Competitive and internal information Essay

Write an essay on the typical main sources of business information generated both internally and externally for public companies. How is such information used to establish a company’s place in the market? Illustrate your answer with examples from one or more business sectors of your choice. INTRODUCTION Information consists of data that have been retrieved, processed, or used for informative purposes, argument or as a basis for forecasting or decision making. Without information, a business cannot survive. A recipe for a good decision is 90 percent information and 10 percent inspiration. Information is the catalyst of management and the ingredient that coalesces the managerial functions of planning, operating controlling. Managers depend on information for making decisions. Any organization is held together by the possession of means for the acquisition, use, retention and transmission of information. The purpose of management system is to develop plans for achieving objectives, to organize for implementing plan and to control performance so that plans and actions occur on schedule. The place of information in performing these three basis processes is shown in the following. MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND INFORMATION NEED 1) Performance against plan 2) Environmental, Competitive and internal information concurring problem and opportunities. Evaluation of 1 and 2 in order to Make a prediction of estimate of Alternative courses of action Alternative source. Prediction of results for alternative Courses of action. Communicate details of plan and Control standards. Performance against PK In the above figure for information needs 1) In the the first step, recognition of problem or an opportunity is prompted by information from the control process concerning a deviation from standard or by search and evaluation of those system (environmental, competitive, Internal) 2) Definition of problem, determination and evaluation of alternative course of action. 3) Once a decision is made, it is necessary to implement and control a solution. Among the above steps, planning information needs of an organization can be classified into three broad types. 1) Environmental 2) Competitive 3) Internal 1) Environmental information It can be classified as (A) Political and Government consideration Some information on political stability is important for forecasting plans. (B) Demographic and Social trends Some information is necessary to forecast the Social Trends and consumer buying behavior for both the long and short run. (C) Economic Trends. Employment, Productivity and numerals other economic indicators provide valuable planning information for the firms whose output is a function of these important variables (D) Technological environment Some information is necessary to forecast the technological changes in their industry and probable effect on the firm. (2) Competitive information. Information concerning factors that affects the operation of the firm within an industry includes data concerning industry and firm demand as well as the data on the competitors. The information can be classified into three types. They are (a) Industry Demand. Information is needed for forecasting the demand for the Sale and the corresponding level of operation of a single firm. (b) Firm Demand The demand for products of an individual firm is a function of the Industry demand and the capabilities and activities of the individual firm relative to the capabilities and action of competing firms. (c) Competition Data on competing firms are very important for forecasting the individual demand and making decisions and plans to achieve the forecast. (3) Internal information They are vital for subsidiary planning at all levels in the organization. Internal data are aimed at an identification of the organization’s strength and weakness.. The types of internal information are (A) Sales forecast: Some information is necessary for forecasting the Sales. (B) The financial plan It is the system that links all activities of the company together. (C) Policies Some information is necessary to frame the basis policies for long run purpose. Data and information come from many sources – both internal (inside the business) and external. This revision note summarizes the main sources: Business data and information comes from multiple sources. The challenge for a business is to capture and use information that is relevant and reliable. The main sources are: INTERNAL INFORMATION Accounting records are a prime source of internal information. They detail the transactions of the business in the past – which may be used as the basis for planning for the future (e. g. preparing a financial budget or forecast). The accounting records are primarily used to record what happens to the financial resources of a business. For example, how cash is obtained and spent; what assets are acquired; what profits or losses are made on the activities of the business. However, accounting records can provide much more than financial information. For example, details of the products manufactured and delivered from a factory can provide useful information about whether quality standards are being met. Data analyzed from customer sales invoices provides a profile of what and to whom products are being sold. A lot of internal information is connected to accounting systems – but is not directly part of them. For example: – Records of the people employed by the business (personal details; what they get paid; skills and experience; training records) – Data on the costs associated with business processes (e. g. costings for contracts entered into by the business) – Data from the production department (e. g. number of machines; capacity; repair record) – Data from activities in direct contact with the customer (e. g. analysis of calls received and missed in a call centre) A lot of internal information is also provided informally. For example, regular meetings of staff and management will result in the communication of relevant information. SAMPLE SOURCES OF INTERNAL INFORMATION: Balance Sheet of ICICI PERIOD ENDING 31-Mar-00 Assets Current Assets Cash And Cash Equivalents 1,479,000 Short Term Investments – Net Receivables 194,000 Inventory – Other Current Assets – Total Current Assets – Long Term Investments 1,185,000 Property Plant and Equipment 48,000 Goodwill – Intangible Assets – Accumulated Amortization – Other Assets 81,000 Deferred Long Term Asset Charges – Total Assets 2,987,000 Liabilities Current Liabilities Accounts Payable – Short/Current Long Term Debt – Other Current Liabilities 2,454,000 Total Current Liabilities – Long Term Debt 57,000 Other Liabilities 215,000 Deferred Long Term Liability Charges – Minority Interest – Negative Goodwill – Total Liabilities 2,726,000 Stockholders’ Equity Misc Stocks Options Warrants – Redeemable Preferred Stock – Preferred Stock – Common Stock 45,000 Retained Earnings 44,000 Treasury Stock – Capital Surplus 171,000 Other Stockholder Equity 1,000 Total Stockholder Equity 261,000 Net Tangible Assets $261,000 Source: Yahoo Finance Stock movement of I-Flex solutions Series Date Prev Close Open Price High Price Low Price Last Price Close Price Total Traded Quantity Turnover in Lacs EQ 03-Mar-2008 1,078. 95 1,037. 00 1,080. 00 1,020. 00 1,029. 90 1,042. 55 17954 190. 31 EQ 04-Mar-2008 1,042. 55 1,020. 00 1,075. 00 1,017. 00 1,047. 65 1,048. 25 36723 382. 44 EQ 05-Mar-2008 1,048. 25 1,070. 00 1,070. 00 1,030. 15 1,045. 00 1,039. 20 22219 231. 63 EQ 07-Mar-2008 1,039. 20 1,021. 00 1,032. 00 983. 00 1,004. 95 1,001. 50 22103 220. 45 EQ 10-Mar-2008 1,001. 50 955. 00 1,040. 00 946. 40 1,005. 00 1,015. 50 19099 192. 55 EQ 11-Mar-2008 1,015. 50 992. 50 1,065. 00 992. 50 1,045. 00 1,054. 65 21805 226. 22 EQ 12-Mar-2008 1,054. 65 1,100. 00 1,100. 00 1,000. 00 1,004. 00 1,007. 45 13398 139. 14 EQ 13-Mar-2008 1,007. 45 987. 05 1,010. 00 952. 00 954. 00 959. 10 15931 155. 65 EQ 14-Mar-2008 959. 10 962. 00 992. 00 920. 00 990. 00 983. 15 21685 210. 01 EQ 17-Mar-2008 983. 15 925. 00 970. 00 925. 00 965. 00 942. 95 12307 116. 99 EQ 18-Mar-2008 942. 95 931. 00 958. 50 925. 10 927. 00 936. 50 21230 200. 13 EQ 19-Mar-2008 936. 50 970. 00 978. 00 922. 00 925. 00 925. 55 21245 199. 40 EQ 24-Mar-2008 925. 55 948. 00 950. 00 895. 00 905. 00 908. 25 21626 197. 55 EQ 25-Mar-2008 908. 25 913. 50 1,008. 00 913. 50 990. 10 992. 55 58576 571. 10 EQ 26-Mar-2008 992. 55 988. 90 1,027. 00 974. 00 974. 00 986. 85 33402 335. 28 EQ 27-Mar-2008 986. 85 975. 00 1,003. 00 935. 00 951. 05 947. 10 118566 1,140. 60 EQ 28-Mar-2008 947. 10 970. 00 994. 00 956. 00 976. 00 984. 40 21658 210. 89 EQ 31-Mar-2008 984. 40 970. 25 985. 00 935. 00 948. 20 941. 10 39622 376. 60 Source: NSEINDIA EXTERNAL INFORMATION As the term implies, this is information that is obtained from outside the business. There are several categories of external information: – Information relating to way a business should undertake its activities E. g. businesses need to keep records so that they can collect taxes on behalf of the government. So a business needs to obtain regular information about the taxation system (e. g. PAYE, VAT, Corporation Tax) and what actions it needs to take. Increasingly this kind of information (and the return forms a business needs to send) is provided in digital format. Similarly, a business needs to be aware of key legal areas (e. g. environmental legislation; health & safety regulation; employment law). There is a whole publishing industry devoted to selling this kind of information to businesses. – Information about the markets in which a business operates This kind of external information is critically important to a business. It is often referred to as â€Å"market† or â€Å"competitive intelligence†. Most of the external information that a business needs can be obtained from marketing research. Marketing research can help a business do one or more of the following: 1. Gain a more detailed understanding of consumers’ needs – marketing research can help firms to discover consumers’ opinions on a huge range of issues, e. g. , views on products’ prices, packaging, recent advertising campaigns 2. Reduce the risk of product/business failure – there is no guarantee that any new idea will be a commercial success, but accurate and up-to-date information on the market can help a business make informed decisions, hopefully leading to products that consumers want in sufficient numbers to achieve commercial success. 3. Forecast future trends – marketing research can not only provide information regarding the current state of the market but it can also be used to anticipate customer needs future customer needs. Firms can then make the necessary adjustments to their product portfolios and levels of output in order to remain successful. The information for marketing research tends to come from three main sources: Internal Company Information – e. g. sales, orders, customer profiles, stocks, customer service reports Marketing intelligence – this is a catch-all term to include all the everyday information about developments in the market that helps a business prepare and adjust its marketing plans. It can be obtained from many sources, including suppliers, customers and distributors. It is also possible to buy intelligence information from outside suppliers (e. g. Mintel, Dun and Bradstreet) who will produce commercial intelligence reports that can be sold profitably to any interested organization. Market Research – existing data from internal sources may not provide sufficient detail. Similarly, published reports from market intelligence organizations cannot always be relied upon to provide the up-to-date, relevant information required. In these circumstances, a business may need to commission specific studies in order to acquire the data required to support their marketing strategy. – http://tutor2u. net/business/ict/intro_information_sources. htm SOURCES OF BUSINESS INFORMATION Details of following types of organizations are required to be maintained by NCTI for guiding entrepreneurs/exporters to approach to the right organization for getting the desired information, assistance and help. †¢ Foreign Embassies/High Commissions/Consulate in India †¢ Indian Missions/Consulate abroad †¢ Chambers of Commerce & Industry †¢ Trade Promotion /Import Promotion Organizations †¢ Export Inspection Agencies †¢ Export Processing Zones in India and Abroad Details of these organizations are readily available with NCTI. – http://archives. nic. in/ncti/ncti8. htm SAMPLE SOURCES OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION: AMR Research Releases ERP Market Report Showing Overall Market Growth of 14% in 2004, Tuesday, June 14, 2005, Kevin Reilly As Market Consolidation Continues, Top 5 ERP Vendors Account for 72% of Revenue Today, AMR Research released its annual report on the state of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market. The Market Analytix Report: Enterprise Resource Planning, 2004-2009 revealed that ERP market revenues increased 14% in 2004. The report indicates that approximately one-third of the growth in the overall market was due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. While the ERP market has grown in revenue, consolidation continues to change the industry. In 1999, the top five vendors (J. D. Edwards, Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP) in the ERP market accounted for 59% of the industry’s revenue. AMR Research expects the top five vendors in 2005 (SAP, Oracle, Sage Group, Microsoft, and SSA Global) to account for 72% of ERP vendors’ total revenue. â€Å"The ERP market showed solid organic growth in 2004 as IT spending improved,† says Jim Shepherd, vice president of research at AMR Research. â€Å"The market was also affected by consolidation within the segment, as well as ERP vendors acquiring best-of-breed players to broaden their portfolios. † While many ERP vendors struggled in 2004, SAP AG increased overall revenues by 17% and license revenues by 20% – without any acquisitions. SAP’s ERP market share increased to more than 40%. Oracle nearly doubled the size of its application business through the acquisition of PeopleSoft, but AMR Research expects SAP to finish 2005 with more than twice the revenue and market share of the combined Oracle-PeopleSoft. Report Findings and Analysis The report delivers revenue and growth rates for the top ERP players as well as growth forecasts through 2009. ERP vendors ranked by 2004 ERP license revenue can be seen in the chart below. The top ten ERP vendors by revenue include the following companies: The report revealed several trends that affected the ERP market in 2004, including: The ERP market is entering another major technology transition phase. Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) may have the same disruptive effect that other technologies have had on the market, such as the emergence of client-server systems had in the 1990’s. The pace of acquisitions shows no sign of slowing down. Oracle’s purchase of Retek and vendors like Sage Group, SSA Global, Infor Global Solutions, and Epicor have all been very active in the M&A space and have grown more rapidly than the overall ERP market. The midrange ($50M – $1B in annual revenue) and SMB (less than $50M in annual revenue) markets continue to be a major focus area for many of the ERP vendors. Midrange solutions and channels are critically important for penetrating China, India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. ERP buyers have moved away from large, upfront purchases. Now most tend to license user seats and functional ERP modules incrementally as they deploy a product. Along with widespread discounting, this has led to smaller average deal sizes. BANK’S REPORT BY FDIC Dollar Amounts in Billions Fourth Quarter 2007 All Insured Institutions Commercial Banks Savings Institutions Credit Card Lenders Mortgage Lenders Number of FDIC-Insured 8,533 7,282 1,251 27 786 Number of FDIC-Supervised 5,197 4,772 425 10 317 Total Assets $ 13,039 11,176 1,863 479 1,334 Total Loans $ 7,906 6,626 1,280 369 944 Domestic Deposits $ 6,912 5,807 1,105 142 737 Net Income (QTR) $ 5. 816 10. 540 -4. 724 3. 027 -3. 230 Percent Profitable (QTR) % 82. 3 83. 2 77. 0 88. 9 79. 1 Average Return on Assets (QTR) % 0. 18 0. 38 -1. 00 2. 61 -0. 94 Average Return on Equity (QTR) % 1. 74 3. 76 -8. 70 11. 96 -10. 51 Net Interest Margin (QTR) % 3. 30 3. 38 2. 86 8. 97 2. 52 Equity to Assets % 10. 37 10. 24 11. 17 21. 26 8. 61 Noncurrent Loan Rate – Total Loans * % 1. 39 1. 30 1. 86 2. 00 1. 87 Real Estate Loans % 1. 71 1. 62 2. 01 1. 81 1. 94 C&I Loans % 0. 66 0. 64 0. 92 2. 21 0. 88 Consumer Loans % 1. 43 1. 48 0. 98 2. 10 0. 96 Coverage Ratio ** % 92. 54 102. 84 55. 35 207. 47 45. 74 Net Charge-Off Rate – All Loans (QTR) % 0. 83 0. 86 0. 68 4. 23 0. 66 Real Estate Loans (QTR) % 0. 44 0. 43 0. 49 2. 61 0. 54 C&I Loans (QTR) % 0. 87 0. 85 1. 24 5. 13 1. 35 Consumer Loans (QTR) % 2. 75 2. 77 2. 54 4. 39 3. 16 Source: http://www. fdic. gov/bank/statistical/stats/2007dec/industry. html REFERENCES ? James O’ Brien, Management Information system, Tata Mcgraw Hill, 2007, Pg. 245-267. ? AMR Research Releases ERP Market Report Showing Overall Market Growth of 14% in 2004, Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Kevin Reilly ? Yahoo Finance ? www. nseindia. com ? http://archives. nic. in/ncti/ncti8. htm ? http://tutor2u. net/business/ict/intro_information_sources. htm http://www. fdic. gov/bank/statistical/stats/2007dec/industry. html

