African People in the Global Village Essay

Certain things happen in one’s life, whether one likes them or not. You can not stand apart from it; you need to experience the process of going through it. Let me give the example of a car. It has two types of movements-forward movement and lateral movement. The energy (petrol, gas etc. ) relates to forward movement, without which the car can not start. You have no control over it. As for the lateral movement, you as the individual driving the car, have the control over its speed-you can drive it through the royal road, narrow lane, drive at 120 kms. per hour or just 30 kms- or not drive at all. Just lock it in the garage for days together! You are living in a changing world- very fast changing world. The modified lifestyles, due to industrial revolution, the modern materialistic civilization, the internet revolution, are mind-boggling. You need to run your race, accelerate the steps, clear the hurdles and move towards the goal. Stop in between at your own peril! Survival under tough conditions and competition are not magic. Nor an element of chance is involved. The wise saying goes, â€Å"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. † Survival will be extremely difficult for the African people in the global village, unless tangible steps, all-comprehensive projects are drawn up and implemented with speed and imagination, by responsible leaders and people. The test of the leadership lies in involving the people actively and willingly in such projects. African people in the Global village- the summary: Africa is a big continent. The vastness of the area, multiplicity of ethnic conflicts, the fierce tribal loyalty prevailing even today, the religious factors, the difficult past, the historical factors some of which do exercise telling effect on the African society and mind-set even today, render the solution difficult. John K. Marah, who is the Associate Professor and Coordinator in the African and African-American Studies Department at SUNY at Brockport, makes a concerned and well-studied approach to offer solution in the book African People in the Global Village and the possible direction which they need to follow. Moreover, due to historical reasons, African people (the black race) are spread all over the Western World. They are a noticeable political force, an awakened society in Countries like USA. Marah categorically opines that it is no use brooding over the past, its failures and bitter memories. He does the examination of the present situation from an open-minded perspective. Confrontation at every stage is not going to help the cause of the African people. They have to know their place and find out the ways and means to evolve within the global village. He calls it ‘multidisciplinary approach and well-rounded understanding’. Right from the beginning of the book, Marah is aware that he is up to a difficult task, and the subject matter of the book, â€Å"African People in the Global Village,† can not be discussed in isolation. Yet, he takes the direct plunge into the serious subject matter. The book has neither a preface nor a forward. For a highly sensitive and complicated subject like this, author’s detailed background would have been a helpful factor, but that is not given in the book. The biographical sketch is not provided. Nevertheless, it is a determined and well-informed effort to broach the subject matter which is so vast viewed from tough, social, political, historical, economic and cultural perspectives. The problems are ever growing like the octopus expanding in many directions and only a radical solution like Pan-Africanism is the solution according to Marah. But, to define Pan-Africanism is not the easiest of the tasks. He concludes that African people have no other choice but to move forward at a rapid pace, with the qualities of head and heart-be dynamic without destruction! Marah begins his book on a tough note. â€Å"African Sensibilities in the Global Village. † He fails to give a clear message in this chapter– one can not expect him to do so. The subject matte is so vast, complicated and the concern of Marah to offer a desperate solution to a desperate situation can be seen. He realizes his limitations-the subject matter he is up to tackle can not be discussed in isolation—by referring to the conditions of the African people alone! Their so-called more fortunate brothers in America also have their own problems and deep fears on many vital and fundamental issues! It would be prudent to link the problems of the black people of America with the black people of Africa, as Marah rightly argues. At the end of the chapter he specifies, `in this book we examine the position of African people in Africa and the United States with particular emphasis on some of their salient predicaments in the global system†¦. ‘( Marah, 1998 p. 16). Having said this, Marah realizes about the uphill task ahead for him, for he fails to give appropriate solutions or alternatives. The discussions in the book naturally and essentially take him to outside Regions, where black race matters. In chapter 4, he discusses this aspect in detail. The black people issue is like the issue of a flowing river. It can not be discussed in parts. The river as a whole will have to be discussed to understand it. Its beginning, its course of flow and the area through which it passes, etc! Marah has a message for the black people and the leadership. Some inspiring political and economic leadership has to take over and lead, to achieve the set goal. He makes a case for the entry of socio-spiritual leadership to play its role, because what the Global Village Africa needs is not only fine projects but fine individuals to implement the projects-that is what he means when he says about the ability of the people to survive in a new environment. New skills are required to push ahead in such circumstances. The thought process of the people requires a new orientation and change. When the thoughts are changed, the mind is changed; when he mind is changed, the man is changed; when the man is changed, the society is changed; when the society is changed, the nation is changed; when several such nations are changed, the African continent will change for the better! Then only the African people in the Global Village will achieve plenty and prosperity. For survival, wherever may be it, certain basic skills are necessary, and African People in the Global Village, are no exception. Education gets top priority—the ability to read with understanding. Speak boldly so hat others can understand and appreciate your problems. It is not that you expect sympathy from others; but in a democratic society, when your fundamental rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, you need not be condemned by anyone either-you need not live your life like a baked potato always. The majority of the ills of African People are due to poor response to globalization. This lethargy is frightening and it will continue to bother and trouble them in every aspect of life, unless something tangible is done as quickly as possible. African people will head for an economic and social disaster and moral doom, if they do no wake up and react speedily.

Interaction of Ethnic, National or Cultural Influences Essay

All around the world people are organised in societies differentiated ethnically, nationally and culturally. In our mind under the interethnic relations are traditionally understood subjectively experienced relations between people of different nationalities, between ethnic communities, which are manifested in attitudes and orientations of interethnic contacts in various areas of cooperation, national stereotypes, attitudes and behavior, and the actions of people of specific ethnic communities. It is in this area in the first place are projected economic, social and political issues. They acquire an ethnic form and deliver a lot of trouble to society, leading to inter-ethnic tensions, local ethnic conflicts, the growth of ethnic migrations. Ethnic tensions, the state of hostility, distrust, mutual complaints and dissatisfaction arises or may arise from time to time between any nations that are permanently or temporarily in contact with each other. Ethnic tensions depend on several factors: 1) The history of international relations, the historical memory of the nature of relations between the peoples at different stages (often these relationships take the form of ongoing ethnic tension); 2) the level of economic development of the parties, among representatives of different nations’ place in the system of production and property (industrial specialization, predominance of members of certain nationalities in professional and social groups, the dominance of different forms of ownership, quality of life, etc.); 3) the structure of the cultural development of the nation – the predominance of rural or urban population, the level of education and professional qualifications. There are allocated the following phenomena and processes that significantly affect the formation and strengthening of interethnic tension: 1) the lack of a consistent policy of condemnation and suppression of national manifestations of violence; 2) the possibility of negative attitudes towards representatives of the people associated in the eyes of other nations with the administrative-command apparatus; 3) the position of people who have been persecuted and mass deported during the repression, particularly those that have not been returned to their places of origin; 4) a sense of national enmity against those nationalities that, in terms of population in many regions, â€Å"live better than we do. † These representations are caused by a variety of reasons, including the identification of the people with the most frequently identified by its representatives. According to M. Walzer, positive ethnic identity is a balance of tolerance for their own and other ethnic groups, which allows us to consider it, on the one hand, as a condition of an independent and stable existence of an ethnic group, on the other – as a condition of peaceful intercultural multi-ethnic world, interactions, excluding ethnic phobias and confrontation. According to N. M. Lebedeva on ethnic tolerance, defined as the adoption of ethno-cultural differences, and the exclusion of ethnophobia and ethnic confrontations have effects such socio-psychological factors as: 1) the degree of ethnic and cultural competence; 2) psychological readiness for intercultural dialogue; 3) The experience and skills of intercultural understanding and cooperation. All these parameters are amenable to the formation and development and in need of professional development by education and socio-psychological training of intercultural interaction. Violation of a positive image of their own group tends to reduce ethnic tolerance (YA Gayurova, TG Stefanenko, AN Tatarko, FM Malhozova). 9/11 After Twins being attacked Americans stopped helping Irish Republican Army (IRA – Nationalist violent group in Northenr Ireland) when they understood what the terrorism is and what the causes and result are. After the terrorist attacks marked a surge of crimes against people from the Middle East, and other people who looked similar. Suffered even some Sikhs who wear turbans, traditionally associated with Muslims. Reported insults,attacks on mosques and other religious buildings (including the burning of a Hindu temple), and attacks on people, including one murder, September 15, was mortally wounded by Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh who was mistaken for a Muslim. [130] Rating of President Bush after the attacks rose to 86%. [131] September 20, 2001 the President spoke to the nation and a joint session of Congress, regarding the events of 11 September, following the rescue and recovery operations, as well as the response of the U. S. government’s intentions. In addition, the important role played by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who deserved the appreciation of the public, both in New York and at the national level. Deportations 1941 in USSR. After the publication of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR â€Å"On the resettlement of Germans living in the Volga region† of 28 August 1941 has been eliminated Autonomous Republic of the Volga Germans and produced total deportation of Germans from ASSR. For this purpose, in advance on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of NP were introduced NKVD troops. Germans were ordered within 24 hours to prepare for resettlement and a limited number of its assets to arrive at the collection points. German inhabitants of the republic were taken to remote areas of Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. According to this decree in September and October 1941 were deported 446,480 Soviet Germans (according to other sources 438 280). In September 1941, many military service persons of German nationality were sent from the front to the rear. In subsequent months, the deportation has touched almost the entire German population living in European Russia and the Caucasus that were not occupied by the Wehrmacht. The resettlement of Germans made gradually and was completed by May 1942. Totally during the war were moved up to 950 thousand Germans. 367,000 Germans were deported to the east: the republic of Komi, in the Urals, Kazakhstan, Siberia and the Altai. Babi Yar Estimate between 100 and 150 thousands jewish people were killed during WW 2 in Babi yar. There were a lot of interactions in different influences during many different events and specific situation that caused a lot of deaths of innocent people. Sometimes many cultures, nations and ethnoses are discriminated or even eliminated because of misunderstanding. It will happen untill people do not understand that there are more other non-violent ways of solving problems.

