Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Essay

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) refers to information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. 1 PII can include but is not limited to; a full name, an address, a home, office or mobile telephone numbers, an email address, a social security number or other form of national ID number, an Internet Protocol address or a fingerprint or other biometric data . Non-PII can become PII whenever additional information is made available that when combined with existing information, could be used to identify an individual. Most people don’t give a second thought to the information they are asked to provide when using ecommerce sites or creating accounts on various sites such as Facebook and Twitter. What is the data you entered being used for? What happens to this information once you have entered it and completed your transaction with a business? How is this information stored and for how long? How is my information protected from theft? Will my information be sold to third parties? What are my rights should my personal data be lost or compromised? These are questions everyone should ask because your information in the wrong hands can be used to steal your money, steal your identity or both. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, from April 2005 to April 2012 there were 3,062 data breaches nationwide affecting more than 546,000,000 PII records . Businesses have an ethical and legal obligation to protect your PII. Not only will a breach and subsequent loss of data cost businesses money, it will also affect their reputations. When collecting and storing PII businesses must set policies on how the data is received, accessed, stored, transmitted and released to third parties. Protecting PII involves a combination of only collecting and storing data that is needed to complete the task or transaction at hand, using encryption to store and transmit data, data-loss prevention and policy training and compliance . Unfortunately there are not many standardized laws outside of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)2 exist that address the collection, storage and use of PII. There are even different standards among states when it comes to the notification of security breaches involving personal information. Forty-six states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands each have different legislation dealing with notification of the theft of PII. Businesses have to ensure they are aware of the various Federal and State laws dealing with PII. They must enact corporate policies and train their employees in the collection, handling, processing, storage and transmission of PII. Individuals must be vigilant and read the privacy policies of companies they do business with on-line so they are aware of what can and will be done with their personal information.

Would Businesses Gain Competitive Advantage If Dss, Gdss?

Explain how businesses can benefit from each technology. i. Autonomic computing The computer system have self-management capabilities. An autonomic computing system must include the following features: monitoring, analysis, planning, implementation, and Knowledge Base, and several parts constitute a circulatory system. They need to constantly run and perfect. The goal of autonomic computing can automatically manage itself and maintain its reliability. It is able to work autonomously intelligent middleware. Some of data no need to save it and that only need to be monitored it.Because the data gave the network a big load. So autonomic computing can be handle it. Growing the number of users and connected devices. Business need more equipment and maintenance personnel it. Autonomic computing system can help company solves problem. The responsiveness and flexibility of the system can handle the unpredictable things. It has self-management, self-healing and adaptive functionality, the comp any does not have to hire a lot of staff to monitor the system. ii. Virtualization Virtualization is a subset of the process performance logical group, or computer resources.User can use a better way than the original configuration to access these processes. New virtual part of these resources is limited erected from existing resources. eg, geographical or physical configuration. Generally within the meaning of virtualized resources include computing power and data storage. Server virtualization software technology refers to the use of the substance of the host hardware or operating system of the end-user hidden, and set one or more abstract hardware platform. The hardware platform is flexibility configuration for the operating system.Such like the face of a real hardware. As a result, a variety of different operating environments (eg, Windows, Linux, etc. ) can operate simultaneously on the same physical host, but its independence as the operation of the general in a different phys ical host. iii. Green computing â€Å"Green computing† refers specifically to people's efforts to reduce the use of information technology hardware energy consumption. Many energy generation still relies on coal and oil, and process a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. his reducing energy consumption, also known to reduce carbon emissions. From power management can save a lot of energy expenditure. The power management of energy-saving measures include computer shutdown when not shorten the computer into hibernation, turn off the screen saver, the machine is set to low-power sleep mode, and the total power off when work. (eg. E-mail can reduces paper-consuming. ) Energy-saving mode of the computer in order to reduce the company's electricity costs. Define an enterprise resources planning (ERP) system.How do ERP systems help businesses achieve operational excellence? Applications of enterprise manufacturing, financial, marketing and other related funct ions to achieve a balance. Internally, it is the integration of the corporate body of diverse resources to achieve the effective application of organizational resources through optimal planning and allocation system. Externally, through the network and system can do the combination of main customers and partners to form a horizontal or vertical integration of the global competitiveness of the virtual enterprise entity.ERP is major of contribution about strategic management for the enterprise. Today, only the information technology in the pursuit of flexible production, rapid assembly, rapid delivery and product life cycles continue to shorten trend. The combination of the information and corporate resources. Making the right decisions at the crucial moment, satisfied the customer needs or wants in a timely manner. It was able to grasp the market opportunities. ERP plus e-commerce applications and ERP combined with the concept of supply chain management. This extending to the entire internal supply chain.ERP system is the information system of the enterprise marketing, finance, personnel, general affairs and production operations to be effectively integrated to enhance the operational efficiency of enterprises. Nowadays. The speed and intensity of today's global industrial competition, general MIS system is already unable to meet the actual needs of the enterprise, For example: you can not immediately grasp the supplier of production information and customer sales situations, resulting in insufficient or excess production, or the failure to satisfy orders in a timely manner, resulting in the loss of business opportunities.So ERP enterprises to take advantage of supply, production, sales and other information to achieve the ultimate goal. Would businesses gain competitive advantage if DSS, GDSS, and ESS are widely used? DSS is not an endorsement, it is to solve the practical problems of organizations and businesses. If you make a decision-making, it must be base d on a â€Å"standard†. For the human nature, They like to use subjective judgement to make a decision. tend to use subjective, intuitive standard, and not necessarily have a scientific, informative standard. GDSS have independent of time and space limitations.Decision makers can easily to exchange information with each other and share information to reduce the one-sidedness. Decision-makers can overcome the negative psychological impact, unreservedly to express their views. Stimulated the thinking of policy-makers make the problem of the program is as perfect as possible. Prevents small collectivism and personality of the decision-making results. It can improve the satisfaction and confidence of the decision-making groups, members of the decision-making results. The greater of the effect is more significant if the group is bigger.In this society, competitiveness is increasing and it depends on the best of decision making. So that any of companies often believe their own hist ory and their former transactions and activities to make decisions. When the business make decisions, That is usually to use a decision-support system and firm-wide data. These systems can automate certain decision procedures. They can submit information for different appearance of the decision situation. They can help managers existing decision procedures. It can valuable to explore the consequence of alternative organizational scenarios.Using GDSS can ameliorate how groups make decisions and ameliorate the decision which have been made by an independent people. On the other hand, these systems don't automatically lead to make better decisions unless the decision problem or the situation is easy to understood and the systems are advisably designed. Read the article on the next page, then answer the following questions. A. Assess the organization and technology issues for using social media to engage with customers. The marketing power of social media is growing, it is no longer mak es sense to consider. t carry advantage of social media's own ability to involve with customers organized in three clusters in the exhibit. Efforts to use social media to tips and an active response program to engage with people. Company through the social media can be a pass a message for people. Create word-of-mouth and It can be one- by- one to attract social group. B. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media for advertising, brand building, market research, and customer services? Advantages Social media to enhance product quality. Consumers can comment and criticize the product. So that products must have excellent quality.If the product quality is poor , The manufacturers will be exposed and ultimately fail. This is why good products are often less funds invested in traditional marketing reason. The existence of social media makes good products to get their own users and fans follow them. Social media to follow the rules the secondary sale principle simil ar to the media, by user popularity uplift brand and reputation. Thought the impact and social reputation is increasing the impact and social reputation of the brand. Market research that means product sales in order to improve the quality of decision-making.The advantage is mainly to improve research efficiency and saving cost of the investigation, survey data processing. unlimited to the restrictions of geographic area. But the online market research can not be easily can be achieved. Disadvantages Social media weak control brand image. It makes many business to the high degree of freedom for the masses to participate into the development of the multi-surface radioactive. In internet, both good and bad. If it is good, it will clearly more conducive to business. If it is bad, it is caused by a viral divergence will bring very serious consequences.Employees using social media at work that might bring a lot of uncertain risk. For example, social networking sites are not regular, carr y the virus and malicious software. In social media, all employees of the business will replace the company's image. However, once a staff encountered a problem not their work area. And this does not know or the payable answer and it will bring a negative impression to the company. C. Should all companies use Facebook and Twitter for customer service and advertising? Why or why not? What kinds of companies are best suited to use these platforms? No, the data of FACEBOOK have many users.But it does not mean that 60% of users can see the ads. FACEBOOK can be turned off Some features about blocked advertising. And high exposure that customers hate it. Because I was one example of this kind of audience. Highly visibility does not mean high click-through rate. Internet users for online channels that provide customer service to high value, these channels including social media and instant communication. Retail companies This type of company is more emphasis on the sales performance of dis tributors and individuals. They do not attach importance to the organization and leadership structure.

Love over Lust: Elizabeth Proctor vs. Abigail Williams Essay

What does it mean to be different? Being different means not being the same as another or just simply being unlike in form and quality. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, difference is shown between the characters Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. This play portrays the historical events of the Salem witch trials through a crowd of unforgettable characters. Abigail Williams is the malicious, deceiving accuser; whereas Elizabeth Proctor is virtuous and is the wrongfully accused. To begin, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor are complete opposites of each other, one lies to save herself and avoid consequences; while the other lies to save the one she loves, John Proctor. Abigail discovers she could abstain getting in trouble by making up stories to cover up her manipulative lies and by accusing other people. She previously worked as the Proctor’s servant until Elizabeth became aware of the affair between Abigail and her husband, John. Unlike Abigail, Elizabeth Proctor does not try to create problems by lying. She is more concerned about her husband and her kids. Knowing about the affair between John and Abigail makes it more difficult for Elizabeth to forgive John. She is the faithful and religious wife of John Proctor. She lies for the very first time to save the life of her husband. At this point Elizabeth is completely unaware of the fact that her husband has confessed. Thus, Abigail is known to be the antagonist, while Elizabeth is more of a guide mentor. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor is Abigail Williams foil in several ways. Abigail is a jealous, scheming and lonely; whereas Elizabeth is a religious, trustworthy and loving character. Abigail does everything she can to make it work, but then ends up running away from her problems. She is lonely and looks to John for comfort. Elizabeth is a forgiving character. She forgives her husband for all his wrong doings. John decides to keep his good name and is hanged as he chooses not to confess. Elizabeth forgives him because she truly realizes how much he loves her and how much she loves him. Overall, everyone is different and has their own way of showing it. Difference is shown through words and actions between the two characters, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail is proven to be the misleading accuser, while Elizabeth is proven to be forgiving. Maliciousness and guilt lives in the heart of the teenage adulteress, Abigail Williams; whereas truth and innocence resides in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor.