Explain the Characteristics of the Local Business Environment Essay

Introduction I am going to talk about characteristic of the local business environment in the Leicester. My chosen business is eastern European restaurant. Product Market This restaurant will be aimed at a niche market for European people who live in Leicester. They are a lot of people from Eastern Europe like Poland, Latvian, Lithuanian and it will help to me make a profit. I look for European public, because I see there are lots of Asian restaurants in Leicester and not many European. Sector and industry changes This business falls into the tertiary sector which is growing faster than primary or secondary as many companies decide to provide service because it brings more profit than manufacturing. People pay more money for ready goods and services than they do for raw materials. At the moment many people haven’t got a job which helps to me to chose more options of quality staff and wages. Tertiary sector is growing fast and took over most of the industry. Primary and Secondary sectors not growing and not expanding as need of it isn’t big. Legal Frame Work I have researched about the types of health and safety that I would need in a restaurant and have found out that for my business which is a restaurant business I would need at list level 2 of food hygiene certificate for health and safety and health and safety certificate for the workplace. As I would be the only owner – Sole-trader so I do not need to register my company as a company LTD and do not need a registration with company house. I will be personally responsible for accounts and paying tax of the profit I’ll make each year. Planning and Employment I am thinking to open my restaurant in Narborough road, because it is strategically advantageous position. I would like to recruit two bartenders and six waiters, due to shift change. Economic trends and Income Recession is in the all world and touches all business sectors in UK. Currently people stop going to the restaurants. The government increasing VAT which affects small businesses and they income. Opening new business can be really risky especially new restaurant. People spending more money for goods they really need and not leaving any money for entertainment. If we will have a look at hierarchy of Moslow restaurant business is on the top needs for people and humans

The Effects Of Oil Spill In The Marine Ecosystem

These components affect living organisms in many ways. Some of the soluble components and emulsions are poisonous, particularly to small organisms that do not have protective coverings or shells- Fish larvae, single celled algae and many kinds of plankton are vulnerable and these are the basic foundation of the marine food chain. In shallow water these toxic substances may directly kill algae, coral and sea grasses.These components may also be passed in the food chain or directly ingested or absorbed through the gills of fish and other larger marine organisms. The effect may be to kill the animal or contaminate its tissues. A thick film of oil on the sea surface may reduce sunlight penetration and reduce photosynthesis. Small particles and emulsions may be ingested or block the feeding mechanisms of invertebrates such as oysters, starfish, sponges and corals. These particles also may have toxic components, so the effects can be physical, chemical or both. The most dramatic impact of oil spills is the coating of larger animals with oil. Animals that breathe at the surface like dolphins, sea turtles and manatees may inhale oil and toxic vapors. Sticky oil may also coat their bodies. Coating with oil is particularly devastating to birds. Even a thin coat of oil compromises the waterproof quality of feathers, causing the bird to become water logged and loose heat. Animals, like some sea turtles, that feed at or near the surface may ingest tar balls and particles that then physically blocks their intestines and may be toxic as well.At the shoreline, shallow waters and coastal estuaries and marshes, the impact of the layer of oil, floating and suspended emulsion and particles can be devastating, coating plants and benthic animals like corals, crabs and shell fish, preventing photosynthesis and breathing and blocking filter feeding mechanisms. These materials become mixed into shoreline sediments and remain in the system for years. ‘Dispersants’ are deter gent like substances that can be applied to an oil slick and accelerate the emulsification, break-up into particles and dispersion of the thick oil. This limits the spread and the distance that a slick moves.However it is important to recognize that the oil does not go away- its all still there, just in the form of smaller particles and emulsion that is less mobile. In addition, dispersants may also be toxic or have deleterious effects on the natural environment, particularly on small single celled organisms. System recovery.Despite these gloomy predictions, the effects of oil spills are not permanent and complete. Marine systems show remarkable resiliency and as the oil becomes sequestered in less active forms (tarballs, buried oil etc.) and is broken down by sunlight and bacterial action, the systems recover. Survivors reproduce and recolonize habitats. Some creatures adapt to tar and oil covered substrates and some crabs and mollusks actually eat the tar and the bacteria and fung i growing upon it, and aid its degredation. The oil in its several forms is dispersed, diluted and broken down until only small pockets and particles remain.Marine systems are by their very nature open- that is connected by the sea, wind and currents to distant uncontaminated regions. Many marine organisms have mobile life phases(floating eggs, larvae) that recolonize and re-establish populations. Some of the creatures affected by a spill also routinely suffer catastrophic mortality from other causes (e.g. some colonial nesting seabirds) and are well adapted to recover. Large mobile animals like sharks, sea turtles, large fish and whales that moved away from the spill move back. Although there may be significant mortality of some of these animals, overall the impact on their populations is usually not permanent.In the well studied cases in the Arabian gulf, Alaska (Exxon Valdez) and English Channel (Torrey Canyon), the appearance of the system returned close to normal within a few y ears. Although there was still oil and tar present in the sediments, and continuing effects among the organisms there was visible recovery of major parts of the system (seagrass beds, rocky intertidal habitats, coral reefs).With the passage of time, approximately a decade or so, and rebalancing of ecosystem and the creatures living in it, the system continues to function and returns to productivity, fisheries recover and many of the organisms are restored to their previous abundance. While such widespread intense disruption may causes changes in the balance of nature- which species are present and how numerous they are- nature itself survives. Although such catastrophic events are very damaging and economically expensive at a human scale, on an ecological time scale they are passing disruptions and on an evolutionary timescale, barely perceptible.Ecosystem effectsClean up efforts have included unprecedented amounts of chemical dispersants,  which are used to break up oil slicks. A lthough detailed effects of the chemical dispersants on wildlife and ecosystems are not well studied, the chemicals used are toxic to a variety of organisms, and they have never been previously used on this wide a scale. Because dispersants break oil up into tiny droplets, marine biologists fear that fish larvae, zooplankton and filter feeders (such as oysters), will be at risk from eating the large quantities of â€Å"non-visible† oil.Chemical dispersants are likely to impact deep-water animals downstream of the well. Oil will likely reduce the amount and health of all prey species, reducing the food available for marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles. Plankton is the foundation for nearly all life in the Gulf of Mexico (and the ocean), and they will most likely be affected. Contaminants from the spill and the dispersants are likely to concentrate in the upper food chain, affecting whales, dolphins, birds and sharks. FishesScientists have observed fish species moving into near-shore areas with less oil contamination, indicating that they may be fleeing significant habitat impacts in deeper waters. The Gulf is a breeding ground for bluefin tuna, and the oil spill coincides with egg production. Larvae of tuna and other fishes eat anything they see in the water, including oil droplets. Studies on a variety of fish larvae suggests that ingestion of both oil droplets and dispersants causes adverse effects, including mutations, physiological problems and increased mortality.BirdsSeabirds get covered with oil while diving into oily waters to fish. The birds may ingest oil when they eat prey that is covered in or has ingested oil. Once birds are covered with oil, they have difficulty flying, or are completely unable to fly, making feeding and getting away from predators impossible. Many species of birds, including the brown pelican (just taken off the endangered list) face threats from the oil spill on the coastal islands and wetlands of the Gulf that they use as rookeries. Birds’ eggs are getting covered in oil, and the birds are deserting their oiled habitat, leaving their eggs behind.Oil pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems in themarine  environment. Episodic pollution events, such as catastrophic oilspills; in particular, threaten water quality and habitat with a suddenness andseverity rarely matched by other pollutants. Catastrophic spills typicallyresult from transportation accidents such as collisions or groundings of oiltankers.Most oil pollution stems from non-catastrophic events, however, and occursmost frequently during cargo transfer operations. In fact, of the 3.5 Milliontons of oil that ends up in the ocean every year worldwide, only a small percent is a consequence of tanker spills. About 70 percent of oil Pollution isdue to chronic pollution from municipal and industrial wastes or run off,dumping of waste oil, release of oily bilge water, and from other-than-tanker transportation.Whatâ⠂¬â„¢s an oil spill?Oil spills happen when people make mistakes or are careless and cause anoil tanker to leak oil into the ocean. There are a few more ways an oil spillcan occur. Equipment breaking down may cause an oil spill. If theequipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land. Whenthey start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causingit to leak oil

