William Shakespeare s Othello At The Globe Theater Essay

In this drama study, an analysis of the racial xenophobia and anxiety of Anglo-Saxon culture in the 17th century performance of Othello at the Globe Theater. Othello, published in 1604, was performed at the Globe Theater in England, which provides a racially xenophobic cultural setting based on English class values as a basis for the play. Early 17th century England was an isolated island that interpreted privilege and class status on white racial perceptions that often demonized or subjugated people of the African race. The major source of xenophobia is directly related tor racial purity in the threat the Othello presents to audiences in the Elizabethan era. The Globe Theater was a place in which Anglicized versions of European plays with Italian motifs could be presented through the cultural framework of English xenophobia. The text-based language of the Othello exposes xenophobic views of â€Å"strangers† and foreigners†, such as the Moor, to exemplify the fear of dis rupting English racial and cultural values. This form of â€Å"cultural anxiety† is part of the early 17th century performance at the early Globe Theater, which Othello brought fourth for English audiences at the time. In essence, an analysis of the racial xenophobia of Elizabethan anxiety will be defined in the early 17th century performance of Othello at the Globe Theater. Pechter’s (year?) analysis of the textual origins of Othello is based on the exotic depictions of European life in an international context.Show MoreRelatedThe Octogonal Structure Roared from Shakespeares Performers791 Words   |  3 Pagesand trumpets started to play in the Globe while productions began. The Globe Theatre started an era of acting in the late 1500’s and changed the way we look at performing still to this day. This theatre was jaw dropping as people entered this â€Å"salvaged wood† framed theatre. In 1599, the stage was ready for acts to begin. The name of the Globe Theatre was for people to know that the â€Å"whole round world† could be represented by every actor. William Shakespeare referred to the theatre as â€Å" this woodenRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare: A Brief Biography651 Words   |  3 Pages William Shakespeare is arguably the most well known and successful author is the history of literature. Little is known about Shakespeare’s childhood and is what questions he’s existence. Besides the lack of knowledge of his childhood, Shakespeare lived a successful adult life. His plays changed the english language language forever. In all of his success, people still doubt he ever existed. William Shakespeare’s birth is unknown but church records show that he was baptised on April 26, 1564Read MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Good And Lasting Legacy822 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare William Shakespeare left a good, lasting legacy that we see almost every day and we don t even know it s there. A legacy is something that you leave behind weather good or bad, Shakespeare s left a legacy of books and being thought as one of the greatest writers in the world. In William’s life he created many pieces of literature and words that people use everywhere today. We may not know a whole lot about William Shakespeare’s life but we can see that he was a veryRead MoreThe Elizabethan Era Of Europe1531 Words   |  7 Pageswith people wanting to kill Queen Elizabeth a protestant and replace her Mary Queen of Scots a Catholic. All of these contributed to the amazing theatre during this time, one of the most notable things from this period is its fine arts, with the theater being the one held in the highest esteem. The Elizabethan Renaissance Was best expressed and shown through its theatre. One key factor in theatre during the Elizabethan period is where the plays were actually performed. There were two kinds of theatreRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet, King Lear, And A Midsummer s Night Dream1037 Words   |  5 Pagesof Avon, commonly known as William Shakespeare is one of the best known playwrights in the (Video). A few of his most famous plays include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream (McArthur). Although he was popular during his time, Shakespeare’s influence continued to grow after his death and today he well known around the world. He added 2,000 words to the English dictionary and he is the 2nd most quoted after the Bible (Video). Shakespeare is one of the most influentialRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s English Literature Essay1667 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam Shakespeare has been best known for his poems, plays and masterful piece of writings in the English language. He has been referred to as the En gland s national poet and the Bard of Avon. He produced over thirty eight plays, hundred fifty four sonnets, five poems, and more verses. Shakespeare s plays consist of mainly tragedies, comedies and histories which are regarded as one of the best in those genres. The plays, the poems, and the sonnets have had a significance influence in EnglishRead MoreThe Reign Of Queen Elizabeth I And The Elizabethan Era1787 Words   |  8 PagesQueen Elizabeth I and the Elizabethan Theater. Although life was not easy during the Elizabethan era it was one of the most progressive times in history and marked the beginning of the Elizabethan theatre which still to this day influences theatre and the way theatre is presented . The Elizabethan Era began in 1588 and ended in 1603 during Queen Elizabeth I reign England s capital and largest city, London grew to about two hundred thousand people. London s population was divided into three mainRead More17th Century Shakespeare Sonnet 331780 Words   |  8 Pages16th CENTURY SHAKESPEARE SONNET 33 Jackson Hawkins Ms. Sokash Honors English Literature Per 4 20 May 2015  Jackson Hawkins Ms. Sokash Honors English Literature Per-4 20 May 2015 In the early 16th century, the English language did not have the prestige as it does today. Many great works were written in other languages like Latin. One of the first major works to be written in English was Thomas More s Utopia which was originally written in Latin and finally translated into english in theRead MoreRace in Five Film Versions of Shakespeares Othello Essay example4150 Words   |  17 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Othello is only moderately interested in questions of race and racism. For Shakespeare, Othellos blackness was mainly a plot device. Though the bard did demonstrate concerns about racial and religious prejudice, in Othello and The Merchant of Venice, his interest in the tragedy of the Moor was principally psychological. For Shakespeare and his contemporary audience, Othello was about jealousy, hatred, and vindictiveness. The play has aged well, as have all ShakespearesRead MoreQueen Elizabeths Lasting Effect on Theater Essay1800 Words   |  8 PagesEffect on Theater Queen Elizabeth came to be known as one of the greatest rulers of the English empire. Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a more efficient government was created. The church was unified, the English empire was expanded, and language, literature, and theater flourished to a greatness that would be impossible for almost any other period of English history, or any other European empire, for that matter, to match. Although there was a great rise in literature,it was theater that

The Foxhole Court, By Writer Nora Sakavic Essay - 1193 Words

â€Å"University, he said quietly. It sounded like a dream; it tasted like damnation†. This quote is stated in the book â€Å"The Foxhole Court† by Writer Nora Sakavic. As we know, university is the first formal step of planning for future destination, analysis all the opportunities, choosing best option, applying strategies for moving forward. Career orientation or career development process may start from here. Leading a healthy, solvent and transparent economic life a perfect career should be selected. By analyzing political economic factors behind such as values in present market demand, how domestic and international interact with the matter, consistency with developing economy, financial advancement, market orientation one can choose one’s future. Without scrutinizing these sections decisions may take for personal gain or achievement. This is the why I like to choose The subject â€Å"Public Administration† at renowned University of Dhaka. Political Economy : Political Economy, branch of social science that studies the relationships between individuals and society and between markets and the state, using a diverse set of tool and methods drawn largely, from economics, political science and sociology. The term political economy is derived from the Greek polis, meaning city or state and oikonomos meaning one who manages a household estate. Political economy thus can be understood as the study of how a country – the public’s household – is managed or governed, taking into account both

