Bureaucratic Management Essay

An organisation can be best describes as a unit which consists of individuals who, in order to achieve certain objectives, influence other people. They may be trying to achieve wealth or well being through differing processes, technologies, structures and cultures. In order to run an organisation well management is needed. Management then is the planning, organising, leading and controlling of human resources, s well as other resources, in order to achieve effective goals. Rosemary Stewart describes a manager as; â€Å"Someone who gets things done with the aid of people† (Boddy P11) Bureaucratic Management An important aim for most businesses today is to increase productivity and efficiency. In order to do so, many businesses adopt theoretical approached to management. The theory of bureaucracy is one in which is the underlying theme of control in many organisations of today. Bureaucratic management is described as â€Å"a formal system of organisation in order to maintain efficiency and effectiveness.† (Contemporary Management P48) Max Weber developed the theory of bureaucratic management and derived five main principles which should be adopted when using bureaucratic management. Although his theories were very sound, perhaps the most influential principles of management in organisations are that of Henri Fayol. He devised 14 theories of management however some of these theories are similar to that of Max Weber. Like Weber, Fayol believed in division of labour where workers would be given more job duties and responsibilities. He also believed in authority and responsibility similar to Weber’s theory, where authority should come from â€Å"personal expertise, technical knowledge moral worth and the ability to lead to generate commitment from subordinates† (Contemporary Management P50) Weber believed in dual command, similar to this, Fayol believed unity of command. This principle involves an employee reporting to and only receiving orders from one supervisor. Next he devised that there should be a line of authority which can be described as the line of command starting at the bottom of the organisation and following up to the very top of the organisation. In bureaucratic management it is important to control the number of levels in the hierarchy because the more managers there are the longer it takes to plan and organise activities. Similarly he believed that an effective bureaucratic work place should have a form of centralisation. Fayol believed that authority should not be centralised at the top of the chain of command. As a result of centralisation of authority, it would mean managers at the top of the hierarchy are able to make more decisions and therefore the people lower down the line of authority would simply follow their direction. In a bureaucratic organisation there is a need for unity of direction which Fayol picked up on. He believed that effective bureaucratic organisations which devised a plan of direction would eradicate ineffectiveness and unfocused activities. On the other hand, bureaucratic organisations should treat employees with equity and fairness as well as sustain order. Fayol described order as â€Å"the methodical arrangement of positions to provide the organisation with the greatest benefit.† (Contemporary Management P50). Linked to this he believed in the discipline within the organisation whereby employees could focus on obedience, energy and respect for authorititive figures. On the other hand, bureaucratic management according to Fayol should encourage employees to use initiative as well as a system whereby employees are rewarded in order to increase productivity and increase enjoyment for the employees. Included in these reward systems were profit sharing plans and bonuses. He recognised the need for long-term employment because through time people develop their skills. Similarly he believed that some form of agreement should be made by the organisation and its employees in order to maintain that employees are treated fairly and overall be rewarded for their performance. Espirit De Crops is an important part in the success of a bureaucratic organisation because it refers to a shared feeling of motivation and commitment to a specific cause. When managers are able to encourage personal and verbal relations between both managers and workers espirit de corps can be developed. Furthermore, this can be linked to Human Relations management. Human Relations Management Human relations management is the belief that a concern for human factors such as job specialisation in order to improve productivity. It was based on the belief that people have a social dimension and have important links not just to the workplace, but out with the organisation itself. Human relations was a move from a ‘rational economic’ view of man, where a employee will increase productivity with economic benefits such as wage rises and bonuses; to a social view of man, where productivity will increase with an increase in employee relation ships and in general better social conditions. Mary Parker Follet believed in the creativity of group processes. On the other hand she did not believe that division of labour was the right way to achieve optimised productivity unlike Fayols’ bureaucratic theories. Again, in comparison to strict lines of authority in bureaucratic management she believed that managers in an affective human relations organisation should not manipulate their subordinates. Instead, they should be trained to use their powers responsibility. She also argued against Fayols’ belief that there should be a clear hierarchy of authority by advising that it would be effective if leadership moves from person to person depending on the individual situation or who is best suited to the job. Unlike the principle of unity of command, Human relations theory allowed employees to work together and interact with managers giving their opinions and beliefs in order to optimise productivity. It also gives employees the satisfaction of knowing their opinions are valued. Elton Mayo elaborated on human relations management theory when he undertook the Hawthorne studies. He examined the social and psychological factors which affected performance. His studies concluded that physical conditions had a small impact on output and that it was social changes which impact productivity. These changed occurred because the teams were paid more attention to and their opinions mattered to managers. On the other hand, it concluded that financial initiatives helped increase productivity (similar to bureaucratic practises). The study later found that people performed less effectively because they began to practice specific social norms. In bureaucratic management employees have to behave in strict ways whereas human relations management theories found differing social behaviour. During the Hawthorne studies employees devised that they should behave in specific way and therefore those who did not abide by these social norms were classified as rate busters; who were people who tried to more in order to gain more, chisellers; employees who underperformer and squealers; who told tales to managers. Relevance Today Bureaucratic management has been proven to be very successful today. The Hilton hotel group are a relevant example because they have many outlets through-out the world. They must set out global standards and procedures in order for managers to run them it effectively. Included in these procedures is how staff is recruited and trained. Similarly rules and regulations set out in manual should be followed precisely, whether its how to treat their customers or how to run their accounts. On the other hand, bureaucratic management is not suitable for organisations which are prone to change. On the other hand, management control in bureaucratic management is very high because authority is clearly marked out, with managers being the imperative and employees must follow their orders. Human Relations Management is successful in some organisation today. Organisations that tend to benefit from Human Relations Management are call centres because employees tend to work in teams and have a closer interaction with their managers. However the influence on performance that Mayo discussed is much more complicated than assumed because by providing good supervision and adequate working conditions can increase satisfaction within the organisation but does not always mean it will increase productivity. Management control in an organisation which is adopts Human Relations management does have management control however it is less centralised. Employees are able to put across ideas and perspectives. Similarly, in some organisations the role of management can be shifted depending on who is best suited to the job. Overall, adopting theories of management in an organisation is very important because it can shape the way you run your business, but more importantly it can increase productivity and effectiveness by all who are involved in the organisation. Bureaucratic management is a system of management which is widely used today and more classical compare to human relations management. It is clear to see that there are differences between bureaucratic management and human relations management, the most obvious being that human relations management takes into consideration the social behaviours of employees whereas bureaucratic management concentrates more on hierarchy and strict division of labour.

