Right Time for the Small IT Guy
Ramla Akhtar January 14, 2004
#11 Posted by Ramlas on January 22, 2004 9:48:54 am
#10
Dear Dialogue:
We are talking of several things here. Here is a break-down:
1. ``Small IT Guy`` meant, in the context of this article ``End User of Directly IT-enabled Services.`` An ugly caption for an article? We can play with the words, but at any rate I wrote the article in the specific context of Internet/DSL/Email users and their rights. On the other side, the article was about the business`s attitude towards their customer. That can indeed be corrected at the individual/`firm` level, which is actually the point of the article.
2. Agreed that there is nothing rigt in this country. But it will never be, if we keep trying to make the broader picture right while overlooking the small ones.
3. The article was specific to IT users and their issues, and it can become an example of how an end-user in a given sector is treated. The issues that you have pointed out are definitely important. So is, ``Where did the world come from?`` :] What I mean to say is that talking about one issue does not signify negligence of any other. I would not emphasise this, except for that I seriously often wonder why most arguments deflect to problem B when we are only talking of problem A? On this point, I would seriously beg to differ.
4. ConsumerVoice, the group, takes up all sorts of issues - or encourages those. Why not add to the on-going discussions? Please note that most members come from certain backgorund and tend only to speak on with what they deal with first-hand. So the discussions are by now way exhaustive. Everyone`s invited to add on!
5. I agree that the term IT means much more. In fact, it means the whole world! Therefore for one article I chose just one teeny-weeny aspect of it. If you promise to buy the very boring book I can write on IT, I will. :]
Thank you for your feedback. I have enjoyed it, and learnt. I apprecaite your involvement with the issue, and knowing that there are persons who consider consumer rights important.
Dear Dialogue:
We are talking of several things here. Here is a break-down:
1. ``Small IT Guy`` meant, in the context of this article ``End User of Directly IT-enabled Services.`` An ugly caption for an article? We can play with the words, but at any rate I wrote the article in the specific context of Internet/DSL/Email users and their rights. On the other side, the article was about the business`s attitude towards their customer. That can indeed be corrected at the individual/`firm` level, which is actually the point of the article.
2. Agreed that there is nothing rigt in this country. But it will never be, if we keep trying to make the broader picture right while overlooking the small ones.
3. The article was specific to IT users and their issues, and it can become an example of how an end-user in a given sector is treated. The issues that you have pointed out are definitely important. So is, ``Where did the world come from?`` :] What I mean to say is that talking about one issue does not signify negligence of any other. I would not emphasise this, except for that I seriously often wonder why most arguments deflect to problem B when we are only talking of problem A? On this point, I would seriously beg to differ.
4. ConsumerVoice, the group, takes up all sorts of issues - or encourages those. Why not add to the on-going discussions? Please note that most members come from certain backgorund and tend only to speak on with what they deal with first-hand. So the discussions are by now way exhaustive. Everyone`s invited to add on!
5. I agree that the term IT means much more. In fact, it means the whole world! Therefore for one article I chose just one teeny-weeny aspect of it. If you promise to buy the very boring book I can write on IT, I will. :]
Thank you for your feedback. I have enjoyed it, and learnt. I apprecaite your involvement with the issue, and knowing that there are persons who consider consumer rights important.
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#10 Posted by dialogue on January 22, 2004 7:00:46 am
Deal Ramlas #8, Well I did not agree too much with what you included in IT. DSL and internet are not IT. These fall under infrastructure, a part of IT, but not the entire thing.
Considering that suitability of IT infrastructure will eventually enable IT, you should see the unsuitability of our roads - they are bad.
The question that I have is, when we are all familiar with the significance of infrastructural projects, looking at it from the customers perspective or not, why do we find it all in such pathetic condition. When we know that industrial revolution reaches the country side through these very roads and the new economy information age will reach us through the virtual infrastructure, why have we failed to fix these things?
