The Great Depression

9. 04 The Great Depression A. Heading: * Address (imaginary) * City, State (imaginary) * Date (Month, Day, Year in the 1930s) B. Greeting: Dear ________: C. Body Your letter should focus on the following aspects of your life: * Paragraph 1: In the introduction to your letter, identify two causes of the Great Depression. Utilize the web sites in the Resource section. Explain how the Great Depression has affected you and your family. Use specific details from the web sites (For example, how did Black Tuesday affect your family or relatives? What is your standard of living? * Paragraph 2: a. Describe your family. Who are your brothers, sisters, relatives? What do your parents and relatives do for a living? b. Choose one of your relatives that has a job set up by FDR's New Deal. (For example, an uncle might be employed by the WPA). Choose a specific program within the New Deal—do not simply reference the New Deal in general. Describe the job with details. What is the purpose of th e organization? * Paragraph 3: c. Describe your school, classes, and teachers. Who are your friends? . Describe the town where you live. Who are your neighbors? Describe important celebrations, events, and people. Where do you like to hang out or play? * Paragraph 4: e. What is happening in the nation politically and economically? Look carefully at the date of your letter. Include specific details from the resources. f. What is happening in the nation's culture? Tell about music, radio programs, movies, sports. (Minimum of two specific details from the timeline according to the date of your letter. ) * Paragraph 5: a. What are your dreams for the future? b. What do you think the world will be like? c. How do you think the events of the Great Depression will affect you? | 76 Fort Street Johnston, West Virginia January 15, 1936 Dear Home Owner, My name is Frank Rollins and one day you will find this letter in my old house as part of a time capsule to be opened in the year 2007. It will hopefully help you and others understand what life is like for the people living through the tough economic times of today and hopefully will help you appreciate the many things that you may have. It will help you understand that standards of living can change very rapidly in times of economic turmoil and that what was once taken for granted can just as easily slip through your hands as if it wasn’t there. It will also hopefully help you understand just how quickly things change. Most importantly, I hope this letter helps you appreciate that the people in your lives are so much more important than the things. I am writing this letter as one final activity in this wonderful home where we have lived for 12 years. I am 33 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and we share 5 children between the ages of 5 and 11. We bought this house as our first home and thought that we would live here to raise all of our children. It is a wonderful neighborhood and the people here are friendly and kind. We have made friends that we will have for life and our children have too. Today is a very sad day for my entire family and for the friends that we have made. Unfortunately, we have to move because we can no longer afford to pay for the house that we treasure so much. Times are tough in this country and although we thought we would make it, things have changed. I was once the manager of the town’s bank and I made a very good living. We have been able to live in this affluent white collar neighborhood, be part of the country club and send our kids to private school where they were around other kids with the same standard of living. I worked hard to earn the wage that I did and I moved up the ladder in a meticulous manner so that I could maintain stability and growth. I wanted to provide my wife and children with the best that life has to offer and I was successful until October 29th, 1929, Black Tuesday. That was a day that changed my future and my destiny. It was the day that the stock market crashed and that people lost much of what they had. It was the day that caused panic for everyone, but bank managers in particular were in a predicament that was not too pleasant. Money just seemed to disappear and everyone blamed us. What they didn’t understand is that a bank is a business and somehow we had to pay our bills too. We had lent money and lent money and lent money and now, as people couldn’t pay it back, we were really in a pickle. It was a tough day followed by a rougher few years. I saw people’s houses be taken from them and people were just crushed. I was not able to help because the bank didn’t have any more money to lend. Roosevelt had placed a temporary close on banks to figure out who could legitimately stay open and who had to close for good. My bank stayed open for a while, but the time came 3 months ago when the doors had to close. You see, what happened is that people got really comfortable spending their money and other people’s money. Borrowing started, lots of borrowing, and people no longer lived with debt. It became a way of life. Then, people wanted more and more stuff. This was all in the 1920’s by the way when all of these new things were being manufactured and people were in awe of the new technology. As people bought it, more stuff was made until there was too much stuff on the store shelves. People had started to smarten up a little bit and they stopped buying. Production continued and the businesses were paying the price for that over production. When businesses have to pay, they cut costs somewhere else. In this case, it was in laborers. So people got laid off and were now out of work. The whole thing spiraled out of control and devastated the entire country. At the time, Hoover was our President and although he gets blamed for a lot of this stuff, it wasn’t really him who was to blame. He could have been more alert to what was happening I guess, but it was hard for anyone to see. He lost the election last year when Roosevelt was brought in with the promise of the New Deal. The New Deal is the promise for everything to be put back together financially in the country. It is the promise for jobs and for businesses to get back on their feet and for the country to become prosperous again. Will it work? It is hard to say becuae we are in the beginning phases of it. Roosevelt is definitely doing what he can to help the American people though. He has puts programs in place that are funded by the federal government that will insure that another Black Tuesday doesn’t happen. He has the FDIC which insures people’s banks deposits, the Works Progress Administration to offer jobs building new highways, the Social Security Administration to help people who are elderly or retired and about 12 other programs beyond that. They are all there to offer education, work and insurance that people’s money is safe. I think it will be several years before we know what will come of all of this but we will keep our fingers crossed that things get better. I will actually benefit from Roosevelt’s new deal as I begin my job as a highway builder next week. It will not provide the private school education that my kids are used to, or the continuation at the country club, but it would be unfair if it did. It is not the government’s job to provide me with anything but I am really happy that it will help me provide food to my family. Right now, every little bit helps. I look at this opportunity as a way to appreciate what I had and to look forward to gaining it back one day. I will do that as things get better and people get more in touch with the realities of what they have. It will be a while before banks are trusted and there are some people who still hold me personally accountable for their losses. That is the worst feeling in the world because I pride myself on honesty and integrity. The highway building will be a good respite and a way for me to get in better touch with what I will do in the future. My children will begin in the public school on Monday too. It will be the beginning of our new life with all kinds of changing happening next week. They will go to a one room school instead of a school where each grade is separated. Their teacher seems so nice though and I think they will benefit from their time learning together instead of apart. They will go from 8am til 12 pm and return home for lunch and to do their homework, chores and play. What my wife and I have stressed to them is how lucky we are to have each other, good health, and grandparents who have a home big enough for all of us to stay in. There are many less fortunate than us who don’t have a place to go and they don’t have food to put on their table. That is the ultimate tragedy really, isn’t it? We will still have a radio to listen to and we will continue to dance the way that we used to at night after listen to Roosevelt’s fireside chat. We dance in hope that the promises he is making will come true and we dance to celebrate life. Some nights we listen to the baseball games and root for Babe Ruth. He is the ultimate baseball of all time. We also read together so that our minds can keep growing