Organisation and Behaviour

Organisations and Behaviour 1. 1 Compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture Let us analyse two different kind of organisations: a restaurant and a fast food. Thanks to my work experiences in London I am able to compare both of them. In the restaurant there was everything except that a good relationship among the employees and between these and the managers. Everybody was hired through a short interview, without having an induction or a proper training or a briefly introduction of the organisation.It was like everybody was left at their own destiny, so if you had a good skills, determination and you agreed with the treatment that you would have received, you could have gone on and grow in your own, otherwise nobody would have helped you and said how to do things or were to find other things, for example. All these factors did not help to create a real friendship among the employees, and of course, had a huge impact on the motivations of the people, so that wa s almost impossible to see a work as a team.Instead, in the fast food everything was different. Before to get the job, you have to pass several interviews and attend an induction. Since the beginning you will been told about the company, how it works and the progress that you could do. The first day you start your job on the field, you will have a briefly walk-throw with the manager, outside and inside the shop in order to see and to know where emergency exit and other useful things are situated. Then you will meet all the team, and the trainer, which will follow and help you in every pass.This spirit that you can find will help you feeling part of a team in a very short time and also will motivate you to do your best to succeed with the company. At the end, it is clear how the choice of the restaurant to behave in that way with their employees had had a negative affect into the team, bringing dissatisfaction and laziness, so much so that some employees had left the place. Whereas, in the fast food, the work of the manager and of the employees as well, had helped a lot to create a good atmosphere and a good relationship between each other,so that everybody could be motived and focus on the business. . 2 Explain how the relationship between an organisation's structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business A different organisation structure and culture may have relevant influence on the performance of the business. Comparing the 2 work experience that I had, it is clear how the organisation has had an impact on the trend of the business. In the fast food the manager managed to create a real and proper team which met the spirit of structure: a correct division of work between employees and the formal organisational relationship that are created between them.There were the principles of an organisation culture, there was respect between each other, respect for different culture and everybody was behaving in a proper way and always ready to help the others. All these aspects create a perfect harmony inside the team, so that everybody was focus on achieving all the goals and inevitably, it had a strong and good effect on the business performance. In the restaurant instead, nobody knew what â€Å"work as a team† means.The managers did not care about creating a successful team and also among the employees there was not the desire to reach it, so that who needed more help could not develop their skills and could not feel part of the company. Altogether these aspects brought all the motivations of everyone down, so that no one cared about the growth of the company or achieving personal goal, bringing for sure negative influence on the business. 1 1. 3 Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at work There are a lot of causes which condition the behaviour of a singular person in a workplace.Factors such as personality, attitude, culture, demographic factors, may influences a lot the people. Let us now exam ine these factors. Personality-can be seen as one of the most complex aspect of humans beings that influences heavily their behaviour. It is known that character determine the way in which a person behave and response to situations and people. Personality can also be influenced by heredity, family and society. Attitude- can establish the tendency to respond positively or negatively to certain objects, situations or persons.Factors such as family, culture, society and colleagues influence the attitude. The managers in an organisation should know about the possibility aspects of different kind of jobs, in order to help employees to create a positive attitude among them, so that they will be able to work as a team. Culture- differences among cultures are what distinguish one society from another. The capacities, the knowledges, the experiences and the talent of employees are related to the type of culture for which everyone comes from.It is clear that the culture influence the abilitie s of singular, so that someone who comes from a specific kind of custom can have an easier or more positive impact and also being more suitable for determinate kind of jobs, than someone else who has a different type of culture. Demographic factors- such as background, education, nationality, race, also have an impact on the individual. For example a manager of an organisational will be more talented and confident in hiring persons that belong to good socio-economic background, well educated and with a young age, as they are believed to be performing better than the others.Also people who are dynamic and with good communication skills have always more chances than the others to be hired. 2. 1 Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations There are a lot of different leadership types, among them we can find the three major styles: Autocratic, Democratic and Delegative. Autocratic- in this style the leader has total authority and command over deci sion making. The leaders tell their employees what must be done and how they want it completed, without getting any advice.It is a kind of style typically used when the manager needs to have under control the situation to avoid possible mistakes. It is clear the goal of this leadership: use your knowledge to get the job done, making sure that important things are done correctly and in a short time. 2 Democratic- all the team together can decide what to do and how to do it, even if the manager maintains the final decision. It is commonly used when the leader has part of information, employees have other part, so that they are able to work as a team and know how to manage things.All these factors help a lot to generate a good relationship among the employees and also to create a good atmosphere in which everybody has trust and respect of each other. I can identify all these aspects in my experience at the fast food â€Å"EAT. †, where everybody from the manager to my last colle ague has treated me as if I were there since years, helping and giving me advices since the first day. Furthermore, this experience gave me the possibility to develop my abilities and to know how to work as a team; characteristics that I will bring always with me and that will be useful in the future.Delegative- in this styles the employees can make the decision. Even if the manager is still responsible for the decision that are made. It is especially used when the employees can manage the things and are able to understand what needs to be done and how to do it. Can also be used when leader has fully trust and familiarity in the team. 2. 2 Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management Taking as example the fast food, it is possible to see how the organisation helps the practice of management by motivating individuals and by getting the best from each one.Starting from the induction, where they showed a graphic with all the progress that you could have made u ntil arrive to became a manager within a year, continuing into the shop, it is understandable how they motivated people. As said in the answer above, the manager was using a democratic style, always ready to hear the employees, to allow them to do things in a different way and to help them if it was necessary. Compare with the other types it is possible to say that the manager was even a bit autocratic, sometimes, by giving the input on how that kind of thing had to be done and how much time needed to be done.Also during the busiest time it was necessary being autocratic to not made many mistakes. Instead, comparing with the delegative style, there was not the possibility for some employees to make the decisions, because they were new, without lot of experiences, so that the manager could not have trusted them. 2. 