Management Essays

Management Essays Management Essay Management Essay THE ROLE OF PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT IN INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PROJECT PORTFOLIO Name Institution Date THE ROLE OF PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT IN INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PROJECT PORTFOLIO Introduction The issue of whether project managers should adopt project portfolio management in the management of multiple projects or not has raised a lot of debates in organizations. It is evident that project managers find it difficult to manage multiple projects on their own without the help of project portfolio management which provides the capacity needed to effectively handle multiple projects. Some company executives insist that portfolio managers are not necessary and yet this not the case. Companies initiate multiple projects each and every day with high performance standards. Project managers do not have the capacity to coordinate and control multiple projects in a project portfolio without the help of project portfolio management (Mahajan 2009, p. 78). Project portfolio management is a new concept in project management that is yet to fully explored and utilized by many organizations. The effectiveness of a project portfolio can not be achieved without the expertise of a portfolio manager. The effectiveness of a project portfolio is very vital when an organization wants to meet its organizational and financial goals (Mahajan 2009, p. 134). Some project managers feel that their job is threatened with the introduction of project portfolio management. This is not the case because project portfolio management is only meant to complement the work of a project manager. This position paper will discuss why it is necessary for an organization to adopt project portfolio management when handling multiple projects. Project portfolio management plays a critical role in increasing the efficiency of a project portfolio. On the other hand, this tool is not willing to set quantitative goals for the work force. Sarans approach is assuring and quantifying everything from conformance to injury due to product hazards to the COO. Crosby interest area is more likely motivational. Both Deeming Curran and Crosby thinks that upper management is responsible for the quality. Even upper management is playing important role for all of those three approaches, a central role for quality professionals that assists upper management with planning, measurement and problem solving is seen by Deeming. According to Deeming, the relationship between workers and management is very important and thinks that the workers would be responsible for problem solving if they are trained well. Crosby thinks that training and motivating workers are important as well. However, he stresses that instead of solving problems themselves, workers more likely should share the issues with the upper management. Deeming and Crosby essentially get along with the need for the ongoing pursuit zero defect as a target. On the other hand, according to COO concept of Curran , it is suggested to companies that it is increasingly highly priced to take the final steps to perfection. 2. Statistical process control: Deeming suggested to distinguish twine systematic and special causes and for this he use SSP as a key. His SSP is model very valuable in some specific cases for example for the productions performed in large volumes whereas it is not so usable for low- volume products or customized products. Sarans proposed approach for reaching and maintaining minimum cost of quality breakthrough projects, the control sequence and annual quality programs. The breakthrough and control processes are needed good analysis and statistic abilities and because of this Curran claims that Quality Control Engineers are needed for this aim. He also sees annual quality program as a major path for involvement of top management. Crosby thinks that via cost of quality measures and the management maturity grid ,it would be possible to help managers understanding the size Of their issues. The management maturity grid which is used for self assessment identifies. 3. Implementation of quality improvement contains wide investment which will cost to Money and expertise. These programs are hard to implement and in my opinion company culture which is formed by the tradition of the country is one of the reason. Another reason that makes implementation harder could be goal conflict between internal departments of the company. However if Crosby approach and Deeming philosophy is compared, it can be seen that Crosby approach is more easily fit into the company and has less implementation problems faced in implementing Deeming philosophy. However Crosby approach itself has problems such as being not acceptable worldwide or being that popular. 4. All three experts reject inspection as a means of securing superior quality since they think that inspection is equal to planning for defects. The reason that the idea of quality as policeman is hard to change is resistance to change and lack of awareness for other methods for quality improvement. It should be solved by the right approach of the management. 5. The strengths of Deeming approach can be counted as: 1. Demises 14 points plan for TTS 2. Internal and external motivation and leadership are accepted as important. Deeming cycle- PDA. Supplying a systematic and functional logic 5. Statistic theory application. Main weaknesses Demises approach can be seen as issues with Deeming Cycle, the deadly diseases and obstacles, and others inconveniences like the action plan and methodological principles can be not clear. The strengths Of the Crosby can be counted as:1. Most of Crosby theories applied for the work gets successful result because it is easy to follow 2. Four absolutes of quality . 3. Crosby 14 Steps to Quality Improvement 4. Step quality methodology 5. Recognizes workers and worker participation is valuable. 6. Good on explaining the realities of quality and motivating the workers. On the other hand, weaknesses for Crosby approach can be seen as following: Insufficient importance given to statistical methods. Zero Defects sometimes are seen as risk avoidance Sarans approach strengths: continuous improvement of quality in every level of the organization well structured methodology which lets the companies that implement easier. Sarans approach weaknesses: A trained person with knowledge in statistical for the quality control may be needed Sarans approach results in a long term which may cause a risk for the company because the implementation of the quality program can be concluded as time, money and resources waste.

