Business Project Management 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Project Management 2 - Essay Example The team of project managers handles the various activities of the project that involves competing demands for cost, time, quality and risk, managing the expectation of the shareholders and identifying the requirement. Many of the processes within the project management are iterative in nature. The reason is that there is necessity and existence of progressive embellishment during the life cycle of the project because the more one gets to know about the project the more he is able to manage the project (Young, 2013). The project life cycle is defined as a sequence of steps that forms different phases of the project. The project life cycles comprises of four steps project commencement, project preparation, project implementation and lastly project closure. Project commencement is the first step in which various opportunities and problems related to the business are identified and various solution options are prepared through development of business cases. Feasibility study is conducte d to analyse whether the solution provided will address the business problem and finally the solution is recommended. Once the solution is recommended it is approved and project is initiated. The next step is project planning. The project planning involves steps outlining the plan of the project, quality plan, financial plan, resource plan, risk plan, procurement plan, communication plan and acceptance plan. The third step is the project execution. In this phase the project gets executed according to the project plan and a series of management process are engaged in controlling and monitoring the output delivered by the project. The final step is project closure, which involves processes like delivering the final product to the customers, the project documentation is handed over to the business, the supplier’s agreement are terminated, project resources are realised and finally the closure of the project is communicated to the stakeholders (Westland, 2007; Schwalbe, 2010). Th e study aims to critically evaluate the relationship and usefulness of time, cost and quality behind the success of a project. Relationship between Time, Cost and Quality For deriving the relationship between the three factors one of the factors need to be held constant. In order to find the relation between time and cost, quality is held constant. A trade off relationship exists between the cost and the time required to complete the project. For some types of cost the relation is directly proportional while for some other cost a direct trade off is noticed. Due to these two categories of costs there is best possible project rapidity for nominal cost. By considering the relationship between the time and cost, the impact of change in scheduled time on the cost of the project can be better understood. There are two types of cost involved in a project, direct cost and indirect cost. Direct costs are those costs that are directly related to the activities of the project like equipments, material, salaries etc. If the pace at which the activity is running is increased then the cost increases, since in order to complete the project faster more resources will be allocated. Indirect cost is denoted as overhead cost; the cost that are not directly associated with the activities of the project like office space, taxes and administrative staff etc. During the project the

Wheelchair Experience Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wheelchair Experience Assignment - Essay Example So I decided to bring him to a mall in his wheelchair and have lunch there at the same time. The first difficulty we had was looking for a space to park our car which had to be somewhat near the entrance. We were fortunate to find a spot very close to the mall entrance, but found it frustrating that there were no ramps to access the curb. I finally rolled my cousin up to the entrance, where a nice young man held the door open for us. Upon entering the mall, my cousin found it somewhat simple to move the wheelchair through the aisles and walkways. Deciding to have lunch, we had to take an elevator to the first floor to get to the food court. We got directions from a store map to find where the elevator was, and we found out it was on a far side of the mall. However, we were pleased that the elevator was quite fast and spacious. After that, we found the entrance to the food court very easily, and my cousin was able to maneuver to the food court by himself. As soon as we arrived at the food court, my cousin commented that the brick flooring made it a quite uneven ride up to the food counters. After selecting a food stall, my cousin was able to hold and stretch for the orders with my help, until it was time to look for a table. My cousin had to let me carry his food to me until I got seated at the table. We finally managed to find an oval table with enough room to get my cousin’s body conveniently level to the table. Eating in the wheelchair appeared fairly alike to eating while in a regular chair, and my cousin shared that it was easy to do so. However, we noticed that he needed to lock the wheelchair in place to keep from rolling away while he ate or stretched for the food. After eating we decided to visit some shops. We went inside several clothing shops, and all three were just about the same in construction. The first shop was the easiest of the stores to maneuver, since there was a