Boeing Case Analysis

Lincoln University Graduate School of Business Marketing Management Team Project Case 3: Boeing Company Team – 8 The five elements group: Derek Dellape : 7551 Synopsis As the largest aerospace company in the world, the Boeing Company employees more than 153,000 people in some 67 countries. The great dominance of Boeing is due to its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas Corporation, an aerospace manufacturer, and its 1996 purchase of the defense and space units of Rockwell International Corporation, an aerospace contractor.The corporation is the world’s number one maker of commercial jetliners and military aircraft with more than 9,000 commercial planes in service worldwide, including the 717 through 777 families of jets and the MD-80, MD-90, and MD-11. In the defense sector, the company makes military aircraft, including fighter, transport, and attack aircraft; helicopters; and missiles. Moreover, Boeing is the nation’s top NASA contractor and the leader of the U. S. industry team for the International Space Station and directly involved in commercial space projects such as satellite networks.History The Boeing Company was founded by William Edward Boeing and his colleague George Conrad Westervelt in 1916, in Seattle, Washington. The first plane built by Boeing and Westervelt was a â€Å"B & W† seaplane and it was sold to the government of New Zealand which employed the plane for mail delivery and pilot training. The enterprise was expanded due to opportunities in the airmail businesses which lead to development of an extremely versatile and popular airplane called the Model 40.This airplane could carry 1,000 pounds of mail and a complete flight crew, and still have room enough for freight or passengers. In the years leading up to World War II Boeing led the way in developing single-wing airplanes. They were constructed completely of metal to make them stronger and faster, more efficient aerodynamic designs were emphasized and finally, directional radios were installed which enabled better navigation and nigh flying. At this point, Boeing had established itself as the leading manufacturer of airplanes.During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Boeing was allowed to use the government-owned B-52 construction facilities for the development of a new civilian/military jet. This new jet, the B-707, first rolled off the assembly line in 1957. Boeing enjoyed a large degree of success and profitability with the 707. The company devoted its resources to the development of a number of other passenger jet models, including the 720 (a modified 707) and the 727 introduced in 1964, which was able to carry 143 passengers. During this time the company also recognized a demand for a smaller 100 passenger jetliner for shorter routes.As a result, Boeing developed the 737 model which was considered to be a very technological advanced jetliner. Meanwhile, Boeing expanded its involvement in the defense market through the 1960 acquisi tion of Philadelphia-based Vertol Aircraft Corporation, a maker of military helicopters. During the Vietnam War, Boeing Chinook and Sea Knight helicopters were heavily utilized by American forces. The 1960’s also saw Boeing active in the NASA contracting sector. As the Cold War continued, Boeing was selected to develop the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile system.In addition, Boeing was heavily involved in NASA’s Apollo project of the 1960’s, beginning with its production of several Lunar Orbiters as well as the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which was used to explore the moon in the early 1970’s. During the 1970’s, Boeing tried to diversity its business by entering the metro-rail business, manufacturing mass transit systems for Boston, San Francisco, and Morgantown, West Virginia. The systems were modern, computerized, and efficient but prone to frequent breakdowns. After fulfilling its obligation to rectify the systems (at great cost), Boeing d ecided to discontinue its ground transport business.As the dominant aircraft manufacture for over three decades, Boeing began to experience a decline in its earnings and stock price during the middle of 1980’s even though it remained profitable. Unfortunately, Boeing jets were involved in four fatal air accidents from December 1988 to March 1989, and the company missed its first delivery deadline in two decades when the 747-400 experienced production delays. These internal problems were exacerbated by increased competition from Airbus, which was heavily subsidized by a consortium of European companies and governments.Furthermore, worldwide orders of all aircraft by the airliners declined from 1,662 in 1989 to 439 in 1991. Fortunately, in 1993 NASA selected Boeing as the prime contractor for the International Space Station, which was called the largest international science and technology endeavor ever undertaken. Boeing was also becoming increasingly involved in commercial sp ace projects and in December 1995 ten commercial space satellites were produced and launched from a floating platform at sea.In the middle of 1990’s, Boeing began its plan of acquisitions and in 1996 it paid $3. 2 billion for the aerospace and defense holdings of Rockwell International which was responsible for the Space shuttle and International Space Station programs, as well as activities in launch systems, rocket engines, missiles, satellites and military airplanes. Furthermore, in 1997 Boeing completed a $14 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas which was the world’s number three maker of commercial aircraft.The acquisition increased Boeing’s share of the world market for large commercial jetliners to more than 60 percent and left it with just one major competitor in that sector, the European Airbus which held about one third of the world market. Unfortunately, 1997 turned disastrous for Boeing for reasons wholly unrelated to its acquisition spree. Attem pting to take advantage of the upswing in airplane orders, which was in part caused by the aging of the airliners’ fleets, Boeing committed to doubling its production over an 18 month period.The eagerness of Boeing to increase its revenue lead to production delays, including the wholesale shutdown of some production units and reducing its workforce from 238,000 at year end 1997 to between 185,000 and 195,000 by the end of 2000. If the delays and reduction of workforce weren’t bad enough for Boeing enterprise, the contract awarded to Boeing by the Air force to undertake the Evolved Expandable Launch Vehicle program (EELV) was canceled due to allegations of cheating to win the Air force contract. Today Boeing is undertaking a major project, Boeing 787 Dreamliner which will provide a super-efficient airplane apable of flying long ranges with less fuel. However, Walter James McNerney, the CEO of Boeing Corporation, will have to deal with many issues such as competition, va lue chain and ethics in order to dominate the aircraft industry in next future. Analysis Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players: The commercial aircraft business is very important for Boeing because it covers more than 65% of its total revenue. In this market, losing market share can cause big impact on the performance of Boeing and its future development.The competition from Airbus is considered extreme and on the scale between 1 and 10, it can be ranked as 9. The level of competition between the two aircraft manufactures is very clear as it is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Graph of market share (%), gross orders between Airbus and Boeing from 1994 to 2006. The level of rivalry between Airbus and Boeing shown in Fig. 1 depicts Boeing as the market share leader from 1994 to 1998. However, Airbus took the market share from Boeing in 2001 and kept its position as the market share leader until 2004.Even though the number of orders was more superior with Airbus in 2004, the total r evenues of Boeing was still much higher than that of Airbus. While the revenue of Airbus in 2004 was $40 billion, Boeing had the revenue of $55 billion. This is due to the fact that Boeing gained profit from other activities such as military aerospace, defense, and space business. The competition from Airbus industry is getting more and more threatening to Boeing in the commercial aircraft market. Boeing has been the market leader since 1980’s.Nevertheless, Airbus has gained ground and expanded its market share very successfully by making great efforts in doing market research and development of new products. While Airbus spent 5. 