Thursday, October 31, 2019
Eight steps of decision making process in management Research Paper
Eight steps of decision making process in management - Research Paper Example Under this process, policy makers must identify the problem under consideration, and clearly state it out, in a sentence that describes the causes of the problem and its consequences. This process also involves an identification of what an organization wants to achieve in case the problem under consideration is eradicated. This stage needs a consensus amongst everybody involved within the decision making process. The second step is the identification of the criteria (Robbins and Coulter, 2012). This involves identifying the various requirement needed for purposes of solving the problem under consideration. Under this stage, policy maker identify what the solution to the problem must accomplish. For example, if an organization is making losses, then the solution that the organization seeks is on how to increase the profitability of the business organization. On this basis, the solutions to be identified are methods of increasing the profits of an organization. The criterion therefore is that the solution must have the capability of increasing the profitability of the business organization. The third step in the decision making process is allocating weights to the criteria identified (Robbins and Coulter, 2012). This involves setting up of goals for the purpose of achieving a desirable outcome. For example if the problem under consideration is loss making in an organization. Allocation of weights will involve; how or at what percentage a criterion identified can increase the profitability of an organization. At this stage, terms such as high profit, low profit, or even 100% profit can be used. The fourth step is the identification of the various alternatives to the solution. It is important to denote that there are various solutions to a problem identified. For example in our case above, if a company is making losses, the organization can come up with a variety of solutions. These solutions include reducing operational costs, injecting more capital into the organ ization, or even diversifying its business operations. Under this fourth stage, policy makers only identify the various solutions available for purposes of solving the problem under consideration. They do not carry out an analysis of the problems. The fifth stage involves analyzing the alternatives presented. This stage involves an analysis of the various alternative solution to the problem identified. The method to use in analyzing these alternatives will emanate from the criteria identified at the second stage (Lynch, 2012). For instance, in a loss making organization, the criteria of identifying a solution is based on how a method will increase the profitability of a business organization. On this note, policy makers will analyze the various alternative solutions to the problem. At this stage, policy makers must rank the various alternatives to the solution from the most effective, to the least effective. Under this stage, policy makers can analyze the alternatives by using eithe r qualitative or quantitative methods, or a combination of both. The intention here is to find the most effective solution to the problem identified. For example, the solutions identified to increase the profitability of a company are, reduction of operational costs, injecting capital into the organization, or even diversifying the operations of the business. Policy makers will analyze all these options, and grade them from the most eff
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Proposal for Jamba Juice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Proposal for Jamba Juice - Essay Example After running the successful business of only nutritious beverages that include, healthy smoothies, squeezed fruit juices and fresh blend of juices, teas and coffees and oatmeal later, Jamba Juice adopted a new line of healthy items. These include baked items and fresh salads, wraps, and sandwiches and fruit yogurts. And, now Jamba Juice is motivated to open its new store at ‘San Antonio International Airport’. Jamba Juice Company actively works for a nonprofit organization named â€Å"Bay Area Leadership Foundation (BALF)†. As a matter of fact, they chose Jamba Juice as a ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year’ (Globenewswire, 2015). Jamba Juice Company is looking forward to establish its new restaurant at ‘San Antonio International Airport’ as it has a capacity of dealing around eight million travelers in a year domestic and international (Aviation Department, 2014). Idea of expanding the business at a populous place that deals with non-stop public operations can be very effective way to conduct profitable operations. There are number of restaurants already present at San Antonio Airport, But Jamba Juice Company has a unique selling point of providing fresh and full of nourishment fruit blends. In order to start a new restaurant, the company needs to invest in major goods; some of them are going to be their assets as they will last longer and need to spend in expenses like Deposit for building’s security. It remains as the major expense because legal fee registration and certification are legally advised; company can restate its budget in marketing expense. Since the restaurant manage day to day fruit buying, transportation cost is going to be the highest among all the operating expenses. According to the table above, Jamba Juice Company has a potential to establish its store at its new location, San Antonio Airport, as the company is rising with the growth rate of 8% annually, and eligible to
