Hrm Issues in the Premium Oil and Gas Case Essay

This essay is based on the Premium Oil and Gas Company (POG) case study. POG, as a global, company is functioning in diversified business environment. It causes in fact, a necessity to deal with varied internal and external environmental issues, that occur within the company. Internal business environmental issues are in control of the enterprise. External business environmental issues, on the other hand, are driven by factors, that are beyond the control of the company (e.g. legal issues). According to the executives, POG company aspires to become a truly global enterprise, known for its modern and meritocratic management, supported by outstanding learning organisation. Nevertheless, some major issues can be found at all levels where company operates. This paper is focused on POG strategic issues, related to human resources management (HRM) and is divided into three parts. The first section of this paper provides a brief overview of the company aims and outlines the essay scheme. The following section indicates and analyses two main HRM issues, related to POG case, including general justification of the choice made. At the same time, a series of recommendations for POG is provided, before conclusions will be presented in the third part. Two main issues defined by the author refer to communication and knowledge sharing aspects. In general, one of the most significant platforms for company issues to arise are the culture differences between co-workers. Since internationalisation strategies started being implemented by enterprises on a large scale and the number of multinational companies grew rapidly, also multicultural issues have become the substantial matter to deal with. For POG case, where westernized culture of the headquarter is confronted with eastern way of thinking in Azeri subsidiary (Hercules Meets Buddha), communication issue can be named as one of decisive factors affecting organisational side of the company. The main role of organisational communication (Elving, 2005) is to inform clearly employees about their responsibilities, as well as about company policies and issues. Secondly, communication leads to a better integration and community creation. Hancock and Zayko (1998) also indicate the importance of communication, whereas its lack often provides with resentments between employees. The communication levels in POG may be distinguished between Azeri employees (trainees) and their trainers/colleagues from headquarter, as also between Azeris within their group, what manifests itself in teamwork tasks. The most appropriate theoretical framework to analyse the communication issues in POG seems to be the concept of Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2001) in relation to Azeri national culture. First dimension in this model refers to uncertainty avoidance, explained by Hofstede (2001, p.161) as â€Å"The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situation†. In relation to POG case, there is a strong alienation, suspiciousness and reluctance of Azeri trainees to westernized corporate culture. These types of behaviour seem to be typical reaction on culture shock. In result, high level of uncertainty avoidance successfully reduces the efficiency in communication between them and their western colleagues. The second, and one of the most important dimensions in context of communication is power distance. Mulder (1977) as cited in Hofstede (2001), explained the meaning of power distance by comparison of power determinacy, which is unequal between less and more powerful members of a particular system. Countries like Azerbaijan, exhibit a high degree of power distance, which means that its citizens are a hierarchical society. As a consequence, several problems can be observed in POG communication skills trainings. Firstly, Azeri trainees are afraid of asking questions, as lack of knowledge is seen by them as humiliation. Moreover, there is a strong resistance of rising issues with managers in fear of undermining their authority and damaging relationships with them. Also trying to draw conclusions from mistakes is very difficult, as taking responsibility is uncommon for Azeri people. POG trainers find these behaviours in total opposition to the company brainstorming working patterns, consistent with open and free to ask POG culture. Another dimension in Hofstede’s model is individualism, as opposition to collectivism. There are several main differences between these assumptions (Hofstede, 2011). In individualistic social framework, only immediate family is expected to take care of its member (â€Å"I†- consciousness society). Individualistic approach is concerned with westernized cultures. On the other hand, in collectivist social framework, immediate family is extended to other relatives and non-relative in-group members (â€Å"We†- consciousness society). Definition, which more accurately describes Azeri society is collectivism, what POG trainers assumed to be a solid base to develop team working skills for them. However, as the practice shows, there is a strong recognition of inequality within the group members, resulting from status-conscious society model. In Trompennars and Hampden-Turner seven dimensions’ model (1997), status-conscious approach is defined as ascription theory, where status is based on position. Communication issues arise, when there is a need from trainers to identify responsibilities and contribution of particular members in a team. Communication within the team is also affected by the social status of its members. Next dimension from Hofstede is a differentiation of social attitude in terms of gender. Feminine and Masculine societies can be defined. Feminine society is associated with modest and caring values for both genders. There is a balance between family and work (Hofstede, 2011). Good examples of feminine societies are Scandinavian countries, but also Russia, where the role of women is inherently high and influential in social relations (Camiah and Hollin shead, 2003). On the other hand, masculine societies reflect patriarchal and traditional structure with male leadership and domain role (Sikdar and Mitra, 2012). This approach is close to Azeri social behaviours, where women role in society is quite limited or at least not equal to this of men. In turn to POG case, a significant communication issue arises between Azeri trainees and female L&D officer. Despite her outstanding qualifications, communication barriers are built because of cultural accretions. Male trainees find it insulting to be advised or educated by female. In result, information flow is highly disrupted. The fifth dimension (Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation) is not directly linked with communication issues in this case, however, in general it may be an important indication for multicultural issues based on behavioural patterns. Another issue related to communication is language. However, this aspect is also highly linked with knowledge sharing issue and will be explained later on in this paper. Considering the main issues related to the communication in POG, identified in this paper, some changes should be provided in order to cope with these issues. A comparison can be made to Elite Hotel case, where cultural differences had also a strong impact on communication between co-workers. Although some recommendations may be covered in both cases. Firstly, the performance for â€Å"Communication and Team Working† module should be customized. This module, as a key tool of communication, does not suit to cultural differences between Azeri co-workers and company culture management scheme. Practical implementation of company rules will not succeed without understanding of these cultural differences by both sides. Taking into account POG’s aspirations to become a truly global and meritocratic company, responsibility and flexibility in management processes should be embedded. In practice, various cultural trainings, as well as cultural events to build up coherent relations, should be provided at the beginning of the training programs. Such cognitive steps ought to improve communication and become a platform to implement practical aspects of the training programme. â€Å"Communication and Team Working† module modifications shall focus on overcoming of power distance influences, through engaging trainees to an active involvement in discussion and problem solving proposals. Also individual tutorials for Azeri trainees might help them to overcome communication barriers. Inequity in terms of ‘team working’ need to be suspended by cultivation of organizational culture, in order to enhance intercultural and intra-cultural communication. Underestimation of female as a teacher should be confronted with a huge, direct and continuous support from high male authorities to break the stereotypes and teach trainees how to overcome them without losing respect in their own environment. Nevertheless, the competences of L&D officer must be proved by this young female. Knowledge sharing process is concerned as another significant issue related to POG case. Whereas explicit knowledge can be formalized, tacit knowledge is strongly connected with communication. Moving further, communication issues have impact on knowledge transfers. Processes of creating knowledge and its management in organizational level have been studied by many authors. Most of them emphasize the importance of capability to transfer knowledge, as a pivotal factor in fields of organiza tional learning processes (Goh, 2002). The process of sharing knowledge may be considered from different contexts. Transfers may take place within the same unit in organization, throughout different departments, or between subsidiaries. Knowledge can be also shared between individuals, communities and groups; locally, nationally or worldwide. Argote and Ingram (2000, p.151) link these partitions with experience and describe knowledge transfer as â€Å"the process through which one unit (e.g., group, department, or division) is affected by the experience of another†. There are several ways of how knowledge is shared. According to Taylor et al. (1996), there are three main strategies for transferring HRM knowledge. POG strategy characterizes high internal but low external consistency, what indicates centralized HRM system and strong domination of headquarter over its Azeri subsidiary. There are several important individual factors, affecting knowledge transfer. Integrated capability of these factors may either facilitate or impede the HR knowledge transfer (Lecture 2, Knowledge Transfer and Sharing, Figure 2). Accordingly, some issues related to knowledge transfer in POG case are connected and complemented by communication issues, however they demonstrate problems from different view. Firstly, culture differences between co-workers have a large impact on knowledge transfer. The example of female L&D officer is the most appropriate one to adopt, when knowledge absorption is limited by cultural ties. Another issue is connected with motivation and willingness for cooperation, required to achieve mutual benefits. Lack of co-operative behaviours can be observed in terms of sharing opinions or involving into discussion during the meetings with management board. Finally, language skills can determine processes of acquiring knowledge, when Azeri workers need to learn English as an operative language in the company. However, English is not the first language for Dutch workers either, who stand for the majority of the company staff. In terms of recommendations, knowledge sharing issues must be solved by POG executives quite fast, bearing in mind the company staffing plans for the next five years. Generally speaking, POG strategy of HRM should become more integrative (rather than exportive) with high internal and moderate external consistency, in order to optimize solutions for subsidiaries like Azerbaijan. There is also a significant role of trainers and expatiate managers for knowledge transfer capabilities. Country-specific, intercultural training should be conducted for them, as part of their preparation for the job. The Robert Bosh GmbH case is a good example for POG, how to achieve intercultural proximity to improve knowledge transfer. HRM issues in POG company simply highlight, that it is not sufficient for organizations to get adopted to business environment without respecting individuals from different cultures (Trompennars and Hampden-Turner, 1997). Hofstede’s framework clearly indicates these differences, which affect HRM, not only in communication, but also in knowledge transfer. The deeper the differences, the more complex management issues arise. ‘Communication and Team Working’ module should be customized in respect to Azeri culture, rather than be left unified for all subsidiaries. Also implementation of integrative HRM strategy, jointly with higher intercultural sensitiveness of trainers and expatriates could facilitate knowledge absorption capacities of Azeris. Nevertheless, core values of the company management ought to remain unchanged. There are no simple decisions without both positive and negative consequences involved. In fact, there is no single box with tools to fix problems, and various ways may be chosen to follow. List of references: ARGOTE, L., and INGRAM, P., 2000. Knowledge Transfer: A Basis For Competitive Advantages in Firms. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes [online], 82(1), p. 150-169. Available at: http://www.columbia.edu/~pi17/2893a.pdf [Accessed 1 December 2012]. CAMIAH, N., and HOLLINSHEAD, G., 2003. Assessing the potential for effective cross-cultural working between â€Å"new† Russian Managers and western expatriates. Journal of World Business [online] 38, 245-261. Available at: http://wenku.baidu.com/view/862ab85abe23482fb4da4cf7.html [Accessed 5 December 2012] ELVING, W.J.L., 2005. The role of communication in organizational change. Corporate Communications: An International Journal [online], 10(2), pp. 129-138. Available via: Emerald [Accessed 1 December 2012]. GOH, S.C., 2002. Managing effective knowledge transfer: an integrative framework and some practice implications. Journal of Knowledge Management [online], 6(1), pp. 23-30. Available via: Emerald [Accessed 7 December 2012]. HANCOCK, W.M., and ZAYKO, M.J., 1998. Lean production implementation problems, IIE Solutions, 30(6), pp. 38-42. HOFSTEDE, G., 2001. Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviours, institutions, and organizations across nations. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications Inc. HOFSTEDE, G., 2011. Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture [online], unit 2. Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/iss1/8 [Accessed 3 December 3, 2012]. SIKDAR, A., and MITRA, S., 2012. Gender-role stereotypes: perception and practice of leadership in the Middle East. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues [online], 5(3), pp.146-162. Available via: Emerald [Accessed 5 December 2012]. TAYLOR, S., BEECHLER, S., and NAPIER N., 1996. Towards an integrative model of strategic international human resource management. Academy of Management Review [online], 21(4) pp. 959-985. Available via: Business Source Complete [Accessed 7 December 2012]. TROMPENNARS, F., and HAMPDEN-TURNER, C., 1997. Riding the waves of culture [online], 2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Available at: http://khurrambukhari.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/riding-on-the-waves-of-culture.pdf [Accessed 3 December 2012]