Ops 571 Week 4 Team

Riordan Manufacturing Production Plan OPS/571 November 1, 2012 Zachary Burk Riordan Manufacturing Production Plan Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. is a fortune 1000 company with revenues in excess of $1 billion (University of Phoenix, 2012). This wholly owned company is a global plastics manufacturer that employs 550 people with annual earnings of $46 million. Riordan has a reputation for being an industry leader in the industry of polymer materials and has various clout heavy clients such as the Department of Defense and major automotive companies.The company recently went global by relocating its Michigan operation of fan manufacturing to China. This paper will explain lean production and capacity planning for the new process design and supply chain process for Riordan. Strategic Capacity Planning The goal of strategic capacity planning for Riordan Manufacturing's is to maximize the level of output and return of investment. Riordan Manufacturing's should create a small sister plant to C hina in Michigan.If we are able to create a scaled down version of the plastic molding machines from the China plant, the plastic polymers safety storage from this facility can become the regular shipment to the Michigan facility. By creating the Michigan mini-facility Riordan Manufacturing could shift the smaller customized fan orders manufacturing and excess polymer inventory from the Hangzhou facility. By reinvesting in the Michigan facility and the United States economy, Riordan Manufacturing will be better equipped to meet the clients demanding more from Riordan’s Pontiac, Michigan location.It is clear that the China plant sustains an efficient delivery rate and maintains ample safety stock of polymer material. The Hangzhou China plant has a sufficient supply of plastic polymer because the raw material can be purchased locally. â€Å"Customers normally negotiate their yearly requirements for fans in order to obtain the lowest price. They then provide periodic release or ders for smaller quantities against the yearly total throughout the year† (University of Phoenix, 2012). As a manufacturer, Riordan machine hours per shift prove profitable when the number of units per shift performs at optimal levels.The China plant has processes that can be utilized within the company in different ways to encourage increased utilization and productivity at the Michigan plant in the United States. In addition, the China facility has a reliable shipping process that makes shipping the assembled or any raw material to the United States facility seamless. Lean Production Riordan Manufacturing operates a plastics plant in Hangzhou, China that acts as a decentralized unit of Riordan Manufacturing and produces electric fans (University of Phoenix, 2012).Lean Production for Riordan Manufacturing new process design will be done by making sure that they are providing quality products and services. Riordan Manufacturing is a leading name in the field of plastic injecti on molding. A new process design is needed for manufacturing facilities in China. All of their products are shipped to customers, which are expected to be restricted within a timeframe that could lead to a bottleneck. The lean production process will be provided in the new process design improvements that will take the company to a better stage of production and coordination.Riordan should evaluate their review process to make sure that the changes that are needed are in accordance to the data collected from the post project review. Important questions are helpful in improving lean production and improving efficiencies. Lean production requires Riordan manufacturing to implement production strategies that are often an issue for this company. The issues with the current process will be improved through suggestions. Supply Chain Processes Local procurement of materials provides an ease in production at the plant in Hangzhou.Costs are one area that attention is paid so that they can be kept within reason ensuring an affordable product. Throughout the process careful negotiations must be done to ensure there are adequate materials as well as manpower to fulfill the orders that have been placed by customers. The plant has the ability to produce a large amount of stock fans as well as special order merchandise. With specialty orders the process for procurement shift slightly because of the unique nature of the order and the variety of materials that may be used as well.With the procurement of the polymer done locally this also expedites the production process simply because logistics will not be an issue. The necessary machinery for manufacturing is onsite for quick manufacturing times that can quickly move into the production lines for assembly. Assembly leads way into storage for sales. Orders can be filled at the plant as well as shipped directly to the buyer both within China and internationally. Depending on the final destination of the merchandise there are mu ltiple companies that are used to ensure the fastest shipping time to the buyer.Potential trouble could arise if there was difficulty in procuring polymer. If this were to occur Riordan would have to locate the materials that can be transported to the plant to ensure there is no slow in the process. Also if this does become an issue there must be ample stock kept on hand to ensure the plant does not run out of the main item used in the manufacturing process. Conclusion Riordan will face challenges with taking its electric fan operation global. The organization will be to implement carefully planned strategic processes to ensure the success of this transition.Being mindful of their output levels and creating a mini facility in the United States will increase Riordan’s efficiency. By creating lean production processes and utilizing the organization’s local resources for its polymer materials will assist the company in sustaining performance and maintaining the competitiv e advantage. References University of Phoenix: Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. (2012). Retrieved October 28, 2012 from University of Phoenix website: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/index. html

The Significance of Art Education to Stakeholders Thesis

The Significance of Art Education to Stakeholders - Thesis Example The results indicate that most of the teachers, administrators, and members of the board of education valued art education. This is seen where 70% of the teachers felt that art education should not be eliminated during budget cuts, with 20% of them disagreeing with the idea that art education should not be eliminated during budget cuts. In addition, 80% of the administrators and all members of the board of education agreed that art education should not be eliminated during budget cuts. This response is an indication of the high value teachers, administrators, board of educators and the commuity at large, have to art education. This high regard for art education is seen where all teachers agree that art education increases the visual and spatial skills of the learner. This response was also seen with the administrators and board of educators. Where, 60% of the administrators strongly agreed and 40% agreed, while 40% of the members of the board of education strongly agreed with 60% agr eeing, that art education increases the visual and spatial skills of the learner. These results are in agreement with literature, that indicated that the arts play an important role in enhacing the intrinsic value and general academic achievement of the student (Ashford, 2004,

Sociology 101- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sociology 101- - Essay Example Durkheim is one of the principal architects of sociology along with other prominent names in the subject, Karl Marx and Max Weber. He is also regarded as a father of sociology for institutionalizing and the first professor of social science in France. Durkheim had significant contributions with the establishment of sociology particularly the combination of empirical research with sociological theory. He had also addressed topics such as study of suicide, sociological theory of religion, and refining positivism. Early Age. Durkheim was from a family of French Jews and grew up in Epinal, Lorraine. He was born on April 15, 1858. His great grandfather, grandfather, and his father were all rabbis (Calhoun, 2002). His father, Moise, was also Chief Rabbi of the Vosges and Haute-Marne. Although destined for rabbinate, he was the one who broke the rabbinical chain in their family by living in secular life particularly when he arrived in Paris. At an early age he switched school, from rabbinic al school to academic ones. Although he had close relationship with his family, relation, Jewish community especially the Alsace-Lorraine community, he did not follow Jewish traditions. (Poggi, 2000) Durkheim had successfully entered in Ecole Normale Superieure, one of the most prestigious mainstream public universities in France, in his third attempt. Their batch at Ecole was regarded as one of the most brilliant batches in the nineteenth century. He was in batch with the known socialist Jean Jaures, who became his long-time friend, along with philosophers Henri Bergson, Bustave Belot, Edmond Goblot, Felix Rauh, and Maurice BlondelHenri Bergson, Bustave Belot, Edmond Goblot, Felix Rauh, and Maurice Blondel, also with Pierre Janet, a psychologist, historians Henri Berr and Camille Jullian, geographer Lucien Gallois, and Ferdinand Brunot, a linguist. Details of his historical account described Durkheim to be pessimistic yet he was always part of the intellectual philosophical debates and political discussions. Eventually he became a strong advocate of the republican cause (Calhoun, 2002). At Ecole, Durkheim had studied under the supervision of Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, who was notable for his social scientific perspective and a purist. Aside from the influence of Coulanges to Durkehiem, his readings of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer’s works were credited that influenced him to be exposed with social science at an early age. He then became very interested with the scientific approach to society. This influence also reflected from his academic performance. It was cited that Durkheim was initially interested in humanistic studies, psychology, and philosophy but eventually had shifted his interest in ethics and early scope of sociology. With his aggregation in Philosophy, he had graduated in 1882. Academic Performance. Durkheim is regarded as an advance student during his studies at Ecole. He was included as one of the brightest in his batch. During his studies, he was less of political and more of academics by orientation. Later on, he developed inclination in scientific studies than academics, leading him to criticize the scholastic structure of Ecole. In 1885, he went to Germany to pursue his focus study in sociology at Marburg, Berlin and Leipzig. (Calhoun, 2002) Journey to Sociology. One of the contributions of Durkheim to sociology is the empirical method in sociological research. In his personal essays, he revealed that he had appreciated the value of the empiricism during

Introduction to Operating Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Introduction to Operating Systems - Assignment Example In regard to multiple task systems, improved performance seen through the system ensuring that each process gets sufficient of the processors time to work properly (McGraw 2012). In a single task system, a single process controls the central processing and the central processing unit dedicated to the running process. The primary function of the central processing unit in this case is the task only (Joshi 2006). In the multi tasking system, the active task allocated the greatest time of the central processing unit while the rest of the time apportioned to the other tasks. The apportionment depends on the aspects of which the programs are working while not active. Last priority goes to tasks that are not doing anything but left running. Computers productivity can be further improved through the use of both software and hardware that are trustworthy. According to Morley & Parker (2009) maintenance upgrading and updating the computers software goes a long way in improving its productivity. This method is the main strategy employed in ensuring increased computer productivity. Other strategies include uncluttering documents and the desktop and the use of shortcuts and centralizing

Psychological Testing Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychological Testing Article Analysis - Essay Example Discussed here is an article on the basis of how effective psychological tests actually are in a workplace. Keywords: psychological test, workplace, employee, behaviour. The article selected is from HR Magazine and talks about how hiring the right person for the job is very necessary and this can only be done through testing a person’s personality to be on the safe side. The CEO of Quest, Tim Burke, relates how difficult it was for him to find the correct people to be employed, and finally he had to make use of psychological testing in order to speed up the process and choose the best people. This has also helped in improving the performance of the company on an overall basis, so much so that Burke has also started using the process of testing on the existing employees in order to find out which employee should be relocated to another position, or who is better suited for a certain job profile. Such kind of testing helps the company to also understand the core of every individ ual even though some experts state that these tests are not always bound to give correct results. Many companies state that in a period of financial turmoil and downturn, they feel that instead of just hiring people they are sceptical about, it is better to utilize some funds and spend money on the entire process of testing than just hiring people who do not end up giving the best results to the best of their potential. Thus, a number of different kinds of tests are used to evaluate a person’s aptitude, behaviour and emotional intelligence in order to see how well he fits the bill for the company. (Bates, Steve) These tests help to ascertain and find out each individual’s capacity on the basis of motivation, leadership skills, as well as his attitude towards the company and his co workers and his needs. There are no wrong answers in these tests; they only ask questions to help determine the characteristics of every person and how best he would react to a given situatio n. (Eisenbraun, Garett A.) There are many tests that have been designed by experts that help to understand a person’s qualities and outlook towards things on a social and personal basis and this really helps his employers to comprehend whether or not he should be hired and is perfect for the job at hand. Most people agree that such kind of tests are the best and most legitimate way to understand fresh people willing to get employed and is also the safest way to find out about the person’s way of thinking. In the given article, personality tests were used most, followed by cognitive tests to test an individual’s attitude and behaviour. After taking the personality test, it was found that it helped to determine the shortcomings of each person and this really surprised the people because even they were not aware consciously, of what they were falling short on in terms of their personality and conducts towards others. These tests help to pin point on the weaknesses and strengths of every person and thus it becomes very easy for the firm to evaluate and choose the employees best fit for the task. The senior managers at the companies mentioned in the article found these methods to be very effective and even tried them out on their own in order to measure its correctness. Such personal assessments, they found, were the best way in order to look into a person’s mind and find out how he thinks and also, how best his potential can be used for the

Should College Football Players be paid Research Paper

Should College Football Players be paid - Research Paper Example This unfair situation should be remedied by immediately establishing steps towards the payment of the football players. Unfortunately, there is strong opposition against such effort, primarily from the school administrators themselves. Nevertheless, it must be made clear that the payment of the players’ services is not just because they are making their schools famous. Even without monetary compensation, these players would certainly work hard to win championships because of their loyalty to the schools where they belong. Still, they deserve to be paid because the schools are actually earning from them also, not just for indirect promotions, but for actually taking part in a revenue-generating spectator sport. The NCAA, particularly its football tournaments, has become a big business, which is why the players should get what is due to them for their hard work. Should College Football Players be Paid? College football players contribute so much in promoting their respective sch ools. They certainly do not only make the colleges and universities in which they are enrolled in proud; they also encourage other prospective students to entertain studying it too. As a result, these athletes may well be considered as the schools’ instruments for increasing the number of enrollees per school year or semester. Since these academic institutions also function as businesses, earning income through tuition, increased enrollment naturally means more revenues to be collected. In a way, college football players should be provided with a percentage of the income they generated for the school. They should be paid not for making their school proud but for utilizing their skills in order to make it earn. The sentiment in favor of having college football players paid by the school is actually gaining support from different sectors already. This is particularly because the public is already very much aware that the NCAA is already a multi-million dollar business. A report from USA Today points out that the â€Å"NCAA averages better than half a billion dollars a year in revenue† and that does not include payouts from the 28 football bowls, which exceed $184 million and go to the conferences† (Whiteside 2004). This means that aside from the indirect financial advantages that schools can generate from enrollment, these could also profit from the premier collegiate tournament itself, especially because the games are often televised and just like the professional leagues, also earn from the TV endorsements. These millions of dollars definitely are not gained because of the member-schools of the NCAA doubled or tripled their respective enrollment rates. Instead these are generated because the student athletes trained hard in order to perform well in the games. Their diligence in the training programs in which they all underwent ultimately raised the level of quality of the games, particularly football. In fact, many observers would point out that many college football players already possess the skills commonly seen among the pros. Another argument why school administrators can certainly allocate funds for paying their respective football players is that some coaches in Division 1-A actually make more that $1 million dollars a year. In the Southeastern Conference or SEC, where the some of the country’s top college football teams are found, â€Å"

