Project Closure and Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project Closure and Assessment - Essay Example In an argument by Bartlett (2004), basing a project on financial estimates is disregarding the elasticity of the corporate market. If a project greatly involves construction operations, the procurement process should be well managed and developed. In construction, quality matters. If the quality assurance is not provided, the project prospects will not be achieved. Apart from the procurement process, the staff at large should be well placed to support the whole project. If need be, organizations are advised to outsource high risk operations. Outsourcing increases the expertise employed in the project and it shares the risk involved in the whole project. The paper will focus on the Woody project and how well it was managed. It will provide an insight into the procurement process in the project. The startup was poorly managed in this project. In appropriately managed startups, organizations usually have effective production processes. After every project the startup usually determines whether or not the project was successful. Managers and owners have the obligation to inspect the results of the outcomes to determine whether or not it is according to the specified plan. In words by Bartlett (2004), managers and owners of organizations provide the first determination on whether or not the project was successful. However, this is usually not an assurance of success. If the production process fails to kick off as expected, the project is viewed as failure. In the case of Woody, the owners of the building did not inspect the manner in which the construction was conducted. After this, the setting off of the production process was very poor. Every single operation was behind schedule as the effects affected the company’s consumer base. It was poor management in that the owners of the company did not come up with any completion procedure after a period of years. There was no plan whatsoever that was formulated to foresee the transition from the old operation syst em to the new one. If the project were properly managed, there would be a procedure for inspection of the building by the owners, acceptance of the new building, testing of the new machines and the launching of the production process. The result of this poor management was harsh. The usual maintenance process carried out after every two weeks did not take place in time. Consumer deliveries were delayed by a period of two weeks. Several contractors also canceled the contracts citing insecurity and exposure to high levels of risk. The sale of finished goods also declined significantly. After the period of two years it was clearly evident that the project was poorly managed. The results seen at the startup after the completion of the project were diminishing. According to Wirick (2011), the success of a project is measured by its ability to comfortably upgrade the production process. In the Woody project this is not evident. To worsen the situation, its normal production process was ne gatively affected. Looking at Woody two years ago, the production process was much better. The procurement process in the Woody project was also tampered with. This can be translated to supply of goods of low quality. Kerzner (2010) argues that the supply of goods during a project is also a key to its success. In a proper managed project the procurement process is easily monitored and certified. In Woody’s case, the payment made to suppliers was not effectively consulted. Paying for services in consideration of

Business organisation and policy cartels and monopolies Essay

Business organisation and policy cartels and monopolies - Essay Example On the other hand, buying cartels aim at purchasing raw materials for its members while the output determining cartels determine the quantity of output for each member unit as the name suggests (Sangla 2009, p.181). Without government intervention, an isolated monopolistic firm would only exist in an ideal world. This is because most monopolistic firms make a lot of profits thus encouraging the formation of rival firms. In the long run, the new firms break the monopoly. Most governments in the 1920s embraced mergers and trade unions in key economical sectors such as chemical and metal industries (McTavish 2005, p.52). However, most of the business organizations preferred cartels to the other forms of trade convergence. After the World War II, the business field developed thorough monopolies and restrictive practices, which had salient effects on business organizations (McTavish 2005, p.52). Currently, it is only America in the whole world, which has not legalized cartel formation. One of the most popular cartels today is the organization of petroleum-exporting countries (OPEC). OPEC was established mainly to control the amount of oil each member produced. Member units that form cartels always enjoy a wide variety of benefits. Each member usually has a guarantee to earn fixed minimum profit which is not the case with other business institutions. In addition, all marketing and other secondary functions of the individual business organizations such as transportation, advertisement and marketing research are normally carried out by the cartels (Sangla 2009, p.181). In addition, the member firms also enjoy price control. Since, in working as a pool, the individual firms acquire monopolistic characteristics, they are in a position to charge the prices of their products at their own will. Conversely, the cartels and monopolistic