Scarlet Letter Chapter 20-24 Questions and Answers

Chapter 20 â€Å"The Minister in a Maze†1. Where have Hester and Dimmesdale decided to go when they leave Boston ? Why do they choose to go to Europe rather than remain in the New World. He and Hester have decided to go to Europe, since it offers more anonymity and a better environment for Dimmesdale’s fragile health. 2. Why does Dimmesdale consider it fortunate that the ship is not to sail for 4 days? He wants to give his last final and most emotionally powerful sermon on Election Day. 3. Dimmesdale considers the timing of the ship's departure to be â€Å"most fortunate! Why? He was to preach the Election Sermon and he could not have chanced upon a more suitable mode and time of terminating his professional career. 4. How was Dimmesdale's trip return from the forest different that his departing trip through the forest? He has much more energy than when he left only two days earlier, and everything looks different to him. Three times in a row he is approached by various people, and he struggles not to utter blasphemy. He is even tempted to teach dirty words to a group of small Puritan children. 5.Dimmesdale suddenly perceives that everything in the town is now different as he returns to it. What has happened? He has a new perception of life and feels like a new man after his meeting with Hester. 6. Dimmesdale, as he walks through town to reach his dwelling, is suddenly struck by urges to do terrible things. What were the four instances in which he was tempted to do evil? He encounters an elderly woman to whom he nearly blurts out a devastating â€Å"unanswerable argument against the immortality of the human soul,† but something stops him, and the widow totters away satisfied. He next ignores a young woman whom he has recently converted to the church because he fears that his strange state of mind will lead him to plant some corrupting germ in her innocent heart. Passing one of the sailors from the ship on which he plans to escape, Dimmesdale has the impulse to engage with him in a round of oaths. This comes only shortly after an encounter with a group of children, whom the minister nearly teaches some â€Å"wicked words. †7. What is Dimmesdale's voyage through the town like in this chapter?He's full of temptation to corrupt everyone he passes by in town.8. Why did Dimmesdale and Hester decide to leave for England instead of any place else?They had decided that Europe, with its crowds and cities, offered them a better home and hiding pla ce than anywhere in America, with its choice between an Indian dwelling and a few settlements along the coast. Also, with the minister’s gifts, refinement, and his education meant he needed to live in a civilized place, the more civilized, the better.9. What did Mistress Hibbins accuse Dimmesdale of?What was Dimmesdale's response? She accused him of making a visit to the forest. He denies it. 10. Why did Hester and Dimmesdale decide to leave for England instead of somewhere else?~SAME AS QUESTION 8~ Chapter 21 & Chapter 22 â€Å"The New England Holiday † & â€Å" The Procession†1. What have the crowds of people gathered in the market-place to witness?The people are celebrating Election Day and gathered to witness the inauguration of the Governor.2. What piece of unwelcome news does the master of the ship on which, she, Pearl , and Dimmesdale are to sail have for Hester?The piece of unwelcome news, the master of the ship on which Pearl and Dimmesdale are to sail tells Hester is that Chillingworth will be joining them on their passage because the ship needs a doctor and Chillingworth has told the captain that he is a member of Hester's party.3. Where does Hester stand during the procession and during Dimmesdale’s sermon in the church?Hester takes Pearl and goes to stand near the foot of the scaffold in order to listen to Dimmesdale's speech.4. Dimmesdale must cross a swamp to return to the scaffold. What happens in the swamp?He falls inside and almost drowns.6. Why does Pearl say that Dimmesdale is a â€Å"strange, sad man?† Because of the demeanor he possesses and his profile.7. What is the New England holiday?Holiday celebrated with a procession involving the Governor and other very good people and soldiers.8. What did Pearl want from Dimmesdale that Hester would not permit?Pearl questions Dimmesdale's love for Hester and her by asking if he loves them enough to walk back to town with them hand in hand.9. Hester's â€Å"spir it sank with the idea that all must have been a delusion.† What's happening at this point? Chillingworth has ruined her plans with Dimmesdale that she had so been looking forward to. It was obvious that he was aware of their plans and decided to travel with them and follow.10. What news does the shipmaster ask Pearl to tell Hester? Same answer as number 2.11. What did Pearl want from Dimmesdale that Hester would not permit? ~SAME AS QUESTION 8~12. Hester's â€Å"spirit sank with the idea that all must have been a delusion.What's happening at this point?~SAME AS QUESTION 9~ 13. What news does the shipmaster ask Pearl to tell Hester?~SAME AS QUESTION 10 and 2~ Chapter 23 â€Å"The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter†1. Who empowered Dimmesdale to stand on the scaffold? Hester and Perl carry Dimmsdale to go up on the scaffold and he leans heavily upon their shoulders.2. Describe the most significant thing Dimmesdale does in this chapter. He stands on the scaffold with Hester and his daughter, showing everyone his badge of sin .3.What did Pearl do when standing next to her father on the scaffold? Why? Pearl kisses his lips, his confession has created sympathy in her heart, not just for him, but for her mother, as well.4. Describe what happens to Pearl during this final scaffold moment. As her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would change from the cold and distant child that she was, transforming the trouble child she once was.5. What does Chillingworth do in response to Dimmesdale's actions at the scaffold? Why?He tries to talk him out of confessing because once Dimmesdale escapes him, he will have nothing to live forward to.Chapter 24 â€Å"Conclusion†1. What does Hawthorne say about what happened at the scaffold at the beginning of this chapter? That there are many versions, according to people, about what happened during Dimmesdale's â€Å"confession. † Some say his sin was eating him from his heart unti l it appeared on his chest. Some blame it on Roger's drugs. Others claim it was as bright as the one on Hester Prynne's chest. While other claim that there was nothing there, and that his death in a sinful woman's arms was just an act of human righteousness.2. What important lesson has Dimmesdale taught the people of the town? Find a quote that supports this. His death was a parable to teach people that we are all sinners in the eyes of God. After exhausting life in his efforts for mankind’s spiritual good, he had made the manner of his death a parable, in order to impress on his admirers the mighty and mournful lesson, that, in the view of Infinite Purity, we are sinners all alike†¦ nd especially a clergyman’s—will sometimes uphold his character; when proofs, clear as the mid-day sunshine on the scarlet letter, establish him a false and sin-stained creature of the dust(pg. 231). †3. Who did Chillingworth leave his property to? He left everything to P earl.4. What do people think the scarlet letter stood for Dimmesdale’s breast?5. What details do we know about Chillingworth after reading this chapter? That he dies a year after Dimmesdale and leaves all his fortune in Pearl's hands.

Biographical/Historical Influences Essay

Frankenstein, also known as ‘The Modern Prometheus’, is written by a British author Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin – Shelley during her teens. The novel’s theme is leavened with a few characteristics of Gothic and Romanticism. Based on â€Å"Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus† (Shelley), the title is alluded to an inventor, Victor Frankenstein, who has an ability to create life of a man whom he calls ‘monster’ afterwards. Moreover, the long arguments with regard to the significance and originality of the story always come along the way; thus, this paper unfolds the real essence of the story—what does it signify for the modern readers; and how do words of the story flow along with the connotations; its influences and so on. Given the list of influences and/or events from Mary Shelley’s life, it becomes quite easy to identify and distinguish how these impacts have prospered to the entire conception of the novel. One of the influences concern the arguments of his father, Godwin in Political Justice, in which he argues that decisions made concerning who lives and dies should be made by those scientists and doctors that are completely impartial. In addition, the impacts of Godwin’s pieces of writing in Shelley’s philosophical thoughts become undeniable, indeed. Her father created a certain philosophy in which the presence of responsibility is inevitable: â€Å"The true perfection of man was to attain, as nearly as possible, to the perfectly voluntary state; that we ought to be, upon all occasions, prepared to render a reason of our actions; and should remove ourselves to the furthest distance, from the state of mere inanimate machines, acted upon by causes of which they have no understanding,† (â€Å"Political Justice 2: 519-528,† Godwin). Hence, as an analysis of the entire view, it becomes quite easy to determine all the responsibilities, which are accountable for every individual’s behavior such as those of Frankenstein. One of the impacts that should also be acknowledged is that which concerns her father’s disapprobation of the rise of technology; stating that its existence would diminish the need for human beings to cooperate with each other—making it less and less necessary to work together. In other words, such a view concerns dealing with reliability on the information technology: â€Å"Responsibility in the contemporary world and with the awesome power of technology which may be used for good or evil has changed. We cannot evade the responsibility that comes with this change — the responsibility to use technology wisely, not only for the sake of our patients but also for the sake of the future. In a sense, we need to be able to foretell the future, to re-enunciate norms and standards as substitutes for the norms and standards left behind by technology. If we fail to do this, the future is bleak,† (Loewy). In other words, development of the high and sophisticated technologies may bring a number of troubles in various means, as seen in the Frankenstein’s work. Moreover, the creation of the novel also comes along with an influence concerning Mary Wollstonecraft (Shelley’s mother) who refers Frankenstein to Prometheus who attempts to give the power of the gods to humanity. In her novel, the appearance of the ‘monster’ is a scientific blame in which the creature dares to imitate God: â€Å"Nature in every thing demands respect, and those who violate her laws seldom violate them with impunity,† (â€Å"Vindication of the Rights of Woman,† Wollstonecraft). Hence, the laws of nature should make the boundaries of everyone’s behavior; Victor Frankenstein surpasses such boundaries like the new sophisticated technologies. Cited Works Loewy, Erich. â€Å"Textbook of Medical Ethics. † NY: Plenum Medical Book Company, 1989, p. 69 â€Å"Political Justice. † bilkent. edu. February 2, 2009. Shelley, Mary. â€Å"Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. † Broadview Press Edition 2. Eds. David Lorne Macdonald and Kathleen Dorothy Scherf. Melbourne, Australia: The University of Melbourne, 1999. 364 pp Wollstonecraft, Mary. â€Å"Vindication of the Rights of Woman† pp 138-139. sa

Object Oriented Metrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Object Oriented Metrics - Essay Example This paper therefore discloses three perspectives under which Object Oriented metrics can be considered. The first one is the fault analysis by OOM, types and new metrics and finally their functions Based on Object Oriented Metrics there are two types of faulty and these include the type I, type II and type III faults. Type I and II are the ones termed as OO faults and type III ones are the non- OO faults. The type I faults are mostly connected to the Object Oriented (OO) and are normally introduced by features such as Inheritance and Polymorphism. The type I faults therefore can be categorized further into two sub-divisions. These are the Inheritance faults and Polymorphism faults derived from the features introducing the faults (Fenton, 1991). The Inheritance OO fault majority is introduced or occur when derived class modifies data / information member of the base class and this finally changes the behavior of the base class, causing the fault in the long runs modification results into changing the environment of the base class that inform causes faults encountered. Then faults caused are either encountered in the derived class or the base class. Polymorphism fault is another type of object oriented fault encountered on the O... For example when two objects send different bindings to send a service request then the total combination is the product of the findings from the two objects - resulting into different combination binding into the occurrence of a fault called Polymorphism fault. The fault actually occurs when testing is not done in the testing phase (Harrison, 1988). The type II faults are special kinds of OO characterized by object copying, dangling reference and object memory usage faults objects copying fault occur if there is a duplication of the original object or the generation of a reference to the original object. This occurs during the implementation of the method of copying whereby the copying method may be incorrect. Dangling reference fault from the word Dangle meaning hang or swing without anything stopping it. Therefore, Dangling reference fault is experienced when an object say object X tries to reference another object say Y that was destroyed by a third object say object Z. the object memory usage fault on the other hand happens when an object allocates during the run time allocates memory but fails to remove the information when no longer required. Basically, this is how the object oriented memory usage fault occurs (Basil, Bariand and Melo, 1996). The type III faults are also called / referred to as a non - OO faults because they are not related to objects. They are traditional faults therefore are classified under the traditional software (Harrison 1988). After looking at the object oriented faults, it is therefore logical to be able to understand the object Oriented Metrics. These are system softwares that are developed to realize the structure and the