3 Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisation There are different approaches that can be taken by different organisations. As I have bee n saying, in the fast food there was an approach which was focus on motivating people and making them feeling part of the company.Obviously these approaches have contributed to get the best from each employee and also have helped them to work hard, with more passion in order to achieve the goals of the organisation and eventually own objectives. All these methods also have contributed to affect people in a positive way, giving them the instruments to grow up and to develop personal skills. Analysing the restaurant instead, it was easily to see in which way they were treating people. It was adopted an autocratic style, where the leaders were giving orders without giving any advices and expecting things to be done in a shorter time than expected.These aspects have contributed not less to affect people in a negative way, deprive of them the enthusiasm to work and the voluntary to achieve something together with the company. This kind of style also have had an huge impact on the motivat ions of the employees and did not help at all to create a real team. 3 Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in period of change It is possible to have different impacts among the organisations in period of change, especially regarding new motivation and different methods on how to explain things.For example in the autocratic style, the leaders may change some rules or may take other positions regarding specific things. It can facilitate or complicate the â€Å"life† of the employees, but the leaders will always have the total control about decision making and the authority to make some transformations or improvements which can change one more time the assets into the employees team. In one hand the changes can of course bring new motivations and new aspirations, but in the other one they can bring dissatisfaction so that the motivations will go down.The democratic type instead, is the more suitable for changes, because th e team will decide about that all together with the agreement of the manager, so that everybody can give their own opinion in order to make the bests changes for the company and for the team itself. Thanks to that, all the group can have more motivations or can recover them on the eventuality they had lost them; so that the team can gain more confidence in itself and can aspire to reach new goals. Also the delegative one, can be considered as good as the democratic one in motivations changes.Because the decision of make a change will be taken and will be decided by the team altogether, they will be able to modify the aspect of things where necessary so that they can change the way on how to do or explain them among each other, so that they will have new motivation and new incentives in make the job done. Compare the application of different motivational theories within a workplace There can be different motivational theories within a workplace, such as training people and multitaski ng. Training people: it works everything around the way the trainers teach you.For example, if they start since the beginning to teach in a determinate way, by showing how to do things in one of the easiest way, smiling and enjoying it at the same time, you will have a positive impression. This positive impression, will give you a different motivation on how to approach things and also will make you feel stronger and having more energies to do that specific thing. Training is the first step that each individual face once they get in a new place. This is why it has an important value and it is fundamental for people tendency.If the trainers will â€Å"fail† the training, the employees will be less motivated and will have a bad tendency at work; whereas if they will training positively, the employees, for sure will have more motivations and they will start the path into the new company with a positive tendency and with more vitality. Multitasking: it is also considered a way to motivate people. An employee which is considered multitasking, has the trust of the manager and also the essential confidence to interact with him/her.Once the leaders will give the employees more things to do at the same time, they will feel really part of the group and they will spend all their own energies to try to make things done properly in a easiest and shortest way, in order to reach their goals. They will be really motivated because they know that if they do not do the right thing, they may lose the trust of the manager or they may disappoint them. 4 3. 3 Evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers The motivation theory are really important for the manager because it can help to set up a team.It is very useful for a leader to start with the right step in every circumstance during the process of integration of each individual into the company. It can be thought that the work of a manager is an â€Å"easy job† because gives only instructions and will check once the things are done. Instead it is more important than a job as a trainer or as a simple employee, because they must have the capability to â€Å"build† a team and with it to reach the objectives which are given from person in a higher position than them.If the leader will fail in it, there is the possibility that can be fired, or even worse, that the company can fail without reach the expect goals. Thanks to that the motivations assume a relevant position into a workplace, so that the managers will do all that is into their capability to help the employees and to make their life easier, by giving examples, playing games and teach them by using their experiences. It is with the help of the manager and with the volition of a singular employee that the right motivations can come up so that the job can be finished and the employees can develop and reach the targets of the organisation all ogether as a team. Explain the nature of groups and group behaviour within organ isations The groups are planned by purpose and created by management as part of the formal organisation structure. There are three different kind of groups: formal groups, virtuoso team and informal groups. Formal groups- are formed as a consequence of the ideal of organisation and arrangement for the division of the work. They are created to achieve particular goals and are concerned with the co-ordination of work activities. Individual are brought together on the basis of established roles within the structure of the organisation.Their goals are pointed out by management, and relationships, rules and norms of behaviour established. Formal work groups can be differentiated in a number of ways: the task to be performed, the basis of membership, the nature of technology and position within the organisation structure. Also, they tend to be relatively permanent. Virtuoso team- are formed only for big change in organisations. They are composed of individual virtuosos or superstars with a single clear, ambitious mandate and are not supposed to remain together for different projects. They are rarely created by the organisations.Informal groups- are concentrated more on personal relationship and agreement of group members than on defined role relationship. They serve especially to work and satisfy psychological and social needs, not necessarily related to the tasks to get done. An informal group can be the same or take only a part of the formal group. The informal leader may be chosen as the the individual who is more adapted, who helps to resolve conflict, reflects the attitudes and values of the member, leads the group in satisfying its objects or cooperate with the management or other people outside the group.In rarely case, it is possible for the informal leader to be the same person as the formal leader. Main reason for informal groups: 5 -The perpetuation of the culture; -The communication system; -The implementation of social control and -The provision of inte rest and fun in work life. 4. 2 Discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations There are several factors which can affect the development of a teamwork in organisations. Factors such as the behaviour, the communications, the group size and the compatibility of members are the most important.Behaviour-it is extremely important for the approach in every organisations. An individual with the right behaviour will integrate itself easily inside the group, will learn and will develop skills as well as grow together with the team. Whereas an individual with an incorrect behaviour will affect negatively the team, bringing inevitably discontent inside the group and eventually frictions which will influence all the work into the team. Communications-are also important and contribute to the success of the group.Communications can be affected by the nature of the task, by the work environment and by technology. For example, difficulties in com munication can arise with production system where workers have to stay in a determinate place with limited freedom of movement. Even when there are the opportunities to interact with colleagues, physical condition may limit the communications. Size of the group-there can be problems with communications and co-ordination as the members increase in size. A large group is more difficult to handle and require an high level of supervision.Then when a group becomes too large it may split into smaller units and friction may develop between the sub-groups so that the cohesiveness inevitably becomes more difficult to achieve. Comparing with a small group(less than 5 members) for example, the bigger one will have an higher amount of creativity and variety that can be produced. Compatibility of members-the more the group will share knowledges, backgrounds, interests, attitudes and experiences, the easier it is to achieve cohesiveness. Different personalities or skills of members, may serve to complement each other and help for a cohesive group.However, such differences may be the cause of conflicts and frictions. Conflict can also arise in a homogeneous group where individuals are in competition with each other(ex. Incentive payment schemes). 6 4. 3 Evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within a given organisation Nowadays the technology is present in every organisations and gives a huge help in making things done faster and in an easier way. It has also an important effect on cohesiveness and relate closely to the nature of the task, physical setting and communications.Evaluating the technologies in the fast food,it is possible to say that they helped a lot, especially during the busiest time. They contributed to make things easier, helping the cohesiveness and the interaction, even when there were problems of understanding between the group. In one hand, have a skill-based technology can increase the percentage of group cohesiveness, in the other one wi th machine-placed assembly line work it is more difficult to develop wholeness. Bibliography: Business study guide; www. studymode. com 7