Reflective memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective memo - Essay Example However, after some guidance and researching I was able to grasp the concepts required in an editorial and successfully wrote one. I learnt valuable information not only on the structure of an editorial but also on other aspects such as different types of editorials and the important aspects to be included in it. This course also required a student to conduct a movie evaluation. The challenge about this is that people have different views about movies and this influences how they conduct movie evaluations. Here, I was supposed to avoid subjective views on the movie and conduct an objective evaluation, which was a challenge. However, I was able to conduct a successful movie evaluation on a film called The Blind Side. This involved watching the film more than once and picking important aspects about it such as characterization, the themes and cinematography among others. I learnt important skills and knowledge on evaluating movies in terms of the different aspects present in the movie and ensure that subjective views are kept away from the evaluation. This course also included preparing a proposal and an annotated bibliography that would be used in a final research paper. The challenge regarding putting up the proposal was on the fact that I was supposed to choose a researchable topic from a variety of topics, some of which were either redundant or non-researchable. On the annotated bibliography, the challenge involved choosing sources that could give as much information on the topic as required rather than just choosing general sources on the topic. This could only happen by choosing credible sources, something that was not easy to do. However, I overcame these challenges and successfully wrote a proposal and an annotated bibliography that I used to write the research paper. With regard to the research paper, I learnt important skills in writing a well thought out research paper that

Improving the Presidential Election Process Essay

Improving the Presidential Election Process - Essay Example ults collected from primary elections and caucuses are used to determine the number of delegates to be assigned to the national conventions of each party (Sabato, 2006, p 61). The appointed delegates then select the presidential nominees basing on the party’s by-laws for their parties as they move towards November General Elections. This system of undertaking caucuses and presidential primaries is faced with shortcomings when some states hold their primary elections and caucuses earlier than others leading to biased allocation of delegates in each state. On the contrary the process is successful when campaign costs are cut down due to candidates concentrating resources in one state at a time because of the prolonged period of both caucuses and primary elections. According to the United States electoral procedures, delegates elected into the national conventions are charged with the responsibility of nominating official presidential candidates for the two major political parties of the United States (Kendall, 2000, p 56). To provide a balanced electoral system for the primary elections and caucuses, there need to be a balanced primary system where primary contents could be held in between late January and late May. Each state should be assigned a specific time frame and provision for electing 12% of delegates from a single state for party nominations. Using this system will have provisions where larger states will have more positions for additional delegates since the smaller states would have been catered for. In addition, a balanced diversity in the contest could be maximized by pairing liberal states with conservative states and urban areas to be harmonized with rural areas. By implementing this proposed system of conducting both primary elections and caucuses in each state, lesser known political candidates will get an equal chance to be nominated just like their influencing opponents. Furthermore it will cut down on advertising costs and travel time hence

