What animal would you like to be and why free essay sample

?If I were to be an animal, I would be an African Lion. The African Lion is an animal that describes my strengths and attributes perfectly and has characteristics that I would love to call my own. The African Lion has been called â€Å"the King of Beasts† for centuries, due to its majestic appearance and the fact that it is at the top of the food chain. I too would like the respect the African Lion receives and the title that it has been given. If I were an African Lion I would be able to bake in the African sun all day, lounge around, sleep and enjoy all the beauty that the Savannah has to offer. I would be able to escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of the human world. I would not have to be worried about school, homework, tests, coming to class on time, what to wear or trying to fit into society. We will write a custom essay sample on What animal would you like to be and why or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I would be able to roam free. All African Lions belong to a specific pride. A pride can be defined as a family of lions. A pride sticks together and takes care of one another. To me family is very important and a necessity to succeed in life. This is a similarity that I feel I share with the African Lion. When most of us think of a Lion, we do not automatically think of intelligence, but rather a vicious and violent man eater who leaves blood stains in its path. An African lion uses its intelligence as a secret weapon in various situations to survive in the fight for life. African Lions are motivated, powerful, muscular, brave, and courageous. They have the willingness to fight and the ability to survive in the wild. Comparatively, sometimes I fear that I am quite different. I feel myself to be weak and fragile and to lack motivation and sometimes bravery. I would like if I shared the traits of motivation, power, strength and bravery that the African Lion displays. The bravery and respect that an African lion receives is reason enough for me to want to be an African Lion and to be a part of a pride.

Free Essays on Oliver Cromwell

Cromwell was more responsible for the overthrow of the Stuarts than any other man, and as the commander of a large, well-trained army, he had the power to establish a dictatorship. However, he was no ordinary military conqueror who sought civil power, and the real tragedy of his career was that he was forced to assume a political role in order to protect the ideals for which he and his men had fought. Although he was one of the greatest military commanders in history, he had little political imagination. He stumbled form one expedient to another in search of some form of government which a majority of Englishmen would support, but the painful truth was that the opponents of the Stuarts could agree on no alternative to Stuart rule. At first, Cromwell left civil affairs in the hands of the Rump-the unpurged members of Parliament-and an appointed council. He turned to Ireland, where he suppressed a rebellion with great cruelty, and then to Scotland, where he put down a Stuart uprising. The mercantile element in Parliament brought England into a war with the Dutch and passed measures designed to help big-city merchants. At the same time, Parliament was lax in the payment of troops, and some of its members were accused of accepting bribes. To ensure their continuance in power, they even decided to fill vacant seats by nomination instead of election. Cromwell could stand it no longer In April, 1653, he ordered his troops to disperse the Rump. As the members of Parliament departed, the general shouted: "It's you that have forced me to do this, for I have sought the Lord night and ay that he would slay me rather than put me upon the doing of this work." With the arrogant certainty of one who is convinced that h! e is doing God's will, Cromwell had now destroyed both king and Parliament. God was less helpful in revealing to Cromwell what alternate form of government should be established. At length, he was persuaded that the best way to s... Free Essays on Oliver Cromwell Free Essays on Oliver Cromwell Cromwell was more responsible for the overthrow of the Stuarts than any other man, and as the commander of a large, well-trained army, he had the power to establish a dictatorship. However, he was no ordinary military conqueror who sought civil power, and the real tragedy of his career was that he was forced to assume a political role in order to protect the ideals for which he and his men had fought. Although he was one of the greatest military commanders in history, he had little political imagination. He stumbled form one expedient to another in search of some form of government which a majority of Englishmen would support, but the painful truth was that the opponents of the Stuarts could agree on no alternative to Stuart rule. At first, Cromwell left civil affairs in the hands of the Rump-the unpurged members of Parliament-and an appointed council. He turned to Ireland, where he suppressed a rebellion with great cruelty, and then to Scotland, where he put down a Stuart uprising. The mercantile element in Parliament brought England into a war with the Dutch and passed measures designed to help big-city merchants. At the same time, Parliament was lax in the payment of troops, and some of its members were accused of accepting bribes. To ensure their continuance in power, they even decided to fill vacant seats by nomination instead of election. Cromwell could stand it no longer In April, 1653, he ordered his troops to disperse the Rump. As the members of Parliament departed, the general shouted: "It's you that have forced me to do this, for I have sought the Lord night and ay that he would slay me rather than put me upon the doing of this work." With the arrogant certainty of one who is convinced that h! e is doing God's will, Cromwell had now destroyed both king and Parliament. God was less helpful in revealing to Cromwell what alternate form of government should be established. At length, he was persuaded that the best way to s...

Blood Sports (Debate) Essay Example for Free

Blood Sports (Debate) Essay Blood sports should not be banned; whatever problems there are with the sport can be fixed with reforms. The World Health Organization has called for tighter regulation, including â€Å"Simple rules, such as requiring medical clearance, national passports to prevent players from fighting under more than one name, restricting fights for fixed periods after knockouts, requiring that ringside physicians be paid by the state and not the promoter, and making sure that the players are aware of the potential long-term consequence of blood sports, may help protect them to some degree. †The Australian Medical Association additionally â€Å"recommends that media coverage should be subject to control codes similar to those which apply to television screening of violence. †Finally, the World Medical Association suggests that all matches should have a ring physician authorized to stop the fight at any time. It has been reported that no safety regulations would be effective if head blows remain – however such authors incorrectly apportion blame on boxing for a group of diseases known as Parkinson’s syndrome. Blood sports can result in chronic traumatic neurological conditions if fighters are not well matched, and fight without regulations in regard to their exposure. Boxing cannot cause Parkinson’s disease or other conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease as those are genetic conditions – so to include them together as one set of conditions is incorrect and misleading. About 80% of deaths are caused by head, brain, and neck injuries, so the removal of the head as a scoring region may make a huge difference to the injury outcomes for this sport. However it would also change the very nature of the sport; and may mean people won’t participate in it. Ultimately, governments should do what they can to make blood sports as safe as possible, without losing the essence of the sport or banning it entirely. ————————————————- (Banning blood sports would force people to channel their aggression into more harmful, violent activities) There is no conclusive scientific evidence linking increased contact sport participation with being more violent in social settings. Such statements make it sound as thought we would have not violence in society if all contact sport was removed – and we all know that is untrue. Blood sports isn’t about violent aggression, it is about controlled aggression – this is very different to violent behaviors. In a report on â€Å"violent† sports in schools, conducted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a martial-arts instructor explained, â€Å"Contact and combat sports allow students to deal with their aggression in a safe environment, rather than in the context of the classroom or school hallway. †This type of outlet is not only important for youth, but for adults as well. Jason Brick said, â€Å"Positive Views on Violence In Sports,† Live strong, January 7, 2011, accessed July 13, 2011, With /proposition (The Effect of blood sports on the viewers) Blood