People who are supposed to be the ultimate winners or Losers, who are supposed to push for betterment, have been made to suffer from poverty and they have to worry about the food and health and education of their children...more than 50percent of our population suffers from poverty i.e., less then $1 per day income. So they cannot worry less about the DSL.
Where is the hope then? The instiutions which were supposed to bring enlightenment and change in this country, the state institutions are filled with currupt and other not so corrupt but totally incompetent people. Society is breaking down - because the world has changed and we have not kept pace. And the changes in the world have been beemed into our living rooms through dish and cable - the first rays of hope.
But the key question for the uplift of masses in this country is - how can we make our state institutoins deliver on their purpose...and when they fail, how can they be held accountable.
If you want to discuss consumer rights, discuss adulteration and unhygenic disease ridden supply of meat in our markets and inflation and skyrocketign fuel prices how more than 80 percent of what we pay for petrol ison account of govt taxes and why is the gvernment so FAT and how consumer rights are violate din our schools and hospitals and the law and order wher e acses remain pending for upto 20 years and so on so forth ,.......
I enjoyed your article and thanks for replying to my earlier note....
God bless US......A
Considering that suitability of IT infrastructure will eventually enable IT, you should see the unsuitability of our roads - they are bad.
The question that I have is, when we are all familiar with the significance of infrastructural projects, looking at it from the customers perspective or not, why do we find it all in such pathetic condition. When we know that industrial revolution reaches the country side through these very roads and the new economy information age will reach us through the virtual infrastructure, why have we failed to fix these things?
People who are supposed to be the ultimate winners or Losers, who are supposed to push for betterment, have been made to suffer from poverty and they have to worry about the food and health and education of their children...more than 50percent of our population suffers from poverty i.e., less then $1 per day income. So they cannot worry less about the DSL.
Where is the hope then? The instiutions which were supposed to bring enlightenment and change in this country, the state institutions are filled with currupt and other not so corrupt but totally incompetent people. Society is breaking down - because the world has changed and we have not kept pace. And the changes in the world have been beemed into our living rooms through dish and cable - the first rays of hope.
But the key question for the uplift of masses in this country is - how can we make our state institutoins deliver on their purpose...and when they fail, how can they be held accountable.
If you want to discuss consumer rights, discuss adulteration and unhygenic disease ridden supply of meat in our markets and inflation and skyrocketign fuel prices how more than 80 percent of what we pay for petrol ison account of govt taxes and why is the gvernment so FAT and how consumer rights are violate din our schools and hospitals and the law and order wher e acses remain pending for upto 20 years and so on so forth ,.......
I enjoyed your article and thanks for replying to my earlier note....
God bless US......A
#9 Posted by dialogue on January 22, 2004 7:00:45 am
Deal Ramlas #8, Well I did not agree too much with what you included in IT. DSL and internet are not IT. These fall under infrastructure, a part of IT, but not the entire thing.
Considering that suitability of IT infrastructure will eventually enable IT, you should see the unsuitability of our roads - they are bad.
The question that I have is, when we are all familiar with the significance of infrastructural projects, looking at it from the customers perspective or not, why do we find it all in such pathetic condition. When we know that industrial revolution reaches the country side through these very roads and the new economy information age will reach us through the virtual infrastructure, why have we failed to fix these things?
People who are supposed to be the ultimate winners or Losers, who are supposed to push for betterment, have been made to suffer from poverty and they have to worry about the food and health and education of their children...more than 50percent of our population suffers from poverty i.e., less then $1 per day income. So they cannot worry less about the DSL.
Where is the hope then? The instiutions which were supposed to bring enlightenment and change in this country, the state institutions are filled with currupt and other not so corrupt but totally incompetent people. Society is breaking down - because the world has changed and we have not kept pace. And the changes in the world have been beemed into our living rooms through dish and cable - the first rays of hope.
But the key question for the uplift of masses in this country is - how can we make our state institutoins deliver on their purpose...and when they fail, how can they be held accountable.
