the Hand That Signed the Paper Analysis free essay sample

†Autobiographical Essar Humans are not born knowing what is right and what is wrong, we learn these things through our experiences and our mistakes. Though these mistakes could be as simple as spilling a glass of milk, we still learn an important lesson; dont set the glass on the corner of the table. I myself have had many of these mishaps, but one seems to stand out from all the rest. I have these neighbors, they own a large piece of property that my friends and I enjoy spending time on, however, these neighbors are what you would call, Jerks. We had a few interactions and in the end we sort of trashed their property.. My friends are idiots, sometimes we get together and do stupid things, in this case though, we went a bit overboard. I was about 12 or 13 at the time and had taken a liking to forms of destructive behavior. We will write a custom essay sample on the Hand That Signed the Paper Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It Just happened to be trash day, and my dad had an abundance of tools such as sledgehammers and axes in the shed. My friends and I gathered up a large pile of garbage and constructed a huge mass of couches, chairs, desks, wood, and many other things in the woods on my neighbors property. We then proceded to smash everything in to bits and make a widespread mess of the area. As most kids would do, we ran, and didnt hear anything of it for days. It wasnt until after about a week that my doorbell rang. Who else could it be but the owners of that property come to speak with my parents. My mom and dad were furious, and i recieved no mercy in my punishment. I spent days, along with two of my friends, cleaning up the mess. I suspect we must have gathered three or four trashcans worth of garbage in the end. Weeks went by and i realized how disrespectful my actions were, I eventually ummoned up the courage to visit the home of my neighbors and apologize to them face to face. They graciously accepted my apology and we patred ways on friendly terms. Hearing them thank me for the cleanup Job and for having enough respect to say i was sorry was a great feeling that i wont forget. That experience led me to realize the importance of showing respect for others and their property, Its an example i am proud to share, of a lesson I learned through my personal mistakes, and I hope others too, have learned to show respect for others. he Hand That Signed the Paper Analysis By aJoycem The Hand That Signed the Paper consists of four stanzas that harshly mock the cold and unfriendliness present of politics and conflict. In my opinion this poem is about war, revealing the speakers disgust for political leaders overall. The poet makes audience feel as though the hand that signed the paper is worthless or despicable. These overpowering fgures with in the poem seem to be important and arrogant for putting themselves in a powerful, life or death situation. The first stanza is notifying he audience that a simple signing of this document sets off a tragic and irreversible outcome. Double the globe of dead and halved a country; These five kings did a king to death (Stanza 1, Line3-4) is referring to the decision to execute the king and to a country splitting up in the processes. The second stanza mocks the mighty hand (Stanza 2, Line 5) that is responsible for these terrible outcomes by using descriptive words, such as, sloping shoulder (Stanza 2, Line 5). Also, the poet is telling the audience that the man in the poem has arthritis when he says, The finger oints are crammed with chalk; (Stanza 2, Line 6). This information I find to be useless to the meaning of the poem, but when the speaker says, A gooses quill has put an end to murder I believe he is giving away what the documentation really is, a peace treaty. In the third stanza, the poet informs the audience that the peace treaty has not solved anything; times are extremely awful. With good intentions, the man signed the peace treaty to solve the suffering brought on by war, but instead it has caused more damage. And famine grew, and locusts came (Stanza 3, Line 10) is telling the readers that the country has an extreme amount of people suffering of hunger and disease. The last stanza compassionately informs the reader that politicians act very inhumane. Politicians like to think of themselves as God, maintaining absolute control over who are to live and who are to be destroyed. Dylan Thomas incorporated human body relations in his work. He accomplished this by using parts of the human body and certain characteristic features to make the reader elieve that the body parts are made to act as if they are making a conscious choices and decisions. An example of this is in the title of Thomass work, The Hand that Signed the Paper. This title is referring to the hand as if it would be acting freely of its owner. Other examples of this are, fingers taxed the breath (Stanza 1, Line 2), Great is the hand that holds dominion over Man by a scribbled name (Stanza 2, Line 11-12), and A hand that rules pity as a hand rules heaven (Stanza 4, Line 15). With in this poem there are relating words and repetition used as a poetic devices. Murder (Stanza 2, Line 3) and did a king to death (Stanza 2, Line 4) have identical meanings. Also within the poem, there are synonyms: paper (Stanza 1, Line 1) and treaty (Stanza 3, Line 9). I believe that Thomas used these relating words to put direct attention on them, indicating particular importance to the actual message of the poem. There is one example of foreshadowing consisting within the poem, The Hand That Signed the Paper, which is ultimately referring to the speakers actions that are going to take place with in the poem. The Hand that Signed the Paper has a rhyme scheme of: ABAB, and the first and third lines of each stanza are iambic pentameter, but with an eleventh, unstressed syllable. Near the end of the poem, in changes the rhyme scheme in the poem trying to accomplish a different pace, therefore making it more intriguing. In the end Dylan Thomas accomplished writing a very intriguing-meaningful poem. It is exciting reading between the lines of this poets work, and truly finding the real meaning of the poem: a powerful politician whom brought disaster to a country and its population.

monroe doctrine essays

monroe doctrine essays The nineteenth century was an exciting and vibrant era that not only dramatically altered the physical face of our nation due to the rapid development of large cities and manufacturing facilities, but also helped modify and shape the values that have come to define our American character. Unlike the relatively slow-paced lifestyle maintained during agrarian times, which required communal generosity and cooperation in order to weather difficult times, the Industrial Revolution dramatically altered the condition of society, in that qualities such as ambition, avarice, and unmitigated competitiveness came to be required to get ahead in a burgeoning business world. Similarly, an expansionistic desire to move out West gripped thousands of adventurous young Americans, whose pioneering spirit drove them to uproot entire Native American civilizations in the pursuit of their dreams of wealth and prosperity west of the Mississippi. As our nation became more and more intent upon increasing i ts level of financial, economic, and territorial wealth, the qualities that had affected our country domestically began to be incorporated into the way that it conducted global politics as well. American politicians soon gained a better appreciation for and recognition of the immense power and international prestige that the U.S. held and thus began asserting themselves in the realm of international relations, ultimately leading to the Monroe Doctrine, which propelled our nation on a path of global leadership and involvement that it still follows today. By examining the reasoning behind and historical applications of the Monroe Doctrine, it becomes apparent that many of the global conditions that have contributed to the success of this proclamation in the past no longer exist, and that because of the economically interdependent global society in which we now live, it is in the best interest of the United States and the many other countries of the world to...

Global Politics - 10 short answer questions - 150words each Essay

Global Politics - 10 short answer questions - 150words each - Essay Example by deregulation requirements, opening its markets to transnational corporations and other regulations imposed upon it by the World Trade Organization. Thus, sovereignty, to such an extent is eroded; the state compromises some of its powers; actors other than the state take center stage; additional security issues have to be taken into consideration like transnational crimes, international terrorism, refugees and the like . Ans.: Classical liberalism is liberalism that is centered on the individual and the capacity of that individual to make the right choices for his own self that eventually reflects and redound to the good and benefit of society in general. Both classical liberalism and neo-liberalism are founded on the basic tenets of freedom but while classical liberalism is individual-centered, neo-liberalism depends on the state to impose laws that promote free trade and market liberalism. The state does not leave it up to the individuals but takes the initiative to promote free trade where the individuals have as much as possible unfettered economic freedom and the state as little as possible role. Neo-liberalism, which was popularized sometime in the 1980s, is an offshoot of classical liberalism which is an older concept. Ans.: Yes, because the actions of states or state strategies are supposed to be primarily geared for the protection and promotion of the national interest. In this sense, it is therefore important to understand exactly what the national interest or interests are for the deeper understanding of the motivations of the actions of a particular state. Although the exact nature of national interest will depend largely on the time and period and sometimes from a subjective point of view, the concept of national interest almost always includes the following: the state’s jurisdiction, patrimony; assets and resources; national and cultural values, and; national goals and alliances. Ans.: There are several theories. the psychological theory

