance operational efficiency and productivity in organisations. CRMs are supposed to help IT Organisations understand their customers better. Most customer services in knowledge based Organisations now rely on knowledge bases and CRMs. However it seems that in spite of all these information systems and organisational efforts , many IT organisations have yet to fully harness the capabilities of e-business and gain competitive advantage by leveraging the customers as co-creators and co-producers of knowledge. Notions such as self-service are not as pervasive as one would expect. It is arguably true that some IT organisations have attempted with belated success to establish a true symbiotic relationship with their customers. The refore this study will attempt to encourage the use of web 2.0 by exploring the user perceptions of users in web 2.0 specifically in customer services. Qualitative research was carried out through semi-structured interviews focussing on the social , personal, cognitive and affective perception of users when participating in web 2.0 (Blogs, virtual forums, etc))within support activities. The analysis of the data was carried out using the Users and Acceptance framework . Implications for research and practice highlight organisational culture as a very important prerequisite for the use and acceptance of web 2.0 enabled technology. CHAPTER 1 Introduction The constant innovation of software products has invariably driven the need for customers to understand and use the ever evolving products effectively (Dholakia et al , 2009).As a result of this organisations rely predominantly on the acquisition of a service support contract defined as pre-sales and post sales support contracts to enable these organisations to learn about the product, assist in using the product and ultimately solving problems during the use of the software ( Gray and Durcikova 2006). An indirect advantage of a support contract provides organisations with information about their customers to personalise the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase experiences (Kohlbacher, 2008). Some firms supplement this employee-based service support model with virtual customer communities ( (Mathwick, Wiertz, and de Ruyter 2008) such as Ebay (Dholakia et al , 2009).In fact Mills and Morris (1986) argue that customers can thus become partial employees by taking over some service functions that are normally carried out by employees. This implies that some firms successfully leverage their relationships with their customers to derive further value creation. This view falls in line with the argument that organisations should build better relationships with their customers with the aim to retaining customers (Lemon, White, and Winer (2002),; not only because the growth of the internet and rapid technological progress has lead to increasing market transparency thus making it difficult to achieve long lasting differentiation (Hande Kimilog?lu and Hu ¨lya Zarali) , but also because customer loyalty can be directly linked to organisational profitability. Loyal customers have higher customer retention rates, use a larger share of their category spending to the organisation, and are more likely to recommend others to become customers of the firm (Reichheld and Earl Sasser, 1990; Zeithaml, 2000; Keiningham, 2007). A new perspective is being heralded that organisations can leverage web2.0 to build closer relationships with customers (Forrester). Web 2.0 encompasses a range of interactive tools and social communications techniques like blogs, podcasts and social networks (Chaffey, 2008).This is because the rapid spread of high speed internet access has enabled the participation and interaction that encourages user created content,creation of communities. The power of web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook and Myspace with 300 millions users arguably exemplies how popular and successful and relevant web 2.0 can be (Chaffey, 2008). Traditionally the verb networking describes the Machiavellian stance of creating and sustaining interpersonal connections and using these for commercial gain (Iacobucci) .Therefore one can be conclude that organisations should innovate on their services and leverage the internet to improve their brands recognition and improve customer loyalty. Interestingly within organisational studies the fostering of relationships to improve customer loyalty and serve customers better is the main reason why organisations deploy customer relationship management systems. In fact some (Chen ,Popovich; 2003 ) define CRM as an integrated approach to managing relationships by focusing on customer retention and relationship building facilitated by the advances in information technology. Others on the otherhand see CRM as a central knowledge management system.Still yet other emphasise the insight that organisations can gain from using CRM systems especially in marketing , segmenting and targeting (Colt.). While all these views possibly suggest that CRM can provide the relationship management , knowledge and insight to leverage the relationship between customers and organisations, it appears CRM falls short in practise to live up to these claims ; in fact Gibbert et al., ( 2002) claim that CRM leaves knowledge residing in customers. Similarly Zaltman (2003) argues that current CRM implementations are restricted to collecting and managing data and information while ignoring tacit information. This shortcomings of CRM has seen some researchers segment and reconceptualise some domains in CRM such as Customer Knowledge Management that deals with tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge and relationship management in customer services (davenport et a, 2001, Gibbert et al , 2002 ). While the importance of web 2.0 technologies such social networking is accepted (Forrester, Chaffeh) many researchers suggest that its impact in organisations has not been thoroughly investigated (Castilla et al. (2000). Therefore the aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of social media in