Literacy in an Ever-Changing World Essay

Being literate, as defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary, is â€Å"the ability to read and write† or â€Å"to be educated†. By my own definition, literacy is the ability to read, write, and verbally communicate, while also comprehending those writings, verses, or phrases. However, literacy is not only reading and writing. In order for one to be considered literate in today’s society, that person must possess the skill of remembering and understanding what was just said or read. Our American culture demands literacy everyday, from being able to read street signs and signals, to understanding contracts and important forms. One is no longer considered literate in American culture if they are only able to read and write what applies to their personal life. We must now be educated in cultural literacy, computer and technology literacy, and academic literacy. To function and be successful in today’s ever-changing society, the average person must rise above the basic meaning of literacy and advance in their understanding of new technology, language, and speech. Most would agree that the skill of becoming literate begins at a very young age, from repeating the Alphabet after a teacher, to learning and remembering the names of animals, to simple word pronunciation. Even in Fishman’s essay â€Å"Becoming Literate: A Lesson From the Amish†, it is evident that children very young were reading and writing. We, as a society, place very high standards and expectations on children, and for that matter, teenagers and adults as well. All are forced to be â€Å"up to date† in the current vernacular and writings, and their ability to read, write and understand. Experiences with becoming literate may differ from person to person depending on their family, background, and beliefs. Someone with an Amish background for example, may have memories of repeating bible verses or book phrases after an adult reads them aloud. For me personally, the experiences have always been positive. I often remember sitting in the family room on my Grandfather’s lap while he assisted me in reading simple children’s books. Another fond memory is one of doing crossword puzzles and word-finds. When I was learning to read, phonics and â€Å"sounding out† words was the craze. We were taught in school to break the words apart and attempt to decipher them one or two letters at a time. Vowels and consonants, the sounds of long and short letters and pronunciation were all reinforced over and over. Learning to read, write, and understand all give an overall sense of accomplishment; both to me as a child, and even still today when I learn a new word or read a different book. The process of becoming literate, I believe, is a lifelong journey. As technology and times evolve and change, our degree of literacy must also so everyone will be informed of the advancements. Overall, looking back on childhood and even into my college years, memories involving the challenge of becoming literate have been positive experiences, as can be my future endeavors in literacy. In our current society, literacy, in all aspects of the word is imperative. In order for someone to find their â€Å"place† or where they fit in the social ladder, their level of literacy must show. Many teenagers have certain ways of writing and speaking. If one desires to be a part of that particular social group, they must learn to speak and understand the language used, as well as to verbally and non-verbally communicate their ideas and thoughts to others successfully. On many occasions, one must rely on their literary background to find their place and social group. To be literate does not always mean to use the â€Å"proper† words. For example, when attempting to fit into a social group, a person must learn and understand when to use that group’s way of speaking. â€Å"Slang† may be used in letters and language. Words may not always mean the same thing to different people either. One person may interpret the word â€Å"bad† as describing only a behavior, while to another person the word may bring about the idea of schoolwork. Understanding how and when a particular group uses certain words shows the ability to fit in. Finding your place also refers to fitting in with your workplace. Certain language, which is acceptable out of work, is not acceptable while you are on the job. Relying on your personal literacy is definitely a big part of finding your place and where you fit in society. For someone to honestly believe that reading and writing are of no real importance, going through life successfully would be very difficult. The ability to read and write are in fact, of great importance in everyday life. Everything from walking down the street and reading street signs, to signing and understanding contracts, even being able to secure an ideal job require literacy. In this day and age, literacy is a necessity if one wants a shot at any normalcy in life. Obviously, being able to read and write for leisure and entertainment is good thing, but to think that that’s all it’s good for is ridiculous. For example, if a man wants to get his driver’s license and purchase a car, he must read and understand the driving manual, be able to read the test questions, and interpret the street signs on the road. Not to mention all of the paperwork and signatures that come along with buying a vehicle. The positive aspects of literacy make themselves quite evident when looking for and applying for a job, and meeting certain pre-employment criteria. Literacy should be of utmost importance to everyone, and aside from being useful for entertainment and leisure purposes; it is imperative to become successful in life. Fifty years ago, a person may have been able to get by on what they had learned in terms of reading and writing, during their high school years. However, times have changed, and technology continues to evolve. Literacy in areas such as technology, academics, and culture are more important now than ever before, and will continue to gain importance as the days go by. To be literate helps in many aspects and gives people a clear advantage in the job market and life in general. The ability to not only read and write, but to really understand our ever-changing world will forever be a free ticket to the American dream.

