Leadership Styles Research Project free essay sample

I would like to give special acknowledgement to XXX director, XXX for his consistent support and motivation. I am grateful to XXX, Associate professor in XXXX , for his technical expertise, advice and excellent guidance. He not only gave my project a scrupulous critical reading, but added many examples and ideas to improve it. 2 I am grateful to XXX (Sr Hr executive and whole staff members of XXX co for providing me an opportunity to complete my project under their guidance. I am highly indebted to them for the same. Teamwork is essential for competing in todays global arena, where individual perfection is not as desirable as a high level of collective performance. In knowledge based enterprises, teams are the norm rather than the exception. Team leadership plays a critical role in fostering commitment, accountability, and team success. The Team leader must ensure that the right mix and level of skills are resident on the team. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Styles Research Project or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They are also responsible for effectively managing 5 relationships outside the team, overcoming obstacles to success, and creating leadership opportunities for others. Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels. Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. ives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this p o w e r does not make you a leader Leadership differs in that it makes the followers w a n t to achieve high goals, rather than simply. All teams must shape their own common purpose, goals and approach. While a leader must be a working member of the team who contributes, she also stands apart from the team by virtue of her position as leader. A team expects their leader to use that perspective and distance to help them clarify and commit to their mission, goals, and approach. Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty (lead by example), but always remember what you are paid to do (get the job done and grow your employees). The term styles has become more prominent in popular culture over the last decades, but its origins lie in psychological research on learning and personality. The original concept of style is that we all have preferences for the WAY we do things think, relate to others, interact, learn. Kurt Lewin, in the 1930s identified three major styles autocratic, democratic, and laissez faire, while Rensis Likert defined Exploitive 6 If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. Participative (democratic) This type of style involves the leader including one or more employees in on the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. Delegative (free reign) In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decision. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you have the full trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! Forces A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include: 13 o Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee. Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. o Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything! The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things. o Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative). o Forces that influence the style to be used included: task. o Internal conflicts. o Stress levels Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple? o Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans. Positive and Negative Approaches There is a difference in ways leaders approach their employee. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees. While negative employees emphasize penalties. While the negative approach has a place in a leaders repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit. Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimand employees in front of others, etc. They believe their authority is increased by freighting everyone into higher lever of productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity. Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered real leaders. 14 Use of Consideration and Structure Two other approaches that leaders use are: Consideration (employee orientation) Leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide psychological support. Structure (task orientation) Leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce. There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job. Also notice that consideration and structure are independent of each other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not necessarily mean that she has become less structured. Paternalism Paternalism has at times been equated with leadership styles. Yet most definitions of leadership normally state or imply that one of the actions within leadership is that of influencing. Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. The Army further goes on by defining influence as a: means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the means or method to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there? s more to influencing than simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an example good or bad with every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose, direction, and motivation. While paternalism is defined as (Webster): a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relationships to authority and to each other. o Thus paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while leadership gets things done. The first is directed inwards, while the. Latter is directed outwards. 15 It seems that some picture paternalistic behavior as almost a barbaric way of getting things accomplished. Yet, leadership is all about getting things done for the organization. And in some situations, a paternalistic style of decision-making might be required; indeed, in some cultures and individuals, it may also be expected by not only those in charge, but also the followers. That is what makes leadership styles quite interesting they basically run along the same continuum as Hofstedes PDI, ranging from paternalistic to consultive styles of decision making. This allows a wide range of individual behaviors to be dealt with, ranging from beginners to peak performers. In addition, it accounts for the fact that not everyone is the same. However, when paternalistic or autocratic styles are relied upon too much and the employees are ready and/or willing to react to a more consultive type of leadership style, then it normally becomes quite damaging to the performance of the organization. There are a number of different approaches, or styles to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The style that individuals use will be based on a combination of their beliefs, values and preferences, as well as the organizational culture and norms which will encourage some styles and discourage others. †¢ Charismatic Leadership †¢ Participative Leadership †¢ Situational Leadership †¢ Transactional Leadership †¢ Transformational Leadership †¢ The Quiet Leader †¢ Servant Leadership Additional research †¢ The Managerial Grid: Blake and Moutons people-task balance. †¢ Lewins leadership styles: Three original styles. †¢ Likerts leadership styles: from autocratic to participative. †¢ Six Emotional Leadership Styles: from Mr. Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman and friends. †¢ Post-hoc Management 16 Charismatic Leadership Charismatic Leadership is defined by Max Weber as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. He defines Charisma as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader ( ). How the quality in question would be ultimately jud ged from an ethical, aesthetic, or other such point of view is naturally indifferent for the purpose of definition. Charismatic people have a remarkable ability to distill complex ideas into simple messages (I have a dream); they communicate by using symbols, analogies, metaphors and stories. Furthermore they relish risk and feel empty without it, they are great optimists, they are rebels who fight convention, and they may seem idiosyncratic. Charismatic leaders are pictured as organizational heroes or magic leaders who have the social power basis to orchestrate turnarounds, launch new enterprises, inspire organizational renewal, and obtain extraordinary performance from organizational members. These leaders inspire trust, faith and belief in themselves. Of course none of this is a guarantee that the mission will be correct, ethical, or successful. Origin of the Charismatic Leadership model.