Science Processes Free Essays

Module 1 Science Processes Scientific ProcessDefinitionScience Activity ObservingThe process of gathering information using all appropriate senses instruments that extend the senses. Collecting data on classmates, students walk around the classroom and make observations about eye and hair color of their classmates. ClassifyingGrouping objects or organisms according to one or more common properties. We will write a custom essay sample on Science Processes or any similar topic only for you Order Now Classifying plants by features of plant life. CommunicatingRecord observations in multiple ways and present them to others. Students can record the data found in their observation activity and communicate the eye and hair colors they observed in the classroom. MeasuringMeasure variables using a variety of instruments and standard and nonstandard units. Give students various measuring tools and ask them to measure various things in the classroom. PredictingMake a projection of what the outcome of an investigation will be using data and patterns. Prediction worksheet: look at the pictures on the left side, draw a picture and write about what you predict will happen next. InferringDescribing a potential conclusion based on observation and prior knowledge. Science Mystery Bags: Students are asked to use sense of smell, hearing, and touch to infer what is in each mystery bag. Identifying Controlling VariablesRecognizing a system’s variables and manipulating the variables to control the system’s outcome. Bread Mold Activity: Students will identify and control the variables that cause bread mold. Formulating Testing Hypotheses Make a statement to guide and investigation. Test that statement for its truth. Formulate hypotheses for what conditions cause the bread to mold, and then test the hypotheses to see if they are correct. Interpreting DataRecognize patterns and associations within a system of data. Using scientific graphs to share data, as well as understand data represented in graph form. Defining OperationallyCreating a definition by describing an interaction or observation. How can you tell if plants are healthy? Students will define plant health in effective terms. Experimenting Scientific procedure used to test a hypothesis, make a discovery, or determine something. Students can take part in an experiment to see if they can balance eggs using salt. Constructing ModelsBuilding models to represent a mental, verbal, or physical idea or object. Students could participate in a physical science project where they are asked to make a water reservoir. In the chart above defining the twelve scientific processes, I included definitions of each as well as a science activity that students could participate in to support each process. These processes support inquiry learning, because they provide students with the opportunity to use problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, and logical thinking skills all at once. Students are encouraged to apply their prior knowledge to their new problem, experiment, or questions, which incorporates what they are currently learning with earlier experiences. Inquiry learning in science gives students control of their investigation and enhances their interest in the subject. Inquiry learning involves all learning strategies, including but not limited to verbal, written, and hands-on activities. When students are actively engaged in the learning process they are more likely to stay attentive, which allows them to not only gain information, but also helps in retaining that knowledge and understanding. The teacher’s attitude toward science has a major impact on students and how they view science. In order for teachers to get students interested and involved, they must have a positive and inspiring outlook on the subject. When students see and feel that their teacher is excited about a subject and that he or she wants to share their experience, students are more likely to fully engage in learning. Teachers should share their knowledge by motivating students to want to learn science, and getting them excited about learning by introducing science through observation activities and experiments. Students need to see that their teacher is enthusiastic about science, and that science is a learning process that can be fun and enjoyable for the entire class! Lesson Plan: Objectives Students will †¢work in groups to build catapults out of everyday objects (Constructing Models); and †¢Demonstrate their understanding of motion and forces by using the catapults to launch objects. Communicating) Materials †¢Motion, Forces, Energy, and Electric Current video and VCR or DVD and DVD player †¢Pictures of catapults †¢Computer with Internet access (optional) †¢Cardboard shoe box (1 for each catapult) †¢Rubber bands (4 for each catapult) †¢Popsicle sticks (2 for each catapult) †¢Masking tape (one 6-inch piece for each catapult) †¢Plastic spoon (1 for each catapult) †¢Rulers (1 per student group) †¢Scissors (1 per student group) †¢Marshmallows (2 per group) †¢Masking tape (for launching competition) †¢Object of your choice to serve as a target Procedures . Begin the lesson by discussing motion and energy. Ask students: How do objects move? How do we calculate motion? What is acceleration? What is speed? What are some of the forces that act upon objects in motion? (Observing, Predicting, and Defining Operationally). A good way to introduce this information is to view portions of the Motion, Forces, Energy, and Electric Current video. 2. Tell students they are going to work in groups to create catapults out of everyday objects. Explain that catapults were often used as weapons of war during the Middle Ages. Show students some pictures of catapults and discuss how they work, making sure that students understand catapult designs and uses. (Classifying). A good animated illustration of a catapult can be found at http://en. bestpicturesof. com/pictures%20of%20how%20to%20make%20a%20catapult 3. Tell students that after building their catapults, they will compete to see whose catapult can fling a marshmallow the farthest and whose catapult can fling an object closest to a target. (Experiment). 4. Divide students into groups of five, and give each group the supplies they will need to make heir catapults (see materials list) as well as any other objects you wish to provide. Tell the groups that they can design their catapults however they please, but they can use only the materials you have provided-nothing extra. Give students time to design and build their catapults, and ask them to name their team. (Constructing Models, Identifying and Controlling Variables). 5. Once students have completed t heir catapults, clear an area in the classroom that can be used for the launching competition. Using masking tape, mark a starting line. Place the target object about 10 feet in front of the line. 6. One at a time, have the student teams place their catapults on the line and fling a marshmallow at the target-their goal is to hit the target. Mark where each team’s marshmallow landed with a piece of masking tape that has been labeled with the team’s name. 7. As a class, determine which team was the most successful in accurately hitting (or coming the closest to hitting) the target with its marshmallow. Talk about the design of the winning catapults. Why did this design work the best? Formulating and Testing hypotheses, Interpreting Data, Measuring, Communicating). 8. Have students again place their catapults on the starting line and fire a second marshmallow — their goal, this time, is to achieve the greatest distance. Again, mark where each marshmallow lands with a piece of labeled masking tape. Once all the catapults have been fired have students measure the distance from the starting line to wher e their marshmallow landed. (Measuring). 9. As a class, determine which catapult was able to launch a marshmallow the greatest distance. Ask students: Why did this catapult work best? What element(s) of its design do you think helped propel the marshmallow farther than the others? (Interpreting Data, Defining Operationally). 10. Have each student write a paragraph that answers the following questions. †¢What was your group attempting to achieve with its catapult design? †¢How did the catapult set the marshmallow in motion? †¢Which challenge did your catapult meet best, accuracy or distance? †¢What could you have done to make the catapult better? †¢What helped the catapult work as well as it did? What did this activity teach you about motion and forces? 11. Ask for volunteers to share their answers with the class. Discuss students’ answers and the forces that work on objects in motion. Evaluation Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson. †¢Three points: Students actively participated in class discussions; worked cooperatively in their teams; successfully created a team catapult; actively participated in the catapult launch; wrote a thoughtful paragraph that answered all six questions. Two points: Students somewhat participated in class discussions; worked somewhat cooperatively in their teams; needed help to complete their catapult; did not actively participate in the catapult launch; wrote an incomplete paragraph that answered only three or four of the six questions. †¢One point: Students somewhat participated in class discussions; were unable to use catapult materials without teacher guidance; created unfinished catapults; did not actively participate in the catapult launch; wrote an incomplete paragraph that answered only one or two of the questions. Credits Tamar Burris, former elementary teacher and freelance education writer References Bass, Joel E. , Contant, Terry L. , Carin, Arthur A. (2009). Teaching Science as Inquiry, 11th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, MA. Burris, Tamar. (2012). Discovery Education. Lesson Plan Library: Motion, Forces, Energy, Electricity. Retrieved on September 28, 2012, from http://www. discoveryeducation. com/ teachers/free-lesson-plans/motion-forces-energy-and-electricity. cfm. How to cite Science Processes, Papers