and as a way to entertain ourselves. Sometimes we act out the stories in our family just for fun. One of my daughters has a flare for the dramatic and she loves to be an actress. She loved going to the movies when we could afford it, and I can’t wait to be able to take her again when times are a little better. The other kids like to play baseball in the yard with the kids in neighborhood, climbing trees and swimming at the country club. I suppose we will have to go to the river to swim for the time being and the new experience will be a great one for all of us. What I want you to know as you read this letter is that times are tough and in history, people should be aware of how tough times are for some people and how they got that way. I hope that you cherish the people in your life more than the things that you can have and that you make sensible choices when spending money that you have worked hard for. I believe that people should try to live without debt for the trivial things in life. Clothing, cars and things of that nature should be paid for without using someone else’s money. I understand that houses are very expensive and that in normal circumstances people must borrow money for them and that one expense is the only one that should leave you owing someone else money. There will temptations in life and pressures from others to spend money you don’t have, but I beg of you not to do it. I am giving up my home tomorrow and I am thankful the most for the wife and children. The things we have accumulated are only reminders of how I could have saved that money and been paying for my home right now. Be grateful for health and cherish the smiles that you see as people pass you by. Maybe one day, I will rebuy this old home of ours, and maybe it will be one of my grandkids who opens this time capsule letter. That would be the ultimate gift, but for now, I can only hope that the people who move in here enjoy it as much as we did and that they have good fortune and prosperity. And 70 years from now, in 2007, I hope that all of Roosevelt’s new programs have worked and that we, in the worst of financial times, have made it right for future generations. Change is not a bad thing, it lays the groundwork for new and better times. Best wishes to you and your family. I hope that you enjoy our home as much as we did. Sincerely, Frank Rollins The Great Depression 9. 04 The Great Depression A. Heading: * Address (imaginary) * City, State (imaginary) * Date (Month, Day, Year in the 1930s) B. Greeting: Dear ________: C. Body Your letter should focus on the following aspects of your life: * Paragraph 1: In the introduction to your letter, identify two causes of the Great Depression. Utilize the web sites in the Resource section. Explain how the Great Depression has affected you and your family. Use specific details from the web sites (For example, how did Black Tuesday affect your family or relatives? What is your standard of living? * Paragraph 2: a. Describe your family. Who are your brothers, sisters, relatives? What do your parents and relatives do for a living? b. Choose one of your relatives that has a job set up by FDR's New Deal. (For example, an uncle might be employed by the WPA). Choose a specific program within the New Deal—do not simply reference the New Deal in general. Describe the job with details. What is the purpose of th e organization? * Paragraph 3: c. Describe your school, classes, and teachers. Who are your friends? . Describe the town where you live. Who are your neighbors? Describe important celebrations, events, and people. Where do you like to hang out or play? * Paragraph 4: e. What is happening in the nation politically and economically? Look carefully at the date of your letter. Include specific details from the resources. f. What is happening in the nation's culture? Tell about music, radio programs, movies, sports. (Minimum of two specific details from the timeline according to the date of your letter. ) * Paragraph 5: a. What are your dreams for the future? b. What do you think the world will be like? c. How do you think the events of the Great Depression will affect you? | 76 Fort Street Johnston, West Virginia January 15, 1936 Dear Home Owner, My name is Frank Rollins and one day you will find this letter in my old house as part of a time capsule to be opened in the year 2007. It will hopefully help you and others understand what life is like for the people living through the tough economic times of today and hopefully will help you appreciate the many things that you may have. It will help you understand that standards of living can change very rapidly in times of economic turmoil and that what was once taken for granted can just as easily slip through your hands as if it wasn’t there. It will also hopefully help you understand just how quickly things change. Most importantly, I hope this letter helps you appreciate that the people in your lives are so much more important than the things. I am writing this letter as one final activity in this wonderful home where we have lived for 12 years. I am 33 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and we share 5 children between the ages of 5 and 11. We bought this house as our first home and thought that we would live here to raise all of our children. It is a wonderful neighborhood and the people here are friendly and kind. We have made friends that we will have for life and our children have too. Today is a very sad day for my entire family and for the friends that we have made. Unfortunately, we have to move because we can no longer afford to pay for the house that we treasure so much. Times are tough in this country and although we thought we would make it, things have changed. I was once the manager of the town’s bank and I made a very good living. We have been able to live in this affluent white collar neighborhood, be part of the country club and send our kids to private school where they were around other kids with the same standard of living. I worked hard to earn the wage that I did and I moved up the ladder in a meticulous manner so that I could maintain stability and growth. I wanted to provide my wife and children with the best that life has to offer and I was successful until October 29th, 1929, Black Tuesday. That was a day that changed my future and my destiny. It was the day that the stock market crashed and that people lost much of what they had. It was the day that caused panic for everyone, but bank managers in particular were in a predicament that was not too pleasant. Money just seemed to disappear and everyone blamed us. What they didn’t understand is that a bank is a business and somehow we had to pay our bills too. We had lent money and lent money and lent money and now, as people couldn’t pay it back, we were really in a pickle. It was a tough day followed by a rougher few years. I saw people’s houses be taken from them and people were just crushed. I was not able to help because the bank didn’t have any more money to lend. Roosevelt had placed a temporary close on banks to figure out who could legitimately stay open and who had to close for good. My bank stayed open for a while, but the time came 3 months ago when the doors had to close. You see, what happened is that people got really comfortable spending their money and other people’s money. Borrowing started, lots of borrowing, and people no longer lived with debt. It became a way of life. Then, people wanted more and more stuff. This was all in the 1920’s by the way when all of these new things were being manufactured and people were in awe of the new technology. As people bought it, more stuff was made until there was too much stuff on the store shelves. People had started to smarten up a little bit and they stopped buying. Production continued and the businesses were paying the price for that over production. When businesses have to pay, they cut costs somewhere else. In this case, it was in laborers. So people got laid off and were now out of work. The whole thing spiraled out of control and devastated the entire country. At the time, Hoover was our President and although he gets blamed for a lot of this stuff, it wasn’t really him who was to blame. He could have been more alert to what was happening I guess, but it was hard for anyone to see. He lost the election last year when Roosevelt was brought in with the promise of the New Deal. The New Deal is the promise for everything to be put back together financially in the country. It is the promise for jobs and for businesses to get back on their feet and for the country to become prosperous again. Will it work? It is hard to say becuae we are in the beginning phases of it. Roosevelt is definitely doing what he can to help the American people though. He has puts programs in place that are funded by the federal government that will insure that another Black Tuesday doesn’t happen. He has the FDIC which insures people’s banks deposits, the Works Progress Administration to offer jobs building new highways, the Social Security Administration to help people who are elderly or retired and about 12 other programs beyond that. They