A Business e-mail being sent to a CEO and CFO of a company Assignment

A Business e-mail being sent to a CEO and CFO of a company - Assignment Example The training course for the fifty employees may be costly if they attend at once since it cost approximately two thousand dollars per individual. Therefore, it is my opinion that the employees be divided into two groups of twenty five people each to ease the company spending the huge amounts all at once. After the first group will have completed their training, the second group may then get their chance to be trained too. The training is meant to equip the employees with the knowledge of relating with customers based on the principles of Dale Carnegie training. The training will instill the trainees with the skills of handling customers well by applying the principle of; do not criticize, complain or condemn. Criticizing clients is a terribly dangerous trend and can lead to a drastic fall in the number of clients. Whatever the clients do, our employees should not complain or condemn them. They should be treated with the extreme reverence and their resolutions respected without complaints. Our employees should also learn to appreciate clients and be honest with them. Every time they are working for the clients, they should remember to appreciate them sincerely. This will make the clients happy, satisfied and appreciated. Consequently, this will make them ask for our future services and attract more clients who need similar services. The third principle that the learners will acquire is; arouse in the other person and eager want. This basically means that our employees should focus on the desires and wishes of clients. The clients should be treated with regard and their desires should be attended to as a matter of priority. Additionally, the trainees will learn to be genuinely interested in other people. Applying this principle to employees is extremely essential and it makes them feel adored and important. Another

Bulling in the Public Schools and the Laws that Protect Students and Essay

Bulling in the Public Schools and the Laws that Protect Students and Teachers - Essay Example Still, the public has the right to be informed as much as possible. Two Case Studies of Bullying The following are stories of two victims of bullies: ("Case Studies," 2008) Case 1: MY name is Katelyn Weinert and earlier this year I was bitten on the arm by another student at high school.The school suggested I move away from my group of friends and find somewhere else to "hang out" to lessen the chances of this student and I coming into contact with each otherThis boy doesn't just contain his harassment to school either. My mum has witnessed him approaching me on a number of occasions in public harassing me. Case 2: MYfirst few years of high school were torture. If it wasn't bad enough being new to the school certain people went out of their way to make it worse. There were a few people who used to write nasty notes, follow us home and make prank calls. This one particular bully used to harass my younger sister who was 10 at the time. It only happened when I was not there. It wasn't long until she started with me These days I look back and wish I could have ignored the harassment, but during school that's when you're trying to find yourself, and it's little things like that that can affect us in adult life. The cases cited above should be an eye opener to legislators, educators, and students of education that bullying could victimize practically anyone. The frustrations expressed by the two victims should obligate authorities to tackle this problem seriously. But first things first, facts about bullying should be set straight. Myths about bullying must be deconstructed as shown in the next section. Myths about Bullying According to psychologist Dan Olweus, there are ten myths about bullying. To the degree that these are not addressed,... This essayb approves that regardless of the causes of bullying, the people in the receiving end of bullying had the right for protection, students and teachers alike. With this need in mind, there were several legislations passed against bullying although these by themselves are not enough. It is important for teachers and parents to consult lawyers and other legal experts about the technicalities involved with federal and state laws on bullying. For example, there is a prevailing 10-day myth on suspensions. According to this misconception, the maximum cumulative days that an offender must be suspended is 10 days. This is not entirely true. This is only true with students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act. But even if students have disabilities according to the definition provided by IDEA, if such students pose clear and present danger, the safety of other students must also be considered. Hence, the law does not preclude school administrators from disciplining such bullies beyond 10 days. This report makes a conclusion that anyone charged with a crime cannot make ignorance of laws as an excuse. Ignorantia legis neminem excusat or ignorance of the law excuses no one. Every person is presumed to know the provisions of the law. With this in mind, victims of bullies should not be afraid that the law will favor those offenders. On the part of school administrators and teachers, they ought to be informed of specific laws that will tackle and deal with problems of bullying. And they should utilize every provision of state and federal laws in favor of the victims, since bullying is an offense that should not be taken lightly.

Evaluating Models of Executive-Legislative Relations Term Paper

Evaluating Models of Executive-Legislative Relations - Term Paper Example The reason for this is because, the structure of a democracy, has an influence on the democracy’s effectiveness and performance. The effectiveness of these three democratic systems can as well be evaluated using different criteria. This paper evaluates the democratic systems of the presidential democracy, majoritarian parliamentary democracy, and consensual parliamentary democracy, using the criteria of accountability, representativeness, and effectiveness. Accountability is an important aspect in a democratic system, as it acts as a cornerstone in good government. This term might lack a definite definition because of its vast applications. However, in a democratic system, accountability presents itself, when there is a relationship, and an individual or organization is answerable to the other for their actions and decisions. This way, one party is subject to the oversight and direction of the other. Therefore, answerability and enforcement is core of accountability. In a demo cratic system therefore, the government is answerable to the citizens. ... Representativeness in a democratic system is whereby a few individuals are selected from the majority, mainly through elections, to represent the majority in government. These therefore, have to listen to the concerns of the public and represent them in government. Additionally, the elected few have to listen to the opinions and views of the public and other political actors, and present these in government, for action to be taken, where necessary. Therefore, in representativeness, the elected minority are the voice of the public. Effectiveness in a democratic system involves the level of performance of the system. In an effective democratic system, the government performs its responsibilities appropriately. This ensures that the citizens are comfortable, with basic needs, employment, and secure in all ways. Effectiveness of the government is also reflected in its policies, if they are successful or not, the nature of rights of people, freedom, and liberties of the citizens. An effec tive government therefore, registers positive performance in all these aspects. The aspect of representativeness is best utilized by parliamentary democracies, specifically the majoritarian parliamentary democracy. Gallager, Laver and Mair note that most European countries are characterized by the parliamentary democracies, except a few (47). The reason why the majoritarian parliamentary democracies are in a better position to represent the public appropriately is because; the majority people in the constituencies elect their members of parliament, who will represent them in the parliament. Therefore, the parliamentarian serves as the voice of the people of their constituency. This way, it is easier for the wishes of the majority people

Sickle cell disease Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Sickle cell disease - Research Proposal Example Pain treatment among SCD patients reflects not only the access and availability of health care but also prevailing practices and knowledge about the disease, its prognosis and pathology. This paper will determine the various methods employed in nursing interventions for the treatment, control, and reduction of pain among SCD patients in a Kendall Regional Hospital in-patient section from January 2009 to January 2010. It will also determine the immediate effect of employing such methods. By determining these methods and their frequency of use, it will be able to highlight available options for the underserved patients as well as provide an understanding to best practices, knowledge about the control of pain on SCD patients, what, and how or why a certain method is most or least frequently used. -Introduction Sickle cell disease or SCD has been seen as one of the diseases identified with minority groups or those with less access to health care services. ... It is characterized by the failure of the spleen to function optimally even in the first months of birth that usually leads to overwhelming pneumococcal infection, usually at 20% mortality rate for patients under 5 years old (Overturf, 1999). Since access to health care is seen as one of the main problems for SCD patients, it becomes important to identify ways to mitigate its most immediate or important effect on patient which is pain described as chronic, acute or both. Pain management is an important element of care for SCD patients. It is with the related goal to identify pain treatment, control or reduction that this study will proceed. Quality of life is an overarching goal for patients even with those genetic disorders. Pain reduction is usually related to increased patient satisfaction and improved quality of life even in conditions of disease and chronic pain. Chronic pain has been reported by people with SCD even when they now have chances of living a longer life. Use of pai n relieving, controlling and treatment method for patients with SCD is then important for the determination of quality delivery of health care services. Various methods are employed in HMO settings to treat SCD patients in reducing, controlling, and treating pain. These are influenced by the pain assessor, patient access, affordability, availability, knowledge and orientation of administrator, and other factors that may be present during prescription or administration. This research will identify the methods used at Kendall Regional Hospital in-patient section, their frequency of use, what is the most popular method preferred, and determine the immediate effect of employing such methods. -Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to

Water Pollution of Duwamish River (Seattle) Essay

Water Pollution of Duwamish River (Seattle) - Essay Example For instance, this pollution has resulted to a decrease in the number of Salmon fish. This is because the River Duwamish is the major breeding and rearing ground of the Salmon fish, and the chemical pollution that occurs in the river, has resulted to the depletion of oxygen, making it impossible for these fish to survive. Human beings are affected because they cannot consume fish from this river. Consumption of food substance that emanate from this river are polluted, hence it is a danger to the life of human beings. Hence, there is a need of initiating measures aimed at conserving and protecting the river from pollutants. Goel (7) begins his study by the definition of water pollution. He defines water pollution as negative changes in the quality of water bodies, making it harmful for use by any living organisms (Goel, 9). There are different types of water pollution. Some of these include nutrients, surface, oxygen depleting, ground water, microbiological and chemical water pollution. All these have a negative effect on marine animals, as well as on human beings who are using the polluted waters under consideration. For instance, one of the major effects of water pollution is that it leads to the death of marine animals. Crabs, seas gulls, dolphins, and other marine animals are always killed by contaminated water. Water pollution also has the capability of disrupting the natural food chain. Chemical pollutants like lead are always consumed by tiny sea animals. Later on, these tiny animals are consumed by fish, which in turn is consumed by human beings. This can lead to an aspect referred to as food p oisoning. Water pollution affects the entire world, and therefore, there is a need of coming up with a water resource policy, that can help in the reduction of water pollution. Furthermore, there is a suggestion and proof that water pollution is one of the leading causes of deaths in the world (Hauser-Davis, Reinaldo and Roberta,