Theme of Loneliness in essays

Theme of Loneliness in essays The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells a strange and tragic tale of a mere human creating life and the consequences of this act. Throughout this novel, we see Mary Shelley using Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the monster to introduce and emphasize a theme of loneliness and the effect it has on a person. It seems as if humans have a persistent need for social interaction, approval, and acceptance, and these three previously mentioned characters are no different. Throughout the novel, we see how solitude serves as the starting grounds of havoc, particularly in the case of the monster, whose loneliness seems perpetual. Frankenstein begins with a series of four letters written by Robert Walton to his sister. This is the initial appearance of our theme, as he is not writing to a friend or a lover but to his sister. This would bring about the question of whether or not he has anyone else to whom to write. As the letters proceed, we see that Walton indeed has no friend, and longs for one. He says, But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy, and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most sever evil. I have no friend... (17). Walton then continues to explain his need for a companion, stating that he wishes for a friend so that he could tell him or her about his dreams and ambitions. Perhaps if Walton had had a friend, he would have been warned of the obsession and blindness that often accompanies the pursuit of knowledge; Walton is putting himself in grave danger in his quest to explore the North. We find out that this would have inevitably occurred because Vi ctor, upon seeing the passion in Waltons eyes, warns him of the risks he may be taking and the peril that his passion may unveil. Victor exclaims, Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from you...