Corporate Responsibility In Supply Chains †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Corporate Responsibility In Supply Chains? Answer: Introduction A shift has been seen to Digital Supply Chains it is emerging fast around the world. Digitization is a proven technology to ease what is being done manually. Surveys are taken on this recent shift to digital supply chain and results are clearly showing how digitization is dominating the market. This step is being followed by various big companies around the world, it has taken a big jump recently. Many trends can be seen in supply chain management after this shift took place and these trends are promising companies for a greater future. Key trends Digitization is dominating market in todays scenario with the series of technologies which is of great importance. The approach towards digitally enhanced companies who re-invent their strategies of managing the supply chains brings few trends along with it (Transportation Management Company | Cerasis, 2017). 3d printing in healthcare and pharmaceuticals has increased in last few months has increased so far with the increase in production volume. Healthcare now is also counted in technology driven sector. It benefitted in various ways by providing bewildering precision where it is hard to print typical shapes as they used to do it in earlier days. The growth in this sector is commendable and are still exploring constantly (Emeraldinsight.com, 2017). Visibility in Uber rides With the growing network of digitalization, uber rides shows a prominent growth in services by providing visibility in their networks to customers and drivers which makes the whole process easier. In recent years the surveys has been made, and the data shows how Uberization has jumped up to bigger shares. Internet of things Operations with internet of things shows an impressive graph. Big companies are tied-up with this technology and satisfy customers, clients by giving instant response, customized content and updated software. Maturity it brings in cloud computing With the time being in, digitization brings a level of maturity in cloud computing. The respondents shows flattering results. In past years, cloud computing was generally accepted but was stagnant as per the growth graph but after shifting into digitization concept it breakthrough the success rate. Operational technology After shifting to the digitization, operational technology helps in maintaining spare parts and equipment in a way so that it is less cost intensive, better utilization of resources, smooth flow of data in context of information and material. It is quite a realistic approach where managers and suppliers maintain a virtual inventory by making forecasts and customize goods based on the demand. Digitization has moved quickly and well executed one can see the range of opportunities it comes with and delivers the best out of it. Research and findings Portraying the trends based on the current event happened in supply chain management it lead to various trends which are making the rounds in industry. The emergence of digitization will help in making strategic decisions in businesses and utilize technology at its best. How digitization affects market strategies for companies? Answer to this question would be clear. Back then it was not possible for managers and suppliers to fix the issues regarding visibility of inventory. Now after digitization flow of inventory can be easily monitored by both the managers and suppliers. The overflow and underflow of inventory can be manage wisely and lessen the inventory carrying costs, bulk purchasing and also loss incurred while holding the order made by customer. A manageable inventory turn out to be profitable and gives free cash flow which is an important aspect in management. In customary terms, digitization changes the whole scenario as strategies can be planned on how to deliver faster than ever and create healthy competition in market. In both ways customer is attaining satisfaction who are known to be the king of the market. Principles and standards Reflectivity The evolution of digitization in supply chains brings visualization to the happenings in flows which include material flows, cash flows and data flows. There are few principles and standards designed in this matter and it creates the clear picture before the management and customers as well. Demand and supply Readiness Transparency Adequate use of assets by raising reflectivity- An effective supply chain increases utilization of assets in a significant manner. It showcase the insights of current availability of resources and its utility and enables to forecast additional needs of resources to maintain the levels of inventory. Digitization matches the demand and supply factor- Priorities are being made as per the demand of customers and meet them by supplying at the appropriate time. It provides the perfect match between demand and supply constraints. An instant collaboration made by companies- Collaborations made by supply chain management with the customers proves to be a wise step as it enables the customer to cooperate which ultimately leads to smooth functioning of supply chains. Readiness on demand- Through ecommerce managers and suppliers handles material flow and capacity of additional demand in certain situations. Ecommerce is proven to be a profitable technique in todays scenario where there is uncertainty in market. Strategic plans can be made to cover up such uncertain situations and solves the issues with suppliers in context of required resources. Provides transparency- A digital supply chain provides an end to end reflectivity which allows businesses to get the know-how of their inventories and its utilization. A transparency is must to control the impacts and effects if there is any deviation in the forecast done by managers and suppliers. Recommendation Ecommerce has transformed tactical operation to strategic operation and shorten up the cycle of purchasing raw material and supply goods. It reduces the costs involved and total cycle time which proves to be a profitable step. Digitization is a core improvement effort made by businesses with a centralized objective to reduce additional time and costs. It is gaining importance in terms of long term objectives of organizations by focusing on economic values, their earning per share, to increase share values and last but not the least is customer satisfaction. After setting up their primary objective, supply chain costs are being measured and forecasted for the fundamental purpose of increasing overall business value. Linking to this technology where it gives the opportunity of handling transactions and various information electronically which is easy to handle such data. The emergence of B2C has gained position in market more than any other system (Graham, Manikas and Folinas, 2013). Ecommerce promises to manage the system in electronic way which saves manual involvement saves time and energy. By saving time and costs involved in it lead to profitable revenues and marks a good position by having bigger shares in the market segment. Issues of Diversity and Ethics Digitization rapidly growing in industry in all manners to ease the processes of supply chain management and working as a helping hand in making strategic plans for such processes. With all its advantages making constant changes in the whole process also contains some of issues regarding diversity. The need for skills and expertise in management of this complex process is on the rise. To support such development in initiatives made by industry puts managers and suppliers in a jinx to cooperate with the ever changing requirements in the market. Managers need to engage themselves in more and more activities of supply chain management and here the involvement requires intensive knowledge regarding technology adopted for the shift in digitization (Sciencedirect.com, 2017). In order to respond to the drastic changes and diversities happening in the process creates complexities for managers to handle such issues at a time. It is said that not all evolution brings positive impacts in environment. There are many set rules for every segment and if they are not followed as per the guidelines given it can lead to critical situations. For the survival of organization after adopting digitization can only be possible if there are skilled and experienced managers available in organization who follow up the guidelines. (John Wiley Sons, 2016). Companies need to balance their ethical concern to fulfil the social responsibility in society to mark their success in market for long term plan. By practicing ethics companies gain trust in the eyes of customers. Today number of customers are after ethical companies as consumers are aware of the fact related to ethical business. An ethical business ensures that any particular product they are supplying involves lesser costs and pricing would be accurate and adaptable by consumers. Ethics involve in digitization of supply chain management comes with greater benefits to the company as well as society. Ethical practices ensures on the part of raw material that proper utilization of resources is must and wastage can be avoided as much as possible. The material flow is controlled if ethics is properly applied. Adding to the fact, it has an impact over environmental factors too as all the work has been converted into electronic way. It reduces the costs by reducing the use of carbon footprint and handling the data flow. By using such efficient technology driven methods in supply chain results in lower costs and manual work which can be utilize in other places and increase productivity would help in having higher margins in market. The impact of ethical practices depend on companys type and which segment is followed by them in terms of costs, marketing techniques. It is concluded that ethics has control over social as well as environmental factor. But for an organization to be ethically proven it is necessary to follow the aspects as per the company type to maintain standards which carry norms depending from country to country and adopt code of conducts. The code of conducts include the provisions responsible for security and safety, management of labor, health and ethics issues. Interesting Facts The digitalization in supply chain management interests me because of the reputational change it brings in the whole industry consisting of many advantages. The applications of digitalization in supply chain are: Integrated planning structure and execution. Visibility in logistics. It ensures smart warehousing. An efficient management of parts and equipment. Enables B2C logistics. Procurement of goods in an easy manner. The assessment of customers demand on time. These are the advantages that digitization brings in management and many intangible gains attached to it. If comparison is being made between traditional supply chain management and integrated supply chain, the flaws can be seen clearly. As customers are much aware of the facts regarding ethics of a business and its pricing. An on-time delivery also affects in this case by fulfilling their expectations so basically digitization helps overcoming all the issues of a management and satisfies customers. The customer satisfaction is the core of the business which enables an enterprise to earn profits with set standards of pricing by maintaining a quality of its own, lead to bigger share in the market (Forbes.com, 2017). Ecommerce gives transparency and a complete view of supply chain which was not experienced in traditional supply chain management. Visibility tends to give a clear view and help in detecting faults in the process if any and resolve them at the time of the occurrence which is beneficial in terms of time saving, errors which can lead to losses. It also creates a chain for a proper communication between members engage in supply chain and flow of information available for all. Unlike the traditional approach of supply chain management which was a line of management and information goes in a straight line only. The cycle in ecommerce supply chain is simpler as compare to the complex traditional supply chain, modern approach is quite responsive in nature because of simpler cycle of planning and execution. The synchronization in cycle helps management in smooth functioning and planning strategies, executing the plan, flow of information (Stefan Schrauf, 2016) The economic benefits that digitization brings into are unlimited, investments made in this field proves to be beneficial instead of old approach of supply chains operations. It is proven how digitization is working out as it brings efficiency gains higher than expected and boosts revenue for a longer term. That is why companies are pulling digitization in the race to develop themselves in terms of technology and mark their sustainable position in market by achieving bigger shares. Insights The digitized supply chain management has increased efficiency in each and every sector by improving the overall experience by customers, managers, suppliers and operations altogether. It has become a significant approach who drives not only the management but customers also. The agility it contains, responsiveness and customization it provides lead to increase in efficiency of business in market (Scm.ncsu.edu, 2017). Various surveys has been done and one of them shows a report of 490 global chain officials. The results showed the insights of their organizations that how digitization takes a toll on supply chain management and how their companies have earn revenues as compare to the past. It was a strategic research done by Forbes on North American, Asian and Europe companies. Interviewed various executives from different companies. The executives shares all the customer experiences and how managements embrace the digitalization in their business models (Forbes.com, 2017). It is also seen in these surveys taken that the technology analytics required in supply chain management cannot be suddenly positioned into action and expect quick results from it, officials shared their experiences by explaining how these analytics take time to learn and grow at its own time. Skills and expertise is required to adopt such measures and innovations otherwise it may not give proper results or gains. A complete knowledge is must in this case but overall this measure of digitalizing strategic supply chains proved to be a beneficial step (Anon, 2017). References Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Industry4.0.pdf [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Bellamy, M.A.; Ghosh, S.; Hora, M. The influence of supply network structure on firm innovation. J. Oper. Manag. 2014, 32, 357373. Connelly BL, Ketchen DJ, Hult GTM (2013) Global supply chain management: toward a theoretically driven research agenda. Glob Strategy J 3(3):227243. Ellram LM, Cooper MC (2014) Supply chain management: its all about the journey, not the destination. J Supply Chain Manag 50(1):820. Emeraldinsight.com. (2017). The 3D printing order: variability, supercenters and supply chain reconfigurations | International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management | Vol 46, No 1. [online] Available at: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IJPDLM-10-2015-0257 [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Forbes.com. (2017). Forbes Insights: Digital Supply ChainAre You Leading the Pack?. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/forbesinsights/cognizant_supply_chain/index.html [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Forbes.com. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinomarah/2016/11/17/digitization-in-supply-chain-five-key-trends/2/#7dc68495c9a7 [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Graham C. Stevens, Mark Johnson, (2016) "Integrating the Supply Chain 25 years on", International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, Vol. 46 Issue: 1, pp.19-42, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-07-2015-0175 Graham, D., Manikas, I. and Folinas, D. (2013). E-logistics and e-supply chain management. Hershey: Business Science Reference. Handfield, R.B.; Straube, F.; Pfohl, H.-C.; Wieland, A. Global Trends and Strategies in Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Embracing Complexity for Competitive Advantage; DVV Media Group GmbH: Hamburg, Germany, 2013. Hofmann, H., Busse, C., Bode, C. and Henke, M. (2014), Sustainability-Related Supply Chain Risks: Conceptualization and Management. Bus. Strat. Env., 23: 160172. doi:10.1002/bse.1778 Marc Winter, A. Michael Knemeyer, (2013) "Exploring the integration of sustainability and supply chain management: Current state and opportunities for future inquiry", International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, Vol. 43 Issue: 1, pp.18-38. Ross, D. (2013). Introduction to supply chain management technologies. Boca Raton: Taylor Francis. Roth, A.; Singhal, J.; Singhal, K.; Tang, C. Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Operations and Visibility in Uber ridesChain Management. Prod. Oper. Manag. 2016, 25, 14731488. Sciencedirect.com. (2017). Sustainability and corporate social responsibility in supply chains: The state of research in supply chain management and business ethics journals. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1478409215300054 [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Scm.ncsu.edu. (2017). More Insights on Deploying the Digital Supply Chain Supply Chain View from the Field. [online] Available at: https://scm.ncsu.edu/blog/2016/12/13/more-insights-on-deploying-the-digital-supply-chain/ [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Transportation Management Company | Cerasis. (2017). 2016 Supply Chain Trends: 7 Trends to shape SCM. [online] Available at: https://cerasis.com/2016/01/04/2016-supply-chain-trends/ [Accessed 18 Sep. 2017]. Waller, M. A. and Fawcett, S. E. (2013), Data Science, Predictive Analytics, and Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform Supply Chain Design and Management. J Bus Logist, 34: 7784. Wieland, A.; Handfield, R. The socially responsible supply chain: An imperative for global corporations. Supply Chain Manage. Rev. 2013, 17, 2229.