Wiki, Blog, and Podcast analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Wiki, Blog, and Podcast analysis - Essay Example Such a transition may require one or more strategies from the following as defined by Ballard (2008): This presentation is pertaining to the feasibility analysis of Wiki, Blogs and Podcasts for Smith Systems Consulting for the purpose of two way interactions with the customers. The paper is presented in the form of feasibility study and proposal for Smith Systems Consulting. The organization is in the business of web site development for the customers staring from conceptualization to productionization. Smith Systems Consulting uses cutting edge programming, database & networking tools, methods and techniques to develop the websites for their customers. In order to keep in touch with the customers, Smith Systems Consulting wants to carry out research on Wiki, Blogs and Podcasts to verify their feasibility for this purpose. The author hereby presents their feasibility analysis in the next section. Austin and Coates et al. (2009) define the Wiki as a fully editable website on which users can read and add content to contribute to a framework of collaborative knowledge. One of the most prominent examples of Wiki is the Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia that comprises of more than 2 million articles available in 265 languages. The content on Wiki's can be updated by any user through a web interface that allows almost instantaneous updating of the content. The system is subject to reviews like peer reviews, expert reviews, abuse control, etc. Wikis can be public (editable by anyone) or private (editable by a closed user group). i. Type of Information that Wiki can effectively convey Wiki is used as shared knowledge database in which content is added and managed related to a particular subject matter, project, reporting matter, conference, discussion groups, on-line terms & glossaries, dictionaries, collaborative software development, etc. Hence Wiki can be used for any collaborative environment for knowledge sharing. The content in Wiki can be entered and

Answer the questions based on ford company Essay

Answer the questions based on ford company - Essay Example a. Among all the functional divisions of Ford, the operations division has been facing a burning issue of meeting the order demands of customers. Due to high customer demands, the company is facing a problem of production incapacity. High demand for car models, like Focus and Fusion, has increased rapidly since 2006. Aside from production incapacity, the company has also been in short supply of production workers that will aid in the manufacture of cars (Nair), which concerns the human and resource division of the company. i. The two functional areas to be discussed further below are operations and human resources. 1. For 2014 the essential goal for operations is to meet the high demand of customers while human resources aim to employ 12,000 people to its production area. 2. To fulfill the operations’ goal of meeting the high demand for cars in the market, it needs to invest more in procuring physical resources like machines and equipment to make the production of cars more fa ster. It needs to add more production lines in its factories and rent more space to shelter all additional equipment and production lines that can no longer fit in the usual factories of the company. More people have to be employed, as well in order to operate all these new machines and work in new production lines to produce more cars in the market. Most importantly, the company has to invest more capital to have all these recommendations to be fully realized. On the other hand, the human resources’ goals of employing more workers need financial resources to materialize its activities in hiring more jobs in the company. To disseminate this job hiring information to qualified individuals, the human resource division has to use physical resources like information technology, in posting jobs online and use other means like newspapers and television. 3. The success of the operational strategy can be measured in a way wherein at the year end of 2014, the company has increased its productivity and revenues. If more cars are sold in the market, it means that more cars are produced in the market to meet its high demand. It can also be determined through the number of output produced periodically. If there is an increase in output produced then it implies that the company has been at level with the demand in the market. On the other hand, the realization of the human resource management strategy can be measured through the increase in the number of employees hired. 2. On Strategy Implementation A way refers to any method or manner of performing anything (â€Å"Way†). Winning is title of the book on management, which Jack Welch, former Chief Executive Officer of General electric (GE) published, and co-written with Suzy Welch in 2005 (â€Å"About the Book†). A good strategy pertains to an effective action plan developed to attain a long-term goal (Rumelt 1). a. Jack Welch, has build the reputation of Six Sigma as an effective business strategy in im proving the operations of a company (Eckes 15). To someone like Welch, Six Sigma means an improvement tool that helps a company gain competitive advantage by continuously looking for ways in improving existing processes. He also believes that Six Sigma can aid the company gain operational efficiency, high productivity, and minimize costs. He notes that this tool is associated with quality improvement, which increases customer

Critical debates in planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Critical debates in planning - Essay Example Therefore, an important framework in planning should emphasize the importance of all forms of combination of policy monitoring within a spatial analytical structure, the allowance of combining different types of indicators across different themes and the application of a collaborative approach among key stakeholders (Wong & Watkins, 2009: 481). Carmona, M. and Sieh, L (2008) in Judging Performance Measurement in Planning argue that the planning process can be reliably measured despite the fact that performance measurement across public sector in the UK is data rich and information insufficient (Carmona & Sieh, 2008:428). The authors argue that performance measurement is a complex process including developing a framework for that purpose. They state, â€Å"Attempting to understand this complexity, let alone develop a framework for how performance can be measured, is therefore always likely to be a major challenge† (Carmona & Sieh, 2008:428). To handle this issue effectively, policy needs and measurement tools must be included in the overall framework. Houghton (1997) in Performance Indicators in Town Planning argues that the current planning speed performance indicators in planning are of questionable value and has an undue stress on efficiency as compared to effectiveness. Unlike other analysts who argue that development and sustainability are antithetical, Houghton argues that in the use of resources, development needs to be the same as growth and goes on to state, â€Å"Central to this new stress on effective and efficient management in local government has been the introduction of performance measurement (Houghton, 1997:2). Wong & Watkins (2009) argument’s strength is that the authors introduce the readers to the debates that exist in planning, the challenges, and possible working framework for spatial planning. They have included

A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice Essay Example for Free

A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice Essay This article has responded to both internal and external forces resulting from gradual and dramatic transitions based on historical perspectives. This has permitted a reasonable reflection and a sense of wisdom that is susceptible to loss when one engages in it. The underlying reason is the critical dimension to the present day events and issues analysis resulting from the broadened reading culture. In the late 20th century, reading became a recognized study field with systematic research programs aiming at ascertaining its fundamental nature and its acquisition process. This resulted from the confluence of social, educational, political and economic factors. Quantitative and qualitative changes in U. S. public schools’ systems after the World War II provided favorable environment for the reading transitions. Reading processes and skills were broken down into constituent parts which were practiced and reinforced in a systematic and orderly manner during classroom sections. Reading became a conditioned behavior based on certain environmental contingencies. Individuals positively responded to learning from repeated and controlled stimulation from the environment. This stimulus-response relationship was accompanied by rewards and punishments led to the habituation of the reading act (Alexander Fox, 2004). Therefore, academic learning involved identification of the preferred behaviors prerequisites and training. This aimed at untangling the chained links in reading so as to train the learner in each component skill. In addition, material effectiveness was structured and controlled in the delivery of environmental stimulation and practice opportunities. Emphasis on studying observable behavior focused on reading as a perceptual activity which included identification of visual signals and validating diagnostic instruments and remedial techniques. However, alternative human learning theories which focused on perceptual process as a whole still operated on underground which examined that reading is per introspection rather than through behavior. Human beings could make a coherent sense out of the perceptional data through whole-word recognition, context comprehension and word identification thus considering reading as a unique human activity owning definitive characteristics. Increased interest in internal mental structures and processes ignited by the advancements in neurology and artificial intelligence has caused transformations in the learning institutions. Moreover, the dissatisfaction with behaviorism as an explanatory system caused changes. The article points that present institutions should conceptualize learning as a natural process rather than conditioning and that language should be developed through a meaningful use. Also learning to read should be viewed as an inherent ability rather than a reflective action with laborious skill acquisition. As a result, reading research unified the literacy field through language arts. Learning to read became a matter of arriving at a facility due to the understanding quest within a language-rich environment. The growing attention to the structure and processes of the human mind and increased federal funding by the Unites States led to creation of research centers caused another theoretical transformation. These new researchers explained human language as an interaction between symbol system and mind. Learning as a natural metaphor was replaced with a mechanistic information processing metaphor. Text-based as a form of learning, involved knowledge which was organized and stored within the individual mind (Alexander Fox, 2004). In addition, Knowledge base was depicted as powerful, persuasive, individualistic and modifiable since it was linked to the individual’s perspectives on what they had read, their interpretation and recall out of the written text. The information processing of this period resulted in cognition-related constructs which strengthened the aforementioned characteristics of knowledge. Furthermore, it focused on the individual mind. This was because the computer-based guiding had little considerations of socio-cultural influences in processing linguistic information. To add on, the research studies stressed on individualistic interpretations of written text and exhibited that the knowledge of the students could be greatly modified through training, direct intervention and/or overt instructions. Other contributors of improved text comprehension were instructional environments and pedagogical techniques. In view of any reading approach, there must be a shift away from the neurological argument to much concern for naturalism in the materials and procedures used to teach reading. Moreover, they should create unity within the language arts. The cognitive psychology gave a new viewpoint for literacy and educational researchers. It studied literacy with naturally occurring texts in natural settings with holistic and aesthetic school of thought. It aimed creating a mutual understanding arising in the social interaction of individuals in particular contexts at a time (Alexander Fox, 2004). The dominant perspective was learning being a socio-cultural collaborative experience and the learner being a member of the learning community. Reform on modern schools  Present day schools should anticipate for motivation in the form of readers’ achievement of goals, interest and involvement in the learning experience with change in perception of texts, reader and reading. This can be achieved due to the introduction of the hypermedia and hypertext forms of learning which has increased the attention in classroom discourse thus improving the students’ academic. Effective orientation has to be done so as to capture the complexity of reading and recognize the changing nature of reading as the reader engages in a range of reading-related, goal-directed activities. With the dichotomization of reading into learning to read and reading to learn, it has led to integrated and developmental learning perspective. Engaged learning has led to the acknowledgement of the fact that reading extends to the texts students come across daily such as nonlinear, interactive, dynamic and visually complex materials transmitted using audiovisual media. Current learning institutions should learn about the potentials of alternatives nonlinear media and examine how pedagogical techniques and learning environments can be adapted to aid readers from struggling with traditional texts. Students should be encouraged to participate in meaningful and goal-directed text-based learning. Moreover, attention should be drawn to create a personally and socially valuable body of knowledge. Strategies are put in place to promote reflection, choice and deliberate execution on the learner’s part which actively engages the leaner thus developing the reading perspective. To be complete, readers, and learners should focus on demonstrating fluency in reading and other basic linguistic skills. Workable solutions  Some of workable solutions would include provision of personally relevant texts, both traditional and alternative that will promote deeper and wider student engagement in their learning. Putting in place technological advancements capable of transforming learning and teaching through production of proliferated information sources and different text types can also be productive. Involving high-stakes testing and efforts to institute national standards have hastened the students’ learning since they prescribe the content and skills learners should have acquired at various institutional levels. Investments in basic reading skills and components in special education institutions have helped struggling readers since researchers have greatly supported. Changes which might improve things One of major consideration that should be put in place is recognition of the fact that reading is invariably physiological, psychological and sociological thus an integrated orientation is a prerequisite. Therefore physical, visual, and neurological stimuli to the learning processes should also be employed. In addition, every reading process needs to enhance the psychological interpretation, storage and retrieval of text, goals formulation and expression of interests. Sociologically, a reading culture that focuses in intra-individual and inter-individual communication through linguistic media that are socio-culturally influenced can also play a big role in changing the existing education. Lastly, a fine-grained reading view that incorporate brain structures and mental activities of an individual and social behavior have to be integrated meaningfully throughout these orientations.