Sinusitis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sinusitis - Essay Example Thus, there is the abnormal production of B and T cells, and IgG deficiency is triggered by a defect of B cells. IgG deficiency can occur in two forms that are selective and specific. In most cases, the B cells are low in selective antibody deficiency. Likewise, the T cells are also inadequate. The T cells help in B cell immunoglobulin synthesis. Thus, selective IgG deficiency is accompanied by isolated IgG deficiency with normal levels of IgA, IgM, IgD, and IgE. In specific IgG deficiency, there is evidence of inadequate levels of other immunoglobulin isotypes. Both types of IgG deficiency result to respiratory infections. For instance sinus, ear, pneumonia, and bronchitis infections. In this case the patient is diagnosed with a combined T and B cell immunodeficiency (Lang, 2009. This individual is suffering from IgG2 due to the developing illnesses sinus (Porth, 2011). In addition, the antibodies against polysaccharide antigens and carbohydrates belong to IgG2 category. On the othe r hand, antibodies against protein antigens are categorized in IgG1 and IgG3 groups. The IgG immunoglobulins are categorized in four groups founded on the function and structure. It is classified from IgG1 to IgG4. In most cases, about 70% fit in the IgG1 and 20% belong to IgG2 groups. Antibodies that are opposed to protein antigens fit in IgG1 and IgG3 groups. There is another class of antibodies that are opposed to polysaccharide and carbohydrates antigens that belong to IgG2 group. Patients with IgG2 deficiency are at high risk of suffering from pneumonia, otitis media, and sinusitis. These illnesses are triggered by microorganisms known as polysaccharide-encapsulated. The microorganisms include N. meningitides, H. influenza type b, and pneumonia. In some cases, the patients are healthy, and others are asymptomatic in presence of the IgG

3 levels of analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

3 levels of analysis - Essay Example Some homicide forms do not constitute acts that are criminal but murder is criminal homicide (Simon 2009). The circumstances that surround a killing are the determinants if it was criminal or not. In earlier days, homicide was divided into two categories; non-felonious and felonious. The latter was premeditated and deliberate killing and was therefore termed as murder. The former included excusable homicide, which was not classified as a crime, and justifiable homicide, which was a crime, but the offender was pardoned. The classification has since changed with the modern statutes. There are two categories namely manslaughter and murder. Murder is further classified into first degree that involves a killing intention that is premeditated and second degree whose intention to kill is not premeditated (Malmquist 2006). The most important elements in first-degree murder are intent and premeditation. Intentional crimes are committed purposely and knowingly. Crimes that are intentional are organized in advance. In the mentioned elements’ perspective, such homicide is neither an accident nor a moment’s incidence. Another form of first-degree murder is felony murder, since it applies in circumstances where a person dies as a felony is perpetrated. This is so even though the death was entirely unplanned or accidental. The difference between the first and second-degree is that, even though the guilty person kills intentionally, there is no prior plan and the crime is not given forethoughts, because acting is often on impulse (Simon 2009). Manslaughter involves unintentional killing, which results from criminal negligence of a person, or human life disregard that is reckless. Manslaughter is classified as voluntary and involuntary. The former is used in the designation of acts secondary to provocation or passion crimes. The killing is intended as much as there was adequate provocation encountered by the