Compile an Annotated Bibliography Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Compile an Annotated Bibliography - Coursework Example He developed the questionnaire, which focused on measuring the different that exist between these two generation regarding the above motivational factors. The participants were from three different departments of a Turkey bank. The findings of Acar’s study demonstrated that the two motivational factors had the same importance for the respondents. Acar, thus, argues that same factors can be motivational to the Generation Y as similar levels as Generation X. However, Acar’s study did not consider the educational structure of the participants. This is essential in investigating the relationship between these generations and other variables including the organizational procedures, culture, values, and management style. Costanza, D., Badger, J., Fraser, R., Severt, J., & Gade, P. (2012). Generational Differences in Work-Related Attitudes: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Business & Psychology, 27(4), 375-394. doi:10.1007/s10869-012-9259-4 Costanza et al. (2012) argue that researchers, organizations, and practitioners are interested in the variations that exist among generations on a number of outcomes. Thus, their study focuses on quantitatively assessing the research on generational variations in work-related attitudes as well as providing a guidance into the future practice and research. Costanza and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of the generational variation on three work-related criteria. These included organizational commitment, job satisfaction and intent to turnover. In addition, they reviewed research studies, both published and unpublished. They found that twenty of the studies allowed for eighteen generational pairwise comparisons through the four generations including Generation X, Baby Boomers, Traditional, and Millennial. Their findings demonstrated a relationship, which is moderate to small that exist between the work-related outcomes and generational membership. Sparks (2012) reports the differences existing in generational psychological job

Review of How Does a Poem Mean (1975) by John Ciardi and Miller Essay

Review of How Does a Poem Mean (1975) by John Ciardi and Miller Williams - Essay Example Learning about music is often considered by the layperson to be little more than learning how to read the notes on a printed page and correlate these to specific buttons, keys or positions upon a particular instrument. Some may also consider that learning about music will include vague discussions of tempo, famous composers or basic trends. For most, this is as far as they are willing to consider and often feel that music, good music, is somehow closed off to them within the meaningless world of academia. In today’s facts and science-driven world, the approach to music, which is often more attuned to imaginative understanding more than logical knowledge, may indeed be too difficult for many to contemplate. However, there is a means by which individuals might be more smoothly introduced to the world of music by first helping them to understand the more logical and mapped out elements of poetry and then comparing this to music. Such a progression can be discovered through Ciardi and Williams’ instructive introduction to poetry followed by Sessions’ explanation of how to ‘read’ music, concluding with Copland’s instruction of how to take what has been read and develop true music appreciation.

How would Fredrickson explain Alexies essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How would Fredrickson explain Alexies - Essay Example e work provided, the virtue of all American institutions and people, and the mission aimed at spreading all these institutions (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle 449). These themes were aimed at remaking and saving the entire earth as seen by America. The arguments supporting these themes claimed that America could make a better and new society that could be termed as beginning of a new world. There are a number of ethnic relations models in America presented by George Frederickson but in this essay the greater focus in on the historical perspective. In his representation, he has a presentation of the ethnic relations evolution that he ultimately did using four main concepts; cultural pluralism, ethnic hierarchy, group separation and one-way assimilation. The author used the latter to show that the outsiders, commonly referred to as minorities, were not to be considered as outsiders anymore. These groups of the blacks, native Americans, Irish individuals were expected to experience equity and complete participation in the society of the Americans. This meant that all the minorities had to confirm to the culture of the Americans. The one way assimilation model explained just as one assimilates into the American culture, it was essential to have all the people in America interact and communicate without instances of miscommunication (Nguyen 16). A good example is the divers e meaning of nodding ones head in a case of answering a question among the American and Bulgarian people. In America, nodding ones head means complying or a positive answer whereas it is the complete opposite in Bulgaria. However, one assimilation model provides information that ensures adaptation of such a person to the American culture without miscommunications. Fredrick essay provided a description of all available American ethnic relations. In addition, he wrote to depict the manner in which these different groups were supposed to interrelate so that they would handle each other in the creation of a

North Korean Authoritative Government Essay Example for Free

North Korean Authoritative Government Essay In this paper, I will attempt to explain why authoritarianism regimes such as the one in North Korea, still continues to govern even though the government is one of the more corrupted types of government still in existence today. The word authoritarianism is defined as, â€Å"a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc. )†(Word Net) There are currently many countries in our world that are not democratic societies. There are authoritarian regimes that still exist today. Probably one of the more well known authoritarian regimes is the government in North Korea. North Korea gained its independence from Japan in the year 1945. Kim Jong Il is currently the leader of North Korea. The mismanagement of economics through the 1990’s has made North Korea rely heavily on international aid to feed its population. North Korea has expanded their resources to help develop a military of about one million soldiers. Central Intelligence Agency) â€Å"North Korea’s long-range missile development, as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. † (Central Intelligence Agency) The government in North Korea is a big part to blame for the economic struggles. In President Bush’s first State of the Union Speech he declared North Korea as part of the â€Å"Axis of Evil. † Presi dent Bush also went on to say his goal was, â€Å"to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends with weapons of mass destruction. He singled out Iraq, Iran and North Korea, claiming these states and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world. (Fact Sheet) â€Å"The United States must act against these regimes by denying them the materials, technology and expertise to make nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and provide them to terrorists, Bush said. † (Fact Sheet) North Korea is currently a communist-state one-man dictatorship. Under a communist-state one-man dictatorship elections are held but there is nobody to run against the leader. For instance in September of 2003 there was an election held in North Korea. Kim Jong Il and Kim Yong Nam were the only nominees for the positions and nobody opposed them. (Central Intelligence Agency) The government controls the people. The government rules a lot of what the people of North Korea can do or say. For the executive branch in this country, Kim Jong Il has been the ruler since July of 1994. Kim Yong Nam is the president of its Presidium and he also has the responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials. Central Intelligence Agency) As for the legislative branch, the ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition, but some seats are held by minor parties. (Central Intelligence Agency) The judicial branch of North Korea consists of a central court, and the judges are elected by the Supreme People’s Assembly. The way this government is set up is very different than the way the democratic states are set up. In a democratic society the people get to vote for leaders and high ranking officials. While in these authoritarianistic regimes, the people have no say in who is going to run their country. There have been many North Koreans that have tried to escape either to China or South Korea. Few people have made it across the boarders safely. However, if they fail to escape and they are captured by the North Korean military they will be tortured or even executed in some cases. (Pearson Education) â€Å"North Korea, one of the worlds most secretive societies, has been accused of egregious human-rights violations, including summary executions, torture, inhumane conditions in prison camps, which hold up to 200,000 prisoners, and denial of freedom of expression and movement. Access to the country is strictly limited and North Koreas domestic media is tightly controlled, making it difficult to substantiate the accusations. † (Pearson Education) I believe a huge part of why North Korea is actually still in existence is because the military has so much control on the people. Of course no country wants to start a war with North Korea because of their military strength and their nuclear weapons. â€Å"A number of stabilizing elements assist the regime’s efforts to maintain internal order. The society seems united in popular support for the party, and the people have a strong sense of national pride. Kim Il Sung, by all indications, truly is admired and supported by the general population. † (Federal Research Division Library of Congress: Pg 275) It is difficult for people that are from a democratic government to actually understand why authoritarianism governments work. Most all of the authoritarianism governments that I know have a strong following from their people. Whether the masses like the leader because he is helping the economy or helping a food shortage situation is another story. Personally I think these people in these countries are so afraid of what the leader might do to them or their family that they just do what they are told. Of course these people have never had it any other way. They don’t know what it is like to have a democracy. They don’t know what it is like to voice their opinion. The people in North Korea didn’t get to choose where they wanted to be born. If we had a free world I’m sure when some of those people realized that there are better governments in the world that won’t control your every move then they would leave the country. It is just not that easy for anyone to just get up and go to China or South Korea. People born into democratic societies should be thankful that they can enjoy the freedoms that they have, because there are other parts of the world where the idea of having rights is completely out of their control. There is no possible way the people can over throw the government in North Korea. North Korea has too strong of a military. One way the government will get overthrown is if it is done internally. The second way it will get overthrown is if they go to war with another country and they lose their power. â€Å"Indeed, research on Korean communism has become the pursuit of an avocation, meandering off the mainstream of contemporary social science. Most students of Korean communism have come under the influence, in varying degrees, of the lingering legacy of Kremlinology and the advancing model of Chinese studies. Following the general lines of development in Chinese studies in the 1960s and 1970s, research on Korean communism has shown an uneven advancement. On balance, research and knowledge concerning North Korea’s domestic politics and economy have developed more rapidly and significantly than the study of its foreign policy, which has remained neglected and underdeveloped. (Kim Pg:282) The economy in North Korea is struggling. Due to flooding and the lack of arable land, the people in North Korea are at a food shortage. Massive amounts of international food aid have allowed people of North Korea not to starve. Central Intelligence Agency) Mal-nutrition and poor living conditions still exist heavily in North Korea. As with everything else in the country, the government has the right to control the food and economic conditions. The religions that are practiced in this authoritarianism government are traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, with some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way. ) â€Å"Autonomous religions activities now are almost nonexistent; government sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom. (Central Intelligence Agency) Like other authoritarianistic governments such as Cuba, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq until not to long ago, the regimes will last until somebody does something about it. The United States ended the authoritarianism regime in Iraq because we had enough military power to overtake Sadaam Hussein. The U. S. troops are still over in Iraq trying to force the Iraqi people into having a democracy. The Iraqi people that have voted so far on the new leader of their country is not a man that the United States wants to have them run their country. Sadaam Hussein would still be in power and have complete control of Iraq if the United States didn’t take him out of power. The military balance in South Korea is much stronger then North Korea. In case of another North Korean invasion, the South Korean military only has about 600,000 people while the north has around one million. However these numbers are misleading because of the fact that these numbers don’t include the superior training, equipment, and logistical support that the south has. Kang: Pg 262) â€Å"The South has outspent the North on defense in the last 15 years, if not longer. † (Kang: Pg 262) North Korea’s nuclear threats are a grave concern for South Korea and the rest of the world. The Soviets were building bombs in the 1950’s and China developed a nuclear bomb in the early 1960’s. North Korea didn’t start trying to assemble nuclear weapons until South Korea became a threat to them because they were overtaking North Korea in a lot of areas during the 1970’s. Kang: Pg 266) â€Å"North Korea’s significance to the world with a bomb is much greater than without a bomb. † (Kang: Pg 266)In conclusion, there are many reasons why the authoritarianism regime in North Korea is still up and running to this day. There is simply no way that anyone can overthrow the government unless it is done internally. The people located in these authoritarianism regimes usually like the leader, and agree to what he says. These people didn’t choose where they wanted to be born just like nobody in a democratic state had an opinion as to where they would like to be born. It is sad that most all of the money spent in North Korea is aimed toward building up a better military and not helping out with the economy or the food shortages. The only way these people know how to live is to be ruled by a dictator. Until the United States or some other world power takes down North Korea, the authoritarianism regime will continue to govern.