Why We Need Accounting Standards Accounting Essay

Why We Need Accounting Standards Accounting Essay This essay talks about Accounting Standards which is important in financial. And it is interesting topic which discusses identified accounting standards which is important to each company. And it is analysis different things which relate with Accounting Standards as: International Accounting Standards (IAS), Accounting Standards Board (ASB), why we need accounting standards? , different accounting standards, and finally advantages and disadvantages of accounting standards Accounting Standards are authoritative statements of how particular types of transaction and other events should be reflected in financial statements and accordingly compliance with accounting standards will normally be necessary for financial statements to give a true and fair view. [Aidan, (1971)] In fact, Inflation accounting was only one part of a bigger move towards accounting standards. Standards had been proposed a few years earlier to limit the extent for judgment in the preparation of accounts. International Accounting Standards (IAS) are lay down by the international Accounting Standards Board. Now these are compulsory for all European listed companies. The US market rejects IAS without reconciliation to US GAAP. UK non-listed companies still follow UK accounting standards. [Mellett, (1995)] Accounting Standards Board The connection among the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is one that can be increased continuously. These have same task which able to improve continuously and make rules to preparation financial reports. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is considered one branch of the financial statements. This company based in Norwalk and Connecticut and its non-profit. In financial accounting, the (FASB) has responsibility for put principles of accounting for the private sector. Why do we need accounting standards? Accounting is used in every type of business and organization from big multinational organizations to local shop, from traders and companies. It can cover an unlimited range of activities as different for example: charities, doctors, lawyers, mines, betting shops, banks, cinemas, circuses, farms, airlines, estate agents and so on. People invest in organizations of all kinds and they would all like types have faith and trust in the figures reported in their financial statements. But this variety of kind of business, and of size, means that, while general principles can be laid down, detailed regulations that it would make sense to apply to one company would be unsuitable for another company. For example; impossible to provide 100% assurance of the validity of the financial statements of every conceivable organization through the creation of a single set of rules and procedures. Accounting is very important to help the reader to arrive conclusion, and there are important set guidelines to take any thing relate to the accounting. These guidelines are called accounting policies. The intricacies of accounting policies allowed companies to change accounting principles for their benefit. This made it impossible to make comparisons. For example; Accounting Standards in India are issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI). At present there are 30 Accounting Standards issued by ICAI. Different Accounting Standards Different accounting standers are a drag on improvement in much the same way as different languages are an inconvenience. Unlike creating a world language, crating one set of standards is achievable. Apart from the possible saving for companies with different international structure, complying with an internationally understood accounting paradigm opens up a wider investment audience. [Betsy Willis and Becky Jones, 1998] Conceptual Framework The development of a coherent and consistent set of accounting principles which underpin the preparation and presentation of financial statements. First- and fundamental importance- all involved in global financial reporting must have a common mission or objective. At the heart of that mission is a conceptual framework which must focus on the investor, provide decision-useful information, and assure that capital is allocated in a manner that achieves the lowest cost in our world markets. A conceptual framework is an attempt to create a set of fundamental accounting principles which will help standard-setting. A major achievement of the search for a conceptual framework has been the emergence of the decision-making model. The essence of this is that the objective of financial statements is to provide financial information useful to a wide range of users for making economic decision. A second objective is to provide financial information for assessing the stewardship of managers. In order to be useful, this information must be relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable. Although there is general agreement on the essentials of a decision- making model, there is little consensus on which measurement model should underpin the decision-making process. Conceptual Framework [http://sqarra.wordpress.com/concept/] Advantages of Accounting Standards: Accounting standards is keeping track of transaction It be used to predict cash flow and maintain a budget and for revenue expected It has facilities for offer uniform reports to financial statement It is useful to investors and to foreign groups to evaluate the development of another investment in different companies in different countries Standards helps accountant to contact with their customers through the offer set of laws of authority to which the accountants can appeal It is use to regulate the different accounting policies and practices with a view to eliminate to the scope possible the non-comparability of financial statements Disadvantages of Accounting Standards: An unfavorable condition or circumstance. Something that places one in an unfavorable condition or circumstance. Damage or loss, especially to reputation or finances; detriment. Conclusion Accounting standards is important for any company in the world. It is help companies to know how much is loss or gain monthly and yearly. So its must be careful when do its account to be all thing correct. It is necessary to keeps a budget and revenue for the company. Also it is important in accounting standards show framework of any project the company will does such as know the objective of financial statement, Underlying assumptionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. Also it considers an attempt to create group of accounting principles which help to put standards.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words :: essays papers