Acer Case

This time cellphones where not yet even invented so the market was pretty good for a starter. This is I believe one of the reasons why Acer’s startup was outstanding. One of the other many reasons is because of their willingness to try everything that came their way. They dared to do everything, from providing engineering to publishing trade journals. They were not hesitant and were very hungry to succeed. Acers CEO Shih was also a very charismatic leader, transferring very important philosophies to his employees hence creating a strong foundation. He paid his employees modest salaries and offered them equity. The employees in turn felt a sense of ownership and this had a very good impact on their performances. They were very loyal and followed Shih’s leadership. Shi did not only offer key employees equity but also delegated substantial decision-making responsibility to them. Empowering his employees in such a way only made them more loyal and committed to the company. Shih also believed and valued his employee’s education and created an environment where people were ready to learn and improve themselves. Joint ventures also cut down costs and developed good relationships with suppliers. The whole work environment was like a family and everyone there was very comfortable and happy. When employees are happy, the company’s customers are also happy. All of these reasons and more made Acer then known as Multitech outscore the other Taiwanese PC companies. After a strong decade of growth, why did Acer’s growth and profitability tumble in the late 1980’s? How do you evaluate Leonard Liu’s performance? Acers was founded in the mid 70’s and at that time the market was small. At the end of the 80’s there was a lot of competition and Acer had to struggle with these forces. Its competitors were producing PC’s at very low prices and Acer had to match that. One of the other reasons why Acer struggled is because it had expanded rapidly. This growth caused a shortage in management and some outside help ‘Paratroopers’ had to be brought in. Because of Acers overseas expansion these newcomers were supposed to help with the transition since they knew something about the international market. This however caused confusion in the company because of the culture clashes. The family culture was intruded by outside cultures and the working environments were no longer splendid. As mentioned before, happy employees lead to happy customers. Unhappy employee’s in turn lead to unhappy customers. Acer was also struggling financially. Expansion needs resources and these were not available. In order to solve this Acer had to go public and create equity by selling its stock on the market. As if this was not enough, Acer also had to deal with rebranding. This took up a lot of Shih’s valuable time. I look at Leu in different ways. First of all; he was just a man given a big responsibility and was trying to do the best he could. Some of his transformations were in the long run effective. He reorganized the company and this was very effective. Leu also gave some responsibility to the managers for the outcomes of their work, this made them work harder and they were careful in their decision making. However this changed the whole atmosphere in the company, the culture was changing and this was not appreciated. Culture is something one cannot change overnight but Leu tried to do that and it backfired. He tried to change everything overnight and this was never going to work with a company like Acer that was happy with their current culture and comfortable with it. Leu also spending a lot of money did not help and employees in the end lost faith in him. How effective was Shih in rebuilding Acer in the early/mid 90’s? What do you think of his new business concept (â€Å"fast food† model, Uniload, Smiling Curve, etc. ) and his new organization model (Client-Server, 21 in 21, etc. )? Is this a visionary framework for Acer’s future competitiveness, or a random series of ill-conceived top-down initiatives? Shih came back with some lessons learnt. Some of which came from Leu despite him leaving in a bad way. He found Acers organization was better and this helped him achieve his goals. He brought in new philosophies which lifted up the company and he communicated his ideas to Acer employees making sure they got the message and then acted upon it. The philosophy like ‘fast food businesses’ helped Acer to lower its costs and in the end make more profits. I believe through these philosophies Shih managed to get the attention of its employees and the message was therefore well communicated. Despite these strategies being vague I believe they were visionary. Acer needed to be redeemed to its old position and be given back its power. Its employees needed to be encouraged and be motivated to work. These strategies did the trick and created a turnaround for Acer. As Stan, what action would you take on Aspire? Should he approve its continued development? Should he allow AAC to continue to lead the project? With all of the changes Acer underwent, I would say Aspire was a good innovation and it is a chance not to pass. Aspire is a revolutionary innovation and if Shih lets it go, it will go to his competitors and he will loose out on a good opportunity. Him blessing this innovation will mean that he does what he preaches. He was always encouraging his employees to use their knowledge and skills and do something innovative. This was a chance to prove that he would support those innovations. I also think since AAC came up with the innovation they should be the ones to lead the project. This may even be an opportunity for Acer to expand deeply into other regions. Should Aspire become a global product? If so, who should manage the worldwide? Of course Aspire should go global!!! If the product is successful in one region they could try it in other regions and see how it performs there. In my opinion Taiwan should manage it because it is after the mother company and they have more experience in managing new products. Acer Case This time cellphones where not yet even invented so the market was pretty good for a starter. This is I believe one of the reasons why Acer’s startup was outstanding. One of the other many reasons is because of their willingness to try everything that came their way. They dared to do everything, from providing engineering to publishing trade journals. They were not hesitant and were very hungry to succeed. Acers CEO Shih was also a very charismatic leader, transferring very important philosophies to his employees hence creating a strong foundation. He paid his employees modest salaries and offered them equity. The employees in turn felt a sense of ownership and this had a very good impact on their performances. They were very loyal and followed Shih’s leadership. Shi did not only offer key employees equity but also delegated substantial decision-making responsibility to them. Empowering his employees in such a way only made them more loyal and committed to the company. Shih also believed and valued his employee’s education and created an environment where people were ready to learn and improve themselves. Joint ventures also cut down costs and developed good relationships with suppliers. The whole work environment was like a family and everyone there was very comfortable and happy. When employees are happy, the company’s customers are also happy. All of these reasons and more made Acer then known as Multitech outscore the other Taiwanese PC companies. After a strong decade of growth, why did Acer’s growth and profitability tumble in the late 1980’s? How do you evaluate Leonard Liu’s performance? Acers was founded in the mid 70’s and at that time the market was small. At the end of the 80’s there was a lot of competition and Acer had to struggle with these forces. Its competitors were producing PC’s at very low prices and Acer had to match that. One of the other reasons why Acer struggled is because it had expanded rapidly. This growth caused a shortage in management and some outside help ‘Paratroopers’ had to be brought in. Because of Acers overseas expansion these newcomers were supposed to help with the transition since they knew something about the international market. This however caused confusion in the company because of the culture clashes. The family culture was intruded by outside cultures and the working environments were no longer splendid. As mentioned before, happy employees lead to happy customers. Unhappy employee’s in turn lead to unhappy customers. Acer was also struggling financially. Expansion needs resources and these were not available. In order to solve this Acer had to go public and create equity by selling its stock on the market. As if this was not enough, Acer also had to deal with rebranding. This took up a lot of Shih’s valuable time. I look at Leu in different ways. First of all; he was just a man given a big responsibility and was trying to do the best he could. Some of his transformations were in the long run effective. He reorganized the company and this was very effective. Leu also gave some responsibility to the managers for the outcomes of their work, this made them work harder and they were careful in their decision making. However this changed the whole atmosphere in the company, the culture was changing and this was not appreciated. Culture is something one cannot change overnight but Leu tried to do that and it backfired. He tried to change everything overnight and this was never going to work with a company like Acer that was happy with their current culture and comfortable with it. Leu also spending a lot of money did not help and employees in the end lost faith in him. How effective was Shih in rebuilding Acer in the early/mid 90’s? What do you think of his new business concept (â€Å"fast food† model, Uniload, Smiling Curve, etc. ) and his new organization model (Client-Server, 21 in 21, etc. )? Is this a visionary framework for Acer’s future competitiveness, or a random series of ill-conceived top-down initiatives? Shih came back with some lessons learnt. Some of which came from Leu despite him leaving in a bad way. He found Acers organization was better and this helped him achieve his goals. He brought in new philosophies which lifted up the company and he communicated his ideas to Acer employees making sure they got the message and then acted upon it. The philosophy like ‘fast food businesses’ helped Acer to lower its costs and in the end make more profits. I believe through these philosophies Shih managed to get the attention of its employees and the message was therefore well communicated. Despite these strategies being vague I believe they were visionary. Acer needed to be redeemed to its old position and be given back its power. Its employees needed to be encouraged and be motivated to work. These strategies did the trick and created a turnaround for Acer. As Stan, what action would you take on Aspire? Should he approve its continued development? Should he allow AAC to continue to lead the project? With all of the changes Acer underwent, I would say Aspire was a good innovation and it is a chance not to pass. Aspire is a revolutionary innovation and if Shih lets it go, it will go to his competitors and he will loose out on a good opportunity. Him blessing this innovation will mean that he does what he preaches. He was always encouraging his employees to use their knowledge and skills and do something innovative. This was a chance to prove that he would support those innovations. I also think since AAC came up with the innovation they should be the ones to lead the project. This may even be an opportunity for Acer to expand deeply into other regions. Should Aspire become a global product? If so, who should manage the worldwide? Of course Aspire should go global!!! If the product is successful in one region they could try it in other regions and see how it performs there. In my opinion Taiwan should manage it because it is after the mother company and they have more experience in managing new products.