MA as a Growth Strategy

MA as a Growth Strategy Introduction: Project Management (BS 6079, 1996) is the planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance. For any project to become a success, team work plays a major role. One of the most renowned and widely used practical and management team developments is the Belbin team roles. The argument from Belbin is that team composition plays a major factor in influencing the performance of the team (Water et al, 2008). The fundamental aspect of human existence is the working together as groups. The main purpose of this is to survive, adapt and thrive to different situations by using individuals intellect and co-operation (Riding and Rayner, 2001). The team roles are classified into organisational roles and the functional roles (Atkinson, 1999). A team role is a set of behaviours grouped in a cluster (Belbin, 1993). The main objective of this essay is to evaluate the teams performance based on the Belbin self perception theory discussing the teams roles, team life cycle and other aspects with respect to the project management exercise. Belbin Team Roles: Team roles are defined as a pattern of behaviour characteristic of the way in which one team member interacts with another (Belbin, 1981). Every individual will take preferred roles in the management exercises and the outcome purely depends on the balance in the team (Riding and Rayner, 2001). It is always a good team with a good balance of individuals will result in a good outcome and vice versa (Belbin, 1993). Belbin has differentiated nine team roles based on the behaviour of people and is classified by feeling, will power, thinking and decisiveness. In the Belbin later research, he added one more role called as SP (Specialist) which refers to single mindedness, acting always alone and dedicated to specialism. The main function of this role is that people will behave in a extremely silent, introvert and will not contribute other than their special interest areas. This is considered as the negligible contribution to the team (Atkinson, 1999). Belbin uses an instrument for quantifyi ng the team role preferences which is called as the Self Perception Inventory. This consists of 70 points by evaluating seven statements in each questions. For each question 10 statements are given and can be prioritised based on the individual behaviour in which 10 points can be distributed. In predicting the performance of the team Belbin succeeded based on the information from the role profiles of each member. In this view a team is balanced when each role appears in atleast one team members profile as high-scoring role (Atkinson, 1999). From the Henley workshops, Belbin was able to specify the composition of the team and arrived at conclusions. This was characterised by (Furnham, 1992): attributes of a leader are similar to chairman profile (CH) now called as Co-ordinator (CO) and the team should have a range of mental abilities which includes a person generating creative ideas and giving practical solutions to the problems encountered. The team should include one Completer Finisher (CF), Implementer (IM) and the members can suit the other team roles based on their personal characteristics and ultimately the team which can identify and improve on their competencies by doing mistakes is considered as the best team (Riding and Rayner, 2001). Teams Belbin profiles: For the project management exercise, the teams were divided based on the Belbin team roles. As said earlier, in a team it is must to have a Completer Finisher (CF) and Implementer (IM). The team were asked to choose from Team Workers (TW). Person having primary reference as Team Workers are few and so persons having secondary and tertiary references as Team Workers were called for choosing the team. Evaluating the team roles and functions: First, from the team balance sheet it is clear that the team has no primary references for SH, PL, RI, TW, CF and can be considered as scarce for the team. This team has three implementers (IM) which is good in terms of delivering the project fast. Having more implementers is not a problem in any team as they move towards implementing the project. But having more shapers is a problem because of their characteristics. Person 1 who is ME can act as a CF and TW because of his secondary and tertiary preferences. Person 1 shows major characteristics of ME because of the feasibility characteristics. In this exercise, person 1 is very much interested in calculating the Critical path, always analysing the situations, showing temperament and whenever anything goes out of plan again doing the critical path whether there is feasibility of completing the project on time. The main advantage with person 1 is that he maintains good temperament in all the situations even if it is good or bad. The disadvantages is that in some situations person 1 whose Belbin profile shows weakness as decision making is very true. Sometimes person 1 took some hasty decisions which have affected the teams profit (decision of choosing the manufacturing subcontractor). Always took more time in making next moves since the basic nature of ME is analysing situations. Sometimes person 1 also did the role of CF when it comes to planning the project. The project plan was for 140 days with 7 periods of 20 days. One of the persons in the team were modifying the plan for days and the person striked the number of resources and wrote the new allocation of resource. Person 1 thought that this can make confusions and he acted as a CF by rubbing of the resources and wrote the allocation as clear as possible so that everybody can understand. Person 2 who is CO acted as a RI and PL in the initial phase of the exercise. As depicted by Belbin, RI used to interact a lot with the external environment is very true. Person 2 whenever any problems are faced by the team, he used to interact more with the teacher understanding the problem and gives new ideas to solving the problem. Person 2 organises well with the resource facilities for the game with the flip charts, pens and other requirements for smooth functioning of the game. At only one stage person 2 acted as a CO in the decision of choosing suppliers. Person 2 behaves more as RI and PL in this exercise. Person 3 who is IM, SP and has two tertiary references as CO and ME has shown good characteristics of implementer role in this exercise. Sometimes person 3 behaves more as ME than CO which is good for the team, because one or more COs have different approaches for the project. Person 3 is always striving hard to implement the project on time and sometimes showed good character for team worker. Person 3 always strives hard to stick to the plan and whenever plan changes, organises well for implementing the plan. The disadvantage is that this person lacks flexibility sometimes when it comes to implementation. Person 4 who is IM, secondary is CF and tertiary is SH initially has shown SH characteristics by challenging and arguing the facts that were made by the team. Person 4 is always interested in results and sometimes behaved as CO by taking decisions. Person 1 and 4 since showed shaper characteristics sometimes had difference of opinion but were well managed by team members. Person 4 showed good implementer characteristics in the final stages of the exercise. Person 5 who is IM, ME as secondary and CF as tertiary initially were helping the team with PL characteristics, sometimes RI when CO has to take decisions by going to the external world and discussing with people. Very sincere, hard working when it comes to implementation. Main advantage is that very well organised in implementing things, interested in sticking to the plan and sometimes resources were provided by him. Person 5 showed a major of Team Worker in many aspects because of the fact that TW always want to harmony among the teams. The team Belbins profiles helped a lot in choosing a balanced team and are 60% accurate with respect to our team. For a project to become a success, it is always helpful with people taking new roles under a good leadership. Finally, good team work will always succeed and makes the project success. Persons took roles which are not their primary, secondary or tertiary references sometimes worked out well and made benefits to the team but many of the times it failed. The people showed majority of the characteristics as depicted by Belbin and is helpful in the teams success. One important learning with Belbin self perception theory is that having two or more shapers in a team is dangerous and will lead to poor project management. It is always helpful to have one PL and one CO as their primary reference. Team Life Cycle: The basic behaviour of any team is that they are dynamic. As an individual, they can perform effectively but as a team they can fail and vice versa. Attention and maintenance are always required for the teams. The first person to bring a chart for teams progression is Tuckman. He has identified four stages in a teams development which are forming, storming, norming and performing (Kakabadse et al, 2004). In the forming stage, team members got to know about each other and started establishing their relationships. The learnings are based on the organisations culture and standards. Project task behaviours and interpersonal relationships are very important in binding the team together. In the storming stage, a person starts expressing the views and there is a chance of difference in opinion. Leadership challenges occur and may lead to rivalry between people because of their behaviours. Because of these conflicts, the main objective of the organisation cannot be met which lead to separation of groups. In the norming stage, groups will start gelling towards one another and each strengths and weaknesses can be known. The teams will set their standards and roles can be clearly defined at this stage. In the performing stage, actual team working takes place and people starts performing their tasks together. If the team loses the energy or support, then a stage called restoring or declining stage may follow. Further in this stage, the strengths, weaknesses of the team is analysed with respect to the task is discussed and learnings are recorded for effective project management in future. Evaluating the teams life cycle: In the project management exercise, different sets of problems are encountered by the team and creative solutions are identified to solve these problems. Some of the solutions clicked and some lead to major failures for the team. The forming stage provided opportunities for the new team to understand each other and gave different settings. When first given the exercise, some team members easily understood the process and some found difficult to understand the process. In the initial stages it took more time for the team to decide the strategy for proceeding with the project. Person 1, 3 expressed their views which were not agreed by the team whereas person 2, 4 had expressed their concerns which again not accepted by the team members. Finally, a conclusion has been made with the project plan and the identification of first, second and third critical paths are identified. This stage is all about trusting and building confidence on other team members. The team lacks leadership in this phase. A leader is clearly needed in this phase to provide direction and guidance (Lee, 2008). The storming stage provides openness for feelings and the team discusses the issues very seriously even if the point is not valid. The existing plan with respect to the actual working is modified and refined well. Person 1, 4 had conflicts in choosing the suppliers whether to go for delivery or quality. Person 2, 3 and 5 also contributed but a single decision has to be taken by the team. The team debated on these issues and finally person 1 compromised person 4 for going to a quality supplier by explaining with the fact which will not affect the delivery of the product. The teams weaknesses are that for first three periods did good jobs but didnt celebrate any success. The other weaknesses are builds, integration points between team members, conflicts within the team and sometimes role conflicts. In the norming stage, the teams had fewer conflicts and started communicating more effectively with others. The team emerged with good practices; loop integration exists because of better communication, the person understands their balance and develops their required skills and role clarity is clearly defined. Person 1 decision will be treated as final since some of the decisions worked out well in the earlier periods and didnt analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the decision which lead to a disaster in period 4, 5. The team didnt properly review the operation in a regular basis which also leads to a failure (not delivering the product on time). The team didnt celebrate success in this stage also. In the performing stage, since person 1 decision went wrong it is important for the team members to chip in with leadership and person start taking responsibilities for leadership which is a very good sign for the team. This allows rotation of leadership and helps team members to grow their own skills. The team started to treat seriously the views from team members as well as outside members which is done for the betterment of the project work. Finally, the team made a little profit and starts celebrating the success which has to be done earlier. In this stage it is always good to have an outsider to comment on the teams performance which helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the team. In the last stage, the team learnt their mistakes and starts working on improving individual competencies and the advantages of team work. Every individual is important for a team and it is the individuals who are building the team. The project management exercise can be done more effectively if the same team is given one more chance based on their learnings. The output required from this phase is the prevention of failures for a future project. Decision making procedures: The teams success depends on the decision making and it is the key factor in project management. The working definition of decision making (Ullman, 2006) is that Decision making is a process that commits resources to resolving an issue. Making a decision is not an event; it is a process for arriving at the correct decisions based on uncertain, incomplete, incomplete, inconsistent and evolving information. It is important for the team to get the best out of these results. In practice, every decision the team trying to make must address two issues: Merit decision quantitative way of taking the decision based on merits Acceptance decision acceptance by the people by the decision taken by the team. A decision is a choice made from several alternatives (Lewis, 2004). The decision is going to be effective when merit and acceptance are considered. For any decision the important criteria is to understand the problem and issues are to be clarified. Then as a team alternatives are generated and criteria are developed for robust decision making. The next important step is the evaluation part which tells the importance of the criteria. This also generates value to the alternatives that are developed for the criteria. Fuse is the next step in decision making which generates decision measures by evaluating process. The last stage is what to do next which reduces consensus, uncertainty, criteria and further revising the alternatives. Hence, (Ullman, 2006)A robust decision is the best possible choice, one found by eliminating all the uncertainty possible within