are all there to offer education, work and insurance that people’s money is safe. I think it will be several years before we know what will come of all of this but we will keep our fingers crossed that things get better. I will actually benefit from Roosevelt’s new deal as I begin my job as a highway builder next week. It will not provide the private school education that my kids are used to, or the continuation at the country club, but it would be unfair if it did. It is not the government’s job to provide me with anything but I am really happy that it will help me provide food to my family. Right now, every little bit helps. I look at this opportunity as a way to appreciate what I had and to look forward to gaining it back one day. I will do that as things get better and people get more in touch with the realities of what they have. It will be a while before banks are trusted and there are some people who still hold me personally accountable for their losses. That is the worst feeling in the world because I pride myself on honesty and integrity. The highway building will be a good respite and a way for me to get in better touch with what I will do in the future. My children will begin in the public school on Monday too. It will be the beginning of our new life with all kinds of changing happening next week. They will go to a one room school instead of a school where each grade is separated. Their teacher seems so nice though and I think they will benefit from their time learning together instead of apart. They will go from 8am til 12 pm and return home for lunch and to do their homework, chores and play. What my wife and I have stressed to them is how lucky we are to have each other, good health, and grandparents who have a home big enough for all of us to stay in. There are many less fortunate than us who don’t have a place to go and they don’t have food to put on their table. That is the ultimate tragedy really, isn’t it? We will still have a radio to listen to and we will continue to dance the way that we used to at night after listen to Roosevelt’s fireside chat. We dance in hope that the promises he is making will come true and we dance to celebrate life. Some nights we listen to the baseball games and root for Babe Ruth. He is the ultimate baseball of all time. We also read together so that our minds can keep growing and as a way to entertain ourselves. Sometimes we act out the stories in our family just for fun. One of my daughters has a flare for the dramatic and she loves to be an actress. She loved going to the movies when we could afford it, and I can’t wait to be able to take her again when times are a little better. The other kids like to play baseball in the yard with the kids in neighborhood, climbing trees and swimming at the country club. I suppose we will have to go to the river to swim for the time being and the new experience will be a great one for all of us. What I want you to know as you read this letter is that times are tough and in history, people should be aware of how tough times are for some people and how they got that way. I hope that you cherish the people in your life more than the things that you can have and that you make sensible choices when spending money that you have worked hard for. I believe that people should try to live without debt for the trivial things in life. Clothing, cars and things of that nature should be paid for without using someone else’s money. I understand that houses are very expensive and that in normal circumstances people must borrow money for them and that one expense is the only one that should leave you owing someone else money. There will temptations in life and pressures from others to spend money you don’t have, but I beg of you not to do it. I am giving up my home tomorrow and I am thankful the most for the wife and children. The things we have accumulated are only reminders of how I could have saved that money and been paying for my home right now. Be grateful for health and cherish the smiles that you see as people pass you by. Maybe one day, I will rebuy this old home of ours, and maybe it will be one of my grandkids who opens this time capsule letter. That would be the ultimate gift, but for now, I can only hope that the people who move in here enjoy it as much as we did and that they have good fortune and prosperity. And 70 years from now, in 2007, I hope that all of Roosevelt’s new programs have worked and that we, in the worst of financial times, have made it right for future generations. Change is not a bad thing, it lays the groundwork for new and better times. Best wishes to you and your family. I hope that you enjoy our home as much as we did. Sincerely, Frank Rollins The Great Depression The Great Depression was caused by not just one event, but by a combination of factors that led to the Great Depression. These included the stock market crash of 1929, the failures of nine thousand banks, drought conditions in the Mississippi valley, also known as the Great Dust Bowl, in 1930 and American economic policies with Europe, including the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, which reduces trade with Europe and contributed to an overall reduction in purchasing of durable goods. The stock market crash of 1929 was the event that sparked everything off. On September 3, 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a high of 381.2, a record high at the time.At the end of the market day on Thursday, October 24, the market was at 299.5, this was a twenty one percent drop in just under two months. In November of the same year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 199. By the time 1932 was over, the market had lost over ninety percent of its value. Banks, at the time, were also largely unregulated and often loaned out more money than they had on hand. Brokerage firms would lend out none dollars for every dollar, their investors had deposited. This was called buying on a margin. When the market failed, these loans were called in and the investors had no way to pay.This was worsened when many loans could not be collected on and depositors demanded their money back. There was no such thing as the FDIC back then, and the banks depositors lost their entire savings when a bank failed. The dollar was also decreasing in value while the debit people had stayed the same. This caused banks to decrease lending, which in turn, disrupted businesses, causing job losses as these businesses failed as well. It was a vicious cycle made worse by runs on the banks. Bank runs are when people rush to withdraw their money from banks for fear of losing it if the bank was in financial trouble. When people were unemployed and fearful of the banks, they tried to withdraw money that simply w as not there.The Decline in the Supply of MoneyAs we have discussed, a chain of events led to the great depression one of those was a decline in the money supply. The table below will help understand better the status of the money supply before and after the great depression years. (Watkins, 2013) M1= The sum of currency in circulation and the level of demand deposits M2- The sum of M1 plus time depositsThe Money Supply and Consumer Price Index (CPI) Before and During the Great Depression Years Demand Currency Consumer M2 M1 Deposits in circulation Price Index YEAR ($bill) ($bill) ($bill) ($bill) (1947-49 =100) 1926 43.7 26.2 22.2 4.891927 44.7 26.1 22.1 4.85 74.2 1928 46.4 26.4 22.5 4.80 73.3 1929 46.6 26.6 22.7 4.75 73.3 1930 45.7 25.8 22.0 4.52 71.4 1931 42.7 24.1 20.0 4.82 65.0 1932 36.1 21.1 16.2 5.70 58.4 1933 32.2 19.9 14.8 5.72 55.3 1934 34.4 21.9 17.2 5.37 57.2 1935 39.1 25.9 21.1 5.57 58.7 1936 43.5 29.6 24.3 6.24 59.3 1937 45.7 30.9 25.3 6.45 61.4 1938 45.5 30.5 25.0 6.46 60.3 1939 49.3 34.2 28.1 7.05 59.4 1940 55.2 39.7 32.0 7.85 59.9 1941 62.5 46.5 38.1 9.61 62.9 1942 71.2 55.4 43.8 12.38Political DebateDuring the Great Depression, the political parties had some heated debates between each other to try and solve the crisis. Essentially the debates among parties during the great depression are not unlike the fiscal debates that have gone on since the parties’ inception. Fiscally conservative and liberal parties both have good points and have both been proven successful in the pas t. The problem is that both theories have also shown examples of failure. FDR originally took a fiscally conservative approach during the recession but soon adopted a new strategy.In April 1938 he took advice from Harry Hopkins and other advisers who believed that government spending on  relief and public works would revive the economy, even if it produced larger deficits. The idea was that the depression was the product of under-consumption and that giving consumers more money (â€Å"priming the pump†) would stimulate consumer spending and fix the economy’s recession. FDR asked Congress for a $5 billion relief program, which passed in the spring and summer of 1938. But it didn’t really have an effect because although this was an aggressive approach to the recession, it was still too conservative. The amount of $5 billion was too little to provide the necessary stimulus.