IT User NVQ – Communication

Most businesses of a certain site will have a company website to ell and advertise their products and services. These companies will often have a staff intranet run on company servers for employees only. This gives access to company Information, handbooks, procedures, forms and announcements. Paper based Information Is found in newspapers, books, maps and other printed literature and materials. Marketing information takes form in posters, billboards, leaflets, business cards and advertisements. Copyright law applies to all Information that Is available to view and be stored.It applies to music downloads, personal details, medical history, financial records, and retests a company or creator from plagiarism and theft of owned ideas and work. When referencing someone else's work it is important to acknowledging sources such as websites or books used. This also applies to Images taken from Imaging sites unless bought through stock photography. Electronically, access to Information can be restricted and permissions granted to only those chosen by the authority, an example of this is an HRS folder in a company network.Only authorized members of the HRS department would have access to the folder and Its contents as It would contain personal and confidential Information. A person or a business proven to be breaking the Data Protection Act and Copyright laws will be heavily fined and can face a prison sentence. Bal . 2 Describe a minimum of four different features of information. Manuals and training guides provide information on how to use products and appliances Including manufacturing guidelines and warranty information.Training guides are tutorials for the use of hardware and software, these start from a beginner level to more advanced features and functions. These can be supplied both paper and electronic format. Books containing factual Information can be bought from specialist bookstores, queasiness or borrowed from libraries. These can be history and language bo oks or 1 OFF ordinate survey maps contain information about local, national or international areas and countries, whilst reports are created to show information relating to finance, success, stock and inquiry.These can be presented in a written form or a presentation on television or over the radio. Creative work is a vital part of advertising information to attract interest and sales. Companies produce posters, brochures and other marketing materials to appeal to their current customer base and attract curiosity from new ones. Information treated on marketing materials usually relates to discounts, new products, extended sales, company profiles and imagery of goods, ideas and concepts.Live information such as bus / trains times, road traffic news, national news bulletins and weather forecasts are available to provide continuous up to date coverage online, on television and through electronic displays. This is arguably the most widely used and necessary information feature to allow the smooth operation of transport, businesses and increasing public knowledge on local and worldly matters. 82. 1, 82. 2, 82. 3 & 82. 4 Use a minimum of three different examples of access, aviation and search, one from each category. Use a minimum of three different search techniques and evaluate if the outcomes are fit for purpose.Access – entering a password to access a file or folder, creating a database query, entering an exact web address into an internet browser. Navigate – the use of website menu bars, browsing a company intranet, using bookmarks and favorites to store and recall websites and pages of interest. Search – the use of a search engine, using the find tool in Microsoft programs, using a wild card in database systems when a range of results is required or the exact search name unknown. Evaluation: – It is important that the information searched for and the results are relevant and up to date.Some websites are not regularly updated so will contain outdated information, a way to check for this is to check the end date on the copyright notice at the base of most home pages. Other informative sites such as Wisped are contribution based so users all over the world can input information on a topic. This information may not be accurate or be referenced incorrectly. Using a wildcat in databases will result in increased data found; sort through this for the information required will take time. However it is a useful tool if the name or description of what is being searched is unknown.Level of detail required is fundamental to how information is searched and accessed. For more detailed such as books and magazines on a specific topic. Navigation must be a sufficient option on any commercial website so the user can easily find what they are looking for. Poor design and limited functionality will dissuade users from using a site. 83. 1 & 83. 2 – See Using Email evidence 83. 3 A minimum of three different examples of manag ing storage. Managing storage in electronic communication is important to allow for organization ND easy retrieval of information.Creating message folders and suborders with rules attached for incoming mail will help to organize busy infixes into different categories such as department, sender name and importance. Suborders can be included for completed tasks or read and replied to emails. Any important attachments should be downloaded to a specific folder and the email archived or deleted if possible to create more space. Archiving important emails allows them to be saved on an individual computer or on a network. These emails can be retrieved when needed and opened in a compatible email client.Deleting unwanted emails ND regularly clear Junk and deleted items folders will help to increase space and also the running speed of an email program. These folders can be set to auto empty on close of the program or after a certain number of days. 83. 4 & 83. 5 Describe how to, and respond appropriately to, at least two common IT- based communication problems. When communicating through IT some problems can occur which can be rectified by following guidelines set by the network administrator of the manufacturer. Examples of problems that can occur are attempting to send or receive an email with an attachment that is too large or unreadable.Many businesses set size restrictions on incoming and outgoing mail for security and space management. Decreasing the size of the file or finding an alternative method of delivery such as a USB stick will allow the recipient to receive without further issues. Sometimes an attachment cannot be opened as it has been created in a program not installed on the recipient's computer. Appropriate programs, or the sender and resave in a different format. Emails from unknown senders can be problematic. These can be SPAM or fishing emails attempting to trick the recipient into entering personal or banking details ender the guise of a legitimat e company.They can also be innocent messages that can contain a virus attachment which is intended to damage the recipient's computer. Ways to prevent this are to install antivirus software and update it regularly. Increase firewall settings and if possible install spare prevention software also. Be wary of emails from unknown senders, if an email address does not appear legitimate most email clients have a block feature to stop further emails being received from the address. Any emails that appear to be genuine such as from a bank are often not so contacting the company by phone will clarify what is required.

Sino-American relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sino-American relationship - Essay Example Due to this common interest, United States is facing challenges in Eastern Asia. The United States, by applying proper methodology, can still be able to consolidate stable Sino-American relations. This can be attained by concentrating on issues such as; This serves to reduce suspicions of the different parties’ strategic intentions and creates a way for development due to the good relationship established between the two nations. Moreover, cooperation on a variety of specific bilateral and international issues of utmost importance to both sides is ensured. Deep suspicions of the other parties long-term strategic intentions are reduced thus creating confidence between the two parties. (Hiebert, 2009) The US support for Southeast Asia’s economic integration and the process of strengthening regional trade and creation of investment structures will bring about increased chances for U.S. exports to the area and thus improving the status of the people in the region. Creation of economic ties will in return deal with the challenge of smooth development of bilateral relations resulted by the sharp differences the two countries have in relation to trade and human rights. The challenge of cross-strait relation which brings about tension and disagreement between the U.S and China is therefore reduced as a result of mutual understanding as a result of the trading activities (Hiebert, 2009).

