Managing Change for Competitive Success

This paper explores two concepts that have been studied in due course; personality and change. The paper begins by defining the concepts and then goes ahead to provide a summary of them. In addition, the paper will give data outlining a problem related to one of the concepts. Moreover, the paper will give a summary of findings and offer recommendations for change where applicable.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Change for Competitive Success specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Personality Personality refers to consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within an individual† (Burger 2010, p. 4). Notice that there are two aspects to it. Part one is concerned with consistent patterns of behavior. These represent the individual differences. An important feature of personality is consistency. People can observe these consistent patterns of behavior across time and situations. The second part is concerned with the intrapersonal processes. In contrast to interpersonal processes, which take place between people, intrapersonal processes take place within individuals. They include emotional, motivational and cognitive processes, and they determine how people react or feel. The manner in which people use these processes and how they interact with individual differences determines the overall character of an individual. These consistent behavior patterns and intrapersonal processes originate within an individual. However, this does not mean that external factors do not affect an individual’s personality. According to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) model, which rests on the personality theory of Carl Jung, personality assumes the following (Howard, P Howard, J 2002): Personality hangs on four dimensional framework; scores of each dimension fall along a binomial distribution and the judger dimension is a key determinant of a person’s preferences. On the other hand, the five factor model (FFM) or the big five model is based on experience and not theory. â€Å"FFM relies on the following: personality has five dimensions, scores of dimension fall along a normal distribution, personality is best described by individual traits rather than types, and the strength of the scores indicates preferences† (The Big Five 2012). FFM has been widely accepted in the academic and psychology communities. It has been employed in team building and employee selection. Job analysis, customer service, management and leadership development, coaching and counseling; career development, conflict management and training design have all benefitted from FFM. Pro FFM model experts identified five correlated groups of behaviors, each of which exists along a continuum.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They are negative emotionality, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion. Negative emotionality determines an individual’s capability to withstand stress. Those who have negative emotionality experience many negative emotions and report less satisfaction with life. They are reactive and lack resilience. Since they are susceptible to emotions and show discontent with life, individuals with negative emotionality end up as social scientists, academicians, or customer service professionals (Howard, P Howard, J 2002). On the other end, those individuals without low, negative emotionality tend to be resilient and experience life on a more rational level than others. In addition, responsive individuals fall in the middle range of negative emotionality continuum. Responsive individuals demonstrate a mix of resilient and reactive qualities. The extraversion factor describes one’s comfort level with relationships. Extraverts spend much of their time maintaining and enjoying many relationships. Extrav erts tend to lead, talk and exert themselves physically more often than other people. Such people are usually friendly and outgoing. However, introverts have few relationships and spend a little time with them. Most extroverts find themselves in arts, politics sales and social sciences. On the contrary, introverts take up managerial roles or end up as physical and natural scientists (Howard, P Howard, J 2002). Between the extremes are ambiverts who move comfortably between social and solitary situations. Openness addresses one’s range of interests. Extremely open people (explorers) are fascinated by novelty and innovation. Explorers describe themselves as more introspective and reflective than most people describe themselves. The individuals with explorer profile usually take roles in entrepreneurial, architectural, theoretical, physical and social fields (Howard, P Howard, J 2002). Those who are less open have narrower interests, appear more conventional, and find comfort in the familiar. Such individuals are seen to be conservative. They assume roles in management and applied science. Between explorers and preservers are moderators. Moderators find too much novelty tiresome and too much of the status quo boring. On the other hand, agreeableness refers to a persons’ propensity to differ with others. An adapter refers to a person who is easily agreeable. Individuals with adaptor profiles are usually found in professions like teaching, social work and psychology (Howard, P Howard, J 2002). At the extreme end, adaptors (tender minded) can become dependent personalities who lose their sense of self. Such people value harmony more than they prize having their say or their way.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Change for Competitive Success specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other hand, challengers focus more on their needs or norms and not on those of others. Challengers usually take roles in advertising and business management fields or the military (Howard, P Howard, J 2002). Challengers (tough minded) can become antisocial, authoritarian, narcissistic or paranoid personalities who have lost their sense of feeling for others. Moreover, conscientiousness refers to a number of goals that one focuses. A highly conscientiousness person is focused and purses fewer goals in a purposeful way. A highly focused person may end up being a workaholic. Such people serve as leaders and executives. A person with low conscientiousness pursues many goals in a spontaneous, scattered way. Flexibles tend to be less focused on goals and are more hedonistic. Such individuals lack control over their impulses. They do not necessarily work less than focused people, but they direct less of their work to specific goals (Howard, P Howard, J 2002).â€Å"The big five vocabulary enables people to communicate constructively about their personality differences† (Howard, P Howard, J 2002, p. 34). The model offers a comprehensive source metaphor that celebrates the fullness of human personality. Managers are expected to have a strong personality in order to cope up with work related stress and other responsibilities. The position of a manager in the present day comes with huge responsibilities and stress. Nowadays, managers are expected to produce results in spite of the challenges at hand. Managers are supposed to devise solutions to challenges that keep on arising at the place of work. Such challenges may include limited budget, reassignment of staff, reorganization of units, withdrawal of finance, government policies, employees’ demands and unavailability of resources. Change â€Å"Change management means to plan, to initiate, to realize to reflect and to stabilize fundamental and far reaching processes† (Recklies 2012, p.1). Change management aims at short term and long term basis of effective changes of behavior patterns and abil ities, in order to optimize processes and communication structures. Thus, an integrative approach to the reorganizations is necessary. Change management is the strategy of planned and systematic change, which is achieved by the influence of the organizational structure, corporate culture and individual behavior; and requires the participation of employees.