Motivation and Leadership free essay sample

This work is submitted as part of the requirements for the MSc in information system and management. The work contained in this assignment is my own, individual and original work and has not been used in whole or in part for any other assessment on this or any other degree. I have read and understand the university rules on plagiarism. This essay discusses the quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower on leadership. In this quote, he defines leadership as the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. Firstly, the meaning of this quote is explained by highlighting two distinct aspects of this statement, which is that leadership is the art of getting people to ‘want to do’ and getting them to ‘actually do’ what the leader wants done. It is inferred from this statement that Eisenhower’s notion is that these two processes, although distinct, are not mutually exclusive. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Leadership or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To provide a further explanation, the essay goes on to conceptualize these processes with their associated distinct leadership-styles and discusses the view point that these two concepts have to work both in combination and complementarily in order for his perspective on leadership to be fully agreed upon. â€Å"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it† (Dwight D. Eisenhower). What does this quote mean? To what extent do you agree or disagree with the quote and why? Over the years, many researchers, writers and leadership theorists have postulated various theories, ideas and perspectives on leadership, most of which are centred on the exertion of influence by a person on others to make them do something or achieve a goal. There is no one universally accepted definition of leadership. However, to name a few, Maxwell (1998) describes leadership as being nothing more (or less) than influence. Yukl (1994) also defined leadership as â€Å"the ability of one person to influence a group of persons toward the achievement of common goals† (p. 14). In the quote by Dwight D. Elsenhower above, leadership is viewed as the process of getting people to want to do as opposed to getting them just to do, which is a clear difference between the process of managing and that of leading (Kouzes amp; Posner, 1987). This statement holds true when the leader is able to properly communicate his vision in such a way that the followers are able to believe and buy into this vision by showing them how they can be served by a common goal. This ability of the leader to inspire his followers and get them to identify with his vision enacts their willingness to do something because they actually want to do it. Leaders do this by first of all being credible. They establish this credibility by their actions by challenging, inspiring, enabling, modelling and encouraging (Kouzes amp; Posner, 1987). When a leader is credible, he is better able to solicit the support and commitment of his followers. They are more willing to provide time, intelligence and energy to support the cause championed by the leader (Kouzes et al, 2010), because they trust and identify with his visions and goals and are confident in his ability to deliver. In essence, for a leader to get people to do things because they actually want to, he must be believable. His level of honesty, drive and passion therefore go a long way in building up this believable character. This quote also highlights the fact that leadership involves ‘delegating’ a task that the leader himself ‘wants done’. Hence, the leader has to take full responsibility for the task carried out by the subordinate and give him credit where appropriate. This is further supported by another quote by D. Eisenhower cited in Puryear Jr. 1991) who says: â€Å"†¦Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well. † (p. 289). Therefore, the Leader is fully responsible for anything that the subordinate does wrong and the subordinate should be made to understand this. Bearing this in mind, leaders adopt a leadership style to achieve their objectives and get their subordinates to do what they want. Different leadership styles have been discussed in earlier works of literature. Three major leadership-styles identified by psychologists Lewin et al (1939), are the democratic, autocratic and the laissez-faire styles. Active member involvement and group-decision making is encouraged by the democratic style while leaders are more domineering in the autocratic style and ‘hands off’ in the laissez-faire styles respectively. Also, in the framework proposed by Getzels and Guba (1957), the bureaucratic and delegative leadership-styles can be identified. The former being the style in which policies and procedures are prescribed while the latter is exactly the same as in the laissez-faire (passive) leadership style. Goleman (2000) also proposes six leadership-styles, which are, authoritative, democratic, affiliative, coercive, coaching and pacesetting. He explains that every leadership style is made up of some degree of emotional intelligence, which is exhibited through self-management, self-awareness, social awareness and social skill. Moreover, Authors such as Yukl, (1999), Rowold amp; Heinitz, (2007) and Judge amp; Piccolo (2004) have distinguished between two leadership styles; transactional and transformational leadership. These distinct leadership styles were initially introduced by Burns (1978), which was then later modified by Bass in 1985. To buttress the highlighted points and meanings of the quote discussed so far, this essay would be mainly focusing on the transformational and transactional approaches to leadership. Furthermore, how these styles can influence follower motivation would be discussed, as well as the extent to which this quote can be agreed upon. As explained earlier, this quote views leadership as a process of getting people to do what you want because they ‘want to’ and also as a process of getting people to ‘actually do it’. It may be inferred from Eisenhower’s statement that his view is that these two processes although separate, are not mutually exclusive. Hence, the transformational and transactional leadership styles can be characterized by each of these processes respectively, both of which can be combined and used to complement each other. This combination and complementation of these two leadership styles and processes can therefore be aligned with Eisenhower’s notion of leadership. Transformational leadership is one in which the leader elevates the interests of his followers by increasing awareness and acceptance of the group’s purpose and mission and by also allowing the followers to look beyond self-interest but to the collective interest of the group (Bass, 1985). The leader transforms the values and priorities of subordinates, and motivates them to exceed their performance expectations (Yukl, 1994). It is seen as a more participative leadership style in which the subordinates are inspired and influenced positively by their leader and accept, internalize and identify with the leader’s visions (Jung amp; Avolio, 2000). The willingness of subordinates to do what the leader wants done is influenced by their trust and confidence in the leader, coupled with his ability to inspire and motivate the employees to achieve great results by putting in the extra effort (Bass, 1985). Also, the ability of the leader to understand the differences and individuality of the followers, as well as provide support to foster growth and development also helps to increase their commitment and willingness to do what is required (Bass, 1985). The leader here is charismatic and energetic and is able to instill this enthusiasm into his followers, which gets them to actually want to do the job as oppose to just doing as they are told. However, in the transactional style of leadership, the followers simply do as they are told. The leadership is more like a process of exchange or contractual agreement between the leaders and followers (kappen, 2010). The leader meets the immediate needs of his followers as a reward, in exchange for the desired level of performance and negative consequences (punishment) is used to curtail undesired behavior (Jung amp; Avolio, 2000). Unlike in transformational leadership, the leader seems not be really concerned with changing the followers attitudes, beliefs and values neither do the followers feel the need to develop a greater sense of commitment and trust in the leader. The focus is mainly on just getting the job done which is the second aspect of leadership outlined earlier from Eisenhower’s quote. Leadership styles can impact or influence follower motivation to a significant extent. Transactional leadership is of the notion that people are motivated by reward and punishment and when the conditions of the exchange process are agreed upon, the followers primarily do what is required of them by the leadership. However, in transformational leadership, the followers are not only motivated by rewards but also by the processes resulting in these rewards (kappen, 2010). Transformational leadership embodies charismatic leadership where followers can be motivated by inspiration and by increasing their level of emotional involvement. To further expatiate on the influence of leadership styles on motivation, the relationship between transactional and transformational and motivation shall be discussed respectively. As discussed earlier, transactional leadership is an exchange process or contractual agreement between leaders and subordinates, in which the subordinates are externally driven to yield results through rewards and punishment. This external drive can be referred to as extrinsic motivation. Transactional leadership based on contingent reward is positively related to the follower’s motivation (Judge amp; Piccolo 2004). By providing contingent reward systems, leaders can motivate their followers to put in their best efforts to yield the desired results. The task assigned to the follower may generally be of no interest but the provision of an external reward could motivate the person to complete the task (kappen, 2010). These external rewards may be monetary or be in the form of good scores etc. This shows that a leader can still get people to do what he wants done even without them actually wanting to do it, as opposed to what Eisenhower’s suggests. Here leadership is not necessarily the art of getting people to do something you want done because they want to, it is the art of getting people to simply do by providing the appropriate reward agreed upon. Hence the reward or avoidance of punishment is the motivator rather than the leader or the task itself. In the case of transformational leadership, the focus is more internal and on the process as a whole and not just the outcome (Kappen, 2010). Internal or intrinsic motivation can be derived from task features such as autonomy, task significance, feedback, task identity, and so on (Houkes et al, 2001). The transformational leader tries to meet the immediate and future intrinsic needs of his subordinates, which are closely related to Maslow’s higher order needs (Maslow 1943). Hence intrinsic motivation plays a key role in this process and this notion is supported by (Barbuto, 2005) who explains that internal or intrinsic motivation encompasses a persons emotions, fun, trust and feeling of self-worth and these are all driven by internal influences which can be ppropriated by transformational behavior. The leader tries to transform the followers’ goals, beliefs and values to align with his and that of the organization and motivates them by positively building up their sense of self-worth and self-efficacy (Shamir et al, 1993). The ability of the leader to achieve this through his charismatic persona and individualized consideration, helps to increase their willingness to do what the leader wants done and to achieve the desired performance levels or outcome. So, drawing from all the points mentioned above, to what extent can Eisenhower’s quote be agreed upon? By identifying two distinct aspects in his statement, this essay has highlighted Eisenhower’s notion of leadership as being the art of getting people to ‘want to do’ and to ‘actually do’ what the leader wants done. This statement holds true so far as these processes are seen as distinct yet not mutually exclusive. Hence, the two processes have been characterized by the transformational and transactional leadership-styles respectively. The transformational leadership-style is associated with the process of getting people to want to do due to the leader’s ability to inspire trust and confidence in his vision as well as his ability to internally motivate people to put in their best efforts to yield the desired outputs. On the other hand, the transactional leadership-style is associated with getting the work done regardless of whether or not the subordinates actually want to do it provided there is an extrinsic reward agreed upon or the avoidance of punishment. Therefore, as long as these two concepts and their associated leadership-styles can be combined and used to complement each other rather than viewed as just separate, this quote can be agreed upon. This means that leadership should not merely be the art of getting people just to do what you want done but also it should involve the processes involved in inspiring and motivating them to actually want to do it and vice versa. When a leader is able to motivate his followers internally and externally with the appropriate rewards and charismatic approach to transforming their behavior, the leadership would tend to be more successful and well aligned to its aims and this balance therefore agrees with Eisenhower’s perspective of leadership.