Human Life Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Life Cycle - Essay Example To be specific, women do not usually develop facial hairs like their male counterparts on their faces as a sign of puberty at common instances (Bolin & Whelehan, 1999). During pre-puberty stages, the development of female body takes place with the initial development of the breasts. It is a common phenomenon among female approaching their adolescence. In the stage of the pre-pubertal development, nipple enlargement occurs with the enlargement of the breasts and enlargement of the projected areola. With the maturity of the female, the breasts develop and the nipple appears to be the second mount. The development of breasts does not take place among males at such an apparent rate though. However, their chests expand as a sign of development at the time of their puberty (Bolin & Whelehan, 1999). In both females and males, the development of pubic hair is quite common. However, for females, the pubic hair grows sparsely along both sides of the labia, wherein with pigmentation, the hairs become coarse and curls as well as spreads to the medial of the thighs. For males, the pubic hair grows below the penis around the testes. The pubic hairs grow in the genital areas for both the sexes as a representation of the secondary sex characteristics (Bolin & Whelehan, 1999). The rate of women fertility is reduced during the late 20s and has a substantiate rate of decrease during the late 30s. Probabilities of pregnancy are high among women who are between the ages of 19-26 years than the women who are in their 30s. The female reproductive system is observed to age faster than any other organs. Even though the average age of menopause is 51 years for women, the reproductive system starts ageing at the age of 20s itself. Observably, there is a gradual as well as the drastic loss of fertility after the age of 35 years in females. Conversely, women maintain a regular ovulatory menstrual cycle even after 40s although the rate of fertility declines at an earlier age

International peopel management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International peopel management - Essay Example However this is not a child’s play despite all the help and guidance provided by the books and articles on this respective subject. Managers who are putting an effort to find out face several problems and hurdles and this is what this article will deal with the problems of investigating employee commitment in an organization. Before we move on to the main topic of our discussion it is very important that we make clear that exactly employment commitment is, what are the different types, why is it so important and what are the symptoms of low employment commitment. This is what this section will deal in. Employment commitment in simple English can be defined as the emotional connection that a worker feels towards his or her organization. Along with this it is also the degree to which he associates himself with his respective firm and the feeling of belonging he has for the firm. In short it can be defined as the attachment of an emotional level to ones firm. It will be a surprise to know that not all types of commitment are desirable and they also have different factors that lead to different types of commitments (Kickul 2001). For the purpose of understanding we will take up two kinds of commitment here, the first one being effective commitment which is the true emotional connection of an individual havin g with the firm. This is also known as organizational loyalty. However this emotional connection can be towards peers, customers, profession or the job and not necessarily the whole of the organization. The second type of commitment is the continuance commitment. This is not completely an emotional connection but more of a mental act. This basically exists when employees feel that it is best for them to stay with the firm they are working for their personal benefit. For instance, if they find their firm progressing effectively and successfully they will find it

Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 - Essay Example The first two metaphors refer to cyclical events: the speaker compares his old age to winter (1) and to twilight (5). The decrease in length of time – from a year to a day – has often been commented on as reflecting the speaker's gradual acceptance of his own death, but an equally valid interpretation is that neither of these metaphors appropriately address the finality of dying. Winter takes place not just at the end of the year, but also at its beginning: the Christian notion of an afterlife comes across at full strength, along with hints that even if the speaker does believe in a life after death, they do not fully realize that such a life would be far removed from an earthly one. The use of twilight as a metaphor does represent an evolving acceptance of the end of life, as 'twilight' refers specifically to the end of the day. It does, however, have a twin in dawn, and is also not a true ending because it is part of a cyclical event. It is only in the final quatrain, which portrays a â€Å"fire† (9), that the speaker comes to realize the extent of their own mortality. Although other fires will no doubt exist in the future, each fire is an entity of itself, feeding so voraciously off its own nourishment that it gutters out. The fire is not cyclical, and offers little hope of returning to life, just like the speaker. All of the metaphors use very sensory imagery to portray their meanings. The speaker draws attention to the visual, invoking a picture of a young and old man standing opposite one another, as the old intones that â€Å"thou mayst in me behold† (1) the winter of life; â€Å"In me thou seest† (5) the twilight of life; and â€Å"In me thou se'est† (9) a dying fire. It is a very visible poem, but this is not the only sense with which Shakespeare plays. The evocation of â€Å"Bare ruin'd choirs† (4) creates a vacancy of sound, the ringing silence that occurs once the echoes of a song have dissipated; a f eeling of shivering cold emanates from â€Å"those boughs which shake against the cold† (3). The final two metaphors conjure forth a sense of darkness, a tunnel which draws one imperceptibly into the â€Å"black night [which] doth take away† (7), hampering the visual images from the earlier part of the poem. The reader is overwhelmed with sensory experience. The final couplet of the sonnet draws on the strong manipulations of time and one's senses to impress the reader with the deep significance of the multi-layered command. The speaker makes reference to the visual imagery of the earlier metaphors with â€Å"This thou perceivest† (13); he also asks the listener to love with more intensity, given his own decrepitude and the listener's own similar fate. Calling upon his own, shortened time, and the extended time of bodily decay of â€Å"thou† (1, 5, 9, 13), the speaker imbues his sparse words with multiple intentions in order to make the most out of the so nnet. The line â€Å"To love that well which thou must leave ere long† (14) asks the listener to love the speaker, whose time on this earth is limited, and to love their own youth before ageing takes them. The speaker's own horror of old age is tinged with fear that their younger companion is not enjoying

Child Soldiers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Child Soldiers - Essay Example A growing phenomenon around the world is respect for international law. These are principle that nations agree to abide by. One growth area in this part of law and one issue that is highly contentious is the use of child soldiers in conflicts. This has been especially happening over the last twenty years. Some suggest there are nearly half a million child soldiers active in the majority of the world’s continuing conflicts. Using children to fight wars is not only morally abhorrent, but very bad very the physical and mental health of the children in question. That is in part why a series of international laws and treaties have come into effect to try to deal with this scourge. But the issue is more complicated than that. While child soldiers are victims of war crimes, they too can also perpetrate serious breaches of the law of armed conflict. Under normal circumstances, individuals who commit such acts, be they combatants or not, would be vulnerable to prosecution. However, bec ause children in such situations are victims as well as perpetrators and because of the special protections afforded to children under international law, many have questioned whether or not children can be prosecuted for these egregious violations of the law of armed conflict. But a larger question is are states being prevented from using child soldiers by international law? Are the laws robust enough to prevent this situation from occurring in the future? The answer must sadly be no. Countries in Africa remain the worst offenders in terms of employing girls and boys to do fighting. Often they are drugged and abused. They live for the rest of their lives with the knowledge of their crimes. The world is changing. International law is increasing its purview. But the scourge of child soldiers remains. We must take more steps to combat this.