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More â€Å"In the broader sense, change management is a theoretical concept, which is given to the organization from the outside† (change management 2012, p. 1). Therefore, â€Å"the objectives of change are developed from external advisors (change agents) whereas; the employees are involved on a limited scale with decision making and the conversion of the concept† (change management 2012, p. 1). Balogun and Hailey (2002) argue that change is becoming a way of life for most organizations and managers. Studies done in 1980s, and 1990s indicate that many organizations have been undertaking many types of change including culture change, total quality management, business process re-engineering, and downsizing and delayering. However, many change initiates have not been effective, and organizations are in the process of developing managers who can manage change with a lot of ease (Charan 2006). Managers require context sensitivity (Balogun and Hailey). Contest sensitivity is th e ability to understand the context someone is working in and, it enables one to devise approaches to change that will be effective in that context. Thus, successful change requires a context sensitive approach (Balogun and Hailey 2002). They ague that change can be effected using a framework called change kaleidoscope. The tool enables managers to have a rigorous analysis of the context, a consideration of a range of implementation options, a valuation of one’s own preferences, and how this limits the options to be considered and development of change judgment. In order to design change plan, change implementers should use the organization’s context to guide the approach selected. Change kaleidoscope relies on the definition of contextual constraints and enablers. They are Time: the speed with which change is to be achieved. Scope: the extent of change required in terms of transformation and realignments, within the parts of the organization affected by the changes. P reservation: the extent to which it is necessary to maintain continuity in certain practice. Diversity: the degree of diversity in terms of values, norms and attitudes among the groups of staff affected by the change. Capability: level of competence for managing change. Capacity: the amount of money available to invest in the change, human resource availability and managerial time. Readiness for change: the extent to which employees understand the need for the anticipated change. Power: relies on the change initiator, implementer and other influential stakeholders. In addition, change kaleidoscope entails the definition of implementation options. This involves change type, change start point, change style, change target, change roles and change interventions. Balogun and Hailey (2002) encourage organizations seeking change to follow three steps. The organization should assess the contextual constraints and enablers, determine change parts and use contextual features to inform the ch oices to be taken. Charan (2006) argues that in order for large corporations to achieve major and permanent changes in business performance, they must create a sustainable change in culture. â€Å"Understanding the contextual constraints and enablers is key to understanding the type of change an organization is able to undertake as opposed to the type of change it needs to undertake† (Balogun Hailey 2002). According to Kneer (2009), the implementation of change management takes place in seven steps. The first step involves the creation of consciousness for an urgent need for change by conducting a deeper analysis. The market and the competitive position are examined followed by an evaluation of the possible chances or risks for the business (Beer Nohria 2000). The second step involves the development of visions, aims and strategy. A team that handles this step should be competent enough, and have sufficient conviction and power to design the change. The compiled visions and strategies are communicated in the company during the third step. The change agents need to be cautious of their responsibility, and they should exemplify things. They should state clearly what employees are supposed to do. The fourth step involves subdividing the project into smaller subprojects. If the subprojects are completed, employees will start to have a feeling of success. This positively supports the remaining processes. In the fifth step, it is important to align existing structures in the company to a modified business environment. It is advisable to allow employees to participate in the reorganization. The sixth and seventh steps involve the establishment of the change management. This is accomplished through structures, appropriate training, of the employees via the new projects which keeps the changes process alive. The last step also involves ingraining the new behavior in the social standards and values. In order to achieve optimal results, the change process should be goal oriented. The reasons as to why the organization is undergoing change should be clearly stated. The starting point should also be clearly defined. It should be specified how the success of the objectives is going to be measured qualitatively and quantitatively. Thus, proper measurement instruments should be put in place. The change process will succeed if it fully involves the employees. In fact, this will increase their motivation and enhance their identification with the company. To achieve this, they should be involved in the analysis stage so that they can understand the background. In addition, employees should be adequately trained so that they can master all assigned tasks technically. Appropriate training can be essential in adjusting existing deficits, minimize the fear of the employees concerning new tasks and enhance the willingness for the change. In order to realize the success of the change process, both the management style and the organization should change. Change processes present learning experiences and participants might be challenged, but not overstrained (Barger Kirby 1995). Sufficient time should be given to employees to process individual work procedures. The implementers of the change process should be ready to encounter resistance to change by some employees. However, this can be minimized by engaging them fully in the change process (Pettigrew Whipp 1991). Therefore, to understand problems related to these concepts, the paper focuses on a scenario in which a manager aged 35 years, faces change related challenges. The manager is heading a mining company of Asian origin that has 5000 employees globally and is worth $10 billion. The company is semi private because the biggest shareholder is the ministry of economics. The company faces a challenge regarding exploration activity. People within the company have differing options regarding the amount investment that should be allocated for exploration, development, production an d asset acquisition. Initial investments had failed to produce expected results. The existing proportion of investment allocation aims at allocating 30% to the exploration activities. Out of the 3O% one third goes to XYZ (home country)/domestic exploration, and the remaining is allocated to overseas exploration. 