Water crisis in the South Asian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Water crisis in the South Asian - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the world is facing severe water crisis and the developing world is suffering an acute shortage of fresh water supply even today. Water is required for a number of daily activities besides drinking and a shortage of water can ultimately lead to food scarcity in certain populous countries of the developing world. The population explosion and lack of planning in the developing world are among the core causes of this rampant situation. According to UN Water, some 1.3 million people are without the access to clean water and certain regions of the world face a threat of water wars. Water scarcity is most pronounced in North America, Middle East, and South Asia. India and Pakistan in South Asia have already fought a war over water supply issues. The cost of drinking water is more than that of gasoline in some of the Middle Eastern countries. This overview of the situation shows that water scarcity is perhaps the most important issue faced by the planet. The freshwater is present mostly in the form of groundwater aquifers. The water in streams and rivers forms a lesser portion of the available water resources. Almost 11 trillion cubic meters of freshwater is available in the world for drinking and other uses, however, this enormous supply of water is not uniformly distributed across the planet. Moreover, the availability of water also varies across the different seasons of the year. Some of the regions in the world receive as low as 500 cubic meters of water per capita per annum of water supply and are labeled as water stressed.

Econmic Incentive Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Econmic Incentive - Assignment Example Externalities are the effects emerging from consumption or production of services and goods for which no appropriate money is paid. Externalities cause market failure in the event the price mechanism does not consider social benefits and costs. Since environmental resources are free, people tend to overuse them thus leading to environmental destruction. Economic incentives aim to repair this scenario by placing a price for environmental destruction. Due to this, some environmental resources such as minerals are bought and sold thus, limiting people from overusing them. In the end, the environment is protected. 7. When compared to traditional regulatory approaches, do incentives-mechanism based increase the cost of effectiveness of pollution control? What is the evidence? How might high transaction costs interfere with the effect of incentives? Incentives-based mechanism increases the cost of effectiveness because they offer a more cost effective way of attaining environmental quality. There is clear evidence of their effectiveness in the sense that since their introduction, pollution has decreased, as industries are more conscious not to pollute the environment. If the transaction costs are raised, then it will force the government to reduce economic incentives. Traditional approach allowed industries to take control of pollution control efforts to an extent that would result in cost-effective distribution of pollution control burden. This in turn did not work as firms used inexpensive production technologies. Incentive-based approaches encourage industries to apply expensive production technologies, which would result in less cost incurred in controlling pollution. This approach will impose tax on pollution and activities that produce pollution. This in turn will encourage firms to adapt modern production technologies and devices that would make them pay less. Industries will realize past pollution costs and be encouraged to conduct profit and loss