9 percent of its total revenue on research and development in 1999, Boeing only spent 2. 3 percent. Therefore, it means that Airbus is now a big threat to Boeing and may take over its market leader position soon if Boeing doesn’t take any serious action to protect itself. Threat of New Entrance: It is not easy for new companies to enter the m arket of manufacturing large ommercial aircraft. The high cost of developing airplanes is a major factor in prohibiting new entrants to the market with costs as high as US$5. 5 billion to develop the Boeing 777 in the 1990’s. Furthermore, aircraft manufactures must sell between 400 and 500 aircraft at a rate of 50 sales per year in order to regain their investment after developing a new product. This means that companies which enter the market must be prepared to wait for around 10 years before showing any profit even though there is no guarantee that they will become profitable.For that reason, the threat of new entries is considered very low on the scale of 1 to 10, it is ranked as 1. Nevertheless, Boeing now has been faced the threat of new entrance by China. The Chinese government has officially approved the launch of China Commercial Aircrafts, which will manufacture large passenger airplanes. The plan is to have jets designed and built in China by 2020. Asian Airlines a re expected to buy nearly 10,000 new planes by 2025, with more than 2,200 of those going to Chinese airlines.Since Boeing and Airbus have been outsourcing most of the technical and engineering jobs to China, barriers of technology requirement to enter the industry can be overcome by the Chinese. As a matter of fact, a consortium of Chinese companies known as China Aviation Industries Corporation produces components for Boeing’s 747 and 787 wide bodies and operates a final assembly line for the Airbus A320. For that reason, China is now in advantageous position to build passenger aircraft due to its tremendous wealth, technological strength and a huge home market.Therefore, once China starts manufacturing aircrafts, it could also become a significant player in the world of passenger plane market and take part of the market share away from Boeing and Airbus. Nevertheless, the Chinese ambition to enter the aircraft industry is not a short run threat to Boeing because it may take at least 15 years to China begin to develop its airplanes. Despite its goal of eventually challenging Boeing, the Chinese will have to produce large jets which are able to meet only a small part of domestic demand while Boeing will continue to claim a big chunk of the Chinese market.Value Chain Analysis: For the past several years, Boeing has been grappling with problems in launching its latest major passenger airplane, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at a cost of $178 million each. Airlines around the world preordered over 900 787 airplanes before they ever took a test flight based on its projected fuel efficiency, passenger comfort, low maintenance costs, flexibility, and other major design elements. However, the first test flights for the plane were delayed, largely because of supply chain issues.Boeing subcontracted out the design and assembly of major components of the 787 to firms in Japan, Italy, China, and India but did not impose adequate coordination across these various suppli ers. For that reason, subassemblies did not fit together properly, there were numerous quality and delivery issues, and countless other problems occurred. The biggest problem was that Boeing didn’t realize that integrating the supply chain and choosing the correct suppliers was much more difficult than it could have anticipated for.In this case, Boeing outsourced the assembly of parts of the airplane to countries such as China and India where labor is cheaper so that it could reduce cost of operation. Unfortunately, outsourcing to foreign countries to save money can cause backlash from the media, current customers, as well as possible future customers. As a matter of fact, one risk Boeing is taking by outsourcing its supply chain is giving away technology to third parties such as foreign aerospace companies. For example, Chinese suppliers may use the knowledge acquired from their work to begin creating a company of their own.If this occurs, it would be a huge threat to Boeing as well as Airbus since they have plans to capitalize on the flourishing Asia-Pacific markets. Ethics at Boeing Over the years, Boeing is focused on a flood of scandals that have tarnished the company’s image. In July 2003, the Pentagon stripped Boeing of one million dollars in rocket launch business for possessing proprietary documents stolen from a competitor, Lockheed Martin. As a matter of fact, Boeing was suspended from doing business with the federal government for twenty months. In another incident, the department of defense reported that Boeing overcharged the U.S. army by $13 million for parts opposed to a fair sale price of $10 million. Due to a lack of ethics, Boeing may lose credibility with its suppliers and customers who may think twice before signing a contract with Boeing. Moreover, Boeing lack of ethics is unfair to other companies as well as tax payers. Another ethic issue involving Boeing is that it has sacrificed American jobs for foreign government subsi dies. In recent years, Boeing has sought subsidies from foreign governments and it has pushed its manufacturing overseas in order to obtain such subsidies.For the 787 aircraft, Boeing reportedly secured a subsidy of almost $600 million dollars from the Italian government towards the manufacture of the rear fuselage of the airplane by the Italian firm, Alenia. Moreover, Boeing also reportedly obtained approximately $1. 5 billion in subsidies from the Japanese government for the same aircraft. In order to secure this Japanese subsidy, Boeing outsourced the manufactured of the wings and fuselage of the aircraft to the Japanese companies Fuji, Kawasaki and Mitsubishi.Sadly, Boeing outsourced the sort of technology that had benefited from years of American taxpayer-funded research and development spending. As a matter of fact, Boeing lack of ethics can leave many hard working Americans without jobs. Conclusion The dominance of aircraft manufacturing business by Boeing is impressive, but Airbus and threat of new entrants could take part of the market share away from Boeing. For that reason, Boeing should spend more money in research and development so it could improve its airplanes with new technological advances.In this market, technology is crucial because it can help differentiate one company from another; and therefore, the most advanced technological firm is more able to keep and gain more customers than its competitors. Even though technological advances are important factor that help distinguish one company from another, Boeing shouldn’t neglect the fact that supply chain is also very crucial to a company success. When Boeing outsourced its supply chain to China and India, it caused a delay on Boeing 787 Dreamliner production.If a company wants to be the market leader, it shouldn’t outsource supply chain because it is sometimes difficult to contact with suppliers and verify quality of products being used to assemble the aircrafts, for example. I n addition, Boeing shouldn’t outsource supply chain because it takes a risk of giving away technology to third parties such as foreign aerospace companies in China and India. If Boeing wants to keep its dominance of aircraft manufacturing business, it should be more ethical when doing business.The lack of ethics by Boeing can cause a great harm to the image of the company; and worst of all, Boeing could lose credibility with its suppliers and customers who may think twice before signing a contract with it. The bottom line is that Boeing should have more consideration with its competitors as well as tax payers when doing business. Answers and Questions: 1) Discuss the nature of the market structure and demand for the Dreamliner. What are the applications of this for Boeing and customers?A) The nature of the market structure for the Dreamliner is oligopolistic which means that the market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers in this case aircraft manufactures. T he oligopolistic market is comprised of a handful of competitors sheltered by significant barrier to entry. This means that firms are heavily restricted from entering or leaving the industry. For that reason, Boeing has the chance to take the market share away from Airbus since it has only one competitor and manufactures mid-size aircrafts capable of flying long ranges with high fuel efficiency.Since the demand for Dreamliners is not used for personal or direct consumption but rather for its use in providing other goods and services, the demand for the Dreamliner is known as derived demand. The Airlines that purchase Boeing aircrafts want to comply with customer demand for more comfortable and luxury airplanes. Passengers will experience during their flights and great deal of comfort with higher cabin pressure and humidity which reduces common flying symptoms like headaches, dry mouth and fatigue.At the same time, midsized wide-body airplanes will provide to airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency, resulting in exceptional environment performance while cutting costs with fuel consumption. If airlines are able to cut cost with fuel, consumers will be directly benefited with cheaper air fares. 