Design Specification Essays

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Calculate the total bill for the items ordered 6. Apply a discount of 10% for orders over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 7. Add VAT at 17.5% (including a way to alter this if it changes) 8. Calculate the overall cost for the invoice (check it is within the clients credit limit and generate an error message if not) 9. Include a way to process or abort the order 3. Produce an Invoice 1. Generate an invoice from the information input in 2 2. Print out the invoice 3. Update the customer current balance to reflect the new order 4. Update the stock to reflect what has been sold 5. Clear out data from order form ready for next order 4. Update Information 1. Update stock quantity when new stock arrives 2. Update customer current balance when an invoice is paid 5. Produce Required Output 1. Display/print out labels for selected customers name, address, postcode 2. Display data about a current stock item by entering the code. 3. Display/print out a current stock list with values 4. Display graphs, eg Customer balances, stock quantities 5. Display and print invoices see 3.1 B System functions The main functions required are: 1. 1. View Stock 2. Check Stock 3. Print Stock 4. Add New Stock 5. Graph Stock Quantities 6. View Customer 7. Print Address Labels 8. Take an Order 9. Pay Invoices 10. Graph Outstanding Balances A button linked to a macro will be required on the menu for each of these functions. C Sheet Layouts I could have used a separate worksheet for each function, but as some function are quite small the layout below avoids too many sheets. As Excel comes with three work sheets as standard I have decided this will suffice so I will use them as follows. 1. Sheet One Label tag Menu 1. The Main Menu with Macro buttons to all functions listed above 2. Stock Check Function (at least one screen below menu macro to return to menu) 3. Print Label Function (at least one screen below stock macro to return to menu 4. Sheet Two Label tag Data 1. Stock detail (Top part of sheet macro to return to menu) 2. Client Details (Bottom part of sheet macro to return to menu) 3. Sheet Three Label tag Order 1. Order Input Top part of slit screen 2. Invoice Bottom part of split screen D Data Fields Data Sheet Stock field headings required 1. stock code Items stock code 2. bin number a number 3. description description of stock item 4. price each retail price of one item 5. stock value calculated from price each times in stock 6. in stock current quantity in stock 7. new stock input area where new stock can be entered 8. ordered extracted from order form on Order sheet if ordered (IF stock code on invoice = stock code for item, then put in quantity for this item, otherwise do nothing) 9. remaining calculated from in stock add new stock take away ordered Client field headings required 1. S name Clients Surname it is assumed each Surname is unique 2. F name Clients Forename 3. address Clients Address 4. town Clients Town 5. postcode Clients Postcode 6. account balance Balance outstanding on account 7. credit limit Maximum credit for client 8. credit remaining calculated from credit limit take away account balance 9. payments Input area for payments to be entered 10. order value extracted from total on Invoice if this client selected (IF S name on invoice = S Name for this client, then put in invoice total, otherwise do nothing) 11. new balance calculated from account balance add order value take away payments E Macros required 1. Main_Menu this always returns user to the top of the Menu sheet from any part of any worksheet 2. View_Stock takes user to the Stock area of the Data Sheet 3. Check_Stock takes user to the area where this function is located 4. Print_Stock selects the area of the Data sheet containing stock data and prints it 5. Add_New_Stock takes user to stock area of Data sheet and selects the top cell in the new stock column 6. Update_Stock Once new stock is entered it copies the value from the remaining column and pastes it in the in stock column and then clears new stock column. User is then returned to main menu. 7. Graph_Stock takes user to area where graph has been generated and gives option to print the graph 8. Print_Graph selects graph and prints it 9. View_Clients takes user to the Stock area of the Data Sheet 10. Take_Order takes user to the Order Sheet 11. Labels takes user to the area where this function is located displays label for selected client and offers choice to print out label 12. Print_Labels selects and prints label from screen 13. Payment takes user to client area of Data sheet and selects the top cell in the payments column 14. Update_Client Once payment is entered it copies the value from the new balance column and pastes it in the account balance column and then clears payment column. User is then returned to main menu. 15. Graph_Balance takes user to area where graph has been generated and gives option to print the graph 16. Print_Graph2 selects graph and prints it 17. Process_Order Selects and prints out the new Invoice. Triggers Update_Client macro. Triggers Update_Stock macro. Triggers Abort_Order macro. 18. Abort_Order Clears all input cells and returns user to main menu. Possible layout for the Main Menu showing macro buttons F Constraints Assumptions 1. Only 20 items of stock are required 2. Maximum amount of stock held will be 100 3. Only 10 clients are required 4. Clients will have unique names 5. Only up to 5 items will be ordered at any one time 6. VAT is 17.5% 7. Discounts will be 10% on orders over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 G Testing 1 Comprehensive test data will be required to check 1. All outputs are as expected 2. Invalid stock codes are rejected 3. Clients not on file are rejected 4. Order quantity is not over the current stock 5. Printed invoice matches all data input 6. Invoice total is correct. 7. All cells, other than those required for input, are protected 2 Each formula must be tested to ensure it performs correctly 1. Does it perform the correct function? 2. Does it give the correct answer? 3 Each Button must be tested to ensure it functions as expected 1. Check each macro works independently 2. Check different sequence of buttons to ensure one does not effect another