Management Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Management Information Systems Essay Information Systems Failure: The Case of Computer-Aided Dispatch (Cad) System at London Ambulance Service 1. Introduction The LAS covers a geographical area of just over 600 square miles and handles emergencies for a resident population of 6.8 million people. The CAD project is one of the most frequently quoted UK-based examples of information systems failure that took place in early 1990s. The prominence of this particular case is due to the ‘safety critical’ nature of this system and the claim that 20-30 people may have lost their lives as a result of CAD failure. 2. Description of the Manual Dispatch System The manual dispatch system consists of: a) call taking, b) resource identification, and c) resource mobilization. Call Taking: Emergency calls are received by ambulance control. Control assistants write down details of incidents on pre-printed forms. The location of each incident is identified and the reference co-ordinates are recorded on the forms. The forms are then placed on a conveyer belt which transports them to a central collection point. Resource Identification: Other members of ambulance control collect the forms, review the details on the forms and decide which resource allocator should deal with each incident. The resource allocator examines the forms for a particular sector, compares the details against information recorded for each vehicle and decides which resource should be mobilized. The status information on these forms is updated regularly from information received via the radio operator. The resource is recorded on the original form which is then passed on to a dispatcher. Resource mobilization: The dispatcher either telephones the nearest ambulance station or passes instructions to the radio operator if an ambulance is already mobile. A number of problems exist with the manual dispatch system. Most problems are related to the time-consuming and error-prone nature of activities such as: identification of the precise location of an incident, the physical movement of paper forms, and maintaining up-to-date vehicle status information. Therefore, a Computer- Aided Dispatch (CAD) system was considered as a solution to overcome these problems. 3. The Computer-Aided Dispatch System 3.1 Purpose The objective of the CAD system was to automate many of the human-intensive processes involved in the manual despatch system. 3.2 How the CAD system was intended to work The essential features of the CAD system are shown in Figure 1 which illustrates how the system was intended to work in practice. British Telecom (BT) operators would route all 999 calls concerning medical emergencies to LAS headquarters. A total of 18 ‘receivers’ were then expected to record on the system the name, telephone number and address of the caller, and the name, destination address and brief details of the patient. This information would then be transmitted over a LAN to an ‘allocator’. The system would pinpoint the patient’s location on a map. The system was also expected to monitor continuously the location of every ambulance via radio messages transmitted by each vehicle. The system would then determine the nearest ambulance to the patient. Figure 1: The structure of CAD system at LAS Experienced ambulance ‘dispatchers’ were organized into teams based on three zones (south, north-east, and north-west). Dispatchers would be offered details of the three nearest ambulances by the system and the estimated time each would need to reach the scene. The dispatcher would choose an ambulance and send patient details to a small terminal screen located on the dashboard of the ambulance. The ambulance crew would then be expected to confirm that it was on its way. If the selected ambulance was in an ambulance depot then the dispatch message would be received on the station computer. The ambulance crew would always be expected to acknowledge a message. The system would automatically alter HQ of any ambulance where no acknowledgement was made. A follow-up message would then be sent from HQ. The system would detect messages that would tell HQ when the ambulance crew had arrived, when it was on its way to a hospital and when it was free again. 3.3 How the CAD system was built The CAD system was built as an event-based system using a rule-based approach and was intended to interact with a geographical information system (GIS). The system was built by a small software house called Systems Options using their own GIS software (WINGS) running under Microsoft Windows. The GIS communicated with Datatrak’s automatic vehicle tracking system. The system ran on a series of network PCs and file servers supplied by Apricot. 4. Events that Identified the Flaws of the CAD System On the night of the 26th October 1992 (Monday), things started to go wrong at the HQ of LAS. A flood of 999 calls apparently swamped operators’ screens and many of those calls were being wiped off screens for unknown reasons. Claims were later made that 20 to 30 people may have died as a result of ambulance arriving late on the scene. Some ambulances took over three hours to answer a call while the government’s recommended maximum was 17 min utes. Mr. John Wilby, the chief executive officer of LAS resigned within a couple of days of this event. A number of Members of Parliament called for a public inquiry. The Health Secretary initiated an inquiry and the findings were eventually published in an 80-page report in February, 1993, which immediately became headline news in both the computing and the national press. 5. Findings of the Inquiry The inquiry found evidence of poor management practice, high technological complexities and unfavorable operating environment involved in the implementation of the CAD system in LAS. Systems Options, the company responsible for developing the major part of the CAD system had no previous experience of building similar type of systems. This company, which had won the  £1.1 million contract for the development of the CAD system in June 1991, was found to have substantially underbid an established supplier (McDonnellDouglas). Hence, Systems Options was under serious pressure to complete the system quickly. The managing director of a competing software house wrote various memoranda to LAS management in June and July 1991 describing the project as ‘totally and fatally flawed’. It appeared that Mr. Wilby ignored what amounted to an over-ambitious project timetable. Furthermore, an audit report by Anderson Consulting which called for more finance an d longer time scales for the CAD project was suppressed by the project managers. The board of management of LAS was even misled by the project team over the experience of Systems Options and the references supplied by Systems Options were not thoroughly investigated. Due to the extreme time pressure to develop the CAD system within the allocated timeframe, the project team responsible for developing the system practically did not follow any standard systems development approach. As a result, the resultant software was incomplete and unstable. In January 1992, phases one and two of the project began live trials. In March 1992, phase two of the trials was temporarily suspended due to the discovery of system errors. In October 1992, phase three was terminated after two days of reported chaos described above. Questions were raised about the complexity of the technical system. In the manual dispatch system, communication between HQ and ambulances is conducted via telephone or voice radio links. In the CAD system, links between communication, logging and dispatching vi a a GIS were meant to be automated. The automation was completed but no performance testing was thoroughly performed due to the rushed approach to meet the deadline. The system was lightly loaded at start-up on the 26th October, 1992. Any problems, caused by the communications systems (e.g. ambulance crews pressing wrong buttons, or ambulances being in radio black spots) could be effectively managed by staff. However, as the number of ambulance incidents increased, the amount of incorrect vehicle information recorded by the system also increased. This had a knock-on effect in that the system made incorrect allocations on the basis of the information that it had. For example, multiple vehicles were sent to the same incident, or the closet vehicle was not chosen for the dispatch. As a result, the system had fewer ambulance resources to allocate. At the receiving end, patients became frustrated with the delays to ambulances arriving at incidents. This led to an increase in the number of calls made back to the LAS HQ relating to already recorded incidents. The increased volume of calls, together with a slow system and an insufficient number of call-takers, contributed to significant delays in answering the telephones which, in turn, caused further delays to patients. At the ambulance end, crews became increasingly frustrated at incorrect allocations and this led to an increased number of instances where they failed to press the right status buttons. The system therefore appears to have been in a vicious circle of cause and effect. There was also an apparent mismatch of perspectives among LAS management, HQ staff, and ambulance staff. The system has been described as being introduced in an atmosphere of mistrust by staff. There was incomplete ownership of the system by the majority of LAS staff. The hardware and software suppliers involved in this project reported low staff morale and friction between LAS management and workforce. In other words, an atmosphere of hostility towards the computing systems was observed. One of the reasons for low staff morale was that control room staff lacked previous experience of using computer systems. 6. Conclusion In summary, no single element of the case can be regarded as the sole cause for the failure of the CAD system in LAS. The description demonstrates that failure of information systems projects tend to be multi-faceted in nature. Discuss Questions: a) Discuss the CAD system in terms of Interaction Failure. b) What lessons can be learned from the failure of the CAD project in LAS?