60% of the investment has been diverted to development activities and the remaining 10% finances production activities and asset acquisition. A summary of the Findings Action plan 1: to maintain exploration activities on the same level as allocated in the previous year which saves cash dividend to shareholders and stops concentrated investment in a single project. The contents: It is same as the proportion of existing investment allocation; however, it takes some reduction of the amount of cash dividend to shareholders when compared with last year’s performance-based profit sharing. The activity of shifting dividend from international exploration production companies to shareholders is relatively acceptable. This is because of high risk business and using the cash coming from reduced dividend for exploration activities. In addition, the company does not seek to take more than 25% interest of any exploration activities. Action plan 2: aims at shifting to domestic exploration activities and reducing international exploration activities while maintaining the same proportion of investment allocated in the previous year. It is the same proportion of existing investment allocation; however, the investment allocation at domestic and international exploration activity is different. Based on the historical success rate, the domestic exploration activities are higher than international’s. Although the exploration activity is a gamble regardless of its location, the degree of domestic gamble and overseas gamble is different from probability point of view. The company has a lot of domestic exploration experience. The company has a solid grasp of the geological data and geomorphologic features. Nonetheless, the scale of domestic oil and gas fields is smaller than the international’s scale because of geomorphologic features when compared with the Middle East and Oceania region. In view of the above circumstances, the degree of the basic risk of domestic and international exploration activity do not make much difference. Action plan 3: The summary is to reduce 10% of overall exploration activities and to raise the 10% finance to international oil gas assets acquisition. The proportion of investment allocation is composed of 20% for exploration activity, 60% for development activity and 20% for production activity and asset acquisition. Basically, exploration activity is a gamble. Reducing 10% of exploration activity makes sense in order to shift investment to much reliable oil gas asset acquisition. This also contributes to the improvement of the company’s cash flow, making profits and collecting invested cash ear ly for the next available investment in exploration activities. Recently, there have been a lot of asset acquisition opportunities mainly from companies in same industries, strategic business partners in different industries, XYZ government and investment banks. The price of the oil gas assets used in the production is used in calculating oil recoverable reserve, reserve-production ratio, and current market oil price. Usually, the profit coming directly from the acquired assets only is not big. However, there are synergetic effects through reducing operating costs, discounting insurance, procuring oil producing equipments and applying geological data efficiently to flush out more oil. Recommendations for change The organization should understand that in order to realize maximum benefits from the mining activities, there is a need for change. Therefore, to implement this change, the organization should follow the three steps postulated by Balogun and Hailey (2002). The organization should assess the contextual constraints and enablers, determine change parts and use contextual features to inform the choices to be taken. References Barger, J. Kirby, K. 1995, The Challenge of Change in Organizations, Davis Black, California. Beer, M. Nohria, N. 2000, ‘Cracking the Code of Change’, Harvard Business Review Journal, Vol. 1 no. 23 p. 133-145. Burger, J. 2010, Personality, Cengage Learning, Sydney. Change Management 2012. Web. Charan 2006, ‘Home Depot’s Blue Print for Culture Change’, Harvard Business Review Journal, Vol. 1 no. 14, p. 61-70. Balogun, J. and Hailey, V. 2002, ‘Devising Sensitive Approaches to Change: The Example of Glaxo Wellcome’, Long Range Planning Journal, Vol. 32, no. 24, p. 153-178. Howard, P. and Howard, J. 2002, Buddy, Can You Paradigm? EBSCO, Massachusetts. Kneer, C. 2009, Change Management: enhance the ability to survive. GRIN Verlag, Munich. Pettigrew, M. Whipp, R. 1991, Managing Change for Co mpetitive Success, Oxford Press, Oxford. Recklies, O. 2012, Managing Change: definition and phases in change processes. Web. The Big Five 2012. Web. This essay on Managing Change for Competitive Success was written and submitted by user Davian Reed to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

20 Argumentative Essay Topics Fresh Ideas about Conflicts and How to Manage Them

20 Argumentative Essay Topics Fresh Ideas about Conflicts and How to Manage Them If you need a topic on conflict resolution, consider the 20 argumentative essay topics below: Integrating Diversity While Managing Group Conflicts Methods for Workplace Conflict Management Listening to and Learning from Conflicts Maintaining Privacy among Workplace Conflict How Autocratic Leadership Styles Manage Conflict How Transactional Leadership Styles Manage Conflict The Role of Power in Conflict Management How Bureaucratic Leadership Styles Manage Conflict How Charismatic Leadership Manages Conflict How Servant Leadership Manages Conflict The Transitory Nature of Conflict Management How Transformational Leadership Manages Conflict How Task-Oriented Leadership Manages Conflict Mitigating Poor Productivity with Better Conflict Management How People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership Manages Conflict How Laissez-Faire Leadership Manages Conflict Limitations to Conflict Management in the Modern Workplace How Democratic/Participative Leadership Manages Conflict How Effective Leaders Manage Team Based Conflicts Leadership and Team Conflict Management Sample Argumentative Essay on Leadership and Team Conflict Management Leadership brings with it many responsibilities and one of those responsibilities is team conflict management. As a leader or manager, you will find workplace conflict no matter where you are working or who is working with/for you. It is up to you to help address it. As a manager, the role includes reporting, monitoring, communicating, recording, measuring, and identifying. The most basic job description would be governance. Governance is the act of administration or ruling. The governor, or manager in this case, is the one in charge of such actions. The term governance originated in the late fourteenth century and has an oddly suited applicability to managerial styles, particularly extreme styles. In the corporate structure, the term governance relates to consistent management, one which remains cohesive to policies, offers guidance, and assumes the responsibility for processes of correct decision making. This can include, for example, evolving internal investment or policies on the use of data for which the manager is responsible. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the word governance expanded in its definition thanks to financial textbook publications. Now, within the corporate structure, the governance refers to a set of policies, customs, or processes which directly affect the manner in which people administer, direct and control the corporation. This also refers to the relationships between key members of the institution such as managers and the corporate goals. Managers carry a large burden of responsibility on their shoulders which, if not done properly, can lead to extremes rather than balanced work environments and behaviors. By poorly governing or not maintaining strict adherence to the rules of the company, managers can create poor work environments and hinder workplace relationships which will lead far from business success (Martindale, 2011, p. 33). Good leaders must be able to motivate their employees and if employees have conflicts, great leaders must be self-aware and able to work with those involved to solve the issue and not avoid it. Interpersonal conflicts within the workplace will not go away if they are ignored. In fact, they will get worse. If leaders avoid the existing conflicts, the employees can lose respect for their leaders. In conflicts, it is important to remain calm. It is imperative that individuals keep their head, even if those around them are not doing the same. Staying calm, especially when provoked, can help to keep the process of conflict management an easy one. Maintaining moral high ground is just as important in the workplace. Good leaders know that when conflict arises among their employees or their team members, it is important not to lose control, not to pull rank, and not to give up the moral high ground. It is much more effective for calm control to be commonplace, and it makes for a significantly better place from which to negotiate conflicts. Handling conflict should involve working with human resources. These individuals are specifically equipped with managing employee conflicts and they work well as objective third parties. In more delicate business situations having this sounding board for discussions, this objectivity can really offer reasonable counsel to whom all involved parties refer. This is why so many companies employ highly trained HR representatives. As a conflict resolution leader or manager, it is important to document the conflict meticulously. If a report is filed by one person, it is important to avoid getting into future discussions about the dispute that are accusatory in nature â€Å"he said/she said† and to focus instead on referring to the detailed documentation filed by the business. This also provides legal protection for the company and for the individuals involved in the matter. In managing conflict it is important for participates to set aside the idea of beating the other person, provin g them wrong, or winning the argument. Defeating the â€Å"enemy† is not the role of managing conflict. Rather, the conflict should be resolved in a constructive and expeditious fashion. It requires closure from all parties and move forward in the workplace without the conflict lingering. That said, there are many leadership styles out there and each one offers something unique for different workplace situations. Some are more appropriate than others. But in all cases, it is important to manage conflicts promptly and to manage them well. This is best done by integrating the most effective overall leadership style with whatever existing leadership trends are effective in the existing workplace. The most effective leadership is known as transformational leadership, where leaders with a great deal of integrity, drive and charisma, inspire people with a shared vision of development, charting out clear goals to achieve those ends and motivating people to perform towards realizing that shared vision. Note here that one style of leadership does not suit every operation and organization and one must hence adapt ones leadership style to suit the requirements of your operation. By doing this, workplace conflicts can be resolved promptly and effectively by the leaders, ensuring better workplace relationships and respect for workplace authority. References: Eunson, Baden.  Conflict Management. Milton, Australia: John Wiley Sons, 2007. Print. Foster, D.E. (2002). A Method of Comparing Follower Satisfaction with the Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez-faire Styles of Leadership..  Communication Teacher  16  (2): 4–6. Kindler, Herbert S.  Conflict Management. [Rochester, N.Y.]: Axzo Press, 2009. Print. Kindler, Herbert S.  Managing Disagreement Constructively. Menlo Park, Calif.: Crisp Publications, 1996. Print. Martindale, N (2011). Leadership Styles: How to handle the different personas.  Strategic Communication Management  15  (8): 32–35. Raines, Susan.  Conflict Management For Managers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print. Woods, A.P. (2010). Democratic leadership: drawing distinctions with distributed leadership.  International Journal of Leadership in Education  7  (1): 3–36. Van Slyke, Erik J.  Listening To Conflict. New York: AMACOM, 1999. Print.

The Tyranny of Choice - Barry Schwartz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Tyranny of Choice - Barry Schwartz - Essay Example rilliantly in his essay by first mentioning everyday choices so a clear picture is formed in the readers’ minds and then he channels the focus to his real purpose of critiquing too many choices in the education system. Schwartz begins with common examples to elaborate his point for two main reasons. First, he wants to establish familiarity among readers. They should be able to relate what Schwartz has to say. Everyone eats or knows cereal flavors and watches cable TV channels, not everyone is in college though. Second, he wants to point out that the explosion of choice is not only limited to the field of education. Be it food, fashion, entertainment or travelling, everyone has too many choices in every niche. It is not just the common examples that make the essay more agreeable, it is the common logic presented in it beautifully that makes it worth a read. Schwartz never says that choice itself is bad. A little choice is very healthy and almost essential for a healthy society. The way society has progressed showed that people were getting happier when they had two TV channels instead of one. Similarly one flavor of ice-cream will certainly bore anyone if fed every day. So the simple logic would be more choice makes people happier. But studies show (as mentioned in the essay) that people are happier when they had ‘some’ choice. David Myres, Robert E. Lance and Gregg Easterbook have conducted a study that shows a happiness decline of 5% (compared to 1974) among people despite bombarding them with so many choices (Schwartz 835-36). Another study suggests that people are less likely to purchase when they can choose from 30 flavors of jams compared to choosing from a total of six flavors (Schwartz 836). The approach of essay is also necessary to asnwers the ‘why’ behind the declining happiness. Without giving examples from everyday life early on this clarity of presentation would not have been possible. The hypothesis of Schwartz’s own investigation into

Business Plan for an Eastern European Juice Beverage (kompot) in the Research Paper