If you want to discuss consumer rights, discuss adulteration and unhygenic disease ridden supply of meat in our markets and inflation and skyrocketign fuel prices how more than 80 percent of what we pay for petrol ison account of govt taxes and why is the gvernment so FAT and how consumer rights are violate din our schools and hospitals and the law and order wher e acses remain pending for upto 20 years and so on so forth ,.......
I enjoyed your article and thanks for replying to my earlier note....
God bless US......A
Considering that suitability of IT infrastructure will eventually enable IT, you should see the unsuitability of our roads - they are bad.
The question that I have is, when we are all familiar with the significance of infrastructural projects, looking at it from the customers perspective or not, why do we find it all in such pathetic condition. When we know that industrial revolution reaches the country side through these very roads and the new economy information age will reach us through the virtual infrastructure, why have we failed to fix these things?
People who are supposed to be the ultimate winners or Losers, who are supposed to push for betterment, have been made to suffer from poverty and they have to worry about the food and health and education of their children...more than 50percent of our population suffers from poverty i.e., less then $1 per day income. So they cannot worry less about the DSL.
Where is the hope then? The instiutions which were supposed to bring enlightenment and change in this country, the state institutions are filled with currupt and other not so corrupt but totally incompetent people. Society is breaking down - because the world has changed and we have not kept pace. And the changes in the world have been beemed into our living rooms through dish and cable - the first rays of hope.
But the key question for the uplift of masses in this country is - how can we make our state institutoins deliver on their purpose...and when they fail, how can they be held accountable.
If you want to discuss consumer rights, discuss adulteration and unhygenic disease ridden supply of meat in our markets and inflation and skyrocketign fuel prices how more than 80 percent of what we pay for petrol ison account of govt taxes and why is the gvernment so FAT and how consumer rights are violate din our schools and hospitals and the law and order wher e acses remain pending for upto 20 years and so on so forth ,.......
I enjoyed your article and thanks for replying to my earlier note....
God bless US......A
#8 Posted by Ramlas on January 19, 2004 7:01:45 am
Dear Dialogue:
I have been thinking over your comments for some time now. I only partially agree that to anticipate that the situation will radically improve is at best the subject of an intellectual discourse. At the very least, individual organizations can make a difference. This can in fact become their unique selling proposition. At the micro level, this is in fact a managerial problem, and a problem of the overall attitude of an organization: do they want to treat the customers right? It is a matter of choice that costs, but also rewards.
Also, the strange thing about consumer rights is the attitude of consumers itself, as I pointed in the article. They simply do not care, and yet they suffer. If no one needed consumer rights, we didn`t ahve to worry about them. But in our case, it is more like a disease that the patient himself cannot diagnose/ is aware of. Why would a law be implemented if the people themselves do not ask for it? How could it be? I give the instance of reckless bathers on the sea. If they WANT to bathe, no police can prevent them. Ultimately, people - the masses - are those who uphold the law. Because masses are where the law-enforcers come from too!
When there is general awareness in the society, improvement will follow. This article is to set the ground for the issue of consumer rights, then, in the specific context of IT end-users.
I have been thinking over your comments for some time now. I only partially agree that to anticipate that the situation will radically improve is at best the subject of an intellectual discourse. At the very least, individual organizations can make a difference. This can in fact become their unique selling proposition. At the micro level, this is in fact a managerial problem, and a problem of the overall attitude of an organization: do they want to treat the customers right? It is a matter of choice that costs, but also rewards.
Also, the strange thing about consumer rights is the attitude of consumers itself, as I pointed in the article. They simply do not care, and yet they suffer. If no one needed consumer rights, we didn`t ahve to worry about them. But in our case, it is more like a disease that the patient himself cannot diagnose/ is aware of. Why would a law be implemented if the people themselves do not ask for it? How could it be? I give the instance of reckless bathers on the sea. If they WANT to bathe, no police can prevent them. Ultimately, people - the masses - are those who uphold the law. Because masses are where the law-enforcers come from too!
When there is general awareness in the society, improvement will follow. This article is to set the ground for the issue of consumer rights, then, in the specific context of IT end-users.