Drawing on observations from the Polish-German borderland, critically Essay

Drawing on observations from the Polish-German borderland, critically examine the effects which Europeanisation - or EU-isation - Essay Example Once this has been done, the impacts that Europeanisation has had upon the Polish-German borderland will then be highlighted and both the advantages and disadvantages of closed borders will be discussed. Applicable text books, journal articles and online databases will be accessed by conducting both a library and online search. Once the evaluation has been made, an appropriate conclusion will then be drawn, demonstrating that Europeanisation does significantly affect the borderness nature of Eastern Europe. Main Body Europeanisation is a process of change whereby a non-European subject adopts various European features. This has been defined as â€Å"a process involving; construction, diffusion and institutionalisation of formal and informal rules, procedures, policy paradigms and shared beliefs† (Cini, 2007: 407). The European features are initially defined and consolidated within the policy process of the EU and subsequently incorporated into domestic structures. This effecti vely creates a borderless world which was identified by Ohmae (1990: 172) when he stated that; â€Å"national borders have effectively disappeared and, along with them, the economic logic that made them useful lines of demarcation in the first place.† Despite this contention, borders are still greatly important in helping to develop regions that are divided by state boundaries and also for analysing modern geography relating to politics and economics (Nelles and Walther, 2011: 6). They also form part of an ideology and help to demonstrate the limits associated with territorial ownership and control (Herrschel, 2011: 173). They have a significance beyond economics, since borders in all areas of life affect the ways that people perceive themselves and their role in the world: â€Å"Borders are integral to human behaviour – they are a product of the need for order, control and protection in human life and they reflect our contending desires for sameness and difference, f or a marker between ‘us’ and ‘them’.† (O’Dowd, 2002: 14-15). Borders are therefore vital in helping to distinguish different identifies, and yet since the 1989 Revolutions; borders within the EU have undergone some important transformations. Both the re-bordering and de-bordering of the EU has taken place and these processes vastly complicate the ways that people view their own local, regional and national identities. Whilst this proliferation of identities may seem contradictory, greater flexibility now exists for people to step outside both the mental and physical limitations of previous decades. As the example of the Russian-Finnish border has shown, some dimensions of border transformation are relatively easy to implement, while others remain relatively impervious to new rulings, even at the national and international level. This is because â€Å"boundaries are understood as institutions and symbols that are produced and reproduced in soci al practices and discourses† (Paasi, 1999:669). It is this level of symbolic meanings, passed on from person to person through social interaction that is so vital for the successful advance of Europeanisation. Without this level of social engagement to aid with transformation of the deeper significance attached to the border location, any amount of administrative

Falkland Islands War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Falkland Islands War - Research Paper Example Even though the war ended eventually in favour of England, there Argentine claim continues to remain over the sovereignty of the region. This paper will analyze the Falkland Islands War at global level by examining the political and military engagement of both Argentina and England in the conflict and interpret the reasons why it still remains an unsolved international issue for the stakeholders. The Falkland Islands War was one of the most short-lived wars in the history. Like in any other war, the political interest of acquiring the authority over the island groups encouraged Argentina to occupy the region with its air force and navy. However, the retaliation by the British force was quick and the war ended with England defeating Argentina within seventy four days. Irrespective of its length and the number of casualties, the war is known for the impact of its result on the political conditions in both Argentina and England. Despite the sudden rise of nationalism and sympathy across Argentina, the fall of the military government was quickened by the defeat. On the other hand, England’s Conservative Party retained trust and continued through a second term after the success in the war. As per the BBC News, records of the history refers that Argentina entered the remote British colony of Falkland Islands with its military troop on 2 April 1982, and the invasion resulted in a short but fierce war between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The crisis has to be seen as a conflict of claims of both the countries over the sovereignty of the region in a critically interesting way. While Argentina wanted to establish that it had inherited the region from Spain and that they lay close to South America, it made a quick march to the islands with a view to expand the territorial regime. However, Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister of England chose a fight which made meaning for

International Trade and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Trade and Business - Essay Example In developed countries multinational companies are likely to face consumers who have a large disposable income and therefore consumers are more concerned about the quality and not the price, in other developing countries consumers are more concerned about the price and quantity. Different countries have their own standards set by governments and even the consumers, example a multinational company aimed at producing food stuffs may be required to provide its production formula to the authorities in order for them to determine whether such products are fit, an example is the venture of coca cola company into India where the company was supposed to provide information about the formula used to make the drinks, the company declined and its rival Pepsi provided its formula and entered the market, however the authorities later announced that Pepsi contained harmful substances that were used in making pesticides. From this example therefore it shows the extent of the problem faced by a multinational company due to the cultural differences. The government may also have a different culture and policy whereby the firm may be required to hire workers from the host country and not import its own workers from abroad, this posses a problem due to the existence of differing labour laws and movements, the available labour may also not be as efficient and may not be as productive and therefore the problem of inefficiency may arise due to these policies by the government. Language differences: A multinational company may face language barriers whereby there may be a language used in the host country may differ from their native language, this may pose a problem whereby the company may incur expenses hiring interpreters in the host country. Other differences may be the use of colour in their products where some products may be rejected in the bases of colours that may signify certain feelings about a product. All these should be taken into consideration before initiating any investment. Individualism and collectivism: Individualism refers to the existence of very weak ties between the individual and other members in the society, collectivism refers to a situation where there are strong ties between the individual and the other members of the society, multinational companies face these cultural difference because in cases where the society is characterised by collectivism people who are born in the same family are strongly integrated which protect them for the exchange for continuing loyalty,

Controlling Budgetary Pressures in Football Essay

Controlling Budgetary Pressures in Football - Essay Example With revenue cut in half, expenditures will need to be reduced to accommodate the new situation (Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC. 2006). The team management will need to make key decisions on players, as salaries are the largest single expense. A plan will need to be implemented that can reduce the costs associated with player demands and still provide a reasonable opportunity to compete towards a goal of promotion back into the Premier Division. Management will be required to draw up a business plan that reflects the business strategy of the team. Loss of revenue from relegation will mean restructuring the player roster and may amount to the loss of the best players. Other players may be sold to generate immediate cash. One of the first tasks of the budget will be to realistically match salaries and goals to achieve the required end. Management may set a long-term goal of remaining in Division 1 until they are competitive enough to produce a profit in the Premier League. Alternately, a team may set a goal of returning to the Premier League after only one season in the Championship League. This would involve structuring player expense to increase the probability of being promoted. The team may spend all their available cash as well as incur further debt. However, management needs to plan beyond the current season as well. Promotion to the Premier League may not be any financial advantage if they are unable to compete in the future at that level. Loss of cash and increased debt has the potential of creating a yo-yo situation where the team is alternately promoted and again relegated. A key consideration of relegation has to do with whether a team actually is financially better off by being promoted to a higher league. A Premier League team operates in a local market for selling tickets and a national market for selling media rights. In both cases, the demand for a team's products depends on its quality, the opponents, and their market. In general, teams in more populous, wealthier markets will generate more revenue. (Noll 2002 p. 172). Promotion into a league that is too strong for the market in which the team is located may have a negative effect due to marginal costs. The advantage of the increased press coverage that results in greater demand may be offset by the increased marginal player expense (Noll 2002 p. 173). Thus, a team that should be in a lower league from the perspective of profit maximisation may set goals that are not in the best financial interests of the stakeholders. Establishing a budgetary control process will be a necessity and require naming key individuals in each department that will be responsible for maintaining expenditures within the budget, and meeting the long term objectives. A sound approach to generating a good budget is characterised by the participation of as many people as possible, a budget that will consider the whole organisation, and utilises effective standards of performance. The budget must be flexible enough to allow for changing circumstances and analysing ongoing revenue and costs. A budget committee should be comprised of senior members of the organisation and should be represented by every part of the organisation. The budgetary committee will be responsib

Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet as medical professional (Nurse) Essay

Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet as medical professional (Nurse) - Essay Example To illustrate this point, several attributes of a good nurse will be discussed and then applied to a well-known fictional character, Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet, to conjecture whether this character would have made an effective nurse. Nurses are often the first and most frequent care-giver of a person in need of medical services. Because everyone living will need medical services at some point or another, nurses must be dedicated to providing them while respecting the rights of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. â€Å"Nurses must respect the rights of all people regardless of age, race, social status, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. Nurses demonstrate unbiased compassion for all† (â€Å"Is Nursing Right†, 2000). In this respect, Hamlet would not make an effective nurse as there are several instances within the play where he is not able to display unbiased opinions or respect for others. He demonstrates outright disdain for Polonius, openly accusing him of being false, shows disgust for his uncle and chastises his mother for her actions. His anger at his mother carries over into his treatment of Ophelia as well, causing him to accuse her of thoughts and intentions sheâ€℠¢d never dreamed of. This is deemed a very important characteristic for a nurse to have as there is no avoiding the need to treat all individuals requiring medical assistance and Hamlet’s inability to overcome his rage, however justified, would be a difficult trait to overcome. Another characteristic of a good nurse is a willingness to learn. More than simply being willing to put in the extra training and hard work necessary to pass mandatory nursing certification tests, â€Å"Nurses are motivated to keep up with trends and research in the profession and to value life-long learning† (â€Å"Is Nursing Right†, 2000). This is a trait that Hamlet possesses. He is back in Denmark after having been away to study, called to return to his

Music Buisness Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Music Buisness Plan - Assignment Example For profit entities major stakeholders include customers and investors while in non-profit entities key stakeholders are donors. On the other hand, business plans that are internally focused embark on attaining intermediate goals so as to reach external objectives. Company description Due to the increased need by individuals to engage in health maintenance programs offered by various SPA centers, my Idea is to establish a music company that will ensure adequate relaxation and enjoyment with the SPA centers. On the Beat Company (OBC) will embark on producing Rhythm and Blues (R&B) music. In this way, the company aims at providing various genre of music that make up the contemporary (R&B) music that includes funks among others. In this way, the company targets both the old and young clients who visit the centers. To expand its capital base, OBC will operate as a limited company. In this way, it will attract more investors who will be focused at contributing a significant capital to rec eive high dividends. OBC mission statement is to provide high quality entertainment that will ensure it capitalize on the expanding music industry across the world. Product and services As mentioned earlier, OBC embark on producing (R&B) music. Do to the high demand of this type of music especially among the young people, the company is focused at expanding its sources of revenue by engaging in various income generating activities that are related to the music industry as outlined in this section. Ringtones OBC will provide an opportunity to ensure that our customers can subscribe for ringtones in monthly bases. Each ringtone will cost US$1. With the partnership of a local mobile company, OBC will provide a framework that will streamline the sharing of profits generated by the monthly subscriptions from our customers. Based on the high number of our customers who owns mobile phones, OBC will generate a significant amount of funds that will enhance our expansion. Selling of albums In order to ensure that our customers can regularly enjoy our services in the health centers and back in their homes, OBC will also embark on selling its albums in the local and international market. Selling and loading of flash disks In the contemporary world, individuals who possess computers like to listen to a wide range of music while undertaking their duties. In this regard, OBC will embark on selling flash disks to our clients and then loading them with music at a fee. In order to attain a competitive advantage, OBC will utilize mobile phones, Ipods and social sites such as twitter and face book to communicate with our customers. As the number of clients who visit the SPA centers increase day by day, we expect our customer base to expand thus increasing our total sales. Marketing plan The new technology in the music industry has resulted into a stiff competition that has forced many companies to depart from the traditional lines that created divisions among the artists and reco rding companies among other stakeholders. In the same way, the growth of music companies has been enhanced as a result of extensive marketing and promotional strategies through free services such as you tube, face book and twitter. One of