Clothing Retailer Hennes & Mauritz Essay

A key ingredient in retailing success is the strength of a company’s distribution channels. Kerry Capell’s (2002) Business Week article looks at Sweden-based Hennes & Mauritz’s (H&M) sourcing and inventory management strategies and their reliance on distribution channel partners. H&M has developed a unique distribution channel strategy to compete with better entrenched retailers including Gap, Old Navy, Zara and FCUK. H&M Product Strategy Understanding H&M’s distribution strategy requires a clear understanding of their product philosophy and strategy. Like Gap and other clothing retailers, H&M markets to a particular segment of the fashion consumer market. H&M’s philosophy is â€Å"Fashion and quality at the best price† (H&M, 2004). H&M keeps up with its competitors by providing a variety of styles from â€Å"updated classics and fashion basics† to cutting-edge fashion trends (H&M, 2004). Kotler defines the product as a combination of goods and services (Kotler et al, 2001). H&M seeks a product edge by providing affordable fashion lines similar to its competitors, but with a â€Å"fast turnaround† from design to production to sales floor (Capell, 2002). Capell focused on this integrated distribution channel in his article. Distribution Channel Outline Marketers often refer to the fourth P, place, as placement, logistics or distribution. Marketers must create a place or a way for logistics and physical delivery to get a product to market and into the hands of target consumers (McColl-Kennedy and Kiel, 2003). A distribution channel refers to the type of intermediary or linkage between producers and consumers. A one-channel distribution network involves only the retailer between producer and consumer. Direct distribution occurs when the producer directly supplies the product to the buyer. The choice of distribution channel depends on a  variety of factors, including the type of product. While not all clothing retailers use direct distribution models, H&M and its competitors in the low- and mid-range clothing market use this model to maintain low costs and a fast time to market (Capell, 2002). Unlike many industries, time-to-market is critical to retail clothiers, as trends and fashions can change quickly. To minimize time-to-market, H&M employs a team of in-house designers in 21 production offices worldwide that work to forecast trends and find inspiration for clothing designs â€Å"in everything from street trends, to films, to flea markets† (H&M, 2004). From its headquarters in Stockholm, the company directs a rapid-response manufacturing process to capitalize on design trends immediately (H&M, 2004). H&M moves designs through production and into its retail sales channel with a three week to six month lead time. With low-wage, high-volume production in China and Turkey, the company can maintain low input costs and often outfit its stores with the latest trends within a month of the initial design (Capell, 2002). H&M constantly redefines its distribution strategies in response to changing retail market conditions and production conditions in its worldwide manufacturing centers (Capell, 2002). This adaptation ensures that the company can to improve the efficiency of its production flow. This model has direct application in H&M’s retail stores where it sells its products to consumers. H&M’s corporate buyers in Sweden actively manage its inventory, researching itemized sales reports by country, store, and, most importantly, type of merchandise daily (Capell, 2002). The buyers use this information to reallocate production or shipments, reducing potential overstock problems. The itemized reports also allow buyers to maintain a high level of turnover, keeping apparel on the sales floor up to date. Enhancing the company’s competitive advantage in this area, the integrated direct distribution channel ensures that H&M stores receive new shipments daily, giving the company further control over responses to supply and demand shifts (Capell, 2002). The company estimates that each store receives between 500 and 1,000 new items daily, with total sales of over 550 million  items annually company-wide. For example, if a particular fashion proves exceptionally popular to men in the U.S., but not in Europe, the company can shift inventory in that product from European stores to meet demand in the U.S. The channel also enables H&M to respond to market segment changes. When its $39 pants line proved too upscale for inner city malls, H&M used its integrated channel to shift that inventory to suburban locations and rotate new inventory into the mall stores (Hjelt, 2004). As with virtually every industry, H&M’s continued success and prosperity depends on efficient distribution channels. H&M has effectively incorporated its supply chain and retail distribution channels into its business strategy. As the company expands more heavily into the U.S. market, its unique streamlined distribution channel will be a critical component of its success. Works Cited Capell, Kerry. (2002, November 11). Hip H&M: The Swedish retailer is reinventing the business of affordable fashion. Business Week. 106-109. Hjelt, Paola. (2004). Will $39 Pants = Profits? H&M was too trendy for many mall shoppers. Fortune.com. Retrieved August 23, 2004 from the World Wide Web at: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/subs/article/0,15114,395434,00.html H&M. (2004). About H&M. HM.com. Retrieved August 23, 2004 from the World Wide Web at: http://www.hm.com/us/hm/facts_history/srt.jsp Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Brown, L. and Adam, S. (1998). Marketing. Sydney: Prentice Hall. McColl-Kennedy, J.R. and Kiel, G. (2003). Services Marketing. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.

The Human Vessel to the New Business Frontier

As our workforces grow more diverse every day, and customers are demanding better, faster, and less expensive service, companies are faced with the challenges to create and meet the changes necessary to remain in business. The organizational environment must also learn to assess the direction of these changes while also being able to respond successfully to those that roll in at a completely different direction than expected. The leadership required to handle these wonderfully tumultuous times, so that organizations in transition remain profitable, is crucial. Today†s companies become successful based on their abilities to create and manage change. They can no longer survive without â€Å"†¦ courage and imagination – the courage to challenge prevailing business models and the imagination to invent new markets. † As the globe continues to evolve into a marketplace with vanishing boundaries, competition becomes stronger, tighter, and smarter than ever before, ultimately forcing organizational change. The tidal strength of competition that has been upon us over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the â€Å"blueprints† of many corporations and how they now need to be led. Businesses have awakened to the hard fact that leadership can no longer be defined by the effective management of people and systems, but most importantly by the effective leading of change. Leadership, or the lack thereof, is proving to be one of the most crucial determinants of whether organizations will survive and flourish in the next century†s business frontier. â€Å"We live in an era of organizational reengineering. To become or remain competitive, leaders often must realize improvement through radical change, or reengineering. As defined by Jon R. Katzenbach, author of Real Change Leaders, radical changes are: Those situations in which corporate performance requires most people throughout the organization to learn new behaviors and skills. These new skills must add up to a competitive advantage for the enterprise allowing it to produce better and better performance in shorter and shorter time frames. The changes that are most relevant are those that demand companies to redefine their organizations in order to profit from the changes or even just to endure them. Change, such as that which comes with new technology, comes so quickly and frequently that business are forced to develop new organizational models and practices. With the unrelenting evolution of technology, organizational structures have had to be reinvented. No longer do we find the centralized, multi-layered hierarchies that once offered organizations bureaucratic control over employees. Towering organizational structures are now collapsing into flatter pyramids with wider spans of control offering greater flexibility, cost-efficiency, and more interdependent departments capable of rapid action and reaction. As with advances in technology, economic, political, and socio-cultural environments are also faced with swift changes. Unfortunately, such a rapid rate of change can turn an organization†s strengths into its weaknesses. Leaders must now think like change agents, because the issue is not only how new concepts and skills are acquired, but also how to unlearn things that are no longer serving the organization. This means that leaders must carefully examine organizational cultures and then reinvent them to promote and maintain success. The most important thing to understand, however, is that leaders cannot change culture arbitrarily in the sense of eradicating dysfunctional conditions. By evolving culture they can build on its strengths while diminishing its weaknesses. â€Å"Culture is ‘changed†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ through changes in various key concepts in the mental models of people who are the main carriers of the culture. Note, however, that such transformations do not occur through announcements or formal programs. They occur through a genuine change in the leader†s behavior†¦ † If culture cannot be manipulated through hard-core policy changes and formalities, how does a leader gain the loyalty of the organization†s members? How does a leader influence others to voluntarily commit to his or her vision of where the company is going and how it will get there? Robert Rosen, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the George Washington School of Medicine tells us that â€Å"Americans are hungry for new leaders; emotionally intelligent leaders with vision and character who can guide their downsized organizations back to health and high performance. However, before they are willing to go through the growing pains of organizational changes, employees want to and must see that the leader is willing to â€Å"walk the talk! † The path of a leader is one of a trailblazer. Forging new ideas, concepts, and theories to raise the success level of those he or she is leading. Throughout history, there have been many leaders who have fundamentally changed the way the world viewed things such as freedom, politics, and the importance of forgiveness. These magnetic individuals are able to draw out not only their own magnificence, but also that of those who follow them. Within their skills to lead, they cultivate others† abilities to rise above their difficulties and self-doubts. Leaders of truly positive change can breath life back into an organization that is on the edge of collapsing. With their abilities to instill values that reflect courage and respect in their followers, they also are more than willing to share in their visions for the future. If a leader truly wants to transform an organization that can and will endure the inevitable changes that the future holds, he or she must work to unify its members by building a shared vision with common values and direction. Vision is an essential element of leadership. It is a leader†s image of what the company will produce or provide, where the company is headed to achieve those successes, and how it will arrive there. â€Å"Vision refers to a picture of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future. † It is also â€Å"†¦ the [intuitive] ability to see the potential in or necessity of opportunities right in front of you. † Vision is necessary to clarify the necessity and actions of organizational changes. When people understand why they are going in a certain direction and they fundamentally agree with it, they are much more motivated and willing to put in the work it takes to see a leader†s vision materialize. â€Å"†¦ the real power of a vision is unleashed only when most of those involved in an enterprise or activity have a common understanding of its goals and direction. † When a journalist inquired about the remarkable success of the Hewlett-Packard corporation, David Packard spoke only in terms of the â€Å"†¦ ttributes of immense operating freedom within well-defined objectives, the pay-as you-go policy that enforces entrepreneurial discipline, the critical decision to enable all employees to share in the company†s financial success. † These organizational attributes are not just simple choices made to see if the organization†s members would use them to assist the company in its successes; they are carefully thought out plans that began as someone†s vision as to how the company could flourish through its people. To companies whose leaders mobilize their people and unleash their competence, creativity, and commitments, success is almost sure to follow. Once a leader has formed, articulated, and shared with the other members of the organization his or her visions for the future, those other people will be watching very closely to see just how much conviction the leader has in those visions. They expect leaders to show up, to pay attention, and to participate directly in the process of getting extraordinary things done. Leading by example is how leaders make visions and values tangible. It is how they provide the evidence that they are personally committed. That evidence is what people look for and admire in leaders, people whose direction they would willingly follow. This makes credibility a very important attribute that people look for in a successful leader. Those looking to a leader need to believe in that person; that he or she can be trusted; that he or she is truly excited about the direction that the company†s heading. People expect their leaders to stand for something and to have the courage of their beliefs. It is also equally as important for the leader to know that his or her credibility is not being challenged. Leaders believe their personal credibility is more important than their formal position of power. Credibility is what they think enables them to inspire confidence among the people they must influence to take initiative and personal risk. The best leaders show their personal credibility both in what they have accomplished and in what they know about the change task at hand. Courage is another primary attribute of a successful leader. One of the greatest challenges for leaders of change is to develop the personal skills that are necessary to effectively generate and cultivate courage, in themselves as well as those around them. â€Å"They recognize that courage is really about making the connection between what†s changing in the business world and what needs to change in their personal behaviors. They also recognize that personal change offers far more potential rewards than sticking with the status quo. As the hallmark of a true leader, courage is necessary to take risks, to create a vision, to empower others, and to challenge the current conditions of any situation. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said: â€Å"Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humanness, courage, and sternness. † The most essential aspect of how the leaders of the next century will sustain their companies is the continual facilitation of the people within their organizations as the primary factor for success. Although empowerment has become somewhat of a â€Å"buzz† word within the business arena, it†s power is nonetheless stronger than any other tool used by leaders to get results from people. Because in its most simple form, empowerment is sharing the decision-making process with others, it is closely related to courage. Those companies that have stood the test of time, such as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Nordstrom, and Wal-Mart have infused into their organizations the practices of empowering their employees. Leaders of the future must have the strength and fearlessness to go against the grain of old assumptions or paradigms. They must continue to trailblaze in their efforts to see that the organizations of the next century will remain in tact. They will be the encouragers of change for positive results; they will be the beacons that the others look to guide the ship through any storm; they will hold their heads high in recognition of success and have the courage to admit when outcomes are not what they had planned. Tomorrow†s leaders of change rise to the occasion and take the others with them.

Conflict Analysis in Bend It Like Beckham Essay

What you want and what your parents will accept is a common disagreement in most households these days. In the movie ‘Bend it like Beckham’ they showed the conflict between Jess between and her parents. The conflict was how they feel and what they want for her, how Jess sees the situation and how it is resolved. Throughout the movie Jess is constantly pulled in different directions for what she wants and what her parents and culture expect from the Indian girl Jess. Jess’s dreams are more important to her then her culture. They are more important to her because they are who she is as a person. Jess does not want to be the traditional Indian girl her parents want her to be. Jess wants more from her life then the day-to-day life of the traditional Indian girl. Jess decides that instead of following the traditional path of the Indian girl life style she goes off on a limb and decides to play soccer. Despite what her parents want from their little girl, she wants to be free and chase her dreams. Jess’s passion for soccer trumped her feelings for her culture that she was willing to bend all the rules to do what she loved to do, and that was to play soccer. Her parents are her major downfall. Jess’s father worried about Jess playing soccer in fear that she will get hurt just like he did when he wanted to play cricket. Her father was treated differently because of the way he looked. In the movie her father talked about how they made fun of the towel he wore on his head and was not allowed to play on any of the teams. Her father is afraid that she will be disappointed and end up just like he did. Jess’s mother seems to be caught up way more then her father in this soccer situation. Her mother does not agree with Jess playing soccer at all. Jess’s mother thinks that she should be spending all her time cooking and trying to be a traditional Indian girl. For example when her mother talks about running around outside playing soccer with a bunch of guys with her legs showing she says â€Å"you bring shame to our family!† Jess’s mother says this because it is against their cultural beliefs. The conflict is present due to many reasons. Jess loves to play soccer, but also respects and loves her family and culture. She is drawn to decide to keep her soccer life hidden from her family. She does not want to keep it a secret because everyone believes she is amazing at soccer, but she does not want to disappoint her parents. Jess tries so hard to meet her mother and father’s expectations to avoid disappointment. The fact of the matter is that Jess loves soccer and is not willing to give it up just for some silly tradition. This story shows us that if you are always trying to please your parents you are going to not be happy were you are in life. It is always important to follow your dreams. When different cultures come together it can be difficult to combine them both without losing original cultural values. Bend it like Beckham shows it is possible to incorporate the values of another culture into Jess’s lifestyle while still maintaining her cultural identity. It also shows that regardless of what culture a person is, there are always challenges that you must overcome in order to be who you want to be.

Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines

Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines Summary Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline based on passenger volume in United States. It provides over 1,100 daily flight services to five continents. Effective manpower planning is a key component for the success of Continental Airlines. It is essential for Airline Company to adjust its need for pilots constantly in different position in response to new market opportunities, changing passenger demand, acquisition and retirement of aircraft and training resources and evolving economic conditions.Therefore, the company collected information from several separate database systems and built the training plans by using spreadsheet. However, this development method was time consuming and complicated and the database used was not capable for training plan as it was used for more 10 years. In order for solving the complicated, large-scale pilot planning and training program and increasing the competitive advanta ge in air transportation market, Continental Airlines replaced the old database system and spreadsheets by the Crew Resource-Solver integrated decision-support system.It includes four main modules to handle staffing, vacation, planning and training. The staff-administration module and vacation-administration module maintain crew records including all current and past assignments, absences and training while the planning-optimization module and training optimization module provides information of pilot-planning and training functions (Yu, Pachon, Thengvall, Chandler and Wilson 2004). Generally, Continental Airlines uses system bid award to determine the needs of staff changing to different positions and handle the pilots’ requests to change positions.It mainly uses seniority-based rules for decision making. In an average system bid award, 15 to 20 percent of the airline’s pilots receive new positions. As long with system bid award, the Crew Resource-Solver system can bu ild the training program that establishes the timing of training, advancements, releases, and new pilot hires. The Crew Resource-Solver system includes two phase to solve the pilot training problem. The pilot-transitioning phase determines the timing of pilot transitions by using limited information about training capacities to restrict the number of pilots assigned to training.The training-class-scheduling phase produces the detailed training schedule taking as input the solution from the pilot transitioning phase. As a result, the training program contains a set of detailed training schedules including all training events for each student and each training resource. The training program must satisfy all the constraints set by Continental Airlines such as pilots training will not be assigned during their vacations and other scheduled absences. Planners are able to use system to customize the training plans by changing the objectives and options (Verbeek 1991).Analysis The main obje ctives of the Crew Resource-Solver system are: 1. The improvement of the efficiency of the training programs 2. The forecast of future airline pilots’ needs 3. The maximization of the cost savings There are a number of advantages in using the Crew-Resource Solver system. First, the system improves the airline’s processes by enhancing information sharing within the organization and by simplifying system maintenance. Second, the system enhances data integrity by eliminating duplicate data storage and automating processes.Third, the system saves time compared to the old manual approach as it can produce a complete, optimized training plan that includes both the pilot transitions and the training class schedules within an hour (Yu et al 2004). Moreover, the system increases the flexibility of the training program as it is able to customize by adjusting objectives and setting options. The Crew-Resource Solver system provides an optimal set of components that can satisfy all training program requirements. However, there are several limitations to the Crew-Resource Solver system.First, the training program constraint is based on the traditional training plan which highlights the inherent weakness of any optimization model as it relies upon sound data for accurate outputs (Sarker 2008, p. 5). Second, the potential sources of savings vary depending on different system bids. It is the fact that a bid will have no cost components associated with those activities when it is no required on new hires and pilot releases. Third, even using the system, there is a trade-off between block-hour shortages and other costs on the training plans.Therefore, when block-hour shortages cost increases, the training cost will decrease, vice versa. It is unable to decrease both block-hour shortages cost and training costs together. Finally, the final decision of the training program is not automated and requires management to select the best option for each training program. R esult The Crew Resource-Solver system is an important investment of Continental Airlines to upgrade the management of manpower-planning needs by resource optimization and operation and financial performance improvement.Based on the evidence given in the article, the Crew-Resource Solver integrated decision-support system is a successful program for Continental Airlines to achieve its above objectives. First, there are three ways for the cost savings. Training classes’ schedules become more efficiently and the number of pilots sending to training decrease. Second, there is reduction in pay-protection costs as promoting pilots in new positions in seniority order.Third, it reduces payroll costs because the system can provide the optimized training plans which can use exiting pilots more efficiently and reduce the chances to hire new pilots. In fact, many recommendations derived from the Crew Resource-Solver integrated decision-support system have already been applied and have he lped Continental Airlines to save approximately $10 million each year. Second, the integrated system have focused process improvement and improved data integrity, and it is easier to maintain than the numerous legacy systems and spreadsheet application it replaced (Yu et al 2004).References Sarker, R & Newton, C 2008, Optimization Modelling: A Practical Approach, CRC Press, Florida. Verbeek, P. (1991) Decision support systems – An Application in strategic manpower planning of airline pilots. Eur. J. Oper. Res. (55)3, 368-381 Yu, G. , Pachon, J. , Thengvall, B. , Chandler, D. & Wilson, A. (2004) Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines. Interfaces, Vol. 34, No. 4, July-August, p. 253-264

Lesson Learned Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lesson Learned - Coursework Example The company also focused on expanding its market share, increasing the net revenue, shareholder's earning per share, return on equity and stock price. Furthermore, we put our effort forth in ensuring that our credit rating is maintained at "A," a rating above the expectations of investors, and a product rating quality of 3.5 stars. Global best strategy, also referred to as the "more value for money" approach, was been used by Alpha DigiCam in search for competitive advantage. This would see its products have appealing attributes to the customer and at the same time retain affordable pricing. PRODUCT DESIGN The managers had an eight-year plan to achieve the 3.5 stars rating on image quality. As such, the managers embarked on improving the quality and attributes of products for both the multi-featured and entry-level models of cameras every year. By the end of the eight years, our image rating had surpassed the expectations of the investors. In the ninth and tenth years, our image rati ng incrementally improved to reach the 3.5 rating. Below is a table showing our rating with regards to overall investor expectation, I.E., best-in-industry, B-I-I, and a combination of I.E. and B-I-I scores against that of our rival companies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MARKETS AND DISTRIBUTIONS Varied direct and indirect channels of distribution have been used in Alpha DigiCam including local camera shops, online retailers and multi-store chains. The markets covered included Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe-Africa and North America. The simulation reveals that we achieved competitive advantage in North America over the eight years, specifically with regard to the entry-level cameras distributed through local camera shops, online retailers and multi-store chains and additionally due to multi-featured warranty period, budgeting for advertisi ng and multi-featured P/Q rating. However, in the ninth year, we lost 2.4% of the market share in the region for entry-level camera models but managed to maintain an industry average with the multi-featured models. In the Europe-Africa market, we achieved 18.1% market share within the eight years for entry-level camera models. However, this was not sustained through to the tenth year. On the other hand, the Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions frequently reported market share loss with regard to both the multi-featured and entry-level camera models. The managers observed the autonomous action in each region that saw each of them adjust prices aggressively according to the specific region. Furthermore, managers increased warranty periods and promotions to enable them gain market share in their respective regions. COMPETITION The camera products market in the regions where Alpha DigiCam operates is extremely competitive. Alpha DigiCam faces stiff competition from rivals in this mark et who have vast experience in the industry. Thus, the company resorted to competing in pricing of products. The participant's guide clearly states that the competitiveness of the company largely depends on the prices with which it sells the cameras to its retail dealers. Additionally, a myriad of other factors play a major role in determining the competitiveness of this company: the number and duration of quarterly promotions, advertising expenditure, the amount of price discounts given to retailers during promotions, the

Ghana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ghana - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  the first reason provided is the existence of a free media in both broadcast and print. Ghana’s radio stations actively engage their political class by holding the government accountable and demanding for transparent elections. Ghana also has vibrant and vigilant NGO’s and civil society groups which promote a variety of issues such as combating corruption and good governance.As the discussion stresses  the existence of these groups is made possible by the country’s freedoms of expression, association, and movement. The maturing of political leaders in Ghana has also contributed to the country’s rise to the top of the peace index. Political rivals have learned to put animosity aside for the greater good of the nation. By graciously conceding defeat and congratulating opponents, political leadership within the country has aided to breakdown stereotypes about election loss in Africa. Ghana has also been lucky to have one of its sons, Koffi Annan, as a major world peace broker. In his bid to broker peace deals among warring factions across the globe, the nation has rallied behind his efforts by promoting peace within their country first.  Ghana’s democratic political system has contributed to the country’s growing economic prosperity and made it a regional powerhouse in West Africa.  The country is regarded among the globe’s leading gold and diamond producers.

Examining Culture as a Process Using Three Texts Essay

Examining Culture as a Process Using Three Texts - Essay Example Examining Culture as a Process Using Three Texts The interesting contrast of Marjane Satrapi‘s struggle, depicted in Persepolis 2, is one of an Islamic woman wearing a veil who listens to forbidden music and smokes marijuana. The struggle which exists within Marjane is truly that of so many women in bondage to patriarchal religions and societies who experience some of what modern women may experience. The voice inside of Marjane that reminds her to wear her veil or to be secretive about her activities, is the deeply imbedded voice of her roots and cultural upbringing. Marjane however, is simply trying to discover who she is, independent from the role that her society has placed on her. Marjane’s eventful process of going from veiled Muslim woman with many restrictions in life, to educated, self actualized woman, is both long and painful, â€Å"To educate myself, I had to understand everything, starting with myself, me, Marji, the woman. So, I threw myself into reading my mother‘s favorite bookâ€Å" (Satrapi, p 21). This type of struggle is similarly portrayed within the lives of the Ganguli family in The Namesake. Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli are both submerged into American culture, having both been raised in India. This takes place once they are married and move to America to pursuit Ashoke’s Engineering degree at MIT. The process of adaptation is seemingly much less difficult for Ashoke than for his wife by arranged marriage Ashima. The life of a woman and a woman’s struggles in particular are present in both of these texts.

Solomon's book presents different proofs for the existence of God Term Paper

Solomon's book presents different proofs for the existence of God. Discuss the one that you think is most persuasive, and comp - Term Paper Example All three major religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a similar view about God’s existence which is that there is only one God or supreme force in the world. The Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, on the other hand, had some great supernatural powers but they also often behaved like average humans in reference to how they got vengeful when denied something or acted unimpressively at times. In this paper, I will focus on one proof for the existence of God in particular that I consider most persuasive and then compare it to others which do not seem as powerful and appealing as the one discussed at length. There is no scientific evidence supporting the existence of God, so the only notions supporting this idea are related to manmade explanations like there has to some force starting the universe which is so perfect that no human can be held responsible for it. Also, we have to believe in God as suggested by the biblical teachings because of this faith that there is a supernatural power which is omnipotent. There is no concrete evidence really which could either prove or disprove the existence of God, but it is still healthy to accept by faith this existence as without it people would consider themselves free to act in whichever way they like without the fear of facing results at the end like in the form of Day of Judgment of afterlife. According to the Bible, people have to judge from things around them if God exists or not and there is plenty of evidence, not concrete but symbolic, which speaks of God’s presence like the skies and the sun which are so perfect and identify the g lory of God. All the mystic and enthralling wonders of nature point to God’s presence denying which is plain adamancy. Pascal’s proof for God’s existence is a different kind of argument in itself and differs from the explanation provided by Christianity and Islam on multiple levels. While the Bible and Qur’an stress that there is no option but to believe that God exists because of many stupendous works of nature, Pascal argues that believing in God irrespective of whether he exists or not exists is a win-win situation. The tendency of not agreeing to God’s existence, in contrast, is prone to many losses. This is because if we believe in God and he actually does exist, then there is no doubt that we will be rewarded and if we believe so and he does not exist actually, even then it is beneficial because people tend to give up many sinful pleasures in respect of this belief that God exists. Many great scientists like Freud plainly refuse the idea of G od’s existence characterizing it as very irrational. Freud does not believe thinking irrationally in terms of God is actually a bad thing and if not believing in God is irrational, then believing in God is also irrational. This is because irrationality is only defying what cannot be considered rational and second, it is also about believing in what cannot be proved. Freud characterized the existence of God to be harmful in certain instances especially when people tend to rationalize their evil actions by believing they were intended by God to happen or he would have stopped them. So, the proof for the existence of God really comes down to the marvels of nature and a person’s innate disposition to believe in God. In conclusion, not every proof for believing in God identified by Islam, Judaism, and Christianity is rational because

Divorce and Remarriage Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Divorce and Remarriage - Case Study Example The pastor went to Greg and asked what had happened. Greg responded it was no big deal and laughed the incident off. The pastor complimented him for his discretion, and reminded Greg of two verses from Proverbs, â€Å"He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends† (17:9), and â€Å"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger† (15:1). Greg replied that remaining calm and gentle was just what friends did for each other, and since he had known Tyrone for several years and never seen him act in anger, the whole incident really was no big deal. Pastor Tallon sought Tyrone out, led him back to the office, and shut the door. He asked Tyrone what was wrong, and after letting Tyrone speak angrily about the incident from the morning meeting, he asked again what was wrong. At this point Tyrone told the pastor, with tears in his eyes and his voice shaking, that Tyrone’s wife Rachael had been having an extramarital affair. After fifteen years of a good marriage, and serving in the church as leaders for the past six years, the couple was going to divorce because of Rachael’s affair. In Tyrone’s mind, they already had split, and the divorce was already final, even though he had just found out about the affair. Pastor Tallon asked Tyrone to come in for counseling with Rachael before doing anything drastic, and he agreed that they would try. The pastor walked with Tyrone and Rachael for several weeks of sessions, helping them speak to each other about their deepest concerns in their relationship as well as the affair. Over time, the couple made some efforts to fix what was broken in their relationship. Rachael apologized for her affair and pledged to work on her faith (in Tyrone as well as in God) to keep herself from seeking escape with another man. Tyrone agreed that he would try to be more available to talk to Rachael and support and listen to her. During one

Multicultural Approaches to Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Multicultural Approaches to Counseling - Essay Example The facts of The Urban League Report also points to some of the most significant realities about the cultural background of the African American men who need special attention in the process of counseling. The cultural, educational, historical, racial, traditional, and personal background of the African American as presented through the article suggest some vital issues that are faced by the counselors as they carry on with the efforts of accommodating the specific needs of the cultural context of the African American males. The various issues to be considered in the Counseling of African American Men as presented in the article are relevant information, though it does not offer the complete picture. The issues offered under the heads Racism, Problems of aggression and control, Cultural alienation/disconnection, Self-esteem issues, Dependency issues, Attitudes and behaviors related to seeking help etc correspond to some of the essential issues in the cultural context of the African A mericans, though there other aspects as well. The guidelines for counseling the African American Men as well as the five stages of counseling the African American Men also offer pertinent information on the issue. ... 2. What use, if any, can a counselor make, of information such as this The article "Counseling African American Men (a summary)" has an important value to the counseling practitioners working in the cultural background of the African American Men as it deals with some of the most pertinent aspects of the issues corresponding to the cultural context of these people. "All humans are situated in an historical as well as a cultural process. Any understanding of African American men is predicated on an understanding of African American history and culture. This means that counseling approaches must be based on an understanding of and sensitivity to the personal history of African Americans." (Counseling African American males: The male socialization process of African American males, 1995-2001). A counselor in the cultural background of the African American Men can make use of some basic information offered by the article and primarily, it offers to present the cultural and historical context of these people which will guide the counselor in this line. The a rticle has immense significance as it offers the historical and cultural perspectives with an immediate response to the Black experience in America. The value of the article at the hands of the counselors working in the background of the African American men amounts as it offers to present some of the basic issues that needed to be considered in the counseling of the African American Men. Some of the issues relating to the counseling of the African American males are presented by the article, which include the issues of racism, problems of aggression and control, cultural alienation or disconnection, matters relating to self-esteem, dependency, and the attitudes and

Epstein-Barr Virus and the disease it causes Infectious Mononucleosis Research Paper

Epstein-Barr Virus and the disease it causes Infectious Mononucleosis - Research Paper Example The research paper "Epstein-Bar Virus and Infectious Mononucleosis" is directed to review the main symptoms, causes, and reasons of persistent Eppstein-Barr virus infection, the connection between viremia and manifestation of Infectious mononucleosis, as a typical disease among children and youngsters. The author mentions that EBV is a gamma-group herpes virus, and it occurs worldwide and can affect any person at all points of the lifecycle. Once the virus infects a human, it can remain with them for their entire life, and one of the most significant aspects of the virus is that it has been associated with numerous diseases, most commonly with infectious mononucleosis. The EBV genome is made up of double-stranded and linear DNA molecule, which has a length of 184 kb. Its genome encodes for approximately one hundred proteins, most of which are critical in viral DNA replication, viral genes regulation, monitoring how the immune response of the human responds to the virus, and provision of structural elements of the virion.IM may be suspected and diagnosed based on the presented symptoms and signs, a physical examination to check for enlarged spleen, liver, tonsils, and lymph nodes, and the duration of the symptoms. Lab tests are normally not required but, in case additional confirmation is needed, some of the more common ones include the antibody test to check antibodies for EBV, although this test may require a longer time. Finally, specific treatment has not been invented yet, that makes this disease some kind of challenge for modern medicine.