available resources and then choosing with known and acceptable levels of satisfaction and risk. Some of the problems that are encountered during the decision making are team members have different judgement and their outcomes may be different due to different knowledge level, preferences. In order to evaluate a decision, managers have to choose a proper method (Fan Fu-Rong et al, 2008). Consultative approach is the most widely used approach for decision making. For handling group decision, the rules are shown in the below table 2. Evaluating the decision making procedures: Decisions taken in project management exercise by the team sometimes based on merit and sometimes based on acceptance and sometimes a combination of both. A consultative approach is followed when taking a decision. Initially for the first two decisions, it took more time for the team to understand the problem and team is not clear in the issues. The project delivery time is 140 days and the CPM shows that there is 285 days for the product to come out. A project plan is made for getting the product on time and it is always difficult to stick to the plan. Team members initially found difficult to generate alternatives for the decision and initially the team followed a consensus with team members. The first decision is based on merit as to reduce the lead time from 285 to 140 days. The teams weaknesses in the understanding phase are took more time for taking a decision, no clarity on problems, no criteria developed for taking the decision. Also, initially since team members are of diffe rent competencies it took time for gelling together. Then after the decision the team started to develop criteria for the decisions. The team in evaluating phase started to understand the importance of criteria developed and started generating alternatives for the criteria. One important thing is that decisions are always subject to change and it is important to review the earlier decisions. In the exercise, the team decided to go for good quality suppliers which actually paid very well for the team. When it comes to manufacturing sub contractors, due to cost pressure some compromise has to be made by the team and went ahead with the cheap sub contractor. The team took a risk but didnt work out well. The teams decision is partially a combination of merit and acceptance. The teams weakness in this stage is that it never had a backup plan till the failure has happened. In this stage, the resources are shuffled inorder to deliver the product on time which is a good move based on earlier decisions. But in actual practice it is difficult to execute as per the plan and is important to review the decisions as a team by d iscussing the merits and demerits of the team. In Fuse stage, the result from the earlier decisions gives the team of measuring the decisions. In the initial stage, Person 1 took the decision of going ahead with the good quality suppliers and convinced the team members, since it clicked the team went ahead with that persons decision for the future also. Every time when a decision is taken it is important to discuss as a team by evaluating the results of the decision and have a backup plan if that decision went wrong. During the periods 4, 5, 6 the teams took decisions in a fast, accurate way by learning from the mistakes earlier. It is important to learn from mistakes as a team. Finally, in the decide stage, the team started looking at the future in what has to be done next by reducing the uncertainty, refining the interpersonal skills. In this stage, the team started to work on a consensus basis. Even a single member points are taken seriously and started discussing the merits and demerits with refining the criteria. The team started to work on the alternatives and focus more towards for addressing the next issues. The team weakness in this stage, it is important to document the deliberation so that these failures cannot happen in the future. The key learning from the decision making procedures are decisions are subject to change and have to be reviewed consistently. Consensus approach has to be followed inorder to make a decision which can be based on merit and acceptance. Conflict within the team: Many organisations have changed to project management structures because of their inability to resolve conflicts. In a project life cycle, conflicts are part and parcel of life and can happen at any levels of the organisation. The project manager is often described as a conflict manager (Kerzner, 2001, 2009). Conflicts generally happen because of misunderstanding between team members and have different interpretations of companys objective. Inorder to avoid that, projects have to be defined in a clear way so that it can be understood by all the team members. Some people use SMART criteria for defining the project which says; S- Specific M- Measurable A- Attainable R- Realistic or Relevant T- Tangible or time bound (Kerzner, 2009). Time management is crucial in any project and it is important to manage time by avoiding conflicts. Some conflicts are relevant and provide valuable results. Most common types of conflict involve in the allocations of manpower resources, using the equipments and facilities, expenditure on capitals, cost and technical opinions and trade offs (Kerzner, 2001, 2009). Moreover the seven potential sources of conflicts are shown in the Fig 4. Goal, Plan and Belief conflicts are the three types of conflicts (Jain et al, 2007). If a conflict happens in a project, there are five different ways of resolving the conflicts which are shown in fig 5 which are confrontation, compromise, smoothing, forcing and withdrawal. Evaluation of conflicts: The team initially had conflicts in allocating the man power resources like employing in design, assemblers and testers. The team had a conflict over schedules in attaining the project on time. The team members person 1, 2 and 4 had difference of opinions in schedules and the resolution mode of compromise is used to resolve that issue. Person 1, 3, 4 had conflicts in priorities in choosing the suppliers. Person 1 suggested a supplier part can be taken just before the assembly but the team members took a decision by smoothing mode. In case if anything fails the team need to reorder again this may take time. Inorder for the project manager to be effective an understanding of how to work with various employees who must interface with the project is necessary (Kerzner, 2001, 2009). The various members in the team include upper management, functional managers etc and it is important to understand the sub ordinate and functional conflicts. The relationship between conflict causes and sourc es is shown in the figure 6. The teams strength is that none of the members in the team had personality conflict which is very important for project success. When deciding the manufacturing sub contractor person 1 suggested for a reliable sub contractor, but all the other members in the team are cost conscious in which person 1 and other members had a conflict over cost. The teams choice of choosing a good quality supplier had a conflict with other members which is a functional conflict provides good benefits for the team in terms of quality, time and cost. During the period 3, 4 the team members had a conflict of allocating the inspectors which is the conflict over schedule and had a good result during the period. But during the period 5, the team had a conflict on schedule in resource allocation of assemblers but not with the inspectors. All the five resolution modes of conflicts are used for resolving conflicts in almost all the stages. The team weaknesses include conflicts have to happen and has to be resolv ed systematically. But as a team, conflicts at the initial stages of the project give good results and when it comes to final stages conflicts started coming down. The figure 7 shows the conflict intensity in the team during the project life cycle. The key learnings from the project management exercise are that time management is important and the conflicts have to be resolved within the time. Team members have to understand the sub ordinate and their opinions and have to be evaluated inorder to get a good result in the project. It is important to have a plan for resolving conflicts in the planning phase itself. Constant communication of the project objectives to the team members will help in minimising or even eliminating the conflicts. Sometimes direct contact with people will reduce the conflicts. In project management hierarchical issues are to be resolved and there shall not be any domination from the project manager or the functional mangers. Companywide policies can be adapted for resolving the conflict issues for smooth functioning of the project. Role clarities have to be clear which will reduce the conflicts. Team Leadership: Team leadership is one of the main aspects in the project success. In any projects, leadership becomes a problem because project management involves group of people who are frequently in interaction for a specific project. The following tasks are required for a leader to achieve the tasks; Tasks are defined and shall be achieved Team shall be build and can be properly co-ordinated Leader shall satisfy individual team members Task needs It is important for the leader to clearly define the objectives of the project and leadership shall aim at achieving these goals. Team needs The element of leadership shall hold the team together inorder to produce efficient results for the project. If the team have conflicts, then it is the leader who has to convince the team members effectively. Individual needs The performance and contributions of the project by every member of the team have to be understood by the leader and sometimes can reward for good work (Reiss, 1995). From the moment the leadership is taken it is important for the leader to ensure that the project is heading in correct direction (Heerkens, 2002). The biggest problem that a leader is facing in the project management is that managing the anxieties which were developed by the team members. Sometimes if it is not evaluated may lead to slow down the project and work output. The anticipation by the leaders when questioned by the team members are: Whats in it for me? What will be expected out of me? What will life on your team like? (Heerkens, 2002) Evaluation of team leadership: In the project management exercise, the team leadership was with no one and totally a team effort. But it is always important to have a leader for the team for the above reasons stated. Sometimes Person 1 took the leadership in choosing the suppliers, sub contractors, person 2 took the leadership in periods 4, 5 of the project. Person 4 took the leadership in the periods 6, 7 and person 3 during the period 2 of the project. The teams strength is that everybody in the team understands the leadership attitudes which are important for project success. The anxieties by the team members can be reduced by having conversations within the team. The team members frequently had meeting openly for achieving the following: Project objectives were reviewed (the true need for the project) and the justifications were explained as a team (benefits). Project planning and its proposal were reviewed (the solution) and the team leader took a decision for the preferred approach. Initially the team faced problems of leadership and all members expressed their views and constraints. Roles and responsibilities are not clarified clearly by functional categorisation which leads to some problems within the team. This is considered as one of the teams weaknesses. It is important to honestly characterise the style of leadership (free, open, trusting, reacting to situations) The leader has to explain the expectations that are required from the team members regarding the delivery by frequent conducting of meetings. Communication plays a major role in leadership and the leader has to explain the behaviour style. (Adopted from Heerkens, 2002 Modified for Project Management exercise). The team initially went ahead with no leader and later person characterised by Belbin as CO started taking leadership which was helpful for the team. The team had good mutual relationships with other members and used visual charts when sketching the plan, reviewing the plan. Professional ethics are maintained throughout the project which is the biggest advantage for the project success. Celebration of project milestones and its success are very important to improve the morale of the members is considered to be one of the team weaknesses. Any team before starting the project must have a leader and it is the leader who assigns the roles and responsibilities of the team members clearly. One of the main leadership qualities is the flexibility in their approach, style in adapting to the situations, communications with the team members. It is not always necessary that leader should have technical skills, but a little amount of knowledge in the particular field is sufficient for managing the project. Conclusion: Organisational behaviour is very important for project management and using Belbin profiles in dividing the organisation is helpful in achieving the objectives. Team work is important for the project to succeed and lies on every individual of the team. It is important for the leader to motivate the members and constantly encourage them for the effective functioning of project teams. Belbin team life cycle shows that evolution of teams and tells the effective functioning of teams. The decision making procedures are important for projects success and has to be reviewed consistently. Project planning is considered to be the important phase in project management and plan gives only the direction. It is important for the team to learn from mistakes. Introduction TVS Motors is the third largest two wheeler manufacturers in India and one among the top ten in the world with annual turnover of more than USD 1 billion 2008-2009 and is the flagship company of the USD 4 billion TVS group. The company has four plants located in Hosur and Mysore in South India, Himachel Pradesh in North India and one in Indonesia. The company has a production capacity of 2.5 million units per year. TVS strength lies in the design and development of new products. TVS delivers total customer satisfaction by anticipating customer needs and presenting quality vehicles at the right time and right price. The customer and his ever changing need is our continuous source of imspiration.TVS always stood for innovative, easy to handle, environment friendly products, backed by reliable customer service. TVS manufactures a wide range of products as shown below. Motorcycles Apache RTR, Flame DS 125, Flame, Jive, Star City, Sport Variomatic Scooters Wego, Scooty Streak, Pep+, Teenz Mopeds TVS XL Super, TVS XL Heavy Duty Step thrus TVS Neo, Rockz (TVS Motors, 2010). The main objective of this essay is to evaluate the project management of a sub system (Fit and Finish Engineering section part of RD) in the TVS Motors and suggesting improvement points for betterment of the project management. Organisation Structure Any organisation exists to achieve the objectives by maintaining good relationships with its customers and its employees. The main objective of organisation is profitability. TVS Motor Company Mission Statement We are committed to being a highly profitable, socially responsible, and leading manufacturer of high value for money, environment friendly, life time personal transportation products under the brand, for customers predominantly in Asian markets and to provide fulfilment and prosperity for employees, de