Recovery Room Discharge and Pain Relief

Recovery Room Discharge and Pain Relief Title: Select one aspect of care which you have undertaken in childrens nursing practice in relation to the discharge process and critically analyse and discuss the key components of that care in relation to your experience, discharge planning and the specific research/literature you have reviewed. Introduction The aspect of care to be discussed is pain management for a 4 year old boy after facial surgery, on a Nurse Controlled Analgesic morphine pump, being discharged from the recovery room to the ward The need for discharge planning in optimising patient care has been identified in many recent studies and papers (viz. Mills M M et al. 2006). The basic rationale in all arguments for discharge planning is so that mechanisms to facilitate discharge can be put in place both before interdepartmental discharges and transfers, as well as before the eventual discharge, throughout the period of hospitalisation, so that they do not overwhelm healthcare professionals, the patient or parents at the end of the stay in the facility, department or the hospital. A useful general tool for planning discharge is enunciated by Bruccoliere with identification of tasks and deadlines for transition tasks set shortly after admission and ideally incorporated into daily multidisciplinary ward rounds. This is specifically targeted at total hospital discharge, but has features aimed at departmental discharges or transfers. (Bruccoliere T 2000). This type of approach has been advocated by Halm who has expanded the tool to include a formal review by the responsible nurse (or team leader) for all paediatric patients whose discharge is anticipated within one week, to ensure that the discharge plan includes a projected day of discharge, a check on home equipment and medication, home health needs, home feeding plan, screening needs (e.g. car seat trial; hearing, developmental, or feeding assessment for the very young child), identification of a primary care doctor, and necessary follow-up plans in either primary care or the hospital outpatients. (Halm M A et al. 2003). Such measures may be appropriate for the patient in question at the end of their hospital stay. In this particular case however, one is considering a specific instance of interdepartmental transfer and the discharge planning mechanisms are therefore more specific. This particular examination of departmental discharge will be focussed primarily on pain relief. The key concepts of discharge planning where pain relief is a major feature (in specific consideration of these circumstances) are Assessment of pain Control of pain pharmacological and nonpharmacological Safe storage and use of opiates Individual pain control plans developed with the child and parent (longer term consideration) Appropriate hand over mechanisms for relevant healthcare professionals. (After Pagnamenta R et al. 2008) Outline of the child and family and context (include family involvement in preparation for discharge focusing on the particular aspect of nursing care (pain management). In line with elements of confidentiality outlined in NMC, this essay will refer to the patient concerned as Boy F. (NMC 2004) Boy F. had a delayed extensive facial reconstruction following facial trauma and had been in the recovery room for four hours while his blood pressure and other vital signs stabilised. Pain relief was identified as a major priority in his case. The family comprised of both parents and an older sister who had been present at the hospital throughout the operation and were known to be waiting on the ward for his return. It is known that the family are very questioning and highly involved with the patient’s care and that they would be full of questions relating to the morphine pump when Boy F returns to the ward. The policy of empowerment and education of the patient’s family has been fully embraced in this particular circumstance, (Howe J et al. 2003) and must therefore form a part of the overall discharge plan. Critical analysis of the evidence that supports this aspect of nursing care. Critically analyse and discuss the key components of the care provided in relation to your experience, the discharge process and the research literature reviewed. Break the discharge process into the 4 parts of the Nursing Process: assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. Assessment (To include; Government recommendations on starting discharge planning on admission and having a discharge coordinator) There are two major elements to the assessment of this case. Planning and pain control. In terms of total hospital discharge, the Government has issued guidance in the form of â€Å"Discharge from hospital : pathway, process and practice (PPP 2003) which, although primarily aimed at hospital discharge, has sections of guidance on organisation of departmental discharges. This was formalised in the context of the NHS Plan (Department of Health 2000), which called for the establishment of a nominated discharge coordinator for each case. In any case of pain control, one of the most important elements of successful control is initial pain assessment. (Treadwell M J et al. 2002). This has the advantage of targeted and appropriate pain relief, but also allows for the retrospective assessment of pain levels to ensure that current dosage of medication is likely to be adequate. (Morton N J 2007) With problems inherent in effective communication with the younger child, a number of different rating scales have been developed and validated and these include the Postoperative pain score (PPS) for infants up to about 12 months, (Barrier G et al. 1999), the CHEOPS pain scale for children between 1 and 3 yrs old, (Taddio S E et al. 1994, the Faces scale for children back pain 3 and 6 yrs. (Champion G et al. 1998). Children older than this can often use a VAS (visual analogue scale) with reproducible accuracy. (Champion G et al. 1998). In the case of Boy F, the faces scale was used. The child is asked to indicate which, of a series of nine faces, best reflects the pain that they are feeling at the time. This tool is validated to produce a good repeatability and inter-rater compliance. This mechanism allowed for an assessment of the degree of pain perceived by the patient and appropriate adjustment of the Nurse Controlled morphine pump to minimise the pain experience for the patient. Planning (To include; justification of why planning is appropriate to discharge process with evidence) Post operative pain relief is likely to be a feature of Boy F’s case for at least the next few days. It is planned to keep the morphine pump in place for at least the next two days. It cannot be assumed that the nurse taking over the care will be completely familiar with the device, and therefore part of the planning process must be to make provision for the recovery room nurse to both demonstrate and satisfy herself that the receiving nurse fully understands the use of the device prior to the handover. (Yura H et al. 1998) Other aspects to be considered in the planning stage, are to ensure that the appropriate paper chain is competed relating to the controlled drugs. It is important also to establish that the receiving ward has the appropriate drugs (in the appropriate form) in stock and readily available after transfer. Other aspects of pain relief must be considered and would include the psychological aspects of pain relief. These are particularly important in the young child. (Suresh S et al. 2002). In the context of this particular situation one must consider empowerment and education of the patient even at this comparatively young age. To explain to Boy F what is happening, to give him the knowledge that he is surrounded by sympathetic people who will help him and to allow him to have confidence the he is surrounded by faces that he knows in otherwise strange and hostile situations, are all measures that will help to minimise the overall pain experience associated with the operation. (Carr A J et al. 2001). For this reason it would be helpful if the handover (discharge procedure) could be to a nurse from the ward who was already known to Boy F. if this was not possible, then the new nurse should allow sufficient time prior to handover to allow a period of familiarisation with Boy F. (Walker L S et al. 2002) Clearly there must be an element of planning to allow for this to happen. In the light of the potential of questioning by the family, appropriate measures should be anticipated, planned for and then instigated so that the ward nurse who effects the transfer would be fully aware of all aspects of the pain relief strategy. This would help to instil confidence into the family during an obviously stressful time. Implementing (what happened, how you implemented the chosen aspect of care e.g. notified the pain team back up with evidence) Implementation of the discharge plan was facilitated by requesting the receiving nurse to attend the recovery room allowing 30 mins. to be briefed on the use of the morphine pump. Prior to handover, the Faces (pain assessment tool) assessment was repeated to ensure that the patient was sufficiently comfortable. Written details of the analgesic regime were both explained and handed over prior to discharge. The Pain team in the hospital was notified of the discharge and requested to assess the patient on the ward. The receiving nurse was also able to utilise the time to allow Boy F to get to know and trust her. This proved to be particularly important later when the dressings had to be changed and Boy F was only happy if this nurse could do it for him. Evaluating (Reflective, evaluate the whole process, support with evidence) A reflective evaluation would suggest that this experience could be construed by taxonomies such as the experimental learning proposed by Steinaker and Bell, as providing a situation where a student could reflect and learn from considering not only the actual situation that arose, but also by investigating the background literature which forms the evidence base of the clinical situation. (Steinaker and Bell 1979). In essence, they suggested that an adult learns best by the provision of circumstances that are new experiences which could be evaluated and then used as a basis for further learning. I felt that this particular discharge form the recovery suite had been handled particularly well. Prior assessment and planning had allowed a smooth handover which proved to be beneficial for the patient as well as for the family, and was therefore professionally satisfying. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key aspects of discharge process in relation to child, family and aspect of nursing care The anaesthetist had made a good decision to allow nurse controlled morphine pump. Other anaesthetists could have simply prescribed stat doses of analgesia which may not have controlled the overall pain experience for Boy F in a satisfactory fashion. It is clearly important to consider all aspects of the discharge in terms of one’s own responsibility to the patient, and to facilitate a smooth transfer of responsibility to another healthcare professional. The key aspects of the discharge process have been set out above, and include anticipation of potential problems, risk assessment of these problems, formulation of measures to combat potential problems and their successful implementation. (Fawcett J 2005) Evidence of integrated theory and practice The concept of the multidisciplinary treatment team is important in this type of situation. The receiving nurse should be regarded as the nominated member of the ward team who takes responsibility of transferring information from the recovery ward to the ward team. The presence of a pain management team must not be overlooked. Nursing theory is clearly an excellent basis for practice, but there is an element of professional and clinical knowledge that is required to translate that theory into practice. Areas such as the establishment of professional empathy between nurse and patient are theoretical concepts (Mason T et al. 2003) but it requires considerable time and effort to translate the theoretical concept into reality. This is particularly true when dealing with younger children. (Hogston, R et al. 2002) Identifies implications for clinical practice (reflect upon your findings and outline implications for future practice) The findings from the investigation for this essay revolve around the clear need for assessment and planning of any discharge, whether it is from a department (as in this case) or from the hospital at the end of a course of treatment. This essay has identified various areas such as the knowledge of the receiving nurse relating to a morphine pump and the need to build an empathetic environment for the child to minimise his total pain experience as being crucial elements in the discharge process as well as more formal needs such as the need to leave a clear paper trail for controlled medication. Conclusion Summary of essay no new points here. (provide clear and concise conclusion) This essay has considered the case of Boy F and his discharge from the recovery room. It has assessed his needs, considered his imminent discharge from the department, considered the potential problems that might be encountered, formulated a plan of action to address these problems and presented some of the evidence base behind the theoretical issues, References Barrier G Attia J, Mayer M N, Amiel-Tison C Shnider S M : (1999) Measurement of a post operative pain scale and narcotic administration in infants using a new clinical scoring system : Intensive Care Med. 1999; 15 : S 37 S 39 Bruccoliere T. (2000) How to make patient teaching stick. RN. 2000;63 : 34 – 38 Carr A J, Higginson I J. (2001) Are quality of life measures patient centred? BMJ Vol 18 Issue 42 2001 Champion G Goodenough B, von Bayer C, Thomas W : (1998) Measurement of pain by self report, in Finley G, McGrath P, (eds) Measurement of pain in infants and children. Seattle, WA IASP Press 1998; 123 160 Department of Health (2004). The NHS Plan. A plan for investment. A plan for reform. Cm 4818. HMSO : London 2004 Fawcett J (2005) Contemporary Nursing Knowledge: Analysis and Evaluation of Nursing Models and Theories, 2nd Edition. Boston: Davis Co 2005 ISBN : 0 8036 1194 3 Halm M A, Gagner S, Goering M, Sabo J, Smith M, Zaccagnini M : (2003) Interdisciplinary rounds. Clin Nurse Spec. 2003; 17 : 133 – 142 Hogston, R. Simpson, P. M. (2002) Foundations in nursing practice 2nd Edition, London: Palgrave Macmillian. 2002 Howe and Anderson (2003) Involving patients in medical education. BMJ, Aug 2003 ; 327 : 326 328. Mason T and Whitehead E (2003) Thinking Nursing. Open University. Maidenhead. 2003 Mills M M, Sims D C, Jacob J. (2006) Implementation and Case-Study Results of Potentially Better Practices to Improve the Discharge Process in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Paediatrics Vol. 118 Supplement November 2006, pp. S 124 S 133 Morton N J (2007) Management of postoperative pain in children : Archives of Disease in Childhood Education and Practice 2007 ; 92 : ep14 ep19; NMC (2004) Nurse Midwifery Council: Code of professional conduct: Standards for conduct, performance and Ethics (2004) London : Chatto Windus 2004 Pagnamenta R, Benger J R. (2008) Factors influencing parent satisfaction in a children’s emergency department: prospective questionnaire-based study. Emergency Medicine Journal 2008; 25 : 417 419 ; PPP (2003) Discharge from hospital: pathway, process and practice : HMSO : London 2003 Steinaker, N. and Bell, R. (1979) ‘The experiential taxonomy: a new approach to teaching and learning’, Academic Press: London. 1979 Suresh S, Barcelona S L, Young N M, Seligman I, Heffner C L, Cotà © C J (2002) Postoperative Pain Relief in Children Undergoing Tympanomastoid Surgery: Is a Regional Block Better than Opioids? Anesth Analg 2002; 94 : 859 862 Taddio S E, Nulman I, Goldbach M, Ipp M: (1994) Use of Lidocaine / Prilocaine cream for vaccination pain in infants : J Paediatr 1994; 124 : 273 280 Treadwell M J,. Frank L S, Vichinsky E. (2002) Using quality improvement strategies to enhance pediatric pain assessment. International Journal for Quality in Health Care 14 : 39 47 (2002) Walker L S, Lewis Claar R, Garber J (2002) Social Consequences of Childrens Pain: When Do They Encourage Symptom Maintenance? Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol. 27, No. 8, 2002, pp. 689 698 Yura H, Walsh M. (1998) The nursing process. Assessing, planning, implementing, evaluating. 5th edition. Norwalk, CT: Appleton Lange, 1998. ############################################################## 12.9.08 Word count 2,834 PDG