Violence Among American Youths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Violence Among American Youths - Essay Example ates, homicide resulting from violence committed by or suffered by the youth has been identified as being identified as the second leading cause of death among American people aged between 15-24 years old. The increasing violence has also been identified as having a number of negative economic effects on the country’s economy. By exploring the different causes and effects of increasing levels of violence among the youth and children, this paper will seek to show that increasing violence among children and youth across the entire United States is having an adversely negative impact on the country’s economy. Media Exposure and Aggressive and Violent Behavior: There has been an intensely raging debate over the years as to the extent to which media violence has served to contribute as a major cause of children and youth violence and aggression. The exposure youth and children in the United States get to violent media has been noted to be extremely high. Different bodies have presented reports and advisories against media violence but these have largely been ignored. Some of these bodies include the AMA and the APA (Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008). There have been numerous empirical studies conducted that have been able to establish links between aggression and media violence. These studies have all managed to reach the conclusion that media violence definitely increases aggressive behavior among youth and children. Poor Parenting: Various aspects of parenting have been identified as possibly contributing to the increased violent behavior among children and youth in the United States. These include poor supervision, parental disharmony in the home, limited involvement by parents in a child’s activities such as school plays and games, erratic and harsh discipline as well as the rejection of a child (Seifert, Ray & Schmidt, 2012). The effect of these poor parenting traits is that parents who exhibit these behaviors often tend to engage in various parent-child

Individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual report - Essay Example One realized that it was hard to interact with group members who have met for the first time where no one led the group discussion and no roles were designated. This stage is consistent with Tuckman and Jensen’s forming stage (Tuckman and Jensen 1977). On the second meeting, the group members decided to assign tasks to give everyone a part of the presentation; so we all participated equally. Everyone was happy about the part and roles assigned. We arranged a meeting the week after it so we can add our work together. This stage could be indicative of the storming stage (Tuckman and Jensen 1977) where members realized the need to work and to accomplish the identified goal. No one referenced anything. Some of the group members were getting lazy about the work. It was so disappointing. I believe that this phase is still normal within the group since members expected that other members would perform and there was a wait and see phase. Due to the realization that we needed to accomplish more, during the fourth meeting, we did many things together as a group. The work and cooperation between us was good. All the tasks that were assigned have been prepared and we were ready to practice for the presentation. This stage is consistent with the perform stage of Tuckman and Jensen’s model (Tuckman and Jensen 1977). Everyone was satisfied. It was during the completion as all meetings, and upon realization that when members did the jobs assigned to them, then goals that were initially set were achieved. This state is the adjourning stage where members recognized and was satisfied with the result of the group’s efforts and will surely miss having worked together; but look forward to other group activities in the near future. The success of the teamwork was primarily due to the identification of the members on the need to accomplish the defined goal, which is the

Communicating During a Downsizing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 28

Communicating During a Downsizing - Case Study Example The slogan for the operation is â€Å"transformation with reaffirmation† meaning that change is inevitable but there is always a reason for it. Through a deep deliberation, it is decided that the best method to inform the employees that they are being let go is the use of the face to face communication due to how serious the issue is. It is important to explain to the employees the need for change, the method of handling it, and the necessary support available to the hospital employees. Much control is to be given to the employees and for this reason the use of open communication. Employees willing to undergo early retirement are to forward their details. Basing on the respond the action can be taken to layoff those willing and save those willing to remain. Those laid off are to undergo counseling, attend workshops on resume building, issued with recommendations from the hospital, and anything that is of benefit to the career of the employee and life (Lehman & Dufrene, 2011). A clear timeframe for the layoff events is created so that everyone is aware of the sequence of events for the layoff. It helps in ensuring that everyone has the desired information about the process. A track record of how the employees are coping with the change is formulated through a series of records to ensure a seamless flow of events. It gives a control tool to help when the need arises. However, the process is not expected to be definite as there is no easy layoff but the aim of the communication is to ensure that the employees understand the need for change. The plan is also to help the hospital maintain its reputation and do what it has done (Lehman & Dufrene, 2011).   The hospital is faced with a situation where 200 employees out of 1500 should downsize. It is a fact that the hospital does not operate in isolation but in the environment that needs consideration in effecting the step. The general public is another element to consider in effecting the issue. The government, the local community, the investors and other friends of the hospitals to be put into consideration (Clampitt, 2009).  