2) What examples of the major types of buying situations of you see in this case? Discuss the implications of each in terms of marketing strategy. A) The major types of buying situations are: straight rebuy, modified rebuy and new-task buying.In straight rebuy the buyer routinely reorders something without any modifications. The marketing strategy used in straight rebuy is based on getting high quality and low cost products, superior service, and prompt delivery from a partner seller. In fact, the buyer can save time with tedious paper work requirement since they have already ordered previously with the seller. In modified rebuy involves a business buying situation in which the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers.The market strategy of modified rebuy allows buyers to look at alternative offerings within their established purchasing guidelines. In fact, they might take this step if their current supplier has let a rebuy situation deteriorate because of poor service or delivery performance. In new-task buying involves a business buying situation in which the buyer purchases a product or services for the first time. The strategy of new-task buying in marketing is to acquire goods or services by carefully considering alternatives offerings.In fact, it is very important to a company entering a new field to search out potential suppliers, and evaluating proposals. 3) List the specific features of the Dreamliner. What customer benefits result from each? A) The Boeing 787 Dreamliner incorporates structural composite materials in the airframe instead of predominantly aluminum which offer customers a guaranteed reduction in maintenance costs. Moreover, the use of structural composites enhances fuel economy as well as trave l range of the 787 Dreamliner.This means that airlines will be able to save money with fuel so that consumers will pay less for air fares. Due to the use of composite technology, the Boeing 787 has a higher cabin pressure which helps customers have a better flight experience and reduce common flying symptoms such as headaches and fatigue. The cabin design incorporates increased legroom, and added rooms such as lounges which can benefit customers with a comfortable flying experience. In addition, the 787 Dreamliner also contains 19-inch electrochromic dimmable windows, which adds passenger comfort.At last, the Dreamliner is environmental friendly because it is a low emission airplane. In this case, customers will benefit from an airplane which emits less carbon dioxide which can help keep the air cleaner. 4) Discuss the customer buying process for a Boeing airplane. In what major ways does this process differ from the buying process a passenger might go through in choosing an airplan e? A) The process of buying an aircraft can be a complicated process due to the fact that a 787 Dreamliner can cost over 100 million dollars.In order to buy an airplane, buyers must take in consideration costs and benefits which come with the purchase of the airplane such as long-term operating and maintenance costs. Moreover, customers will have to wait for years in order to receive their planes since the aircraft manufacturer may take years to produce them. The purchase of an airline ticket by a consumer may be classified in a few different ways. Customers traveling the same route regularly do not require them to spend a great deal of time or mental effort in arriving at the purchase decision.On the other hand, leisure customers who travel occasionally, the purchase process would require considerably more time and effort. However, the decision of consumers to buy an airplane ticket has not as many factors to consider as in the case of an airline purchasing a 787 Dreamliner. In add ition, the outcomes are more numerous and the stakes are much higher. 5) What marketing recommendations would you make to McNerney as he continues to try to resolve the problems with the 787 Dreamliner program?A) The first problem that McNerney has to resolve with 787 Dreamliner program is improve ethics of the firm. If Boeing doesn’t have a good work and business ethic customer relationship can be compromised. As a matter of fact, Boeing could lose credibility with its suppliers and customers who may think twice before signing a contract with it. At last, McNerney should keep the supply chain in America because it is easier to contact with suppliers and verify the quality of products being used to assemble the 787 Dreamliner.

Understand how to safeguard the well-being of children and young people Essay

2.1 It is important to safeguard children and young people in a setting to ensure they can feel safe and secure. We must protect children and young people from abuse or neglect, ensure they stay safe and healthy and continue to develop well. 2.2 It is important to have a child centred approach so that the child’s feelings are experiences are taken into account and therefore any further distress can be avoided. 2.3 Partnership working in the context of safe guarding refers to the sharing of information between different agencies and collaborative working. It is important to feel that a child’s welfare is safe guarded regardless of there they are from and who’s looking after them at all times. For example, children who attend multiple settings, such as primary school and an after school club. It is important that these settings work closely together to ensure the child is safe, healthy and developing. Practitioners must ensure continuity and coherence by sharing relevant information with each other parents or carers. 2.4 When a child is abused or harmed, there are many agencies that may be involved. The fist is likely to be the social services ( after a referral). Referrals are likely to be made by a school or childcare provider. It is part of every person working with young children’s responsibility to report any signs of abuse or neglect to their safeguarding coordinator who will refer the case to the local social services hub. Other organisations and practitioners who have a duty of care to report any of these signs include doctors, nurses, health visitors and play schemes. Social services then carry out an initial assessment as a response and the possible decisions include; Offering services and support to the child and their family. This will only be decided if it is judged that the child is not in any immediate danger. Urgent action to protect the child from harm such as obtaining a court order to remove the child from the care of their parents and placed into safe temporary care. A discussion to discuss further strategy will then  take place. Staff in schools or other settings where they care for children must never try to independently investigate the circumstances of the abuse or neglect themselves, but their input may be requested in the initial assessment meetings, and their cooperation with the continued plan is important. 