MA as a Growth Strategy MA as a Growth Strategy Introduction: Project Management (BS 6079, 1996) is the planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance. For any project to become a success, team work plays a major role. One of the most renowned and widely used practical and management team developments is the Belbin team roles. The argument from Belbin is that team composition plays a major factor in influencing the performance of the team (Water et al, 2008). The fundamental aspect of human existence is the working together as groups. The main purpose of this is to survive, adapt and thrive to different situations by using individuals intellect and co-operation (Riding and Rayner, 2001). The team roles are classified into organisational roles and the functional roles (Atkinson, 1999). A team role is a set of behaviours grouped in a cluster (Belbin, 1993). The main objective of this essay is to evaluate the teams performance based on the Belbin self perception theory discussing the teams roles, team life cycle and other aspects with respect to the project management exercise. Belbin Team Roles: Team roles are defined as a pattern of behaviour characteristic of the way in which one team member interacts with another (Belbin, 1981). Every individual will take preferred roles in the management exercises and the outcome purely depends on the balance in the team (Riding and Rayner, 2001). It is always a good team with a good balance of individuals will result in a good outcome and vice versa (Belbin, 1993). Belbin has differentiated nine team roles based on the behaviour of people and is classified by feeling, will power, thinking and decisiveness. In the Belbin later research, he added one more role called as SP (Specialist) which refers to single mindedness, acting always alone and dedicated to specialism. The main function of this role is that people will behave in a extremely silent, introvert and will not contribute other than their special interest areas. This is considered as the negligible contribution to the team (Atkinson, 1999). Belbin uses an instrument for quantifyi ng the team role preferences which is called as the Self Perception Inventory. This consists of 70 points by evaluating seven statements in each questions. For each question 10 statements are given and can be prioritised based on the individual behaviour in which 10 points can be distributed. In predicting the performance of the team Belbin succeeded based on the information from the role profiles of each member. In this view a team is balanced when each role appears in atleast one team members profile as high-scoring role (Atkinson, 1999). From the Henley workshops, Belbin was able to specify the composition of the team and arrived at conclusions. This was characterised by (Furnham, 1992): attributes of a leader are similar to chairman profile (CH) now called as Co-ordinator (CO) and the team should have a range of mental abilities which includes a person generating creative ideas and giving practical solutions to the problems encountered. The team should include one Completer Finisher (CF), Implementer (IM) and the members can suit the other team roles based on their personal characteristics and ultimately the team which can identify and improve on their competencies by doing mistakes is considered as the best team (Riding and Rayner, 2001). Teams Belbin profiles: For the project management exercise, the teams were divided based on the Belbin team roles. As said earlier, in a team it is must to have a Completer Finisher (CF) and Implementer (IM). The team were asked to choose from Team Workers (TW). Person having primary reference as Team Workers are few and so persons having secondary and tertiary references as Team Workers were called for choosing the team. Evaluating the team roles and functions: First, from the team balance sheet it is clear that the team has no primary references for SH, PL, RI, TW, CF and can be considered as scarce for the team. This team has three implementers (IM) which is good in terms of delivering the project fast. Having more implementers is not a problem in any team as they move towards implementing the project. But having more shapers is a problem because of their characteristics. Person 1 who is ME can act as a CF and TW because of his secondary and tertiary preferences. Person 1 shows major characteristics of ME because of the feasibility characteristics. In this exercise, person 1 is very much interested in calculating the Critical path, always analysing the situations, showing temperament and whenever anything goes out of plan again doing the critical path whether there is feasibility of completing the project on time. The main advantage with person 1 is that he maintains good temperament in all the situations even if it is good or bad. The disadvantages is that in some situations person 1 whose Belbin profile shows weakness as decision making is very true. Sometimes person 1 took some hasty decisions which have affected the teams profit (decision of choosing the manufacturing subcontractor). Always took more time in making next moves since the basic nature of ME is analysing situations. Sometimes person 1 also did the role of CF when it comes to planning the project. The project plan was for 140 days with 7 periods of 20 days. One of the persons in the team were modifying the plan for days and the person striked the number of resources and wrote the new allocation of resource. Person 1 thought that this can make confusions and he acted as a CF by rubbing of the resources and wrote the allocation as clear as possible so that everybody can understand. Person 2 who is CO acted as a RI and PL in the initial phase of the exercise. As depicted by Belbin, RI used to interact a lot with the external environment is very true. Person 2 whenever any problems are faced by the team, he used to interact more with the teacher understanding the problem and gives new ideas to solving the problem. Person 2 organises well with the resource facilities for the game with the flip charts, pens and other requirements for smooth functioning of the game. At only one stage person 2 acted as a CO in the decision of choosing suppliers. Person 2 behaves more as RI and PL in this exercise. Person 3 who is IM, SP and has two tertiary references as CO and ME has shown good characteristics of implementer role in this exercise. Sometimes person 3 behaves more as ME than CO which is good for the team, because one or more COs have different approaches for the project. Person 3 is always striving hard to implement the project on time and sometimes showed good character for team worker. Person 3 always strives hard to stick to the plan and whenever plan changes, organises well for implementing the plan. The disadvantage is that this person lacks flexibility sometimes when it comes to implementation. Person 4 who is IM, secondary is CF and tertiary is SH initially has shown SH characteristics by challenging and arguing the facts that were made by the team. Person 4 is always interested in results and sometimes behaved as CO by taking decisions. Person 1 and 4 since showed shaper characteristics sometimes had difference of opinion but were well managed by team members. Person 4 showed good implementer characteristics in the final stages of the exercise. Person 5 who is IM, ME as secondary and CF as tertiary initially were helping the team with PL characteristics, sometimes RI when CO has to take decisions by going to the external world and discussing with people. Very sincere, hard working when it comes to implementation. Main advantage is that very well organised in implementing things, interested in sticking to the plan and sometimes resources were provided by him. Person 5 showed a major of Team Worker in many aspects because of the fact that TW always want to harmony among the teams. The team Belbins profiles helped a lot in choosing a balanced team and are 60% accurate with respect to our team. For a project to become a success, it is always helpful with people taking new roles under a good leadership. Finally, good team work will always succeed and makes the project success. Persons took roles which are not their primary, secondary or tertiary references sometimes worked out well and made benefits to the team but many of the times it failed. The people showed majority of the characteristics as depicted by Belbin and is helpful in the teams success. One important learning with Belbin self perception theory is that having two or more shapers in a team is dangerous and will lead to poor project management. It is always helpful to have one PL and one CO as their primary reference. Team Life Cycle: The basic behaviour of any team is that they are dynamic. As an individual, they can perform effectively but as a team they can fail and vice versa. Attention and maintenance are always required for the teams. The first person to bring a chart for teams progression is Tuckman. He has identified four stages in a teams development which are forming, storming, norming and performing (Kakabadse et al, 2004). In the forming stage, team members got to know about each other and started establishing their relationships. The learnings are based on the organisations culture and standards. Project task behaviours and interpersonal relationships are very important in binding the team together. In the storming stage, a person starts expressing the views and there is a chance of difference in opinion. Leadership challenges occur and may lead to rivalry between people because of their behaviours. Because of these conflicts, the main objective of the organisation cannot be met which lead to separation of groups. In the norming stage, groups will start gelling towards one another and each strengths and weaknesses can be known. The teams will set their standards and roles can be clearly defined at this stage. In the performing stage, actual team working takes place and people starts performing their tasks together. If the team loses the energy or support, then a stage called restoring or declining stage may follow. Further in this stage, the strengths, weaknesses of the team is analysed with respect to the task is discussed and learnings are recorded for effective project management in future. Evaluating the teams life cycle: In the project management exercise, different sets of problems are encountered by the team and creative solutions are identified to solve these problems. Some of the solutions clicked and some lead to major failures for the team. The forming stage provided opportunities for the new team to understand each other and gave different settings. When first given the exercise, some team members easily understood the process and some found difficult to understand the process. In the initial stages it took more time for the team to decide the strategy for proceeding with the project. Person 1, 3 expressed their views which were not agreed by the team whereas person 2, 4 had expressed their concerns which again not accepted by the team members. Finally, a conclusion has been made with the project plan and the identification of first, second and third critical paths are identified. This stage is all about trusting and building confidence on other team members. The team lacks leadership in this phase. A leader is clearly needed in this phase to provide direction and guidance (Lee, 2008). The storming stage provides openness for feelings and the team discusses the issues very seriously even if the point is not valid. The existing plan with respect to the actual working is modified and refined well. Person 1, 4 had conflicts in choosing the suppliers whether to go for delivery or quality. Person 2, 3 and 5 also contributed but a single decision has to be taken by the team. The team debated on these issues and finally person 1 compromised person 4 for going to a quality supplier by explaining with the fact which will not affect the delivery of the product. The teams weaknesses are that for first three periods did good jobs but didnt celebrate any success. The other weaknesses are builds, integration points between team members, conflicts within the team and sometimes role conflicts. In the norming stage, the teams had fewer conflicts and started communicating more effectively with others. The team emerged with good practices; loop integration exists because of better communication, the person understands their balance and develops their required skills and role clarity is clearly defined. Person 1 decision will be treated as final since some of the decisions worked out well in the earlier periods and didnt analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the decision which lead to a disaster in period 4, 5. The team didnt properly review the operation in a regular basis which also leads to a failure (not delivering the product on time). The team didnt celebrate success in this stage also. In the performing stage, since person 1 decision went wrong it is important for the team members to chip in with leadership and person start taking responsibilities for leadership which is a very good sign for the team. This allows rotation of leadership and helps team members to grow their own skills. The team started to treat seriously the views from team members as well as outside members which is done for the betterment of the project work. Finally, the team made a little profit and starts celebrating the success which has to be done earlier. In this stage it is always good to have an outsider to comment on the teams performance which helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the team. In the last stage, the team learnt their mistakes and starts working on improving individual competencies and the advantages of team work. Every individual is important for a team and it is the individuals who are building the team. The project management exercise can be done more effectively if the same team is given one more chance based on their learnings. The output required from this phase is the prevention of failures for a future project. Decision making procedures: The teams success depends on the decision making and it is the key factor in project management. The working definition of decision making (Ullman, 2006) is that Decision making is a process that commits resources to resolving an issue. Making a decision is not an event; it is a process for arriving at the correct decisions based on uncertain, incomplete, incomplete, inconsistent and evolving information. It is important for the team to get the best out of these results. In practice, every decision the team trying to make must address two issues: Merit decision quantitative way of taking the decision based on merits Acceptance decision acceptance by the people by the decision taken by the team. A decision is a choice made from several alternatives (Lewis, 2004). The decision is going to be effective when merit and acceptance are considered. For any decision the important criteria is to understand the problem and issues are to be clarified. Then as a team alternatives are generated and criteria are developed for robust decision making. The next important step is the evaluation part which tells the importance of the criteria. This also generates value to the alternatives that are developed for the criteria. Fuse is the next step in decision making which generates decision measures by evaluating process. The last stage is what to do next which reduces consensus, uncertainty, criteria and further revising the alternatives. Hence, (Ullman, 2006)A robust decision is the best possible choice, one found by eliminating all the uncertainty possible within