Evidence Based Practice (EBP) and nursing research Paper

Evidence Based Practice (EBP) and nursing - Research Paper Example The role of the nurse in evidence-based practice is to use research findings to conduct decision-making that will effectively guide their actions, practices and interactions with their patients (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). Nurses are required to have specific actions that are not just clinically appropriate but cost effective, so that they can be professionally accountable to their patients through quality improvements and positive healthcare transformations. These initiatives encompasses patient-centered practice adoption, model advancement and theory development, education and curricular rearrangement, scientific rendezvous in new research areas, as well as engagement in local and nationwide research network that seeks to enhance nursing practices (Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, 2014). In order to avoid the mounting cost of healthcare, nurses are now expected to be part of the cost-controlling practices and they are expected to document and apply social pertine nt and effective practices (Riba, 2008). Most institutions and health organizations apply a combination of models depending on their clinical setting and type of patient care required. They all observe the patient population, interventions, comparison, and outcome (PICO) format which entails synthesis and evaluation of targeted multiple-interventions (Dontje, 2007). There is the Patient Safety Research Coordinating model, which comprises a combination of concepts acquired from scientific information regarding knowledge transfer, to social marketing skills, to organizational innovation combined with behavioral and social transformations (Centre for Health Services Research, 2006). There are also models that focus on execution of nursing research into clinical practices, and they include Stetler model, the Magnet Recognition Program developed by American Nurses Credentialing Center, Baby-Friendly Hospital Certification model,

Job roles and working arrangements of Theatro Technics Essay Example for Free

Job roles and working arrangements of Theatro Technics Essay Key jobs within Theatro Technics vary from floor workers to management. Each of these jobs help carry out a function and the general running of the business. Although it is said that there are very important jobs, high and low, each job plays an important role and all staffs contribution should be valued. Something interesting of Theatro Technics and other theatres is that jobs within the business are not all located in the actual theatre. While certain staff like reception and ushers are most visible, key jobs are in management and are usually invisible to the public. I have identified 6 key jobs following inquiries at Theatro Technics, the jobs listed below are organised in descending order of seniority excluding the board of directors: JOB TITLE ROLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS The board of directors The primary responsibility of the board of directors is to protect the shareholders assets and ensure they receive a decent return on their investment. Theatre director (Artistic director) He is responsible for the programming of productions and events, writing reports and watching over the staff. His working hours are very flexible 27 hours a week any time and he gets one month per years holiday. (But not all at once). This applies to all managerial staff. He gets paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50,000 per for being a theatre director and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25,000 for being a financial manager so all together he gets paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½75,000 per year, monthly. His assistant gets paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35,000 per year, monthly. finance manager The finance manager and takes care of the theatres finances incoming and out going and also fund raising. His working hours are very flexible 27 hours a week any time and gets one month per years holiday (But not all at once). They get paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35,000 per year, monthly. But as the Theatre director is also the finance manager he is paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25, 000 for that job. Theatre manager They have to make sure that all employees are doing theyre jobs and doing them correctly. Basically just the day to day running of the business Their working hours are quite flexible 25 hours a week 5 hours a day Monday to Friday and like all managerial staff get one month per years holiday (But not all at once). They get paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35,000 per year, monthly. Technical manager The technical manager keeps Theatro Technics up to date with technology, deals with costumes and makes sure lighting and sounds are working. Their working hours are quite flexible 25 hours a week 5 hours a day Monday to Friday and gets one month per years holiday (But not all at once). They get paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30,000 per year, monthly. Bar manager The bar manager has to manage the bar on production nights (and days). By counting profits and such. Basically the same thing as the theatre manager but for the bar. Their working hours are quite flexible working only on production nights (and days) and get one month per years holiday (But not all at once). They get paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 per year, monthly. The board of directors: The board of directors is the highest governing authority within the management structure at Theatro Technics and any other publicly traded company. It is the boards job to select, evaluate, and approve appropriate compensation for the companys chief executive officer (CEO), evaluate the attractiveness of and pay dividends, recommend stock splits, oversee share repurchase programs, approve the companys financial statements, and recommend or strongly discourage acquisitions and mergers. Theatro Technics is governed by a dedicated Board of Directors comprised of business leaders, entertainment leaders and arts advocates who share a common passion for theatre and a commitment to the community. The board also serves as a champion of the theatre arts in the London community. It is dedicated to raising the profile of Theatro Technicss theatre, supporting the development of London, and igniting interest in the theatre among the youth in the community. Theatre director (Artistic director) and finance manager: In my chosen business George Eugeniou is both of these (but he has an assistant who is paid just under half of what he is paid). In the theatre business, the theatre director is the highest job role. He is responsible for the programming of productions and events, writing reports and watching over the staff. He is also the finance manager and takes care of the theatres finances incoming and out going and also fund raising. The main theatre director has to report to the board of directors and the finance manager has to report to the theatre director (but in this case it is himself). Theatre manager: In Theatro Technics there are two theatre managers and they have to make sure that all employees are doing theyre jobs and doing them correctly. One way in which they do this is through motivation. They also have to ensure that the programme is implemented within the budget for each project within the time limit. Basically just the day to day running of the theatre. They have to report to the theatre director. Technical manager: The technical manager is the back stage person dealing with costumes, dealing with the lighting and sounds in the production and also checks if they are working. The technical manager also keeps Theatro Technics up to date with technology ensuring that they have the latest software computing. The technical manager requires experience and qualifications in I.T. and stage management. The technical manager reports to the theatre manager. And because he is managerial staff his working hours are also flexible and he gets one month per years holiday. (But not all at once). He is paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30,000 per year, monthly. Bar manager and bartenders: The bar manager has to manage the bar on production nights (and days). Counting profits and such basically the same thing as the theatre manager but for the bar and its staff team of 4. They only work on production days. Or any other (required) days. The bar manager reports to the theatre manager. The bar manager being managerial staff his working hours are also flexible and he gets one month per years holiday. (But not all at once). He is paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30,000 per year, monthly. The bartenders are paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 per year, monthly. Ushers: The ushers show you where your seats are in the theatre and are on à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.50 over the U.K.s minimum wage per hour, which is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.23. They report to the theatre manager. Working only on production nights. Or any other (required) days. Cleaners: They are on minimum wage and clean the building every day. They get à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.73 per hour daily and 50p more on production nights/days. They have to report to the theatre manager. Below I have provided a business organizational chart. A Business Organizational Chart is a management tool wherein it shows both management and workers the entire line structure of the company. Although this is mostly intended for management, as it shows the structure of the entire business. The main purpose of using a typical organizational chart is to show the power thru the use of lines and boxes. Organizational Chart ANALISIS OF IMPORTANT JOB ROLES AND WORKING ARRANGEMENTS IN THEATRO TECHNICS. Looking at key jobs in Theatro Technics it becomes clear that a job there can vary enormously, from high importance jobs to low importance jobs. Its also clear that the rout to promotion isnt as easy as it seems, although good technical workers can become technical managers and so on. This is the managerial and ground floor division. Is it necessary? Workers with ambition might be more encouraged to work harder if they knew there was a possibility of getting promoted to managerial positions. But the existing system of different levels of pay for job seniority seems to work well. There is also a real difference in the job requirements for managerial and salaried employees. Salaried workers E.G. secretaries and bartenders are reasonably skilled and well paid; top level managerial workers have degrees and other qualifications. Managerial jobs involve making decisions for the theatre, and can shape the theatre by theyre actions. Managerial workers can look at profitable and unprofitable assets, and adapt to what they think might be in popular demand. They can also recommend changes how Theatro Technics generally runs as a business, and might change the theatre many times while working there. Floor level workers like ushers and cleaners, carry out basic tasks and generally posses few qualifications, low skilled workers. They are the largest group of workers in Theatro Technics. Most of these workers are not represented by any union and hardly know any English. The secretary plays an important role within Theatro Technics, which is to help customers by carrying out useful functions like, manning the telephones and responding to E-Mails. Each Secretary contributes to Theatro Technics by becoming effective in carrying out specific tasks, which covers a lot of customer inquiries, making a good customer service. Their weakness is that usually their knowledge isnt extensive enough. If I was to criticise I would say that managerial and floor worker divides can create unnecessary and expensive bureaucracy, and having such a divided system misses some good ground floor talent.