3.1 Every person working in the setting must be a suitable person to work with young children, must have a valid CRB check and must be assessed by the Independent Safeguarding Authority. Practitioners must actively promote the well being of every child. This includes providing every opportunity for children and young people to learn and develop, play and communicate and socialise in the setting. Children and young people also need healthy, nutritious food and the opportunity to move their bodies and exercise. They need to be able to make decisions and develop an appropriate level of independence. Practitioners also have a responsibility to provide extra support to children who’s needs are not being met, by working with parents and other professionals. Some children in early years settings mya present a delay in development, or emotional of social difficulties, which may be the result of adverse early years experiences, like witnessing domestic violence or growing up with a parent with a mental illness. This extra support could include helping the parent join a â€Å"stay and play† group to make friends and build a support group, or by working with a clinical psychology service to give advice on things such as bedtimes. This work can be coordinated under the CAF. 3.2 It is important to have policies and procedures in place to protect children and the adults who work with them. Policies and procedures that should be in place within settings for safe working include; duty of care, whistle blowing, power and position of trust, physical contact, photography and video and off site visits. The setting’s policy for safe guarding should include the settings’ name and the type of service it provides, the name of the child protection officer, the importance of child protection and outline the relevant part of UK legislation, everyone’s responsibility to safeguard, how the setting will meet this obligation, the safeguarding policy works together with other policies, such as the equality and diversity policy,  behaviour and partnership with parents. The procedure should inform how the policy will be put into practice on a daily basis. The procedure should be clear on the following points; the obligation to respond appropriately in a timely fashion, a brief summary of signs to look out for with reference to the relevant guidance document, the steps that should be taken if there are concerns, specific guidance and effective safeguarding. 3.3 There may be an occasion where you work in a setting and you believe that there are incidences of poor practice. For example, a staff member has raised concerns about a child’s welfare and reported these to the child protection officer. The child’s parents are on the school governing body. The child protection officer’s response is that â€Å"they’re not the sort of people to harm their child†. In cases like these it is very important that action is taken before the situation becomes worsened. Make it clear to the person you have reported to that the situation is dangerous and illegal and that you may feel it necessary to â€Å"blow the whistle† is necessary. Whistle blowers are legally protected against bullying being sacked or disciplined if they have acted in good faith. 3.4 Practitioners can protect themselves within their every day practice in and out of the setting by knowing their company policy. Schools and early years settings can keep children safe by having effective recruitment procedures, management and general operation policy. The children’s intimate care should be coordinated by the child’s key person so they don’t feel like just anyone can take them aside and undress them, this ensures their right to privacy is upheld. Is possible, children should be asked is they consent to offers of intimate care. Early years settings are required to have a policy for allegations made against staff. This will cover cases where a child, parent of other staff member has made the allegation. Practitioners participating in an off site visit have a duty to protect children from harm on the visit. Unqualified staff or volunteers mustn’t be left in sole charge of children and young people on an off site visit, unless deemed safe through a risk assessment. There should be a minimum of two adults participating in an off site visit, and must not be put in a situation where they are alone with a child away form the group. 4.1 Possible signs and symptoms that may indicate abuse or neglect and be cause for concern are outlined in the NSPCC’s â€Å"Learn to recognise signs of abuse†. A baby or toddler who is always crying a child who often has injuries or bruises a child who is often very withdrawn a child who often wears dirty clothes, is unwashed for a long period of times a child who is frequently very hungry a child who is often inappropriately dressed for the weather or season any indications a child is being left alone at home or unsupervised a child who does not receive medical treatment they need  a child who is mocked, sworn at, constantly joked about or made to feel foolish a child who expresses fear about particular adults, seams reluctant to be picked up by specific people, afraid to be left alone with that person. A child who has strong mood swings- anxiety, depression, uncontained anger or aggression. A child who has sexual knowledge, used sexual words or sexual behaviour that is not appropriate for their age. A child who is witnessing domestic violence A child who it witnessing significant alcohol or drug abuse. The NSPCC advised that you trust your judgement on a situation. 4.2 If a child make an allegation of abuse or harm, you must first record exactly what the child or young person has said and anything you may have noticed about the child or young person. Then discuss the concerns as a matter or urgency with the named member of staff within the setting. In my own setting, each room has a named person (usually the room leader) and the deputy manager is also a named person. In the case that I had a concern, I would first speak to the appropriate named person. In some cases it is acceptable to speak to the parent. For example, if a child has come into the setting with a number of bruises, either myself or the named person would ask the parent how the marks were acquired. I would then fill in an incident report describing the marks and ask the parent to sign it. If the parents account did not seam legitimate, I would then fill in a â€Å"cause for concern†Ã‚  report sheet. Both of these are filed in the child’s personal file, along with an y other reports of a similar nature. I would then be told of the action made by the named person. If the parents account seams reasonable based on what we know of the child’s behaviour within the setting, the named person may decide to take no further action. They may decide to advise the child’s parents, for example, what sort of clothes the child needs to wear. The child will then be monitored by his or her key person to see if the advise is followed up on. They may offer support for example, by making an appointment with a clinical psychologist. They may decide to refer the family to support at the children’s centre. They may decide however that serious action need to be taken and refer the incident to the Children’s Social Care (social services). If I feel that the action taken by the named person is inadequate, I would contact the Nursery owner, and then social services myself. There is the option of a â€Å"no names† interview with social services if I am unsure of what action to take. 4.3 In situations where abuse has been suspected, it is important to be mindful of the rights of the children and of their carers. In general, any information disclosed is confidential. If information circulates too freely, it can leave children and adults feeling too vulnerable and they may stop sharing information with you. If a parent disclosed information to you which you feel should be shared for the child’s benefit, the parent should feel they can consent or withhold consent freely ( assuming the child’s safety isn’t compromised). We must never disclose information inappropriately for example to people not within the setting. Everyone has the right to privacy. If sharing information is necessary to the child’s safety, you must do so. Start by discussing with the parent why you must share the information, explain that you are legally obligated to do so. If in doubt, seek advise from your named person. 5.1 There are many different types of bullying, including physical, verbal or indirect bullying. Physical bullying includes hitting kicking and taking belongings. Verbal bullying includes name calling, insulting and making  offensive remarks. Indirect bullying includes the spreading of rumours, exclusion form a social group, sending malicious emails or texts. There is never an excuse for bullying behaviour. Children and young people are more likely to be bullied if they are; shy or have an overprotective family environment, are from a different racial or ethnic group to the majority, appear different in some respects, have special needs such as a learning difficulty, behave inappropriately or have less developed social and interpersonal skills, possess expensive accessories such as a mobile phone or computer game. Bullying can lead to low self esteem in children and young people and can often leave them feeling hopeless. Children and young people who are experiencing bullying may be reluctant to attend the setting and may therefore have poor attendance. They may be more anxious and insecure than others, have fewer friends and may often feel unhappy or lonely. This will, in turn, effect all areas of their holistic development. 