Estimation Model And Decomposition

Estimation Model And Decomposition In this lecture we introduce project estimation to estimate project resource requirements, time duration, human effort, and cost. We also discuss the models and techniques used in the project estimation. We also discuss the estimation methods such as comparative, top-down, bottom-up (engineering), historical analogy and expert judgment. Then we presented decomposition technique to break down the project into tasks to assist us in estimating the project. We focus on the work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposition method. Learning Outcomes Understand estimation model Understand decomposition technique and planning tools 1.0 Introduction In this lecture we continue discussion of project management in software engineering. We start by introducing the project estimation to estimate project resource requirements, time duration, human effort, and cost. We discuss the models and techniques used in the project estimation. We also discuss the estimation methods such as comparative, top-down, bottom-up (engineering), historical analogy and expert judgment. Then we present decomposition technique to decompose the project into tasks to assist us in estimating the project. We focus on the work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposition method. 2.0 Estimation Model Project estimation is a highly subjective and person-dependent process. A project task could be done in one day by one person but could take a few hours by another person. Hence, different estimates could be given by different persons of the time it takes to perform a task. After actual execution and performing of the task, the time it has taken to be performed is a measured, actual and real time. Accordingly, any time estimate to performing the task that is not close to the actual time is inaccurate. Project estimates are established at early in a project by the software development team and corporation management. These estimates are required for project resources, work to be done, project cost, project schedule, and time to delivery. Project estimates are required during project planning which is a crucial phase of the project lifecycle. Project estimating techniques are available based on metrics accumulated from past similar project experiences. Projects should be estimated in a structured and formal way, otherwise, estimates are inaccurate and projects could be handed in late. Structured and formal project estimation methods that use sound techniques and understanding have the following advantages: They make estimates more accurate They allow the project team to reach a consensus on the estimates They improve the accuracy of those estimates They make it much more likely that projects will come in on time Project planning requires estimates of the: Resource requirements Human effort- in person-months Time project duration- in calendar time Project cost and budget In practice, project history and past experience are often used as a guide in estimating the above values. The estimation usually requires breaking the project into pieces. At early stages in a project the software development team and management team must establish estimates for resources required (human resources, equipment, software, space, tools, etc.), work to be done and time to product delivery. Cost, time, and resource estimating techniques are available based on metrics accumulated from past similar project experiences. Usually, several approaches and methods are used to estimate these values. Then, estimated values that result from different estimation methods are compared. If these values vary widely, then this variance is taken as an indication of the need for more information. Projects could fail due to different causes related to project estimation. For example, the initial estimation of the budget needed for the completion of the project could be too little or too much. This can also be applied to the duration of the project, as some projects fail due to too little time being assigned for completion. As well as this, another factor that leads to project failure is ill planning, where the whole project is not planned out right from the start. Also, the goals and objectives of a project, which are developed at the start of the project may be regularly altered/changed which as a result causes confusion within the workforce. In addition to this, due to technology being a fast-paced industry, the personnel of the project need to stay up-to-date with this rapid change in order to use the correct the technology for the project. Finally, a lack of or ineffective communication between the workforce of the project, regardless of their role and position, can also l ead to broken interactions and project failure. Estimates could be inaccurate due to different reasons including people injury, sickness, or resign. Project development teams could run into unexpected technical problems, etc. Therefore, the objective of estimation is that people in the organization who have the training and knowledge to give an honest, well-informed opinion of the effort (time, cost, resources, etc. ) required to do a task. The uncertainty about the project could be reduced and more accurate estimates could be generated by producing well-documents about the project scope and vision by the organizations management and by reaching a consensus on the tasks that must be performed by the development team members. This consensus could be reached through discussion of assumptions. The following are some project estimation techniques (models): Source Lines of Code (SLOC): Source Lines of Code (SLOC) is the oldest metric for estimating project effort and thus is the primary input of older cost estimation models. The accurate estimation of a software project estimate is based on size of the project to be built. Project size is translated into human effort, time and money. Software Equation: In software equation estimate data is collected for thousands of similar projects and a the estimation model is a software equation as given below: EPM = (L x Sk(1/3) / PP)3 x (1/d4) Where EPM- is the Effort in Person Months L is the number of code Line Sk is the factor of Special sKills PP is the Parameter of Productivity D is the project Duration Using SLOC as input for cost estimation has some disadvantages because estimating the SLOC early in the software development lifecycle can be difficult. Therefore, if the SLOC estimate is inaccurate, the output of the dependant cost estimation model will be inaccurate. Software LIfecycle Management (SLIM): SLIM was developed in the late 1970s. Wideband Delphi: Wideband Delphi is an effective technique in estimating software tasks. Proxy Based Estimating (PROBE): This is an estimation method that looks at the history of a person in terms of components he has built in the past. It states that a person constructing a component that he has previously constructed (or one similar to it) then the amount of effort that will go into building this component will roughly be the same. The Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO): COnstructive COst MOdel (COCOMO) is a software cost and schedule estimating method which was developed in the early 1980s. It was developed through an experiment which involved the analyzing and evaluating of results for 63 software development projects. COCOMO was updated in 1991 for modern development life cycles, in order to accommodate larger sets of data. It is calculated on the basis of 15 cost factors. These factors, sometimes called variables, cover the cost of the software needed, any computer hardware that will be used, and the cost of labor (wages). These are inputted into the model and as a result, an output is arrived at estimating the size and effort that need to be put into the project for it to succeed. The Planning Game: The Planning Game is the software project planning method developed by Extreme Programming (XP). It was developed in the 1990s. It is basically used to manage the negotiation between the development team and the stakeholders (Business customers). Unlike Delphi, PROBE, and COCOMO, the Planning Game does not require a documented description of the scope of the project to be estimated. Rather, it is a full planning process that combines estimation with identifying the scope of the project and the tasks required to complete the software. Estimates use comparative estimate, grass roots estimate, engineering estimate (bottom-up), top-down estimate, historical analogy estimate, expert judgment estimate, models estimate, and/or rules-of-thumb estimate. Typically, estimates are made using some combination of these/some of these estimate methods. These estimate methods are described in the following paragraphs. Comparative estimate: Comparative estimate compares project with past similar projects. One advantages of this method is that estimates are based on actual experience. One disadvantages of this method is that truly similar projects must exist. Engineering estimate (Bottom-up): Engineering Estimate (Bottom-up) assigns different components of the project to individuals to estimate. Then, component estimates are summed to obtain total estimate of the project. Advantages of this method include generation of accurate estimates because of detailed basis for estimate, promotion of individual responsibility, and support of project tracking. Some disadvantages of this method are that the method is time- consuming, detailed data is needed which may not be available, especially before the project starts or early in the project, and integration costs may be disregarded. Top-Down estimate: Top-Down estimate partitions the project into lower level components where life cycle phases begin at highest level. Some advantages of this estimate are that it is more applicable to early project estimates, it considers system level activities, it is faster, and easier to implement. Some disadvantages of this estimate is that it is less accurate than other methods, it tends to overlook lower-level components, and it provides little detail. Historical analogy estimate: Historical analogy estimate is based on using the software size, effort, or cost of a comparable project from the past. The comparison is made using measures or data that has been recorded from completed software projects. Analogical estimates can be made at high levels using total software project size and/or cost for individual Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) categories in the process of developing the main software cost estimate. Expert judgment estimates: Expert judgment estimates specifies that software development team consults with one or more experts. Some advantage of this estimate is that little or no historical data are needed, and it is good for new or unique projects. Some disadvantages of this estimate is that experts tend to be biased, and their knowledge level is sometimes questionable. This is a subjective estimate based upon what the estimator remembers from previous projects and gets modified mentally as deemed appropriate. If the estimator has significant recent experience in both the software domain of the planned project then, expert judgment can be relatively accurate. Model-based estimate: Model-based estimate uses mathematical relationships or parametric cost models. Parametric cost models are empirical relationships derived by using statistical techniques applied to data from similar previous projects. Rules-of-thumb estimate: Rules-of-thumb estimate come in a variety of forms and can be a way of expressing estimates as a simple mathematical relationship (e.g. cost = Lines_of_Code / 10) or as percentage allocations of effort over activities or phases based upon historical data (e.g. coding task is 22% of Total Effort). The popular project estimates approach is to use several methods and compare values. If these values vary widely, then this variance is taken as an indication of the need for more information. Model-based estimates along with high-level analogies are the principal source of estimates in early conceptual stages. At early stages of the project or before it starts, we usually do not have a clear estimates, but as a project matures and the requirements and design are better understood, analogy estimates based upon more detailed functional decompositions become the primary method of estimation, with model-based estimates used as a means of estimate validation or as a correctness check. Whatever method is used, it is most important that the assumptions and formulas are documented to enable more thorough review and to make it easier to revise estimates at completion of the project when assumptions may need to be revised. Expected Value for Software Size is computed as follows: Suppose that: Expected value for estimation variable (size) estimate = S, Weighted Average of Optimistic estimate = (S opt) Most likely estimate (S m) Pessimistic estimate (S pess ) Then, S can be computed as: S = (S opt +4 S m + S pess)/6 The calculation of the effort put in, in terms of persons-month, in a dynamic multi variable model can be defined as follows: Software Equation (E) = [LOC * B0.333/P]3 *(1/t4) Where: E is effort in person-months, t is the duration of the project, B is special skills factor, P is productivity. 2.1 Decomposition Technique Decomposition technique is used to estimate the project as presented in the previous section. After decomposing the entire project into a number of smaller tasks, we make project estimates. It is easier to handle smaller tasks than to handle a very larger project as a whole. So, the entire project (problem) is broken down into number of smaller tasks (problems) and then each smaller problem could be solved easily. Decomposition technique is used as a technique or model for cost and project estimate. It is difficult to estimate the project as one task. Therefore, the project is decomposed into smaller tasks and each task is estimated individually and then the partial estimations of project tasks are added up for the whole project. Decomposition technique is used as a technique or model for cost and project estimate. It is difficult to estimate the project as one task. Therefore, the project is decomposed into smaller tasks and each task is estimated individually and then the partial estimations of project tasks are added up for the whole project. A sound and formal estimate starts with a work breakdown structure (WBS). A WBS is a list of project major phases, deliverables, and work components (tasks) that will be built by the project that, when completed, will produce the final product. These work components/tasks can then be broken down into the activities that are required to build them. The concept of this technique is to break down the work into smaller tasks. Each task can in turn be broken down further. This technique is very useful for the project development team and project management team to become familiar with the scope of the project, identifies work tasks, needed resources, and cost estimation. It also helps to monitor the projects progress. Project managers use the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to estimate projects and make complex projects more manageable. Some advantages of using WBS include: Assists with more accurate project estimation in cost, effort, resources, and schedule Assists with project organization Helps with assigning responsibilities to project development team members. A WBS that is correctly designed allows for the easy assignment of tasks to a specific element of the WBS, cutting down on confusion/duplication of assigned tasks. Shows the control points and project milestones Helps explain the project scope to customers and stakeholders Assist in planning and control of the project Tasks and Subtasks are related to each other in the sequence of project task networks. Project Task networks graphically visualize the tasks/sub-tasks and their relationships. Project Task networks are also known as activity networks. The Work Breakdown Structure is a tree structure. The root of the tree is the whole project and the children of the root are the main tasks at first level of the tree which compose the project. At level 2 of the tree are the sub-tasks of the main tasks of the project at level 1. The rest levels of the tree are constructed similarly. Using the tree structure of the WBS allows the determining of secondary costs for tasks, resources, etc., into their advanced level parent tasks, materials, etc. The WBS is the basis for dividing work into defined tasks from which the, schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting can be established. There are many ways to decompose a project into tasks. Different project break-down ways lead to different estimates. If the generated WBS is incorrect, then the project estimates are wrong and time is wasted in doing the estimates. The project can be broken down by feature, by project phase (requirements tasks, design tasks, programming tasks, QA tasks, etc.), or by some combination of the two. WBS uses similar previous projects history and previous experience of projects that have been developed to generate project t estimates. Large projects are broken into more tasks than smaller projects or they can be broken into larger tasks than smaller projects. WBS, when created, is used by the project team to create an estimate of the effort required to perform each task. The most accurate estimates are those that rely on similar projects history and prior experience. Team members should review previous project results and find how long similar tasks in previous projects took to complete. Sources of delays in the past should be taken into account when making current estimates. The level of granularity of WBS varies depending on the level of abstraction and what information is available. At lower-levels of the WBS, expert judgment is the primary method used, while at higher levels of the WBS model-based estimates are more common. It is not possible to define a task set for the project uniquely. No set of tasks is appropriate for all types of projects. Project breakdown into tasks is dependent on the size of the project, complexities involved in the project, constraints of the projects and the skill set and capabilities of the team members working on the project. Project tasks have to be properly distributed according to the needs of the project deadlines and schedule. To develop a project schedule, a task set must be distributed on the project time line. The project set of tasks is defined based on the category of the project which is dealt with by the development team. Summary In this lecture we introduce project estimation to estimate project resource requirements, time duration, human effort, and cost. We also discuss the models and techniques used in the project estimation. We also discuss the estimation methods such as comparative, top-down, bottom-up (engineering), historical analogy and expert judgment. Then we presented decomposition technique to break down the project into tasks to assist us in estimating the project. We focus on the work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposition method. Exercises Is it possible to create a realistic estimate before the project team has agreed on the technical design for the software? When the team is working together to generate an estimate, should the testers estimate tasks which will be performed by the programmers? List three models of project estimate. What is estimated using project estimate? Describe the objectives of using decomposition technique? List advantages of decomposition technique for company managers. Describe the Source Lines of Code (SLOC) estimation method. List two advantages and two disadvantages of using The Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO). What is the difference between Engineering estimate (Bottom-up) and top-down estimate? Explain decomposition techniques. How do you define a task set for the software project? What are project task networks?