Project Management in SMEs

Project Management in SMEs Introduction To Literature Review: Literature Review is done by knowing a clear definition of SMEs, its role in the Indian economy. Then it is carried out by analyzing the definition of project management and its significance in the SMEs, and next the definition of project and its factors affecting the success of a project was discussed. This chapter also deals with the staffing of a project manager, project team and also about the effective skills required for a project manager to implement successful project management methodologies into an organization. This literature also covered by the critical analysis of effective risk management through Project Management practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in India, here mainly it was discussed about the types of risks that an organization encounters while establishing/choosing a vendor, and ways of analysis this risks through project management techniques. This chapter also explained about the ways of implementing a project management methodology into an SME and effec ts that a SME might face of implementing the project management tools and techniques. Definition Of Smes: SMEs can be defined in different forms due to broad mixture in business. A company is generally distinguished as a small or medium enterprise based on the total number of employees, total turnover and the balance sheet of the company. A company is considered as a small firm if it has 50 employees with an annual turnover of about  £5.6 million and an annual balance sheet of  £2.8 million. On the other hand, a firm is said to be a medium firm when it has a total of 250 employees with a turnover of about  £22.8million and a balance sheet of  £11.4million (company act 1985, Duke Ghosh, 2009). Role Of Smes In Indian Economy: SMEs are most vital part in the sustainable economical growth and participating in a long run of development of industrial sector from the past few years, SMEs are considered as a stepping stone for industrial growth. It has ability to transfer technology and modernization which brings economic success in this modern era. In the development of better and greater economic growth, competition, flexibility and good communication are the required parameters, for this reason SMEs are becoming like of mixture of competitiveness within the economy while providing flexibility and better communication system to the complete industrial structure. (Duke Ghosh, 2009) Recently the dimensions of the SMEs are seems likely to be increasing due to the government promotions and also its encouragement towards the goal of SMEs. The growth of the entrepreneurial sector have been raised from 870,000 businesses in 1981 to nearly 4 million by 2003 by the identification of importance and its development by the government of India. And it stood next to gigantic agricultural sector in providing the employment opportunities (Boulton and Turner, 2005). This SMEs are acting like a job providing engines, which indirectly raising the per capita of the nation economy. Such firms make significant contributions to private sector employment and output, which appears to be increasing overtime (Storey, 1994). The following diagram show the growth and the position of the development of the small industries development as on 2003 according to SIDO Importance Of Smes To The Indian Economy SMEs, however defined, constitute the majority of all enterprises in most of the economies in the world (OCED, 1998). SMEs are not only acting as employment generator but also achieved outstanding credit in Indian economy by satisfying its core objectives and being as a supporting body to the large firms. This is one of the main reasons why the SMEs have gained more attention from the politicians, policy-makers and academics. However, between 1945 and the late 1960s there was little interest in small firms from either the government or academics. According to Mr. Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Ministry of State for Finance, Bangalore; says that SMEs are playing a vital role in socio-economic policies of Government of India. Foreign earning and imports of foreign capital goods contribution have been developed by the socio economic policies of India (Mr. Pawan Kumar, 2007). â€Å"SMEs were regarded as being poorly managed, badly organised and reliant on outmoded technologies to produce inferior products and services† (Manson and Harrison, 1990). For this reason the Indian government have implemented many more SMEs policies for their development and mainly focused on promoting clusters of small firms and supporting the development of high-tech sector such as IT sectors and BPOs in Bangalore, and this policies have been very successful as a results many of the outsourcing companies from western countries are moving to India (Patrizio B, et. al, 2006). Starting with wide varieties of situations and approach, a huge amount of SMEs policies have been implemented in developing countries like India (Parrilli, 2005). Services have been the fastest-growing sector of the Indian economy over the past decades and helped to accelerate the overall growth rate of the economy, this services have also made Indias integration with the world economy through trade and capital flows (Uma Kapila, 2009). The phenomenal growth and export in the services like IT and BPO have placed India on the global map as one of the major players in the field of knowledge-based services this also helped to improve the performance of the other sectors of the economy in turn helping the overall development. Project Management And Its Significance: This literature says before knowing about the significance of project management in SMEs, it is important to explain the definition of the project management and its approach of implementing a project as follows: Project Management: â€Å"The purpose of project management is to plan, organize and control all activity so that the project is completed as successfully as possible in spite of all the difficulties and risks. This process starts before any resources are committed and must continue until all work is finished. The aim is for the final result to satisfy the objectives of both the project performer and the customer† (Lock, 2006, p. 1) It is known that projects differ from each other in more ways than one. They might differ in their structure, mode of operation, funds allocated or even the strength they comprise of or their criticality to the business (Heldman, 2005). Even though a similar project has been carried out in the past, the projects may differ in one or more aspects such as administrative, physical and commercial or a change in ways of working etc; managing projects is a part of every business and is quintessential for the smooth functioning and success of the project. Project Management includes all necessary activities needed to plan and execute a project (Lock, 2006). The two most important steps involved in going about a project are discussed below: Step 1: To decide what needs to be done before the initiation of a project. The next set of requirements from a project management perspective is to estimate the cost of completing the project and make sure there are necessary funds available to execute the project so as to bring name and revenue to the organization (Burke, 1999). People involved in planning the project need to ensure beforehand that they pick the right people to execute the project and make them aware of the responsibilities assigned to them. Project resources are the key to success in any project and its rarely a one-man team (Heldman, 2005). Therefore, a team that has an open-minded approach towards the project and all other people involved in the project and be prepared to motivate and be motivated throughout the length of the project. This will encourage teamwork and commitment in what they do. One of the key things to ensure higher rates of success in a project is to choose the right mix of people and the right level of management looking for process improvement and thereby providing value added services to customers. This in turn helps organizations improve their efficiency and help them to stay on top of its competitors (Baron, 2005). Every person involved needs to be updated by project leaders and start the chain of communication to ensure adequate buy-in and at the same time commit to managing their expectations from the project. The main aim of communication is to keep everyone updated about any latest developments that take place and keep them engaged (PMBOK, 2004). Provide clear briefs to people involved in the project to obtain commitment on work and deliveries (Baron, 2005). The support of sponsors is very important by making them commit to your approach. (Burke, 1999) Meeting the expectations of the stakeholders, meeting of objectives and requirements, meeting budget, meeting deadlines etc (Jeston and Nelis, 2006). Step 2: We live in a competitive world where every firm attempts to make optimum use of resources and to be better than their competitors. This brings the area of proper planning and execution of the project. The main objective of planning a project well is to schedule and chart out the complete work for the project and then ensure arrangements are in order for work to start and continue as per schedule (Burke, 1999). For a project to be successful and be admired, it should complete on schedule. The project needs a leader who takes the final decision with the consent of all members in his/her team. He/she should portray the courtesy to listen to subordinates even when the opinion is not being considered or implemented (Heldman, 2005). People who carry out the project should be taken into confidence and spoken to regularly. Most importantly, a project should have clarity about its scope, objectives, responsibilities, cost and accountability, scope for improvement should be considered and stockholders should be kept in confidence (PMBOK, 2004). The literature explains that the project management methodologies allow the project manager to allocate and make more work done with less people and time, so it would be beneficial to the SME where it have very fewer people working. And also its make the organisation more effective by implementing more project in lesser time by providing clear control on the projects scope and changes and implementing them more effectively and efficiently. Project management improves the line of decision making; it also increases the quality of a project. SMEs can handle more projects by raising its business (Kerzner, 2003). Definition Of Project And Its Success Factors: Project: A project is a series of activities or tasks that have a specific objective to be completed within a determined specification; have defined start and end dates; usually funded and require resources (Kerzner 2003; Cooke-Davies 2001). When the project is said to be failed it is waste of capital, time and resource, a new lessons /techniques/methodologies have to be learned from the failed projects and the project manager/ project authorities have to continue for the new project. Project management is one of the methodologies which deals the projects in a systematic manner and says the following are the essential factors to be made to complete successfully with a project: Clarity In Project Definition: Project manager has to make himself/herself with a clear idea and definition of the project, but not only he/she but also to his/her project team. He/she have to make sure about the project specifications such as â€Å"what the project is about† its aim, objectives, and its deliverables, etc. For example we can talk about the case studies of some unsuccessful projects due to indistinct objectives and aims which are documented by Gray and Larson (Gray and Larson, 2002). Thus the chances of increasing project success lies in clear and distinct objectives and aims. Project Feasibility: It is one among the factors which talks about the social, economical, political, human, cultural, financial and environmental factors which underpins to the achievement of the project (Fullen, 2005). According to Khatib this factors would produce a good result for a project which undergoes a serious study, specified aim and objective and allocation of time (Khatib, 2003). Consistent feasibility makes a project manager to define himself with a clear and well project aim, time specifications, and allocation of resources. A positive feasibility brings more chances to lead a project success. Planning: â€Å"According to Kerzner project planning; in general, can best be described as the function of selecting the enterprise objectives and establishing the policies, procedures, and programs necessary for achieving them. It can be described as a forecasting the environment and predefined course of action† (Kerzner, 2003 ). According to Kerzner, there are four basic reasons for project planning: Elimination or reduction of uncertainty. Improving the efficiency of the operation. Understanding a better understanding of the objectives. To provide a basis for monitoring and controlling work. (Adapted from Kerzner, 2003) Work Breakdown Structure (Wbs): The important task to be done by the project manger after project planning is dividing the work into manageable tasks. â€Å"The work breakdown structure is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables† (PMBOK, 2004). The work breakdown structure also explains complete scope of the project. The WBS divides the work into small tasks which are manageable and will have a specific responsible authority will be allocated, it will be in a manner of integratable so that the total work package is the summation of subdivided elements, and it will be as much as easy to be measure in terms of progress like estimating cost, scheduling, monitoring, and controlling (Kerzner, 2003). Involvement Of Project Stakeholders: â€Å"Project stakeholders are the individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over the projects objectives and outcomes† (PMBOK, 2004). Project stakeholders are also a part of the project success, to ensure this success the project team have to identify their requirements, expectations, and their influence on the project. Stakeholders may have various levels of authority/responsibility on the project; they may vary from occasional contributors to full sponsors for the project. â€Å"Stakeholder who ignores this responsibility can have a damaging impact on the project objectives. Likewise, project managers who ignore stakeholders can expect a damaging impact on project outcomes† (PMBOK, 2004). The above figure shows that every individual project is similar to the structure of the earth where in each sector plays an important role here the most interior structure is project manager who forms the base of any project. The project manager forms the integral part of a project management team along with whom he carry on the project. The project manager and the project management team together comprises of a project team where in this team wholly concentrate on the project that is to be taken. These three together works for the satisfaction of the stakeholders interested in the completion of the project it may comprises of the senior management of the company the owners and the clients of the company. Staffing The Project Manager And Project Team: As mention above to my literature the successful