Cyber Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cyber Law - Essay Example Therefore, an analysis of all of the above will begin below, starting with the legality of Naj’s actions and whether or not he needs to give Sarah the information she is asking for. Advise Naja of the legality of his actions, and whether he needs to give Sarah the information she is asking for. One of the issues in this question deals with Sarah’s right to privacy. The advent of new communication technologies including the distribution of personal information; the acceleration of the speed of communication through e-mail, IM, social networking and the like; and the ability of employers to electronically monitor employees has made this a hot-button issue.1 As employers cannot reasonably take the Internet and e-mail away from their employees without hurting the company's efficiency, there must be a balance between the need for employers to provide the Internet for business-related functions and reasonable personal use, and the employees tendency to abuse their privilege. Therefore, employers increasingly turn to tools such as monitoring employee e-mail and Internet usage, and disciplining employees who abuse the privilege.2 Employers typically do this with software that reads, intercepts and monitor's employee's electronic e-mail and Internet usage, much to the consternation of many employees.3 At present, â€Å"employers can lawfully intercept, search and read any messages stored in workplace computers because courts have ruled that employees have no expectation of privacy in workplace electronic communications.†4 As employee abuse of e-mail and Internet privileges can have severe consequences - in addition to lost productivity, such abuses also open the employer up to security breaches, viruses and hacking, not to mention that employees commit crimes against their employers more than third parties5 - there is a definite need for employers to subject their employees to surveillance. Then there is the issue of â€Å"cyberslacking,† whi ch is just like it sounds – employees abusing their privilege and taking away valuable company time with their personal on-line activities, which leads to loss of productivity and theft of company resources.6 However, employees have rights as well, and there are a number of different UK cases and statutes that are implicated in employee surveillance. One such is the Human Rights Act 1998, which states in Article 8 that â€Å"everyone has a right to respect for his private†¦correspondence.†7 Courts have interpreted this particular Act in a variety of ways that would be pertinent to the question of employee surveillance. For instance, the court in Halford v. UK [1997] I.R.L.R. 471 (1997). This court found that intercepting phone calls made from an employee on business premises was a breach of the employee’s privacy.8 This decision was upheld in Valenzuela Contreras v. Spain (1998) 28 E.H.R.R. 4839 and Douglas v. Hello Ltd. [2001] QB 96710. Other decisions per tinent was the decision in Niemitz v. Germany (1992) 16 E.H.H.R.R. 97, in which the search of a lawyer’s office invaded his private life.11 However, the right to privacy is not absolute – if the employer has a legitimate concern that is being furthered by the seizure, which a surveillance would be considered to be, then the employer would be held to be

General Motors and United Auto Workers Union Case Study

General Motors and United Auto Workers Union - Case Study Example However, there is more to be done if GM is to avoid bankruptcy, or emerge from a reorganization process as a financially sound company. This paper will examine the options that the UAW, GM, and their management have, and make recommendations in regards to managing the hourly pay issues at GM. The UAW's hourly pay is broken down into three main categories and several sub-categories. As of December 2008, the total compensation was comprised of the hourly pay of $30 per hour, premium payments of $10 per hour, and current and future benefits of $33 (Sherk). Premium payments include overtime pay, shift premiums, and vacation and holiday pay. Benefits include health and life insurance, disability, unemployment benefits, and pension payments. The health and retirement benefits paid to retirees is considered a current compensation expense, and according to Sherk, "Since there are more retired than active employees this makes it appear that GM employees earn far more than they actually do". Reducing the hourly compensation to the $50 goal will require that GM and the UAW look at all these areas in an effort to find cost saving opportunities. A central key to saving labor costs is reducing the size of the workforce. Currently GM has established a 'buyout' program that compensates the employee with up $45,000 cash immediately (Bunkley 2). In return, the employee severs all ties with GM, and the cost of current and future benefits is reduced to zero. While the recent round of buyouts resulted in 7500 workers leaving GM, 14000 remain at GM who are eligible for the program. However, GM terminated the program in early April 2009 and has made no plans to reinstate or continue it. The money saved through the buyout program is critical because it saves in the short term as well as the long-term future benefits such as health insurance and retirement pensions. Two thirds of the eligible workers declined the arrangement, but GM could increase the incentive in an effort to increase that number. Further voluntary reductions in the workforce will allow GM to restructure its product lines in an environment of higher productivity with fewer employees. The fact that the workforce reductions are voluntary maintains good employee relations as well as Union/Management cooperation. A GM that is reduced in size will allow them to focus on the product lines that have the most potential for sales growth. GM has made some pro-active moves in this direction by announcing the closing of 13 plants, phasing out the Pontiac brand, and cutting 21,000 hourly jobs (GM to Phase Out Pontiac Brand). Ford, who has reduced hourly compensation to about $55 per hour has pursued a similar strategy and said that "the figure would continue to decline as more workers took buyouts and as the new-vehicle market recovered, allowing increased production" (Bunkley 2). An extension of the buyout program by GM, an added incentive for taking advantage of it, and the increased productivity would put GM on par with Ford at $55 per hour. Further reduction in the hourly pay could be accomplished by more closely limiting the

Approaches to the Management of Diversity Research Paper - 1

Approaches to the Management of Diversity - Research Paper Example Many authors agree with this definition saying that diversity should be seen to apply to everyone in the organization in order to produce its intended effect. As long as there are distinctions within a group, diversity will always exist (Li, Cho and Curry 17). Another definition considered inclusive and constitutive defines diversity as â€Å"the collective amount of differences among members of a social unit.† (Harrison and sin 196) From all these definitions it is evident that diversity goes beyond the issues of race and gender to address other issues such as differences in talents and abilities, age, social status, economic status etc. of people at the workplace or in any functional group (Harrison and sin 196). There are four dimensions to understanding diversity. Some researchers from the CAN Corporation studied the impact of diversity on Air Force mission performance. they looked at four dimensions to diversity: (1) Demographic diversity: these include personal characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, religion, and gender; (2) Cognitive diversity: these will include personality types, such as extrovert/introvert and Type A/Type B, thinking styles, such as quick, decisive thinking versus slow, methodical thinking etc.; (3) structural diversity: organizational background characteristics including service, work function and component; and (4) Global diversity: and this include national affiliations (Riche and Amanda Kraus 5-10). Diversity management has been defined as â€Å"the as the craft or process of making quality decisions in the midst of differences, similarities, tensions, complexities, etc. the distinction between diversity and diversity management is important. If you do not properly manage diversity, you can lose representation.† (Lim, Cho and Curry 20) Another author considers diversity as a â€Å"liability† until and unless processes are put in place to manage the negative dynamic and to release diversities

Examine it from 1978 (the year China adopted a capitalist economic Essay

Examine it from 1978 (the year China adopted a capitalist economic system) to present. Analyzing the country from the 1990s to t - Essay Example Introduction Before 1976, China’s economic ideology was purely communism. The death of Mao Zedong in 1976 precipitated leadership decisions, which were significant. No one would foretell that the end of Maoist Socialism in China would result into what modern scholars refer to as China’s great transformation (Wang & Coase 1). China became capitalist and mostly productive (Shaw 1). It became one of the most democratic income distributors to the rest of the world. Despite the rise of the Chinese economy, existing statistics reveal that most Chinese are still poor; in fact, most Chinese still face challenges in exercising their freedom and protecting their rights. Tony 1 postulates that one of the most overlooked astounding narratives about China is that, since the economic resurgence of china in 1978, the country has become an unequal society to the extent that it rates high in the Asian continent. Since 1978, the Cina's Gini coefficient of general family income distributi on surpasses both Indonesia and India, and it is now approaching Malaysia and the Philippines, which are unequal in Asia. This paper seeks to document a hallmark feature of china’s capitalism, with close review as to how the economy has reformed. i. Politics and Policy Deng’s skeptical slogan of ‘Letting some Chinese get rich first’ marked the outset of inequality in China. This became a source of concern for his predecessors, who prompted political moves to distance themselves from their predecessor. Between 1995 and 2002, a development strategy, popularly known as ‘Great western Strategy’, which gave greater emphasis on investing in poor provinces, was adopted (Jane 1). The program also included alleviation of rural poverty through support to farm production, rural educational and training, and emigration into ecologically sustainable areas. The implementation of these policy initiatives has yet faced numerous challenges. For example, tax re bates for local governments tend to be biased towards urban areas, this leaves rural areas depressed out in the cold thus, not doing anything on the urban-rural gap. The complexity behind Chinese politics is worth noting. A debate as to whether the Chinese Government should worry about political destabilization to compact inequality is intriguing. The political elites, the protagonist’s side of Jiang, argue that it is not a pressing problem while Hu and Wen argue it is. With Hu and Wen ruminating openly that inequality is a threat to political stability, their opponents take comfort because they understand that the relationship between poverty and inequality, and protests against social movements are often attenuated (Tony 12). ii. Inequality and Poverty According to Shujie, Yao and associates, China’s largest component of inequality is best illustrated by the rural-urban gap. In 2002, for example, the average urban: rural per capita was expressed in the ratio 3: 1 (Bl echer & College 3), which economic analysts described as staggering, and almost unheard in developing nations. However, China’s extremely egalitarian distribution of land has reduced rural inequality, coupled with its policy on land reform and collectivization, the approach that those molded the collective land distribution to households in the 1980s, and the ongoing restrictions on the growth of a farmland market. Today, rural inequality in Chin

Using an extended example critically discuss the view that a sector Essay - 2

Using an extended example critically discuss the view that a sector matrix gives a better strategic understanding of product markets than the concepts of product or commodity chains - Essay Example The automobile industry is the best industry to examine when it comes to commodity value chains and the sector matrix, because it often produces complex products that have complex distribution channels (Plunkett, 2009). Further, it is also important to understand that the commodity price is very high in this industry. This paper through the use of Ford Company intends to show that a ‘sector matrix’ often gives better and strategic understanding of the product markets as compared to the concepts of product chains. It is important to note that the commodity chain has different value chain approaches. The value chain often describes that activities that usually take place in business and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of businesses (Bharati, 2012). The value chain analysis often identifies which activities should be undertaken by a big business and which one is best outsourced. The value chain is important as it gives a strategic understanding of the product markets (Carbaugh, 2013). The commodity chain is important as it also reveals a lot about the international configuration of production as well as the global economy. For this reason, it can be said to represent a distinguished field of study which helps in understanding the different products in the market (Nieman, 2006). Understanding significance of a commodity often represents a comprehensive approach as it includes an array of activities. For example, in the automotive industry, it often identifies the actors as well as the processes that often contribute to the inauguration of merchandise that is consumed by the market (Nieman, 2006). This includes raw resources, the assemblage of different parts and the distribution of the automobiles in the industry (Carbaugh, 2013). The automotive industry is very complex, for this reason there are several perspectives that are used to look at the industry and its products. The first

Models of Integration Implementation Research Paper

Models of Integration Implementation - Research Paper Example Any software development procedure is divided into numerous logic stages that permit the developer to consolidate work competently, in order to build a software product of the necessary functionality within a precise period and financial plan. This model is a progressive scheme process, in which advancement is seen as flowing progressively down, like a waterfall, over the phases of formation, commencement, analysis, scheme, assembly, testing, and upkeep. According to this model, each stage must be finalized before the subsequent stage can begin (Petrice, 2002). This model traces its roots in the construction and manufacturing industries, which comprise highly organized physical settings in which after-the –fact fluctuations are excessively inflated, if not unbearable. This hardware sloping model was merely adjusted for software development at the time for the reason that no software development approaches existed. Winston frequently quotes formal explanation of this model as a 1970 article. He however did not specifically use the word waterfall in the article. He termed the model as an example of faulty, non-working model (Petrice, 2002). According to Royce, the software in request is premeditated and a blue print is drawn for implementers or coders to trail. Once design is thorough, an application of that plan is made by coders, and just before the later stages of the implementation stage, distinct software components manufactured are joined to present new functionality and abridged risk over the removal of errors (Petrice, 2002). This model is not suitable for a high-level plan; it is only applicable in a low-level project plan (Petrice, 2002). This is due to lack of prototype in the earlier stages of the process, until the implementation stage. This might present a catastrophe for a high-level plan, in terms of costs and time spent, for any fault would necessities the repeat of the development process.