Sports have been around for decades. Viewing violence generally triggers or serves in the increase of aggression of an individual. Sports such as wrestling (smack down) and Ultimate Fighter Competition (UFC) are bloody sports and have mostly negative effects on those who watch them. The objective of these two sports is to beat an individual into unconsciousness, make them tap out by inflicting pain, if none of these is accomplished within a time frame, the match is to be stopped and the judges decide who wins. Many children, teenagers, and even adults tend to try and imitate a knock out or combos that were seen performed at one of these fights onto an individual in an uncontrolled environment whether it is their sibling, friend, coworker, or a stranger for different reasons that includes but is not limited to a misunderstanding or horse playing. Watching this sport leaves the viewer psychologically aggressive. For example, if someone watches a match and gets into a fight with another person later on, that person is more likely to use a technique he saw during the fight, and since there is no referee to stop the fight in case of suffocation or tap-out, the victim is more likely to bleed, pass out or even dies. During the 1980’s, two men were in a bar discussing the Marvin Haggler and Sugar Ray Leonard fight that had occurred several days before, and in the process on trying to show exactly how one of the punch landed, both men went outside, drawing a crowd with them. The demonstration turned tragic when one of the men landed a punch to the jaw of the other, and such was the power of the blow, that the victim fell, hit his head on the pavement and started to bleed, and had to be buried a few weeks later. Seeing and permitting violence to be seen makes it seem normal and legal when in fact it is not normal and it is horrible, but here is where lies another problem which is called desensitization. Many years ago when a horrible scene was about to be portrayed on your television set, there would first appear a window saying ‘the images that you are about to see might injure the sensibility of certain people’ or words to that effect. Well, have you noticed that now they no longer even bother showing that little window? It’s as if the media know that human kind are used to everything by now. That nothing is going to affect them that much. So what does this show? It shows that us human beings are getting desensitized to everything and when that happens it also means that we don’t get so emotional about anything anymore and so consequently don’t fight any more either in order to strive for a change. We have all come to a point where nothing moves us that much anymore. (Pain and Injury as the Price of blood sports) Many people think about sports in a paradoxical way: They accept violence in sports, but the injuries caused by that violence make them uneasy. They seem to want violence without consequences— like the ?ctionalized violence they see in the media and video games in which characters engage in brutality without being seriously or permanently injured. However, blood sports are real, and it causes real pain, injury, disability, and even death (Dater, 2005; Farber, 2004; Leahy, 2008; Rice, 2005; Smith, 2005b; Young, 2004a). Ron Rice, an NFL player whose career ended when he tackled an opponent, discusses the real consequences of blood sports. The brutal body contact of the tackle left him temporarily paralyzed and permanently disabled. He remembers that â€Å"before I hit the ground, I knew my career was over. . . . My body froze. I was like a tree that had been cut down, teetering, then crashing, unable to break my fall. † Research on pain and injury among athletes helps us understand that blood sports have real consequences. Studies indicate that professional sports involving brutal body contact and borderline violence are among the most dangerous workplaces in the occupational world. The same could be said about high-pro? le power and performance intercollegiate sports in which 80 percent of male and female athletes sustain at least one serious injury while playing their sports and nearly 70 percent are disabled for two or more weeks. Research shows a close connection between dominant ideas about masculinity and the high rate of injuries in many sports. Ironically, some power and performance sports are organized so that players feel that their manhood is up for grabs. Men who de? ne masculinity in terms of physically dominating others often use violence in sports as an expression of this code of manhood. Until they critically examine issues related to gender and the organization of their sports, they will mistakenly de? ne violence as a source of rewards rather than a source of chronic pain and disabilities that constrain and threaten their lives. Blood Sports (Debate). (2017, Jun 01).

Effectiveness of Medical Honey for Leg Ulceration and Wound Care Literature review

Effectiveness of Medical Honey for Leg Ulceration and Wound Care - Literature review Example These methods of wound care are meant to facilitate recovery and prevent the infection of the wound (Hess, 2004). In instances of prolonged healing, additional and alternative measures of wound care are often considered. One of these methods includes the use of medical honey (Boulton, Cavanaugh, and Rayman, 2006). Medical honey has been considered as an alternative form of therapy in wound management, especially for chronic and diabetic pressure ulcers (Boulton, et.al., 2006). Leg ulcers are common among diabetic patients and with diabetic patients often having prolonged wound healing times, the importance of implementing speedy and effective wound healing methods has become imperative (Shai and Maibach, 2004). The use of medical honey has been recommended by various studies and practitioners, with much support attributed to its use due to its healing and antibacterial properties (Shai and Maibach, 2004). The more traditional practitioners however have not supported the use of medica l honey over and above conventional methods of healing. Studies with contrasting results have been presented on this subject matter. For which reason, this study now seeks to carry out a literature review on studies discussing the use of medical honey for leg ulceration and wound care. ... A conclusion shall also provide a summary of the paper and a discussion on how the results of this study can contribute to the nursing practice. Literature Review Search strategy This literature review is being carried out in order to establish a critical analysis of the current research information on the efficacy of medical honey on leg ulcers and wound care. This literature review shall start through an internet database search of Google Scholar, Cochrane, PubMed, Medline Plus, and CINAHL using the following key words: medical honey leg ulcers; honey leg ulcers; and honey wound healing. The search shall also be narrowed down to a time limit from December 2006 to August 2012. Specific studies which discuss the efficacy of medical honey on leg ulcers and other wounds shall be prioritized and set aside for abstract review. Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, systematic reviews, case studies, prospective, and English-language studies shall be used as inclusion criteria for t he literature search. Secondary research studies, retrospective, chart reviews, descriptive, non-English language literature shall be excluded from this review. Those meeting the inclusion criteria shall then be set aside for further review, mostly on authors, publication, reliability, and validity of results. Critical Analysis: Support for the use of honey in leg ulceration Various studies have been carried out on the use of medical honey on leg ulcers and other wounds (Cooper, et.al., 2010). In a study by Molan (2009), the antibacterial qualities of honey in wound care was reviewed. His systematic review discussed the inhibitory impact of honey seen in bacteria which often infect wounds. Based on Moran’s (2011) study, honey was seen to have

Movie comment Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Comment - Movie Review Example There seems to be a break in connection with the past. This can be a good thing, however, because it forces the next generation to carve out a new way for themselves, and escape from the weight of history that has been handed down to them. One of the most interesting aspects of the film is that Pilar, who has a white father and Mexican mother, is a teacher whose job is to reinterpret the history for all of the different groups, even though the parents of the schoolchildren resist her open minded approach to the past. Cinema has a great power to play with time: â€Å"Sayles visually reinforces the weight of history and the past in Frontera with seamless chronological transitions smoothly effected by means of panning or other camera movement during uninterrupted takes.† (West and West, 1996, p.1) The flashbacks help to put history into context. Question 2. The town of Frontera, whose name literally means frontier or border, is at the meeting point of North America and South Amer ica, and it is also where the different mentalities of these two worlds meet.