available resources and then choosing with known and acceptable levels of satisfaction and risk. Some of the problems that are encountered during the decision making are team members have different judgement and their outcomes may be different due to different knowledge level, preferences. In order to evaluate a decision, managers have to choose a proper method (Fan Fu-Rong et al, 2008). Consultative approach is the most widely used approach for decision making. For handling group decision, the rules are shown in the below table 2. Evaluating the decision making procedures: Decisions taken in project management exercise by the team sometimes based on merit and sometimes based on acceptance and sometimes a combination of both. A consultative approach is followed when taking a decision. Initially for the first two decisions, it took more time for the team to understand the problem and team is not clear in the issues. The project delivery time is 140 days and the CPM shows that there is 285 days for the product to come out. A project plan is made for getting the product on time and it is always difficult to stick to the plan. Team members initially found difficult to generate alternatives for the decision and initially the team followed a consensus with team members. The first decision is based on merit as to reduce the lead time from 285 to 140 days. The teams weaknesses in the understanding phase are took more time for taking a decision, no clarity on problems, no criteria developed for taking the decision. Also, initially since team members are of diffe rent competencies it took time for gelling together. Then after the decision the team started to develop criteria for the decisions. The team in evaluating phase started to understand the importance of criteria developed and started generating alternatives for the criteria. One important thing is that decisions are always subject to change and it is important to review the earlier decisions. In the exercise, the team decided to go for good quality suppliers which actually paid very well for the team. When it comes to manufacturing sub contractors, due to cost pressure some compromise has to be made by the team and went ahead with the cheap sub contractor. The team took a risk but didnt work out well. The teams decision is partially a combination of merit and acceptance. The teams weakness in this stage is that it never had a backup plan till the failure has happened. In this stage, the resources are shuffled inorder to deliver the product on time which is a good move based on earlier decisions. But in actual practice it is difficult to execute as per the plan and is important to review the decisions as a team by d iscussing the merits and demerits of the team. In Fuse stage, the result from the earlier decisions gives the team of measuring the decisions. In the initial stage, Person 1 took the decision of going ahead with the good quality suppliers and convinced the team members, since it clicked the team went ahead with that persons decision for the future also. Every time when a decision is taken it is important to discuss as a team by evaluating the results of the decision and have a backup plan if that decision went wrong. During the periods 4, 5, 6 the teams took decisions in a fast, accurate way by learning from the mistakes earlier. It is important to learn from mistakes as a team. Finally, in the decide stage, the team started looking at the future in what has to be done next by reducing the uncertainty, refining the interpersonal skills. In this stage, the team started to work on a consensus basis. Even a single member points are taken seriously and started discussing the merits and demerits with refining the criteria. The team started to work on the alternatives and focus more towards for addressing the next issues. The team weakness in this stage, it is important to document the deliberation so that these failures cannot happen in the future. The key learning from the decision making procedures are decisions are subject to change and have to be reviewed consistently. Consensus approach has to be followed inorder to make a decision which can be based on merit and acceptance. Conflict within the team: Many organisations have changed to project management structures because of their inability to resolve conflicts. In a project life cycle, conflicts are part and parcel of life and can happen at any levels of the organisation. The project manager is often described as a conflict manager (Kerzner, 2001, 2009). Conflicts generally happen because of misunderstanding between team members and have different interpretations of companys objective. Inorder to avoid that, projects have to be defined in a clear way so that it can be understood by all the team members. Some people use SMART criteria for defining the project which says; S- Specific M- Measurable A- Attainable R- Realistic or Relevant T- Tangible or time bound (Kerzner, 2009). Time management is crucial in any project and it is important to manage time by avoiding conflicts. Some conflicts are relevant and provide valuable results. Most common types of conflict involve in the allocations of manpower resources, using the equipments and facilities, expenditure on capitals, cost and technical opinions and trade offs (Kerzner, 2001, 2009). Moreover the seven potential sources of conflicts are shown in the Fig 4. Goal, Plan and Belief conflicts are the three types of conflicts (Jain et al, 2007). If a conflict happens in a project, there are five different ways of resolving the conflicts which are shown in fig 5 which are confrontation, compromise, smoothing, forcing and withdrawal. Evaluation of conflicts: The team initially had conflicts in allocating the man power resources like employing in design, assemblers and testers. The team had a conflict over schedules in attaining the project on time. The team members person 1, 2 and 4 had difference of opinions in schedules and the resolution mode of compromise is used to resolve that issue. Person 1, 3, 4 had conflicts in priorities in choosing the suppliers. Person 1 suggested a supplier part can be taken just before the assembly but the team members took a decision by smoothing mode. In case if anything fails the team need to reorder again this may take time. Inorder for the project manager to be effective an understanding of how to work with various employees who must interface with the project is necessary (Kerzner, 2001, 2009). The various members in the team include upper management, functional managers etc and it is important to understand the sub ordinate and functional conflicts. The relationship between conflict causes and sourc es is shown in the figure 6. The teams strength is that none of the members in the team had personality conflict which is very important for project success. When deciding the manufacturing sub contractor person 1 suggested for a reliable sub contractor, but all the other members in the team are cost conscious in which person 1 and other members had a conflict over cost. The teams choice of choosing a good quality supplier had a conflict with other members which is a functional conflict provides good benefits for the team in terms of quality, time and cost. During the period 3, 4 the team members had a conflict of allocating the inspectors which is the conflict over schedule and had a good result during the period. But during the period 5, the team had a conflict on schedule in resource allocation of assemblers but not with the inspectors. All the five resolution modes of conflicts are used for resolving conflicts in almost all the stages. The team weaknesses include conflicts have to happen and has to be resolv ed systematically. But as a team, conflicts at the initial stages of the project give good results and when it comes to final stages conflicts started coming down. The figure 7 shows the conflict intensity in the team during the project life cycle. The key learnings from the project management exercise are that time management is important and the conflicts have to be resolved within the time. Team members have to understand the sub ordinate and their opinions and have to be evaluated inorder to get a good result in the project. It is important to have a plan for resolving conflicts in the planning phase itself. Constant communication of the project objectives to the team members will help in minimising or even eliminating the conflicts. Sometimes direct contact with people will reduce the conflicts. In project management hierarchical issues are to be resolved and there shall not be any domination from the project manager or the functional mangers. Companywide policies can be adapted for resolving the conflict issues for smooth functioning of the project. Role clarities have to be clear which will reduce the conflicts. Team Leadership: Team leadership is one of the main aspects in the project success. In any projects, leadership becomes a problem because project management involves group of people who are frequently in interaction for a specific project. The following tasks are required for a leader to achieve the tasks; Tasks are defined and shall be achieved Team shall be build and can be properly co-ordinated Leader shall satisfy individual team members Task needs It is important for the leader to clearly define the objectives of the project and leadership shall aim at achieving these goals. Team needs The element of leadership shall hold the team together inorder to produce efficient results for the project. If the team have conflicts, then it is the leader who has to convince the team members effectively. Individual needs The performance and contributions of the project by every member of the team have to be understood by the leader and sometimes can reward for good work (Reiss, 1995). From the moment the leadership is taken it is important for the leader to ensure that the project is heading in correct direction (Heerkens, 2002). The biggest problem that a leader is facing in the project management is that managing the anxieties which were developed by the team members. Sometimes if it is not evaluated may lead to slow down the project and work output. The anticipation by the leaders when questioned by the team members are: Whats in it for me? What will be expected out of me? What will life on your team like? (Heerkens, 2002) Evaluation of team leadership: In the project management exercise, the team leadership was with no one and totally a team effort. But it is always important to have a leader for the team for the above reasons stated. Sometimes Person 1 took the leadership in choosing the suppliers, sub contractors, person 2 took the leadership in periods 4, 5 of the project. Person 4 took the leadership in the periods 6, 7 and person 3 during the period 2 of the project. The teams strength is that everybody in the team understands the leadership attitudes which are important for project success. The anxieties by the team members can be reduced by having conversations within the team. The team members frequently had meeting openly for achieving the following: Project objectives were reviewed (the true need for the project) and the justifications were explained as a team (benefits). Project planning and its proposal were reviewed (the solution) and the team leader took a decision for the preferred approach. Initially the team faced problems of leadership and all members expressed their views and constraints. Roles and responsibilities are not clarified clearly by functional categorisation which leads to some problems within the team. This is considered as one of the teams weaknesses. It is important to honestly characterise the style of leadership (free, open, trusting, reacting to situations) The leader has to explain the expectations that are required from the team members regarding the delivery by frequent conducting of meetings. Communication plays a major role in leadership and the leader has to explain the behaviour style. (Adopted from Heerkens, 2002 Modified for Project Management exercise). The team initially went ahead with no leader and later person characterised by Belbin as CO started taking leadership which was helpful for the team. The team had good mutual relationships with other members and used visual charts when sketching the plan, reviewing the plan. Professional ethics are maintained throughout the project which is the biggest advantage for the project success. Celebration of project milestones and its success are very important to improve the morale of the members is considered to be one of the team weaknesses. Any team before starting the project must have a leader and it is the leader who assigns the roles and responsibilities of the team members clearly. One of the main leadership qualities is the flexibility in their approach, style in adapting to the situations, communications with the team members. It is not always necessary that leader should have technical skills, but a little amount of knowledge in the particular field is sufficient for managing the project. Conclusion: Organisational behaviour is very important for project management and using Belbin profiles in dividing the organisation is helpful in achieving the objectives. Team work is important for the project to succeed and lies on every individual of the team. It is important for the leader to motivate the members and constantly encourage them for the effective functioning of project teams. Belbin team life cycle shows that evolution of teams and tells the effective functioning of teams. The decision making procedures are important for projects success and has to be reviewed consistently. Project planning is considered to be the important phase in project management and plan gives only the direction. It is important for the team to learn from mistakes. Introduction TVS Motors is the third largest two wheeler manufacturers in India and one among the top ten in the world with annual turnover of more than USD 1 billion 2008-2009 and is the flagship company of the USD 4 billion TVS group. The company has four plants located in Hosur and Mysore in South India, Himachel Pradesh in North India and one in Indonesia. The company has a production capacity of 2.5 million units per year. TVS strength lies in the design and development of new products. TVS delivers total customer satisfaction by anticipating customer needs and presenting quality vehicles at the right time and right price. The customer and his ever changing need is our continuous source of imspiration.TVS always stood for innovative, easy to handle, environment friendly products, backed by reliable customer service. TVS manufactures a wide range of products as shown below. Motorcycles Apache RTR, Flame DS 125, Flame, Jive, Star City, Sport Variomatic Scooters Wego, Scooty Streak, Pep+, Teenz Mopeds TVS XL Super, TVS XL Heavy Duty Step thrus TVS Neo, Rockz (TVS Motors, 2010). The main objective of this essay is to evaluate the project management of a sub system (Fit and Finish Engineering section part of RD) in the TVS Motors and suggesting improvement points for betterment of the project management. Organisation Structure Any organisation exists to achieve the objectives by maintaining good relationships with its customers and its employees. The main objective of organisation is profitability. TVS Motor Company Mission Statement We are committed to being a highly profitable, socially responsible, and leading manufacturer of high value for money, environment friendly, life time personal transportation products under the brand, for customers predominantly in Asian markets and to provide fulfilment and prosperity for employees, de