White Castle Essay Example for Free

White Castle Essay White Castle is known as the original fast-food hamburger chain. The first White Castle opened its doors in Witchita, Kansas, in 1921. White Castle (WC) has since grown to 393 restaurants in 11 states (White Castle hamburger , 2004) and is now expanding internationally. By analysing White Castles internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities, and external threats, otherwise known as a SWOT analysis (Kerin, 2005), Learning Team B was able to exam market demographics, company needs, trends, and market forecast as they pertain to White Castle. During the SWOT analysis Learning Team B (LTB) discovered the primary strategic marketing issue is in order to remain profitable White Castle needs to promote its unique product(s) and adapt its menu items in order to continue to appeal to the changing desires of todays consumers. The same holds trues today as it did in 1998 when William J. McDonald stated White Castle needs to continually reassess its marketing strategy, particularly its pricing and promotional activities to determine what approach will be most effective into the future. Marketing strategy recommendations A major strategy in the element of marketing is generating and maintaining brand recognition. Attaining brand recognition in the target market is a critical milestone for any branding strategy. There are many cues in the brand recognition arsenal. Typically brand building begins with aesthetic cues, the design features in a graphic or logo meant to visually represent the brand. Color, shape, texture, style, typeface, and position are among the design attributes which can offer recognition cues, making a design visually distinctive. Its the reason why, when a new logo is evaluated, recognition factors and design uniqueness are taken into consideration. According to Kim Kelly-Bartley (2001), vice president of marketing and site development for the Columbus, Ohio-based chain, summarizes, In an effort to boost brand recognition, White Castle is revamping units for only the second time in its 80-year history. An earlier change occurred five years ago, when the nations oldest burger chain celebrated its 75th anniversary. Prior to that, the chain had not changed, other than to make sure the units were clean and in good repair. The first retrofit was introduced in late July, in an existing store in Queens, N. Y. The prototype is also being tested in Chicago, St. Louis and Columbus. The chains updated look features orange accents, wood laminates and chrome finishes. Orange neon lighting, for example, encircles the restaurants dining room and accents seating. White Castles enduring (and too many customers, endearing) color scheme had been limited to blue and white. We wanted to see if you can add a color and still uphold the look. (p. 1). The process of recognition is a core component of branding. If a brand strategy doesnt employ visual or auditory cues, establishing brand perceptions and evoking memories is a lot more difficult and complicated. Without cues, the brain has to rely solely on recall to remember a brand. Boosting brand recognition is always a combination of knowing the target audience, market(s), category competition, and distribution. In order to boost brand recognition, a company must know their brands visual equity and level of current brand recognition. Finally, a company must understand what sales have been doing in their target market(s), what their strategic business goals are for increased sales, and what the budget is for increasing sales. Generating brand recognition through exposing the market to the product and promoting it heavily as well as finding promotional partners may also be beneficial. In a special Valentines Day promotion, couples who love White Castle hamburgers can dine at any of 48 White Castle fast-food restaurants nationwide participating in a special Valentines Day promotion. In comparison with some of the pricier, more upscale events held for lovers, Valentines Day at White Castle cost just 49 cents per burger to enjoy. Hostesses dressed in elegant costumes instead of the usual White Castle uniforms seat couples at cloth-covered, candlelit tables while romantic music is played in the background. The promotion is not a new invention. It debuted in St. Louis and Minneapolis about 16 years ago but was so popular it was expanded to White Castles in other Midwestern cities last year. For duos on a budget, the evening cost a whopping $6. 05 for a 10-pack of the bite-sized burgers and a small order of fries, leaving just enough money in the bank for the requisite Valentines Day bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates. Growth in competition in the fast-food market The consumer is the driving force in any highly competitive market, with his power growing ever stronger and becoming ingrained. The fast-food market is being fueled by the generation x and echo-boomers running between work, soccer, dance and other family activities with little time to spare for cooking at home. Todays consumer has more choices in variety, nutrition and value than ever before. The minimum population growth currently being experienced in the United States means that there is little new business to be had so it must be taken from others (http://www. fmi. org/media/bg/FoodRetailing. pdf). In order to compete in the fast-food market White Castle will need to give the consumer what they want. Many customers today are demanding healthier choices on menues, as well as more family friendly surroundings. Consumers are looking for family dining experiences without losing the fast-food aspect of dining out. Restraunts are starting to offer more salads and other alternatives to red meat, like chicken and fish in order to attract the more health conscience consumer (http://www. entrepreneur. com/franzone/article/0,5847,308510,00. html) . Location, location, location has been suggested as one of the most important marketing and competitive strategies. White Castle should consider expansion into new markets in new areas of the country. Proposed marketing elements What specific price, distribution, promotion, and product elements would you propose and why? Conclusion References At long last, change. (2001, September). Chain Leader, 6(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from EBSCOhost Database. Elan, E. (2006, February). White Castle offers couples a Valentine promo with heart. Nations Restaurant News, 40(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from InfoTrac OneFile Database. Kerin, R. , Hartley, S. , Berkowitz, E. , Rudelius, W. (2005). Marketing (8th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. McDonald, W. J. , (1998). Case 6 White Castle System Inc. , UOP Eresource, Retrieved April 8, 2006, from Eresource database. White Castle hamburger chain adopts DigitalPersona fingerprint authentication technology. (2004, Decemeber). Digitalpersona. Retrieved on April 9, 2006 from http://www. digitalpersona. com/company/news/releases/120804. php http://www. whitecastle. com/ Retrieved on April 9, 2006.

Thought paper based on Buffalo Bill Essay Example for Free

Thought paper based on Buffalo Bill Essay William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) was born on the 26th of February 1846 in Iowa. In Don Russell’s authoritative biography, The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill, William Cody’s lineage was traced to Philippe Le Caude of the Isle of Jersey, who married Marthe Le Brocq of Guernsey in the parish of St. Brelades, Isle of Jersey, on September 15, 1692. â€Å"Russell’s research was thorough and exemplary; the notes for his book in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, are proof of that. † (Carter, Robert A. p. 11)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just like the way history was followed in Russell’s book, the movie also follows the basic facts in history and the life of William Cody.   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also the characters in the movie mostly bear the names of the real people involved in this piece of history, and their actions resemble those of their historical counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The movie does indeed convey the atmosphere and settings of the era which it depicts quite accurately. This is because in the film, the story was simplified to depict the narrative as accurately as possible, and not just only to add drama to the events.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Russell’s book, â€Å"Buffalo Bill’s most remote ancestor who was definitely known was one Philip Legody. Philip Legody’s surname also appears in various surviving records in variations like Mocody, Lagody, McCody, Micody, Gody, Coady, Cody and even Codie. Although the family names are French, the Channel Islands have been British possessions since the middle Ages. No Irish or Spanish in sight; just good English stock. The Cody Family Association’s book The Descendants of Philip and Martha Cody carries the line down to the present day. Buffalo Bill was sixth in descent from Philip. Philip and Martha purchased a home in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1698, and occupied it for twenty-five years, farming six acres of adjacent land. In 1720 Philip bought land in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and he and his family moved there, probably in 1722 or 1723. When he died in 1743, his will was probated under the name of Coady. (Carter, Robert A.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Cody’s family moved Kansas about 11 years after he was born, and they settled in what is currently Kansas Territory. Cody’s father died in 1857, and he had to look employment in order to be able to help provide for the family. He started working as a messenger out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, â€Å"and later was one of the youngest riders for the Pony Express until they were replaced by the telegraph.† (William F. Buffalo Bill Cody.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cody was soon to get work as a messenger boy for a company store at Leavenworth, Kansas which was owned by Majors and Russell. For 3 years, he tried his hand at trapping, and during the Pikes Peak gold rush, he also tried prospecting. In the end, he was not very successful in any of these ventures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1860, Cody was hired as a rider for the Pony Express when Russell, Majors, and Waddell, went into partnership and formed the Pony Express in order to advertise and obtain a contract for a central route for mail to the Pacific. Cody, already acquainted with the principals in this partnership, was hired as a rider. The Pony Express operated from April 3, 1860 to November 18, 1861. The venture operated at a loss and failed to bring the desired contract to Cody’s employers, whose partnership ended in bankruptcy. (Don Russell 1960)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William’s mother died on the 22nd of November 1863, and shortly after that, he enlisted in the 7th Kansas Cavalry at the age of 18, a decision that was apparently influenced by alcohol and his friends. During the Civil War Cody saw action in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Missouri. He served 19 months, including one year of active duty. He fought for two years against the Confederacy. In 1866 he married Louisa Frederici. After being discharged from the army he moved to Salt Creek Valley, Kansas where he soon started serving as a scout and guide. He also used his skills to provide meat for the crews working on the railroad. During this period he fought in as many as sixteen battles with Native Americans, and was hunting guide for the wealthy and famous visiting the West, including Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. (Shufelt, Catherine)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cody wedded Louisa Frederici on the 6th of March 1866, after his army discharge, and he went to work as a scout at Fort Ellsworth for a short time. An old acquaintance of his, James Butler â€Å"Wild Bill† Hickok, was also an employee at Fort Ellsworth at the time. Cody was later to be hired by the management of the Kansas Pacific Railroad in a contract in which he was to kill buffalo to supply food for the company’s railroad track layers for eight months. This job is apparently where the nickname Buffalo Bill originated. A nickname that would later become known around the whole world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a scout for the United States Army, Cody distinguished himself, and was valued so highly in the army that General Phil Sheridan insisted on keeping Cody on the Army’s payroll, even after the campaign ended. This was something unheard of for scouts in the army at that time, and it made it possible for scouts to become acknowledged, and also paved the way for the scout to become an established position in the Army, during the years of the Indian wars. In October 1868, General Sheridan made William Cody chief scout of the 5th Cavalry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a national figure, Cody first began to attract attention when a serial story about â€Å"Buffalo Bill† was published in a New York newspaper in 1869. Then he got the assignment to be a guide for a hunting trip embarked upon by the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, in 1872. With the press following the Duke’s every move, Cody received a great deal more exposure. This experience was followed by his first trip to the eastern states. He attended a play about himself and was talked into taking part in the performance. Thus began a period of years when Cody alternated between scouting duties and theatrical tours. (Don Russell 1960)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Buffalo Bill realized his ambition of hosting a big outdoor exhibition that contained buffaloes, horses and wagon trains in Nebraska, in 1882. The show consisted partly of theater and rodeo. There were also some circus displays, and the show proved to be altogether a successful one. After that, Cody devoted his life to this show for 30 years, and traveled across Europe, Canada and the United States on the show. â€Å"He was received by European royalty, hailed as a hero, and given the Congressional Medal of Honor. He had diverse business interests, and founded the town of Cody, Wyoming as a tourist attraction.† (Catherine Shufelt)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the war, William Cody was awarded a Medal of Honor for action against Indians at the South Fork of the Loup River in Nebraska, in 1872. He was later to play an important role in assisting General George Crook’s campaign against the Sioux in 1876. In 1916, however, his name was removed from the record of Medal of Honor recipients, because he we was a civilian, and thus, considered ineligible for the Medal of Honor award. Cody became interested in developing the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming in the 1890s. The Cody Canal was built in 1895, as part of the Shoshone Land and Irrigation Project. The company laid out a townsite, first calling it â€Å"Shoshone.† With the Shoshoni Indian agency in the region this was rejected to avoid confusion. Therefore, in August, 1896 the Cody post office was established, with Buffalo Bill’s nephew, Ed Goodman, as postmaster. The water project led to the building of the Shoshone Dam, which was completed in 1910. The dam was renamed â€Å"Buffalo Bill Dam† in 1946. Buffalo Bill was also instrumental in bringing a rail line to the town of Cody in 1901. (Don Russell 1960)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) died on the 10th of January 1917, in Denver, Colorado, and was buried on Lookout Mountain, which is west of Denver.    References Don Russell. The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill. University of Oklahoma Press,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1960. Shufelt, Catherine. WHO was BUFFALO BILL? Carter, Robert A. Buffalo Bill Cody: The Man behind the Legend. William F. Buffalo Bill Cody. (Retrieved from http://wyoarchives.state.wy.us/articles/buffalob.htm)