Are we really justified by Faith Research Paper

Are we really justified by Faith - Research Paper Example As he lived his life, he attempted to prove his faith by acts, and works. But he realized that that was not saving him. As he read through scripture, he came to terms with the fact that he is justified by his faith. What he believes, and his faith in God, will bring him to fruition. In Genesis 15:6, we see that Abraham believed in the Lord and because of his belief, he was made righteous. The word righteous here means just or fair. Because of Abraham’s belief, he was considered to be a righteous man. It did not matter what he did as a person, what mattered was his belief in God. Though he was born again, his works was not what saved him. God accepted Abraham not because he lived a life of perfection, but because he believed and he responded to God’s promises. This particular verse was mentioned three different times in the New Testament as proof of the importance of faith in one’s salvation. It was quoted in Romans, Galatians and also in James. Even in the Old Te stament it is clear that God looked for faith and not moral perfection. Abraham also demonstrates great faith in his offering of his son in Genesis 22:1-18. He blindly obeys God’s command until God forbids him. God spares Abraham’s son because of his obedience to him. ... First God commands things into existence. Then he creates a logical division. After, he names it and last but not least, he evaluates it. This is a pattern that is seen throughout normal life. In teaching, you tell the student what to do, you give instructions, you point out the good/bad and then you evaluate the assignment based on its performance. Faith believes that things will turn out the way it is supposed to at the right time. Justification is like being clothed in divine righteousness. When you think about the book of Exodus, you tend to lean on the changes that are occurring in the Bible. The exodus was a major time period when the Israelites left one area to go to the next. The term is widely used as reference to different things such as a â€Å"leaving† or â€Å"departing† in a simple every day scenario. In Romans, you see an Exodus from slavery. Due to the nature of the people living during the Bible times, slavery was not considered an act of infringement. Instead, it was accepted and there was a simple hierarchy that everyone became familiar with. Without this hierarch, like capitalism in the United States, a society was very incapable of functioning on a higher level. Terry Virgo, a Christian Pastor looks at Christian freedom of slavery from sin. This indeed is in part a form of exodus, a practice justified by the government during those times. Justification is the legal act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his or her sin. It does not mean that the particular sinner is sinless; it just means that God â€Å"declares† him sinless. This declaration of righteousness is what it means to be justified by God and faith. This justification can only be made clear because of Jesus’ shed blood. Without the shed blood of

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Analysis - Essay Example Chuck Lanes decision to fire Stephen Glass can be considered as ethical and right. Lane has laid down the facts and evidences that Stephen Glass has been dishonest and fictional in writing his reports representing The New Republic. Glass stories such as the hacking report of Jukt Micronics and the drunken antics of the Young Republicans were proven to be based on nothing but Glass fictional stories. Going to the second quadrant of the box, Lane considered several values when deciding whether to fire Stephen Glass or not. Professionally speaking, as journalist, they are guided by the SPJ principles which basically states "to seek the truth and report it." It is therefore mandated that journalist "should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information" (SPJ Code of Ethics, 1996). SPJ principle ensured that journalists are bound by the code to tell the truth and become fair to the readers. In this case, Glass did nothing but invent stories made out of lies. The third quadrant of Potter Box stressed out the principles will help the decision maker which in this case is Chuck Lane to fully understand the situation. Following Kants categorical imperative which states that " Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." Kants ideas include being ethical is being objective and what is right must be done whatever the situation is. Lane is being objective as he has the proofs to the deeds of Stephen Glass. Thus whether Glass has been a good employee and friend to the workers of The New Republic, he deserve to be fired with valid reasons. Last box in the Potter Box contains the loyalties. In this case, Lane as the decision maker should be loyal to the readers, the public. Firing Glass means ensuring that the people reading The New Republic get the information and reports they deserve to know, the truth. Both Angela of

Evaluate how learning strategies have changed and may continue to Essay

Evaluate how learning strategies have changed and may continue to change in relation to the application of information technology in schools - Essay Example I have worked as a film editor and written film criticism, and I listen to the radio and now and then watch TV (my older son has cable). Along with many other colleagues in the Waldorf movement, I have no objection to adults immersing themselves in the world of technological wonders.   Ã‚  Ã‚   I remember well that in the early 1950s when I entered grade school, the "visual aids" approach which utilized a film strip projector was going to revolutionize our educational experience. Sometime after that, "Sunrise Semester" debuted on television, as a first step in the "video revolution" that was going to transform education in America. Several years later, I was part of one of the first Advanced Placement Physics classes in the nation, and our education was going to be revolutionized through the utilization of videotaped lectures by great physicists broadcast over closed circuit television. I have already lived through several of these "electronic revolutions" and Ive yet to see anything happening in mainstream American education except for a steady decline in quality and morale among students and teachers.   Ã‚  Ã‚   I have no idea where all of the old slide projectors went when they were replaced by closed circuit televisions, or where the televisions went when they were replaced by computers, or where the old 386 PCs will go when they are replaced by multimedia Pentium models, etc. - but a lot of corporate marketing departments are undoubtedly very happy about the brisk sales that every new "revolution" brings about. I dont think that Im alone in these concerns. In a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly, Todd Oppenheimer recounts   Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1922 Thomas Edison predicted that "the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and ... in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks." Twenty-three years later, in 1945, William Levenson, the director of the Cleveland public schools