International finance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International finance - Research Paper Example Engaging in International trade is important for the economies of the two or more countries involved; because there is an exchange of foreign currencies, creation of jobs and enhancement of revenues through taxation of the business profits. For multi-national organizations to survive in this import and export trade, they have to employ financial tools in their assessments, and this includes financial agreements and use of security exchanges. A product of trade in international finance varies depending on locations, legal requirements of operating in such destinations and transaction requirements. This paper seeks to assess the impact of selling beverages from United States of America into the Kenyan market. Abinam Inc. has been in the beverage industry for over 20 years, and recently decided to expand its operations in Africa, and specifically East Africa. To start its operations, the company identified Kenya as a convenient starting point because of its economic dominance in East Af rica, and the high quality its infrastructure, which includes roads and telecommunications. The Kenyan political structure advocates for liberalization and a free market economy and all this are conducive for our operations. Kenya is a lucrative destination of the beverage industry because of the financial capabilities of its citizens and their thirst for new ideas and products. In analyzing the practicality of beverage sale in Kenya, this paper seeks to identify the different methods of International Business that Abinam Inc. will employ in the Kenyan market. It will assess Kenyan balance of current account in the last ten years to determine whether the planned beverage product is an export of the country. This paper will analyze Kenyan main exports and thereafter use them to predict the profitability rate of the beverage products. In achieving this, this paper will scrutinize the import data of Kenya for the last ten years and thereafter make a conclusion regarding the beverage pr oducts. This paper will review the import control mechanisms of the Kenyan State in order to assess the possibility of Abinam Inc. in conducting trade in the and its effects in its operations. In analyzing these mechanisms, this paper will identify specific controls set by the Kenyan government, giving an explanation of its intended objectives and thereafter its effect in the operations of beverage sale of Abinam Inc. This paper will review the changes in the various currencies of the two states, i.e. American Dollar and the Kenyan Shilling. This will help in analyzing the type of currencies to use, since changes in currencies can affect the profitability of a business organization. In understanding the foreign exchange rates of the two currencies, Abinam Inc. will be able to develop currency features which will minimize risks associated with fluctuations in foreign exchange rate. This paper has a conclusion, which highlights the process of registering a business organization in Ken ya. Kenyan economy is agriculturally based and it imports most of its products from Europe and Asia, because of this, most of its international trade is skewed in favor of the industrialized states. In the last ten years, the Kenyan current account has seen a deficit (Goswami and Matoo, 2012). A current account is the balance between values of the country’s imports compared to the revenues generated from its exports. The current

Drugs abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drugs abuse - Essay Example In the article by Belz Tennessee has enacted laws that have make it difficult for drug stores to sell prescribed drugs (1). The laws also hinder the ease access of prescribed drugs by users. The article describes the laws effective way of dealing with the access of prescribed drugs. For instance, patient are required to take a urine test every few months to determine the level of illness or drug use. In additional, the patient is also required to visit a doctor for illness analysis before they could acquire a 30-day refill (Belz 1). From the results of patients, any medical practitioner is required to request the results before they could prescribe drugs. From the database created the state has been able to flag illegal instances of access of prescribed drugs. This approach has been exceptionally effective in the states objective to fight the abuse of prescribed drugs. According the Mayo Clinic Staffs, people who legally consumer commonly abused prescribed drugs often face the risk of getting addicted without proper prescription (1). For this reason, addiction may lead to illegal acquisition of prescribed drugs. Consequently, consumption of prescribed drugs should be done under accurate and definite prescriptions. The Mayo Clinic Staff provides ways that a patient could ensure they have correct prescriptions for their drugs. Firstly, the patient should ensure they are provided with the correct medication. The patient should then constantly check with their doctor for medical and drug analysis. This ensures the patients receives proper medication. The direction of use of the prescribed should then be followed effectively. The patient should also be educated enough by the supplier or practitioner on what their medication does (Mayo Clinic Staff 1). This includes education on side effects of the drugs. The prescriptions of another patient should not be used by another person. If a patient ignores these

NHS Direct Phone & Internet Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NHS Direct Phone & Internet Healthcare - Essay Example Data collection has larger ramifications in this system of healthcare than it might in a traditional or commerce-based system. Apparently, despite the availability of this healthcare, there have still been segments of people who have fallen into the cracks and have received less care than others, generally in a higher level of income. A study in the 1970's showed up problems in infant mortality, death rates of mothers in childbirth and a deathrate from tuberculosis that was higher than in the 1930's. In addition, this system of healthcare is subject to the economic decisions of the government from year to year, and is currently being cut back in some areas (Dworkin 1997). The NHS Direct web page, www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, includes: 1) enquiry page, 2) health encyclopaedia, 3) self-help guide, 4) common health questions, 5) interactive tools, 6) newsletter subscription, 7) directory of physicians and medical practitioners, 8) NHS services link and links in several languages as well as many other helpful links. It also refers people to their phone line which is available 24 hours a day, which is how NHS Direct first started. In 2005, a newspaper article (Evening Chronicle) stated fears that the Tories would "pull the plug" on Tyneside's call centre if they were elected. The fears were dismissed by the Tories and the Conservatives. The call centre employs about 200 people. The Tories insisted that they rather aim to improve the system. The Tyneside centre was one of the original sites that was begun in 1998. They handle over 30,000 calls a month. Since the system went national, it has handled more than 10 million calls. According to Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley (2005) the Conservatives plan to reconfigure NHS Direct with a more integrated emergency care network that will enable doctors' out-of-hours services, ambulance trusts, walk-in centres and NHSD to be used as is best for each network, and better local service. The main point of NHS Direct is to reduce hospital queues (Gibson 1999) by giving people access to medical information. The phone operators and nurses in the call centres are trained to diagnose symptoms and offer information on available treatments. "Cyber docs" and "net nurses" online (Gibson 1999) offer health advice after the 'patient' types in their symptoms. They, too, can suggest possible medical treatments, if needed. The year that NHS Direct was begun, the National Health Service had 50 years of service yet the UK was still behind other European countries in dealing with health issues such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. So in addition to the internet service, NHS Direct also set up "observatories" to monitor facts and figures across the country, called the "White Paper". Question 2: What contributions can the internet make to effective service operations With reference to S. Ghosh's article "Making business sense of the internet" in the Harvard Business Review of 1998, the same opportunities and threats that traditional businesses face on the internet are also true for a government-run site such as the NHS Direct internet site. Ghosh wrote that setting up a web presence is easy but creating the business model is very difficult (Pandya 1999). Since the inception of the internet, there have been a

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Assignment - Essay Example Managers utilize theory in order to make assumptions which are utilized in their analysis of problems. Theories help people increased their understanding of literature and real world applications. Education is an organized activity initiated by one or more individuals in order to help a person, group or community acquired a new set of abilities, skills and knowledge about a particular subject matter. It is different from learning because learning is the individual act of a particular and the action taken by this person in order to instill a behavioral change that leads to the acquisition of new attitudes, abilities, skills or knowledge among other factors that are learned. The learning concept depicted in the book that has the most meaning to me is that learning is that is it is a process by which an activity originates or it is changed that occurs through encounters with different situations provided that the characteristics of the change can not be explained by tendencies, maturation or temporary states of the organism. I like this definition because it eliminates or separates the learning process from personal habits. There is direct correlation between learning and performance. From my own experience I’ve seen how learning things has allowed me to become a more efficient person at the various jobs I’ve had, in home shores and in my school work. An example of how learning allowed me to increase my productivity at work was a job a few ago. I worked as clothes salesperson in a department store. I got paid extra commission for sales above a minimum mandatory quota. I noticed how I learned to read the customer and what things they wanted to hear. After a couple of months my salary went up because I was making more income from sales commissions. I became a more productive employee. Many work process are learned by the

Methods of Auditing Construction Equipment Depreciation Essay

Methods of Auditing Construction Equipment Depreciation - Essay Example Methods of Calculating Depreciation The total amount of depreciation over the life of a fixed asset is computed by deducting the residual value from the total cost of the fixed asset. Some of the important techniques for calculating depreciation are given below. 1. Straight line depreciation Majority firms use straight line depreciation method as it assists the accounting department to avoid clerical complexity and make financial reporting easy. As Bragg (2002) points out, straight line depreciation method is based on the assumption that each accounting period of the asset’s life has an equal amount of depreciation (p.189). The procedures for calculating depreciation under straight line method include determination of useful life of the asset in years, determination of salvage value of the asset, deduction of the estimated salvage value from the purchase price of the asset, and finally substitution of identified valued into the equation. 2. Reducing balance method Under this m ethod, a high annual depreciation is charged in the early years of an asset’s life and the charged annual depreciation progressively diminishes as the asset ages. To record this pattern of depreciation, an annual depreciation is charged as a fixed percentage of the written down value of the asset. Substantive Audit Procedures An audit strategy generally deals with the assessment of internal controls and the performance of substantive tests. As Wilson and Colbert (1991) state, a substantive test generally involves analysis procedures and tests of details. Analytical procedures assist the auditor to draw conclusions on the basis of expected amounts calculated while the test of details involves the evaluation of details of the construction equipment account for the purpose of reconstructing and formulating conclusion about the reported account balance. The goals of the auditor can be attained at less cost and time through analytical procedures rather than test of details. Analyt ical procedures According to recent accounting standards, there are a number of analytical procedures ranging from simple comparisons to use of complex models. However, most commonly used procedures are trend analysis, reasonable tests, ratio analysis, and structural modeling. A. Trend analysis Under this method, the auditor can choose either a diagnostic or a casual approach. The diagnostic approach aids the auditor to evaluate whether the current balance of the construction equipment account is out of line with the trend identified with the asset’s previous account balances whereas the casual approach assists the auditor to calculate an expected balance for that account. B. Reasonable tests Under this analytical procedure, the auditor calculates an expected amount for the equipments account balance using nonfinancial data for the current period. In this method, only the operating data for the auditing period is taken into consideration. C. Ratio analysis In ratio analysis m ethod, the auditor compares relationships among construction equipment balances. Generally, ratio analysis is applied on a times series or a cross sectional basis. D. Structural modeling Using this type of analytical procedure, the auditor frames a statistical model from financial or nonfinancial data of previous accounting period to forecast current equipment account balances. Test of details As stated, â€Å"