customer service organisations . Data is gathered through an a questionnaire to participants to evaluate the potential and potential impact of web 2.0 technologies on customer services. RESEARCH FOCUS This dissertation intends to explore the use of web 2.0 information systems within customer services of an information technology organisation based in the united states with support centres in the united kingdom, Australia and India. The main themes this research seeks to explore are: How users perceive the Web 2.0 and its relation to their Cognitive needs that describes the acquisition of information, knowledge and understanding. Understand how the affective needs (Emotion, pleasure, feelings.) of users who participate in a firms web 2.0 information systems affiliate with the organisation Understand how Personal integrative ( Credibility, stability, status) are affected by participation in an organisations web 2.0 initiatives understand the impact of web 2.0 on users and the building of communities ( Social integrative) Aim and Objectives Aim The aim for this dissertation is to explore the user perceptions of web 2.0 within a technical support department specifically in an ICT organisations. Objectives Carry out a literature review of CRM within the organisational context and link to knowledge management and enterprise agiliy Examine Web 2.0 and review contemporary web 2.0 literature and its consequences for centralised versus decentralised (localised, contextualised) planning and decision processes in social systems; clarify key characteristics of Web 2.0 technologies and their potential to enhance networking and collaboration among peers in communities of practice; assess the potential of the communication and collaboration features of Web 2.0 tools for creating and exchanging knowledge in corporate information systems; outline the potential of Web 2.0 technologies to foster employee empowerment through collaboration and interaction; and finally draw conclusions for the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in organisations Research Approach In order to explore the user perceptions of web 2.0 within customer services, qualitative interpretive research will be carried out.Qualitative research appears more appropriate for this study as it will provide information into what each particular user perceives the usefulness of web2.0 . Because such information is more subjective in nature , it is therefore better approached using qualitative research. The essence of this qualitative research will be interpretive in nature into uncovering information about the human perception, feelings, opinions and thoughts (Fonow and Cook ,1991). Observatory research while being useful is limited to solely identifying behaviour however not understanding reasons behind that behaviour and does not include important details such as the context of users. This is not enough insight for the purpose of this research as there is a clear need to ascertain both the behaviour as well as attitudes behind these. Additionally quantitative research acquires data through the assumption that social facts can always be measured on the assumption that they have an objective reality. Thus not identifying that user attitudes and perceptions can be influenced by emotions and as a result fail to gain a deeper insight to motivation and behaviour. Dissertation Outline This section outlines and briefly describes the structure of the dissertation : CHAPTER 1: Technical Support This chapter is an introduction of the dissertation highlighting the research area with a presentation of the aims and objectives of the research CHAPTER 2: Literature Review This chapter is a critical review of existing literature on call centre. It also discusses contemporary theories and perspectives relating to the Technical support. It also discusses the use of information systems within the context of this dissertation CHAPTER 3: Research Methodology will describe and articulate the research methodology. This also includes information about the design of the research and the Organisation Chapter 4: Research findings and Analysis This chapter presents the case study, the findings from the semi-structured interviews conducted in the organization using the Users and gratification (UG)theory as the conceptual lens for the discussion. Chapter Five :Analysis and discusses the result of the research. Each hypothesis is investigated for any acceptance or rejection of the proposed framework designed for each hypothesis. Concluding this section will be a discussion of limitations arising from developing this research. Chapter 5: Conclusion This will discuss the implications of the research findings in practise while also suggesting some recommendations for future research. CHAPTER 2 Theoretical Perspectives on customer relationship management systems Technical Support Customer relationship Management There are diverse views on why organisations implement customer relationship management systems. Ngai (2005) suggests that the CRM have been primarily used to automate processes. Senge et al (1999) suggests that Organisations need to continuously change and adapt to changing environment and assert that Customer relationship management systems are key to this process. Stein and Smith (2009) suggest that if properly organized and applied, information can become the knowledge that defines the mission, form and strategy of an Organisation and associate CRM with theories such as the adaptive enterprise. This view is shared by Sun et al (2006) who suggest the primary purpose of CRMs as adaptive learning. In this context adaptive learning is defined as the process of predicting information from large databases to identify valuable customers, the ability to learn about the preferences of these valuable customers , forecast future behavioural patterns and estimate customer value. The rapid gr owth of the internet (chaffey, 2008) and the current limitations of existing CRM implementations (Gibbert et al, 2002) has seen some It has been established that organisations must exploit