How does the TV show ( The Simpsons) effect my live Essay

How does the TV show ( The Simpsons) effect my live - Essay Example the following analysis will seek to engage the reader with an understanding of the impact that The Simpsons have had upon my own life and the manner by which I will ultimately intend on raising my own family. Essentially, The Simpsons served as a comedy program that could be enjoyed by each and every member of our family; when I was growing up. As such, my parents were not overly conservative and did not attempt to restrict the overall access the television in our home or otherwise only approved certain programs for viewing. The understanding that was unspoken, at least in our home, was the fact that when situations arose and were represented on television that did not abide by the rules of our family or the point of view that children were expected to respect, these did not need to be restricted; they merely needed to be dismissed. As such, I have distinct memories of several occasions in which my parents would laugh along with the plot of The Simpsons; turning to me and saying something to the effect of â€Å"you had best never do anything like that†. As such, even though this particular show was comedy, I was fully aware of the fact, even from an early age, that not everything represented within it should be taken exemplification from model behavior. In terms of The Simpsons and its overall impact upon how I will raise my own family, it should be noted that I will follow a very similar approach to that which my parents ascribe to during my own childhood. Rather than restricting access to certain television shows and ultimately attempting censor the media, the best approach is to enjoy these television shows with the appropriate age groups in question and merely categorized at certain times that specific behavior is not allowable and when not be tolerated. As such, the parent child relationship does not become one that is domineering; it becomes one that is beneficial and utilizes media as a way of helping to further define the roles that individuals within the