The Product Life Cycle

The Product Life Cycle The  product life cycle  is an important concept in marketing.   It explains the stages a product goes through from when it was first thought of until it finally is removed from the market. All products does not reach this final stage.   Some continue to grow and others rise and fall.  So ,this is basically an idea of product life cycle. Product life-cycle management  (or  PLCM) is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its  life cycle . The situation or condition in which product is sold (advertising, saturation) keep changes over time  . Aim The aim of P.L.C. are to minimize time to market, improve product quality, minimize prototyping costs, identify potential sales opportunities and revenue contributions, and minimise worst impacts at end-of-life. To create successful new products the company must comprehend its customers, markets and competitors.so the company focus on these factors. DEFINITION All products have a particular life time, which is called the product life cycle. The life of time a product is on the market is highly dependent on its competition, technology and even the understanding of a companys marketing department. One of the best ways of extending a products life cycle is to regularly collect feedback from consumers, finding out what they need and want from a particular product. Genrally product life cycle has four stages which are as follows: Introduction Stage After a company develops a product and tests its feasible among consumers, the product is usually introduced to the market. This first part of a products existence is called the introduction stage. A company is usually trying to build both advertising and brand awareness of the product in the introduction stage. So thats why the company cost remain relatively high.. The first pricing strategy would be to enter the market with a high price in hopes of regain initial production and advertising costs.. Growth Stage The growth stage is when product sales start to grow exponentially, especially when the product is at high demand. At this stage, competition will grow as other companies create competitive products. The market leader or first company in the industry to create the product will usually maintain its starting price as the sales are incrementing obviously price is acceptable to cuctomer. Saturation Stage Competition will eventually start reaching a saturation point over time. Companies will for a position in the market to compete with the leading company. At this point, it will be difficult for new competitors to enter into the market. Some may even go out of business. Market saturation will eventually force companies to lower prices. It is during this stage that consumer research is extremely important. A company will want to determine what features, styles or flavors of the product in question consumers want so it can differentiate its product from competitors. A company may also discover that the consumers want additional products. Hence, the companys best strategy is to extend its product line to include these additional products. Declining Sales Stage Eventually, product sales will start declining unless a company finds new uses or markets for its product. The decline stage may be haste occurence by new technology that replaces the outdated product. For example, the computer eventually replaced the typewriter. The company may also cut back on advertising during the decline stage. For example, black and white televisions are still in existence but are not promoted. sld00311.jpg (749-463) BEN SHARMAN Ben Sherman is a globally recognised lifestyle brand. It has grown from its business beginnings in quality shirts in Brighton in 1963 and is now sold in 35 countries around the world. It has expanded into the USA, Europe, and Australasia. In 2004, Ben Sherman was acquired by the American-based company, Oxford Industries. This group is an international apparel design, sourcing and marketing Ben Shermans name has always been closely linked with the British music scene and with fashion. Its customers are young and at the forefront of style. Throughout the years high profile customers include musicians, models, actors and bands, such as Blur, Oasis and the Kaiser Chiefs. The growth of the brand can be traced through changes in musical taste and this is a key part of Ben Shermans marketing strategy. Ben Sherman has developed a balanced marketing mix. This is often referred to as the 4 Ps product, price, promotion and place. By getting the mix right, the company ensures that its products reach the market segments it is aiming the brand at. This approach helps the business remain competitive and extends its market share and influence. The marketing mix is like a cake recipe. Most cakes need the basic ingredients of eggs, flour, sugar and milk. However, a childs birthday cake will require a different recipe to a wedding cake. The key is to combine the ingredients to get the right cake for the right occasion. The marketing mix works in exactly the same way. The key ingredients of product, price, promotion and place are all necessary for the appropriate marketing of the product. Ben Sherman chooses the right combination of each element to satisfy different customers needs. PRODUCT Ben Sherman has to decide whether to create a product and then market it to target customers (product-orientated) or find out what the market wants and then provide it (market-orientated) To achieve both, the company produces a wide product range that appeals to all its target market segments. The range includes casual clothes, formal wear, denim, footwear and lifestyle accessories, such as underwear, watches, bags, belts and fragrances. .Product life cycle Ben Sherman uses major fashion shows to launch its collections to the press. The fashion year has two cycles the spring/summer season and the autumn/winter one. The fashion industry is highly competitive and fast-moving. Fashion products tend to have a short life cycle. This means the time between the launch of a product and the point at which that product is mature is very quick. Competition amongst fashion retailers forces businesses to refresh their ranges a number of times in a year. This topping up modifies the product as it reaches the maturity stage. The boost of a new product or style then extends the life of the range. Products need refreshing to avoid the dip in sales during the Saturation stage of the life cycle which could result in an early decline. The additions and changes help sales rise again, earning extra sales revenue and profit, as well as maintaining the Ben Sherman brand in the market. PRICE Ben Sherman has to assess which markets its products are aimed at and set a price to match.There are a number of pricing strategies that a business can use for its products including: cost based pricing where the selling price is set to cover the cost of manufacture. market orientated pricing. Market orientated pricing covers several different approaches: market penetration, where a new product is priced low to attract a high volume of sales market skimming where a new product has premium pricing to give high revenues whilst the product is unique in the market premium pricing, where there is a uniqueness and exclusiveness about the product so that it can command a high price economy pricing, which tends to be for no-frills, basic products where the cost of manufacture and marketing are kept to a minimumThe price of a product relates to its perceived value. Lower priced items will expect a higher volume of sales, whilst fewer sales of luxury products may achieve the same revenue through higher pricing. Low price brands often copy the market leaders and may be generic own brands, such as those produced by supermarket chains. The main purpose of price here is to indicate value for- money and such brands do not expect customers to show loyalty. Ben Sherman produces mostly medium-price range products. Its position in the market for clothing is shown on the product map diagram. The mix of product and price is clearly evident here. These brands are identifiable by their quality and style. PLACE This refers both to the places where Ben Sherman products may be bought and to the channels of distribution used to deliver the products to these places. Place is not always a physical building such as a retail outlet or shop, but includes any means by which the product is made available to the customer.A business has to balance getting enough of its products to its target customers against the problems or costs of distributing them. PROMOTION The purpose of promotion is to obtain and retain customers. It covers: above-the-line, which is using independent media to reach a wide audience easily, but over which the company may have limited control, for example, magazine advertising. This reaches a mass audience but can be hard to measure its impact. below-the-line, which uses media over which the business has control, for example, direct mailing. This type of promotion can be more cost-effective and give more measurable response rates. CONCLUSION Ben Sherman is a brand that appeals to the youth market. Its responsiveness to changing tastes in fashion and music throughout the last fifty years has provided it with a unique heritage of quality, personality and style. This has made Ben Sherman into a great British icon, reflecting British culture as it does business across the world. Whilst each element of the marketing mix is important in its own right, the right balance of the four elements is critical. MAGGI Different phases product life cycle of maggi Why  attanoodle  was  a  failure? Strategies taken to establish new productcategory What measures NIL should take to sustain theimage of a popular brand image. Stage at which maggiis in the product lifecycle. PRODUCT LIFE   CYCLE A concept that provides a way to trace thestages of a product ¶s acceptance, from itsintroduction (birth) to its  decline (death) INTRODUCTORY STAGE High failure rates No competition Frequent product modification Limited distribution High marketing and production costs Promotion focuses on awareness and  information Nestlà © India Ltd. (NIL), the  Indian subsidiary of the global FMCG major,Nestlà © SA, introduced the Maggibrand in India in 1982, with its launch of  Maggi2 Minute  Noodles, an instant  noodles product GROWTH STAGE Increasing rate  of sales Entrance of competitors Initial healthy profits Promotion emphasizes brand ads Prices normally fall Development costs are recovered 10 yrs back it  enjoyed around 50% market share in this  segment which was valued ataround 250 crores. . MATURITY STAGE Declining sales growth Saturated markets Extending product line Stylistic product changes Heavy promotions to dealers and consumers Prices and profits fall In  2003  Hindustan  Lever  Ltd  was all  set  to take on  Nestlesbestselling  Maggi2-minute noodles by launching a new category of liquid  snacks under it foodbrand, KnorrAnnapurna DECLINE STAGE Long-run drop in sales Large inventories of  unsold items Elimination of all non essentialmarketing expenses