Rationale of the Stability and Growth Pact Given the Maastricht Treaty Essay

Rationale of the Stability and Growth Pact Given the Maastricht Treaty Criteria and its Advantages and Disadvanatges - Essay Example These monetary advantages augment in relation to volume of trade and with the intensity of economic integration. As for the cost of the monetary union, it emanates from the savings in loss of the exchange rate as a fine-tuning variable to soothe the aggregate demand. (Quere et al 2010:390).Further, Exchange rate movements are liable to be a basis of asymmetric shocks and Mundells approach found the monetary union as a mode to condense asymmetric shocks and enhance insurance against them (Quere et al 2010:390). As per Mundells, elimination of Transaction costs will be the direct gains whereas price transparency will be the indirect gain. Many empirical studies have shown that there will be many gains from a monetary union and one of the main benefits will be the elimination of exchange rate transaction’s costs as there will be reduction in the size of price discrimination between national markets. (Llirjani 2006:73). According to Taylor (2005), transaction costs will include sa vings in currency conversion charges , reduction in bank commissions , charges and delays linked with cross-border payments by banks. As per an EU study , the elimination of transaction costs involving conversion of one currency into another is likely to enhance the GDP of the nations concerned by an aggregate of 0.4% for the EU as a whole per annum. (Macdonald 1999:201). Single monetary union will help to attain lower transaction costs as there will be no commission on foreign exchange transactions and there will be an elimination of costs of hedging the exchange rate risk. Under single monetary union, all member nations will enjoy lower interest rates. (Grauwe 2007:78). Many of the analysis of costs and benefits of Europe’s common currency is footed upon the theory of optimum currency areas . According to this concept, the benefits that accrue by sharing a common currency across nations’ frontiers include more uniform prices (price parity), greater certainty for inve stors , lower transactions costs and increased competition.(Carbaugh 2011 :307). A single monetary union will offer more advantages to exporters as it will put a full stop to domestic currency volatility and a diminution of peripheral currency volatility, which would facilitate exporters to visualise prospect markets with larger conviction. This will let loose a larger possibility for expansion of economy for participants of the monetary union. For instance ,in the recent years , Germany experienced economic development which is footed on vibrant corporate investments and export growth in the export sector(Herr & Kazandziska 2011:194) The chief advantage connected with a monetary union is that there will be welfare advantages due to better prospects or from less uncertainty for companies to maximise their revenues as future returns will be less risky. (Llirjani 2006:73).Further, less uncertainty will also fetch financial stability among member nations. For instance ,it is interestin g to observe that Spain, Italy and France attained 100%, 100%, and 68% respectively of their prior-EMU window variances that were greater than the post-EUM variation. (Mafi-Kreft & Sobel 2006). According to Balwin, Skudelny and Taglioni (2005), due to single

U.S. Role in the Modern Middle East Essay Example for Free

U.S. Role in the Modern Middle East Essay For a period of more than sixty years, United States has been a prime player in politics of the Middle East. Since the 1991 Gulf War, Iran in the 50s and the time of contemporary Iraq devastation, the policy of United States has always created a big impact in the domestic affairs of the Middle East. For example, one of the current pervasive features is the Anti-Americanism in the present day public opinion of the Middle East. In this region, Israel is considered one of the best allies of the United States of America. Israel has been receiving aid from America since it was created in 1948. In fact, Israel receives a staggering amount of approximately $3 billion annually (Porter, 2010). This is a fact that foreign policy experts in the Middle East are supposed to be aware of. The Middle East is a hostile region and Israel requires guarantee from America on the security front. Moreover, the United States on the other hand relies on the Israel administration in several respects. For example, during the cold war, the Washington administration needed Israel so that it can counter communism. The United States needed Israel in formulation of a market economy approach in Middle East and again as a reliable ally in strategizing the Middle East policy projects. The foreign policy experts in Israel have several things they need to learn not only on what is happening today but also from history. According to Kaplan (1993), Arabist tradition dates back to the times of Eli Smith in 1827 who took to the Lebanese mountains to learn Arabic. The impact of Arabs however on the U. S. policy began in 1940s. This is the moment United States engaged itself actively in this region. Kaplan shows that the Arabs are just like â€Å"China hands† since they also had and still have skills Department of State needed such as reliable contacts, local culture knowledge and language. Arabs in State had that domination capacity in the Middle Eastern bureau and this enabled them to absorb several others to their viewpoint. Arabs are mostly bound in a small world of their own and thus during this time they lacked enough imagination on what were the interests of the United States in their region. Arabs want a pristine Middle East and for long they have been against its modernization. As Arabs strive to show the harmony between Arab- Islamic and Western culture, they loath the Greeks and Maronites. But of all, what they hate most is the Israelis. They blame them that they spoiled the century-old idyll. For the policy makers thus, there is needed for them to understand that America’s continued support for Israel angers Arabs and once made many of them to turn to anti-Semitism. Arabs carry old grudges which make them not to see the value Israel has on United States. Kaplan in general wants to show the policy makers that the issues concerning Israel are not just about Israel and oil but there is need for the country to devote to Arabs since they are part and parcel of the American history. In as much as America may decide to concentrate on what is happening within the boundaries of Israel, it should not be forgotten that the relations that Israel has with its neighbors determine the outcome. According to Bronson (2006), oil for example has always been a significant factor in Saudi-U. S. relationship as well as in all the rest of the Saudi dealings. This can hardly be otherwise for this country since it carries almost a quarter of the available oil resources in the globe and its oil exports carries between 90% and 95% of the overall export earnings. It is however important to state that even if oil offers a good explanation of what America wants in this region, it is not possible to explain the relationship strength. Thus, decision makers in the United States have to determine the relationships needed to be sustained and in what manner they should be maintained. The policy makers may be required to know that peace is the main solution to the major problems experienced in Lebanon and this will only be achieved if Lebanese are in a position to love their siblings more as it seems as if they hate them. According to Friedman (1989), he confesses that the internal divisions in Israel have to be papered afresh so that a new political life may take route. Even if Friedman looks like he has exaggerated on this point, U. S. decision makers in foreign countries like Israel need to see that there is a possibility of Israel going the Lebanon way. All in all, U. S. foreign policy experts need to understand in their endeavors that the hostility that Arab countries have towards Israel still acts as the heart of Israel-Arab problem. The missing debate in Washington is not between those few who want Israel to be destroyed and the majority who want it to survive. Irrespective of what, Washington must support the right for Israel to exist in recognized international borders and most of all defend its interests against nay threats. References Porter, K. (2010).The US-Israeli Relationship. Retrieved from http://usforeignpolicy. about. com/od/countryprofi3/p/usisraelprofile. htm Kaplan, R. D. (1993). The Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite. Retrieved from http://www. danielpipes. org/885/the-arabists-the-romance-of-an-american-elite Bronson, R. (2006). Thicker than oil: Americas uneasy partnership with Saudi Arabia, New York: Oxford University Press US. Friedman, T. L. (1989). From Beirut to Jerusalem. Retrieved from http://www. danielpipes. org/32/from-beirut-to-jerusalem