Business Plan for an Eastern European Juice Beverage (kompot) in the US - Research Paper Example American health conscious diets have been on the rise over the past twenty years. IBIS’s healthy eating index projects a 3% from about 66% in 2014 to about 69% in 2019. The healthy eating index is a â€Å"percentage of a recommended diet that an average American consumes. The percentage represents the degree that the average American adheres to the consumption guidelines set out by the US Department of Agriculture that are regularly updated every five years. The last recommended diet was released in 2010.† The current juice market is composed of 57% citrus juice, 5.1% vegetable juices, and 37.9% non-citrus juices. The rising price of citrus fruits has caused health-conscious juice consumers to explore alternative non-citrus juices. Many of these non-citrus juices, focus on decreasing the amount of sugar infused into each serving. Natural fructose is preferred by health-conscious families as opposed to corn syrup or a large quantity of cane sugar. Many of these non-citrus juices are exotic fruit based. Additionally, with the decline of the demand for carbonated drinks, the demand for juices, particularly non-citrus exotic fruit juices will rise. Therefore, if logistics, distribution, and costs are optimal, there may be room for an exotic non-citrus juice. However, the juice industry comes with many difficulties. It is positively correlated with the rise or fall of disposable income. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 significantly impacted the buying power of families, therefore decreased their spending on commodities, such as juice. It is unknown when the recession will take place, so it is paramount a new beverage company takes a potentially fatal macroeconomic effect into its planning. FDA regulations have also been stricter in recent years. With the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2011, the government is taking a more preventative stance than a responsive stance on importing food safe to eat. Some produce will be returned to the

Response paper to Ian Hodder’s “Ethics and Archaeology” Essay Example for Free

Response paper to Ian Hodder’s â€Å"Ethics and Archaeology† Essay Ian Hodder’s article, â€Å"Ethics and Archaeology: The Attempt at Eatalhoyuk,† basically discusses in detail the different roles that archaeologists assume during an excavation and also their ethical obligation and duty to the different communities on the site. Hodder claimed that the roles of archaeologists are not only limited to studying human culture through unearthing, recovering, documenting, analyzing, and interpreting remains, historical objects, artifacts, and landscapes. In addition, he also claimed that they do not also work solely to serve the interest of their benefactors and sponsors. Rather, Hodder stated that archaeologists have bigger roles and wider responsibilities to the different sectors of the excavation site. In short, aside from the interest of their sponsors and other organizations that fund the digs, Hodder believes that it is also the duty of archaeologists to reach to the multiple communities, interest groups, or stakeholders of any excavation site. In his paper, Hodder mainly focused his arguments on the Eatalhoyuk excavation site where is the director of the archaeological dig. According to him, the stakeholders of most sites can be narrowed to four: the politicians, the local residents, the New Age Goddess followers, and the artists. Hodder noted each of these communities has its own agenda or interest and it is part of the archaeologist’s duty to somehow satisfy them. One of the stakeholders that are common to almost all archaeological sites is the politicians or those in the seat of power. Generally, based on Hodder’s paper, all politicians support archaeological digs have their own agenda or interests. These may involve governors, mayors, or government representatives from the surrounding area of the site. Hodder claimed that although a lot of these politicians hail the archaeological site for its richness in history, culture, and identity, among others, their interests mainly lie on a single thing— widespread publicity. While the politicians’ desire to be seen on television or read on the newspapers is normal, Hodder stressed that it is the archaeologist’s role to limit the ways in which they use the site for their personal motives. He also stated that archaeologists should also verify every piece of information that a politician gives to the public about the site. For example, there are certain politicians who claim to be descendants of the site’s residents and speak about his or her origins. In this case, it is the archaeologists’ responsibility to verify these claims and ensure that they are true. Another community that has its own interests is the local residents. According to Hodder, in general, these residents, who have low incomes and limited education, mainly have practical concerns such as earning money for helping in the excavation. However, they are also concerned about the history of the sites and how they contributed to their identity. In this regard, Hodder stated in his paper that is archaeologists job to educate them about their cultural history and identity using solid evidence found on the digs. In turn, these local residents may relate their personal experiences from living in the site’s environment to tourists and researchers as these are helpful information. The New Age Goddess groups, on the other hand, mainly go to excavation sites, such as in Eatalhoyuk, to pray and to practice their beliefs which are in honor of their Goddess, which was a highly significant figure in the past. Their main concerns, according to Hodder, would mostly be regarding the history of the Goddess and the role of women in the Eatalhoyuk’s past. Thus, the archaeologists should try to address these concerns and provide evidence that would show how women lived in the communities of Eatalhoyuk thousands of years ago. By doing so, Hodder surmised that this would not only serve the Goddess’ groups interests but also avoid any misinformation regarding the site’s history. Finally, another sector that has shown significsnt interest in Eatalhoyuk is the artists group. Hodder noted that over the past years, more and more artists have arrived at Eatalhoyuk mainly to create works about the site. However, he claimed that there are also certain artists who help in the interpretation, reconstruction, and visualization of the art objects found in the site. Hodder stated that the main concern of this group is whether the objects unearthed during digs and excavations could be considered art or not. Meaning to say, most of these artists are particularly interested in identifying and describing the works of art recovered from sites. In this regard, the archaeologists involved, according to Hodder, should ensure that these works of art or aesthetic objects are verified to be genuine using past studies and other evidence found on the site. Certain artists also inquire about the role that art played in the history of Eatalhoyuk and it is the archaeologist’s duty to satisfy those questions to the best of his or her abilities. In short, what Hodder was trying to point out in his paper was that archeologists should always consider the agenda and interests of all the groups and sectors concerned during an excavation as it reaps greater rewards and is also more ethical than serving only personal interests. Personally, I agree with Hodder’s claims in his paper. His use of historical evidence and real life situations make his arguments very convincing. I also think it is unethical for archaeologists to go on digs mainly to become famous or serve their own interests only. Rather than setting one agenda, I believe it is important to work with different communities as exemplified by Hodder’s work in Eatalhoyuk as there are greater things at stake. Since archaeologist’s experiences firsthand what it’s like to be in an excavation site or dig, he or she should use his or her knowledge and skill to verify all the information and answer all the questions surrounding an archaeological site. This is not only professional obligation but also an ethical duty. Works Cited Hodder, Ian. â€Å"Ethics and Archaeology: The Attempt at Eatalhoyuk. † Near Easter Archaeology 65 No. 3 (2002): 174-181.