Nature of Human Being and reason for beingg

From the Catholic's point of view, if we look at the bible basing room the Old Testament, we have committed sin from the day Adam and Eve bit the apple and this perhaps as always an excuse of humans when they commit mistakes. If we consider science on human evolution, they would say that we were once came from the family of ape, this also affects the perception towards the behavior of human beings because they perceived humans as higher level of the animal kingdom and again have the tendency to commit mistakes. But going deeper, do we really are born to make mistakes?Or in order to achieve perfections we needed to learn sessions by going through the mistakes. For me, the nature of human being and how he exist Is affected by a lot of factors, say by environment, circumstances, upbringing , beliefs etc. We sometimes make decisions not thoroughly think of but because of what we feel or sometimes how other will perceived It as right or wrong. This is because: our behaviors are affected b y the norms set by the environment where we are living or somehow affected by culture that was inculcated in our minds from the day we were born or even when we were still in the womb of our mother.This somehow defines the right and wrong of our action, each human being has his own definition of how we see righteousness and what seems to be not right in our perspectives. We are naturally Influenced by the surroundings but at the end of the day we always see goodness In every human, we always believed that whatever the actions or even mistakes committed, we don't completely removed the idea that somehow there is kindness or goodness in the heart of every human being. I guess, the nature of human being is not imperfectly perfect but we tend to dream of having almost close to perfect life.Contentment and satisfaction is always a challenging word for us. Linking this to genuine happiness adds more heaviness to the word, because, It gives us freedom to choose our own happiness and yet In choosing, we consider circumstances, families, other factors that might impact the happiness we want to have for our own lives. True to the saying, that no man is an island, which man cannot live alone, he needs to be with somebody to show his affection, emotion and love in either way.And this drives us also to do goodness, because we believe hat there is somebody, who can accept us, our faith directs us to do goodness and always reasons for everything we do, and somehow, sometimes being human we tend to forget this, because we perceived that we do not have a choice. But in reality we do, if we do have choices as human being, we have the freedom to think, how to act. The nature of human being for me is the same for each and every one but it only differs when influential factors sets in especially the culture that affects all our situations and ways of thinking.Reasons of Being: For me being is the reasons of existence. But how do we define reasons of being? Why humans do exists? In my own point of view, we were not born out of nowhere. Culture, religion, science environment may happened to affect our existence. We mimic sometimes other personalities or idols that we see or we believed reflect how we want to live our lives. And somehow this gives us directions of our being. Our reasons of being are unending process, it is like a cycle, when we almost are done to end something, and then it gives us another open door to begin on something.A child is born, his path sometimes is being mapped out already by his parents, but the moment he sees his environment, he began to explore things on his own and do things from one way to another until he accomplish something and explore on another thing. We do not seem to be satisfied with having Just any reason for living but we want to find deeper meaning of our existence. We tend to look for our purpose in the society, in humanity or in our day to day existence. The reason for being is because we want to see the meaning of life, we want to know where will it take us and how far can we affect others by our existence.In conclusion The nature of human being is naturally with flaws, we are not perfect but this should not be an excuse for stopping us to be a good person. Committing mistakes will lead us to learning and accept that we are human beings, and like a child we are a work in progress in becoming a better individual, or be the best of what we can be. I happened to read a book â€Å"the Purpose driven life† written by Rick Warren, it is about t the Journey of knowing God's purpose for your life and gives us understanding of the big picture ? how all the pieces of your life fit together.The reason of existence of eyeing is based on how or what we believe that drives us to what we do or we want to have in life. But personally, being a catholic I believed that my reason of being is because I have a purpose to serve God through my interactions with other human beings. To return the favor to othe rs by showing goodness and kindness, and exerting effort to live what the God has wanted us to be. My reason of being is to know the meaning of life and how to experience it. I believe that my life here on earth is Just a preparation of the beginning of my new life when I have the opportunity to see God face to face.

Africa’s growing concern Essay

Whoever ignites the flames of hate has succeeded considerably. Hatred has become a way of life for many people around the world. People envy other people and create hatred to those of better lives. But no human being is prepared for what the African continent actually reveals. The persecution of unwanted individuals is prevalent in this part of the earth. Poverty hounds Africa no end. The life there is very hard and disturbing. The place is filled with chaos and turmoil. No stability is in sight. The entire world is currently alarmed over the high incidence of death within its population. Countries over the years have pledged support to the stagnant economy of the African nation. All means of contribution have been given to the poor continent. But in spite of the continued aid, there seems to be no hope of rising within the nation. Africa has shoved itself into a hole so deep that the possibility of becoming buried is never a remote idea in the future. Men, women and children agonize over their situations. Food and resources are hard to come by. Thousands die of starvation annually. But more than that, countless people become victims of unnecessary violence. World leaders and governments around the globe have, time and again, met and discuss the events in Africa numerous times. Like a disease, the social demise of its population has been a primary concern for many nationalities worldwide. People are dying every minute. The media has played a vital role in revealing the abuses and brutalities of people. All eyes are focused on this place where individuals have disregarded the value of human life. The carnage continues, and will continue unless a swift and effective solution will be unveiled. There is a sense of urgency for the world’s leading governments to address the destruction of human dignity in Africa. However, in spite of the launching of countless humanitarian missions to solve the nation’s woes, death and suffering lingers on. Billions have been spent on relief operations but the social problem remains undefeated. The casualty toll piles up. The killing spree goes unsuppressed. And the rest of the world watches dumbfounded. It only shows that governments and its people are not doing enough to find answers to the African problem. Although food and the lack of basic needs is the primary concern among the African people, it is violence that must be silenced. Several decades of gun running and smuggling within the continent have only brought death to many citizens. As long as the armaments keep on coming, peace will remain to be an elusive and distant dream. The social instability in the African nation is about power. Individuals and their clans grapple for control. Gaining that momentum to hold every move in the tumultuous society means having the arms and weapons to subject everyone to their every word. The world is stretching its influence into every corner of the continent. But sadly, the troubled nation drives off the chance and rare opportunity to rebuild its communities. It is ironic that a very poor place can summon the strength to annihilate all intervening parties out of their motherland. Events are bleak. The panic button has been set. But with all the dangers and the deaths, Africans have little regard for the needs of their nation. Women and children go elsewhere to find peace. War escalates and the streets are stained with blood. If the world is keen on finding the answers to the growing social menace in Africa, analysts should dig deeper to gain a full and total understanding of the situation among its people. The United Nations must be aware to the motives and intentions of the African people. All along, the entire globe has only addressed the needs of the poor continent. The real reason for the chaos remains undetermined, and therefore, unsolved. Turmoil will continue to rob the African nation of its dream of peace and stability. With a disorganized crowd and a selfish government, senseless killings and looting will be around for a long time.