existing competencies,technologies, and knowledge (March, 1991) , improvise (Orlikowski) and also pursue knowledge about unknown possibilities for competitive action (Sambamurthy, 2003).It has being In fact the notion of organisational agility is often permeated and is described as a combination of customer agility, partnering agility, and operational agility (Cronin 2000). The underlying perspectives seem therefore to suggest that Organisations operate in continuously changing environments, it appears that Organisations are expected to be agile. Agility There are some divergent views which suggest how companies should attain enterprise agility. The underlying concept behind all these definitions relies on these organisations sensing changes and responding accordingly. Some advocate absorptive capacity (Zahra, 2002) which suggests the capability (dynamic) to create and utilize knowledge. While others suggest enterprise agility that builds upon other theories in management theory such as dynamic capability, strategic flexibility, market orientation and absorptive capacity (Overby 2006). Chaffen (2008) highlights strategic agility as the an organisations ability to innovate and so gain competitive advantage within a market place by monitoring changes within an organisationss marketplace and then to efficiently evaluate alternative strategies and then select review and implement appropriate candidate strategies. Nambisan (2002) postulates that agility is important for organisations and argues that customers serve three valuable roles namely as a source of innovation ideas, as co-creators who help in the development and design of innovative products and services, and finally users help in testing the product or in assisting other users learn about new products or services.Others (Kohli and Jaworski 1990) underline the more strategic advantages of Customer agility and suggest it helps organisations gain market intelligence and in detecting competitive action opportunities. However it seems CRMs are not only implemented for firms to gain agility or intelligence. This raises the question about what Organisations expect from CRM implementations. It appears the role of the customer within organisations has gained increased focus.In that light Kohli Jaworski (1990) postulate that customers play a central strategy in organisations. (Fornell et al , 2006) have done some empirical studies and suggest that there is a direct link between customer relationship activity and firm performance. Similarly Lemon, White, and Winer (2002) highlight the marketing trend of building long lasting relationships with customers for better competitiveness. Agrawal (2003) suggests CRMs are central to the task of making an organisation customer centric and maintains that this is the most certain way of increasing value to organisations and profitability to the organisations. The Information centric view of CRM has also been delineated with Peppers and Rogers (1999) highlighing th e technological aspects of customer relationship management and arguing that CRMs are technology solutions that extend separate databases and sales force automation tools to link sales marketing efforts to improving targeting efforts. From these viewpoints, one could suggest that the ultimate objective behind CRM initiatives is ultimately about managing relationships with customers . The proposition is that if organisations build better relationships with customers, this would ultimately lead to better competitive abilities and can lead to long term competitiveness and sustainability. This appears simplistic and deterministic and there is research evidence to suggest that some CRM initiatives have not met these objectives, for example Rigby et al (2002) argue that CRM initiatives have alienated long-term customers and employees. Customer relationship Management Definition Within the scope of this study the definition of Customer relationship management systems will be aligned with Chen and Popowich (2003) that define CRMs as a combination of people ,processes and technology that seek to provide understanding of customers. According to Chen and Popovich (2003) a CRM system is a complex application that mines customer data, creates a comprehensive view of key customers, and predicts their purchasing patterns. CRMs support business strategy and assist in the building of long term relationships with the customer. Chen and Popowich (2003) also maintain that although CRM is enabled by technology, it is not a technology solution because the key processes are carried out by people and these need clear understanding of the objectives of key decisions. Although the term CRM seems to have a ubiquitous definition that focuses on relationship management with customers, Greenberg (2004) claims that Customer relationship management systems can be interpreted in thre e distinct ways; (1) Data-driven CRM that leans on Information technology and centres around the integration customer information using applications, interfaces, and automation tools. (2) Process-driven CRM builds around organisational practices and rules and seeks to automate organisational processes for better efficiency. (3) people-driven CRM focuses on the job of executives and employees in utilizing face-to-face communication to process relationship management. The underlying proposition is that CRM while being technologically enabled requires company-wide, cross-functional, customer-focused business process re-engineering to be successful. CRM has arguably cemented its position as an important organisational construct with Forrester research postulating the growth of the CRM industry will reach 11 billion dollars annually by 2010 (Forrester,2008). In spite of this apparent success of CRM, there are diverging views on its efficiency and suitability to dealing with issues raised with customer support services departments and as such Chen, Popovich (2003) postulate that CRM is a combination of People, process and technology that need to provide understanding of customer needs to support a business