Society’s Attitude Towards Under Privileged Children in the Novel Olive

Society’s Attitude Towards Under Privileged Children in the Novel Oliver Twist ‘Oliver Twist’ is one of Charles Dickens most enduringly popular novels. Best known for his host of distinctively cruel, comic and repugnant characters, Charles Dickens remains the most widely read of the Victorian novelists. ‘Oliver Twist’, a meek, mild young boy, is born in the workhouse and spends his early years there until, finding the audacity to ask for more food, â€Å"Please, sir, I want some more.† he is made to leave. Oliver represents the underprivileged children in this novel. Dickens shows us society’s attitude towards Oliver and the under privileged children, they were abused, beaten and â€Å"brought up by hand.† ‘Oliver Twist’ is a criticism of the workhouses, the judicial system and the criminal world of London society of the time. Dickens use of satire and descriptive style conveys the pain of the unfortunate to the reader. His narrative skills are loaded with biting sarcasm and irony making the novel a chilling revelation of the life of the orphans. Dickens was a lifelong champion of the poor. He himself suffered the harsh abuse visited upon the poor by the English legal system, as he himself was an orphan. In England in the 1830s, the poor had no voice, political or economically. In Oliver Twist, he presents the everyday existence of the lowest characters of English society. He goes far beyond the experiences of the workhouse, extending his depiction of poverty to London’s squalid streets, dark alehouses, and thieves’ dens, he gives voice to those who had no voice, showing us a link between politics and literature with his language techniques and social commentary. The novel is that of a young individual boy but t... ...y to make us visualize the19th century London. Characters such as Mr.Brownlow, Nancy, Ms. Rose, all give comfort to Oliver’s life but filthy characters such Fagin and Sikes never allow Oliver to be in peace. Dickens shows us how society can change the life of a person. The different classes of society all have good and bad. But in the end we know that good prevails over evil. The novel has made me realize that I can survive under any circumstances if I keep hope and keep praying like Oliver did, have more faith. The novel also inspires me as good prevails over evil and always will. The novel is also an eye opener for me as it teaches me to appreciate the comforts of my life as I have a home to live in, love from my parents, food to eat everyday and it teaches me to be more understanding and gentle towards younger people who are less fortunate than me.

Telecom Application Map (Etom, Release 3.1)

These process elements can then be positioned within a model to show organizational, functional and other relationships, and can be combined within process flows that trace activity paths through the business. The eTOM can serve as the blueprint for standardizing and categorizing business activities (or process elements) that will help set direction and the starting point for development and integration of Business and Operations Support Systems (BSS and OSS respectively). An important additional application for eTOM is that it helps to support and guide work by TM Forum members and others to develop NGOSS solutions. For service providers, it provides a Telco industry-standard reference point, when considering internal process reengineering needs, partnerships, alliances, and general working agreements with other providers.For suppliers, the eTOM framework outlines potential boundaries of process solutions, and the required functions, inputs, and outputs that must be supported by pro cess solutions. This document consists of: An introduction to the role of the eTOM Business Process Framework. An overview of the eTOM Business Process Framework, from both Intra-Enterprise and Inter-Enterprise viewpoints, that sets out the main structural elements and approach. The implications and impact of ebusiness for service providers and their business relationships, and how eTOM supports them.  A description of extensions to eTOM for Business to Business Interactions. Several Annexes and Appendices, including terminology and glossary. An Addendum (Addendum D) describing the Service Provider nterprise processes and sub-processes in a form that is top down, customer-centric, and end-to-end focused. Process decompositions are provided for all processes from the highest conceptual view of the framework to the working level of the eTOM, and many selected lower level decompositions in the framework are also included. An Addendum (Addendum F) describing selected process flows at several levels of view and detail that provides end-to-end insight into the application of eTOM. A separate Application Note (GB921L) that shows how eTOM can be used to model the ITIL processes. ?TeleManagement Forum 2002 GB921v3. 5 Draft 4 Page 2 eTOM Business Process FrameworkAnother Application Note (GB921B, currently under development) outlining implications and impact of ebusiness for service providers and their business relationships, and how eTOM supports them, including a description of handling of Business to Business Interactions by eTOM. Note: Annexes and Appendices both allow material to be removed from the â€Å"in-line† flow of the document main body, so that the reader does not become embedded in too much detail as they read. However, they have a different status within a document. Annexes contain normative material, i. e. they have equivalent status to the material within the main body of the document, while Appendices are non-normative, i. e. they contain mat erial included for information or general guidance but which does not represent formal agreement and requirements for users of the document.Addenda have a similar status to Annexes, but are presented as a separate document that is an adjunct to the main document. This is typically because otherwise a single document would become cumbersome due to its size. Thus, a document body, together with its Annexes and Addenda (and their Annexes, if any), represents the normative material presented, while any Appendices in the main document or its Addenda represent non-normative material, included for information only. Application Notes are a specific document type, used to provide insight into how a specification or other agreed artifact is used in a particular context or area of application. They are non-normative as they provide information and guidance only within the area concerned.The basic operations framework continues to be stable even as the Information and Communications Services in dustry continues to change, largely because, like the TM Forum’s previous Telecom Operations Map (TOM), the eTOM Business Process Framework: Uses a high level and generic approach Reflects a broad range of operations and enterprise process model views Reflects the way service providers run and are architecting their businesses eTOM is already being widely used eTOM is accepted as the Telco industry standard by Service Providers, Vendors, Integrators and Consultants. The eTOM significantly enhances the TOM, the previous ‘de facto’ standard for Service Provider operations processes for the industry. eTOM has become the enterprise process, ebusiness enabled, ‘de facto’ standard for the Information and Communications Services industry processes. For those familiar with the TOM, it may be helpful to refer to the prior release of this document (GB921 v3. 0) that includes appendices covering TOM to eTOM Chapter Comparison, and TOM To eTOM Process Name Chang es. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 3 Relationship to Standardization ActivitiesMuch of the management infrastructures upon which systems will be built are expected to be based on standard interfaces. Relating business needs to available, or necessary, standards is a primary goal of the TM Forum in promoting a standardsbased approach to information and communications services management. Where applicable, the TM Forum uses industry standards in its work to promote the acceptance of standards and to minimize redundant work. People active in management standardization (in the broadest sense) will find the eTOM useful in setting a top down, enterprise-level, customer-centric context of how management specifications need to work together.TM Forum uses existing standards as much as possible. As a result of implementation experience through Catalyst projects, TM Forum provides feedback to appropriate standards bodies. NGOSS and eTOM NGOSS is the TM Forum’s New Generation Operations Systems and Software program, which delivers a toolkit to guide the definition, development, procurement and deployment of OSS/BSS solutions while also defining a strategic direction for a more standardized OSS marketplace. NGOSS uses a common business process map, systems descriptions, and information models and couples them with pre-defined integration interfaces, architectural principles and compliance criteria.NGOSS’s end-to-end approach enables service providers to redesign their key business processes in line with industry best practices while allowing suppliers to cost-effectively develop OSS software that can easily fit into a service provider’s IT environment. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 4 eTOM Business Process Framework S S A y A n ysstte na em m a D ly D e lyssiis ss essi s & ig n & g n NGOSS Supporting Tools s es ap s in s M Bu ces M) O o Pr (eT Co nt ra Ne c ut Tec t In ra h te l A no rf rc log ac hi y e & te ct ur e In S f h Da orm are ta at d i (S Mo on ID de & ) l So An Souu An l l t to ii aa n De lyys on De l sis is& ssg iig & nnPr B Pr u oo Bus cc sin ee ssss ine e & & A sss De An s De naa ssg lyy iig l ss nn iss i Co m p Te lia st nce s ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 Figure P. 1: TM Forum NGOSS Framework Figure P. 1 shows the NGOSS Framework, and the vital role of eTOM within this. eTOM provides the Business Process Map for NGOSS. Moving around the NGOSS â€Å"wheel†, eTOM feeds requirements to the Information Model and thence to the Integration Framework and Compliance Criteria. More information on NGOSS is available through the TM Forum website www. tmforum. org GB921v3. 