Human Resource and Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource and Management Essay It is widely accepted that functions involving management include planning goals of the organization, organizing its employees so that efficiency can be achieved, leading involves employee motivation and influence, whereas control function makes sure that all other functions help bring success to the organization . Another viewpoint is that there is a fifth function which is staffing. Staffing involves the HRM department making sure that the appropriate people with valuable skills are placed on jobs (Bartol, 2004). Human resource department has become more important today as it is integrated and much more strategically involved. The HRM department sees it very important in order to be successful as an organization much effort should be put on recruitment of employees, then they should be motivated to perform their task, and trained to execute their responsibilities effectively. To built an efficient work force and maintain it on that level the HRM needs to influence employee behaviour when they seem off track. The few ways in which they can do is by organizing which includes job design/redesign, remuneration and benefits, training and development, and performance management. Job Design Job design is method which involves organizing employee tasks and giving them responsibilities. It also focuses on changing duties of employees so that job satisfaction is gained, which therefore increases efficiency. It focuses on the content of job and effect it has on employee motivation and effectiveness. If job satisfaction is achieved productivity can also be achieved, some people prefer jobs which they feel comfortable at, identifying what makes a good job for the employee can be helpful in improving performance, this can make difference on cost resulting from absenteeism and low turnover. The job fit matches characteristic of people with characteristic of jobs. A person not fitting a job can be disastrous for the company and the employee. By re-designing the job the person/job fit can be may be improved, this can affect employee motivation as the job becomes favourable for employee, catering to their need of job-related satisfaction, for example a person who does not likes to talk much may find it awkward and frustrating at a bank teller job because there he may have to interact with people all day long (Keaton, 2001). Read more:Â  Areas of Human Resources Management Business The ways to re-design a job includes job enlargement and job enrichment, this involves reducing the problems faced by the employee on job. Broadening the scope of the job by expanding the tasks to be performed may reduce the monotonous job experience, as their would be new tasks for the employee to perform, this may help influence behaviour as the employee may achieve job satisfaction and also feel more important as a part of the organization. Job enrichment deals with the employee given more responsibility then before, by adding planning, controlling and evaluating to his job function. Job enrichment may include giving the employee the entire job rather then a part of work, expanding the assignment so that the employee can learn from new tasks, moreover developing new areas of expertise. It may also include giving the employee more autonomy so that he can organize work according to his will, along with giving feedback to higher officials. The more these characteristics are in the job the more motivating it becomes. For the employees motivational value comes from job enrichment due to the feeling of employees that work is now more meaningful, due to the fact that they are more responsible for outcomes. These changes therefore satisfy the employees need for growth, work motivation, work satisfaction, and work effectiveness (Schuler, 2008). Remuneration and Benefits The HR department has also the responsibility of setting employee remuneration, which is the financial payment to employees for their work. This can be used in influencing employee behaviour, it is necessary for the organization to reward employees fairly. If the employee feels he hasn’t been rewarded well he will be de-motivated. Organizations work towards keeping their skilled employee the time, they do not want to lose employee who have worked with them and are good at what they do, also for motivating employees to be more effective and efficient at work HR department tries to best set the wages inline with the expectance of the employees. Well paid employees feel more satisfied with work and are also more willing to give something extra to the organization, in long term this can increase employee commitment and built a trusted relationship between employee and employer. The other option which the HR department uses in influencing behaviour is the benefit system. Employee benefits are does part of the process that reward in addition to cash pay. These benefits may include insurance, medical, pension schemes, a company car or loan, and paid holidays. These benefits care for personal security and needs (Armstrong, 2000). The aim of employee benefits is to contribute to a competitive reward package, also to provide tax-efficient method of remuneration. This is also to provide for the employees need and also for their request for financial help, thus demonstrating that they are part of a caring organization so in turn they can be motivated to carry out work. This also increases the commitment of employee to the organization. The benefit strategy should be directed at the goal of achieving objectives of the business by ensuring it has high quality, committed people in their ranks. A flexible benefit plan helps employee choose between two or more benefits. An employee will be more motivated if he has a say in his benefit package, this way employee can gain better appreciation for the value of benefit he is be being rewarded. Benefits can also be aligned with work, such as giving paid holidays, this can be helpful in achieving short term targets of organization (Robert, 2008). The HR department has therefore the responsibility to work out the best reward system so that employees can benefit and feel satisfied with their work effort (Armstrong, 2000). Training and Development Training and developing employees so that they can deliver their best to the organization is one of the main functions of HR department. The HR department has to continuously work towards perfecting their work force, training them so that they can adapt to the changing business environment. HR department uses training and development to bring about a permanent change in the employees behaviour. Training is defined as helping employee do their current or future work better, where as development involves acquisition of knowledge, skills, personal development, and the right attitude so that the employee is prepared for future opportunities (Bacal, 1998). Training is used in altering the behaviour of the employee in a direction that will help achieve organizational goals. Training helps employees master their present skills or acquire new skill for the execution of another job. Learning is a part of training which brings about a permanent change in employee behaviour. Before training the personal analysis should be conducted so that it could be determined who requires training and their readiness for training. For training to be successful immediate reinforcement is needed so that appropriate behaviour is learned. The learner must be awarded in ways which satisfy needs, such as pay, promotion and recognition. Standards of performance should be set for the employee, as when these standards are met the employee gets a feeling of accomplishment. The training should be meaningful and should also give employee enough time to absorb. The employee should be encouraged to practise the behaviour again and again so that he could perfect his skills. This way a permanent change is brought about in the employee’s behaviour. There are different approaches to training, which includes on-job training and behavioural modelling. On-job training is that an employee is placed in a real work situation and is showed the job and tricks of the trade by a supervisor. This method widely uses the employee’s learning capability to understand and retain the task execution. The other method is behaviour modelling. This is used in increasing interpersonal skills by observing an experienced employee. These methods help bring about a favourable response from the employee. For this training and development procedure to be successful the HR department should ensure that training is linked to business objectives so that everyone is pointed in the same direction. The training should be focused on outcomes and not activities, also allowing employees enough time to adapt. Training should be motivating so that employee expectations could be met, of providing career pathways, increasing job satisfaction and also improving job security. Employee must be shown how to acquire new competencies and what are the benefits of gaining them The HR department should ensure that not only the organizations needs are respected but also the employees and what they want to achieve, so that positive change is brought about in behaviour. Performance Management and Appraisal The HR department knows how much it costs to acquire employees and retain them as a good working unit, they want to be sure that the outlay on staff is achieving an appropriate return. For this HR departments concentrates on performance management and appraisal, which is about creating relationships and ensuring effective communication within the organization. HR department cite as a process which ensures success for everyone, valuing the effort put in by the employees and also influencing and motivating them for their hard work, they feel it helps asses the employees so that they could be rewarded fairly. This is a communication process between employees and their supervisors, which helps built a clear understanding about the job function and what the employee is expected to do. How they can work together to build, improve or sustain employee’s positive conduct. It focuses on employee’s achievement on the preset objectives and how he can bring about a change in his behaviour so that necessary results can be achieved, with continued reviewing of performance against the plans the HR department ensures that objectives are met. The process of discussing work in progress, and how employees can enhance productivity with regular feedback can help determine where the employees stand, and also assess their accomplishments. Appraising an employees job makes them aware of how a task should be executed, also giving them a degree of empowerment which is the ability to make day-to-day decisions. It also helps employees on how to enhance performance, which in turn presents a chance to the employee to develop new skills and appropriate attitude towards work. If the employee understands his duties he can act more freely within the given framework. Performance appraisal is a part of performance management, it is a judgemental process of the performance of the employee on job. It is mainly done for the employees behaviour is moulded according to the companies determined objectives (Bacal, 1999). Performance appraisal brings about favourable attitude of the employee, in the form of commitment and motivation. This is why it important to appraise employees, its importance can be identified as a development to clarify why it is essential to have an effective training program (Banfield, 2008). It is also important for reward purpose as it identifies the deserving employee to receive a reward and who should be trained to achieve high efficiency. Employee motivation is the key behind his compliance to change and this appraisal system stimulates effort to perform better. Employees can be given a legally acceptable reason for promotion or reward and also in case of discharge or transfer so that the employee can’t feel of being treated unfairly. The basic compliance to change of behaviour for an employee comes with monetary incentives, therefore this system helps identify what to pay the employee. This system also encourages communication so that a sense of trust builds between the employee and supervisor, this can be beneficial for the organization as they can work towards carefully shaping the behaviour of the employee so that needs of the organization are catered for, as the employee will respect his supervisor’s decision and will work with commitment and desire. Conclusion The employees are the most important resource of any organization, their commitment and sincerity to the organizations objectives is much sought after. The HR department’s role in this is significant as it sets a benchmark of high standards for the organizations employees. Ensuring that change in behaviour they want is achieved in manner which is acceptable to the employee. The HR department first has to identify the lacking, if it’s concerned with the job they can use job design to influence employee behaviour as an inappropriate person/job fit can be de-motivating for the employee and costly for the organization. If they feel their employees value monetary benefits more they can alter their remuneration and benefit packages according to the need of the employee to generate a feeling of importance in the employee, thus motivating them to achieve organizational goals. The HR department can also analyse the skill level and competence of the employee so that any lacking can then be corrected by employing training and development methods, thus equipping their workforce with new skills and knowledge, readying them to face the challenging business environment. Lastly HR department can use performance management to mould the behaviour of employee according to the need of the organization. With a continuous judgmental system employee motivation and work efficiency can be measured, and then rewarded accordingly. A motivated workforce is the key to any achievement for the organization, so this is what organizations should continuously strive to achieve employing the discussed techniques to influence them.

Auditing Risk and Liabilities