project includes; on time delivery, must come across stakeholders expectations, within budget and have to congregate the project deliverables (Cooke-Davies, 2004). Project manager is one who plays a vital role to mix all stuff to formulate the project to a success. â€Å"Project manager is the individual ultimately responsible for managing and leading the project to its successful conclusion† (Paul D, 2005). It is a role that entails a mix of competencies, combining management with leadership and political awareness (Pinto, 2000). Though understanding the role of project manager sounds good, but the upper management always find difficulties in the selection of a correct project manager. â€Å"Project management is said to be successful only if the project manager and his team are totally dedicated to the successful completion of the project. This requires the project team and project manager must have good understanding of the fundamental project requirements† (Kerzner, 2003). For this reason the upper management have to look up/focus at the following skills in the selection process from the individual to appoint him/her as a project manager: (this are requirements demanded by a SME in its advertisement for a facilities planning and development project manager (adapted from The New York Times, January 2, 1972) (source: Kerzner, 2003) Business Management Skills: If project management is itself an organization, as the whole project group will work as a solo unit for the achievement of a common goal, then the project manager is the CEO of this organization. So the organization skills are predominantly important during project development. With strong business management skills, he/she must be able to achieve the most excellent hysterics across teams and in the midst of all project resources of the organisation. â€Å"It requires defining the reporting relationship, responsibilities, line of control, and information needs. A good program plan and a task matrix are useful organisation tools plus clear defined program objectives, open communication channels, good program leadership, and senior management support† (Kerzner, 2003). Leadership Skills: Project manager is the one who has to manage his/her team and make them to follow him/her, has to act as a leader. He/she has to have a clear project leadership and own direction to direct the team members. He/she must be able to solve the conflicts, assistance in problem-solving, as a project leader he/she as to represent his/her team to upper level management. He/she as to motivate the project team members towards common vision. Project manager as a leader has to remain as a inspiration to his/her project team (Kerzner, 2003). Technical Skills: Technical skills is an superlative addition remark for a project manager, if his proficiency applicable to the project, by this he/she can have good thoughts and understanding about the projects and can work out more for his/her profound project objective (Horine 2005; Murch 2001). Now a day this skills achieved a greater importance, without technical skills a project manager cannot understand the present market, updated technology and the environment of the business. With the help of these technical skills one can understand the consequences or technical risks that encounter in the project, for example a software engineer being as a project manager and handling a software development project can easily sort the risks that appear in that project. He/she can make sure of his/her project team with a clear understanding of the foreseen risks that may appear in the project. â€Å"According to Kerzner, 2003 the technical expertise is composed of the following understanding: Technology involved Engineering tools and techniques employed Specified markets, their customers, and requirements Product application Technological trends and evolutions Relationship among supporting technologies People who are part of the technical community† (Source: Kerzner, 2003) Communication Skills: Another important skill set must be posed by the project manager is communication skills. â€Å"Project manager influence people o take action, this requires an ability to communicate in a style appropriate for the individual concerned† (Paul D, 2005). Project manager is the communication channel throughout the project. Project manager is effective means of communication hub between the project team and the end users. Project manager have to act as a communication radio and have to carry the stakeholders expectations towards the project team and have to bring the project to a successful effective end. Moreover, a successful project manager ensures smooth information sharing across teams via instilling a communication-driven environment that allows for efficient spread, user-friendliness and use of information. Conflict Resolution Skills: No project end up successfully without any conflicts, there might be foreseen risks or conflicts between the project team members or conflicts between project team and stakeholders. So this is the main reason that the project manager, the CEO of project management organization has to possess the problem solving skills/conflict resolution skills. Project success lies with how well the project manager solves the problems/conflicts. Soundness of the solution taken by the project manager with a logical and analytical thinking conforms how well the project manager good at reaching the project to a successful end. However these conflicts are beneficial to a project which indirectly increases the competiveness among the team members involved the project (Kerzner, 2003). Project Management Experience: Implementing successful project management lies in the hands of able project manager, so the project manager is responsible character and must possess prior project management experience in general. Project management is body of knowledge which can be learned from the realistic knowledge, but its not a skill which comes by itself. A well qualified project manager will be very much able to implement a successful project management into an organization. Past knowledge makes a manager to overcome all the challenges that he/she face in completing a project by using project management. Other Skills: There are so many other skills such as planning, resource allocation, management support building, and time management skills, etc, which make the project manager to lay his/her path successful in controlling the projects successfully. Not only this but also the entrepreneurial skills and administrative skills are very important in understanding the tactics and implement them in his/her own project and make the project victorious (Kerzner, 2003). A Critical Analysis Of Effective Risk Management Through Project Management Practices In Small And Medium Enterprises In India: Risk: Vose (2008, p. 3) defines the term risk as â€Å"a random event that may possibly occur and, if it did occur, would have a negative impact on the goals of the organization. Thus, a risk is composed of three elements: the scenario; its probability of occurrence; and the size of its impact if it did occur†. Any risk could prove an organisation wrong in its quest to achieve success. Risks can occur in various forms and their impact can vary under a lot of factors. In a high cost business environment that is under fierce competition from companies not just on a national, but also on a global level, the chances of risks arising multiply quickly and heavily (Crouhy et al., 2000). A firm can easily lose its name in the market because they had overlooked a miniscule drawback that their competitors overcame. Therefore, risks not only carry financial implications with them, but also other factors such as brand image, market credibility or loss of market share. To analyse and understand these implications, it is necessary to understand the types of risks and their varying characteristics (Flynn, 2008). Click and Duening (2004) have come up with a list of the various types of risks such as human capital risks, Confidentiality risks, overall project risks, and scope risks, delay risks, estimation risks and dependency risks may occur in the business. In addition to this there might be property (intellectual), legal, value related or unavoidable natural risks that generally exist and arise in a business. Types of risks: Human capital risks This has always been an important part of the business activity. People who work towards organizational goals are the most critical assets of the firm and the project (Beasley et al., 2004). A loss of an employee who was very important to the smooth functioning of a project can be a risky proposition because a new individual joining the project would need time to understand and evaluate a lot of factors contributing to the project. This would invariably lead to loss of productivity, a slump in team morale or even loss of time and money (Flynn, 2008). Project risks – These risks arise because of a lot of other risks contributing to the main risk of a project being delayed or even shelved in certain cases. There have also been instances where proper planning and regulation were absent or goals misunderstood leading to extended timeframes to complete the project thus leading to increased investments of critical resources (Sanchez Canton, 1998). A very good example of project risks can be seen in Government funded public projects or even military developmental projects where public time and money is involved. Confidentiality risk: The second most important risk that may appear in dealing a project is confidentiality risk, it mostly appear due to lack of secrecy. This is especially for the large projects. The information have to be kept confidential, if not the competitors with large team members may understand the work flow/formulae of the project and be able to built the project earlier as before you can. We must be careful especially when we involve contractors or outsiders into the project. Effective project management may help in having a good communication line among the team members, marketing staff, and contractors; this may helps to keep the information confidential (T Kendrick, 2009) Scope risks: This is another type of risk which mostly appears when the project starts to take a shape. This is due to requirement of a new technology, unfamiliar developments of tools or methods, poor testing criteria, inconsistent specification, undefined product definition, and technical complication (T Kendrick, 2009) Delay risks: Delay risk is part of schedule risks and these are after scope risks, these risks mainly appear due to the delay of the essential parts required for a project, it include customs, Paperwork, delivery, and related concerns. This is also due to the delay of information needed, communication gap and misunderstanding among the team members/ project stakeholders, etc. Due this factor the project may delay for some days, months or may be for years (T Kendrick, 2009) Estimating risks: Estimating risk appears mostly in technical projects. Project manager mostly says the typical risks arise in the project is estimating risks. Estimating risks occurs when there are learning curves ( when the quality of estimates of new technology, or new people involvement is not good), judgements (misunderstanding, disintegration of work), and imposed deadlines (forceful deadlines set in advance, when an objective is retained) (T Kendrick, 2009) Dependency risks: Other projects, infrastructure factors, and legal issues are three sub categories of dependency risks. In general large project are sub divided into small projects and mostly these small project will be dependent on the other, unfortunately when one small project is delayed/stopped the other projects which are dependent on it will be delayed. â€Å"Even for the interfaces that were defined in advance, delay was fairly common due to the uncertainty in each project† (T Kendrick, 2009) The above section has detailed the different types of risks that normally exist or co-exist in projects. Their modes of occurrence and the impact they can have on the project and the firm has been explained in brief. The following part would attempt to explain ways that firms, projects and managers involved employ to analyse and manage the same since the occurrence of a risk can pose a threat to the above in terms of time, money or even failure to deliver what has been promised. Analyzing And Managing Risks: Ways to manage risks with limited impact on other resources: Risks are present in abundance in any IT and outsourcing industries because of the processes being tightly interlinked such as business processes, database, or process reengineering. Therefore, it is very important to: Identify risks. Weigh risks for probability of risk occurring. Weigh risks for criticality/impact at your operations. Plan to reduce risk (to zero if appropriate, for example for a safety critical industry) (Sanchez Canton, 1998). A simple way of explaining risk analysis is to take an airplane for example because the traveler, who is the user, has zero tolerance to risks. In similar manner, risk analysis can be carried out for other products and services too. The most important indicative risks are business continuity management risks, information security/data privacy risks and process related risks (Lock, 2001). The need to evaluate and monitor risks involved from an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) perspective takes higher priority over other means of analysis in the information age of business (Flynn, 2008). It can be seen in the ERM diagram below the different risks across the entire organization that exist or arise and the need for them to be managed effectively (Beasley et al., 2004). An important reason firms should stress on analysing risks is the realization that risks delay chances of sticking to time schedules agreed by project leaders to customers in turn; leading to increased investment of resources in the form of man hours and time (PMBOK, 2004). This causes increase in investment of capital, which is something neither customers nor firms involved like to do. Risks occur at every stage of a project thus increasing stress on carrying out risk analysis and minimize the effects of risks on a given project. It means that risks and errors still occur when thorough analyses of their occurrence have been chalked out and steps have been implemented to minimize the effects they have on a project (Burke, 1999). However, prior knowledge of a risk occurring at a given period in the project enables people involved to counter the risk effectively and minimize or erase the impact it could have had on the project. Before the project could be initiated, assessing risks by knowing in exact what the project intends to do and the reason for it to be outsourced becomes very important. This could include assessing project behaviour under varying market conditions and the expected growth rate it can attain within a given period of time (Dickson, 2003). Risks need to be analyzed in a detailed manner by the top management in order to understand the various options available to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. This understanding and analysis becomes significant in implementing a sound risk management plan. A project taken up poses as a risk in itself to explore opportunities that lie waiting on the other side. Therefore, threats need to be minimized