Comparison of GDP and Inflation: Japan and Thailand

Comparison of GDP and Inflation: Japan and Thailand Thailand   Ã‚   That have 2 main trends will be discuss. First one is the trend during years 1996 to 1999. From years 1996 to 1999, it was a period that Thailand created the Asian financial crisis and faced the recession from the crisis until the economy recovered. In 1996, Thailand was facing export stagnation because a decline of demand from First World countries, and also opening domestic markets to outside money brought a deluge of short-term foreign investment and spurred heavy short-term borrowing from abroad, fueling a building boom (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406400060.html). Thailand baht was fueled by refugee capital and it was the starting of Asian Financial Crisis (http://www.economist.com/node/9432495). As a result, Thailand GDP was fallen down due to the lost confidence of investors and the stagnation of export, but that was recovered quickly. IMF’s Executive Board approved financial support for Thailand of up to about US$4billion over a 34-month period (IMF staff, Jun e 2000). Thailand government also apply monetary policy to stable the exchange rate and fostering the economy recovery, and fiscal policy to restructuring the economy. In 1998, Thailand GDP returned to positive growth. The second trend is years 2008 to 2010. Thailand was facing political crisis during this period. The anti-Thaskin protesters, known as Yellow Shirts, stage protests for several months since May 2008, and they occupy two airports on November 2008 (CNN news, May 19 2010). The protests activities were continuous until 2010. During years 2008-2010, the Thailand economy being affected that the number of tourism, the number of export and most of the government budget spent on the safety and restoration of damaged by Yellow Shirts. Thailand experienced negative growth of economy after the Asian Financial Crisis. It make many investors and tourism was getting away from Thailand market. In year 2009, the Global Great Recession made double strike on Thailand economy. Japan Japan economy was facing Lost 20 Decades from year 1990 until 2010. Japan was one of the best countries to grow Japan economy in 1980s. This period was also creating high real estate price and soaring Nikkei stock market. The Bank of Japan decide to tighten its monetary policy in year 1989, then soon the Nikkei stock bubble popped and this lead to pop real estate bubble (Jesse Colombo, June 2012). Japan experienced economic stagnation in the following years based on the GDP calculation. The main reasons of prolonged stagnation of Japanese economy in year 1990s was the stagnation of investment and stagnation of household consumption due to the decline of household wealth, stagnation of household disposal income, and the uncertainty about the future (Charles Yuji Horioka, March 2006). Bank of Japan implemented zero interest rate policy in year 1999 to boost the economy but the situation has not improved greatly. Then, Bank of Japan introduced the quantitative easing policy in year 2000 (Yutaka Kurihara, 2014). Quantitative easing policy grab much of attention of investors and the investment start to return to capital of Japan. Japan is ready to recover the economy since the internal growing of Japan is quite high that they consist of lots of information about advanced technologies and higher production of their export area, although Japan was facing high debt-to-GDP ratio which is 225.9% in year 2010. Comparison Thailand seem like had a higher GDP growth rate than Japan which may means the Thailand economy is better than Japan. However, Japan experienced Lost 20 Decades during 1990 to 2010. The GDP of Thailand also unable surpass Japan and also the potential growth of nation is lower than Japan too since Japan keep advanced technologies sector even in the period of Lost 20 Decades. For the current period, Japan is recovering their economy after the Lost 20 Decades. Thailand Thailand reach two peak of inflation rate in year 1998 and also 2008. In 2 July 1997, Thailand float Thai baht and this lead Thai baht value devalued as much as 20% a record low (History Squared, 2011). This lead the Asian Financial Crisis, most of the Asian countries were involved in this crisis and led to inflation in year 1998. Most of the Asian countries currencies were fall and led the price level rose in the period. After that, Thailand inflation rate decreased sharply by year 1999, and Thai government lower the interest rate that short-term interest rate fall to 2% in 1999 from 23% in the year 1997 in order hope to boost economy (Economic Reform in Thailand, 2013). The second inflation rate peak was placed on year 2008. It was financial crisis happened on year 2008, the price of oil rose 800% since 2006 until mid-2008 (Clifford Krauss, 2008). This led price of other commodity also increase in the period until the bubble of commodity burst. The combination of an economic crisis and soaring U.S. dollar would cause commodities prices to plunge as in 2008, when commodities prices imploded by nearly half in a mere five month (Jesse Colombo, 2015). It led deflation to Thailand in year 2009 since many commodities prices fall sharply. After the crisis passed, the economy return to supply and demand level. Japan In the period of Lost 20 Decades that Japan experienced, the decreasing rate of inflation was happened in Japan. Japan government keep their effort to prevent deflation during Lost 20 Decades. That had few causes to make Japan suffer in deflation so long time. Surplus in savings, government policy mismanagement, structural impediments, Yen appreciation and global capital flow were considered as the causes that prolonged Japan economy recover period and led to deflation due to the research of Daniel I. Okimoto. In 1997, Japan experienced the peak of inflation rate. It was the Asian currencies crisis period since most of the Asian countries also been affected by devaluation of currencies. In April 1997, Japan government rose the consumption tax rate from 3% to 5%. The economy continued to deteriorate in 1998: the year 1998 recorded negative growth for the first time since 1976 (Takatoshi Ito and Andrew K. Rose, 2006). Japan economy was slowed down that led the people consumption lesser and lesser in Japan. Deflation was continuous until year 2002 that most of the investors believe that Japan passed the Lost Decades period and start to recover Japan economy. Unfortunately, Japan economy stagnation still going on in year 2002 until 2010 that Japan people consumption still low and they save more money in bank as a result of surplus in savings. Inflation rate increased in year 2008 was the result of Global Financial Crisis, which the US housing bubble burst, in the situation almost same as described above in Thailand. The Japan Lost 20 Decades was believed that is past in year 2010 which the GDP growth was positive and inflation rate increase in a safe frequent. Comparison Thailand has higher inflation rate growth compared with Japan. Inflation rate is meaning about a country’s growth due to the people could expense more in the period. Japan must face the inflation rate to boost the economy activities to recover the Lost 20 Decades for Japan. As the graph showing, Japan inflation rate was increasing from year 2010 until now, that means Japan has no more stagnation on their economy activities that they could boost the economy back to the standard. In contrast, Thailand was getting decreasing inflation rate from year 2010 to year 2013. Thailand unemployment rate increase due to the investments of foreign countries was shift to Indonesia or Vietnam, cheaper and higher skill labor force, that made Thailand people being poor and slow down their consumption during 2010. References: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406400060.html https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/062300.htm#box1 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/17/thailand.timeline/ http://www.thebubblebubble.com/japan-bubble/ https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/12142.html http://www.todayscience.org/JFE/article/jfe.v2i2p77.pdf http://historysquared.com/2011/10/14/a-look-at-thailand-during-the-asian-financial-crises/ http://finance.mapsofworld.com/economy-reform/thailand/ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/business/economy/14commodities.html?pagewanted=all http://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/research/causes_of_japans_economic_stagnation http://www.nber.org/chapters/c0092.pdf Construction Project Delay: Causes and Effects Construction Project Delay: Causes and Effects In this chapter, I will discuss types, causes and effects of delay of project in the construction industry. Besides that, I will also discuss the method to minimize the delays happening in construction industry 2.2 Type of Delay In construction industry, there are the categories of delays used in determining delay damage as shown in table 2.1 Figure 2.1 Types of Delay 2.2.1 Excusable delays Excusable delay as define a delay that is due to an unforeseeable event beyond the contractorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s or the subcontractorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s control. Usually, based on common general provisions in public agency specifications, delay resulting from the following events would be considered excusable such as fires, floods, owner-directed changes, errors and omissions in the contract drawing, unusually severe weather and etc. Excusable delays can be further classified into excusable with compensation and excusable without compensation. 2.2.1.1 Excusable with compensation Compensation delays are caused by the owner or the owners agents. An example of this would be the drawings late release from the owners architect. An excusable, compensable delay normally leads to a schedule extension and exposes the owner to financial damages claimed by the contractor. In this scenario, the contractor incurs additional indirect costs for both extended field office and home office overhead and unabsorbed home office overhead. 2.2.1.2 Excusable delays without compensation Non-compensable delays are caused by third parties or incidents beyond the control of both the owner and the contractor. Examples typically include acts of God, unusual weather, strikes, fires, acts of government in its sovereign capacity, etc. In this case, the contractor is normally entitled to claim extension of time but no compensation for delay damages 2.2.2 Non-excusable delays Non-excusable delays are cause by lack of performance of the contractor on the construction project. This delay can be cause by underestimates of productivity, improper project planning and scheduling, poor site management and supervision, wrong construction methods, equipment breakdowns, unreliable subcontractors or suppliers. Therefore, it is contractor responsibilities to continue their work with no entitlement to claim for extension of time or delay damages until they completed the project. For instance, a contractor failure to provide an adequate material to completed their job. 2.2.3 Concurrent Delay Concurrent delay is a problem that happening on most of the construction industry project. This issue arises when two or more delaying event at the same time in a project cannot complete on time. In this situation, both owner and contractor are responsible for the delay. Commonly concurrent delays which involve any two or more excusable delays result in extension of time. When excusable with compensation and non-excusable delays are concurrent, an extension of time can be issued or the delay can be distribution between the owner and the contractor. Concurrent delay can be categories in three types of delays: If excusable and non-excusable delays occur concurrently, the contractor only to allow claim for extension of time: If excusable with compensation and excusable without compensation delays occur concurrently, the contractor is entitle to claim extension of time but no delay damages: If two excusable with compensation delays occur concurrently, the contractor is entitled to claim extension of time and delay damages. For instance, a concurrent delay would be if the owner failure to give more detail regarding either using ceramic tile or homogeneous tile for toilet floor finishes. But at the same time contractor made with own decision and using ceramic tile for toilet floor finishes but actually owner plan using homogeneous tile. In this situation, the contractor cannot claim for damages. It is because contractor is not follow owner instruction but he can claim for extension of time with owner failure to give more detail of drawing 2.3 Causes of delays Figure 2.2 Causes of delays Based on the researched done through by journal, books, and some other reference. Project delay can be causes by a lot of parties which is shown in the Figure 2.2. They are include client, contractor, consultant, labour, material, equipment, financial and some external causes. 2.3.1 Caused of Client Related Delays Figure 2.3 Factors of client related delays 2.3.1.1 Lack of experience of client in construction According to Koushki, et al. (2005) identified factors of lack of experiences of client in construction project have high influence to the causes of delays. Some of the project delay cause by client due to not enough experience especially fresh developer. Most of the time, client facing a problem and do not know how to solve it immediately because of no experience. During client finding the way to solve the problem, some of the work could not progress. Finally, the whole project delay because of some particular work delay. 2.3.1.2 Change order According to Odeh and Battaineh (2002) mentioned the factors of change orders that contribute to causes of delaysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Client always change the design during the construction period, during the same time that will affect whole project delay. It is because contractor cannot carry out his work until the latest drawing issue by architect. Consequently contractor cannot be done within the contract period. Most of the current project delay because of change order by client. For instance, a project almost complete but client change certain part of design and instruct contractor carry out the additional work. After done the whole project, the contractor found out was exceeding contract period. 2.3.1.3 Client interference According to Long, et al. (2004) studied the factors client interference that contributes to causes of delays in construction project. Some of the client instruct contractor to carry out additional work without ask architect promise. During the contractor carry out additional work, some of the work could not progress and it will be delay immediately. On the other hand, client do not follow the procedure such as did not mention architect issue an architect instruction. Finally it will affect the whole project delay. 2.3.2 Causes of contractor related delay Figure 2.4 Factors of contractor related delay 2.3.2.1 Inadequate contractor experience Abd Majid and McCaffer (1998) studied the factors of inadequate contractor experience as contributor to causes of delays. Long, ET al. (2004) mentioned the factors of inadequate contractor experience that contribute to causes of delays in construction project. Battaineh (2002) identified the factors of inadequate contractor experience as contributors to causes of delays. In construction industry, some of the delay projects are facing a problem during construction period. But at the same time contractor could not solved the problem immediately because of no experience. During the contractor finding method to solve the problem, some of the works totally stop because of that problem. After the problem was solved, those work keeping continue but run out from the schedule. Finally, the whole project will influence delay. 2.3.2.2 Inaccurate time estimate According to Long, et al. (2004) identified the factors of inaccurate time estimating that contribute to causes of delays in construction project.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Time estimates are important as inputs into other technique used to manage and structure for all projects. An inaccurate time estimation technique may cause a project delay. For instance, in some delay project, the contractor do not allowed time for some common problem always happen during the construction stage such as breakdown of equipment, miss deliveries by supplies, accidents and emergencies and so on. Because of this problem the actual time will run out from the estimated. So, the whole project could be facing delay. 2.3.2.3 Inaccurate of cost estimate According to Long, et al. (2004) also mentioned that, the factors of inaccurate cost estimating that contribute to causes of delays in construction project. Construction estimating errors can be very expensive and embarrassing. Inaccurate of cost estimate contribute a lot of cause such as wrong measurements from contract drawing, using incorrect units of measure, material improperly priced and the most common mistakes in arithmetic . Sometime contractor because of inaccurate of cost estimate measurement again for that particular work. Finally, due to re-measurement time some of the work will influence delay and it will also affect whole project to delay. 2.3.2.4 Poor site management and supervision Battaineh (2002) studied that, the factors of poor site management and supervision as contributors to causes of delays. Chan and Kumaraswamy (1996) identified the factors of poor site management and supervision that contribute to causes of delays. In construction industry, some of the project team a lack of management and supervision due team member without any experience and skill such as hire person who are fresh graduate. Once they facing problem but do not know how to solve it. Besides that, some of the supervisor did not cooperation with their team member due to lack of communicated. Finally, because of cannot solve the problem immediately the whole project influence delay. 2.3.3 Causes of Consultant Related Delays Figure 2.5 Factors of consultant related delays 2.3.3.1 Inadequate consultant experience According to Long, et al. (2004) studied the factors of inadequate consultant experience as contributors to causes of delays. In construction industry, they are many consultants carry out their work without experience. Besides that, there are many causes of a consultant without experience which include different site conditions, mismanagement and maladministration, site access restrictions, defective plan and/or specification. For instances, some of the architects only concentrated in certain part of building and do not have any experience in other type. Once architect design on that particular type of building without experiences, he will facing a lot of mistake and no ideas during design and because of this architect will delay issue the drawing. Finally, the works cannot process and it will affect the whole project delay. 2.3.3.2 Poor design and delay in design According to Ogunlana, et al.