#7 Posted by flyhighkites on January 16, 2004 1:54:41 pm
ARJUN:
you are right... the best thing to a spam mail already received is to ignore & delete it. i don`t know why`d anyone fight with the spammer. but i think what`s happened in this case is a good example of when a consumer took up the issue with the relevant company. the answer shows it was a human idiot at the other end after all, and not a ``bot`` (software robot) which is often the case in the case of spam.
you are right... the best thing to a spam mail already received is to ignore & delete it. i don`t know why`d anyone fight with the spammer. but i think what`s happened in this case is a good example of when a consumer took up the issue with the relevant company. the answer shows it was a human idiot at the other end after all, and not a ``bot`` (software robot) which is often the case in the case of spam.
#6 Posted by Ramlas on January 16, 2004 7:13:29 am
Dear Reader:
Thank you for asking. The primary regulatory authority in these matters is PTA- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Their charter includes safeguarding consumer rights. TO be specific: Section 6, Responsibilities of Authorities, of the Telecom Act states, among other things, that ``...the authority shall ensure that… The interest of users of telecommunication services are duly safeguarded and protected.``
PTA also provides pertinent guidelines for action. However the implementation of these guidelines on the micro-micro level that I have highlighted in the article is not being monitored. I am not certain of the exact mechanism, but largely, the service providers (case 1) and the business users of IT (spammers, etc. - case 2) are operating unregulated.
I once ran a search on the guidelines when ConsumerVoice was doing a number on Mobilink. The `guidelines` as I found them on the PTA website were broad, and not functional. They certainly do not deal with management`s attitudes!
PTA issues the license, and PTCL deals with the installation procedures of ISPs (Internet Service Providers). I shall post the details of the exact licensing mechanism later.
Presently the point is that both the regulators and the businesses need to focus their attention on the micro level for the benefit of the end consumer. Organizations` characters are often defined by the receptionists who pick the phone, and the `e-marketer` sitting and spamming away. In that way it becomes a managerial issue. Yet the managers will not wake up unless they are pressurized by the regulators, and consumers who refuse to `take it` for their money.
Thank you for asking. The primary regulatory authority in these matters is PTA- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Their charter includes safeguarding consumer rights. TO be specific: Section 6, Responsibilities of Authorities, of the Telecom Act states, among other things, that ``...the authority shall ensure that… The interest of users of telecommunication services are duly safeguarded and protected.``
PTA also provides pertinent guidelines for action. However the implementation of these guidelines on the micro-micro level that I have highlighted in the article is not being monitored. I am not certain of the exact mechanism, but largely, the service providers (case 1) and the business users of IT (spammers, etc. - case 2) are operating unregulated.
I once ran a search on the guidelines when ConsumerVoice was doing a number on Mobilink. The `guidelines` as I found them on the PTA website were broad, and not functional. They certainly do not deal with management`s attitudes!
PTA issues the license, and PTCL deals with the installation procedures of ISPs (Internet Service Providers). I shall post the details of the exact licensing mechanism later.
Presently the point is that both the regulators and the businesses need to focus their attention on the micro level for the benefit of the end consumer. Organizations` characters are often defined by the receptionists who pick the phone, and the `e-marketer` sitting and spamming away. In that way it becomes a managerial issue. Yet the managers will not wake up unless they are pressurized by the regulators, and consumers who refuse to `take it` for their money.
#5 Posted by Ramlas on January 16, 2004 7:13:29 am
Dear Reader:
Thank you for asking. The primary regulatory authority in these matters is PTA- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Their charter includes safeguarding consumer rights. TO be specific: Section 6, Responsibilities of Authorities, of the Telecom Act states, among other things, that ``...the authority shall ensure that… The interest of users of telecommunication services are duly safeguarded and protected.``
PTA also provides pertinent guidelines for action. However the implementation of these guidelines on the micro-micro level that I have highlighted in the article is not being monitored. I am not certain of the exact mechanism, but largely, the service providers (case 1) and the business users of IT (spammers, etc. - case 2) are operating unregulated.