6 C S Coo Soollu n nff o uttiio o Te orrm n m n Te ssttii aanc n n ngg cee eTOM Business Process Framework Page 5Chapter 1- eTOM Business Process Framework Introduction Purpose of the Business Process Framework Traditionally in the telecommunications industry, service providers delivered end-toend services to their customers. As such, the entire value chain was controlled by a single enterprise, if necessary via interconnection arrangements with other service providers. However in a liberalized marketplace, service providers are having to respond both to the customer’s increased demands for superior customer service and to stiffer competition. They have therefore been expanding their markets beyond their self-contained boundaries and broadening their business relationships.Service Providers face very different regulatory environments and their business strategies and approaches to competition are quite distinct, nevertheless they share several common characteristics: Heavily dependent upon effective management of information and communications networks to stay competitive Adopting a service management approach to the way they run their business and their networks Moving to more of an end-to-end Process Management approach developed from the customer’s point of v iew Automating their Customer Care, Service and Network Management Processes Need to integrate new OSSs with legacy systems Focusing on data services offerings and Focusing on total service performance, including customer satisfaction Integrating with current technology (e. g. SDH/SONET and ATM) and new technologies (e. g. , IP, DWDM) Emphasizing more of a â€Å"buy† rather than â€Å"build† approach that integrates systems from multiple suppliers Some Service Providers choose to operate their own network and/or information technology infrastructure, while others choose to outsource this segment of their business.The effective exploitation of this information technology and network infrastructure, whether directly operated or outsourced, is an integral part of the service delivery chain and directly influences the service quality and cost perceived by the end customer. Service Providers will need to become skilled at assessing outsourcing opportunities whether in infor mation technology and/or network infrastructure areas or other areas and then, be skilled at integrating and managing any outsourcing arrangements. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 6 eTOM Business Process Framework To meet both existing and new demands, Service providers still urgently require wellautomated operations processes whether they are incumbent providers or new entrants, and whether communications service providers, application service providers, Internet service providers, etc. Some service roviders are struggling with high growth from a start-up phase, others with the commoditization of key cash-cow services, and yet others with the move from a manual-intensive, inconsistent, inflexible environment to one that provides significant improvement in customer focus, service quality, unit cost, and time to market. Service providers have to pervasively do business electronically with trading partners, suppliers and wholesale and retail customers. For the growing Mobil e/Wireless and IP Services markets, these service providers are focused on quickly provisioning new customers and supporting service quality issues, while continually reducing development and operating costs.. For all service providers, there is an intense drive to introduce both new value-added services and dramatic improvements in customer support.There is also an increasing need for Service Providers to manage the integration required in mergers and acquisitions activity due to the consolidation trend the industry is now experiencing. For the full range of service providers and network operators, the leading focus of the TM Forum’s mission is to enable end-to-end process automation of the business and operations processes that deliver information and communications services. The eTOM is the business process framework for accomplishing this mission. The purpose of the eTOM is to continue to set a vision for the industry to compete successfully through the implementation of business process driven approaches to managing the enterprise.This includes ensuring integration among all vital enterprise support systems concerned with service delivery and support. The focus of the eTOM document is on the business processes used by service providers, the linkages between these processes, the identification of interfaces, and the use of Customer, Service, Resource, Supplier/Partner and other information by multiple processes. Exploitation of information from every corner of the business will be essential to success in the future. In an ebusiness environment, automation to gain productivity enhancement, increased revenue and better customer relationships is vital. Perhaps at no other time has process automation been so critical to success in the marketplace.The over-arching objectives of the eTOM Business Process Framework are to continue to build on TM Forum’s success in establishing: An ‘industry standard’ business process framework. Common d efinitions to describe process elements of a service provider. Agreement on the basic information required to perform each process element within a business activity, and use of this within the overall NGOSS program for business requirements and information model development that can guide industry agreement on contract interfaces, shared data model elements, and supporting system infrastructure and products. A process framework for identifying which processes and interfaces are in most need of integration and automation, and most dependent on industry agreement.This document, the eTOM Business Process Framework and its associated business process modeling, describes for an enterprise the process elements and their relationship that are involved in information and communications services and technologies management. Additionally, the points of interconnection that make up the end-to-end, customer operations process flows for Fulfillment, Assurance, Billing within Operations, and for Strategy, Infrastructure & Product are addressed. GB921v3. 6 ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 7 Note that, although eTOM has been focused on information and communications services and technologies management, this work is also proving to be of interest in other business areas.Service providers need this common framework of processes to enable them to do business efficiently and effectively with other entities and to enable the development and use of third-party software without the need for major customization. In an ebusiness environment, this common understanding of process is critical to managing the more complex business relationships of today’s information and communications services marketplace. eBusiness integration among enterprises seems to be most successful through strong process integration. Recent industry fallout, particularly in relation to dotcoms, does not reduce the pressure for ebusiness automation – it strengthens t he need to capitalize on ebusiness opportunities to be successful.However, the eTOM is not just an ecommerce or ebusiness process framework, it supports traditional business processes with the integration of ebusiness. Define Common Terminology The eTOM document also provides the definition of common terms concerning enterprise processes, sub-processes and the activities performed within each. Common terminology makes it easier for service providers to negotiate with customers, third party suppliers, and other service providers. See Annex B for the definition of eTOM acronyms and terminology. Consensus Tool The TM Forum produced the TOM initially as a consensus tool for discussion and agreement among service providers and network operators.Its broad consensus of support, which has been built on and extended with the eTOM, enables: Focused work to be carried out in TM Forum teams to define detailed business requirements, information agreements, business application contracts and shar ed data model specifications (exchanges between applications or systems) and to review these outputs for consistency Relating business needs to available or required standards A common process view for equipment suppliers, applications builders and integrators to build management systems by combining third party and in-house developments The anticipated result is that the products purchased by service providers and network operators for business and operational management of their networks, information technologies and services will integrate better into their environment, enabling the cost benefits of end-to-end automation. Furthermore, a common industry view on processes and information facilitates operator-to-operator and operator-to-supplier process interconnection, which is essential for rapid service provisioning and problem handling in a competitive global environment.This process interconnection is the key to ebusiness supply chain management in particular. ?TeleManagement F orum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 8 eTOM Business Process Framework What is the eTOM? The eTOM is a business process framework, i. e. a reference framework or model for categorizing all the business activities that a service provider will use. It is NOT a service provider business model. In other words, it does not address the strategic issues or questions of who a service provider’s target customers should be, what market segments should the service provider serve, what are a service provider’s vision, mission, etc. A business process framework is one part of the strategic business model and plan for a service provider.The eTOM can be regarded as a Business Process Framework, rather than a Business Process Model, since its aim is to categorize the process elements business activities so that these can then be combined in many different ways, to implement end-to-end business processes (e. g. fulfillment, assurance, billing) which deliver value for the customer and the service provider. eTOM Release 3. 