(1996) mentioned the factors of poor design and delay in design that contribute to causes of delays in construction project. Design is every important to any project, without good design the whole project will influence delay. It is because in a project if facing poor design that will facing demolish and rebuilt again. This problem happens because of the designer lack of experience. For instance, an architect designs a column in the middle of classroom. Once the contractor without any experience and construct the work exactly shown in the drawing. Finally 2.3.3.3 Incomplete drawing and detail design Long, et al. (2004) identified the factors of incomplete drawing and detail design as contributors to causes of delays. Ogunlana, et al. (1996) studied the factors of incomplete drawing and detail design that contribute to causes of delays in construction project. During construction, the contractor is carrying out the work but because of drawing is unclear and none very detail shown in the drawing. He could not continue the work with problem, so the works have to stop immediately until get more detail of that particular drawing from consultant responds. Because of without detail drawing the work could not be progress, so it will affect the tat particular work delay and it will also influence the whole project delay. 2.3.4 Causes of labour related delays Figure 2.6 Factors of labour related delays 2.3.4.1 Labour supply Abd Majid and McCaffer (1998) identified the factors of slow labor supply that contribute to causes of delays. Odeh and Bataineh (2002) in their research identified à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the factors of labor supply as contributors to causes of delays. Besides material, the labour also consider as major source in the construction industry. Generally, labour are categories into two groups such as skilled workers and unskilled workers. In construction industry without labour project could not run. For instance, during construction, materials are ready to but no worker carrying out the work. During the same time because of no worker to progress of work, the project will confront project delay. 2.3.4.2 Shortage of skilled worker According to Chan and Kumaraswamy (1996) mentioned the factor of shortage of skill labor is the most important factor that contributed to causes of delays. Skilled worker is a worker who has some special skill, knowledge and ability in his job and also gets highest pay such as plasterer, carpenter, painter, and concreter. Those skilled workers are learning the skills on the job. In construction, some contractors do not hire skilled workers because of higher labour cost and he employs some unskilled workers. At the same time skilled workers do not want get the job from the contractor with lower labour cost. Finally the unskilled workers could not complete the work on time. So, because of shortage of skilled worker affect whole project delay. 2.3.4.3 Labor of productivity According to Ogunlana, et al. (1996) studied the factor of labor productivity having high influence to causes of delays. Labor of productivity; generally define as output per labour hour. There are many factors that influence on the labour productivity. One of the factors is workers experience, labour with high experience and high skills in field leads to high performance at workplace. Besides that, attitude also will affect productivity of labour. For instance, a worker can lay one meter square per hour but because of lazy. Finally he using three hours to finish laid the brick wall. Because of this factor, the progress work delay and it will also influence the whole project delay. 2.3.5 Causes of Material related Delay Figure 2.7 Factors of material related delay 2.3.5.1 Shortage of construction materials Koushki, et al. (2005) mentioned that, factor shortage of construction material that contribute to causes of delays. Ogunlana, et al. (1996) identified the factor of shortage of material as a factor to causes of delay. Chan and Kumaraswamy (1996) studied that factors shortage of material as contributors that contribute to causes of delays. Abd Majid and McCaffer (1998) identified the factor of shortage of material that contribute to causes of delays. Material shortage is a potential source of construction delay. The major causes of material shortage is demand exceed supply. In construction have a lot type of material and the three main courses are cement, formwork and steel bar. Besides that, material is one of the main sources in construction industry. It is because without material project cannot construct. If a project facing the material shortage problem will be delay. For instance, a project having shortage ceramic tiles even though the labours ready for tiling. In this situatio n, the project will facing delay project. 2.3.5.2 Late delivery of materials Ogunlana, et al. (1996) identified the factor of late delivery of material as a factor to causes of delay. Abd Majid and McCaffer (1998) studied the factor of late delivery of material that contribute to causes of delays. Late delivery of material as a supplier fault due to high market demand; however the long procedure of the purchasing order from head office was complained. In construction, it factor is similar to the material shortage such as the labour ready for work but no material to do their work. Once contractor cannot receive the material on time that will be delay work and it will also affect project delay. For example, workers want to install the windows but without frame because of late delivery to site. So, the work will be delay and it will affect project delay. 2.3.5.3 Poor quality of construction materials Koushki, et al. (2005) mentioned that factor poor quality of material that contribute to causes of delays. Ogunlana, et al. (1996) identified the factor of poor quality of material as a factor to causes of delay. Abd Majid and McCaffer (1998) studied the factor of poor quality of material that contribute to causes of delays. Poor quality of material is construct building with using poor quality of material. The contractor has intention to cheat owner to earn more profit by change the quality of material such as concrete. For instance, a contractor cast a column with using Y 20 steel bar but actual in contract drawing is Y 25. After site staff done the inspection for this column and found that the steel bar inside column is Y 20 and ask contractor demolish the column to rebuild. In this case, time taken to rebuild the column will also affect project delay. 2.3.5.4 Escalation of material prices Ogunlana, et al. (1996) identified the factor of escalation of material prices as a factor to causes of delay. Wiguna and Scoot (2005) studied the factor of escalation of material prices was one factor that contribute to causes of delays. Escalation of material prices will cause shortage material in construction. It is because the market rate is keeping increasing. Some of the contractor does not buy the expensive material. During same time, the construction without material cannot run so the project will influence the project delay. For instance, a contractor because of material cost of market demands higher and does not make any order for material until material shortage. Finally, the construction cannot run without material and it will affect delay project also. 2.3.6 Causes of Equipment Related Delays Figure 2.8 Factors of Equipment related delays 2.3.6.1 Insufficient number of equipment According to Ogunlana, et al. (1998) identified the factors of insufficient numbers of equipment is the most significant factors that contribute to causes of delays. In construction stage, contractors are facing not enough machinery to produce work. It is because some of the contractors do not have a large capital to purchase that machinery due to higher cost. Once the projects carry out with not enough machinery, it will influence whole project delay. For instance, there are two works to be done by using towel crane but in site only one towel crane available. Finally, two of work could not be done at the same time due to not enough towel cranes. 2.3.6.2 Frequent equipment breakdown McCaffer (1998) studied the factors of equipment breakdown as contributors to causes of delays. Ogunlana, et al. (1998) mentioned the factor of frequent equipment breakdown is the most significant factors that contribute to causes of delays. In construction industry, some of the machinery always breakdown due to improper using by worker such as do not follow the instruction. For instance, machinery only can support for five hundred kilograms of material but during worker using that machinery and his carry out six hundred kilograms of material. Finally, the machinery will breakdown. Once machinery breakdown, the work will be stop immediately and affect some work delay. Finally, because of machinery breakdown the whole project will also influence delay. 2.3.6.3 Shortage of Equipment Parts According to Chan and Kumaraswamy (1996) identified the factor of shortage of equipment parts that contribute to causes of delays. After machinery breakdown, the technical carry out the repair work for the breakdown of equipment. During the same time, some part of machinery none have stock in market. Because of no spare part to repair the machinery, some of the works facing stop progress immediately. Consequently, it will influence whole project to be delay. 2.3.7 Causes of Financial Related Delays Figure 2.9 Factors of Financial related delays 2.3.7.1 Clientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial difficulties According to Chan and Kumaraswamy (1996) identified the factors of clientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial difficulties as contributor to causes of delays. During the construction, client will face some financial problem arise from unanticipated emergencies or financial mismanagement such as global financial crisis. Besides that, a client proposes a new development without borrow term loan or bridging loan from the bank. On the other hand, improper cost planning is a most serious problem for those clients facing in current delay project. For instance, during pre-construction stage a client do not planning cost properly and he will facing a lot of problem in construction stage such as no enough capital to pay contractor payment. Finally, because of contractor did not receive payment to influence whole project delay. 2.3.7.2 Delay payment to suppliers/subcontractor According to Abd Majid and McCaffer (1998) mentioned the factors of inadequate fund allocation and delay payment to subcontractor/suppliers as contributor to causes of delays in construction project. Due to sub- contractor do not take their responsibility to done the work on time. The contractor will delay the payment until they complete the job. But at the same time, the sub-contractor refuse to work because of not yet receive payment. As a consequently, the whole project will be influence delay due to sub-contractor refuse to work. 2.3.7.3 Contractorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial difficulties According to Ogunlana, et al. (1996) studied the factors of contractorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial difficulties having high influence to causes of delays. Poor financial management has been known as one of the factors why certain project cannot complete within contract period. Because of contractor lack of experience and could not manage their capital properly. On the other hand, because of delay payment by client contractor not enough money to cover up all sub-contractors and suppliers payment. Finally, the sub-contractor and suppliers refuse to work and supply material to the site and because of this factor the whole will influence delay. 2.3.8 Causes of External Related Delays Figure 2.10 Factors of external related delays 2.3.8.1 Weather condition Odeh and Battaineh (2002) identified the factors of weather condition as contributors to causes of delays. Long, et al. (2004) mentioned factors weather condition as factors ofexternal related delays. AL-Momani (2000) studied the factor of weather condition as contributors to causes of delays in construction project. During the construction period, weather is a factor to influence the whole project delay. It because weather condition that interfere with planned activities. Some activities can process but other cannot. For instances, during the worker cast the ground floor slab, but because of raining that particular work to be delay. 2.3.8.2 Slow site clearance According to Long, et al. (2004) identified factors of slow site clearance as factors of external related delays. During begin of construction stage, the responsibility party should have to carry out their work for site clearance immediately. Without clearance the site construction work cannot process. In some delay project found that, the third party did not take their responsibility to finish the site clearance within the period. Consequently, the whole project delay because of site clearance works delay. 2.4 Effect of Delays According to Aibinu and Jagboro (2002) identified the effects of construction delays on project delivery in Nigerian construction industry. They also said that the six major effects of delays follow by rank which include time overrun, cost overrun, dispute, arbitration, litigation, and total abandonment as shown in the Table 2.11 Effects of Delay Rank Time overrun 1 Cost overrun 2 Dispute 3 Arbitration 4 Litigation 5 Total Abandonment 6 Source : Aibinu and Jagboro (2002) Table 2.11 The effect of delays 2.4.1 Time overrun Time overrun it mean contractor could not carry out their work within contract period. In generally, time overrun can be categories into two group which include excusable delays and non-excusable. Once the project facing time overrun, it will affect the progress of work cannot finish on time. Besides that, the fault party will take the responsibility to pay the relevant parties for damages because of delay. For instance, during the project almost completed, but at the same time contractor because of exceptionally implement weather cannot completed the project within contract period. In this situation the contractor entitle to claim extension of time. On the other hand, if that contractor cannot complete the work within contract period due to his own fault. So the contractor no entitle to claim extension of time and he need to pay liquated damages. As stated in Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia form 2006 (PAM form 2006), which certain clauses stating about the damages by employer due to this event. It stated that in clauses below. 2.3.1.1 Clause 22.1 Liquidated Damage and Certificate of Non-Completion If the contractor fails to complete the works by the Completion Date, and the architect is of the opinion that the same ought reasonably so to have been completed, the architect shall issue a certificate of Non-completion. Upon the issuance of the certificate of Non-Completion the contractor shall pay or allow to the Employer a sum calculated at the rate stated in the Appendix as Liquidated Damages for the period from the Completion Date to the Date of Practical Completion. The Employer may recover such sum from the Performance Bond. The Employer shall inform the contractor in writing of such deduction or such debt due to from the contractor. The imposition of Liquated Damages by the Employer shall not be taken into account by the Architect in the issuance of payment certificates and Final Certificate, and is not subject to the set-off procedures under clause 30.4 and adjudication. 2.3.1.2 Clause 23.1 Submission of notice and particulars for extension of time If the Contractor is of the opinion that the completion of the Work is or will be delayed beyond the completion Date by any of the Relevant Event stated in Clause 23.8, he may apply for an extension of time provided always that 2.3.1.3 Clause 23.8 Relevant Events Exceptionally implement weather 2.4.2 Cost overrun During construction stages, the client and contractor always facing of cost overrun. Cost overrun  is an unexpected  cost  incurred in excess of a budgeted amount, due to  cost underestimation. Cost overrun is related to time overrun, once a project cannot be done in time, it will also affect the cost of project over budget. Commonly, cost overrun always happen due to contractor own fault such as inaccurate of cost estimate and he need to take responsibility to pay owner loss and expense. For instance, a contractor because of improper cost planning due to cost overrun. Finally, the owner set of his loss and expense from the contractor interim payment. 2.4.3 Dispute In construction industry, some of project delay because of dispute between contractual parties such as client, consultants, contractor and some relevant parties. Those disputes because of client failure make payment to the contractor. Once dispute happen, the relevant parties will go through with mediation. The mediator will make a decision to solve the problem. But if one of the parties does not accept the decision made by mediator, the parties will appeal the decision with arbitrator. If both parties accept the decision and the fault parties will take responsibility to pay damages for project delay. 2.4.4 Arbitration In current delay project, some of the contractual parties do not accept the mediator decision and they appeal in arbitration. Arbitrator will also make the decision to solve the problem. But if one of the parties does not accept the decision again made by Arbitrator, they still can appeal the decision in litigation. 2.4.5 Litigation In some delay project, the relevant parties because of still do not accept with the arbitrator decision. They are appeal the result in litigation which is dispute resolution in the courts. In litigation, the parties have a trial either by a court alone or by jury. If those parties are not satisfied judgment again, then they can appeal again if they have any new evidence to proof their right. But one the parties accept with the judgment, the faulty of parties need take responsibility to pay the penalty 2.4.6 Total abandonment Total abandonment it means the whole project stop immediately because of client facing financial difficulties. Some of the current delay project totally abandoned because of clientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s or contractor problem which include clients bankruptcy, contractor run away, poor marketing and sales strategies and so on. The effect of project totally abandoned will affect many parties such as contractual parties which include contractor, consultant, sub-contractor, supplier and some other relevant parties. Besides those parties, the purchasers will also suffer in cost damages due to project abandoned. 2.5 Methods of minimizing construction delays According to Nguyen, et al. (2004), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“studied the factors that can be applied as a method of minimizing of construction delays as follows: competent project manager; frequent progress meeting; accurate initial cost estimates; accurate initial time estimates; awarding bids to the right/experience consultant and contractor.