5.2 Some types of bullying may amount to unlawful discrimination. All settings must have a policy and system to deal with bullying. Policies must include reference to bullying in all forms such as bullying on grounds of body shape or size, homophobic bullying, racist bullying, faith based bulling, ageist bullying, disability bullying and sexist bullying. These policies and procedures are in place to protect people and to understand how best to support victims and their families. Children and young people should be provided with information about sources of help such as Childline or The Samaritans. If bullying is suspected or reported, within our setting, the issue will be dealt with by the child’s key person. The EYFS required that â€Å"Children’s behaviour must be managed effectively and in a manner that is appropriate for their stage of development and individual needs†. If bullying occurs within the staff team, it must be reported to the Company director (nur sery owner) who will deal with it as a matter or urgency. 5.3 Practitioners should work in partnership with parents to a support the victim of bullying. They can do this by helping the child improve their personal and social skills, including assertiveness techniques and conflict resolution. You can also provide support by encouraging the child to talk, listen to their problems, believing them if they say they are being bullied,  providing reassurance that it is not their fault, discussing the issue with a senior member of staff and taking action by following the settings’ anti-bulling procedure. 6.1 Children’s self esteem can be greatly boosted by an effective key person approach. Many aspects of this support the safeguarding of children. Listening and tuning into a child are import aspects of this. The key person notices changes in the child’s behaviour and emotion well being and developing a trusting relationship so that the child feel like they can talk to their key person about thing that are upsetting them. The child must know that you are there to listen and will believe what he or she is telling you. It is important to allow the child to express their feelings, such as anger, sadness and happiness, they may feel more confident that they can have a range of emotions. You can increase a child’s confidence by making the child feel a sense of belonging and that they have a unique set of qualities that are valued. It is important to show genuine interest in what a child is doing or saying. You can also work with parents to support their child’s self confidence and self esteem. Help a parent to understand that their child is finding a particular situation difficult and wha they can do to help, support parent with practical advise such as care or clothing, offer emotional and practical support in cases of family conflict or domestic violence. 6.2 Resilience is a crucial life skill that children require to survive the turbulences that life can provide. Resilience provides a person with the ability to deal with arising issues without it largely effecting their well being. It is something that they will develop in childhood and take with them into adult hood while continuing to improve their strength of resilience. It is therefore extremely important that adults support the resilience of young people. It teaches them to act in a way that will repair any damage caused by a major life event, good or bad, and enables them to regain self esteem. A lack of resilience can lead to cases of depression in an arising situation where the person feels unable to cope. If children are resilient it will help them in everyday life as a child, to overcome issues, hold onto self-esteem if victims of bullying and be better at dealing with  life. This will enable them ot be happier individuals who can carry this resilience into adult life. 6.3 It is important to work with children to enable them to have the strategies to protect themselves for neglect or abuse so they have a means of preventing it from happening. As part of this prevention role it is important that children understand what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour towards them, how to stay safe from harm, speak up if they have any worries or concerns, develop awareness and resilience. Being actively involved in prevention helps children stay safe both in the present and in the future. 6.4 One way to empower children and young people to make positive and informed decisions that will support their well being and safety is to encourage them to trust their own feelings and judgement in difficult situations. You can use role play as a tool to help them think about what to do if their friends are doing something they feel uncomfortable with such as having sex, drinking, drugs etc. Peer pressure can often be very strong, children and young people to decide upon limits for what they will and wont do so they can cope if a situation does arise. Make suer children understand the dangers of situations that may put their safety at risk, such a; being left home alone, playing in deserted or dark places, being out on their own, talking to strangers, accepting lifts from strangers and walking home alone, especially in the dark. Role play, stories and television can also be used to discuss acceptable risk taking. Children can discuss the actions of characters and identify risks they are taking in their own lives. Children also need to know where they can go to get help if they need it. They should be encouraging to find people in the setting or within their community who can help keep them safe. 7.1 Risks associated with using the internet and mobile phones usually revolve around contact with strangers, either posing as themselves or someone the child may trust. These people may try to obtain information from them, coerce them into meeting them which is highly dangerous. There are also issues of fraud around online shopping where criminals can obtain bank account details from the website used and use them as a theft devise. 7.2 You can reduce risks of using social networking sites (including chat rooms) by teaching children not to give out personal information that could lead the recipient to discover who they are and never arrange to meet anyone they have â€Å"met† in a chatroom. If young people wish to use social networking sites, they should be taught how to make the settings of they profile private so that only accepted people they know and trust can view their postings. Additionally, children and young people should be taught only to accept â€Å"friend requests† from people they are friends with in real life. They should never disclose personal information online. Filtering systems can be used to stop children and young people accessing inappropriate content on the internet. The curriculum should also provide opportunities to teach internet safety in ICT lessons. There should be procedures in p[lace to deal with â€Å"personal alleging† by a child or young person as a result of internet safety education. The setting must have a nominated member of staff who is in charge of child protection issues. It is important that children and young people are aware of the risks of online shopping. They should be encouraged to ensure their computer has anti-virus software and a firewall in place to provide protection against the potential risks of online shopping. You should only use online retailers you trust and check their privacy policy before buying anything. Ensure that you have a strong password and know what a secure website looks like. Print out a copy of any online orders you have made and always check your bank statement after buying anything online. UK mobile phone operators take steps to protect children and young people from accessing inappropriate material on their phones. They do this using internet filters, and having the option to register a mobile phone as a child so they can not access material for over 18s. They also advise that bluetooth (which enables bluetooth users to â€Å"talk† to each other) is turned off on children and young people’s phones. Chil dren and young people can be educated on e-safety by being given the following tips; Think carefully about who you give your mobile number to. Do not reply to any unwanted texts or messages.  Be careful what you download to your phone as there are growing numbers of viruses. Check with your friends if you are planning to upload a photo or video with them in it before uploading it. Remember to take control of your own image as one picture can become permanent when uploaded to the internet.