Adam Taliaferro - An Inspirational Football Player :: Personal Narratives

Adam Taliaferro - An Inspirational Football Player I’ve known Adam Taliaferro for almost two and a half years. I knew him before his horrific injury suffered at Ohio State. I knew him throughout his rigorous rehabilitation routine at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. I know him today, continuing to rehabilitate and inspire countless individuals through their daily struggles. Remarkably, throughout those two and a half years, he has remained unchanged. Obviously, there are physical differences. He is no longer able to perform the unbelievable athletic feats he was able to perform prior to our freshmen with the Penn State football team. No longer will his five foot ten inch frame be able to goal tend shots in the IM building. Physically, he is not able to deliver a crushing hit on Eric Mcoo on a blitz in one of our preseason scrimmages. However, when it comes to who we really are, our personalities, demeanor, and mannerisms, Adam Taliaferro has remained unchanged throughout his injury. He remains the lighthearted, s pontaneous, and outgoing kid from "The Jers". September 23, 2000 remains for me, one of the days of my life I will always remember. As a redshirt freshman, I remained home while the team, and Adam traveled to Ohio State for an afternoon game. It was the obvious fear conveyed through a television set that remains engrained into my memory. Knowing Adam, my roommate and I were able to see through his motionless the utter fear he was experiencing lying on that field. His recovery would be slow and painful. The other redshirt freshmen and I spent the rest of the season traveling to Magee Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia during away games to visit Adam and his family. Each week improvement was seen. From the first visit when nurses came often to change the position of his legs because he was unable to do so, to the first finger movement he experienced, to the first leg movement, and eventually, to seeing Adam stand, he remained unchanged. He was still upbeat, constantly making fun of himself and his newfound uncoordination. He fl irted with the nurses and bonded with his roommate. He was still Adam. I know there have been dark moments for Adam throughout his rehabilitation. There must have been moments when he questioned his own ability to overcome this situation. However, he never allowed any of his friends to see these moments because to us, that wouldn’t be the Adam we’ve come to know.