a Project Management in SMEs Project Management in SMEs Introduction To Literature Review: Literature Review is done by knowing a clear definition of SMEs, its role in the Indian economy. Then it is carried out by analyzing the definition of project management and its significance in the SMEs, and next the definition of project and its factors affecting the success of a project was discussed. This chapter also deals with the staffing of a project manager, project team and also about the effective skills required for a project manager to implement successful project management methodologies into an organization. This literature also covered by the critical analysis of effective risk management through Project Management practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in India, here mainly it was discussed about the types of risks that an organization encounters while establishing/choosing a vendor, and ways of analysis this risks through project management techniques. This chapter also explained about the ways of implementing a project management methodology into an SME and effec ts that a SME might face of implementing the project management tools and techniques. Definition Of Smes: SMEs can be defined in different forms due to broad mixture in business. A company is generally distinguished as a small or medium enterprise based on the total number of employees, total turnover and the balance sheet of the company. A company is considered as a small firm if it has 50 employees with an annual turnover of about  £5.6 million and an annual balance sheet of  £2.8 million. On the other hand, a firm is said to be a medium firm when it has a total of 250 employees with a turnover of about  £22.8million and a balance sheet of  £11.4million (company act 1985, Duke Ghosh, 2009). Role Of Smes In Indian Economy: SMEs are most vital part in the sustainable economical growth and participating in a long run of development of industrial sector from the past few years, SMEs are considered as a stepping stone for industrial growth. It has ability to transfer technology and modernization which brings economic success in this modern era. In the development of better and greater economic growth, competition, flexibility and good communication are the required parameters, for this reason SMEs are becoming like of mixture of competitiveness within the economy while providing flexibility and better communication system to the complete industrial structure. (Duke Ghosh, 2009) Recently the dimensions of the SMEs are seems likely to be increasing due to the government promotions and also its encouragement towards the goal of SMEs. The growth of the entrepreneurial sector have been raised from 870,000 businesses in 1981 to nearly 4 million by 2003 by the identification of importance and its development by the government of India. And it stood next to gigantic agricultural sector in providing the employment opportunities (Boulton and Turner, 2005). This SMEs are acting like a job providing engines, which indirectly raising the per capita of the nation economy. Such firms make significant contributions to private sector employment and output, which appears to be increasing overtime (Storey, 1994). The following diagram show the growth and the position of the development of the small industries development as on 2003 according to SIDO Importance Of Smes To The Indian Economy SMEs, however defined, constitute the majority of all enterprises in most of the economies in the world (OCED, 1998). SMEs are not only acting as employment generator but also achieved outstanding credit in Indian economy by satisfying its core objectives and being as a supporting body to the large firms. This is one of the main reasons why the SMEs have gained more attention from the politicians, policy-makers and academics. However, between 1945 and the late 1960s there was little interest in small firms from either the government or academics. According to Mr. Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Ministry of State for Finance, Bangalore; says that SMEs are playing a vital role in socio-economic policies of Government of India. Foreign earning and imports of foreign capital goods contribution have been developed by the socio economic policies of India (Mr. Pawan Kumar, 2007). â€Å"SMEs were regarded as being poorly managed, badly organised and reliant on outmoded technologies to produce inferior products and services† (Manson and Harrison, 1990). For this reason the Indian government have implemented many more SMEs policies for their development and mainly focused on promoting clusters of small firms and supporting the development of high-tech sector such as IT sectors and BPOs in Bangalore, and this policies have been very successful as a results many of the outsourcing companies from western countries are moving to India (Patrizio B, et. al, 2006). Starting with wide varieties of situations and approach, a huge amount of SMEs policies have been implemented in developing countries like India (Parrilli, 2005). Services have been the fastest-growing sector of the Indian economy over the past decades and helped to accelerate the overall growth rate of the economy, this services have also made Indias integration with the world economy through trade and capital flows (Uma Kapila, 2009). The phenomenal growth and export in the services like IT and BPO have placed India on the global map as one of the major players in the field of knowledge-based services this also helped to improve the performance of the other sectors of the economy in turn helping the overall development. Project Management And Its Significance: This literature says before knowing about the significance of project management in SMEs, it is important to explain the definition of the project management and its approach of implementing a project as follows: Project Management: â€Å"The purpose of project management is to plan, organize and control all activity so that the project is completed as successfully as possible in spite of all the difficulties and risks. This process starts before any resources are committed and must continue until all work is finished. The aim is for the final result to satisfy the objectives of both the project performer and the customer† (Lock, 2006, p. 1) It is known that projects differ from each other in more ways than one. They might differ in their structure, mode of operation, funds allocated or even the strength they comprise of or their criticality to the business (Heldman, 2005). Even though a similar project has been carried out in the past, the projects may differ in one or more aspects such as administrative, physical and commercial or a change in ways of working etc; managing projects is a part of every business and is quintessential for the smooth functioning and success of the project. Project Management includes all necessary activities needed to plan and execute a project (Lock, 2006). The two most important steps involved in going about a project are discussed below: Step 1: To decide what needs to be done before the initiation of a project. The next set of requirements from a project management perspective is to estimate the cost of completing the project and make sure there are necessary funds available to execute the project so as to bring name and revenue to the organization (Burke, 1999). People involved in planning the project need to ensure beforehand that they pick the right people to execute the project and make them aware of the responsibilities assigned to them. Project resources are the key to success in any project and its rarely a one-man team (Heldman, 2005). Therefore, a team that has an open-minded approach towards the project and all other people involved in the project and be prepared to motivate and be motivated throughout the length of the project. This will encourage teamwork and commitment in what they do. One of the key things to ensure higher rates of success in a project is to choose the right mix of people and the right level of management looking for process improvement and thereby providing value added services to customers. This in turn helps organizations improve their efficiency and help them to stay on top of its competitors (Baron, 2005). Every person involved needs to be updated by project leaders and start the chain of communication to ensure adequate buy-in and at the same time commit to managing their expectations from the project. The main aim of communication is to keep everyone updated about any latest developments that take place and keep them engaged (PMBOK, 2004). Provide clear briefs to people involved in the project to obtain commitment on work and deliveries (Baron, 2005). The support of sponsors is very important by making them commit to your approach. (Burke, 1999) Meeting the expectations of the stakeholders, meeting of objectives and requirements, meeting budget, meeting deadlines etc (Jeston and Nelis, 2006). Step 2: We live in a competitive world where every firm attempts to make optimum use of resources and to be better than their competitors. This brings the area of proper planning and execution of the project. The main objective of planning a project well is to schedule and chart out the complete work for the project and then ensure arrangements are in order for work to start and continue as per schedule (Burke, 1999). For a project to be successful and be admired, it should complete on schedule. The project needs a leader who takes the final decision with the consent of all members in his/her team. He/she should portray the courtesy to listen to subordinates even when the opinion is not being considered or implemented (Heldman, 2005). People who carry out the project should be taken into confidence and spoken to regularly. Most importantly, a project should have clarity about its scope, objectives, responsibilities, cost and accountability, scope for improvement should be considered and stockholders should be kept in confidence (PMBOK, 2004). The literature explains that the project management methodologies allow the project manager to allocate and make more work done with less people and time, so it would be beneficial to the SME where it have very fewer people working. And also its make the organisation more effective by implementing more project in lesser time by providing clear control on the projects scope and changes and implementing them more effectively and efficiently. Project management improves the line of decision making; it also increases the quality of a project. SMEs can handle more projects by raising its business (Kerzner, 2003). Definition Of Project And Its Success Factors: Project: A project is a series of activities or tasks that have a specific objective to be completed within a determined specification; have defined start and end dates; usually funded and require resources (Kerzner 2003; Cooke-Davies 2001). When the project is said to be failed it is waste of capital, time and resource, a new lessons /techniques/methodologies have to be learned from the failed projects and the project manager/ project authorities have to continue for the new project. Project management is one of the methodologies which deals the projects in a systematic manner and says the following are the essential factors to be made to complete successfully with a project: Clarity In Project Definition: Project manager has to make himself/herself with a clear idea and definition of the project, but not only he/she but also to his/her project team. He/she have to make sure about the project specifications such as â€Å"what the project is about† its aim, objectives, and its deliverables, etc. For example we can talk about the case studies of some unsuccessful projects due to indistinct objectives and aims which are documented by Gray and Larson (Gray and Larson, 2002). Thus the chances of increasing project success lies in clear and distinct objectives and aims. Project Feasibility: It is one among the factors which talks about the social, economical, political, human, cultural, financial and environmental factors which underpins to the achievement of the project (Fullen, 2005). According to Khatib this factors would produce a good result for a project which undergoes a serious study, specified aim and objective and allocation of time (Khatib, 2003). Consistent feasibility makes a project manager to define himself with a clear and well project aim, time specifications, and allocation of resources. A positive feasibility brings more chances to lead a project success. Planning: â€Å"According to Kerzner project planning; in general, can best be described as the function of selecting the enterprise objectives and establishing the policies, procedures, and programs necessary for achieving them. It can be described as a forecasting the environment and predefined course of action† (Kerzner, 2003 ). According to Kerzner, there are four basic reasons for project planning: Elimination or reduction of uncertainty. Improving the efficiency of the operation. Understanding a better understanding of the objectives. To provide a basis for monitoring and controlling work. (Adapted from Kerzner, 2003) Work Breakdown Structure (Wbs): The important task to be done by the project manger after project planning is dividing the work into manageable tasks. â€Å"The work breakdown structure is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables† (PMBOK, 2004). The work breakdown structure also explains complete scope of the project. The WBS divides the work into small tasks which are manageable and will have a specific responsible authority will be allocated, it will be in a manner of integratable so that the total work package is the summation of subdivided elements, and it will be as much as easy to be measure in terms of progress like estimating cost, scheduling, monitoring, and controlling (Kerzner, 2003). Involvement Of Project Stakeholders: â€Å"Project stakeholders are the individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over the projects objectives and outcomes† (PMBOK, 2004). Project stakeholders are also a part of the project success, to ensure this success the project team have to identify their requirements, expectations, and their influence on the project. Stakeholders may have various levels of authority/responsibility on the project; they may vary from occasional contributors to full sponsors for the project. â€Å"Stakeholder who ignores this responsibility can have a damaging impact on the project objectives. Likewise, project managers who ignore stakeholders can expect a damaging impact on project outcomes† (PMBOK, 2004). The above figure shows that every individual project is similar to the structure of the earth where in each sector plays an important role here the most interior structure is project manager who forms the base of any project. The project manager forms the integral part of a project management team along with whom he carry on the project. The project manager and the project management team together comprises of a project team where in this team wholly concentrate on the project that is to be taken. These three together works for the satisfaction of the stakeholders interested in the completion of the project it may comprises of the senior management of the company the owners and the clients of the company. Staffing The Project Manager And Project Team: As mention above to my literature the successful