Analysis of Software Services Industry Essay

Q1 – Which industry is being analyzed? The industry that will be a part of my analysis is the software services & consulting industry. I would simplify and constrict it further to consulting services based on a global development model – provide r procure services from anywhere in the world to any part of the world. I have been associated with this industry or business model for over a decade. As a business consultant I provide my services to my client & manage their IT operations, including large programs that align with their strategic needs. Software services industry started gaining a lot of attention since the mid-80s. The reason was personal computing capabilities that democratized the digitized world from large companies to households. Since then advances in networking & technologies have catapulted the world we live in into different dimensions. Since the 90s, as the Eastern Europe & Asian countries opened post-communism, with decrease in network cost & high availability, software services made a paradigm s hift. Q2 – Barriers to Entry Economies of scale The software industry is highly competitive. First we will analyze the economies to scale. Usually with all industries the overhead costs are spread with the scale of operations. However, the fixed cost in the software outsourcing industry is low. The only real fixed costs are those of buildings where industry workers sit and perform their work and sales. In comparison with the revenues, the required assets to perform the work being very low, software industry faces very low advantage related to economy of scale. Everything else, management costs, cost of administration, cost of equipment like computers etc are somewhat proportional to the number of resources employed. However, an entrant into this industry may need to pay higher salary to their employees being new in the industry, since the risk involved in joining a new company from the perspective of a potential employee, is higher compared to established names and large companies whose operations may be diversified geographically or across industries. Similarly, larger companies are able to market the services to potential customers while the cost of the sales team gets proportionately divided across delivery units. Thus a larger company is able to enjoy economies of scale over smaller, new entrants. Distribution Channels Distribution is a critical function in the software industry. Ability to market potential products or services for a particular company depends on the ability of the sales team to grow a relationship with customers. For some companies the relationship is managed by delivery teams who can interact more closely with the customer’s management group. Usually the customers have their operations unit as well as a separate vendor management unit. Usually the larger companies have their sales teams interact with the vendor management group, while the relationship with operations and domain capability groups are maintained by the core delivery group who are more oriented towards the day to day operations of the clients. Essentially, distribution channels towards the customer is maintained both by delivery as well as vendor management units. And building up the relationship with clients is usually a time-taking process and does include costs when a new customer is approached by the sales team with the capabilities of the service or product providers in the software industry. Capital Requirements The capital requirement in the industry is usually low. Small companies can operate by just renting small buildings or some even from home offices. Networking facilities can also be hired with low cost in this age. As such with low capital requirements, the industry offers as ease of entrance. Switching Costs Switching suppliers is not easy in this industry. The primary purpose of every service provider is to build a repository of knowledge sufficient enough to service the operations of the client. And since it takes time and effort to build up this repository, either through people or through documents, it is usually difficult to switch suppliers – in terms of time, cost as well as the risks involved in impacting operations in case of an unsuccessful event in managing operations. The bigger factor of switching is the comfort factor of the customers in this industry in dealing with switching of providers. As a result, this is probably the most important aspect in barriers of entry. Cost disadvantages independent of scale For a potential entrant, there are multiple barriers independent of scale. One is the need to get resources with certifications and a high level of skill. The industry builds competency and certifications usually form a precious measure of it. For eg., customers usually demand a PMP certified project manager or legal-certifications needed for resources supporting compliance related operations or CPAs supporting accounting operations. Also there are certain cost and continuity advantages related to services being sourced offshore (like India & China) as opposed to on-shore or near-shore services. Usually the ability to service clients from Offshore is so strong, it is unusual to open operations without an Offshore unit being able to service clients, just from sheer cost & continuity of service operations perspective. The industry operations are primarily driven by the labor cost arbitrage paradigm. In short, we see a number of barriers of entries in this industry, usually from distribution channels, switching costs and other costs independent of scale rather than prohibitive capital requirements in some other industries. Q3-Substitutes The primary form of substitute comes from the individual contracting as well as permanent staff categories of the clients, being managed by the client’s organization as in-house. Before software or consulting outsourcing services industry was present, all the work used to be performed in-house or with individual contractors being managed by the client’s IT division. On the other hand the mode of operations of Indian software services companies are SoW based; most companies operate in a turn-key mode rather than substituting for permanent employees and contractors. This has enabled client to concentrate on their core processes and business while keeping a lean management structure to enable their IT operations. This has cost savings associated with the expertise that they gain from companies whose primary focus is IT operations. Although the industry has moved away from in-house IT operations, but still this remains as the primary alternative for clients against the outsourced software services providing industry operating under a GDM model. Another possible substitute can be in-sourcing. In in-sourcing a company has a special contractual relationship either with a specific unit of itself or another group which specializes in managing or performing a specific function within itself. An example is that of UPS which repairs Toshiba computers on behalf of Toshiba. The work is done at the UPS hub, by UPS employees acting on behalf of Toshiba. Such in-sourcing capabilities can be performed onshore or near-shore by companies themselves or specific companies working on behalf of another. Although not in vogue as much like outsourcing, specific knowledge &capabilities of certain companies or groups of companies knowing & performing on behalf of another organization or another unit of the same company can form a powerful substitute in the future. Q4 – Pressure of Suppliers The primary supplier in this industry is labor force. Other than labor there are network service providers. The labor market demands in this industry are skill specific. Certain skills demand higher rates since the demands are high. Usually there is a demand-supply mismatch currently in the industry favoring the suppliers. The work in demand much outstrips the skills in supply. As such the suppliers currently have an upper hand over the companies that operate in this industry. As such rates of attrition and volatility of personnel changes are pretty high. As a direct result of such attrition, the cost to source appropriate skills is also high. One of the primary reasons why the industry has seen a boom of offshoring is to reduce the cost of procuring skills on-site or near-shore facilities. Both India & China, with their high number of available educated skilled resources at a comparative lower costs and less benefits is able to provide a better cost alternative to the industry. As days have passed, more and more operations are being sourced at Offshore, now including development, testing, BPOs, KPOs and in some cases architecture consulting too. Increasing costs and heavy demand of appropriate skills has made the industry highly competitive from the supplier side. However, on the other hand, the industry does not have formalized unions (primarily due to demand mismatch) and continues to be attractive in that front. Q5 – Pressure of Customers The presence of large number of customers in the industry has somewhat enabled the customers to put pressure on the service providers. Through competitive bidding, customers are pitted against one another to force pressure. Specially in a multi-vendor scenario, especially with reduction in client’s IT investment, suppliers try to encroach each other’s area of operations leading to greater pressure being exerted by the client’s with relation to cost or quality or sometimes even commanding additional work or some items to be done for free. With the increase in software services outsourcing and freely available resources in the market with specialized knowledge or skill on specific functions of the IT industry, the knowledge-gap between software providers have dwindled. With the customer in recent years cutting back on their IT investment has meant greater pressure to the software providers. In some cases customers even have asked for long term commitment through competitive fixed price bidding for multi-year operations projects without defining scope of the work appropriately. This has caused imperfect and sometimes incorrect pricing situations. With availability of a large number of providers with GDM capabilities have enabled customers exert their will over the service providers. In that respect, both from supplier and customer side, the margins of the service providers have reduced considerably as well as the growth of the industry has diminished also. Q6 – Rivalry in the industry All the factors stated above – lower barrier of entry due to low capital requirements, pressure from customers with reduction in IT expenditure and investment, pressure from suppliers due to higher cost of skilled resources & attrition and the availability of a viable alternative from in-house resources result in a very high level of intense competition. Earlier the outsourcing companies like IBM, PWC, Deloitte used to operate in onshore or near-shore locations only. But with the increase of India, China & Brazil being powerful & intense alternate destinations, the outsourcing industry has taken a powerful dimension of off-shoring resulting in lowering revenues, decreasing profit margins or in some cases being eliminated from competition. The US based companies also face greater pricing pressure from Indian locals since they already have established in USA and Indian workers prefer joining named Indian companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS who provide them with better opportunities. The current industry does not have any market leaders as the top companies are equally competitive with mostly similar operating model utilizing aggressively the labor cost arbitrage phenomenon between societies in a globalized environment. Even the services that these companies produce are similar with very few differentiating factors (like cost or brand image). With reduced IT expenditure due to great recession companies more often than not poach other’s established customers or employees. Also the growth that was established a decade or so ago with enhanced software services offshoring enabled the companies take a very aggressive growth strategy; but with a rapid reduction of growth as well as margins, the competition has become enhanced between various industry players with higher level of competency to address potential barriers of entry. Overall the industry has been dynamic with priorities shifting across geographies and the access to competition & customers are getting easier while access to resources is getting stiffer.