Literature Review on Types of Discipline Essay

2.1.1: Vandalism According to article ‘What is vandalism’, written by Dye1, she defined vandalism as a crime that generally involves the destruction, disfigurement of public or private property. A person does not have to destroy a property to be charged with vandalism. This crime can include acts that simply demise a piece of property. For example, a person may rip the seats of a school bus. The bus is still operable, but its value and its ability to be used are greatly reduced. Kraus (1979) said that vandalism consequences are often simply causing trouble and anger. One aspect of school vandalism is often reported in research studies from the United States as the research from Rubel (1977) states that the connection of vandalism with other types of school crimes such as petty theft in the school and personal violence against staff and students. According to Cohen (1973) the public sees this type of behavior as threatening. Even though vandalism is directed at public property, the public still feared being victims of uncontrolled juveniles that roaming the street. 2.1.2: Absenteeism Then, Heathfield2 defined absenteeism as the chronic absent from work or study. Absenteeism usually addressed through progressively stricter disciplinary measures that can result in the termination of the individual’s employment. This is generally governed by the institution attendance policy. Rayner & Riding (1996) cited Schostak (1980) in the United Kingdom that found at least 800,000 students absent from school for unexcused reasons. Webb (1993) suggest that approximately half a million students were absent each day. Students who have absenteeism problems generally suffer academically and socially. According to Baker and Jansen (2000), studies indicate that students who are absent have lower achievement and may be penalized on test scores. Sustained absences may lead to retention and truancy. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-vandalism.htm 2 http://humanresources.about.com/od/attendancepolicy/g/absenteeism.htm 2.1.3: Truancy Wisconsin (2000) defined simple truancy as any absence of part or all of a school day for which a pupil’s parent or guardian has not provided a valid excuse†. According to Cavallari3, he states that many institutions throughout the world have difficulty enforcing mandatory attendance for a variety of reasons. Some students find it more worthwhile to enter the world of career and earn money for their families, while others struggle with coursework and choose simply not to attend class while others have difficulty getting to school because they live in rural areas. The reasons why students do not attend school are complex and seemingly endless, making mandatory attendance difficult to enforce. Some schools base part of a student’s grade on attendance, while others make an attendance percentage a requirement for graduation. A student must attend classes a certain percentage of the school year in order to advance to the next grade as the student can be held back in the same grade if he or she fails to meet compulsory attendance requirements, which some critics claim can discourage students from attending school at all. However, some advocates claim it encourages students to attend class because it means they can progress to the next grade level with their peers. 2.1.4: Smoking Henderson4 and her colleagues found that in their research about smoking habits and wider social environment in school, on average, 25% of males and 39% of females aged 15-16, reported that they either regularly or occasionally smoked. The age group of 14 to 18 years is most likely to attract towards the smoking habit and become an addict for the rest of his or her life as this age represents the growth of maturity where teens make choices for their life style and plan where they want to see themselves in the future. The teens are more conscious about their personality, styles and making up their role model as their inspiration in life. On the other hand, this is the age where factors like stress, attention disorder, psychological pressures and conflicts from parents play an important role in impacting the individual personality and most of the teens are seen fighting with these kind of problems due to lack of parental interest, or sometime over protectiveness of parents. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 http://www.wisegeek.com/how-can-schools-enforce-mandatory-attendance.htm 4 http://www.journal-archieves14.webs.com/848-855.pdf

Week 5 Quizzes – Eco/Gm 561

Week 5 Quizzes ECO/GM 561 Your Results for: â€Å"Readiness Assessment Quiz†Print this page Site Title:Economics UOP custom CW Book Title:UOP-custom course for Economics Book Author:Case Summary of Results 100% Correct of 7 Scored items: 7 Correct: 100% 0 Incorrect: 0% More information about scoring ________________________________________ 1. GDP includes all transactions in which money or goods change hands. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 2. GDP is equal to the value of total sales in an economy. Your Answer:False _______________________________________ 3. I bought a record last year. I don't like it any more and am going to sell it to my cousin for $2. This sale should be included in GDP. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 4. Consumption, investment, government purchases, and net exports are the four components of total expenditures. Your Answer:True ________________________________________ 5. Households have all of their p ersonal income to spend or save. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 6. When economists calculate nominal GDP it means they are calculating GDP only approximately. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 7. Per capital GDP is a country's GDP divided by its population. Your Answer:True ________________________________________ Your Results for: â€Å"Readiness Assessment Quiz†Print this page Site Title:Economics UOP custom CW Book Title:UOP-custom course for Economics Summary of Results 100% Correct of 8 Scored items: 8 Correct: 100% 0 Incorrect: 0% More information about scoring ________________________________________ . The twin evils of macroeconomics are unemployment and inflation. Your Answer:True ________________________________________ 2. Recessions last six months. Anything longer is called a depression. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 3. To be considered employed a person must be working for pay for at least 20 hours per week. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 4. You nee d to be 14 years old to be considered part of the labor force. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ . A discouraged worker is not actually working. Your Answer:True ________________________________________ 6. People typically are unemployed for at least six months. Your Answer:False ________________________________________ 7. Recessions have a good side to them because they help reduce inflation. Your Answer:True ________________________________________ 8. The consumer price index is based on a bundle of goods and services purchased yearly by the typical urban consumer. Your Answer:False ________________________________________

buy custom Outsourcing Information Technology essay

buy custom Outsourcing Information Technology essay Outsourcing information technology (IT) services can be the best way, for an organization operating in the banking sector, to achieve quality results while keeping the administrative costs low (Goo, 2010). IT functions that the bank should outsource include development and management of databases, and development of data centers (Bucki, 2011). The IT function of developing databases should be outsourced because the bank has many departments, which deal with data capturing. For instance, in the credit and the customer service departments, the bank may require databases containing information of the legal entities and the physical persons who they deal with. In most cases, first-time customers are issued with printed forms where they fill in their details after which the forms are returned to the banks staffs for processing. Given the huge size of the bank, it can outsource database development and management services to outside service providers. The bank can physically send or fax th e customers forms to the organization where the service has been outsourced. Outsourcing data centre services will assist the bank in processing customers plastic cards. Since the banks size is relatively big, it is likely that its customer base is also huge. Therefore, customers need for plastic cards may be high. The impact of outsourcing the above-mentioned IT services on the banks employees is that, they will be able to concentrate better on the banks core business, which is offering banking services to customers (Bucki, 2011). However, the bank may have to layoff some of the employees: specifically clerical staffs. On the other hand, the impact of outsourcing the aforementioned IT functions on the customers is that, they will have their banking information processed quickly. For instance, while applying for a plastic card, the customer may have the card processed and ready for use in less than 24 hours. In addition, outsourcing database development and management services can enable the customers to have real-time access to their banking information. Buy custom Outsourcing Information Technology essay