Sunday, October 27, 2019
The Women Of Beowulf
The Women Of Beowulf An epic tale of heroes and monsters, the story of Beowulf is filled with excitement and adventure, However Beowulfs importance goes far beyond that of just an excellent literary piece. It also offers many insights into the world of the seventh-century Anglo-Saxon culture. One of the things that is very prevalent in Beowulf is how women are portrayed and expected to act in this society. Anglo-Saxon women that are peaceful and unassertive are considered to be following their roles in society, by greeting guests and serving mead to the men in the mead hall. One such example of the Anglo-Saxon women following this role is Welthow, the queen of the Danes. Women are also portrayed on the opposite end of the spectrum; a perfect example of this would be Grendels mother. She is a strong and fierce monster whom Beowulf must kill. By reading about these two women in Beowulf, we can understand the different ways women are portrayed in this society. Throughout the story of Beowulf, the author sub tly supports the traditional Anglo-Saxon views of women by praising the actions of Welthow, condemning Grendels mother, and showing the need to stop feminine forces like Wyrd; however, the author also contradicts these views on a few rare occasions by sympathizing with Grendels mother, allowing Welthow to assert herself in support of her family. In the story of Beowulf, Welthow is by far the one that one would think of when they picture a typical Anglo-Saxon women in these times. The instance that best demonstrates this is after they all return to Hrothgar. Then Welthow, Hrothgars gold-ringed queen, greeted the warriors a noble woman who knew what was right, she raised a flowing cup to Hrothgar first, holding it high for the lord of the Danes to drink, wishing him joy in the feast. She thanked god for answering her prayers, for allowing her hands the happy duty of offering mead to the heros. (Raffel 28-29) This passage gives a detailed example of what is expected of women in these times. Even on into later years, Women were still expected and encouraged to serve drinks. The wife grew the grapes, harvested the grapes, made the wine, and sold the wine(Collins 26). Even though she is operating as a typical Anglo-Saxon woman she is still a queen. This is evident in her role from that of a traditional Anglo-Saxon woman to a peace maker when she gives a toast in the meadhall Celebrate his courage, rejoice and be generous while a kingdom sits in your palm, a people and power that death will stealà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. I know your nephews kindness; I know hell replay in kind the goodness you have shown him. (Raffel 51-52) With everyone gathered for the toast, Hrothulf would have second thoughts about betraying his family and taking the throne. In another similar way, in the poem Les Voeux de Paon, a family is quarreling and with the help of a young woman peacemaker, they put down their disagreements, Elyses, a young woman, goes to each knight asking for them to vow to discharge their obligations to arms(Murphy 6) She continues to gently persuade each of them until they all give in to laying down their weapons. However, on the other end of the spectrum we have Grendels mother. Grendels mother defies the traditional role of an Anglo-Saxon woman by being powerful and aggressive. The main difference between Welthow and Grendels mother is that Welthows influence is much more subtle and nonviolent than that of Grendels mother. Being a monster, Grendels mother possesses great warrior-strength (Raffel 57). Grendels mother attacks Herot. Shed taken Hrothgars closest friend, The man he most loved of all men on earth, The wise old kind, trembled in anger and grief, his dearest friend and adviser dead (Raffel 57). The next morning, Beowulf follows her tracks back to her underwater lair. Beowulf goes into her underwater lair and they fight. However Beowulf did not consider the enormous strength she would have. In order to defeat Grendel, Beowulf grabs one of his arms and rips off; on the other hand, Grendels mother fights with Beowulf and almost defeats him. Beowulf only wins the fight because of divine intervention, The ruler of the world, showed me, hanging shining and beautiful on a wall, a mighty old sword (Raffel 71) When later recounting his battle with Grendels mother, he says she fought with such strength that would surpass any man. Despite Beowulf being the hero and Grendels mother being portrayed as a monster, he creates sympathy for Grendels mother by accepting her motive for vengeance and suggesting a close mother-son bond. When Grendels mother is first introduced, she is depicted as a mother mourning her son and out for vengeance. It shows some reason for her attack instead of just being evil. The author continues to build sympathy for Grendels mother by presenting her as having a clear emotional bond with her son. After her attack on Herot, Grendels mother takes the arm of her slain son. Further evidence of the strong emotional attachment between the two is the fact that Beowulf finds Grendels dead body in his mothers underwater lair. The last we hear of Grendel, he