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? During pre-construction stage, a client should employ a depth knowledge project manager to organize a good project team member to progress the work. Besides that, the project team member should be always discussing with the problem having during the site progress. On the other hand, contractor should be employs some employee with experience such as quantity surveyor. So that, during the time or cost estimate they can add on some unforeseen event to avoid the cost and time overrun. Furthermore, the developer should be hire some experience consultant and contractor.iot is because once they facing problem, they can refer previous project to so lve the problem immediately. So, the project can process with smoothly. According to Aibinu and Jagboro (2002), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“identified two methods to minimize or if possible eliminate time overrun were: acceleration of site activities, and contingency allowance.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? During construction stages, the contractor should carry out his responsibility to make sure the work progress can complete in time. If found that work progress are not equal to the estimate schedule. The contractor may carry out with acceleration such as hire additional worker. Besides that, the client may allow contractor standby some extra cost for unforeseen event such as accidents. According to Koushki, et al. (2005), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“revealed that the minimization of time delays and cost overruns would require: ensure adequate and available source of finance until project completion; ensure timely delivery of materials.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? During pre-construction, a client may prepare a good cash flow within the contract period. Once the client does not enough money to cover up construction cost, he can borrow a term loan or bridging loan from the bank to cover the cost until the whole project completed. It will avoid project delay due to client not enough capital. Besides that, the contractors make sure that material are order with a reliable suppliers and can receive it on time. Acco Munro Review: Lipsky’s Notion of Street-Level Bureaucracy Munro Review: Lipsky’s Notion of Street-Level Bureaucracy The Munro Review; Lipsky’s Notion of Street-Level Bureaucracy put in practice Charlotte Bindels Introduction Before an examination of the work conducted by social workers who are responsible for child protective services within the UK can take place, it is crucial to define the concept of Street-Level Bureaucracy (SLB). What does it exactly entail and who are street-level bureaucrats? Can we safely assume that social workers parallel the characteristics of street-level bureaucrats or is this assumption a false one? Social workers, in general, face enormous pressure from within the community to perform well. There is a lot at stake and the well-being of individuals needs to be protected. Thus, how could a government quantify government impact on citizens? Many scholars are still puzzled by this question as it poses many discussions. Michael Lipsky, a North American scholar, incorporated this discussion in his work on Street-Level Bureaucracy. In his book, Street-Level Bureaucracy; Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services he introduced the abovementioned term while gaining widespread rec ognition. The concept is universal as the dilemmas and constraints faced by professionals operating at the street-level include various problems and challenges. But are these problems also compatible to the social workers within the child protection services in the United Kingdom? The aim of the paper is to see whether social workers of child protective services in the United Kingdom show a resemblance to the notion of the Street-Level Bureaucracy Framework as put forward by Lipsky. This analysis will include the Final Report of The Munro Review of Child Protection as this report covers the recommendations to improve upon the child-centred system and is the prime sources for this report. Another main source describes the framework of Street-Level Bureaucracy introduced in Lipsky’s book; Street-Level Bureaucracy; Dilemmas of the individual in public services. Moreover, other concepts need to be examined as well, in order to analyze the possible relationship between social workers and street-level bureaucrats. Finally, this paper will determine whether the relationship between social workers as described in the Munro report and the SLB framework of Lipsky appears compatible or not. Conceptual Framework First and foremost, an examination is needed of the theoretical framework used by Lipsky for his book on Street-Level Bureaucracy; Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services originally published in 1980. He presents a framework that allows for comprehension of the role of public service workers when it comes to policy implementation. He argues that teachers, social workers, and judges etc. constitute the essence of street-level bureaucrats. Additionally, he acknowledges that his book draws upon observations underlining collective behavior of public service organizations. Moreover, in his book he captures the importance of locating the problems street-level bureaucrats face while doing their jobs. By analyzing Street-Level Bureaucracy it becomes more evident to identify commonalities and deficiencies between different operational surroundings. (Lipsky, 1980) Firstly, the term Street-Level Bureaucracy needs to be defined in order to comprehend the aim of this paper. Lipsky (1980) published his book on Street-Level Bureaucracy in 1980 providing a profound study of the influence of public service workers on public policy, the so-called street-level bureaucrats. The challenge, he stresses, is to find a balance between executing their jobs with considerable discretion while also serving as policy decision-makers. Examples of street-level bureaucrats typically include workers who interact directly with citizens while carrying out their jobs. Lipsky sums up teachers, judges and police officers to illustrate his point. However, for the purpose of this paper the focus will revolve around social workers as Lipsky also defines them as street-level bureaucrats. Hence, social workers must be viewed as policy shapers, not only as those who simply implement a policy. Lipsky (1980) writes that there are two ways to interpret the term of street-level bureaucrats. On the one hand, he portrays them as being equal to public services, thus highlighting that this is how citizens interact. On the other hand, as originally intended by Lipsky, street-level bureaucrats only interact with citizens during the course of their jobs while simultaneously exercising discretion. Another relevant concept to incorporate is the notion of social workers, as this paper also examines the Munro Review. While this may seem obsolete it is vital to understand the characteristics of these workers. More specifically, the social workers concerned with child protection in the UK. Can they be perceived as street-level bureaucrats? The definition of social work underwent many changes throughout the years. Globalization needs to be reckoned with as social workers nowadays face many challenges to practice their knowledge in a complex world. The core definition of social work reads as follows, Hare (2004) â€Å"The social work profession promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance wellbeing. Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.† Discretion, another concept used extensively by Lipsky also needs to be explored. Lipsky (1980) regards discretion as beneficial to the policy process as it enhances policy at the grass roots level. The Oxford Dictionary defines discretion as: â€Å"Thefreedomtodecidewhat should be done in aparticularsituation† (Oxford online dictionary, n.d). Carrington (2005) describes discretion as a part of the decision-making process which will lead an individual to act or not to act. Moreover, he adds that these decision-makers have the freedom to decide on an action or non-action. According to Lipsky (1980) the use of discretion is critical as street-level bureaucrats communicate with citizens every day. However, this is not an easy task as dilemmas occur more frequently making the work of individuals within the public service complex. According to Lipsky (1980), social workers are drawn to the public service since they feel the need to help others. The continuation of discretion has bo th opponents and proponents. Proponents, such as Ellis et al. (1999), see discretion as support to filling up the gaps in public policy. Opponents, however, such as Baldwin view discretion as undermining official public policy (Baldwin, 1998). Thus, discretion can be viewed in different ways. The concept of discretion is highlighted by Lipsky as the characteristics of street-level bureaucrats involve high levels of discretion as well as continuous interaction with citizens. The constraints and dilemmas faced by SLBs include insufficient resources available to the workers and in order to meet the supply demands for services increase. Furthermore, the goals set out by agencies are rather ambiguous and the measurement of performance achievement turns out to be impossible to measure. In addition, clients tend to be mostly non-voluntary. (Lipsky, 1980, p.27) Case Description In the Munro Review of Child Protection (Munro, 2011), recommendations are set out to improve upon, aiming to reform the child protection system within the United Kingdom. These recommendations are designed to eliminate the over-bureaucratization and the need for compliance and a shift towards more focus on children, hereby exploring issues and assessing the effectiveness of the received aid. The report sums up a total of fifteen recommendations, each of those belonging to a particular subject (Munro, 2011). However, for the purpose of this paper I will only examine those that are set out in chapters three, six and seven, providing three recommendations that comply with the theoretical framework of SLB by Lipsky (1980), highlighting the effect of these propositions on the work of the child protection services. Chapter three ‘A system that values professional expertise’ symbolizes the difficulties in identifying the constraints faced by social workers and their managers. Many experience that the practice puts a heavy emphasis on compliance with management criteria and guidance. Consequently, they fail to follow the effectiveness of helping children. The recommendations value a clearer focus and a revision of the guidance. Chapter six ‘Developing social work expertise’ argues that an increase in expertise of employers and individuals will positively influence the relationship with children. Chapter seven ‘The organizational context: supporting effective social work practice’ addresses the importance of continuous reviewing (Munro, 2011). In the upcoming section I will describe the three recommendations before returning to this issue in relation to Lipsky’s Street Level Bureaucracy in the analysis. First, recommendation thirteen originating from chapter seven revolves around the organizational context. More specifically, it suggests that ongoing reviewing and redesigning are significant factors in the successful functioning of the child protection services in the UK. Additionally, the effectiveness of the service will increase and thus affect the social conditions of children and families (Munro, 2011). Secondly, emerging from chapter six of the Munro review, recommendation twelve considers the notion of the cooperation between the so-called HEIs, higher education institutions, and companies. The aim of this recommendation in question is to prepare upcoming social workers for their future careers within the Child Protection Services. This cooperation will thus lead to better practice placements and the application for particular ‘teaching organization’ status. Furthermore, these high quality placements will determine the relationship between HEIs and employers (Munro, 2011). Third and finally, recommendation four as set out in chapter three focuses on the collection of information by local authorities and their partners. A combination of information collected by both actors will have positive effects on the subsequent evaluations of performances (Munro, 2011). Analysis It is of importance to see whether these recommendations, as discussed above, show any resemblance or a conflict to the Framework of Street-Level Bureaucracy as set out by Lipsky. In the Munro Review it is clearly stated that the recommendations are not to be considered as separate entities, but rather reviewed as a whole (Munro, 2011, p.10). Therefore, the analysis will seek to address the aforementioned recommendations four, twelve and thirteen accordingly. A comparison will be made between the dilemmas social workers in the UK face and those of the street-level bureaucrats; are they reconcilable or conflicting? Moreover, do these three suggestions contribute to solving the dilemmas street-level bureaucrats face on a daily basis? Judging from the outlook of Street-Level Bureaucracy, the recommendations posed for social workers within child protection services in the Munro Review comply with the framework initiated by Lipsky (1980).When trying to assess the work by Lipsky on SLB and the Munro report it seems as though both of them share the same problems and dilemmas. The problems and challenges faced by street-level bureaucrats and social workers seem to overlap one another rather than contradict. One clear example revolves around the lack of resources when carrying out jobs in child protection services as mentioned in the final report by Munro. The exact same applies to the street-level workers as Lipsky dedicates a whole chapter to the problem of resources in his book on Street-Level Bureaucracy (Lipsky, 1980), also described in the conceptual framework. The reconciliation of both seems to live up in general, however, is this still the case when analyzing the separate recommendations? The Munro review, as discussed in chapter three (recommendation four) aspires a more professional perspective when it comes to the child-centred system in order to preserve a clear focus on the effectiveness of helping children. Recommendation four promotes a more bottom up approach when it comes to implementing the suggestions set out by the Munro report. A combination is needed of locally- as well as nationally collected information to accomplish the goals mentioned in the recommendation. This indicates that a level of professionalism is required at the lower levels, or as Lipsky puts it, at the street-level as it will guarantee a focus of all parties involved. Lipsky argues that the limits on bureaucracy contribute to the debate that street-level bureaucrats are in fact professionals. This professionalization starts with the social worker who feels the need to act when control cannot be imposed from the outside (higher level). Some form of self-monitoring replaces the control exer cised by top-level managers, underlining the fact that street-level bureaucrats exercise autonomy. (Lipsky, 1980, p.201) It becomes evident that the suggestion as described above parallels Lipsky’s way of thinking. Recommendation twelve applauds cooperation between HEIs and social work students to enhance preparation for entering the real world of the child protection services. This demonstrates a compatibility with Lipsky’s foundation of Street-Level Bureaucracy. When addressing the sustainment of SLB and leadership, Lipsky mentions that in the future a New Street-Level Bureaucracy needs to be developed with particular attention to teaching and practice. The new street-level bureaucrat acknowledges the value of teaching as well as the practice involved in public services. According to Lipsky (1980, p.209): â€Å"Some of their teaching ought to be done not in universities but in the field, where there is opportunity for constant confrontation with the realities of practice.† Finally, recommendation thirteen stresses the importance of continuous reviewing and redesigning. The aforementioned suggestion described the New Street-Level Bureaucracy as a future for SLB. Lipsky also acknowledges that, in order to innovate, the development of inquiry and criticism should be kept in place. He also emphasizes that these processes are of an ongoing nature to promote continuous review moments. Both the Munro Review (Munro, 2011) and Lipksy state that these moments of review share a collective approach for improving the performance of street-level bureaucrats and Munro’s social workers (Lipsky, 1980, p. 209). Recommendation thirteen appears most feasible from the perspective of the street-level bureaucrat as they illustrate that regular interaction between themselves and citizens is crucial, hereby combatting a problem faced by many street-level bureaucrats. Both recommendations four and twelve are also feasible but not in the short-term. Judging from the above, the recommendations as put forward by Munro (2011) appear compatible with the conceptualization of Lipsky (1980). However, does this hold true for all recommendations? A brief check of the recommendations illustrates that some divergence is virtually nonexistent, as the ideas of the suggestions can be reconciled with Lipsky’s argumentation concerning Street-Level Bureaucracy. Conclusion Street-Level Bureaucracy as introduced by Lipsky in the 1980s sheds an interesting light on the involvement of these bureaucrats on policy implementation and their influence. In the final report of the Munro Review of Child Protection a total of fifteen recommendations are presented in order to increase the effectiveness of the child-centred system. Essential are the social workers executing their duties in an over-bureaucratized environment according to Professor Eileen Munro. The need for more involvement and management at the front line might show a resemblance to Lipsky’s SLB Framework at first sight. However, the need to examine this more closely is the aim of the paper. Do social workers of child protective services in the United Kingdom show a resemblance to the Street-Level Bureaucracy Framework as coined by Lipsky or not? In other words, are they in conflict or compatible? While it might seem the case that they are compatible at the first glance, the three recommendations chosen from the Munro Review should display the same in order to demonstrate this resemblance. It is evident from the analysis that the three separate recommendations present a relationship between the social workers in child protective services and the framework of SLB by Lipsky. Especially recommendations twelve and thirteen are mentioned precisely by Lipsky as well when examining his book. Hence, the outcome is therefore simple as the relationship is apparent. As a result, the recommendations appear feasible from the perspective of SLB. In particular recommendation thirteen because continuous reviewing is something that can be applied directly generating results in the short-term. Bibliography Baldwin, M. (1998). ‘The positive use of discretion in social work practice: Developingpractice through co-operative inquiry’. Issues in Social Work Education. Volume 18 Issue 2. Pp. 42-8. Carrington, K. (2005). ‘Is There A Need for Control?’. Public Administration Quarterly. Volume 29 Issue 1. Pp.140–161. Department for Education. (2011). 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