Conflict Between Church and Government Involving Thomas Becket and Henry II :: essays research papers

In Medieval England the Church was all powerful. The fear of going to Hell was very real and people were told that only the Catholic Church could save your soul so that you could go to Heaven. The head of the Catholic Church was the pope based in Rome. The most important position in the church in Medieval England was the Archbishop of Canterbury and both he and the king usually worked together. A king of England could not remove a pope from his position but popes claimed that they could remove a king by excommunicating him - this meant that the king’s soul was condemned to Hell and people then had the right to disobey the king. For people in England , there was always the real problem - do you obey the king or the pope ? In fact, this was rarely a problem as both kings and popes tended to act together as both wanted to remain powerful. On two occasions they fell out - one involved the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, and the other Henry VIII. In 1162, Henry II, king of England, appointed Thomas Becket, as Archbishop of Canterbury. This was the most important religious position in England. No-one was surprised by Henry’s choice as both he and Thomas were very good friends. They enjoyed hunting, playing jokes and socialising together. Becket was known to be a lover of wine and a good horse rider. Henry II loved to ride as well but his personality was troubled by his fearsome temper. He tried to keep his temper under control by working very hard as it distracted him from things that might sparked off his temper. Henry II also controlled a lot of France at this time. William the Conqueror had been his great-grandfather and he had inherited his French territories as a result of this. When Henry was in France sorting out problems there, he left Becket in charge of England - such was his trust in him. Becket became Henry’s chancellor - the most important position in England after the king. When the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1162, Henry saw the chance to give his close friend even more power by appointing him Archbishop of Canterbury - the most important church position in England. Why would Henry do this ? In Henry’s reign, the Church had its own courts and any member of the Church could decide to be tried in a Church court rather than a royal court.

Project Management and Project Management It

Examination Paper: Project Management IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper Project Management Section A: Objective Type (30 marks) †¢ †¢ †¢ This section consists of multiple choices questions and short answer type questions. Answer all the questions. Part One questions carry 1 mark each and Part Two questions carry 5 marks each. Part One: Multiple choices: 1. During _________formal tools and techniques were developed to help and manage large complex projects. a. 1950s b. 1980s c. 1920s d. 1990s 2. PERT stands for: a. Program Evaluation and Reverse Technique b.Progress Evaluation and Review Technique c. Program Evaluation and Review Technique d. None of the above 3. The most basic model of any Operating System is: a. Project Model b. Input-output model c. Output-input model d. None of the above 4. Overall complexity = a. Organizational complexity*resource complexity*technical complexity b. Organizational complexity+technical complexity-resource comple xity c. Technical complexity+resource complexity/organizational complexity d. Organizational complexity*resource complexity/technical complexity 5.Relevant areas of the APM body of knowledge are: a. Quality Management b. Budgeting and cost Management c. Project Cost Management d. Both ‘a’ and ‘b’ MM. 100 1 IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper: Project Management 6. Costs associated with the planning process include: a. Planer’s tools b. Opportunity cost c. Planned labour and associated expenses d. All of the above 7. CPA stands for: a. Critical Path Analysis b. Common Path Analysis c. Critical Path Algorithm d. Common Problem Analysis 8. The project duration with the normal activity time is ____days. . 11 b. 16 c. 17 d. 21 9. The nature of the work organization is important as it: a. Defines responsibility and authority b. Outlines reporting arrangements c. Determines the management overhead d. All of the above 10. Matrix Managemen t was invented by a. Mullins b. Belbin c. Drucker d. Frederick Taylor Part Two: 1. 2. 3. 4. Define ‘Cost Estimating Techniques’. Write a note on ‘Critical Path Analysis’. Differentiate between General Management and Project Management. What is ‘Team Life Cycle’? END OF SECTION A 2 IIBM Institute of Business ManagementExamination Paper: Project Management Section B: Caselets (40 marks) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ This section consists of Caselets. Answer all the questions. Each Caselet carries 20 marks. Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). Caselet 1 It’s a Risky Business Four friends wanted to start a business. After much discussion, they had hit upon the idea of launch a mail-order toys and games business. They were in the development stage of their business plan and wanted to be sure that they had been through with their planning.To reinforce this, they had just received a letter fr om a group of venture capitalists, agreeing to fund the start up. It concluded its review of their plan by stating: The business plan presents a credible opportunity for all involved and we are prepared to approve the funding request, subject to a risk analysis being carried out on the project to start the business. The group was stunned-the funding that they had been hoping for was suddenly a reality. Just one thing stood in their way- that damned risk analysis process. They started with identifying the key risk elements that could face the business during in start up phase.They considered the process between the time that they received the funding and day one of trading. What could possibly go wrong? Lots of things. They brainstormed the possibilities and recorded them. They then considered the effect that these would have on the project as a whole. The list they generated prothings going wrong and not enough making sure that the positive steps towards the business opening were ha ppening. They needed to priorities’ the events. As importantly, what would happen, when they eventually occurred? Who would be responsible for each of them? On what asis could they rank each risk, in order to identify the most important risks for which they would develop mitigation and ownership? They decided to use a table to show the risk event, the likelihood, the severity and by multiplying the two providing a risk priority number (RPN). This would the allow ranking of the risk elements. For the three highest ranked elements, the group then generates a mitigation process with someone in the group taking ownership of that process. As can be seen, the top three risks were identified and mitigation tasks put in place to either prevent the risk event happening or to reduce its effect.The initials of the ‘owners’ of that risk in the last column show who has agreed to monitor that set of events and ensure that the mitigation is put into place before the project suf fers from that event occurring. Questions: 1. What further methods could have been used to generate ideas for the identification part of the risk process? 