0 provided a member-approved eTOM Business Process Framework with global agreement from its highest conceptual level to its first working level. This eTOM Release 3. 5 builds on this to take account of real-world experience in applying this work, and to incorporate new detail in process decompositions, flows and business to business interaction.However, eTOM is still developing in areas such as further lower-level process decompositions and flows, and ongoing feedback together with its linkage with the wider NGOSS program, will be used to guide future development priorities. Note that the development of a total process framework is a significant undertaking with process work that will be phased over time based on member process priorities and member resource availability. This is visible in eTOM’s own history, from the original Telecom Operations Map (TOM) that was carried forward into the eTOM and broadened to a total enterprise framework, through s everal generations of detail and refinement, to the current Release. More information on TOM and its links with eTOM are provided in the previous release of this document (GB921 v3. 0).A great many service providers, as well as system integrators, ASPs and vendors, are working already with eTOM. They need an industry standard framework for procuring software and equipment, as well as to interface with other service providers in an increasingly complex network of business relationships. Many service providers have contributed their own process models because they recognize the need to have a broader industry framework that doesn’t just address operations or traditional business processes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 9 Customer Strategy, Infrastructure & Product Operations Customer Market, Product & Customer Market, Product and Customer Service ServiceResource Resource (Application, Computing and Network) (Application, Computing an d Network) Supplier/Partner Supplier/Partner Supplier/Partner Suppliers/Partners Enterprise Management Shareholders  ©TeleManagement Forum October, 2001 Employees Other Stakeholders Figure 1. 1: eTOM Business Process Framework—Level 0 Processes Figure 1. 1 shows the highest conceptual view of the eTOM Business Process Framework. This view provides an overall context that differentiates strategy and lifecycle processes from the operations processes in two large groupings, seen as two boxes. It also differentiates the key functional areas in five horizontal layers. In addition, Figure 1. also shows the internal and external entities that interact with the enterprise (as ovals). Figure 1. 2 shows the Level 0 view of Level 1 processes in the eTOM Framework. This view is an overall view of the eTOM processes, but in practice it is the next level – the Level 1 view of Level 2 processes – at which users tend to work, as this detail is needed in analyzing their busine sses. This view is presented later in the document in a series of diagrams examining each area of the eTOM framework. Figure 1. 2 below shows seven vertical process groupings. These are the end-to-end processes that are required to support customers and to manage the business.The focal point of the eTOM (as it was for the TOM) is on the core customer operations processes of Fulfillment, Assurance and Billing (FAB). Operations Support & Readiness is now differentiated from FAB real-time processes to increase the focus on enabling support and automation in FAB, i. e.. on line and immediate support of customers. The Strategy & Commit vertical, as well as the two Lifecycle Management verticals, are also now differentiated because, unlike Operations, they do not directly support the customer, are intrinsically different from the Operations processes and work on different business time cycles. The horizontal process groupings in Figure 1. 2 distinguish functional operations processes and other types of business functional processes, e. g. Marketing versus Selling, Service Development versus Service Configuration, etc. The functional processes on the left (within the Strategy & Commit, Infrastructure Lifecycle Management and Product Lifecycle Management vertical process groupings) enable, support and direct the work in the Operations verticals. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 10 Customer Strategy, Infrastructure and Product Operations eTOM Business Process Framework Strategy & Commit Infrastructure Lifecycle Mgmt Product Lifecycle Mgmt Operations Support & Readiness Fulfillment Assurance Billing Marketing and Offer Management Customer Relationship Management Service Development & ManagementService Management & Operations Resource Development & Management Resource Management & Operations Supply Chain Development & Management Supplier/Partner Relationship Management Enterprise Management Strategic & Enterprise Planning Brand Management, Market Research & Adv ertising Enterprise Quality Mgmt, Process & IT Planning & Architecture Human Resource s Management Research & Development Acquisistion & Technology Financial & Asset Management  © TeleManagement Forum October, 2001 Stakeholder & External Relations Management Disaster Recovery , Security & Fraud Management Figure 1. 2: eTOM Business Process Framework—Level 1 Processes As can be seen in Figure 1. , eTOM makes the following improvements to the high level TOM Framework: Expands the scope to all enterprise processes. Distinctly identifies Marketing processes due to heightened importance in an ebusiness world. Distinctly identifies Enterprise Management processes, so that everyone in the enterprise is able to identify their critical processes, thereby enabling process framework acceptance across the enterprise. Brings Fulfillment, Assurance and Billing (FAB) onto the high-level framework view to emphasize the customer priority processes as the focus of the enterprise. Defines an Operations Support & Readiness vertical process grouping, applicable for all functional layers, except Enterprise Management. To ntegrate ebusiness and make customer selfmanagement a reality, the enterprise has to understand the processes it needs to enable for direct, and more and more, online customer operations support and customer self-management. Recognizes three enterprise process groupings that are distinctly different from operations processes by identifying the SIP processes, i. e. , Strategy & Commit, Infrastructure Lifecycle Management and Product Lifecycle Management. Recognizes the different cycle times of the strategy and lifecycle management processes and the need to separate these processes from the customer priority operations processes where automation is most critical. This is done by decoupling the Strategy & Commit and the two Lifecycle Management processes from the day-to-day, minute-to-minute cycle times of the customer operations processes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleMa nagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 11 Moves from a customer care or service orientation to a customer relationship management orientation that emphasizes customer selfmanagement and control, increasing the value customers contribute to the enterprise and the use of information to customize and personalize to the individual customer. It adds more elements to this customer operations functional layer to represent better the selling processes and to integrate marketing fulfillment within Customer Relationship Management. Note that eTOM Customer Relationship Management is very broadly defined and larger in scope than some definitions of CRM.Acknowledges the need to manage resources across technologies, (i. e. , application, computing and network), by integrating the Network and Systems Management functional process into Resource Management & Operations. It also moves the management of IT into this functional layer as opposed to having a separate process grouping. e TOM is More Than One Document It is intended that the eTOM Business Process Framework will become a collection of documents and models. The current view is as follows: This document – the eTOM: The Business Process Framework – is structured as a core document that explains the overall framework approach and all its elements.In addition, two Addenda are associated with the core document: Addendum D provides process descriptions for the eTOM at Level 0, Level 1, Level 2 and selected Level 3 processes Addendum F provides examples of process flows that use the eTOM Business Process Framework and its component process elements to address high-priority business scenarios The eTOM Overview/Executive Summary is a â€Å"single sheet† document that provides an overall view of the eTOM business process framework and highlights key concepts. The eTOM Business Process Framework Model provides a version of the eTOM framework, processes and flows intended for automated process ing by modeling tools, etc.This is intended to be available in several formats: Tool-based (e. g. XML for import into a process analysis environment) Browsable (e. g. HTML) †¢ †¢ Using This Document A service provider’s specific process architecture and organization structure are highly specific and critical aspects of a provider’s competitiveness. The eTOM provides a common view of service provider enterprise process elements or business activities that can easily translate to an individual provider’s internal approaches. The document is not intended to be prescriptive about how the tasks are carried out, how a provider ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 12 eTOM Business Process Framework r operator is organized, or how the tasks are identified in any one organization. It is also not prescriptive about the sequence of Process Elements that are combined to implement end-to-end business