A study investigating the mismatch between the course book and the Literature review

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International human resource management mini - Essay Example Multinational companies often integrate corporate social responsibility into their business model, which regulates the actions of the firm. In short, corporate social responsibility guides a corporation in having a positive impact in all its activities. This impact is based on how the company treats the environment, its consumers, its employees, stakeholders, communities and other members of society. Through corporate social responsibility, companies develop and promote their principles and standards. These principles and standards are for both the internal and external actors. The International Labour Organization (ILO) considers corporate social responsibility as a company’s contribution to promoting decent work agendas to its employees. This principle is central in ILO’s efforts of promoting progress in the economic and social realms (Deakins, 1995, p214). The ILO has set standards for CSR policies, which guide companies in developing their principles Several incidences concerning the violation of working conditions among multinational companies prompted the ILO to promote the improvement of employees working conditions (Sengenberger, 2006, p32). The Bangladesh incident in 2013 resulted in heated discussions concerning the labour standards among workers of multinational companies. This is not the first case where multinational companies have provided poor working conditions for their employees. In the past China and Vietnam have had similar cases, where multinational companies provided sub-standard labour conditions for their employees. The ILO popularized Corporate Social Responsibility as a way of improving the labour standards of multinational companies (Sachdev, 2011, p121). To ensure minimum labour standards are met in international trade, the ILO has integrated a social clause in all trade agreements. However, developing countries oppose this clause despite its

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Aligning Business Strategies and Project Management