Managment Information System Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managment Information System - Case Study Example The retailers on the Amazon system are directly affiliated with the company which ensures the customers that the products that they will receive will be the same which they might get from original stores. When customer purchases any item, the Amazon system is designed in a way that it recommends similar items purchased by other customers widening the choice and availability of products to customers. The system also remembers customers’ every purchase and reminds them of the items they have already purchased making virtual shopping hassle free. In addition to this, the shipping procedure of Amazon also makes its stand out among the competitor. Any order that is placed by the customer is connected to the Amazon distribution centers that determine the best and cheapest way to ship the product. This data is calculated by the automatic system and the customer receives the full shipping information under two minutes. For a service such as the Amazons’ customers are willing to shop here even if they can find better prices elsewhere. The company wanted the entire system to be automatic from online ordering to coordination of distribution to the concept of almost-in-time inventory control applications. Since Amazon was new entering the cyber-world with a new conceptual idea, it had to build its technology from scratch as no such technology had been built previously. In addition, the data systems from stores, retailers, and merchants had to be connected to Amazon’s servers in real-time to provide current information to the customers. As the company kept growing, it introduced more ideas into its website for customers that required building and integrating new technology to the existing systems. To cater these needs, Amazon built its system from scratch. Besides this, Amazon wanted to have an advantage in the e-business by developing homemade applications and not relying on any legacy systems. Amazon

Mergers and Acquisitions Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Mergers and Acquisitions Case Study - Essay Example The acquisition may generate monopoly gains whereby the purchasing a rival firm might minimize competition and enhance industry profits (Faulkner, Teerikangas and Joseph 2012, p.502). On August 17, 2010, SABMiller declared its intention to take its bid for Foster’s Group Ltd directly to the company’s shareholders. On December 16, 2011, SABMiller, one of leading brewers globally with more than 200 beer brands and over 70,000 workers in more than 75 countries, acquired Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) representing the Australian beverage business of Foster’s Group Limited. The court approval of the transaction preceded the entity's shareholders meeting, whereby the deal received the green light by 99.1% of current shareholders. The completion of the transaction scheme of arrangement can be regarded as a notable success given that SABMiller’s earlier proposal (June 2011) to acquire Foster’s Group for $4.90 per share became hostile in August 2011. In the approved transaction, Foster’s Group’s ordinary shareholders gained total cash consideration of A$5.40 per share, which represented an enterprise value of about Australia $11.7billion. In addition, to completing the acquisition of the firm, SABMiller also entered into a strategic alliance with Castle in Africa. Some of the means of gaining control of a public company entail a public offer (takeover bid) detailing gaining control of a listed public company. Recommended takeover can also be undertaken by: scheme and launching a dual listed company structure (Ahlstrom and Bruton 2010, p.190). A scheme demands a proposal to be tabled by the target to its shareholder and approved by the court. Court’s approval is critical as it... This paper stresses that the acquisition was not difficult to integrate, and it is improbable that SABMiller would dispose the acquired firm. The paper has established that the acquisition heralded benefits to the SABMiller’s shareholders given that the acquisition aligned with the firm’s strategic priorities, and handed the firm with a leading position in the stable and profitable Australia beer industry. SABMiller expects Foster’s to become a critical part of its business via the application of its commercial capabilities and global scale, as well as by building on the initiatives put in place by Foster’s management. The acquisition of Foster’s is anticipated to be EPS enhancing for SABMiller within the first full year of ownership, and herald economic returns that may exceed the project WACC by year 5. These results align with takeovers being highly motivated by maximization of shareholder wealth. Public mergers and acquisition within Australia a re guided by the overriding market activity and requires the regulation of recommended and hostile bids. The regulation encompasses undertaking of due diligence; procedures for announcing and launching an offer. This report makes a conclusion that the acquisition of Foster’s Group Limited by SABMiller appears to be propelled by the objective of leveraging the synergies within the acquisition process. In order to keep up with growth and changes within the globalized economy, any entity has to pursue the path of growth that contains diverse challenges and issues and overcome them to become a success story. SABMiller, through its indirectly wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, acquisition of Foster’s can be regarded as a case mirroring a company following the path of success.