processes. The eTOM provides a starting point for detailed work coordinated through TM Forum that leads to an integrated set of specifications that will provide real benefit to both suppliers and procurers in enhancing industry service provider enterprise management capability. This document is not a specification, in the sense that vendors or operators must comply directly. However, it does represent a standard way of naming, describing and categorizing process elements.It will enable unambiguous communication and facilitate the development of standard solutions and reuse of business processes. It is not intended to incorporate all the detail of eventual process implementation, but is more a guiding reference for the industry. One of the strengths of the eTOM is that it can be adopted at a variety of levels, in whole or in part, depending upon a service provider’s needs. The eTOM can also act as a translator by allowing a service provider to map their distinct processes to the industry framework. As the process examples are develop ed, service providers can use and adapt these examples to their business environment.The eTOM Business Process Framework can be used as a tool for analyzing an organization’s existing processes and for developing new processes. Different processes delivering the same business functionality can be identified, duplication eliminated, gaps revealed, new process design speeded up, and variance reduced. Using eTOM, it is possible to assess the value, cost and performance of individual processes within an organization. Relationships with suppliers and partners can also be facilitated by identifying and categorizing the processes used in interactions with them. In a similar manner, it is possible to identify the all-important customer relationship processes and evaluate whether they are functioning as required to meet customers’ expectations. Intended AudienceThe eTOM aims at a wide audience of professionals in the Information and Communications Services Industry. For experie nced Telecommunications professionals, the eTOM has proven itself to be intuitive; and a strong, common framework of service provider enterprise processes. Through TM Forum Catalyst projects and other work, it has been verified that the eTOM framework has strong application in many applications and throughout many companies. More information on use of eTOM within the industry is available at the TM Forum website www. tmforum. org The eTOM is aimed at service provider and network operator decision makers who need to know and input to he common business process framework used to enable enterprise automation in a cost efficient way. It is also an important framework for specialists across the industry working on business and operations automation. The document or framework supports, and is consistent with, many efforts under way in the industry supporting the need to accelerate business and operations automation in the information and communications services marketplace. GB921v3. 6 ? T eleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 13 The eTOM will continue to give providers and suppliers a common framework for discussing complex business needs in a complex industry with complex technologies.For both service providers and network operators additional complexities arise from: Moving away from developing their own business and operations systems software, to a more procurement and systems integration approach. New business relationships between service providers and network operators The creation of new business relationships and the move away from developing internally are a reaction to market forces. These market forces require service providers and network operators to increase the range of services they offer, reduce time to market for new services, increase speed of service, as well as to drive down systems and operational costs.The eTOM is also aimed at service provider and network operator employees involved in business process re-engineering, operations, procurement and other activities for: Understanding the common business process framework being used to drive integration and automation Getting involved in providing processes, inputs, priorities and requirements The eTOM Business Process Framework is also aimed at designers and integrators of business and operational management systems software and equipment suppliers. They can benefit from understanding how management processes and applications need to work together to deliver business benefit to service providers and network operators.An equally important and related audience is suppliers of management applications, management systems, and networking equipment, who need to understand the deployment environment for their products and solutions. The eTOM Business Process Framework provides a common framework useful in supporting the significant amount of merger and acquisition activity. Common process understanding and a common process framework can greatly improve int egration performance for mergers and acquisitions. eTOM is applicable for an established service provider or a new entrant, ‘green field’ provider. It is important to note that not all areas defined in the eTOM are necessarily used by all providers.As mentioned earlier, the framework is flexible, so that the process elements the specific service providers require can be selected on a modular basis and at the appropriate level of detail for their needs. Benefits of Using eTOM eTOM makes available a standard structure, terminology and classification scheme for describing business processes and their constituent building blocks eTOM supplies a foundation for applying enterprise-wide discipline to the development of business processes eTOM provides a basis for understanding and managing portfolios of IT applications in terms of business process requirements ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 14 eTOM Business Process FrameworkUse of the eTOM enables consistent and h igh-quality end-to-end process flows to be created, with opportunities for cost and performance improvement, and for re-use of existing processes and systems Use of the eTOM across the industry will increase the likelihood that off-the-shelf applications will be readily integrated into the enterprise, at a lower cost than custom-built applications GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 15 Chapter 2 – eTOM Business Process Enterprise Framework The main purpose of this Chapter is to provide a formal description of the eTOM Business Process Framework, with two distinct viewpoints: The Internal Viewpoint, which considers the processes that characterize the â€Å"internal behavior† of a Service Provider; The External Viewpoint, which considers the processes necessary for a Service Provider to handle external interactions (e. g. xecute electronic transactions) with Customers, Suppliers and Partners in a Value Chain. In the following sectio ns both of these viewpoints are presented. The Internal Viewpoint follows the structure of former releases of GB921, the External Viewpoint is new material and a general overview is provided. Internal viewpoint The eTOM Business Process Element Enterprise Framework considers the Service Provider’s (SP’s) enterprise, and positions this within its overall business context: i. e. the business interactions and relationships, which allow the SP to carry on its business with other organizations. These wider aspects, together with the implications for an eBusiness and eCommerce world are introduced in Chapter 3.This section introduces the eTOM Business Framework and explains its structure and the significance of each of the process areas within it. It also shows how the eTOM structure is decomposed to lower-level process elements. This explanation is useful for those who decide where and how an Enterprise will use eTOM, and those who may be modifying it for use in their Enter prise. To assist the reader in locating the process area concerned within eTOM, a graphical icon of eTOM, alongside the text, is provided to draw attention to the relevant eTOM area. This is highlighted in red to indicate the focus of the following text or discussion. eTOM Conceptual View The eTOM Business Process Element Enterprise Framework represents the whole of a service provider’s enterprise environment.At the overall conceptual level, eTOM can be viewed as having three major areas of process, as shown in Figure 2. 1. Strategy, Infrastructure & Product – covering planning and lifecycle management Operations – covering the core of operational management Enterprise Management – covering corporate or business support management ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 16 eTOM Business Process Framework Customer Strategy, Infrastructure & Product Operations Market, Product and Customer Service Resource (Application, Computing and Network) Supplier/Pa rtner Suppliers/Partners Enterprise Management Shareholders Employees Other Stakeholders  © TeleManagement ForumOctober, 2001 Figure 2. : eTOM Business Process Framework Conceptual Structure The Conceptual Structure view provides an overall context that differentiates strategy and lifecycle processes from operations processes in two large process areas, seen as the two large boxes towards the top of the diagram, together with a third area beneath which is concerned with enterprise management. It also differentiates the key functional areas in four horizontal groupings across the two upper process areas. In addition, Figure 2. 1 shows the internal and external entities (as ovals) that interact with the enterprise. eTOM is a structured catalogue (a taxonomy) of process elements, which can be viewed in more and more detail.When viewed in terms of the Horizontal Functional groupings, it follows a strict hierarchy where every element is only associated with or parented to a single elem ent at the next higher hierarchical level. In a taxonomy, any activity must be unique, i. e. it must be listed only once. Figure 2. 