Victorian Military: Rising Through the Ranks :: Victorian Era

Victorian Military: Rising Through the Ranks The British military was involved in some form of combat consecutively from 1837 to 1901. Consequently, military was a vital part of the life of a soldier or a young man looking to join the military profession. In order to join as an officer, a man had to purchase his position. However, those who entered as common soldiers could join for free. These men, however, were seen as the â€Å"lowest of the low.† If a man hoped to maintain his status in the military as well as society, he must first purchase his commission. Usually positions like colonel or captain were the first to be purchased. There were two forms of colonels, each carrying their own status. The first, known today as colonel proper was a â€Å"substantive rank from which seniority would eventually, provided they lived long enough, elevate them to join the generals† (Holves xix). The second form were colonels of regiments. They were field officers, known for advising their younger officers and having an inter est in making profits from their position. This type of colonel usually made about six hundred to nine hundred pounds a year but made about four hundred more from government granted money for their regiments. Money given to regiment colonels was often used to buy cheap uniforms; the rest was pocketed by the leading officer. The colonel’s regiment bore his name and often carried a badge from his armorial bearings. Colonels could be promoted to lieutenant colonels, who were also field officers. In war-time, promotions based on merit were far more common that purchase appointments, which surprises many (Holves 108). After purchasing a commission as lieutenant-colonel, an officer must be promoted and could not purchase any higher positions. Generals were appointed by the monarch. They were chosen according to seniority, so rarely did generals receive their position based on talent. Most generals did not receive any more pay that a colonel and may have even been on half-pay as a retired officer. A general kept his position until death. He had a strong voice in appointments for positions in his regiments, especially his secretary and aides de camp. Dragoons were soldiers with much less respect. They maintained the name â€Å"dragoon,† which had belonged to members of the cavalry, was given to dragoons so that they may maintain some form of respect. William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel Vanity Fair involves the Battle of Waterloo.

deatharms Dealing with Death in Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

Dealing with Death in A Farewell to Arms "I'm afraid of the rain because sometimes I picture myself dead in it" (P 126). This is a short quotation from, A Farewell to Arms, (1929), by Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms has a very unexpected death in the end. The reader sympathizes with the main character as he matures from the beginning to the conclusion of the novel. A Farewell to Arms is a love story during World War I. The novel is centered on Lieutenant Fredric Henry, an American who has volunteered for the Italian army driving ambulances in Europe because the United States has not yet entered the war. Fredric is known as being a lost man searching for order and value in his life. He is very subdued and does not care about himself or about the war. In the first book of the novel, Fredric is characterized, along with the other characters. Throughout the first book, Fredric takes a leave of absence from the war and travels the country looking for his purpose in life. During the second book, Fredric returns to the warfront town and meets with his closest friend, Rinaldi, who introduces Fredric to Catherine Barkely. Catherine is a French nurse with whom Fredric falls in love immediately. Fredric finds commitment with her, and they start to spend time together. Their relationship brings order and value to his life. He starts to care more about himself and Catherine. Being away from the war, Fredric feels safe with Catherine. When they are together, the war seems to not exist. "The war seemed as far away as the football games of someone else's college," says Fredric (P 63). Catherine is experienced when it comes to love and loss since she lost her fiancé in an earlier war. She cannot depend on another person so she tries not to depend on Fredric to bring order to her life and less chaos. This then allows her to be emotionally stronger when Fredric has to go off to war again. While off at war, Fredric and his other driver friends are sitting in a cave, when the Austrians attack. Fredric is hit in the knee while trying to help his friend, who dies. Fredric is taken to the hospital in Milan. When he arrives at the hospital, Rinaldi and Catherine come to visit him.

Rationale of the Study Essay

In our modern time’s computer’s become so usefull and it make our life even more easier than we have before. In fast moving life of the modern world of today computers hold temendous significance. We are prone to different aplications and different business and huge companies estblish in local areas and world wide. We know that managing a business is such a difficult task weather it is big or small. In accordance with this matter, adapting is the most common way to solve this issue.Internet and technology is widely use in making our lives in the simplest way as possible.It provide each individual uses their own intelligence or mind to investigate further. Internet cafà © one those business that are rapidly spreading throughout the Philippines archipelago, so long as they are in demand and up until now they are still in demand. Thus the research is to create and to show the comprehensive description of the Cyberbob Internet Cafà © Monitoring System. This implies what the software will and can do as well as how it will be anticipated to perform in most easiest way. Expanding the small business into a large store or having new branches will give another problem to the owner as well as to the costumers. Growing company means hiring new technical or employee in which they well help to meet the satisfactions of the costumers and their demands What we focused in our study in the Internet Cafà © Monitoring System which deals with the process involved within the system. With this, the user can easily access data or information in just a span of time, the system is manageable, accessible and it is very easy to use thus the user can see the effectiveness and advantages of the computer accessing information just like what this system can do. Like adding new databases and choices for the user like computing all the sales for the day, summary of all the time consumed in every computer and etc. This will enable the user to see the result being asked for. To achieve this, it is necessary to design goals at the  soonest time and fasted pace possible without compromising quality and development cost. And as for the result, your system will be improved into new well developed, easy to manage and organized software that will even more satisfy your needs.