is fleeing from Herot with a mortal wound. One can only assume that Grendels mother was mourning the death of her son and unable to let him go. The continued reinforcement of appropriate female roles by presenting two separate and opposing supernatural forces that strongly influence the plot of Beowulf: a masculine God and a feminine Wyrd, suggesting that feminine forces require suppression. Wyrd is a mysterious force that acts as a fate, bringing the heroes of Beowulf ever closer to agony and death; however, God protects Beowulf and helps him in battle. Wyrd works to bring disorder and doom to Beowulf, just as Grendels mother wages war on Hrothgar and his kingdom. Beowulf is able to kill Grendels mother, ending her influence, however he is unable to do anything about the Wyrd except to look to God for help. The story of Beowulf helps paint a picture of what it must have been like to be an Anglo-Saxon woman in those times. The woman who followed the traditional roles are considered good and those who dont are cast out as monsters. Raffel, Burton. Beowulf. 2nd ed. London: Signet Classic, 2008. Print. Collins, James. French Historical Studies. French Historical Studies. 16.2 Print. Murphy, Michael. English Studies. English Studies. 66.2 105. Print.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Ancient Civilizations Essay example -- essays research papers
Early American Civilizations      Early American civilizations were composed of four different groups of people. These four groups were composed of the Mayas, Aztecs, Incas, and the North Americans. These groups were the same in many ways, but had some differences that would distinguish their group from the others. These civilizations ruled the Americas for long period of time. These civilizations were the same in almost every way, but they had their differences to show that they were a totally different group of people.      The first group that is going to be discussed is the Mayas. The Mayas were thought to be peaceful stargazers for a long time, but not until recently the truth was uncovered about the Mayas. The Mayas were actually rulers of the populous, aggressive city-states. The Mayas built large temples for the glory of the kings and sometimes the queens who ruled cities of tens of thousands. They also had a liking for self-mutilation, warfare, and a prolonged torture of captives. The Mayas had warfare with rival cities frequently. For the most part the Mayas did this to capture aristocrats for torture and sacrifice. If the Mayas sacrificed fewer humans than the Aztecs, against whom they often had been held up as superior, they tortured their victims more viciously. One way they would torture people is, in ancient ball games, like Roman gladiatorial contests, pitted                                                                                           captives were against one another for their lives; the heads of losers were sometimes used for balls. In this selection Reilly mentions how a king would prepare for war. He said, “Before going to war, for example, the king would puncture his penis with a stingray spine, while his wife drew a thorn-barbed rope through her tongue'; (Reilly, 326). The Mayas thought this was a vital process for s... ...ey had a pretty good communication system, but nothing as good as the Incas. The difference that separates the North Americans from the other groups is that they had the impressive mounds.      These groups had their distinct similarities, but the differences set them apart. The way for the Mayas to distinct themselves from the others is that they had harmony among all the groups of people. The Aztecs were different because they seemed to be stricter about things, and they didn’t have the harmony among all the people like the Mayas. Unlike the others, Inca’s rulers tried to keep in touch with the people he ruled over, and the Incas had a great source of communication unlike the others. The North Americans separated themselves by being less cruel to people, and had those huge mounds, which were very impressive structures. Even though they were the same in most ways, these people were different in a lot of ways. If the weren’t, then it would have been one group of people ruling the Americas. These slight differences make these people stand out against one another and the rest of the world because of their huge accomplishments.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Things Are Not Always What They Seem
Thursday, September , 2011. This marks the start date of the Class of 2011's first and last full year at Oxbow Prairie Horizons School (OPHS), the new K-12 school in Oxbow, Saskatchewan. It's an absolutely gorgeous facility, complete with a large gym (equipped with top-of-the-line sound and lighting systems), integrated program for the functionally challenged students, large foyer, kitchen and even an extra gym. The building is plenty big and even has removable classrooms, but every rose has its thorn, right? Or in OPHS' case, thorns. Shortly after starting the 2011-2012 school term, and even shortly after moving into the school in March? of 2011, many staff and students have noticed a few glitches (so to speak) in the system. At first, small, piddly details that we can easily deal with (overcome? ). Like the room design of the biology, chemistry and physics labs where bulletin boards are blocked by the teachers' desk and computer or even by entire