1 shows the top level (Level â€Å"0†) Groupings that eTOM is decomposed into. Because the purpose of the eTOM framework is to help SPs to manage their end-toend Business processes, the eTOM enhances the TOM practice of showing how process elements have a strong association with one (or several) end-to-end business processes (e. g. Fulfillment, Assurance, Billing, Product Development etc. which are introduced later in this Chapter). These Vertical End-To-End groupings are essentially overlays onto the hierarchical top-level horizontal groupings, because in a hierarchical taxonomy an element cannot be associated with or parented to more than one element at the next higher level. Because eTOM was developed to help build and implement the process elements for a Service Provider, it was decided from the start that the primary top-level hierarchy of p rocess elements would be the functional (horizontal) groupings, rather than the endto-end process (vertical) groupings. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 17To understand the eTOM Business Process Framework, each process area is analyzed and decomposed into further groupings and processes. For each level of analysis or decomposition, the process area, grouping or process element itself is presented with a brief, summary-level description. At this highest level, the three basic process areas are outlined below. The Operations Process Area is the heart of eTOM. It includes all operations processes that support the customer operations and management, as well as those that enable direct customer operations with the customer. These processes include both day-to-day and operations support and readiness processes.The eTOM view of Operations also includes sales management and supplier/partner relationship management. The Strategy, Infrastructure & Pro duct Process Area includes processes that develop strategies and commitment to them within the enterprise, that plan, develop and manage infrastructures and products, and that develop and manage the Supply Chain. In the eTOM, infrastructure refers to more than just the IT and resource infrastructure that supports products and services. It includes the infrastructure required to support functional processes, e. g. , Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These processes direct and enable the Operations processes.The Enterprise Management Process Area includes those basic business processes that are required to run any large business. These generic processes focus on both the setting and achieving of strategic corporate goals and objectives, as well as providing those support services that are required throughout an Enterprise. These processes are sometimes considered to be the corporate functions and/or processes. e. g. , Financial Management, Human Resources Management processes, e tc†¦ Since Enterprise Management processes are aimed at general support within the Enterprise, they may interface as needed with almost every other process in the Enterprise, be they operational, strategy, infrastructure or product processes.The conceptual view of the eTOM Business Process Framework addresses both the major process areas as above and, just as importantly, the supporting functional process groupings, depicted as horizontal groupings. The functional groupings reflect the major expertise and focus required to pursue the business. The four functional groupings are described below: The Market, Product and Customer processes include those dealing with sales and channel management, marketing management, and product and offer management, as well as Customer Relationship Management and ordering, problem handling, SLA Management and billing. The Service processes include those dealing with service development and configuration, service problem management, quality analysi s, and rating. The Resource processes include those dealing with development nd management of the enterprise's infrastructure, whether related to products and services, or to supporting the enterprise itself. The Supplier/Partner processes include those dealing with the enterprise’s interaction with its suppliers and partners. This involves both processes that manage the Supply Chain that underpins product and infrastructure, as well as those that support the Operations interface with its suppliers and partners. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 18 eTOM Business Process Framework Additionally, in the diagram (Figure 2. 1), the major entities with which the enterprise interacts are shown. These are: Customers, to whom service is provided by means of the products sold by the enterprise: the focus of the business!Suppliers, who provides products or resources, bought and used by the enterprise directly or indirectly to support its business Partners, with whom the enterpr ise co-operates in a shared area of business Employees, who work for the enterprise to pursue its business goals Shareholders, who have invested in the enterprise and thus own stock Stakeholders, who have a commitment to the enterprise other than through stock ownership. eTOM CEO Level View Below the conceptual level, the eTOM Business Process Framework is decomposed into a set of process element groupings, which provide a first level of detail at which the entire enterprise can be viewed. These process groupings are considered the CEO level view, in that the performance of these processes determines the success of the enterprise. The eTOM Business Process Framework is defined as generically as possible, so that it is independent of organization, technology and service. The eTOM is basically intuitive, business driven and customer focused. To reflect the way usinesses look at their processes, the eTOM supports two different perspectives on the grouping of the detailed process elemen ts: Horizontal process groupings, which represent a view of functionallyrelated processes within the business, such as those involved in managing contact with the customer or in managing the supply chain. This structuring by functional groupings is useful to those who are responsible for creating the capability that enables the processes. The IT teams will look at groups of IT functions which tend to be implemented together e. g. the front-of-house applications in the Customer Grouping, back-of-house applications which focus on managing information about the services sold to customers, the network management applications which focus on the technology which delivers the services.For processes delivered by people there is a similar separation of workgroups – the front-of-house workgroups in the Customer Grouping, back-of-house workgroups which focus on managing information about the services sold to customers, the network management workgroups which focus on the technology whic h delivers the services. Vertical process groupings, which represent a view of end-to-end processes within the business, such as those involved in the overall billing flows to customers. This end-to-end view is important to those people who are responsible for changing, operating and managing the end-to-end processes. These people are more interested in the outcomes of the process and how they support customer need rather than worrying about the IT or the workgroups that need to work together to deliver the result. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 19 The overlay of the Functional (horizontal) groupings of process elements and the endto-end process (vertical) groupings forms the inherent matrix structure of eTOM. This matrix structure is the core of one of the innovations and fundamental benefits of eTOM – it offers for the first time a standard language and structure for the process elements that are understood and used by both the pe ople specifying and operating the end-to-end business, as well as those people who are responsible for creating the capability that enables the processes (whether automated by IT or implemented manually by workgroups).The integration of all these processes provides the enterprise-level process framework for the information and communications service provider. This is the ‘Level 0’ view of the enterprise and shows the vertical and horizontal process groupings that are the decompositions of the process areas introduced above. These groupings are ‘Level 1’ process groupings in the parlance of the eTOM business process model, e. g. Customer Relationship Management, Fulfillment. The Level 0 view, which reveals the Level 1 process detail, is shown in Figure 2. 2. As process decomposition proceeds, each level is decomposed into a set of constituent process elements at the level below.Thus, Level 0 is decomposed into Level 1 processes, Level 1 into Level 2,and so o n. The Enterprise Level 0 view decomposes into seven Vertical (or â€Å"end-to-end†) Level 1 process groupings as well as eight Horizontal (or â€Å"functional†) Level 1 process groupings in four layers. These Vertical and Horizontal process groupings represent alternative views relevant to different concerns on the way that processes should be associated. Note that we will see that these alternatives have been selected to yield a single, common view of the Level 2 processes defined at the next level of decomposition, and hence do not represent a divergence in the modeling.In addition, there are eight additional enabling and support Level 1 process groupings within Enterprise Management. This full view of the Level 1 processes is shown in Figure 2. 2. Customer Strategy, Infrastructure and Product Operations Strategy ; Commit Infrastructure Lifecycle Mgmt Product Lifecycle Mgmt Operations Support ; Readiness Fulfillment Assurance Billing Marketing and Offer Management C ustomer Relationship Management Service Development ; Management Service Management ; Operations Resource Development ; Management Resource Management ; Operations Supply Chain Development ; Management Supplier/Partner Relationship Management Enterprise Management Strategic ; Enterprise PlanningBrand Management, Market Research ; Advertising Enterprise Quality Mgmt, Process R esea rch ; D evelo p m en t ; IT Planning ; Architecture ; T ech n o lo g y A cq u isistio n Human Resources Management Disaster Recovery, Security ; Fraud Management Financial ; Asset Management  © TeleManagement Forum October, 2001 Stakeholder ; External Relations Management Figure 2. 