strategy. This suggests that organisational structure is an important facet of CRM. Similarly some suggest that the key to organisation success is rooted in the ability to sense environmental change and respond readily (Overby2006). The environment in this context are the strategic and operational conditions such as regulatory changes, technological advancement and increased customer demands. Thus the point is made for the agile enterprise. Agility is defined as the ability of an (inter-connected) organization to detect changes, opportunities and threats in its business environment and to provide speedy and focused responses to customers, as well as other stakeholders, by reconfiguring resources and processes, and through strategic partnerships and alliances. The argument can thus be made that organisations need to derive more from the information at their disposal to ensure better decisions. In the context of the internet , it can be argued that with the low cost entry barrier offered by the internet , organisations now require unique selling points to differentiate their products and retain their existing customers. This has caused the customer support services departments to emerge as one of the most importan t parts of organisations. Perhaps because customers must learn continuously to keep abreast of innovations (Dholakia et al , 2009).Attracting a new customer is more expensive than retaining a customer (Chaffey , 2006). The Role of Information Systems The role of information technology on agility is often referred to as indirect (Overby, 2006). This view suggests that IT provides the infrastructure upon which other business functions and processes rely. Information technologies such as decision support systems, data warehouses, and OLAP tools can facilitate the development of knowledge through real-time data monitoring, pattern identification and scenario modelling. This enhances the organisation sensing capabilities by providing managers with high-quality information about the state of the business, which helps them, identify emerging opportunities.Others (Sambamurthy et al, 2003) suggest that information technology investments and capabilities influence firm performance through a nomological network of three significant organizational capabilities (agility, digital options, and entrepreneurial alertness) and strategic processes (capability-building, entrepreneurial action, and co evolutionary adaptation)..The essence of their ar gument appears to be that organizations with better information technology are better at making decisions. One can therefore infer from these arguments that organisations should use Information technology as an enabler which enables them to sense and perceive changes in their environment and respond effectively (the fastest response is not necessarily the best response). The role of information technology and its impact on CRM initiatives has been greatly discussed. According to Tamminga and OHalloran (2000) the increasing use of the Internet by customers has important ramifications for CRM because of what is expected in terms of customer management . Along these lines Petrissans (2000) maintains that information technology automation solutions such as FAQ (frequently asked questions ) and interactive voice response systems can increase operational efficiency. Furthermore Sandoe et al. (2001) suggest that information technology development such as business intelligence through data warehousing and data mining are very important for the effectiveness of CRM systems Fundamentally it appears the role of information technology on enterprise ability and agility is often referred to as indirect (Overby, 2006). This view maintains that IT provides the infrastructure upon which other business functions and processes rely. Information technologies such as dec ision support systems, data warehouses, and CRM can facilitate the development of knowledge through real-time data monitoring, pattern identification and scenario modelling. This enhances the organisation sensing capabilities by providing managers with high-quality information about the state of the business, which helps them, identify emerging opportunities. One could argue from these research perspectives that technological advances are lead deterministically to better CRM systems, however it seems this is not the case ;for example Chen and Popowich (2004) claim that for some organisations CRM is simply a technology solution that consolidates disparate databases and sales force automation tools to bridge sales and marketing functions in order to improve sales efforts. This view is shared by Reinartz et al (2004) who suggest that one of the reasons for the disappointing results of many CRM initiatives can be attributed to the overemphasis on CRM as an information technology solutio n. As a result Coltman (2004) correctly argues that Information technology must be applied in the right way to derive business value and claims that Information technology impacts organizational performance via intermediate business processes, requires complementary organizational resources such as workplace practices and structures and is influenced by the external environment. Data , Information and Knowledge Plato suggested that knowledge could only be derived from that which is believed and is true, typically called justified true belief.Earl (1994) advocates that data has to be interpersonal or objective and postulates 4 levels of knowledge needed to understand organizational information events are collected and processed to generate Data , data is manipulated and interpreted to generate information and information leads to knowledge.Sveiby suggests that information is meaningless, but becomes meaningful knowledge when it is interpreted. Polanyi (1966) defines knowledge as a construct that cannot be separated from its social context, similarly Toumi,1999) posits that data should include the context within which it was captured to ensure that it can be understood and interpreted correctly. The main underpinnings of these schools of