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Photography may be a more effective and reasonably inexpensive alternative to drawing or painting, but more thought and feeling goes into a painting than a photograph. Photography is relatively simple in comparison to painting, which is a much more complex task. With photography, the composition is already completely arranged, but with a painting the objective is much more open to interpretation by the artist. The artist has the ability to capture much more emotion, understanding, and significance in an event and apply this fiery drive to his paintbrush when creating his own masterpiece. When dealing with reality, I think a photograph may represent an actual physical recollection of a person or object, but a painting created from scratch adds the reality of perception to the equation. Reality is always open to a different observation and interpretation. Artists during the Realism period concentrated on the real world as they saw it, and chose to construct their pieces of work with normal, everyday activities, therefore making it all the more real. One painter during this time period was Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. In his piece titled Ville d’Avray, he chooses to capture a woman in a forest-like setting. The text states Corot worked very quickly so that he could capture the â€Å"underlying rhythm of nature† to make his landscapes reveal the magic moment of truth. In my interpretation, his quick brushstrokes in light and dark values are meant to create movement; you can practically see the wind blowing through the rustling trees, gently swaying the woman’s long, flowing skirt. With his choice of colors, I can feel a slight chill from the breeze due to the haziness and dimly lit sky. If this were a photograph, the image would be less blurred, and I would see a woman, a couple of trees, and more defined colo rs. I wouldn’t feel anything from the photograph. I would just see objects. With this painting however, I interpret it to make me feel a certain way (serene and lethargic), and it provokes me to ponder as to why this woman is amongst the trees on such a blustery day. This painting allows me to reflect and speculate upon whether the artist had similar feelings while creating such a magnificent composition. Another thought-provoking painting created during the Realism period is Gustave Courbet’s Burial at Ornans.

Every Child Is Special Essay

Every Child Is Special is a Hindi drama film (Taare Zameen Par, translation: Stars On Earth) produced and directed by Aamir Khan (who also played the role of Ram Shankar Nikumbh an art teacher). It tells about a boy, Ishaan Awasthi an eight-year old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate and who were always getting in trouble at school for being so misbehaving and out of focus from his lessons. Too often, he would be caught by his teacher daydreaming and getting low grades. He even cannot read nor write, for him letters and numbers are his enemy. For the people around him, Ishaan is a naughty and lazy boy because of this, his father sent him to boarding school, all alone and homesick with the hope of disciplining him, but the academic status of Ishaan did not still improve. Instead, he became withdrawn and lonely, far from the Ishaan who was active and fun-loving. Then came a new art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh who infects the students with joy and optimism. see more:every child is special full movie He breaks all the rules of â€Å"how things are done† by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. But with Ram Shankar Nikumbh’s time, patience, care, and some awesome motivation he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself and change the way Ishaan would act towards school and learn to appreciate himself even more. Darsheel Safary is so perfect for the role of Ishaan Awasthi. Safary, with his innocent eyes and face, made me laugh with his funny antics and at the same time rend my heart as he goes through the agony of enduring boarding school alone and away from his parents. From start to finish, the movie gripped my attention, and the musical portions added to my fascination for that I can say that Every Child Is Special is a one heart-touching movie. This movie is an eye opener as to the worth and significance of every child. The story deals with an issue that is as real as it is unrecognized – dyslexia. The movie has increased my education about that kind of ailment. This is a kind of movie that can tug the heartstrings and at the same time bring hope that having dyslexia is not a desperate situation. Family support, patience, and love are central themes in this story, plus the primary focus on painting and art. The theory on multiple intelligences in education plays a major role in this movie and can be very informative to teachers and parents.