project includes; on time delivery, must come across stakeholders expectations, within budget and have to congregate the project deliverables (Cooke-Davies, 2004). Project manager is one who plays a vital role to mix all stuff to formulate the project to a success. â€Å"Project manager is the individual ultimately responsible for managing and leading the project to its successful conclusion† (Paul D, 2005). It is a role that entails a mix of competencies, combining management with leadership and political awareness (Pinto, 2000). Though understanding the role of project manager sounds good, but the upper management always find difficulties in the selection of a correct project manager. â€Å"Project management is said to be successful only if the project manager and his team are totally dedicated to the successful completion of the project. This requires the project team and project manager must have good understanding of the fundamental project requirements† (Kerzner, 2003). For this reason the upper management have to look up/focus at the following skills in the selection process from the individual to appoint him/her as a project manager: (this are requirements demanded by a SME in its advertisement for a facilities planning and development project manager (adapted from The New York Times, January 2, 1972) (source: Kerzner, 2003) Business Management Skills: If project management is itself an organization, as the whole project group will work as a solo unit for the achievement of a common goal, then the project manager is the CEO of this organization. So the organization skills are predominantly important during project development. With strong business management skills, he/she must be able to achieve the most excellent hysterics across teams and in the midst of all project resources of the organisation. â€Å"It requires defining the reporting relationship, responsibilities, line of control, and information needs. A good program plan and a task matrix are useful organisation tools plus clear defined program objectives, open communication channels, good program leadership, and senior management support† (Kerzner, 2003). Leadership Skills: Project manager is the one who has to manage his/her team and make them to follow him/her, has to act as a leader. He/she has to have a clear project leadership and own direction to direct the team members. He/she must be able to solve the conflicts, assistance in problem-solving, as a project leader he/she as to represent his/her team to upper level management. He/she as to motivate the project team members towards common vision. Project manager as a leader has to remain as a inspiration to his/her project team (Kerzner, 2003). Technical Skills: Technical skills is an superlative addition remark for a project manager, if his proficiency applicable to the project, by this he/she can have good thoughts and understanding about the projects and can work out more for his/her profound project objective (Horine 2005; Murch 2001). Now a day this skills achieved a greater importance, without technical skills a project manager cannot understand the present market, updated technology and the environment of the business. With the help of these technical skills one can understand the consequences or technical risks that encounter in the project, for example a software engineer being as a project manager and handling a software development project can easily sort the risks that appear in that project. He/she can make sure of his/her project team with a clear understanding of the foreseen risks that may appear in the project. â€Å"According to Kerzner, 2003 the technical expertise is composed of the following understanding: Technology involved Engineering tools and techniques employed Specified markets, their customers, and requirements Product application Technological trends and evolutions Relationship among supporting technologies People who are part of the technical community† (Source: Kerzner, 2003) Communication Skills: Another important skill set must be posed by the project manager is communication skills. â€Å"Project manager influence people o take action, this requires an ability to communicate in a style appropriate for the individual concerned† (Paul D, 2005). Project manager is the communication channel throughout the project. Project manager is effective means of communication hub between the project team and the end users. Project manager have to act as a communication radio and have to carry the stakeholders expectations towards the project team and have to bring the project to a successful effective end. Moreover, a successful project manager ensures smooth information sharing across teams via instilling a communication-driven environment that allows for efficient spread, user-friendliness and use of information. Conflict Resolution Skills: No project end up successfully without any conflicts, there might be foreseen risks or conflicts between the project team members or conflicts between project team and stakeholders. So this is the main reason that the project manager, the CEO of project management organization has to possess the problem solving skills/conflict resolution skills. Project success lies with how well the project manager solves the problems/conflicts. Soundness of the solution taken by the project manager with a logical and analytical thinking conforms how well the project manager good at reaching the project to a successful end. However these conflicts are beneficial to a project which indirectly increases the competiveness among the team members involved the project (Kerzner, 2003). Project Management Experience: Implementing successful project management lies in the hands of able project manager, so the project manager is responsible character and must possess prior project management experience in general. Project management is body of knowledge which can be learned from the realistic knowledge, but its not a skill which comes by itself. A well qualified project manager will be very much able to implement a successful project management into an organization. Past knowledge makes a manager to overcome all the challenges that he/she face in completing a project by using project management. Other Skills: There are so many other skills such as planning, resource allocation, management support building, and time management skills, etc, which make the project manager to lay his/her path successful in controlling the projects successfully. Not only this but also the entrepreneurial skills and administrative skills are very important in understanding the tactics and implement them in his/her own project and make the project victorious (Kerzner, 2003). A Critical Analysis Of Effective Risk Management Through Project Management Practices In Small And Medium Enterprises In India: Risk: Vose (2008, p. 3) defines the term risk as â€Å"a random event that may possibly occur and, if it did occur, would have a negative impact on the goals of the organization. Thus, a risk is composed of three elements: the scenario; its probability of occurrence; and the size of its impact if it did occur†. Any risk could prove an organisation wrong in its quest to achieve success. Risks can occur in various forms and their impact can vary under a lot of factors. In a high cost business environment that is under fierce competition from companies not just on a national, but also on a global level, the chances of risks arising multiply quickly and heavily (Crouhy et al., 2000). A firm can easily lose its name in the market because they had overlooked a miniscule drawback that their competitors overcame. Therefore, risks not only carry financial implications with them, but also other factors such as brand image, market credibility or loss of market share. To analyse and understand these implications, it is necessary to understand the types of risks and their varying characteristics (Flynn, 2008). Click and Duening (2004) have come up with a list of the various types of risks such as human capital risks, Confidentiality risks, overall project risks, and scope risks, delay risks, estimation risks and dependency risks may occur in the business. In addition to this there might be property (intellectual), legal, value related or unavoidable natural risks that generally exist and arise in a business. Types of risks: Human capital risks This has always been an important part of the business activity. People who work towards organizational goals are the most critical assets of the firm and the project (Beasley et al., 2004). A loss of an employee who was very important to the smooth functioning of a project can be a risky proposition because a new individual joining the project would need time to understand and evaluate a lot of factors contributing to the project. This would invariably lead to loss of productivity, a slump in team morale or even loss of time and money (Flynn, 2008). Project risks – These risks arise because of a lot of other risks contributing to the main risk of a project being delayed or even shelved in certain cases. There have also been instances where proper planning and regulation were absent or goals misunderstood leading to extended timeframes to complete the project thus leading to increased investments of critical resources (Sanchez Canton, 1998). A very good example of project risks can be seen in Government funded public projects or even military developmental projects where public time and money is involved. Confidentiality risk: The second most important risk that may appear in dealing a project is confidentiality risk, it mostly appear due to lack of secrecy. This is especially for the large projects. The information have to be kept confidential, if not the competitors with large team members may understand the work flow/formulae of the project and be able to built the project earlier as before you can. We must be careful especially when we involve contractors or outsiders into the project. Effective project management may help in having a good communication line among the team members, marketing staff, and contractors; this may helps to keep the information confidential (T Kendrick, 2009) Scope risks: This is another type of risk which mostly appears when the project starts to take a shape. This is due to requirement of a new technology, unfamiliar developments of tools or methods, poor testing criteria, inconsistent specification, undefined product definition, and technical complication (T Kendrick, 2009) Delay risks: Delay risk is part of schedule risks and these are after scope risks, these risks mainly appear due to the delay of the essential parts required for a project, it include customs, Paperwork, delivery, and related concerns. This is also due to the delay of information needed, communication gap and misunderstanding among the team members/ project stakeholders, etc. Due this factor the project may delay for some days, months or may be for years (T Kendrick, 2009) Estimating risks: Estimating risk appears mostly in technical projects. Project manager mostly says the typical risks arise in the project is estimating risks. Estimating risks occurs when there are learning curves ( when the quality of estimates of new technology, or new people involvement is not good), judgements (misunderstanding, disintegration of work), and imposed deadlines (forceful deadlines set in advance, when an objective is retained) (T Kendrick, 2009) Dependency risks: Other projects, infrastructure factors, and legal issues are three sub categories of dependency risks. In general large project are sub divided into small projects and mostly these small project will be dependent on the other, unfortunately when one small project is delayed/stopped the other projects which are dependent on it will be delayed. â€Å"Even for the interfaces that were defined in advance, delay was fairly common due to the uncertainty in each project† (T Kendrick, 2009) The above section has detailed the different types of risks that normally exist or co-exist in projects. Their modes of occurrence and the impact they can have on the project and the firm has been explained in brief. The following part would attempt to explain ways that firms, projects and managers involved employ to analyse and manage the same since the occurrence of a risk can pose a threat to the above in terms of time, money or even failure to deliver what has been promised. Analyzing And Managing Risks: Ways to manage risks with limited impact on other resources: Risks are present in abundance in any IT and outsourcing industries because of the processes being tightly interlinked such as business processes, database, or process reengineering. Therefore, it is very important to: Identify risks. Weigh risks for probability of risk occurring. Weigh risks for criticality/impact at your operations. Plan to reduce risk (to zero if appropriate, for example for a safety critical industry) (Sanchez Canton, 1998). A simple way of explaining risk analysis is to take an airplane for example because the traveler, who is the user, has zero tolerance to risks. In similar manner, risk analysis can be carried out for other products and services too. The most important indicative risks are business continuity management risks, information security/data privacy risks and process related risks (Lock, 2001). The need to evaluate and monitor risks involved from an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) perspective takes higher priority over other means of analysis in the information age of business (Flynn, 2008). It can be seen in the ERM diagram below the different risks across the entire organization that exist or arise and the need for them to be managed effectively (Beasley et al., 2004). An important reason firms should stress on analysing risks is the realization that risks delay chances of sticking to time schedules agreed by project leaders to customers in turn; leading to increased investment of resources in the form of man hours and time (PMBOK, 2004). This causes increase in investment of capital, which is something neither customers nor firms involved like to do. Risks occur at every stage of a project thus increasing stress on carrying out risk analysis and minimize the effects of risks on a given project. It means that risks and errors still occur when thorough analyses of their occurrence have been chalked out and steps have been implemented to minimize the effects they have on a project (Burke, 1999). However, prior knowledge of a risk occurring at a given period in the project enables people involved to counter the risk effectively and minimize or erase the impact it could have had on the project. Before the project could be initiated, assessing risks by knowing in exact what the project intends to do and the reason for it to be outsourced becomes very important. This could include assessing project behaviour under varying market conditions and the expected growth rate it can attain within a given period of time (Dickson, 2003). Risks need to be analyzed in a detailed manner by the top management in order to understand the various options available to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. This understanding and analysis becomes significant in implementing a sound risk management plan. A project taken up poses as a risk in itself to explore opportunities that lie waiting on the other side. Therefore, threats need to be minimized a