2: eTOM Level 0 View of Level 1 Process Groupings ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 20 eTOM Business Process Framework eTOM Operations Processes To be useful to a Service Provider, the eTOM Process Element Framework must help the SP to develop and operate their business processes.This sections shows how the matrix str ucture of eTOM offers for the first time a standard language and structure for the process elements that are understood and used by both the people specifying and operating the end-to-end business, as well as those people who are responsible for creating the capability that enables the processes (whether automated by IT or implemented manually by workgroups). â€Å"OPS† Vertical Process Groupings The Operations (OPS) process area contains the direct operations vertical process groupings of Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing, together with the Operations Support ; Readiness process grouping (see Figure 2. 3). The â€Å"FAB† processes are sometimes referred to as Customer Operations processes. Customer Operations Operations Support and Readiness Fulfillment Assurance Billing Figure 2. : eTOM OPS Vertical Process Groupings The TOM was focused only on the direct customer processes represented by FAB. However, FAB processes were not on the TOM framework map, they were rather an overlay. In an ebusiness world, the focus of the enterprise must be enabling and supporting these processes as the highest priority. Therefore, in the eTOM, Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing are an integrated part of the overall framework. Fulfillment: this process grouping is responsible for providing customers with their requested products in a timely and correct manner. It translates the customer's business or personal need into a solution, which can be delivered using the specific products in the enterprise’s portfolio.This process informs the customers of the status of their purchase order, ensures completion on time, as well as a delighted customer. Assurance: this process grouping is responsible for the execution of proactive and reactive maintenance activities to ensure that services provided to customers are continuously available and to SLA or QoS performance levels. It performs continuous resource status and performance monitoring to proactively detect possible f ailures. It collects performance data and analyzes them to identify potential problems and resolve them without impact to the customer. This process manages the SLAs and reports service performance to the customer.It receives trouble reports from the customer, informs the customer of the trouble status, and ensures restoration and repair, as well as a delighted customer. GB921v3. 6 ? TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 21 Billing: this process grouping is responsible for the production of timely and accurate bills, for providing pre-bill use information and billing to customers, for processing their payments, and performing payment collections. In addition, it handles customer inquiries about bills, provides billing inquiry status and is responsible for resolving billing problems to the customer's satisfaction in a timely manner. This process grouping also supports prepayment for services.For a high-level view of how the eTOM Process Elements can be used t o create Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing process flows, please see document GB921 v3. 5 Addendum â€Å"f†, Process Flow Examples. In addition to these FAB process groupings, the OPS process area of the eTOM Framework contains a new, fourth vertical process grouping: Operations Support ; Readiness (see Figure 2. 3). Operations Support ; Readiness: this process grouping is responsible for support to the â€Å"FAB† processes, and for ensuring operational readiness in the fulfillment, assurance and billing areas. In general, the processes are concerned with activities that are less â€Å"real-time† than those in FAB, and which are typically concerned less with individual customers and services and more with groups of these.They reflect a need in some enterprises to divide their processes between the immediate customer-facing and real-time operations of FAB and other Operations processes which act as a â€Å"second-line† in carrying out the operational suppor t tasks. Not all enterprises will choose to employ this split, or to position the division in exactly the same place, so it is recognized that in applying the eTOM Business Framework in particular scenarios, the processes in Operations Support ; Readiness and in FAB may be merged for day-today operation. Nevertheless, it is felt important to acknowledge this separation to reflect a real-world division that is present or emerging in many enterprises.The separation, definition and execution of the Operations Support ; Readiness processes can be critical in taking advantage of ebusiness opportunities, and is particularly important for successful implementation of Customer Self Management. â€Å"OPS† Horizontal Process Groupings In the OPS process area of the eTOM Framework, there are four OPS functional process groupings that support the operations processes discussed above, and also the management of operations to support customer, service, resource and supplier/partner interac tions (see Figure 2. 4). The original TOM Process Framework used the ITU-T TMN Logical Business, Service, and Network Layers to organize the core business processes. This facilitated mapping of the Management Functions defined in TMN, to the TOM processes.As the eTOM Business Process Framework is an evolution of the TOM Process Framework and because the TMN layering approach is still relevant, the TMN Logical Layers continue to be loosely coupled to the functional process groupings. The TM Forum is working with ITU-T to harmonize the eTOM and TMN models. See reference 3 for further information on ITU-T TMN. ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 GB921v3. 6 Page 22 eTOM Business Process Framework Cu stome r Oper ati ons C usto mer R el ation ship Manag emen t Serv ice Man ag ement ; Op eration s R eso urce Man ag em ent ; Op erat ion s (Applicati on, C om puting a nd N etwor k) Sup plier/Partn er R elat ionsh ip Man ag em en t Figure 2. : eTOM OPS Functional Process Groupings Customer Relationsh ip Management (CRM): this process grouping considers the fundamental knowledge of customers needs and includes all functionalities necessary for the acquisition, enhancement and retention of a relationship with a customer. It is about customer service and support, whether storefront, telephone, web or field service. It is also about retention management, cross-selling, up-selling and direct marketing for the purpose of selling to customers. CRM also includes the collection of customer information and its application to personalize, customize and integrate delivery of service to a customer, as well as to identify opportunities for increasing the value of the customer to the enterprise.CRM applies to both conventional retail customer interactions, as well as to wholesale interactions, such as when an enterprise is selling to another enterprise that is acting as the ‘retailer’. The introduction of CRM is a key feature of eTOM over TOM. At the highest, most general level, t he TOM Business Process Framework included two process groupings to manage relations with customers, â€Å"Customer Interface Management† and â€Å"Customer Care†. In the TOM, it is explicitly mentioned that Customer Interface Management may effectively be a distinct process within Customer Care or may be performed as part of the lower level Customer Care processes. However, eTOM advances the TOM in several key ways: It expands Customer Care to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which is management approach to supporting and interacting with customers, that enables enterprises to identify, attract and increase retention of profitable customers. CRM focuses on collection and application of customer data and managing relationships with customers to improve customer retention and customer value contribution to the enterprise. CRM is more than Customer Care or Customer Interface Management, it is the integration of customer acquisition, enhancement and retention throu gh managing the customer relationship over time. For eTOM, CRM also represents the integration of Sales and Service processes and ensuring a consistent customer interface across all CRM functional processes. GB921v3. 6 ?TeleManagement Forum 2003 eTOM Business Process Framework Page 23 eTOM integrates Customer Interface Management for Fulfillment, Assurance ; Billing across all the CRM functional processes and with customer processes. Customer Interface Management represents any type of contact, e. g. , phone, email, face-to-face, etc. It expects an integration and coordination across these different interface types, to provide a consistent interface and highlights the requirement for customer process control and customer self management. eTOM also encourages the design of solutions so that systems interfaces used within the enterprise are the same as those used by customers.TOM CRM processes include an expansion of TOM Customer Care processes to: †¢ Focus on customer retention †¢ †¢ †¢ Improve enterprise process exception customer response Integrate marketing fulfillment execution Better represent the billing function at the customer level and the need to assure revenue. Service Management ; Operations (SM;O): this process grouping focuses on the knowledge of services (Access, Connectivity, Content, etc. ) and includes all functionalities necessary for the management and operations of communications and information services required by or proposed to customers. The focus is on service delivery and management as opposed to the management of the underlying network and information technology. Some of the