Enron-The Smartest Guys in the Room paper Essay Example for Free

Enron-The Smartest Guys in the Room paper Essay Answer the following questions based on the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005). 1. (a) Describe the ownership structure at Enron. (b) How did the ownership structure contribute to the Enron scandal? (15 points) When Enron became a publicly traded company, the employees and executives had more incentive to manipulate earnings and financials. With the shift in structure, there were more external stakeholders to satisfy, which caused the company to focus on short-term results, rather than long-term interests. The company went as far as to trade all sorts of things, including weather and broadband, in order to gain support from investors. Enron got a lot of that support. Investment banks put about $25 million each into the company. With high stakes and image on the line, Enron manipulated earnings to drive stock prices up through mark-to-market accounting to please its stakeholders. 2.(a) Describe the following three leaders: Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, and Andy Fastow. (b) How did EACH leader contribute to the scandal? (20 points) Ken Lay was a very ambitious man. He was the son of a poor Baptist preacher. Because of Lay’s humble roots, Lay worked several jobs as a kid. He always dreamed about being a businessman one day and making huge wealth for himself. Lay believed he could have a better life with more wealth. He also believed in government deregulation. Lay had a PhD in economics. He aggressively pushed for deregulation of energy markets in Washington. His goal was to liberate businessmen from government’s hold. He took advantage of government letting energy prices float with the market, and started Enron Corporation through a few mergers. Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, was said to be â€Å"incandescently brilliant† by many at Enron. In reality, he was a risky, danger-seeking gambler. Skilling had a Darwinian view and strongly beli eved in the idea of â€Å"survival of the fittest†. He implemented a group called the Performance Review Committee. The committee was involved in the â€Å"rank and yank† system, in which the bottom 15 percent of the company got fired each year. This ultimately led to numerous unethical actions and turning a blind eye to fraud because of employees’ determination for job  security. Skilling was a former nerd, and went on to change himself. He was very admired at Enron. When he got Lasik surgery, everyone else did too. Skilling was responsible for making energy into a tradable entity and for his advocacy of mark-to-market accounting, which was the main tool for Enron’s earnings manipulation. Fastow was a very greedy man. He served as CFO of Enron. He was responsible for running numerous companies that partnered with Enron. He mainly worked to cover up the financial fantasy land that Lay and Skilling had created. He was hired before age 30 by Skilling to join Enron. He always idolized Skilling and wanted to please him. He ended up hiding about $30 billion in debt through his companies. In addition, he skimmed off many of the deals he made, using Enron stocks as collateral. Fastow did not have a strong moral compass, and would play to the greed of the investment banks. He would offer investment banks accounts for their silence. One analyst, John Olsen, star ted to question the firm, and weeks later, was fired by the investment bank because Fastow paid off the bank with big Enron accounts. 3.(a) Describe the organizational culture at Enron. (b) How did the organizational culture contribute to the Enron scandal? (15 points) The culture at Enron was very cut-throat and filled with greed. Money drove the company and its employees. In fact, even the elevators had displays of the stock prices. The company was overtaken by hubris as well. Everyone was on the bandwagon—the accounting firm, investors, executives, and employees. The entire company thought it was changing the world. Everyone was blinded by arrogance, greed, and money. Enron was always portrayed as a super power in the market. It was said that is someone wanted to be part of the market, they had to go through Enron. In addition, many employees, including Skilling, were former nerds and had something to prove. There was a very macho culture at Enron. Skilling would organize dangerous, macho trips for employees and big clients. The stories from these adventures became legend. One man almost died from a flipp ed Jeep. Stories like that were legendary in the office. The culture ultimately led Enron to scandal because of the ideas it had put into people’s heads—that money drove everything and cash was king. 4.(a) Describe the performance management/reward system at Enron. (b) How did the performance   management/reward system contribute to the Enron scandal? (20 points) The reward systems were big. The executives and employees were all fans of the â€Å"pump and dump† system in which the employees drove the stock prices up, and would them sell the stocks off. The company was consumed by stock prices, as stocks were a large part of the compensation structure at Enron. Even the elevators had stock prices posted, so people could be reminded daily that there was more money to be made. The cash bonuses were extravagant too. In fact, a 25-year-old made a $5 million bonus. Executives were given multi million dollar bonuses. In addition, to prevent anyone from raising any flags, Enron played on the greed of the outside accounting firm, Arthur Anderson, as well as law firms. In fact, in 2001, Arthur Anderson got $1 million a week to keep things quiet and go along with everything. The la w firm was paid off handsomely as well. Analysts at investment banks would never really look into things because of greed as well. Because of all the bonuses, outsiders turned a blind eye, as did employees, which ultimately gave way to the scandal that ensued. 5.(a) Describe the regulatory/oversight weaknesses for Enron. (b) How did the regulatory/oversight weaknesses contribute to the Enron scandal? (15 points) Enron sought to take advantage of the low level of government regulation and the hyper capitalism created by the reigning consumer culture of the time. The company was run by a group of intelligent individuals who recognized they could take advantage of the government failure of low regulation. Early on while working for Enron, Lay founded many friends within Congress, including the friendship of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. The government helped in pork barrel legislation for the company, granting it even more power. In addition, Bush senior helped secure millions of subsidies for Enron and helped promote Ken Lay as ambassador of deregulation at large. In addition, even energy-specific regulators turned a blind eye. Pat Wood, chair of FERC, was recommended by Lay as chair, and would work with Enron in lack of government in tervention. Even the power plants in California were working with Enron at one point. Enron could call someone at a power plant and cause rolling blackouts in parts of California,  driving energy prices up. With support from the government and very low regulation and intervention, Enron had a clean path to scandal. 6.Describe three (3) specific ways, which are directly related to the above factors, that Enron-like scandals could be prevented in the future. (15 points) 1. Publically-traded companies should have a strong board of directors that oversees the company and does not have investment in the company. Greed drove Enron to do what it did, but a board of directors who has no stake in the company would be more objective and ethical in decision-making for the company. 2. There should be less compensation tied to stock performance, as that was a large incentive for fraud at Enron. People’s earnings were tied too closely to stock. 3. Analysts should be help more responsible for their actions. The investment banks they worked for got sued, but who’s to say the analysts who turned a blind eye ever got punished? They made the banks lots of money, so they probably kept their jobs and got a slap on the wrist. More consequence in the public eye would deter these actions in the future.