Becoming A Reflective Supervisor And Counsellor Nursing Essay

Becoming A Reflective Supervisor And Counsellor Nursing Essay This essay is a reflective journey into the process of supervision. What supervision actually entails and how to use the process to begin the life mission of becoming a professional counsellor. What it means to become a truly self-reflective practitioner who is mindful and open to learning about ones self in addition to continuing the process of deepening the theoretical knowledge of which supervision can be ones most useful tool. First and foremost being a student counsellor in the mode of Peron-Centred counselling, the key component would have to relate to first taking a personal journey of discovery through reflection to become aware of self in the process of actualisation. Corey (2009) cites Rogers who believed that people where essentially an expert on their own lives and that if the therapist was to become a conduit for empathy, respect, and authenticity, then they too would benefit from experiencing self through the process of reflection and exploration. Only then could the therapist model the behaviour for which the client could perceive possible for themselves. Corey (2009) also cites Broadley as describing actualizing tendency as a directional process of striving towards realisation, fulfilment, autonomy, self-determination, and perfection (p169). For me self-reflection and exploration is the only way to realise self actualisation, for without having an internal conversation how would one expect to g row as an individual let alone as a counsellor. In addition, as a student a vital tool in self-reflection is the process of supervision, through which the sharing of experiences gained through placement can be an opening to not only improving the use of skills, but additionally a tool to develop mindfulness, and self-awareness. Since starting my volunteering I have applied these concepts to the best of my abilities, and through daily reflection I have been able to recognise the learning goals that I would like to focus on during my first placement. When asked to summarise my learning goals I then had to consider theoretically how learning goals can aid the student to not only reflect on their needs and experiences, but also to refine what a professional counsellor requires to develop and progress. Cleak and Wilson (2004) who cite Rogers and Langevin as suggesting that a learning agreement contain elements of being, knowing, doing and thinking in order to make the most of the placement and the supervisory experience. Cleak and Wilson (2004) also suggest that there are seven core learning areas which can be incorporated into the learning contract. Such as, values and ethics, processes combined with skills and relationships, how to use knowledge, self-learning and professional development, understanding the organisational context, awareness of the necessity for research, and finally acknowledging social policy within the placement experience. Learning goals are also important from the supervisors perspective as Brockbank and McGil l (2007) discuss awareness of the supervision relationship can benefit both the supervisee and the supervisor when learning goals are clearly defined and aid supervision to function as a supportive and productive process. This also includes the supervisee being aware of their learning styles for example whether learning has a preference towards perhaps cognitive rather than experiential. I therefore summarise the key learning goals I have identified for my first placement experience as follows. My learning goals begin with honing my use of the core counselling skills of active listening, accurate empathic reflection, authenticity, and presence, through the process of feedback and reflection. Secondly I have identified that I need to work on the appropriate use of rapport and the use of disclosure, through understanding how to establish boundaries and use deflecting techniques when the issue of inappropriate disclosure is exhibited. Third I feel that understanding how the organisatio nal procedures such as keeping confidential client notes functions around my responsibility to upkeep the records to meet my ethical requirements. This is also a process of learning to work within the organisational teams that work in a paradox of isolation and conjunction, to bring together the experience and knowledge of administration, support staff, nurses, other professionals including my department of pastoral care and counselling. Fourth is the learning involved with bringing art and music into the person-centred style of counselling I have been taught to use. This includes bringing in the theoretical knowledge of my supervisors to help facilitate a deeper understanding of combining skills and theories. Finally to bring it all together is the practice and development of self-reflection and self-awareness including being mindful. This final task is probably the most important of all since it requires me to open myself to self-reflection in addition to positive and negative fee dback from my clients, my colleagues, and both of my supervisors. Here is where keeping a personal journal of my inner journey through placement is of vital importance if I am serious about being in the process of self actualising and developing as a professional counsellor. Self reflection is possibly the most important process of awaking awareness and aiding the development of a counsellor who is confident, centred, ethical, and professional. Developing self awareness and mindfulness through self reflection should not be underestimated due to the fact that an open relationship with ones self is conceivably the preeminent way to grow not only as an individual, but also as a counsellor. During my placement as well as for the entirety of my professional life the reflective practices I intend to use include daily self-reflection daily and consciously practicing mindfulness. Germer (2005) suggests being mindful is usually not a common reality in our thinking processes, as being mindful takes practice to comfortably stay present and focused on the mome nt. Mindfulness as Germer reminds us is a Buddhist concept dating back some two thousand years, which Buddhists term sati that translates as awareness, attention and remembering. Germer (2005) also cites Hanh as describing mindfulness as an in the moment awareness of our consciousness processing everything that is happening around us, to us and between us, a being focused on the here and now and totally present. Germer (2005) also suggests that one can learn and develop mindfulness through meditation, relaxation and practice of focusing and clearing ones mind. Through mindfulness