Macro & Micro economics. Windows by Microsoft Essay

Macro & Micro economics. Windows by Microsoft - Essay Example The essay tries to focus in the exclusive monopoly power of the popular software company Microsoft. Though very rare, business firms in the contemporary world often enjoy the power of a monopolist seller (Chass, n.d.). A monopolist market structure is primarily characterised with a single seller and many buyers in the industry. The products produced by a monopoly seller may or may not be differentiated. It should be carefully analysed that since the monopoly seller is the only major producer in the market, it faces the entire market demand. Thus, the price or average revenue (AR) curve and the marginal revenue (MR) curve faced by monopolists are always negatively sloped. Figure1: AR and MR Curve of a Monopoly Producer AR, MR Price or Average Revenue Curve (P or AR) Marginal Revenue Curve (MR) Quantity (Source: Authors Creation) The above diagram shows the AR and MR curve faced by a monopolist. A monopolist seller is a ‘price maker’ in the industry.... The policies of the government in an economy are also influenced by the power and decisions of a monopolist in the market. Microsoft Behaviour Microsoft Corporation is a famous American software company with its headquarters in Washington. At the current market conditions, business firms can never imagine to operate without the use of computers. The rise in the level of literacy in both developed and developing economies have increased the use of computers for both commercial and non commercial purposes with time. Most of the computers in the modern world comprise of an operating system of Microsoft. Such technical products supply has made Microsoft behave like a monopolist in the market. In 4th April 2000, the Federal government claimed that Microsoft Corporation has violated the antitrust laws in the market. Antitrust laws are the laws set with the mixture of federal and state government laws. The antitrust laws are strongly implemented on all the business organizations in the mode rn world because such laws prevents the economy from the unfair trade practices of monopoly business firms and promotes competition in the economy. It is believed by economists and analysts that rise in market competition in the business segments would help to augment the net social welfare in the economy (Manne, 2012). Bundling of Netscape and Media Player The Federal Justice department accused Microsoft Corporation for altering the satisfaction of the consumers by shifting competition in the software marketplaces in particular with the disbursement of the Netscape browser. Microsoft desired to bundle its business with the famous company of web browser Internet Explorer. The company

Nature Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nature Tourism - Essay Example Motivation relates to the choice of destination and activities, which are expected to relate to trip satisfaction and subsequent travel related intentions. The theories of motivation are a way of understanding the tourist expectations formation, that is, the tourist behaviour. Do they accurately assess and analyse tourist behaviour If so, to what extent Some of the functions of attitude are knowledge, ego, defence, value expression, utility and social adaptation; these functions act as mediators between drives or motives and values or situations. The theory of tourism motivation explains the behaviour pattern and assists in the satisfaction of it's underlying cognitive and emotional motives. The two systems of emotions and cognition differ in the degree of control a person has over their generation and manipulation. The term cognition refers to the mental representations such as knowledge or beliefs. Emotions encompass drives, feelings and instincts. The two jointly contribute to tourism motivation process. Motive is a distinct type of learned or conceived action in the form of behaviour. Motivation contains results of a situation-person interaction. One and the same motive can generate situational different behaviour; while different motives can generate very similar behaviour. A person experiences a press or a pull, which usually appears in the guise of a threat of harm or promise of benefit. Both need and press, combine to form an equivalent group of behavioural situations. (Heckhausen, 1989.) When motives transform to motivation, the process of choosing specific destination and activities begin. "Motivation is based on feelings of competence and self determination." (Deci and Ryan, 1985.) Tourist motivation is a set of needs, which predispose a person to participate in a tourist activity. The important antecedents of individual motivation are cultural background, values, market communication, experience, and consumer self-perception. 3. Motivation of Nature Tourism People who live in cities are motivated to travel as tourists to areas of wilderness because they need to escape from an artificial monotonous environment. Gray's Travel Motivation Theory gives us two motives; first is the desire to go from a known place to an unknown place and the second is to go to a place which can provide the traveler with special facilities, that do not exist in the place of residence. This theory does not completely cover the aspects of nature tourism. It will be worthwhile to have a look at the Career Ladder Theory, which emphasizes that people have a range of motives for seeking out holiday experiences. With different levels, it allows for many motives. It is dynamic and covers the seven requirements, which are considered to be good to assess the theory of tourist motivation. These seven requirements are, it functions as a true theory; it appeals to different users; it is easy to

Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Comparison - Essay Example He cannot do anything without the use of digital technology. Both the sides of the story are interesting and own a dash of reality in them. Summary 1 In his article, Carr (2008) has discussed the effects of digital technology on our minds, and how it is affecting our concentration. The way information is reachable on the internet is programming our minds in a novel fashion, in which we are getting void of deep thinking and meaningful concentration. Just like Google, there are a lot of search engines where we can find any kind of information we want; and, we only jump from one chunk of information to another without delving into longer pieces of writing. The fast retrieval of information, or our skimming of information, has taken away our power to read books and informative pieces of writing. New technologies like connecting brains with internet are being proposed, which will very likely snatch away our ultimate power to read, think, and analyze. Summary 2 Pinker (2010) states in his article that technology is not to be blamed when it comes to issues related to attention spans, concentration, and information retrieval. He is of the view that it is the fault of human who gets distracted by constantly arriving ads and glowing packets of information on the internet. We, as humans, must tame ourselves to maintain our attention spans and not get distracted. Moreover, the ability to read, critique, analyze and evaluate never came naturally to human beings even before the advent of technology. Instead, even in older times, these abilities were learnt through instruction and practice. These abilities can still be polished even today through practice and experience. Technology and internet is only helping us in our professional fields. Style Analyses Carr’s style of presenting his argument is very easy to understand and self-explanatory. It is an article that even a layman can well understand. It provokes a thinking that is very much related to every individual wh o uses computer these days. However, the latter half of the article seems to be going a bit off-road, but the overall impression is nice. On the other hand, Pinker’s style is very professional. His article is not very easy to understand in the beginning, but the latter half is easy to comprehend. Both the writers, with their own lucid styles, have presented their arguments in a very beautiful manner. Personal Reflection Since I am a tech savvy, I agree with Pinker more. I find his article very effective, since I believe that technology has brought much ease and novelty into our personal and professional lives. I do not agree with Carr when he says, â€Å"Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged† (2008, par. 9), because ability to interpret and analyze comes with learning, age, and experience. That has nothing to do with technology. I second Pinker (2010, par. 10) when he says that these abilities â€Å"must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep†, since it is not in control of internet to take them away. I believe that technology has created great seismic impact on every level of our professions. For example, educators have been trying to modify the instructional process with the help of technology. Teachers started feeling the necessity of incorporating information and communication technology in teaching language. Children can

EnERGY WEDGES Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

EnERGY WEDGES - Lab Report Example Increasing forest cover and vegetable is likely to reduce carbon in the atmosphere since the trees utilize the carbon for the process of photosynthesis. Water body mass such as the rivers and lakes also absorb carbon from the atmosphere hence reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Soil and other land covers also utilize carbon (Nesta, 2009). Planting cover crops and reducing soil erosion is estimated to reduce carbon emission in the next 50 years. Our second wedge deals with nuclear energy production. Nuclear energy produces no carbon. It is the most efficient and the most beneficial form of energy production. However, it is always faced with political interference since nuclear energy can easily be used as weapon of mass destruction hence indicated by red color. (UNEP, 2007). Although it will take time to transform from carbon energy immediately to other forms of energy, it is important that the public be educated on efficiently utilizing the current carbon energy. This cuts across mainly in transport and construction sectors. The two sectors are the major consumers of energy mainly in form of electricity and fuel. Our last energy wedge deals with shifting from carbon energy to bio-fuels. Bio-fuel is a product of plants. This is our last option designated by color blue. Use of bio-fuel reduces significantly the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. However, this strategy is still faced with major challenges sine it creates competition with food production (Wardlaw, 2009). The big question is whether the current land used in food production will be substituted for bio-fuel produce. The above energy wedge is likely to win the desires of many oil producing companies such as BP and other companies such as Ford that are actively involved in the motor vehicle industry. The wedge also complies with human rights activists such as the Kyoto Protocol and Copen Hagan reports that aims at sustainable development. The energy