I have no idea Essay

1.Is it ethical to sell a product that is, at best, only mildly effective? Discuss. Product? Discuss. ANS: Selling a product that at its best mildly works is ethical because the product does work. The issue that persons are having is that it varies in effectiveness per person. 2.Is it ethical to exploit cultural norms and values to promote a product? Discuss. ANS: I believe that is it perfectly correct to exploit culturally values norms. Marketers depend on cultural values and norms to market products. It is through the understanding of the markets culture and values that companies better understand the customers’ needs. 3.Is the advertising of Fair & Lovely demeaning to women, or is it promoting the fairness cream in a way not too dissimilar from how most cosmetics are promoted? ANS: Fair and lovely has taken advantage f the position that cosmetic companies promote. Cosmetic companies promote that women are imperfect and perfection can be achieved through their products. Fair and lovely has epitomized this through their campaigns 4.Will HLL’s Fair & Lovely Foundation be enough to counter charges made by AIDWA? Discuss. ANS: The product still has acceptance in the Indian market so it may be that the foundation has been effective. The foundation also does a great job in countering the believe that the product demeans women by empowering them. 5.In light of AIDWA’s charges, how would you suggest Fair & Lovely promote its product? Discuss. Would your response be different if Fairever continued to use â€Å"fairness† as a theme of its promotion? Discuss. ANS: In light of AIDWA’s response I recommend that Fair & Lovely promote the product without using fairness as the theme. If they do continue to use fairness as a campaign they should alter the perception of fairness as not being light skinned but representing toned and healthy skin. 6.Propose a promotion/marketing program that will counter all the arguments and charges against Fair & Lovely and be an effective program. ANS: I propose that a simple change in the promotion from advocating for fairer skin towards healthier toned skin can relieve the pressure being faced by the company. How can they go about this campaign? Fair and Lovely should launch a campaign promoting that beauty is not only fair but dark also. This campaign should headline women of varying skin tone, shapes and sizes using the product not to change their skin tone but enhancing their own skin tone. 7.Now that a male market for fairness cream exists, is the strength of AIDWA’s argument weakened? ANS: Male market for fairness cream does in essence weaken the argument that fairness cream is demeaning to women. However it can strengthen the argument that the company has widen its grip on exploiting cultural norm and values by advocating for universal â€Å"fairness† of both males and females. 8.Comment on using â€Å"Shakti Ammas† to introduce â€Å"fairness cream for the masses† in light of AIDWA’s charges. ANS: Fair and Lovely is responding to the demand of the market. In spite of the claims of AIDWA the market is still demanding the product. AIDWA may need to to attack the culture vs. attacking the company. 9. Listen to â€Å"In India, Skin-Whitening

Development of Staffing Management Plan Research Paper

Development of Staffing Management Plan - Research Paper Example rects all the Gauchito project activities. Management skills 2 03/01/2012 6 Years FV Project Manager Ensures that the project is executed within the schedule Administrative skills 3 03/01/2012 6 Years Project Engineer Execute the project plan Mechanical engineering skills 3 03/01/2012 6 Years Systems Engineer Develop and maintain the system’s soft ware and hardware. ... The risks involved in a project can result to a loss or result to gains for the project. For effective management of risks, an assessment is necessary. All elements used for costing are closely examined and awarded according to its development and impact on the project. The rating is based on design, dependency, difficulties, technical issues and unapproximated costs. The reports received are then evaluated by reports of a previous project. The appropriate level of costs is finally derived from the calculations done from risk assessed. During the project execution, any risks related to the project are monitored and a contingency allocated where possible (Schwalbe, Kathy 229). Part D: Project Organization Chart Part E: Project Team Directory Name Area Team Function Phone Email Michael Jackson Project Director Chair 1-4125 mijackon@gauchito.org Nelson Mandela Project Manager Member 1-6324 nendela@gauchito.org Mildred Otieng’ Procurement Manager Member 1-2456 miieng@gauchito.org Sloureen Bilgael Systems Engineer Member 18547 bilgael@gauchito.org Works Cited Schwalbe, Kathy, Introduction to Project Management, 2nd Edition . USA: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Case Study Example Both companies are facing the prospects of the impending technological obsolescence of the personal computers, should they not be able to update their product design and construction to the present trend in consumer. Clients’ tastes are moving towards maximum integration, involving all-in-one solutions for personal, business, and other consumer applications. The industry is thus experiencing a consolidation that is forcing IT hardware, OS and applications developers to combine into converged firms; those unable to do so will have to quickly develop internal capabilities to meet the integrated technology – which is highly unlikely – or certainly lose out market share to the competition (International Business Times, 2011). New trends include (1) growing popularity of tablet computers and other mobile web surfing gadgets that are expected to eventually and totally replace personal computers; (2) cloud computing, which involve wharehousing data in third party servers; and (3) verticalisation, which involves an integration of product stages such that hardware, operating systems and applications developers tend to assimilate each others’ businesses. Presently, neither Dell nor HP are in the position to significantly meet these trends in the immediate future. Looking back, the same strategies that gained early success for Dell and HP are no longer relevant. Dell relied on supply chain cost-cutting efficiencies, while HP on product diversification (calculators to computers to printers). These early strategies were not proprietary and were quickly copied by competitors. Admittedly, a major strategic error was for DELL and HP to cut down on their R&D just as Apple surged on with its iPod , iPhone and iPad products. Consequently, HP and Dell sales are cut down (The Economic Times, 2011). The two company’s leadership in the PC technology has also become the reason for its present inadequacy. PCs are still seen