thoughts seem to underline the importance of tacit and subjective knowledge. Tacit knowledge is defined as personal; context specific and therefore hard to formalize and communicate (includes cognitive and technical elements) This is in contrast with proponents of explicit knowledge who advocate that knowledge should be objective , that is knowledge that is transmittable in formal systematic language (Nonaka and Takenchi 1995). CRM and the internet The growth and success of the internet has been emphatic as 10.000 new pages are added each day (chaffey, 2008). This success has been fuelled by the increase in broadband adoption alongside the low cost of the internet (chaffey 2008).The internet has because of its low barrier to entry and . Not only has the internet seen the introduction of new concepts such as e-business and forced organisations to evaluate organisational silos or constructs but it has introduced new technologies such as blogs, social networks, RSS that are collectively now known as web 2. 0.Petrohoff (2008) suggests that social media is not just these new technologies enabled by the internet but is more about a community that interact with each other on an ongoing basis. The growth of the CRM industry as impressive as it seems cannot compare with the explosive growth of the internet that has catapulted ecommerce to centre stage with the value of sales alone in 2008 estimated at  £222.9bn in the united kingdom (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/ecom1109.pdf). This indicates that the ecommerce has become an important medium for companies to reach customers more easily.. The notion is thus permeated that rapid advancements in technology are leading to increasing transparency of marketing activities, thus making it difficult to achieve long-lasting differentiation (Hande Kimilog?lu and Hu ¨lya Zarali. 2008).While some (CA? LIN GURA?U et al , 2003) claim that the low entry barriers, the market size and the relatively low costs of online business activities have created a situation of intense competition and suggest that organisations therefore need to build brand loyalty and manage their relationships with customers better for long term viability .O thers on the otherhand see the potential offered by the internet such as high speed, cost effectiveness, constant availability, efficiency in transferring information, and integrated and individualised nature are major drivers and strengths for CRM applications (Bauer et al., 2002; Frawley, 2000). Thus a new conceptualization of CRM has been derived to accommodate the possibilities offered by the internet,wireless media and e-mail, denoted by E-CRM (chaffey and smith , 2008) with the goal of acquiring and retaining customers online using organisational websites The role of People in CRM implementations has been examined by some researchers and there appears to be divergent views. Rigby et al (2003) suggest that although CRM are used to automate processes; these processes cannot manage customer relationships that deviate from the norm for example CRM is not as effective for relationship building as face to face communication . Davenport et al (2004) concur with this and argue that two distinct types of knowledge is generated by Organisations through customer information processing, namely tacit and implicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is generated through the processes of the CRM information system such as recording the actions of customers during communication .Explicit is therefore defined as knowledge that can be articulated ,documented and made accessible. This is contrasted with tacit knowledge generated during interaction with customers but cannot be documented and made accessible. Davenport et al (2004) therefore claim that for orga nisations to embark on successful CRM initiatives, human processes can complement and overcome the deficiencies in the technology led CRM implementations. This is also highlighted by Stringfellow, Nie, and Bowen (2004) who suggest CRM systems require complex channels to elicit the emotional needs of customers that cannot be met with standard CRM systems. As a result of this, they conclude that CRM systems are technology-rich but knowledge-poor. Therefore indeed the usefulness of CRM is limited when dealing with unstructured information and tacit knowledge. And some (Markus et al 2002) therefore correctly argue that Organisations need emergent knowledge processes . Emergent knowledge processes are organizational activities that exhibit three characteristics in combination: (1) deliberations with no best structure or sequence, (2) knowledge requirements include both general and tacit knowledge distributed across experts and non-experts, and (3) highly unpredictable actor set in term of job role or prior knowledge (Markus, et al., 2002). Web 2.0 : communication, cooperation, collaboration and connection. Musser and OReilly ( 2006) defines the WEB 2.0 as the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them . Oreilly gives a comprehensive definition and suggests that Web 2.0 is a range of interactive emergent tools and social communication techniques such as Blogs, Podcasts and social networks that are aimed at increasing user participation and interaction on the web (Albrecht et al., 2007; Berners-Lee et al., 2006; Kerres, 2006; McAfee, 2006;Musser and OReilly, 2006; OReilly, 2005; Seufert, 2007). This implies that web 2.0 is an umbrella term that underlines a new paradigm of capabilities made possible by the pervasiveness or rather near ubiquity of internet. Some highlight the web 2.0 as the breaking down of organisational silos Oberhelman (). In fact Oberhelman () postulates that Web 2.0 refers generally to web tools that, rather than serve as a forum for authorities to impart information to a passive, receptive audience, actually invite site visitors to comment,collaborate, and edit information, creating a more distributed form of authority in which the boundaries between site creator and visitor are blurred. This view is shared by Graham (2005) who posits that