Questions and answers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Questions and answers - Assignment Example Shiva is both destructive and reproductive. It holds the life cycle which includes the death, birth and rebirth. Vishnu is considered as the guardian of the world, preserver and restorer of the morality. However, Devi is considered as a supreme being among all the Hindu gods, she has been considered as the creator of Brahman. And the supreme power holder among all the other gods. 6) Guru Nank was born in Indian sub continent where two main religions conflicted in their diversities. He was born in a Hindu family but due to his work experience with Muslims was familiarized with their traditions, norms and customs as well. He created a new religion, fusion of Islam and Hinduism, where one didn’t worship idols and all the human beings were considered equal. The existence of one god and the traditional Japji Hymn were the idea of peace with one self. 7) Freedom is in the way a person lives life with his family and keep peace among them and not the ascetic way of life. Guru Nank and his nine successors worked on establishing the core of it by keeping three elements in mind, the religious dilemma of the continent, Sikhism surveillance and Punjab’s society (family life). The five K’s uncut hair, a short sword, breeches, a comb for topknot and a wrist ring are compulsory for Khalsa. These are the most visible symbols of a Sikhs. 8) Guru Granth Sahib defines the pattern of life lived by Gurus. Thus, it tells what tradition, practices and rituals to follow and which to leave. It guides to live a life of accuracy and virtues. It specifically signals towards the recitation of holy hymns as a part of faith. 9) Confucianism, the oldest Chinese rational and moral living style is based on humanism. Its main idea is that humans can learn, change, adapt through self effort and evaluation. It beliefs in one god’s existence and interpersonal

Developing a teaching plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Developing a teaching plan - Research Paper Example The nurse practitioner model creates enhanced patient-nurse relationships, which provide both self-care education and cancelling within the context of disease state management. The nurse teacher for a diabetic person needs to assess the patient’s needs, predict the expected outcomes from the teaching, and develop intervention plans based on a suitable nursing theory. Patient Assessment Albert Boyle is a 69-year-old man with five-year history of type 2 diabetes (Spollett, 2003). The doctors diagnosed Joseph’s condition in the year 1997. Two years prior to diabetes type 2 diagnoses, Albert Boyle had symptoms indicating hyperglycemia. Albert’s fasting blood glucose ranged between 118-127 mg/dl (Spollett, 2003). The doctors advised Albert to lose at least 10 lb of his weight, but he did not take any action. The family physician referred Albert Boyle the diabetes specialty clinic where he reported recent weight gain, foot pain, and suboptimal diabetes control. Albertà ¢â‚¬â„¢s attempts to lose weight through increased exercises were not successful. Albert takes 10 mg of atorvastatin daily for hypercholesterolemia (Spollett, 2003). He took gymnema sylvestre, pancrease elixir and chromium picolinate with an attempt to improve his diabetic condition; however, he stopped these supplements because he did not see any improvements (Spollett, 2003). Albert Boyle does not test the levels of his blood glucose at home because he does not belief that this condition would help him improve his diabetes control. Albert questions the benefits of knowing the numbers since after all the doctor is already aware that the sugar level is high. Albert Boyle does not have knowledge of diabetes self-care management, and expresses that he is worried about what causes his diabetic condition since he does not eat sugar. Albert has been physically active by playing golf once in a week and gardening; however, he has reduced more than 3 lb of weight (Spollett, 2003). Albert ha s neither consulted a dietician nor been instructed in self-monitoring of blood glucose. Defining Characteristics Albert Boyle has a misconception about the approaches to improve his health status. He does not believe that knowing his health status can help him manage his diabetes control. Albert argues that there is no need of him of knowing his blood-sugar level; he claims that the doctors already know that the level of sugar in his body is high. Another characteristic of Albert Boyle is that he does not demonstrate self-care skills concerning his diabetic controls. Albert is not aware of the critical skills that are required to control his blood sugar. Albert does not believe that he is diabetic. This is evidenced by the fact that he questions the source of the condition, and he does not eat sugar. Albert is ignorant that direct intake of sugar does not cause diabetes. Diabetes results from two factors: when the pancreas fails to produce insulin, and when the cells fail to respon d to the insulin that is produced (Boswell, 2007). This leads to accumulation of blood sugar in the body. Related Factors Patients with diabetic conditions have extremely comprehensive learning needs. The diabetic patients’ needs focus on informing them proper measures of managing their sugar levels and preventing their diabetic condition

Examples of Discipleship Essay Example for Free

Examples of Discipleship Essay I believe that Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Christian Aid are two prime examples of discipleship in this century, Bonhoeffer as an individual and Christian Aid as an organisation. Bonhoeffer was a German preacher born in 1906 to a medical professor and his wife in Breslau, a small town. From an early age he wanted to serve God, and so he studied theology at university and taught and preached in both Germany and America. He returned to his homeland in 1933 to protest against the newly elected Nazi party, and joined the new Confessing Church, having rejected his previous Protestant church for bowing to Hitlers demands. He worked in a secret training centre for new pastors, run by the confessing church, for four years, as the Gestapo closed it down in 1937. After that, and with the signs of the oppression soon to be felt by the German people becoming clearer, Bonhoeffer took a more active role in his campaigning against the Nazis, eventually leading him to a cell in a prison and the hangmans noose in 1945. One of the main tenants of Christian discipleship is Jesus teaching on the mountain: pacifism and love for enemies. Bonhoeffer was an avid believer in these ideals, and wrote his still-relevant book, The Cost of Discipleship, based around those thoughts. He interpreted the maxim of If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also as a call for pacifism and working out disagreements by reasoning rather than force. But Bonhoeffer was forced to challenge his own morals when the news of the violent anti-Semitism ignited by Hitler spread and several of his friends joined the German resistance. Most of those opposed to the Nazis saw that the only way to end the suffering caused by Hitler was to kill him. Public meetings were banned, and the press were heavily censored. The huge propaganda departments of the government would not allow any attempt by Bonhoeffer to spread his Christian teaching. So Bonhoeffer felt that he could be quiet, and wait until the war finished, and congratulate those that ended it, or he could play an active role in a plot to kill Hitler. Firstly he helped smuggle Jews out of Germany, but was caught and forced to give up any legitimate teaching. Forsaking any hope of reaching a peaceful end to the conflict, Bonhoeffer helped the bomb plot to assassinate Hitler. When it failed he was incarcerated, and he contemplated his deviance from Christian law. Bonhoffer had to make, on his own, one of the main questions that hangs over all belief systems: Whether the moment dictates what a person should do, or if people should always keep constant what they believe in. In his case it was between fighting evil and helping those in need or staying true to his pacifist roots. He chose to take a drastic step against some of Christs teachings to implement others, leading to his arrest and execution. This inevitable question still hangs over the church, and a viable answer has yet to be suggested. Christian Aid is a charity funded by numerous churches in the UK and Ireland. Although it is funded and staffed by Christians, Christian Aid will support any people in need, regardless of religion or race, and does not attempt to convert those it helps to Christianity. Although it combats poverty and need immediately and continually in global trouble areas, it also tries too stop poverty at its root, and was a large part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign to abolish third world debt. Christian aid has interpreted Jesus teaching on Discipleship and concentrated on the aid and help parts of his teaching. It would look to examples from his life: When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying hands on each one, he healed them (Luke 4:40) This sort of passage, frequent in the gospels, shows that Jesus cared greatly for the needy, rejecting the idea that they somehow deserved their punishment, and was not afraid to get dirty and ritually unclean to help. In the same way, Christian Aid was set up by Christians who do not judge those they help, and will go to any lengths to re-enact Christs good work. They also follow the teaching laid down by Jesus in his parables, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan: He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own Donkey, brought him to an Inn and took care of him. (Luke 10:34) The idea of this parable, where one man steps in where others fear to tread, inspires Christian Aid a lot, as they are physically helping the needy of the world while other members of society just stand back and watch, sometimes nodding approvingly. They see this following of Jesus as being true to one of Jesus main teachings, Love your neighbour as yourself And seek to harmonise the lot of people around the world by abolishing suffering through war, poverty and disasters. As Christian Aids motto goes; We believe in life before Death, Christian Aid is rejecting the traditional view of the churches preaching yet not acting, and are playing an active role in the reduction of suffering. They see Jesus message not just as an instruction to put up with life until you die, but also as a chance to help the needy, and prove before God their faith as Christians.