I once ran a search on the guidelines when ConsumerVoice was doing a number on Mobilink. The `guidelines` as I found them on the PTA website were broad, and not functional. They certainly do not deal with management`s attitudes!
PTA issues the license, and PTCL deals with the installation procedures of ISPs (Internet Service Providers). I shall post the details of the exact licensing mechanism later.
Presently the point is that both the regulators and the businesses need to focus their attention on the micro level for the benefit of the end consumer. Organizations` characters are often defined by the receptionists who pick the phone, and the `e-marketer` sitting and spamming away. In that way it becomes a managerial issue. Yet the managers will not wake up unless they are pressurized by the regulators, and consumers who refuse to `take it` for their money.
Thank you for asking. The primary regulatory authority in these matters is PTA- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Their charter includes safeguarding consumer rights. TO be specific: Section 6, Responsibilities of Authorities, of the Telecom Act states, among other things, that ``...the authority shall ensure that… The interest of users of telecommunication services are duly safeguarded and protected.``
PTA also provides pertinent guidelines for action. However the implementation of these guidelines on the micro-micro level that I have highlighted in the article is not being monitored. I am not certain of the exact mechanism, but largely, the service providers (case 1) and the business users of IT (spammers, etc. - case 2) are operating unregulated.
I once ran a search on the guidelines when ConsumerVoice was doing a number on Mobilink. The `guidelines` as I found them on the PTA website were broad, and not functional. They certainly do not deal with management`s attitudes!
PTA issues the license, and PTCL deals with the installation procedures of ISPs (Internet Service Providers). I shall post the details of the exact licensing mechanism later.
Presently the point is that both the regulators and the businesses need to focus their attention on the micro level for the benefit of the end consumer. Organizations` characters are often defined by the receptionists who pick the phone, and the `e-marketer` sitting and spamming away. In that way it becomes a managerial issue. Yet the managers will not wake up unless they are pressurized by the regulators, and consumers who refuse to `take it` for their money.
#4 Posted by Urstruly on January 15, 2004 5:44:01 am
I think spam works. I am seriously having second thoughts about enlarging my male endowment.
#3 Posted by dialogue on January 14, 2004 1:21:03 pm
IT to my mind is not the internet, or dsl. IT is a set of tool, internet being one, which enables rganizations and societies t functin in ways different from the industrial age. it is a set f technologies which has enabled a whole new life style, a whole new way d living and doing things. pakistan for one wants to continue to live in agricultural age and export IT, smething that will never happen - whic is a seperate discussion.
the issues you have raised are also pertinent but under wrong title.
the cnsumers have rights but they become meaningless when the rights cannot be enforced... it is a cuntry struggling with human rights and freedom issues....
our organizations are incapable of delivering and enforving, private or public...and this incapability results in consumers being dissatisfied and this situatin als results in rights which d nt mean crap cuz they can`t be enfrced...
so what yu have here is a god basis for an intellectual discourse...have fun and take it easy.
the issues you have raised are also pertinent but under wrong title.
the cnsumers have rights but they become meaningless when the rights cannot be enforced... it is a cuntry struggling with human rights and freedom issues....
our organizations are incapable of delivering and enforving, private or public...and this incapability results in consumers being dissatisfied and this situatin als results in rights which d nt mean crap cuz they can`t be enfrced...
so what yu have here is a god basis for an intellectual discourse...have fun and take it easy.
#2 Posted by arjun_m on January 14, 2004 1:21:02 pm
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#1 Posted by temporal on January 14, 2004 10:49:30 am
Ramla:
interesting article...some queries:
--who regulates the industry?
--don`t they provide guidelines?
--what is the mechanism?...for licensing? and their duration?
rgds,
t
interesting article...some queries:
--who regulates the industry?
--don`t they provide guidelines?
--what is the mechanism?...for licensing? and their duration?
rgds,
t
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