counters. Like in the canteen, we were lucky enough to have beautiful cupboards installed to store our merchandise, but when it came time to actually sell it/them, students were unable to see the products anyways. So, in turn, the cupboard doors were taken off completely. Eventually, the small problems began to arise more suspicions and more noticeable and elaborate ones were recognized. Toilets in the washrooms began to constantly flush, some having to be manuallly shut off. The office in the shop has no windows, it is just a small room enclosed of cement. The parking lot is poorly designed. Trying to see around parked vehicles to hitting oncoming ones is hard and it is nearly impossible to maneuver large vehicles around at all. The buses drop students off half a block from the main entrances and when students do enter the school, depending on the weather, are required to move outdoor shoes because the parking lot is either muddy, full of water, or both. Which is not only a bother to our janitors but also to visitors, who trip over shoes trying to enter the building. Wireless internet was the first of many large problems to be noticed by the students. They were told that if you have a class where you will be using laptops and it is a larger class, to bring a personal laptop to work on as there may not be enough laptops for everyone. So, some did, until they told that the principal wasn't given a password to the school's public Wi-Fi network and they were unable to do homework and sassingments anyways. Even now, after Mr. Petlak has been given the password and used it on student's computers, they are unable to access certain sites due to them being blocked. Sites that students use to complete and accomplish tasks and assignments. Why? Because staff at OPHS are unable to control this. It is government workers in either Weyburn or Regina that do. The base temperature of OPHS is, put simply, freezing. During September, where it can be twenty degrees celsius and above, most staff and students were already wearing sweaters and jackets to class. Which, in retrospect, is not uncommon for Oxbow. In the old high school, anyone working in the building would be wearing jackets, touques and mittens, unless you were in the science labs or the main office. There you would wear shorts, tank tops and flip flops. But with the excitment of the Horizons School close to being fully built, came the realization that we could actually wear seasonal appropriate clothing to school. Or so we thought. Now, in the new school, we freeze pretty well everywhere. With the exception of the Sr. Computer Lab, main office and the canteen (which are all normal temperatures), staff and students are still needing to wear layers and even haul blankets form class to class. Why? This is because of the poor commmunictation between our school and Weyburn, where they then decide whether or not to contact Regina to turn up the heat in jsut one particular room. Which, after the first few attmepts of doing so, we were told to use the thermostats located in each classroom. These allow teachers the ability to raise or lower the room temperature by 3 degrees. That's it. In one area of the school there is actually cold air being blown throughout its rooms. But for us to fix this, we must flip a breaker. Instead of simply pushing a button on a thermostat to raise the temperature, we are required to issue a complaint to the Weyburn office, who then decide whether it is a big enough deal to report to the office in Regina. And apparently, it isn't a problem for us to freeze. All of these problems can relate back to the fact that Oxbow has no power against the authority offices in Regina and Weyburn. We are not able to decide the climate of our classrooms, who has access to use our internet or even who is allowed put a screw in the wall to hang a picture. We are by no means, allowed to. A government office in that is 150-250 kilometers away makes the decision of what is and is not allowed. People who have no idea what goes on in our school, who attends or works there, what we are like or even where Oxbow is, has that discretion. Yes, our old school's had a very large laundry list: plumbing, heating, electrical and just overall renovating. This article is not set out to complain about our new school. We were in much need of a new facility and are greatly appreciative for the effort, time and hard work that were pput into building it. But, with that said, I find it hard to comprehend how certain, seemingly common sense issues are ignored. The new school in Oxbow has heightened the school's many previous strengths such as atheletics, drama, academics and even the staff and students as individuals. This school also has its negative effects though. And it is the students that are being effected. The future depends on them. So why does it have to be such a struggle to give them a proper learning environment? Teagan Loppe
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Project management approaches for dynamic environments Essay