Engineering procurement and construction

Engineering procurement and construction Integrated Project Teams With Multi Office Execution, A Study Of EPC Projects In Canada Abstract Engineering procurement and construction (EPC) projects in the Canadian oil and gas industry have gained significant economic importance due to rising hydrocarbon commodity price. The oil and gas industry in Alberta has planned to spend approximately 142 billion dollars (Government of Alberta, 2010) within the next two decades on capital projects. Alberta has recognized the shortage of human resources during peak economic activities, to execute mega capital projects. Multi office execution (MOE) is a way forward for all the major EPC houses in Canada to meet the demands of Clients within budget and on schedule. Further, it has been identified by the industry needs that integrated project teams are critical to the success of these complex oil and gas projects. In this environment, project management techniques need to be adapted to match project complexity. This paper will provide much insight through case studies related to project teams in multi office execution, and review the existing literature body of knowledge. An analysis is presented based on the project management knowledge areas. Recommendations are made based on this analysis. The objectives of this paper are to review literature related to managing MOE projects and to determine the keys to success and areas that need improvement in MOE. Introduction Alberta oil and gas industry has gained significant economic importance over the past decades. In 2010, it is estimated that the industry has an inventory of 57 capital oil and gas projects with a total value of 142 billion dollars (Government of Alberta, 2010). Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies have been providing oil and gas owner companies with expertise and resources to execute these capital projects. Under current market condition, the oil and gas owner companies want the EPC companies to share more risks. More and more projects are based on lump sum and fixed-fee contracts and are executed under lower budgets and tighter schedules. To stay competitive, many EPC companies have adopted global execution business model. Work is carried out in multiple offices or even by multiple organizations (Macquary, 2003). Cost saving benefit is achieved by allocating project scopes to high-value low-cost offices in other provinces or other countries. The companies may develop a partnership with other companies with specific technical expertise or local business expertise in order to gain market share in a new or emerging market. The MOE improves resource availability under booming economy, where resource shortage becomes a sig nificant problem in executing large projects. Despite several benefits, MOE projects can be very challenging to manage. Although the project management methodology is applicable to both single-office and multi-office projects (Cowle et al, 1995), the multi-office projects require particular emphasis on some of the project management processes. The objectives of this paper are to review literature related to managing MOE projects and to determine the keys to success, challenges and areas that need improvement in MOE. Interviews with project management experts from the EPC industry who have experience managing multi-billion dollar MOE projects provided insights into MOE best practices. The interviews were designed based on project management knowledge areas established by Project Management Institute or PMI (Project Management Institute, 2004) in order to present the findings using internationally accepted framework. These knowledge areas are: project integration management, project scope management, project time management, project cost management, project quality management, project human resource management, project communication management, project procurement management, and project risk management. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews literature related to MOE. Section 3 briefly describes methodology and the MOE projects studied in this paper. Keys to success and challenges for MOE are discussed in Section 4. This is followed by conclusions in Section 5.   Literature Review Multi-Office Execution Concepts Engineering and Construction Risk Institute (2009) defines two main elements of a multi-office executing organization: 1) Lead office which is an office that provides leadership and has overall responsibility for the execution of the project; 2) Support office which is an entity participating in the project under the overall management and supervisory control of the lead office. The multi office execution strategy is found to be popularly framed within concepts such as virtual teams and offshore outsourcing (off shoring). A common definition available for a virtual group/team is a group of geographically and temporally dispersed individuals who are assembled via technology to accomplish an organization task. Joseph (2005) specifically defines Global Virtual Engineering Team (GVET) as a group of geographically dispersed individuals organized through communication and information technologies that need to overcome space, time, functional, organizational, national, and cultural barriers for the completion of a specific engineering task. According to Joseph (2005), the following comparison can be made between a virtual team and a conventional team. The most critical and important feature of virtual teams is that they cross boundaries of space. Whereas the members of traditional teams work in close proximity to one another, the members of virtual teams are separa ted, often by many miles or even continents. Although many traditional, localized teams also communicate through computerized communication media, technology such as video conferencing is typically used by virtual team members to supplement their rare face-to-face communication. In physically collocated teams, members of the team are likely to have similar and complementary cultural and educational backgrounds since they have gone through the same recruitment and selection procedures as they are employed by the same organization. In a virtual team the members may vary in their education, culture, language, time orientation and expertise. There can also be conflicting organizational and personal goals among the members of a virtual team. Multi-office execution also can be part of off shoring when local EPC companies subcontract project activities to branches or a different company in a foreign country. Off shoring is an extreme version of outsourcing, and it refers to the transfer of production/service capacity from a site within a country to a site in another country and then importing back for national consumption of goods and services that had previously being produced locally (Goff, 2005). Off shoring business operations offer a potential for 15-20% cost savings, but further analyses show that organizations that properly plan and operate offshore initiatives can reap substantially higher rewards (Fox and Hughes, 2008). According to Goff (2005) the benefits of off shoring for large companies include: maintaining or increasing profitability by reduced labor costs if resources with the same or higher level of expertise can be obtained in the foreign countries; maintaining its competitive position or even protecting it from going out of business; and increasing the market share of a company by improving their capacity and utilizing available in-house resources to more value added ventures. Canada ranks high among most attractive host countries for companies wishing to locate abroad to improve their financial position according to the offshore location attractive index (Goff, 2005). The multi-office execution has been made possible and successful, solely due to the advancements in the information and communication technology. With the rapid advancement of the electronic age the ability to staff a project from multiple offices has gone from a dream to a practical reality (Cowle et al, 1995). The latest developments in communication technology such as teleconferencing, video conferencing and host of other online applications coupled with ever increasing speed of data, voice and video transfer literally eliminate distance barriers. According to Macquary (2003) we are at a point in time where information technology is allowing us to change many of our traditional way of doing work. Hence it is possible to create an organizational structure agile enough to accept them and quickly apply them to add value. MOE Driving Forces Economy conditions are the main driving forces for the MOE strategy (Macquary (2003), Joshep (2005), Global Insight USA (2004), and Engineering and Construction Risk Institute (2009)). Under booming economy, labor shortage becomes a problem for many organizations and the MOE is a way to acquire project teams from