Heinrich Schliemann and the Discovery of Troy

According to widely published legend, the finder of the true site of Troy was Heinrich Schliemann, adventurer, speaker of 15 languages, world traveler, and gifted amateur archaeologist. In his memoirs and books, Schliemann claimed that when he was eight, his father took him on his knee and told him the story of the Iliad, the forbidden love between Helen, wife of the King of Sparta, and Paris, son of Priam of Troy, and how their elopement resulted in a war that destroyed a Late Bronze Age civilization. Did Heinrich Schliemann Really Find Troy? Schliemann did, in fact, excavate at a site that turned out to be the historic Troy; but he got his information about the site from an expert, Frank Calvert, and failed to credit him.  Schliemanns voluminous notes are full of grandiose lies and manipulations about everything that occurred in his life, in part to make his public think he was a truly remarkable man.  With a keen facility in numerous languages and a wide-ranging memory and hunger and respect for scholarly knowledge, Schliemann, in fact, was a truly remarkable man! But for some reason, he needed to inflate his role and importance in the world.   That story, said Schliemann, awoke in him a hunger to search for the archaeological proof of the existence of Troy and Tiryns and Mycenae. In fact, he was so hungry that he went into business to make his fortune so he could afford the search. And after much consideration and study and investigation, on his own, he found the original site of Troy, at Hisarlik, a tell in Turkey. Romantic Baloney The reality, according to David Traills 1995 biography, Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit, and bolstered by Susan Heuck Allens 1999 work Finding the Walls of Troy: Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann, is that most of this is romantic baloney, manufactured by Schliemann for the sake of his own image, ego, and public persona.  Ã‚   Schliemann was a brilliant, gregarious, enormously talented, and extremely restless con man, who nevertheless changed the course of archaeology. His focused interest in the sites and events of the Iliad created widespread belief in their physical reality—and in so doing, made many people search for the real pieces of the worlds ancient writings. It could be argued that he was among the earliest and most successful of public archaeologists During Schliemanns peripatetic travels around the world (he visited the Netherlands, Russia, England, France, Mexico, America, Greece, Egypt, Italy, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, all before he was 45), he took trips to ancient monuments, stopped at universities to take classes and attend lectures in comparative literature and language, wrote thousands of pages of diaries and travelogues, and made friends and enemies all over the world. How he afforded such traveling may be attributed to either his business acumen or his penchant for fraud; probably a bit of both. Schliemann and Archaeology The fact is, Schliemann did not take up archaeology or serious investigations for Troy until 1868, at the age of 46. There is no doubt that before that Schliemann had been interested in archaeology, particularly the history of the Trojan War, but it had always been subsidiary to his interest in languages and literature. But in June of 1868, Schliemann spent three days at the excavations at Pompeii directed by the archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli. The next month, he visited Mount Aetos, considered then the site of the palace of Odysseus, and there Schliemann dug his first excavation pit. In that pit, or perhaps purchased locally, Schliemann obtained either 5 or 20 small vases containing cremated remains. The fuzziness is a deliberate obfuscation on Schliemanns part, not the first nor the last time that Schliemann would fudge the details in his diaries, or their published form. Three Candidates for Troy At the time that Schliemanns interest was stirred by archaeology and Homer, there were three candidates for the location of Homers Troy. The popular choice of the day was Bunarbashi (also spelled Pinarbasi) and the accompanying acropolis of Balli-Dagh; Hisarlik was favored by the ancient writers and a small minority of scholars; and Alexandria Troas, since determined to be too recent to be Homeric Troy, was a distant third. Schliemann excavated at Bunarbashi during the summer of 1868 and visited other sites in Turkey including Hisarlik, apparently unaware of the standing of Hisarlik until at the end of the summer he dropped in on the archaeologist Frank Calvert. Calvert, a