This paper sets out to investigate the nature of projects conducted in fast changing environments. Examples and theory are used to illustrate the nature and challenges of this category. Suitable management approaches are identiï ¬ ed under the following headings: Planning, Experimentation, Lifecycle, Controls, Culture, Communication, and Leadership style. The dynamic project category. The paper closes with recommendations for further research. In this paper, control is taken to mean the mechanisms through which resources are managed to achieve objectives [1], and is diï ¬â‚¬erent to the PMBOK ‘technique’ [2] which is strictly focused on bringing activities in line with a plan [3]. The term dynamic is taken to mean characterised by constant change [4]. In the project management context dynamism is taken to be a dimension of a project that represents the extent to which a project is inï ¬â€šuenced by changes in the environment in which it is conducted. This paper argues that this is a non-binary dimension that applies in varying degrees to all projects, so strictly any given project is neither ‘dynamic’ nor ‘not dynamic’. All projects have some degree of dynamism, so the dimension is not dichotomic. Therefore, the ideas in this paper may be applied in varying degrees to any project as deemed appropriate. For the sake of simplicity though, for the remainder of this paper, a dynamic project is taken to be one that is necessarily subject to higher than normal levels of change due to the environment in which it is conducted. The business environment is changing at an increasing pace [5–7]. Rothwell and Zegveld [8] went so far as to say we are in the midst of a technology explosion. They argued that 90% of our technical knowledge has been generated in the last 55 years, and that technical knowledge will continue to increase exponentially. Perrino and Tipping [9] reported ‘‘the pace of technology is accelerating, raising the stakes and risks for managing innovation, and requiring early warning and shorter response time†. Change, in all forms of technology and business processes, can be regarded as increasingly pervasive and providing challenges even where high technology is not a core business, such as in mining [10]. Consider how the Australian Submarine project was challenged by developments in the IT industry between the 1980s design phase, and sea trials decades later [7]. This paper will now investigate dynamic projects from a theoretical point of view. Gray and Larson [11] argued that  Pich, Loch and De Meyer [12] describe a type of project that encounters unknown unknowns and how it is best suited to what they called a ‘learning’ strategy which involves scanning, problem solving and ï ¬â€šexibility. They argue that this is distinct from projects conducted in well understood environments which are suited to ‘instructionism’, and distinct from ‘selectionism’ where the most fruitful initiative is chosen after a pool of trials. Turner and Cochran [13] espouse the ‘goals and methods matrix’ that describes four diï ¬â‚¬erent types of project according to how well deï ¬ ned the methods and goals are. Projects can have poorly deï ¬ ned goals (‘ï ¬ re’) or poorly deï ¬ ned methods (‘water’), or both (‘air’). Shenhar and Wideman [14] describe a type of project that involves high levels of uncertainty, using technologies together for the ï ¬ rst time. They call these ‘high tech’ [14]. They also describe a type of project that actually creates new technologies, called ‘super high tech’. Shenhar [15] describes how ‘low technology’ projects are typically performed in construction, production and utilities, and high technology projects in the computer, aerospace and electronics industries. He oï ¬â‚¬ers building and bridge construction as examples of low technology projects. The key diï ¬â‚¬erence to Shenhar is the level of development work involved, in that low technology projects have little, and high technology projects have considerable levels and usually require prototyping. Shenhar and Wideman [14] argue that another key diï ¬â‚¬erence is the number of design cycles. In low technology projects they say there is typically only one cycle with a freeze before development, and with high technology there are at least two, typically three cycles. Operational work Cioï ¬Æ' [16] suggests that ‘projects’ be placed on a spectrum of ‘newness’ from operational to project. The idea has been adapted in Fig. 1 to illustrate the sliding scale of unknowns that applies to projects. Unknowns in this sense refer to any aspect of the project, including the methods to achieve it, the objective, and the environment it has to operate in. The guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) [2] describes ‘progressive elaboration’, where planning is developed in greater detail as the project progresses. Using progressive elaboration to ï ¬ ll knowledge gaps, it might be possible to move a project to the left in Fig. 1, thereby achieving the objective in a more predictable fashion. However, rapid changes in the environment, including tools and methods, and attempts to innovate, act to push the project to the right, increasing unknowns. The two forces of exploration and change act against each other continuously throughout the project. The challenge is to conduct exploration at a greater rate than the emergence of environmental change. It is also important to ensure that the amount of change created by the exploration and implementation is not counterproductive overall. An example of Project A in Fig. 1 might be a production line where there only variable is the colour required.  The intention here is to review literature to provide a broad overview of approaches that might be used to better deal with dynamic environments. Approaches were broken down as follows:
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