Aligning Business Strategies and Project Management Project management has become very important topic all over the world. Literature shows that more than 30 companies fail to accomplish its project with success due to misalignment between business strategies and project management. Many companies face this problem of missing link of business strategies and project management. Alignment is necessary for getting competitive advantage and goals of its business. Top management also play important role in alignment of business strategies and Project management. Keywords: Business strategies, project management, alignment, project portfolio management Introduction: Project management has become very important and also serves as core function in many organizations. Projects are any temporary activities that have starting and finish point, it has performance parameters. Projects face triple constrains (1) time (2) budget and (3) performance. It was assumed that for attainment of organizational goals one has to meet triple constraints of time, budget and performance. Project management plays a vital role in achieving organizational goals and considered as backbone of organization. Project management is knowledge that meets the requirements of projects. Project management plays important role in accomplishing strategies, business goals and desired outcomes. Organizations link their projects with business strategies to achieve the goals and objectives. Strategies are activities that guide and direct the use of the resources to accomplish the organizations vision and goals and sustainable competitive advantage. Mostly these components comprising the strategies of the business like internal analysis, organizational structures, control systems have strong links to project management processes and activities. Project management includes project portfolio management (PPM). PPM is about how organizations controls its projects and align them with business strategies. Many organizations are working on numerous projects and they are conscious to get maximum return of their business. PPM also includes the maximization profit which is main objective of all organization. Basically projects are bases of any organization to build up business strategy and project management relation. When organizations link their projects to their business strategy, they are better able to accomplish their organizational goals. Companies should align their business strategy with the project management action to implement the strategies in the projects. Such alignments are difficult because the objectives of business strategy are sometime not clear and well-communicated with project management. Misalignment may cause an organization to missing goals, communication gap and missing link of business strategy and project management. The lack of alignment of business strategy to the project management leads to the project failure and has adverse effects on organization performance as well. . There is need of systemic approach to align the projects with business strategy. So important in managerial challenges involved that aligning project management and business strategy and encouraging individuals to participate in using emerging strategies to create new ideas and renew existing strategies. Literature indicates that some factors that helps in creating link between business strategy and project management if there is any gap between the bridge of business strategy and project management that should be filled to achieve high returns and competitive advantages. As literature shows that SPL elements such as spirit, strategy, organization, tools and processes that elements should be align between business strategies and project management and in depth understanding of factors that are missing and relationship of these factors with business strategies and project management. Portfolio management play important role in project management and business strategy linking. Implementation of strategies with formulation, receive less attention than formulation so there should be proper emphasis on the implementation as well as. Therefore, this paper examines the linkage between business strategy, project portfolio management, and business success to finish the gap between strategy formulation and implementation and linking them in a bridge. There is seen a lot of importance of project portfolio management in evaluating, prioritizing and selecting projects in line with business strategy. It is choosing the right projects and important part of strategic management in organizations. So there are a few studies exploring single aspects of the linkage between strategies, project portfolio management. Business strategy describes the way in which a firm decides to compete in the market compared to its competitors and close the gap of these strategies with project management. Project Management: Project management has become an important issue for many corporations worldwide. Many implementations of project management have been successful, while others have been considered as failure. Projects in any organization have clearly became a central activity in many companies and considered as a backbone of organization and its success means a lot for an organization to prevail in the competitive arena. A project can be defined as a planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations. Project management is often termed as the science and art of organizing the different project phases which may be launch of new service, a marketing campaign, building a an entire new floor of a building or a wedding. According to Milosevic and Srivannaboon (2006), the essence of project management is to support the execution of an organizations competitive strategy to deliver a desired outcome. Project management is defined as management that supports the execution of an organizations competitive strategy to deliver a desired outcome. Six-step approach can be helpful course that avoids the worst storms: Step 1: Identify the project Step 2: Determine the desired outcome Step 3: Describe each of the projects component tasks Step 4: Identify the key players. Step 5: Determine a time lines for each project component. Step 6: Review, revise and reallocate. Successful initiation of projects and its execution mostly depends upon strategy. Many companies are suffering from misaligned projects and a lack of a systematic approach to align project management with the business strategy. When organizations link their projects to their business strategy, they are better able to accomplish their organizational goals. Project strategy should be related to the projects goals and objectives in order to attain the preferred position in its competitive environment. Business Strategy: Strategy is defined by Patton White (2002) as a comprehensive set of actions or activities, which guide and direct the use of the firms resources to accomplish the organizations vision and goals and enable sustainable competitive advantage. Turning strategy into action to operationalize strategic objectives to achieve competitive advantage includes in the strategic management. Several scholars suggest that the success of project should be considered in the context of the achievement of the strategic goals of the organization (Dietrich Lehtonen, 2005; Kenny, 2006) and that organizations are better able to accomplish their goals when they link their projects to their business strategy. To ensure strategies are translated into actions they should be operational and includes some of the characteristics like structuring an organization to support successful performance and enabling success through the way in which the various resource areas like people, information, Finance, IT, etc. of an organization. Better implementation of strategic plans results in the better performance of sales growth, earnings growth, deposits growth, return on assets, return on equity, return on sales and return on total invested capital than those companies that do not implement their strategic plans. However, in any organization there are different levels of strategies presented by different level of a business which includes Corporate Strategy: It involves high level of strategic decision making and purpose of this strategy is to achieve the expectations of the stakeholders. Business Unit Strategy: The purpose of this strategy is to achieve the competitive advantage for the services and products which are produced and the decisions in this level is concerned with the choice of products, gaining competitive advantage, to meet the needs of the customers and create new opportunities. Operational Strategy: Its concerned with the coordination and improvement of resources which results in the effective and efficient implementation of the business unit level strategy. Implementation of strategies requires actions and completing tasks, and should focus on how to realize these strategies. Implementation must include attention to the following key points: Executing the work requires allocation of resources such as funds, people, and equipment. Organizational resources are limited. Implementation process requires project supportive organizational structure. A project selection and priority system to ensure strong linking between projects and the strategic plan. Managerial challenges involves aligning project management and business strategy which encourages individuals to participate in using emerging strategies to create new ideas and renew existing strategies. There is no such research regarding the framework for aligning project management and business strategy comprehensively. The literature has highlighted that there are many projects which have been executed without implementing the strategies as it has been formulated by executives in the corporations level without the involvement of the project manager. Aligning Business Strategy and Projects: Aligning the companys projects to maximize their contributions to strategic objectives takes a highly coordinated effort. Integration requires a process for prioritizing projects by their contribution to the strategic plan. The organizations to become more competitive, efficient and profitable they will need a business and project management experts working together to attain the business goals. Both, business and project management experts will work towards aligning projects with business strategy. Alignment of business strategy and project management is a major concern for any organization. Such alignments are challenging because the objectives of business strategy are not always clear or well-communicated or consistent with project management actions. Misalignment may cause an organization to miss goals and objectives. Understanding the alignment may be one of the major challenges to effective project management process. Alignment is not a onetime task but it is achieved through p rogression, which demands dominant leadership, top management support, efficient communication, collaborative work environment, trust, proper prioritization, technological setup and comprehensive knowledge about the operations of the business (Luftman, 2000). In order to achieve desired outputs from the selected projects organization should have the ability to build up competencies and then allocate those competences to the preferred projects. To help make sure the corporate projects are aligned to corporate strategy following can be kept in mind: Is the corporation committed to using project management strategically? In most companies, hundreds of projects are underway at any given time so there must be corporate commitment to the art and science of managing projects Is there a policy of formally preparing project charters? Since projects are the means by which corporate strategies are executed, it is critical that they be guided by the original corporate philosophy, strategy, and intent. Project charters are the instrument for doing this. Is there synergy between the business group and those responsible for project implementation? There needs to be early involvement by project implementation people. While this principle may seem sound, the practice of it presents a challenge. First, business planning people may prefer to plan without the help of perceived outsiders. Then, theres a good likelihood that the right project people might not be sitting about just waiting to brainstorm and analyze the early stages of a business proposal. The value for the organization to aligning projects with business strategy in a research by the Athabasca University was conducted in more than 60 organizations around the world and results showed that there were some benefits the organizations which include: Saved money and resources Increased profitability Retained customers Increased market share Prioritizing a project on the bases of its contribution to strategic achievement does not provide guarantee of project success but consistent allocation of resources is also a major task (Hrebiniak, 2006). A key point to make sure the alignment between project management and strategy included as: to carry out the appropriately chosen projects in an efficient ways organizations should make sure that have ability to do deliver the projects and programs. Top management plays a major role in projects alignment. Role of Management: Management is of central importance for the success of projects. Pinto and Slevin (1998) suggested that all the researchers agree that absence of support from management especially top management and by important stakeholder are most important among all other factors. Hacker and Doolen (2007) role of top management was studied in the perspectives of vision of the project and alignment of the scope with business strategy and project sponsorship and its impact on the triple constraint of the project i.e. cost, performance and cost. Researchers various different views about the extent of knowledge of senior managers should be in relation to project management. Some researchers suggest to the technical expertise and knowledge about the projects necessary for senior managers to develop and implement projects. Others felt that determine the line of control and to make available all relevant resources for project managers are the main functions of the senior management. There are different methods of how senior managers can be involved in the project management process. One of the approaches is not to interfere in which the project manager to all the rights of the planning to the implementation of projects. Responsibilities of project managers and executive managers is that project managers are primarily responsible for projects that are being implemented while the executives of the strategic alignment of business functions and projects with the organizations goals. Top managers should possess same skills and expertise as do the project managers Top management must carefully analyze which project should be prioritized in the allocation of resources. Resource allocation is one of the critical parts of the project management. These resources include financial, human and other resources necessary for the successful completion of the projects. Top management should carefully analyze which project should be prioritized in terms of resource allocation. Resources must be allocated to projects that are aligned with corporate strategies of the organization. More simple criteria for prioritizing compliance can be or should do projects should receive the highest priority, then the strategic projects, and then the other. With the start of the training programs, coaching and mentoring for project managers, top management can help build leadership skills, so that they can manage project activities responsibly and effectively. Problems of Alignment: Often projects fail to support business strategies and business goals it is due to the missing link, so that it should be align. Some processes factors that affect the business strategies and projects linking such as communication, top management support, competency of project manager are some of the major factors are the necessary ones to consider which solves or even creates hurdles in the alignment process. Business directors and top management are responsible for the three processes such as business planning, portfolio management and prioritizing projects while the project managers are responsible for the process of planning and executing the projects. Prioritizing projects Portfolio management Business planning Project Project portfolio management, business planning and support of business manager to the project manager while project manager is responsible to handling the projects. Choosing project from the AMCs projects and aligning that project with the business plans and top managers suggestions. When these processes are aligned the strategic elements like goals, objectives, vision, mission, values and norms feeds the portfolio element, the portfolio element feeds the project management element like strategies, organization processes, culture, and the project management element feeds projects and the teams execution of project. But in many cases, these processes are not aligned; as a result, organizations may fail to tie their projects either to their business strategy or to their portfolio, which may cause them to terminate the project or to continue executing projects that do not contribute to the organizations goals, thus wasting important organizational resources. Project Portfolio Management: The project portfolio is defined as a group of projects that compete for scarce resources and are conducted under the sponsorship or management of a particular organization. The three main well-known objectives of portfolio management are, the following: maximizing the value of the portfolio, linking the portfolio to the strategy and the continuous monitoring/assessment of the portfolio. Project portfolio selection is an important management task activity of the organization, the project team should consider all details carefully to enhance performance of organizational assets and customize them with the strategic objectives of the organization, although there are usually several projects available for selection than can be completed within the physical and financial limitations of fixed, so choices must be made to make up a suitable project. Management problems are related to the following factors, selecting, portfolio strategy and appropriate plans. The following reasons can be related with the difficulties on managing, and on selecting, the proper projects to the portfolio a) no relationship between project selection: projects entirely with the organizations strategic goals are not related to the impact on organization performance b) poor quality portfolios: organizations, generally, applicable to underdeveloped ideas for projects selected is not fair quality. To work on the building, d) scarce resources, lack of attention and executive skills, resources properly balance, often causing pressure to multitask ; f) Information overflow and lacking quality of information: Regardless of the quality and sophistication of the portfolio selection and decision tools, it is fundamental to obtain the proper information to make accurate decisions; g) Decision making based in power: Usually the decision is an exercise of power, whi ch means that there may be situations in organizations where decisions tend not to reflect the organizational future success. The portfolio management team is normally concerned and overwhelmed with issues like the prioritization of projects and the continuous distribution of personnel from the different projects to overcome the urgent crises. Although, most of the time, however, there are no resources available and when they were redistributed it often produced negative effects on unexpected places in the project portfolio. Project Selection There are more than one hundred tools and techniques for project portfolio selection hence it is not difficult for organizations to select suitable tools. It is important to adapt or develop an appropriate framework to evaluate project proposals and select a project portfolio which is aligned with the corporate strategy. Recent literature focuses on approaches rather than tools and techniques. Common principles from these approaches can be described as followings: Firstly, they suggest dividing the project proposals into subsets (Englund Graham, 1999; Sommer 1999; Cooper et al., 2001a; Rădulescu1 Rădulescu 2001; and Crawford etal., 2006). Each project subset can be a group of projects which will share the same strategic buck as discussed by Cooper et al (2001a) or different categories of projects which have similar characteristics (Crawford et al., 2005, 2006). This will help the organization easily compare projects by same criteria or same tools and techniques. T his is similarly applicable to ensure the balance of the project portfolio. Framework by Englund Graham (1999) 4 steps producing interrelated outputs make this approach truly systematic. The 4 steps are described as follows: a. What the organization should do: Upon identified to lead the process, the team members start listing newly proposed and on-going projects. They, then, clarify or develop the expected goals of projects, taking into consideration of organizational strategies (vision, mission, objectives) and current as well as potential capabilities (either developed or acquired). It is advisable to classify projects into categories for the benefit of looking at projects from the view of big picture inclusive of out-of- the- box thinking, completeness, gaps, opportunities and compliance with strategy. Projects classified/organized into the strategic buckets (e.g. extent of product change: new- enhancement; and extent of process change: new incremental) enable the team focus efforts on selecting the best set of projects within the categories, which constitute the right and balance mix. In order to facility decision making process, a set of criteria with weight or score reflecting requirements of orga nizational objectives (e.g. market positioning, available capacity, etc.) should be determined, modified and agreed upon for comparison and choices of projects. b. What the organization can do: the team members critically screen and evaluate projects based on consolidation and analysis of current or historical data, as a result certain new projects will be eliminated and ongoing projects will be adjusted or terminated in respect of strategic priorities; availability of resources and technology challenges, etc. The authors describe the critical few with n screen subject to criteria sets agreed upon in step 1 e.g. screen 1- fit to goals; screen 2 market size, competence etc. c. Analyze and decide on projects: based on the comparison between resources available and resources required, projects are analyzed, prioritized and selected. The team should consider opportunity costs, project benefits before costs, return value when making decisions. With the sets of criteria agreed upon in step 1, the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy is recommended. Dedicated resources and contingencies should be committed to ensure the successful implementation of selected projects. Besides, communication loop should be developed and utilized to keep changes updated. d. Implement the plan: staffing and allocating committed resources for implementation selected projects. A database should be created for monitoring, reporting and sharing. The plan is used as a communication tool to help management team and those who are involved quickly respond to change and take corrective actions in terms of identifying new opportunities and leveraging resources. It can be interpreted that completion of the first 3 steps in this process reflects the achievement of the three goals determined in the project portfolio selection by Cooper (2005): step 1 with should representing project portfolio in alignment with strategy; step 2 with can representing portfolio value maximization using most effectively its resource and capability; step 3 analyze and decide representing right balance and mix of projects; and step 4 with implement belonging to the next phase of execution and management in project portfolio management. The 4 steps reveal a loop of continuous stages, which is recognized as systematic approach. Challenges in Project Portfolio Selection Organizations face many problems such as lack of information, unreliable data of cost, time to completion, availabilities of resource, and benefits of projects. Project proposals are randomly arriving, not at one time. This requires the model or process to be flexible so that organizations can select projects without waiting until annual planning meetings. In large organizations with many business units, each business unit has its own list of priority and preferences. Besides, project portfolio selection is not always rational but it is biased by human being factor such as lobbying. People resist when there is absence of strategy or vague strategy or they find difficulties in pursuing the strategies. Changes necessary for the aligning the projects with the strategy might win approval of all the members of the organization, but when it comes to implementation, no one will be ready to take the lead. Ten Reasons why Strategy Implementation Efforts Can Fail: 1. The so-called strategic plan is nothing more than a collection of budgets and vague directions that do not provide clear guidelines for action. 2. The strategy does not correspond to market realities because it has been developed by strategic planners with no grass roots input. 3. The strategy does not enjoy support from and commitment by the majority of employees and middle management because they do not feel consulted in the development of the strategy. 4. Middle management does not think the strategy is the right one, or does not feel it has the requisite skills to implement it, so it sabotages the implementation. 5. Insufficient top management time is spent on communicating about, selling the new strategic direction, and managing the organizational changes involved. 6. No provision is made for developing the new skills and competencies required by the employees successfully to make the transition and operate within the new strategic direction. 7. No provision is made for instituting the appropriate organizational systems for the selection, motivation and reward of people in accordance with the new strategy. 8. No provision is made for creating a close fit or coherence between the business-level strategy and the various functional-level strategies that can operationalize it. 9. There are factions in the organization which disagree with the strategy because if implemented it would reduce their power and influence, so they sabotage it by deliberate actions or inactions. 10. No attempt is made to analyze the culture of the organization and identify Literature review examines four selected models that assist organizations in bridging the gap between organizational strategic objectives and project management: Model #1 Model of strategic project management is comprised of four main aspects of higher-level project management practices: 1. Strategic alignment of project: This practice refers to the extent to which an organization ensures that the projects it pursues are directly tied to the organizational strategy. This is very important in terms to see whether the project going to start is intact with the strategies of the organization for its successful implementation. 2. Project portfolio management. This practice refers to the identification of a project investment categorization scheme to assist the organization with prioritizing projects. Project portfolio management forms one of the building blocks in relating projects to strategy and can be considered as a key driver for aligning projects or programs to organizational objectives. It also helps in prioritizing and in the selection process of a project for its successful alignment. 3. Program management. The Project Management Institute (2004) defines the concept of program management as the centralized coordinated management of groups of projects to achieve the programs strategic objectives and benefits. Program management practices are inherent within the pursuit of strategic project management and are demonstrated as the management of groups of projects and the management of interactions between projects (portfolio coordination). 4. The business results of projects. Since projects are financial investments, organizations should estimate and measure project impacts on organizations from a business results perspective which may include return on investment, sales growth etc. Model #2: Project managers contribute to competitive advantage due to their skills in managing relationships and an organizational willingness to foster these skills and leverage them throughout the organization, and learn from them how to manage people and relationships across organizational functions and boundaries. Greens model of strategic project management is based on the constructs of competitive advantage, strategic capabilities and tacit knowledge management. Model #3: Model suggests that adopting strategic project management to select, manage and support multiple projects gives companies the best chance of moving the organization forward by keeping the company vibrant in the marketplace and returning maximum value for shareholders. Further, it identifies the following key characteristics of strategic project management: 1. Alignment of the following key business processes: strategic planning, strategic goal setting, and enterprise project management 2. Functions as a well-managed portfolio of investments as it: (a) allows for the most effective use of constrained resources; (b) ensures a high return on investment since projects are managed collectively; (c) it maintains alignment between the projects and the organizations short, medium and long term goals 3. A new management process embedded between strategic planning and project execution that manages project investments strategically and combines business planning and management with project management best practices Model #4: The term strategic project management as the management of those projects which are of critical importance to enable the organization as a whole to have competitive advantage There is a gap between aligning project management competencies to the selection of projects that will give organizations a competitive edge. Specifically, strategy is formulated at the senior management level and for it to be implemented; it should be broken down into discrete projects. Project management becomes a source of competitive advantage when an organization outperforms other companies through the experience and knowledge built up over time through managing projects. Also, project management yields competitive advantage through the actual selection and prioritization of projects that organizations engage in and secondly, through implementation and execution of the projects. Furthermore, project portfolio management is essential and the prioritization of projects should be based