Corporate Human Resources †Hackney. Essay

This plan sets pop come stunned of the closet the key out aims and procedureivities of the incarnate Human Resources divine serving during 2003-04 and in particular how the serve well depart support the touchment of the 2020 Vision for the borough and the opposite collective objectives agreed by the Council, which be to* Make sure the Council campaigns aright and efficiently* Involve the public in what we argon doing to get better* reposition opportunities and quality of life in the borough and bring up social inclusion1. OUTLINE OF THE advantage1.1 merged Human Resources is managed by the appurtenant Chief Executive (Human Resources), a ph eitherus of the Core focus Team, who is responsible for ensuring the councils complaisance with employment rule. The purpose of the HR function is to work in compact with managers to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our hands in graze to support the councils business dodge and come done truth in function resigny1.2 The components of the Corporate HR function be strategical human resource precaution heightens a strategic framework that provides direction for the brass instrument in order to optimise employee productiveness and reach outs nonstop melioratement in the background of exceed value. Sets standards of best serve ensuring body of approach to create one composition. Provides twain guidance and input into operational HR functions. Provides the tools to drive up surgical procedure and productivity and drive down sickness absence. workss in partnership with employee representatives in order to create and embed a ordained and constructive industrial dealing purlieu that achieves swear out excellence. develop and actionation of procedures and guidelines to regard managers work towards a productive employee relations cultivation. Learning and musical arrangemental emergenceDevelops and introduces strategies, policies and classs to unwrap the force of the council, its Members and employees to successfully implement business objectives and priorities. Establishes a competency found transaction c argon approach to become a accomplishment organisation, bring close to culture change and to harness and ext terminal the k immediatelyledge, skills and experience of wholly those within the council in pursuit of service excellence. health guard duty and welf arePromotes a healthy and effective hands, promotes good practice in health and safety, and addresses ill health at work and ill-health archaean retirements. Ensures compliance with occupational health, safety and welfare legislation and guidance. Develops and implements occupational Health service policies in co-operation with the Councils nominated provider. strategic HR stuffs police squad upProcures and monitors the paysheet produceor to regard timely payment of hackney carriage employees and pensioners. observes the autarkical Referral Unit, which provides a 24 /7 hidden telephone help- line. This is an independent specialist service where employees can raise their complaints and concerns about racial discrimination, racial harassment and raci eachy discriminatory practices in the work office. varans the integrity- end Recruitment thin responsible for permanent and temporary recruitment and the task matching service for the councils redeployees.Procures and monitors the Occupational Health religious service take awayor which carries out pre-employment health checks on impudent ap take aim in timeees and provides medical examination advice to help manage sickness absence.2. abstract OF PERFORMANCE FOR 2002/2003The service was restructured in run into 02 to downsize by eight posts and interviews were completed over contact and April there were some redundancies with mental faculty leaving in June. Two unoccupied posts were filled by August.The Departmental Strategic fair games for 2002/03 were To critical review and implem ent an HR dodging to reflect organisational need and the radical ripened management structure to visit solely stakeholders Directors, senior management and members by April 02.We achieved the early stages and with the appointment of the Head of HR in August 02 this is existence carried forward for expiration by April 03. To introduce competency base surgery appraisal in the organisation by April 02 and carry out fix audits of service areas.We are veritablely in the execute of reviewing the implementation process of the performance appraisal and teaching framework. A notify of the findings provide be produced for Core Management Team in December 2002. To achieve Investors in People standard with appraisals carried out across directorates by September 02.This was achieved by Corporate Human Resources and the Social function directorate. Assessments of the remaining directorates testament take place in early 2003. To work towards management for Racial par level 4 standard.This has been replaced by the comparison Standard for topical anaesthetic Government level 2 and is macrocosm carried forward for completion by April 04. pertain to fight racial discrimination by side by side(p) through and through the flight Equality challenge visualize, to slenderise the number of complaints to the self-supporting Referral Unit, measuring the number of cases referred and their outcomes authentic. Develop corporate HR database and to underwrite that systems are in place to provide workforce and BVPI supervise teaching with complete audit trails.We are on target to procure a Human Resources Information schema by April 03, submit had the approval of Cabinet and are skirmish the milestones of the new corporate procural process.The Departmental Service Priorities for 2002/03 were* Recruitment of threesome tier managers by 30 June. 88% achieved, 6% nether review, 6% vacant. lengthening of this activeness is identify as a key rove in ceca l appendage 2(B)* TUPE of bringing up staff to Hackney Education trust by 1 August. Achieved* TUPE of finance staff to external provider. This exercise is nonetheless under review and the decision deferred whilst the organisation examine the feasibility of a strategic partner arrangement.* execution of instrument of Best grade Performance jut out production of yearly BVPP estimates and actual performance by Feb 02. Achieved* passation of the second stage of Single Status. Ongoing.* change over Union facilities agreement. Corporate agreement and cipher reduction achieved. Local address agreements ongoing.* HR Standards & Frameworks. Review of existing documentation consult Executive and negotiations with Trade Unions as necessary. in all managers complying with HR standards and frameworks. Available on website March 2002. Existing standards and frameworks on website. Continuation of this activity is identified as a key project in Appendix 2(B)* Objective lose weight long time lost per employee through sickness and industrial action. Project charabanc of sickness absence team appointed, project developed and flat macrocosmness implemented.* Race Relations Amendment comprise. radical Council policy agreed. Achieved* Non disagreement Notice Requirements.Production of regular supervise information for the CRE. AchievedRegular ET panels to be convened. Dates harbor now been scheduled for the remainder of 2003 and the chassis of panels will continue through 2003/4.* To reduce spending on the Payroll operate Contract to save 250,000 per annum by 2004/05. On target to appoint new contract for Feb 04 and achieve savings on afoot(predicate) contract.* Bring payroll debt under mince by 31 March 2003. New HR Information system to be implemented by September 03 will be hit point on data penetration to prevent new debt occurring. ITNet to be invoiced for debt due to their errors at end of fiscal year.The Training and discipline Plan for 2002/03* Culture ChangeExecutive teach class. AchievedPhoenix computer programme Race Equality natural process Plan. AchievedProgress instruction and tuition related to the Race Equality Action Plan. Achieved* Race Equality Action Plan/ Investors in People follow up workforce development interventions and initiatives. Achieved carry out a mentoring and instruct programme for employees. Ongoing* Corporate founding Organise a series of proof programmes throughout the year. Achieved* Management incrementImplement competency based appraisal & development framework. Achieved* Human Resource Management training. Ongoing* Workforce/ Organisational Development (Race Equality Action Plan)Investors in People. Ongoing achieved in HR and Social ServicesCorporate development events/ road shows. AchievedBudgetThe HR specie limit for 2001/2 was set at 1,179k. Changes to accountancy practices meant that the costs of the corporate allot union facility and for the Occupational Health Service w ere no longer recharged to the payroll overhead as in preliminary years and no calculate was transferred to the hard cash limit. This could view as aftermathed in a 330k overspend but was contained by keeping septet posts vacant and through good housekeeping. HR were then on course to achieve the cash limit, however in February 2002 we were presumptuousness the responsibility for the payroll debt and had to pull ahead a bad debt provision of 271k for other departments debts. An under spend of 35k therefore became an overspend of 236k.3. CHALLENGES FOR THE form AHEAD3.1 Implement an HR strategy to reflect a one organisational approach. Reviewing and re-launching the HR standards and frameworks.3.2 Completing the government direction of recruiting the councils third tier of management and workings through a programme to emergence 4th tier capacity.3.3 institute performance management to increase productivity, rig under performance and achieve service improvements through appraisal, sickness absence management, health and safety performance management and HR standards supervise.3.4 enter competency-based performance appraisals in the organisation.3.5 Review the councils recruitment and retention strategy to improve the management capacity at all levels.3.6 Reducing sickness absence levels to achieve the governments targets of 9 days by 2005 and embedding an attendance culture in the organisation.3.7 Whole organisation achievement of the Investors in People standard in 2003 and maintaining a continuous learning culture.3.8 Procure, implement and experience a Human Resources Information ashes across the council and improve all manual HR processes to meet audit requirements and best practice.3.9 The payroll function will be subject to a competitive tendering process by 31 January 2004.3.10 Continue the programme of single status implementation with neutralize Management and Finance. Ensure that the programme of meditate evaluations for Scale 6 st aff and under is completed in line with the single status agreement.3.11 To achieve level 2 of the Equalities Standard for Local government.3.12 Embedding a performance management model for Health and safety across the council.3.13 To implement a Members Development course of instruction.3.14 To implement a Leadership Programme for third tier management.3.15 SWOT unofficialSTRENGTHSOPPORTUNITIES* Nurture and maintain CMT/top team support for HR* increase organisational stability ? shared corporate knowledge* Increasing financial stability ? Less pathetic of goal posts* New Political stability ? Better decisions* New legislation ? prevail Hackney change objectives* Continue to develop own (HR) skills* Develop SMARTER ways of working as a team (e.g. by cross-team project working, matrix teams, greater grasp and awareness of each others strengths).* Develop and achieve improvement to HR information systems.* Redistribute reducing HR recruitment budget and improve capacity-buil ding (in HR)* Corporate Performance management framework any managers and staff are clear about the requirements and good practice standards.* improve recruitment and retention new employer brand up(a) rewards and recognition better and new skills balance.WEAKNESSESTHREATS* squeeze of reducing budgets achievable constraints on obtaining capture funding for changes required or innovating. guide to monitor closely and use to a greater extent wisely and creatively.* Poor balance amongst operational versus strategic HR activities ? deal to improve capacity to focus more than on strategic roles and review opportunities for ameliorate efficiencies in delivery of operational functions.* Pressures of deadlines impose by others. Affect ability to deliver reliably need to renegotiate rather need to improve how we manage our needs/demands as well as other stakeholders/clientsMAKING SURE THE COUNCIL WORKS by rights AND expeditiously4. MANAGEMENT AND STAFF PROVIDING naughty char acter reference SERVICES4.1 Investing in the development of staff? Revise frameworks in line with recommendation? Ensure consonant standard of implementation? rate the rival of the supporting Training andDevelopment programmes (quality and quantity)? Design, missionary station & implement programme? Design, commission and implement Scrutiny, Membersdevelopment programme.? esteem 2002 development programme? Implement revised programme? Develop Phase II of development programme? Design and implement Development Programme? Evaluate Phase I of Development Programme? Implement programme? Monitor Implementation? Evaluate programme? Implement programme? Monitor Implementation? Evaluate programme? Prepare for strategic assessment of the council? Audit standard to ensure continuous improvement and compliancein meeting IIP standard? Implement programme? Monitor Implementation? Evaluate programme? Implement programme? Monitor Implementation? Evaluate programme4.2 Ensuring staff performs t o high standards. Embed performance management to increase productivity, tackle under performance and achieve service improvements. Embed competency-based performance appraisals in the organisation.4.3 Tackling light performance. Reducing sickness absence levels to 9 days by 2005 and embedding an attendance culture in the organisation. Reviewing and embedding capability framework.4.4 Equality of opportunity in recruitment and employment practices. monitor of corporate Equalities Plan and Equalities Scheme.5. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE determination OF TAXPAYERS MONEY5.1 HR are addressing the following corporate objectives* New financial management systems by procuring a corporate HR Information System. This will be a single point of data entry to payroll for starters/leavers and absence recording to crawfish the current problem of overpayments to staff and leavers caused by processes be paper-based and difficult to enforce.* Consistent records are kept and procedures followed by HR Standards and Frameworks big(p) a clear guide to managers on recording staff attendance and maintaining ad hominem files, Maintaining a cost centre establishment tool introduced to prevent staff being placed on payroll without a logical cost code, Developing and implementing an plaque Post number system for all staff to ensure only valid members of staff are being paid.* Ensuring budget holders manage their budgets by issuing guidelines on verifying appropriate staff are on the payroll and paid at the correct scale. HR has local observe systems, which are reconciled to the general leger every month. The title-holder (HR) hold hebdomadal budget meetings with the HR management team to identify and tackle potential areas of risk.* Improving the way we procure services by participating in the corporate procurance training programme and involving the Hackney procurance Centre at all stages of current procurement projects project management of these and exponentiation in po st-procurement reviews.5.2 District Auditors Regularity Review* Risk based planning. Operational and financial risks are being identified and evaluated as part of the on-going, sestet weekly scrutiny process. Risk identification, evaluation, monitoring and management arrangements are being implant in the 2003/04 budget preparation and service planning process. Improved monthly financial monitoring procedures have been introduced and a new system of delegation has been finalised.* Payroll. A balancing exercise between payroll records and local employee monitoring and forecasting systems has been undertaken and additional resources have been deployed to clear the backlog of payroll overpayments. rewrite procedures are being developed to reduce the risk of future overpayments and the new HR Information System will act as a single point of entry to replace current paper-based processes.* Contracts. Contracts registers established. Contract monitoring and management procedures are em bedded.* global income. Work is underway to improve income army and debt management and recovery procedures. Income profiles are being established, against which collection performance will be monitored on a monthly basis. rewrite procedures for debt management and debt recovery are being introduced and performance will be monitored on a regular basis. Arrangements are be being strengthened further in the 2003/04 budget preparation process.* Payments to agency staff. A One Stop Recruitment contract for permanent and temporary recruitment is in place as a result of a competitive tendering exercise. There is a single point of invoicing from appointed agencies via the leas provider who provides monthly financial monitoring information to the council.5.3 Key procurement activities are the leveraging and implementation of an HR Information System (see 3.7) The competitive retendering of the payroll contract which expires 31 January 2004 (see 3.8). Future retendering of the Occupation al Health Service contract by April 2004.INVOLVING THE PUBLIC IN WHAT WE ARE DOING TO GET BETTER6. REVIEWING OUR pertly DEMOCRATIC ARRANGEMENTS6.1 The Head of Learning and Development is working with the Deputy Mayor and INLOGOV to design and implement a Members Development Programme. Members training needs such as IT training and Scrutiny skills are being identified to implement a training programme.7. change INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC7.1 altogether current job vacancies in the council are now published weekly on the Hackney Live website. The public can transfer job details and profiles, advice and guidelines on how to give way for posts and complete application forms. The One Stop Recruitment contractor Bartlett Scott Edgar manages and maintains the database of denote posts and acts as a single point for enquiries and response handling. Hackney recruitment now has corporate branding and materials are produced to amend quality standards. We intend to make it possible in the n ext year to make it possible to complete and send applications online.7.2 Our equalities scheme we will use our council website to publish the results of consultation exercises and the monitoring information in pact with our requirements under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.8. DEALING WITH SERVICE REQUESTS PROMPTLY AND EFFICIENTLY8.1 Members enquiries are logged and responded to within three days. All responses are approved and submitted by the ACE (HR). The service withal implements the corporate garner monitoring and complaints procedures.8.2 Complaints about externally provided HR services are raised in regular contract meetings with providers and used to review and fine tune services provided. Contracts are to monitored against HR local BVPIs.IMPROVING OPPORTUNITIES AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE BOROUGH AND PROMOTING SOCIAL inclusion9. GIVING OUR ADULTS THE SKILLS TO GET JOBS9.1 HR will explore the increased involvement with apprenticeships and work experience schemes to improve access for local people to council jobs.10. PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING THE more or less VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN OUR society10.1 HR ensures that all staff interviewed for posts with unsupervised access to young people have a pre-employment check through the evil Records Bureau. Agencies providing temporary staff through the One Stop Recruitment contract also carry out pre-employment and police checks onward placing them with Hackney managers. All agencies under the contract have had to pass quality criteria to ensure they carry out these procedures.