member of the British diplomatic corps in Turkey and part-time archaeologist, was among the decided minority among scholars; he believed that Hisarlik was the site of Homeric Troy, but had had difficulty convincing the British Museum to support his excavations. Calvert and Schliemann In 1865, Calvert had excavated trenches into Hisarlik and found enough evidence to convince himself that he had found the correct site. In August of 1868, Calvert invited Schliemann to dinner and to see his collection, and at that dinner, he recognized that Schliemann had the money and chutzpah to get the additional funding and permits to dig at Hisarlik that Calvert could not. Calvert spilled his guts to Schliemann about what he had found, beginning a partnership he would soon learn to regret. Schliemann returned to Paris in the fall of 1868 and spent six months becoming an expert on Troy and Mycenae, writing a book of his recent travels, and writing numerous letters to Calvert, asking him where he thought the best place to dig might be, and what sort of equipment he might need to excavate at Hisarlik. In 1870 Schliemann began excavations at Hisarlik, under the permit Frank Calvert had obtained for him, and with members of Calverts crew. But never, in any of Schliemanns writings, did he ever admit that Calvert did anything more than agree with Schliemanns theories of the location of Homers Troy, born that day when his father sat him on his knee. Uncovering Schliemann Schliemanns version of events—that he alone had identified Troys locaiton—stood intact for decades after his death in 1890. Ironically, the celebration of Schliemanns 150th birthday in 1972 touched off a critical examination of his life and discoveries. There had been other murmurs of irregularities in his voluminous diaries—novelist Emil Ludwigs meticulously researched Schliemann: The Story of a Gold Seeker in 1948, for example—but they had been scorned by Schliemanns family and the scholarly community. But when at the 1972 meetings American classicist William M. Calder III announced that he had found discrepancies in his autobiography, others began to dig a little deeper. Just how many self-aggrandizing lies and manipulations are in the Schliemann diaries has been the focus of much discussion throughout the turn of the 21st century, between Schliemann detractors and (somewhat grudging) champions. One defender is Stefanie A.H. Kennell, who from 2000–2003 was an archivist fellow for the Schliemann papers at the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies. Kennell argues that Schliemann was not simply a liar and a con man, but rather an extraordinarily talented yet flawed man. Classicist Donald F. Easton, also a supporter, described his writings as a characteristic blend of one-third dissimulation, one-third arrogant rhetoric, and one-third obsequiousness, and Schliemann as a flawed human being, sometimes confused, sometimes mistaken, dishonest... who, despite his faults... [left] a lasting legacy of information and enthusiasm.   One thing is crystal clear about the debate over Schliemanns qualities: now the efforts and scholarship of Frank Calvert, who did, in fact, know that Hisalik was Troy, who conducted scholarly investigations there five years before Schliemann, and who, perhaps foolishly, turned over his excavations to Schliemann, does today due credit for the first serious discovery of Troy.   Sources Allen, Susan Heuck. Finding the Walls of Troy: Frank Calvert, Excavator. American Journal of Archaeology 99.3 (1995): 379–407. Print.---. Finding the Walls of Troy: Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. Print.---. A Personal Sacrifice in the Interest of Science: Calvert, Schliemann, and the Troy Treasures. The Classical World 91.5 (1998): 345–54. Print.Bloedow, Edmund F. Heinrich Schliemann in Italy in 1868: Tourist or Archaeologist? Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica 69.3 (2001): 115–29. Print.Calder III, William M. Heinrich Schliemann: An Unpublished Latin Vita. The Classical World 67.5 (1974): 272–82. Print.Easton, D. F. Heinrich Schliemann: Hero or Fraud? The Classical World 91.5 (1998): 335–43. Print.Kennell, Stefanie A. H. Schliemann and His Papers: A Tale from the Gennadeion Archives.  Hesperia 76.4 (2007): 785–817. Print.Maurer, Kathrin. Archeology as Spectacle: Heinric h Schliemanns Media of Excavation. German Studies Review 32.2 (2009): 303–17. Print.Schindler, Wolfgang. An Archaeologist on the Schliemann Controversy. Illinois Classical Studies 17.1 (1992): 135–51. Print.Traill, David A. Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit. New York: St. Martins Press, 1995. Print.