Auditing Risk and Liabilities Auditors are naturally nervous of the potential liability that they face when undertaking their role. This is particularly the case when it comes to the high risk audit client, where there is a much greater chance of inherent problems either within the business itself or with the way that it reports its position. This difficulty is recognised by the Accounting Standards Board to the extent that it has brought out guidance requiring auditors to undertake risk assessments in relation to the potential client, before it undertakes any auditing engagement (AICPA, 2006)[1]. The role of the auditor is quite simply to report (predominantly to the members of the company) as to whether the accounts have been prepared to give a true and fair view of the company’s financial position. Typically, factors such as complying with the Companies Act 2006 and preparing accounts in accordance with recognised accounting standards are all matters that the auditors will draw on to decide whether or n ot the accounts have been prepared in a way that gives a true and fair view of the financial position of the company. The problem occurs when something goes wrong with the company that is being audited. Risks are incurred by auditors when some sort of defect appears in the accounts of the company that has been audited as being true and fair. Naturally, the burden does not rest entirely with the auditor and there may well be other parties who are drawn in as jointly responsible, such as those who prepare the accounts, the directors of the company, the staff members within the company and, in the case of fraud, the person responsible for the fraud. However, for the purposes of this examination, only auditor risk will be considered (Cunningham, 2007)[2]. Auditors are often the main target when there is a problem, particularly in the case of a corporate collapse, due to the perception that they have deep pockets, largely provided by the indemnity insurance that auditors hold. Liquidators are particularly keen to access these funds as those involved in the business will rarely have access to any funds, at this point. Auditor risk (i.e. the risk of the auditor giving an incorrect opinion on the accounts) can be broken down into three areas: inherent, control and detection. The risk that a set of company accounts is inaccurate is inherently higher in certain sectors. When setting the level of audit risk, in this respect, the auditor will not take into account the level of internal control and will only consider the risk inherent with the business. For high risk audit clients, this inherent risk will be considerably higher than in other sectors, e.g. banking and financial institutions. Control risk is different from inherent risk in that it measures how likely it is that the company will pick up any accounting misstatements, if they occur. This is vital as a company may be inherently very risky; however, if it has exceptionally good internal controls, the inherent risks will be substantially limited. Finally, there are detection risks which reflect the risk that auditors do not pick up any misstatements that remain in the accounts (Worthington, 2007)[3]. Therefore, where there is an inherently high risk client, this will not necessarily result in an increased audit risk, if the controls are sufficient. Similarly, there may be an inherently un-risky company that has few or no controls, yet may become considerably more risky than it would immediately appear. Because of the potentially high risks involved and the chances of auditors being targeted in order to assist recovery of funds, in cases of corporate collapse, it is not surprising that auditors are keen to establish a cap on their liability. The Office of Fair Trading was asked by the government to consider whether imposing a cap on liability would result in a negative impact on competition between auditing firms. This is particularly concerning given the dominance of the top four accountancy firms in this area (KPMG, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst Young and Deloittes). There were mixed views from the auditing profession, with some believing that a liability on the cap would result in an increase in competition, whereas others believed that the cap would increase the dominance of the big four firms. The OFT noted, in the report, that there were no available mechanisms for auditors to limit their liability in relation to faults due to negligence or incompetence. It also noted that it saw no history of courts awarding excessive amounts in cases relating to auditor liability. It also referred to the fact that most auditing companies are set up in an LLP structure so that the partners’ personal assets are protected and the existence of professional insurance was noted. The report concluded that the position should not alter in relation to auditors’ liability and no cap should be introduced. However, it did recognise that there was at least an argument in favour of introducing a cap. In particular, the report recognised the key differences that exist between the UK and US. It should also be noted that the recommendations deviated from the findings of the report and this shift will be discussed later in the examination. In the OFT report, it was recognised that one of the leading cases for dealing with the scope of liability for auditors remains that of Caparo v Dickman[4] where a duty of care was established between the auditor and a minor shareholder. Although the decision itself was not surprising, the obiter in the case maintained that only the company could bring an action against the auditors. This position is not the same in the US where other third parties can bring actions aside from the company (although the changes in the Companies Act 2006 should be noted) (Smith Keenan, 2004)[5]. The case of Royal Bank of Scotland v Bannerman Johnstone Maclay[6] served as a timely manner of the extent of this potential duty of care. In this case, liability was allowed to be extended to third parties that have been adversely affected by a corporate failure. In this case, the issue of whether auditors could possibly have a duty of care to the company bankers was considered. The bankers continued to make investments into the company, having relied on the financial accounts that were incorrectly prepared and audited. The auditors naturally relied on the Caparo case and attempted to argue that they had no liability to third parties. Conversely, the bank argued that the auditors knew the bankers would be relying on the accounts and felt that this meant that a duty would be owed (Vinten, 1999)[7]. By considering all of the facts such as the degree of attention that was placed on the loan facilities being provided by the bank, it was felt by the court that the auditors did, in fact, assume a duty of care towards the bankers. The auditors were completely aware of the banks’ role in assessing working capital. It was noted by the court that if the auditors had issued a suitable disclaimer then the decision would have been different. As a result of this case, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales has issued advice that auditors should include a disclaimer, advice which all four of the big four auditors have chosen to accept. Conversely, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants felt that a disclaimer should not be routinely used, as it may undermine the value of audit reports. Regardless of this, the potential of liability to third parties has undoubtedly caused some nerves for the auditing firms (Pacini, Hilison Sinason, 2000)[8]. Despite the ability of audit firms to establish themselves as limited liability partnerships, audit firms have pressed for a change in the regime from a joint and several liability process to a proportionate liability regime as seen in the US. As previously indicated, the joint and several liability process often results in the auditors being much greater targets where a claim is thought to exist. In the US, there is the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which specifically replaced the joint and several liability approaches with that of proportionate liability. Under the US regime, liability is allocated based on the degree of wrong doing for which each party is potentially responsible, rather than based on who has the deeper pockets, which seems to be more the case in the UK. This has the effect that where there is no wrongdoing, companies are not inclined to sue the auditors simply because they have the resources to pay any damages (van Boom, Koziol, Witting Bloch, 2004)[9]. As well as limiting the way that wrongdoing is allocated, the PSLRA 1995 has the impact of limiting the cap on liability to reflect the difference between the sale or purchase price and the mean trading price that the company displayed in the ninety day period immediately after the market became aware of the misstatement. This is clearly completely opposite to the structure in the UK whereby liability is joint and several and limitation is based on the loss levels that the claimant can prove in court that they have lost. This critical difference between the UK and US also raises issues when there are international companies involved that can legitimately bring an action in either jurisdiction. In these cases, it is likely that the company would choose to bring an action in the UK against the UK branch of the audit company in order to avoid the limitation on liability that exists in the US (Hood, Rothstein Baldwin, 2004)[10]. Whilst this dichotomy between the US and UK has not entirely been closed, the issue has certainly been considered by policy setters, in the UK. There was some speculation that provisions to provide a cap on limitation would be introduced in the Companies Act 2006. This has not happened, but some concessions have occurred that will potentially be of assistance to auditors in attempting to limit their liability. Under part 16 of the 2006 Act, a company cannot indemnify its auditor. Where previously a company could purchase insurance for their auditor, this is no longer the case; however, the company can agree to indemnify the auditors for any costs incurred in successfully defending a claim. The big amendment under the 2006 Act is that it is now possible for the company to agree a liability limit in the form of a liability limitation agreement (LLA) with the auditors. This agreement can cover breach of duty, negligence and breach of trust, thus making it potentially exceptionally useful for auditors. There are some restrictions as to when an LLA can be entered into. These include approval by the company’s members; it must be limited to the financial year of the audit and it must not be limited at a level that is below that which is seen as fair and reasonable. When considering what a fair and reasonable amount of limitation would be, the court will take into account various factors including other sources of recourse that the company may have against other parties, thus retaining the essence of joint and several liability (Markesinis Deakin, 1999)[11]. Auditors in the UK are rightly concerned about the level of risk that they are potentially exposed to when undertaking their role as auditor. The position is distinct from that in the US and has resulted in UK auditors facing an increasing burden in international transactions. The failure to impose a liability cap naturally means that those attempting to reclaim losses will target the deep pockets of the auditor. The argument against having a proportional liability approach is that in doing so the valuable auditor’s reputation would be jeopardised (Law, 2008)[12]. There have been slight moves towards capping liability in the 2006 Act, but this has not gone nearly as far as the auditing profession would have liked and is still not in line with the position in the US. Despite multiple efforts, it would seem that a statutory limitation of liability is not going to be forthcoming and auditors will have to rely on entering into their own arrangements with individual companies, although the fair and reasonable requirement may result in the effectiveness of this provision being, at best, piecemeal. It seems that for now, at least, auditors’ deep pockets will remain under fire. Bibliography Cunningham, L.A., 2007. Securitizing Audit Failure Risk: An Alternative to Caps on Damages. William and Mary Law Review, 49. Hood, C., Rothstein, H. Baldwin, R., 2004. The Government of Risk: Understanding Risk Regulation Regimes. Oxford University Press. Law, P., 2008. Auditors perceptions of reasonable assurance in audit work and the effectiveness of the audit risk model. Asian Review of Accounting, 16 (2). Markesinis, B.S. Deakin S.F., 1999. Tort Law. Clarendon Press. Pacini, C., Hillison, W. Sinason, D., 2000. Auditor liability to third parties: an international focus. Managerial Auditing Journal, 15 (8). Sealy, L. Worthington, S., 2007. Cases and Materials in Company Law. Oxford University Press. Smith, K. Keenan, D.J., 2004. Smith Keenans English Law. Pearson Education. van Boom, W.H., Koziol, H., Witting, C.A. Bloch, L., 2004. Pure Economic Loss. Springer. Vinten, G., 1999. Audit independence in the UK – the state of the art. Managerial Auditing Journal, 14 (8). Footnotes [1] AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards No. 109, 2006. [2] Cunningham, L.A., 2007. Securitizing Audit Failure Risk: An Alternative to Caps on Damages. William and Mary Law Review, 49. [3] Sealy, L. Worthington, S., 2007. Cases and Materials in Company Law. Oxford University Press. [4] [1990] 1 All ER 568 [5] Smith, K. Keenan, D.J. 2004. Smith Keenans English Law. Pearson Education. [6] unreported, 23 July 2002 [7] Vinten, G., 1999. Audit independence in the UK – the state of the art. Managerial Auditing Journal, 14 (8). [8] Pacini, C., Hillison, W. Sinason, D., 2000. Auditor liability to third parties: an international focus. Managerial Auditing Journal, 15 (8). [9] van Boom, W.H., Koziol, H., Witting, C.A. Bloch, L., 2004. Pure Economic Loss. Springer. [10] Hood, C., Rothstein, H. Baldwin, R., 2004.The Government of Risk: Understanding Risk Regulation Regimes. Oxford University Press. [11] Markesinis, B.S. Deakin, S.F., 1999. Tort Law. Clarendon Press. [12] Law, P., 2008. Auditors perceptions of reasonable assurance in audit work and the effectiveness of the audit risk model. Asian Review of Accounting, 16 (2).