Leadership Effectiveness Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Leadership Effectiveness Report - Essay Example If we were to look around ourselves, there are millions of examples that make an attempt at essaying the characteristics that make an ordinary person a leader - a hero for a lifetime. Whether it is in our movies, art or literature - there have been constant portrayals of leaders and their qualities. Such qualities are singled out as the most effective when it comes to possessing a commanding personality, understanding and harnessing the dynamics of human behaviour and finally, as well as performing under high pressure and trying situations. These leaders have been inspiration for the masses and their leadership skills have entire theories dedicated to the same. In this context, it is extremely important to understand that no leader is perfect and that his or her result orientations will not always reap the accurate benefits owing to unforeseen circumstances or even certain personal flaws. This has a strong implication in the realistic analysis of the leader and his or her leadership skills. On this basis, we will carry out a study of optimum effectiveness in a particular leader in a typically corporate setting. The person in question is Chief Executive's CEO of the year for the year 2006 - A.G Lafley of Procter and Gamble. This choice has facilitated analysis on the basis of a competing values framework where we will study the situational leadership theory and the five models that form its elements. Also, we will start by emphasizing on the election issues that face the criteria managers when working on such a framework. In doing so, we will set a context for discussion of Lafley's traits and effectiveness of the same as core leadership values where Procter and Gamble's basic policies are concerned. Competing Values Framework As a company that took off on the strength demonstrated by a candle maker named William Procter and a soap maker called James Gamble in 1837, Procter and Gamble was a company that started out by producing soaps and candles, only to deviate and set up factories producing a plethora of products like radio programs, fabric softeners and the very popular Pampers for babies, among many others. Caught in the midst of various battles revolving around issues like animal testing, downsizing, logo controversy and toxic shock syndrome and tampons, this company was at the receiving end of several critical lawsuits. In 2005, it suffered $12 million due to these reasons. Most were of the view that Procter and Gamble was over - a dysfunctional company. Most but one - A G Lafey as the CEO of the company delivered it back to its original splendor and how. (www.pg.com) This shows a nuance of putting the right man in the right job - in other words, a foolproof selection process. A.G Lafey is a man who has defied the barriers that come in the way of an effective election process. In distributed systems, leader election is a dynamic concept that can cause various interrelated processes to participate and crash at the same time. In this context, the usual point to point communication is replaced by buffered broadcasting to replicate effective process communication. To study Lafey's contribution and his effectiveness more critically, I will resort to a leader election protocol design's blueprint that is set in a dynamic context so as to study his effectiveness as a leader in terms of the

The Clean Air Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Clean Air Act - Essay Example The researcher states that since the World War II, the US economy has continued to grow. This growth can be attributed to increased manufacturing. The large number of industries in the US was a source of pollutants that continued to degrade the environment. Thus, the need to regulate the amount off pollutants that industries could discharge into the air arose. Efforts that culminated in the modern Clean Air Act (CAA) can be traced to the 1950s. The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was signed into law by President Eisenhower. The initial version of the law authorized the United States Surgeon General to provide assistance to the states on how to implement controls. The â€Å"killer smog† in London and New York in the 1960’s created concern about increased air pollution. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was empowered by the 1963 CAA to act on interstate air pollution. According to Jonathan & Joseph, this act established a national authority that woul d intervene in air pollution which posed a danger to the health of any person. Four years later, President Johnson signed the Air Quality Act of 1967 which was an amendment of the 1963 Act. The 1967 Air Quality Act authorized HEW to set national air quality standards. The Act required states to set ambient air quality standards. These standards were expected to be in line with the criteria set by HEW. Roy notes that the Air Quality Act of 1967 had a shortcoming in that it did not establish enforcement procedures. The Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970. It brought about a shift in the strategy of tackling pollution. The amendments empowered the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These standards are meant to protect the public by setting the levels of air quality that must be maintained. The 1970 Amendments created New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) program. NSPS authorized EPA to set standards that wo uld determine technology requirements for new or modified sources of air pollution. The amendments also brought about the regulation of air pollutants and air toxics. These amendments were controversial and brought about challenges to EPA in the implementation of the NAAQs (Jonathan & Joseph 12-14). Little success in achieving the goals of the 1970 Amendments prompted the 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act. At the time, only few areas of the country had made progress in meeting the applicable NAAQS. Consequently, the amendments extended the time required for compliance. New pollution control criteria were set for areas that could not attain the standards set by the 1970 Amendments. These amendments aimed at defining the standards that industrial technologies would meet in order to control pollution (Roy, 1970). In 1990, Congress revised the Clean Air Act (The 1990 Amendments). These amendments knocked off some elements of the previous act and added new programs. The act strengthen ed the ability of EPA to enforce standards. It required that the air pollution control obligations of an individual pollution source be entrenched in a single permit that expired after five years. The states were allocated a three year period to develop permit programs. These permit programs had to be compliant with EPA standards. In summary, The 1990 Amendments set standards that would see a decrease in Ozone depletion, air toxics and motor vehicle pollution among other areas (Jolish 306). Industry Response to the Clean Air Act The 1990 Amendments forced corporations to create necessary budgetary allocations that would cater for equipment, research and product development. Companies started integrating environmental