2. What should happen as the project progresses to manage risk? 3 IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper: Project Management Caselet 2 Fast-track Product Redevelopment at Instron Background Instron designs and manufactures machines for testing the properties of all types of material.One particular plastic testing instrument has been selling around 250 units per year worldwide. In 1992 at the height of the recession, with margins being squeezed and sales volume dropping, Instron decided to redesign the instrument to reduce its cost and make it easier to manufacture. The Project Instron began to undertake change in the late 1980s, which included a programme to institute concurrent new product development. This was accompanied by pressure for cost reduction, the introduction of manufacturing changes, and the breaking of the firm into business teams.The team was highly transient and changing environment, there were few restrictions on the way the redesign project had to be handled. It was one of the first projects in Instron to be run from the beginning as a concurrent engineering project. A small multi-functional team was formed, consisting of a manufacturing engineer, a design engineer, a marketing engineer and a draughtsman. The design rief was to improve the ease of manufacture of the product such tat a cost reduction of 20 percent could be achieved. The team was co-located in an area adjacent to the manufacturing facility.Although there was some initial resistance, the comment was made that ‘they don’t know how they ever worked without it’. The ease of communication and sharing of ideas became a more natural part of working life. Adverse Effects The principles of concurrency were, in general, favorably accepted by departments downstream of the design process and with som e notable exceptions, unfavorably viewed by the design department. Individuals had concurrency imposed on them in the initial projects selected; be tried out. Senior management staff was selected as champions of the cause, with the objective of overcoming the resistance to change that existed.This came in a number of forms: 1. Passive resistance- summarized as ‘don’t show reluctance to apply the new ideas, attend all the group meetings, nod in agreement, then carry on as before. 2. Active resistance- ‘do what you like, but don’t ask me to do it’ 3. Undermining the initiative- through overstating the apparent problems. They began by carrying out brainstorming sessions with manufacturing engineers, buyers, members of the shop floor, suppliers and additional design engineers, to find new and innovative ways to improve the product.The outcome of these investigations was to draw up a list of areas where improvements were thought possible. The Benefits Ach ieved The results of this team’s action were: †¢ Cost reduced by 49 percent †¢ Product range rationalized from 12 to 2 versions †¢ Unique part count reduced from 141 to 98 and total number of parts reduced from 300 to 189 †¢ Assembly/machining time reduced by 55 percent †¢ Project completed on time, with last version being released in April 1994. Once operational, few problems were encountered and those that did occur were minor in nature.The success was attributed by the firm to two decisions: †¢ The selection of the right project- one that made it easy to demonstrate concurrency †¢ The selection of the right people- those who were prepared to be open-minded and have some enthusiasm for the changes. The company now views this as a simple project that restored the profitability of an established product through the use of innovation, ingenuity and new design techniques by the whole concurrent team. What 4 IIBM Institute of Business Managemen tExamination Paper: Project Management is also clear is that the product was subject to technical change in only one area- the materials used. The other benefits have all been due to the approach tat the firm’s management has taken to its new product development (NPD) Process. The firm felt that the project has been a success and that this method of working would become an institutionalized methodology. Questions: 1. Identify the steps the firm took in this project. How did this contribute to the success? 2.How might the main adverse effects be identified? END OF SECTION B Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ This section consists of Applied Theory Questions. Answer all the questions. Each question carries 15 marks. Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words). 1. What is the role of strategy in Project Management? 2. Identify the different roles that cost, price and profit can play in determining proje ct costs. END OF SECTION C 5 IIBM Institute of Business ManagementExamination Paper: Project Management IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper Project Management in IT Section A: Objective Type (30 marks) †¢ †¢ †¢ This section consists of multiple choice questions and short notes type questions. Answer all the questions. Part One questions carry 1 mark each and Part two questions carry 5 marks each. MM. 100 Part One: Multiple choices: 1. The knowledge areas of Project Management Process Group are: a. Planning and Initiating b. Executing and Closing c.Monitoring and Controlling d. All of the above 2. To create a successful project, a project manager must consider: a. Scope b. Time c. Cost d. All of the above 3. Which one of the following is not involved in the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project manager: a. People skills b. Leadership c. Integrity d. Technical skills 4. Another name of a phase exit is a _______ point. a. Review b. St age c. Meeting d. Kill 5. Which process group includes activities from each of the nine knowledge areas? a. Initiating b.Planning c. Executing d. Closing 6 IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper: Project Management 6. The project team works together to create the ______. a. Scope statement b. WBS c. WBS dictionary d. Work package 7. __________ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. PERT b. A Gantt chart c. Critical Path Method d. Crashing 8. Which of the following is not a key output of project cost management: a. A cost estimate b. A cost management plan c. A cost baseline d.None of the above 9. CMMI Stands for: a. Capability Maturity Model Integration b. Complex Maturity Model Integration c. Common Maturity Model Information d. Capability Maturity Model Information 10. A proposal evaluation sheet is an example of: a. RFP b. NPV analysis c. Earned value analysis d. Weighted scoring model Part Two: 1. Define Product Life Cycle. 2. What is Project Integration Model? 3. Write a note on Gantt charts. 4. What is Project Quality Management? END OF SECTION A 7 IIBM Institute of Business ManagementExamination Paper: Project Management Section B: Caselets (40 marks) This section consists of Caselets. Answer all the questions. Each Caselet carries 20 marks. Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Caselet 1 A preliminary estimate of costs for the entire project is $140,000. This estimate is based on the project manager working about 20 hours per week for six months and other internal staff working a total of about 60 hours per week for six months.The customer representatives would not be paid for their assistance. A staff project manager would earn $50 per hour. The hourly rate for the other project team member would be $70 per hour, since some hours normally billed to clients may be needed for this project. The initial cost estimate al so includes $10,000 for purchasing software & services from suppliers. After the project is completed, maintenance costs of $40,000 are included for each year, primarily to update the information and coordinate the â€Å"Ask the Expert† feature and online articles.Projected benefits are based on a reduction in hours consultants spend researching project management information, appropriate tools and templates, and so on. Projected benefits are also based on a small increase in profits due to new business generated by this project. If each of more than 400 consultants saved just 40 hours each year (less than one hour per week) and could bill that time to other projects that generate a conservative estimate of $10 per hour in profits, then the projected benefit would be $160,000 per year.If the new intranet increased business by just 1 percent, using past profit information, increased profits due to new business would be at least $40,000 each year. Total projected benefits, ther efore, are about $200,000 per year. Exhibit A summarizes the projected costs and benefits and shows the estimated net percent value (NPV), return on investment (ROI), and year in which payback occurs. It also lists assumptions made in performing this preliminary financial analysis. All of the financial estimates are very encouraging.The estimate payback is within one year, as requested by the sponsor. The NPV is $272,800, and the discounted ROI based on a three-year system life is excellent at 112 percent. Discount rate 8% Assume the Year project is done in about is months 0 Costs 140,000 Discount 1 factor Discounted 140,000 costs Benefits Discount factor Discounted benefits Discounted 0 1 0 1 40,000 0. 93 37,037 2 40,000 0. 86 34,294 3 40,000 0. 79 31,753 Total 243,084 200,000 0. 93 186,185 200,000 0. 86 171,468 200,000 0. 79 158,766 515,419 (140,000) 148,148 137,174 127,013 8 IIBM Institute of Business ManagementExamination Paper: Project Management benefits – costs Cumulat ive (140,000) benefits-costs Payback year 1 112% Discounted life cycle ROI—Assumptions Costs PM (500hours, $50/hour) Staff (1500 hours, $70/hour) Outsourced software & services Total project costs (all applied in year 0) Benefits # consultants Hours saved $/hour profit Benefits from saving time Benefits from 1% increase in profits Total annual projected benefits Questions: 1. What according to you are the factors that can hamper the profit growth related with the project? 2. Mention some strategies to further improve the project’s turnover. ,148 in 145,322 272,336 NVP #hours 25,000 105,000 10,000 140,000 400 40 10 160,000 40,000 200,000 9 IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper: Project Management Caselet 2 Many organizations spend a great deal of time and money on training efforts for general project management skills, but after the training, project managers may still not know how to tailor their project management skills to the organization’s particular needs. Because of this problem, some organizations develop their own internal information technology project management methodologies.The PMBOKR Guide is a standard that describes best practices for what should be done to manage a project. A methodology describes how things should be done, and different organizations often have different ways of doing things. For example, after implementing a systems development life cycle (SDLC) at Blue Cross Shield of Michigan, the Methods department became aware that developers and project managers were often working on different information technology project in different ways. Deliverables were often missing or looked different from project to project.They may have all had a project charter, status report, technical documents (i. e. , database design documents, user interface requirements, and so on), but how they were producing and delivering these deliverables was different. There was a general lack of consistency and a need for st andards to guide both new and experienced project managers. Top management decides to authorize funds to develop a methodology for project managers that could also become the basis for information technology project management training within the organization.It was also part of an overall effort to help raise the company’s Software Capability Maturity Model level. BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan launched a three-month project to develop its own project management methodology. Some of the project team members had already received PMP certification, so they decided to base their methodology on the PMBOKR Guide 2000, making adjustment as needed to best describe how their organization managed information technology projects.See a complete article on this project on the companion Web site for this text. Also see the Suggested Reading to review the State of Michigan Project Management Methodology, which provides another good example of an information technology project management methodology. Many organizations include project management in their methodologies for managing Six Sigma projects. Other organizations include project management in their software development methodologies, such as the Rational Unified Process (RUP) framework.RUP is an interactive software development process that focuses on team productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members. According to RUP expert Bill Cottrell, â€Å"RUP embodies industry-standard management and technical methods and techniques to provide a software engineering process particularly suited to creating and maintaining componentbased software system solutions,† Cottrell explains that you can tailor RUP to include the PMBOK process groups.Specifically, IBM Rational, the creators of RUP, found that it could adjust RUP input artifacts with PMBOK process inputs, RUP steps with PMBOK process tools and techniques, and RUP resulting artifacts with PMBOK process outputs. Questions: 1. Accordi ng to you what are the skills that needed for the project management of an organization? 2. How the six sigma project became a helpful tool in very sophisticated kind of project management? END OF SECTION B 10 IIBM Institute of Business ManagementExamination Paper: Project Management Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ This section consists of Applied Theory Questions. Answer all the questions. Each question carries 15 marks. Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words). 1. What is cost? What is the importance of Project cost Management and explain basic principles of Cost Management. 2. Define the following: a. Resource Histograms b. Project Communication Management END OF SECTION C S-2-260211 11 IIBM Institute of Business Management