Construction Project for Denver International Airport

Construction Project for Denver International Airport 1. Project Concept and Strategy 1.1 Is the decision to build a new airport at Denver a strategically sound decision? Give Reasons for your opinion. Yes, the decision to build a new airport at Denver is a strategically sound one. This is because Denvers Stapleton Airport was experiencing brisk growth prior to deregulations. Deregulation meant open market competition that would bring air travel within the reach of average person thereby increasing air traffic at the Stapleton Airport. Moreover, the regional council of governments predicted that the airport would not be able to handle the necessary traffic by 2000. Stapleton could have been modernized giving it a lease of life for another five years but Denvers remote location meant that the insufficient capacity problem would still persest and could cause city to lose valuable business. Denver Stapleton airport was also one of the major connecting airports and was ranked in top ten worst air traffic bottlenecks in United States. These bottlenecks at Denver affected other airports as it had only two runways located very closely to each other which in bad weather were considered one. The new airport was meant to solve this bottleneck problem for Denver city. Stapleton airport was affected by high velocity winds which resulted in operations being shifted from one direction to the other, this procedure wasted 45 minutes. The new airport would bring this time to 4 minutes thereby saving cost and time for the airport. 1.2 Using the Gray and Larsons model, write a simple project scope statement for DIA project. Project Objective: Constructing a world class international airport that would serve the needs of the city for at least fifty to sixty years with an estimated cost of $1.7 billon. Deliverables:- Building a world class international airport for Denver City. Ten 12,000 runways and two 16,000 foot runway. 327 foot FAA air traffic control and a base building structure. Runway/taxiway lighting system. Creation of a buffer zone to protect surrounding residents. Building three concourses with 72 airline gates and 18 commuter gates. DCV baggage handling system for the entire airport. Milestones:- Passing of Airport Referendum. Land Selection and other legal clearance Airport Design Project Management teams selection Construction of the runways Construction of airport facilities Opening Day Technical Requirements:- Continuos noise monitoring and limits on business which are in direct competition with the existing business in Adams County. Prohibiting residential development within 60 LDN noise level. Translucent tent-like roof for the Airport. Runway/taxiway lighting system. All three concourses to provide 70 airline gates and 18 commuter gates. Fully automated baggage handling system. Limits and exclusions:- BAE would design and build the automated baggage handling system. U.S. West Communication Services was responsible for Airports telephone services. The City of Denver, Greiner Engineering and Morrison-Kundse Engineering will comprise the project management team and will be responsible for information management, managing costs, scheduled coordination and administration of the contractors. New Orleans Architectural firm responsible for creating standards that would unify the whole airport and to do the schematics and design development of the main terminal. Review with customer:- Review is to be done with the Denver City Council. 2. Project define and planning 2.1 Did the project plan explain how risk management, and any changes in the project would be controlled? Should this be part of the plan? Give reasons. DIA project plan did not explain how risk management or any other changes in the project would be controlled. Project Management teams often use Statement of work (SWO) or Project Charter to establish risk limits (Larson Gray, 2011). DIA case study does not provide any evidence as to the use of these documents to establish risk and to manage them. Risk are always perceived to have negative impact but they can also be positive (Turbit, 2011). Therefore, Risk management is very crucial part in project planing as the future is uncertain and what risk management can do is to identify all the potential risk and assign contingence plan for the same. Turbit (2011), has given the basic steps for risk management, these are:- Risk Identification Risks Quantification Risk Response Risk Monitoring and control By following these simple steps, risks can be identified and appropriate contingencies plans for them same can be made. These steps if followed correctly justify the importance of risk management in project management. 2.2 How many times has the DIA project changed the scope and what are the effects of scope changes on project management? Project Scope is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, Service, or result with the specified features and functions.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Going by this definition the scope of DIA has been changed seven times thereby extending the deadline of the project. These are as follows:- In March 1993:- Denver Mayor announced that opening would be postponed to December of 1993. The effect of this is the rise in cost form $1.7 billion to $2.7 billion. In October 1993:- Opening date pushed to March 1994. Delay associated with problems in Baggage handling system and fire- security system. The effect of this was the projects cost rising to $3.1 billion and upset cargo carriers. In December 1993:- Due to incomplete baggage handling system another delay announced. In February 1994:- Opening rescheduled to May 1994 due to the incomplete baggage handling system. In May 1994:- Another delay in opening and Hiring of two German experts who had worked on a similar baggage handling system at Frankfurt airport. In August 1994:- Indefinite delay in opening announced, manual backup baggage handling system. The effect is, rising costs now estimated at over $4 billion. The effect of scope changes on project management is scope creep and rising costs. DIA project managers have incorporate so many small changes giving rise to so much additional work that the budget in hand and the time needed to accomplish the project is now insufficient resulting in seven delays in project completion. 2.3 Recommend a suitable project organisation structure for DIA project and justify your choice. The project organisation structure that I would recommend for DIA project is Organising projects as dedicated teams. Following are the reasons for my choice:- Simple: As the project teams comprise of specialists the functional organisations working is not affected by the formation of such project organisational structures (Larson Gray, 2011). If this structure was adopted the City of Denver would have been kept out of Project management and only the specialist team would have been responsible for the project Fast: It has been observed that dedicates teams accomplish the projects much more quickly as every team members effort is dedicated to one common goal (Larson Gray, 2011). In DIA this was not the case as three Project Management teams were coordinating there effort. Staff adhesion and high motivation: Team members show high degree of motivation, adhesion and responsibility as everyone in the team is working for a common goals (Larson Gray, 2011). If DIA had followed this structure the responsibility and ownership of task would have been much easier. Cross Functional Integration: People with different skill set work towards the optimisation of project even if it is not there area of expertise (Larson Gray, 2011). Freedom to project manager: compared to other to form of project organisation structure the project manager has comparatively more freedom to control their team resulting in better and quicker decision making (Larson Gray, 2011). 3. Communication and Stakeholder Management 3.1 Project communications were apparently poor. Give examples of two communication mishaps and justify your answer. According to Larson Gray (2011) Communication is one of the main components in project management. However, in DIAs case the communication was rather poor. Examples of two communication mishaps are as follows:- No inputs from the two major Airlines in the design phase: 80% of the flights at Stapleton airport were controlled by United and Continental yet no inputs or their involvement in design face was never sought. This was a major communication mishap, because these two would be the major controllers of flights at the new Denver International Airport. Failure to get their vital input in the design phase was a failure on the part of PMT. DCV system: Good project communication plan would have told the team member about the issues and risks associated with this complex baggage handling system. But communication in regards to DCA system was a diaster in project management perspective. The terminal construction had already begun and no one knew what the design of DCV system was. No one was aware of the risks and complexity associated with such system. This is an instance of a major failure of communication in the DIA project. 3.2 Why was Unites Airline opposed to expansion of Front Range Airport? UPS wanted to build a regional hub at the Front Range Airport. This required federal funds. If FAA granted funds for UPS regional hub then a commercial airlines could not be prohibited from setting up shops in the Front Range Airport. As costs were already fixed the threat to United Airlines was from the low cost carriers who would have operated at Front Range Airport. If this happened it would reduce the passenger traffic at DIA which equated to less profit for United Airlines. To curb UPS ambitions United filed a lawsuit. Moreover, it also secured the passenger number at the new DIA airport. 3.3 Why is Stakeholder involvement so critical? Briefly explain four main stakeholders interests or objectives? Stakeholders includes everyone whose interest the project affects negatively or positively (Larson Gray, 2011). This definition of the stakeholder makes it very clear how important stakeholders are to a project. If the Project Manager does not understand how different stakeholders affect the project it can de detrimental for the projects completion. Therefore, it is important to manage their dependency on the project. Four main stakeholders and their interest / objectives Adams County: Adam County is interested in DIA because it is being constructed in their area. Their objective is to ensure the interests and safety of people living in its area. This is being done by creating buffer zones, keeping the noise pollution down and the limits on new business opening as a consequence of DIAs construction. New Orleans-based architectural firm:- One of the contractors of DIA. Their objectives are:- Creating standards for the unification of the airport and taking the design of main terminal through design development and schematics. BAE:- One of the contractors for DIA. Their objectives are to design and build the baggage handling system within two years. U.S. West Communication Services: Is one of the contractors in the DIA project. They are responsible for the telephone services of DIA. 4. Risk Management 4.1 What appears to be the single greatest risk in the decision to build DIA-discuss? The single greatest risk in the decision to building DIA is that the construction of the Airport began 1989 without a signal contract being signed between DIA and the two major airlines, Continental and United. These two airlines were the main stakeholder in the project and were likely to control 80% of the flights at DIA as they did in Stapleton airport, they convinced DIA to make some substantial changes and addition to the originally plans. DIA did oblige to their request but without any agreement between them. If the two later on decided not to operate at DIA they could not be forced to do so as they were not legally bound by any contracts. 4.2 How did DIA project handle risk? Was this effective? What might they have done? DIA only did the preliminary risk analysis which involved only three areas, these were weather, cost and human resources. Apart form this no risks analysis were done. These risks analysis were not that effective as it was seen in cost risk analysis where the bids for construction were received below citys own estimates. DIA project did not have a proper risk management programme. After Mr Waddles left DIA to join State of Colorado the project was without a full-time risk manager for several months and eventually a replacement was found in Molly Austin Flaherty. To sum up whatever endeavours DIA undertook in regards to risk management were unsuccessful. To manage risks more effectively DIA should have undertaken the risk management process. This process includes four steps, these are (Larson Gray, 2011):- Risk Identification Risk Assessment Risk Response Development Risk Response Control If DIA had diligently followed these steps it would have been in a far better position to identify all the risk involved with the project and develop appropriate responses for them. 5. Contracting Services 5.1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Construction began without a signed agreement from Continental and United Airlinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?- why is a formal signed agreement necessary in this project? Continental and United were the main stakeholders in the DIA project; together both controlled 80% of the flights at the Stapleton airport. Given their existing presence in the Denver air space it was given that they would be the major users of the new DIA airport. Denver City Council should have formally involved Continental and United in the DIA project as they could have given vital inputs at the design phase and should have sign an agreement with them. Instead, DIA project planners made important changes to the original design on suggestions made by the two airlines. Moreover, these changes were made to the original plan without any contract being signed between them and the two airlines. DIA should have signed agreement with both of them as this would have lead to the sharing of risk that would have risen through the changes proposed by the two airlines (Larson Gray, 2011). The commitment would also have assured a commitment of maintaining a certain number of flights at the new DIA airport. However, DIA opted for not having any agreement with the two airlines. This left DIA venerable, as both could reduce their operations at the new DIA airport or withdraw from the new venture altogether. This meant that the very companies on whose base the billion dollar investment was planned and constructed could walk out at will as they were not binded by any formal agreements. 5.2 What contractors were involved in the DIA project and briefly explain two main contractors performances. The Contractors that were involved in the DIA project are:- Morrision-Knudseb Engineering (MKE):- Contracted for Project Management Team. Greiner Engineering: Contracted for Project Management Team. New Orleans Based Architecture firm: Contracted for creating unified standards for airport and taking the design of main terminal through schematics and design developments. BAE: Contracted for the design and building of baggage handling system. US West Communication Services: Contracted for DIAs telephone services. Union Pacific: Contracting for designing track for the train that would connect Denver to DIA. Bechtel Corporation: Responsible for transferring of airport facilities from Stapleton airport to DIA, this has to be done over night. Two Main Contractors Performance:- BAE: They were responsible for designing and building the automated baggage handing system. BAE was brought into the project after 3 years of construction and still BAE miscalculated the time it needed to complete the project and committed to do the entire work in two years which otherwise would have taken eight years. BAE miscalculated the work involved which resulted in the baggage handling system not being delivered at the required time. To sum up BAEs performance was unsatisfactory for this project. Greiner Engineering: Was one of the firms in the project management team (PMT). The PMT did not perform satisfactorily. Things such as risk management, project communication biding, to name few, were not performed satisfactorily by the PMT. 5.3 Did the project follow a systematic bid process? What might they have done? No, the project did not follow a systematic bid process. Case litterateur does give some evidence in regards to the biding process but it is not strong enough to classify the biding process as systematic. There is an instance in case where the New Orleans based architecture firm was selected on their past experience with Denver city council thereby providing further evidence that a systematic biding process was not followed. DIA should have followed the RFP process. The first step the Project manager should have done was to develop the Request of Proposal (RFP) for the project or for parts of it (Larson Gray, 2011). Then the RFP/s should have been announced to the outside contractors with adequate capabilities and expertise (Larson Gray, 2011). The next step would have sees the interested contractors submitting written bids which would have been followed by DIA project mangers selecting the bid that best meet the requirements of RFP/s (Larson Gray, 2011). This process would have ended by providing explanations to contractors as to why they were not selected (Larson Gray, 2011). 6. Progress Monitoring and Control 6.1 Identify the main causes of schedule variation in DIA project. Numbers of causes were associated with the scheduled variation of the DIA project but the main ones are listed as follows:- DCV baggage handling system: according to case literature the baggage handling system delayed the DIA project four times. Two specialists were hired from Germany to iron out the problems with the baggage handling system at the DIA airport. Ultimately a back manual system was financed by DIA authorities as the reliability and completion of the automated system could not be guaranteed by the contactors. Frequent Scope Changes: The scope of project was changed on a number of occasions, though the changes were minor but their aggregated effects on the project cost and its completion were immense. Communication Plan: The project did not have an effective communication plan. There was no communication between the different stakeholders resulting in scheduled variation of DIA project. Risk Management planning: The project managers of DIA did not evaluate the risks involved with the project nor did they develop an effective communication plan to tackle the identified risks. This also led to the scheduled variation of the project. 6.2 What would you have done when you saw that the project would not meet its schedule? If I saw that the project would not meet its deadline I would have done the following things:- Conducted an in-process Audit: In-process audit would have been used by me if I saw the project would not meet its deadline. This is because it allows for corrective actions if the situation changes keeping a strong focus on project advancement and performance (Larson Gray, 2011). This would also help to identify constraints in the project. Implementing Integrated Cost/schedule system: The major problems that the builders of DIA had were the costs, time and communication in the project which were beyond their control. According to Larson Gray (2011), as time passes the ability to influence a particular cost decreases. Therefore, a well integrated cost/schedule system will be able to keep the costs and schedule in check through timely reporting of the same. This will also aid in better decision making as all the stakeholders will be provided with the same facts and figures. Resource levelling: DIA is a time constraint project. I can use resource levelling technique to delay non-critical activities and concentrate on critical ones (Larson Gray, 2011). 7. Project Closeout 7.1 Highlight the major areas of strength in the management of this project. DIA project did not have much to speak about, but a couple of things do deserve to be mentioned, these are:- Even though DIA failed to involved all the stakeholders effectively into the project. They however, did work efficiently with stakeholders, whom they were involved with, to resolve their queries and objections. The original Airport design had four concourses but DIA project planners had efficient WBS to build only three concourses in order to keep the budget down. 7.2 The DIA project was evidently not well run. Why? Give reasons for your opinion. Yes, the DIA project was evidently not well run. The reasons are as follows:- Inadequate Risk Management: Though DIA project managers did under take risk management it was not sufficient for the project. The risk management process failed to identify critical risks which resulted in waste of time and money to cope up with such risks. Moreover, the project was without a full time Risk Manger for several months. Lack of effective communication plan: DIA did not have a well executed communication plan. Consistent and timely information about the project was not given to various stakeholders. This effected the decision making process as everyone was not on the same wave length. Scope creep: DIA project managers kept on including small tasks without realising the impact it was having on the scope of the project resulting in increased costs. 7.3 Overall, What lessons have you learnt from DIA project? The lessons learnt from the DIA project are as follows:- Involvement of main stakeholders: It is very important and crucial for a projects success to involve the main stakeholders in the project. DIA made a blunder by not involving the Continental and United in the design phase ad these two could have given vital inputs in the design phase. Moreover, their involvement in the inception stage would have meant that the later changes made by each of them to the design would not have happened. Importance of Risk Management Process:- A proper well execute risk management process is very important for an project as it prepares and makes the management about all the risk that may arise and equips them with options to tackle the risks as and when they may arise. Importance of communication plan: A well executed communication plan delivers consistent information to the various stakeholders thereby increasing the speed of decision making process. Setting realistic goals: Management should take into account the budget and the time before setting up any goals. Prime example in the case is of the automated baggage handling system. The system involved eight years of work but the contractor committed to complete it in two years which was not a realistic goal. Proper biding process should be followed: A proper RFP process should be followed. This given equal chance for all the external contractors to participate in the biding process and ensures that deserving contractors will be selected which ultimately will be beneficial for the project.