the process of self-reflection can truly begin especially with the aid of meditation allowing one to focus on the difference between emotion, thoughts and feelings, as well as perceptions in order to replay experiences and perceive self in action. Fook and Gardner (2007) suggest reflection is a process whereby the student identifies how their sense of self plays out through the window of personal perception s, with particular emphasis on how emotions influence decisions. Realising the difference in how relationships play out against theoretical knowledge, and recognising how self can get in the way, begins the process of being able to differentiate between the needs of the student and the needs of the client. These realisations also contain an understanding that becoming a professional means accepting that often what happens in real life counselling is unpredictable, and that that is okay. In addition to journaling I intend to religiously maintain my daily debriefing with my organisational supervisor to constantly balance my perceptions of client interactions both emotional and intellectual. Furthermore feedback from my clinical supervisor will be essential in determining how to interpret my reflective journal in a process that can focus self actualising. Orchowski, Evangelista, Probst (2010) discuss how supervision can be a process of understanding how reflection can impart an unders tanding to enable a safe client student relationship. In addition self reflection enhances ones ability to activate mindfulness when in session with a client, as well as in the process of supervision. Self awareness, reflection and being mindful are all fundamental thought processes that help guard against unethical decision making, and establish a way of ensuring safety for both the therapist and the client. Orchowski, Evangelista, Probst further discuss how reflection can be part of the contract between supervisor and supervisee bring about an openness to the process of revisiting the client experience for the supervisee, and exploring what came up emotionally for the supervisee. Which brings up the importance of supervision in the reflection process as I have discovered already, without a supervisor to clarify perceptions lack of confidence and inexperience could easily lead to an unproductive negative interpretation. After spending the last eleven weeks as a volunteer and really having begun the process of placement, I can truly see the importance of supervision in the process of reflection. During the time spent within the organisation I have begun the process of building a relationship with my placement supervisor, with whom I confer about my use of skills, how my clients are reacting, in addition to drawing on her wealth of professional knowledge, and her years of client contact and their histories. Each day contains a component where we debrief and self-care around how to maintain boundaries and identify where emotions can blur person perception, particularly considering that when working in aged care where clients often die or experience the process of illness or severe loss. Jochen (2008) talks about how supervisees often begin the learning process of supervision by being wrapped up in the clients story, and emotions. However, as time and self awareness of the process begin a process of understanding and acknowledging that even though the clients story may be as confronting as severe illness which may bring imminent death, the counsellors role is to support and empathise not attach personal meaning to the emotional content being presented. Hawkins and Shohet (2007) discuss that the use of supervision become a fundamental tool that any counsellor or health professional makes use of regularly, to aid in the understanding ones emotional configuration regarding professional progress and maintenance. Hawkins and Shohet also suggest that supervision is a necessity in the helping professions, to ensure client safety is always upheld, through the constant self-reflection that supervision aims to provide the practicing counsellor. Considering that supervision is going to play an important role not only during placement but feasibly for the entirety of my counselling career, it would be prudent to consider what challenges supervision may bring. First and foremost is overcoming the fear of being vulnerable and exposed to criticism, in addition to having personal values and beliefs put under scrutiny, not to mention experiencing another professional judge your ability to effectively master the basic counselling skills, all on top of exposing your self-reflective thoughts and emotions to for all purposes an external voice of conscious. Tjeltveit and Gottlieb (2010) discuss the ethical role vulnerability and resilience play in keeping the therapist safe, in particular the student. Our vulnerabilities can expose themselves in our unconscious reactions through our values, beliefs, cultural identities, even habits and emotions that even with awareness impart unethical decisions or actions. Tjeltveit and Gottlieb go on to argue that resilience is strengthened by the student becoming aware of their vulnerabilities, addressing emotional issues, and becoming open to parts of their personality which could influence unethical decisions. These issues of interpersonal and intrapersonal interactions are so important we can often overlook procedural problems and challenges that can also occur that could in fact hinder completion of the placement in academic terms. For example I discovered that my placement supervisor would not meet the clinical requirements that ACAP (2010) base their requirements upon. Acap (2010) have recommended that if a student wishes to be able to join The Counselling and Psychotherapists Association of NSW Inc [CAPA] (2009) one must have clinical supervision that complies with CAPAs training standards, which state that the clinical supervisor must have completed at least seven hundred and fifty hours of personal supervision post training. In addition they must also meet the Psychot herapy Counselling Federation of Australia [PACFA] (2009) requirements stated in article 4.3.1, that a supervisors credentials are to be of a level beyond basic counselling and include eligibility to be a clinical member of a counselling association for at least three years (p7). Therefore after having succeeded in acquiring a clinical supervisor I now have to apply the above mentioned challenges in two different scenarios, with two different people, in two different organisations. To conclude I believe the importance of self-reflection cannot be expressed too often, to widely, or too deeply. The concept of supervision

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