Autism :: essays research papers

These kids are blessed with terrific good looks--tall and straight, with big dark eyes, glossy hair and a movie staffs smile-but this wasn’t what was turning heads. Some of these kids were not actually walking towards the line at McDonalds; some were running and somehow skipping at the same time. And the kids were looking and smiling directly at everyone they passed with their fingers in their ears, their elbows flared out on either side. And, further baffling the bourgeoisie, they occasionally stopped and flapped their hands. I was all too aware of the faces of the people we passed. Some smiled, even laughed appreciatively, at their obvious joy at McDonalds. Some nodded to me sadly and knowingly: "Ah, I know how hard their lives are," they seemed to say. Some flinched in exaggerated horror as though from some ghastly space alien from Warner Brothers. Others were cool, spotted them far off and pretended not to see them when they passed. Still others were so used to s uch surpassing weirdness that our little show came nowhere near their threshold of surprise. One reaction, however, was more puzzling to me than all the others. I have come to think of it as "The Look." The passerby's face becomes still and thoughtful. The eyes become narrow, like those of the cunning psychiatrist in an old movie when he asks a patient what the inkblots look like. A hand goes up to the lips and, shifting into field anthropologist mode, the eyewitness stops and stares and nods silently as though making a mental note to write this one down in the journal. It's a locked-on-target look. A piano falling onto the pavement nearby wouldn't jar the stunning logical processes at work. Having been upset by â€Å"The Look† about a thousand times, and being something of an amateur field anthropologist myself, I have often asked this question: "Why do these people act this way?" The best answers that I have been able to come up with are these: (a) They are heartless and rude and should be tortured in some hideous way for upsetting a really nice teacher. (b) They are ignorant and think that humans come in solidly "normal" and "abnormal" forms and have no doubt about what kind they themselves are. (c) They saw the movie "Rain Man" and are now experts on autism. (d) They are fearful and are trying to achieve distance from a scary sight by trying to regard it as a rare scientific phenomenon.

Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee Essay

Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee wanted to achieve diverse goals during the Civil War. Lincoln was determined to save the Union and help the United States move into a new era. He wanted to settle the issue of slavery in the United States, founded on the principles of liberty and equal rights for all. Robert E. Lee fought the war for the Southern traditions. Lee wanted to defend Southern traditions. He fought the war not only to protect slavery, but also to preserve a whole culture, a way of life. Southerners’ wealth and identity belonged to the land they lived on. Lee fought to protect sovereignty, pride, identity, and a decision to secede from the Union. Despite the differences, both men will be heroes for American people. Abraham Lincoln created a sense of nationhood based on equality and coupled it with an American national culture which enabled the United States to maintain its unity. Lincoln became extraordinarily popular not only because he came from a â€Å"common background† but also because of the unusual strength and clarity with which he felt and saw the troubles that were affecting the nation. Lincoln was able to exhibit both warring and emotional leadership. After he established the fact that slaves should be free, he knew he had to make peace with the South to pull the country back together. Despite the dignity, professionalism, and military skills that Lee demonstrated, he represented a country that enslaved an entire race, traded, and sold human beings like livestock. Although the Confederate leaders insisted that they fought for â€Å"states rights,† one of the â€Å"rights† was the continuation of slavery. Robert E. Lee came from a good family. He chose to fight for the confederates although President Lincoln asked him to fight for the North. Lee was a symbol of the Southern chivalry; he did not have any demerits. His way of fighting was very noble. General Lee did not kill everything that moved and did not burn everything that was on his way, unlike the armies from the North. In Lee’s opinion, actions like that were immoral. He insisted that armies should only fight other armies. He did not fight a total war. Lee fought the old-fashioned way. He stood for the old way of life, for nostalgia. Both the North and the South gained knowledge from this horrid experience of  war. Lincoln’s achievements – saving the Union and freeing the slaves – and his sudden death just at the war’s end assured his continuing fame. Lincoln had qualities that made him a great American political leader. His keen intellect, humor and boldness, and compassion all contributed to his presidency in unifying the nation and extending freedom. Despite the differences, both men showed courage, determination and will to pursue their goals, and are now symbols not only of North and South, but also of the United States as a whole.