Media Propaganda and Stereotypes Essay -- Media Stereotypes Stereotypi

Our society consists of consumers that buy into stereotypes and the propaganda that is being fed by the government and the media. Stereotypes steer individual's perceptions of a group of people in a certain way, usually negative, and generalize that opinion to all members of the group. Aware of the influence stereotypes have on people's views, governments use stereotypes already imbedded in society as a propaganda tactic to persuade people's thoughts, opinions and beliefs in order to benefit their cause. The media was used for disseminating stereotypes the effect violent music has on teenager's behaviours such as in the shootings at Columbine. After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government used the media as an outlet to emphasize Muslim stereotypes to influence people to support the invasion of Iraq. Stereotypes and other propaganda techniques such as "name-calling, manicheanism, and censorship" are powerful instruments used in propaganda, because it tactfully influences the pop ulation to think in the way that the government and media want them to think (Shah, 2003). However, its success depends on how strong the stereotypes are instilled in society, how well they are maintained within propaganda and if the public is unaware of the propaganda techniques used. Propaganda is most often used during times of conflict, such as the most recent example regarding the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. When news broke out all over the media that the terrorists responsible for the atrocity were of Muslim origin, many racist individuals probably thought 'it figures.' Ever since the fact that Saddam Hussein "used chemical weapons to poison tens of thousands Kurds in 1988" was exposed to the public via the media, t... ...1402>, consulted on March 30, 2004. Mediascope (2000). "Youth and Violent Music." Online at: http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/yvm.htm, consulted on March 29, 2004. Poiesis.org (1997). "The Peace Journalist Option." Online at: http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Propaganda/Iraq.asp, consulted on March 28. SCHECHTER, Danny (2001). "Covering Violence: How Should Media Handle Conflict?" mediachannel.org. Online at: http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/coveringviolence.shtml, consulted on March 27, 2004. SHAH, Anup (2003). "War, Propaganda and the Media." Global Issues. Online at: http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Military.asp, consulted on March 27, 2004. The Disaster Center (2000). "Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: Stop the Violence, Remember Littleton." Online at: http://www.cnn.com/video, consulted on April 1, 2004.