AIDS Crisis essays

AIDS Crisis essays Post world war civilization around the world has undergone many changes. With modernization, urbanization and western ideas infiltrating many countries, traditional ways of life and culture have been forced to adapt to this new and fluid society. AIDS has been referred to as the disease of modernity, and nowhere has its devastating effects been more profound than in Africa, specifically, the sub-Saharan region. Before diving into the causes and effects of HIV/AIDS on African society, it is necessary to understand AIDS as a disease; its origin, transmission, and development. Tissue preserved in 1959 from a central African man has recently been identified as the earliest known case. Many speculate that AIDS may have spread from the blood of hunted chimpanzees to their butchers in the years after WWII. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is transmitted through bodily fluids, including blood, semen, and vaginal secretions. Most commonly, it is transferred through sexual contact, intravenous drug use where needles are shared, and through blood transfusions. HIV/AIDS is a viral disease which tends to progress in three distinct stages. Within the first several weeks after infection, acute, flu-like symptoms develop, and many think nothing of it. A long period of ten years, on average follows, during which time no symptoms are present. In the final stage, full-blown AIDS appears, which is characterized by the collapse of the bodys immune system from which death ultimately occurs from wasting or overwhelming infection.3 Why has Africa been especially hard hit in the AIDS pandemic? Africa is an economically depressed region where everyone from government officials to children are forced everyday to survive. Mass migrations of people to urban areas in search of work began following WWII. These people left behind families and adopted new ways of life in the cities. Many fell into the practi...

Evolution and future of mobile marketing Essays

Evolution and future of mobile marketing Essays Evolution and future of mobile marketing Essay Evolution and future of mobile marketing Essay Introduction These yearss advertisement runs have become a hard undertaking for an advertizer because of of all time increasing client s standards for judging the return on investing every bit good as to carry through the targeted client s outlooks. Invention is the cant in the industry as it tries to make selling chances and challenges. Mobile selling is a signifier of advertisement that targets users of handheld such as nomadic phones and PDA s. Its tagline is anytime anywhere selling. The nomadic advertisement industry has come of age and has revolutionised the manner the consumer receives advertisement. With over half the universe s population having a nomadic phone, its possible is yet to be to the full exploited. This research will seek to research the challenges that the industry face to go a mainstream mass media through some secondary research, imperativeness releases and my industry contacts. It will besides do an effort to place the hereafter of nomadic advertisement particularly in In dia taking into history the bing platforms, under development platforms and planned platforms. Besides, an of import consideration will be the consumer perceptual experience of this medium and understanding their outlooks. Aim The primary aim of this thesis is to analyze: The survey the development of nomadic selling particularly in India. Attempt to place the hereafter of nomadic advertisement. Attempt to research consumers reactivity to mobile selling. To cognize the public-service corporation of nomadic advertisement, every bit far as holding an impact on purchase determination of a client is concerned. Justification FOR THE STUDY Mobile advertisement is a important vertical of my concern in India, providing to MNC s in India. I am besides be aftering a nomadic selling merchandise in the close hereafter. Furthermore, nomadic selling has still lot of manner to travel to go a mainstream media with a batch of chance for growing. This will turn out to be a ambitious research as it will seek to place the advertizer, consumer attitude towards nomadic advertisement while taking into history the technological promotions of this industry which will be really fruitful for me when I will get down development of my merchandise. Hence, would wish to prosecute it as my country of survey. RESEARCH QUESTION With consideration to my background in this industry, this research proposes to show an penetration into the development and the possible hereafter of the nomadic advertisement market. The following are my chief research inquiries: How nomadic advertisement evolved particularly in India? Technological developments till day of the month? Key participants within the industry? Future programs made to develop the content and measurement capablenesss of nomadic advertisement? Consumer receptivity of this medium? Defects of the bing platforms? How the consumers from different locations react to similar advertisement? The ultimate purpose will be to place a advertisement platform that is based on permission or inducement based theoretical account which while set uping new clients can keep trade name trueness without compromising on advertisement experience of both the trade name and the consumer. LITERATURE REVIEW Assorted surveies have been done by names Heinonen A ; Strandvik, Advertising Research Foundation, Harvey, who all have advocated he mobile advertisement as an effectual advertisement medium. Besides, a batch of web-based beginnings every bit good as my industry contacts will be utile in collating some utile research informations. Research Methodology Probe will be based upon: Web-Based Research taking into consideration four sectors of this industry: makers, advertisement bureaus, publicizing trade names and consumers. Consumer information will be gathered from a scope of dependable beginnings such as engineering service suppliers who have existent clip informations to back up its success. Real universe instance surveies Trustworthiness of Datas The wide scope of stuff collated for this research comes from a assortment of beginnings, and although whilst every attempt will be made to traverse cheque and formalize these findings, the truth of some of the stuff can non be guaranteed. The bulk of sentiments formed within this research will nevertheless, be taken straight from the beginning, which will supply credibleness and dependableness to the information. However, many of the interviews with cardinal figures will be collected from specializer web sites that are in direct connexion with the industry, and although the dependability of these sites may be questioned, the repute of such sites provides sufficient backup for the information to be trusted. The concluding decision shall be drawn by myself, the writer, and will be derived from all the informations and information collected.

Grievance and ways of applying discipline in an organisation Essay

Grievance and ways of applying discipline in an organisation - Essay Example s aimed at suggesting better practices on the application of discipline procedures as well as recommending changes in organizational policies and services in order to avoid tribunal and costs caused by inconvenient adjournments. It will also examine the nature and explain the place of grievance and discipline as well as reviewing their effects on employment and how authority responds to the same. The frame work of organization justice in business is also to be examined in respect to grievance and discipline procedures. The study will also investigate what would be considered good practice to ensure legal compliance in applying discipline procedure in the workplace which would see to the reduction of the prospects to tribunal and court costs, avoid the possibilities of employees having to pay other party’s costs, avoid the worry and costs associated with appeal hearings. The study will lastly recommend the ways that will consequently improve employees’ morale and motivat ion to perform better. According to Peterson (2007), A study on the fairness at work was carried out in 2004, where different employees from different organizations in the UK were given questionnaires with their ages, occupation, gender, religion, nationality, and marital status, which was aimed at providing information on how comfortable employees felt with the way disciplinary and grievances affairs were tackled in their different workplaces. The information was to later assist the Government in the formation of the Statutory Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures for workplaces to hold formal grievance and disciplinary procedures, at which employees would be entitled to fair representation in disciplinary and grievance related matters by either a work colleague or a trade union representative. The survey found out that the compliance with the employees’ right to such representation in an employment tribunal was patchy and uneven with little evidence to suggest that rates of disciplinary

Ratio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Ratio Analysis - Essay Example Financial statement analysis consists of the application of analytical tools and techniques to the data in financial statements in order to derive from them measurements and relationships that are significant and useful for decision making (ICFAI Center for Management Research ICMR, 2004). The process of financial analysis can be described in various ways, depending on the objectives to be obtained. Financial analysis can be used as a preliminary screening tool of future financial conditions and results. It may be used as a forecasting tool of future financial conditions and results. It may be used as a process of evaluation and diagnosis of managerial, operating, or other problem areas. Above all, financial analysis reduces reliance on intuition, guesses and thus narrows the areas of uncertainty that is present in all decision making processes. Financial analysis does not lessen the need for judgment but rather establishes a sound and systematic basis for its rational application. In the analysis of financial statements, the analyst has a variety of tools available from which he can choose those best suited to his specific purpose. The following are the important tools of analysis. Ratios are well known and the most widely used tools of financial analysis. ... The analysis of ratios can disclose relationships as well as bases of comparison that reveal conditions and trends that cannot be detected by going through the individual components of the ratio. The usefulness of ratios is ultimately dependant on their intelligent and skillful interpretation. Ratios are used by different people for various purposes. As ratio analysis mainly helps in valuing the firm in quantitative terms, two groups of people are interested in the valuation of the firm and they are creditors and shareholders. Creditors are again divided into short-term creditors and long-term creditors. Short-term creditors hold obligations that will soon mature and they are concerned with the firm's ability to pay its bills promptly. In the short run, the amount of liquid assets determines the ability clear off current liabilities. These persons are interested in liquidity. Long-term creditors hold bonds or mortgages against the firm and are interested in current payments of interest and eventual repayment of principal. The firm must be sufficiently liquid in the short-term and have adequate profits for the long-term. These persons examine both the liquidity and profitability of the firm. In addition to liquidity and profitability, the owners of the firm i.e. the shareholders are concerned about the policies of the firm that affect the market price of the firm's stock. Without liquidity, the firm cannot pay cash dividends. Without profits, the firm would not be able to declare dividends. With poor policies, the common stock would trade at low prices in the market. Keeping in view the above discussions regarding the category of users, financial ratios fall into three groups as follows: Liquidity