other remote offices or even other companies. The MOE strategy is also used to add resources in order to meet tighter/compressed project schedules. On the other hand, slower economy growth demands constant vigilance over cost. Companies with global operations often allocate or outsource work to high-value low-cost offices, especially when qualified resources with lower wages are available. For instance, offices in India, China or Far East countries could be candidates for such support offices. Company policy to gain market share is another driver for MOE strategy. Companies can setup offices in other countries or develop business partnership with local companies to capture global or emerging markets. A joint venture between companies (or even competitors) with complementing expertise to take on a project that requires diversified expertise is also another driver for MOE. Other driving forces are: development in technology such as internet connections and other communication tools; a need to free resources for core business or higher value purposes; change in educational trend which results in smaller number of graduates in some studying fields (Joseph, 2005). Managing MOE Projects Engineering and Construction Risk Institute (2009) suggested issues to be addressed for MOE projects during sales/pre-execution, project mobilization, project execution, and project completion phases. Key issues are: early engagement with the client to obtain agreement to MOE and address clients concerns; early engagement of the support offices; clear definition of scopes and responsibilities for individual offices and kick-off meetings; alignment of work processes, deliverables, and reports; selecting suitable key project roles who are opened to MOE; and communication plan. Joseph (2005) has identified technology, management, organization, project control and team communication as important items to consider in global virtual team formation and execution. Clear and frequent communication, periodic face-to-face meetings, good communication tools and compatibility in information technology, standard work processes and communication procedures, and clearly defined scope expectations are named as top success criteria for multi-office execution. Whereas lack of or poor communication, lack of face-to-face meetings, lack of understanding of local work practices/ cultural differences and/or language issues, lack of management involvement experienced leadership, changes not handled properly, slow response to changes, incompatible or poor technology including hardware and software are top failure factors found within EPC industry for multi-office execution. Chinowsky and Rojas (2003) outlined the top 10 management issues that must be addressed when initiating and maintaining virtual teams. They are categorized as Team issues and Process issues. Team issues include: initial face-to-face meetings are required to develop a sense of ‘‘team, managers must visit remote participants during the course of the project, trust between team members is difficult to establish when operating in a virtual environment, and virtual team leaders should be selected with an acknowledgment of the unique demands placed on distributed teams. Process issues includes: project objectives must be restated and reinforced frequently to ensure that all members remain focused on a common outcome; conflicts must be addressed quickly to prevent unresolved issues from interfering with communications; discussions on decisions will be more difficult as participants continue discussions via electronic media; expectations of each team member must be stated clearly to assist the members as they work independently; team member workloads should be monitored to ensure that significant increases do not occur due to increased electronic communications; and regular training must occur equally for all members of the virtual team. Methodology And Studied MOE Projects The methodology used in this paper to gain insights into MOE best practices and challenges is interviewing project management experts who have experience managing MOE projects in EPC industry. The interviews were designed using project management knowledge areas: project integration management, project scope management, project time management, project cost management, project quality management, project human resource management, project communication management, project procurement management, and project risk management. The project management knowledge areas are identified by its knowledge requirements and described in terms of their component processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques (Project Management Institute, 2004). The two major reasons for the projects to implement MOE strategy found in this paper are resource constraint and cost saving. All of the projects discussed in this paper were executed during the booming economy (i.e. high oil price) and manpower shortage became a problem for many projects. Therefore, the MOE beame a necessary strategy to acquire project teams with required skills from locations with more resource availability. To save cost, project scopes were allocated to high-value low-cost offices in either other provinces or other countries (e.g., India and China). Cost benefit was achieved in both cases. Some of the projects allocated â€Å"less technical† work such as cloning design work and closing project work to these support offices. Another driving force identified is a company strategy to expand and maintain national or global operations. The MOE strategy is used to balance resource utilization. In booming economy, work is allocated to reduce workload at some offices. During an economy down turn, work is allocated to maintain support offices as it is more economical than closing the support offices and rebuilding them when demand resumes. Engineering work is usually allocated among lead and support offices. For better coordination, a procurement organization is usually setup in the offices that perform engineering design. However, smaller projects may choose to have only one procurement organization in the lead office. Construction is mostly executed by the lead office. However, some construction scopes (e.g., fabrication and modularization programs) may be subcontracted to local or international third-parties, therefore they are considered as MOE. Prime contract management/ legal functions are usually executed by the lead office only. Other project functions such as Project Management, Project Controls, and Document Management are executed from the lead office. However, depending on the size of the project and project strategy, these functions may also be executed from other support offices. Keys To Success Challenges In MOE Further discussion on keys to success, challenges, and areas required improvement for MOE projects is divided into 9 subsections per Project Management Knowledge Areas (Project Management Institute, 2004): project integration management, project scope management, project time management, project cost management, project quality management, project human resource management, project communication management, project procurement management, and project risk management. The discussion is summarized at the end of this section. Project Integration Management For MOE projects, the lead office is normally responsible for developing the project charter and preliminary project scope statement. This is due to closer contact with the Client. Furthermore, at the early stage of the project, the support offices may not have been involved yet. It is important that the project management team provides MOE justification to gain support from the Client. It is recommended that the project management plan developed during the planning phase addresses the MOE strategy including high-level justification, organization, resource utilization and scope allocation. Some projects may choose to develop a separate subsidiary plan which addresses MOE issues such as scope allocation, responsibility, and communication in more detail. The MOE brings many challenges in monitoring and controlling project work. All offices should take responsibility for their own work but the lead office must take the responsibility to monitor and control overall project work. Managers in the lead office need to understand their roles in monitoring and controlling project work even though the work may be executed by the support offices. Basic communication approaches such as regular phone calls and VDO conference meetings and information systems that allow progress information to be collected from support offices are used for monitoring and controlling project work. Project changes should be managed and controlled centrally by the lead office. Changes are initiated from all offices but only the lead office should have authorization to approve changes. The approved changes need to be captured and project plans (e.g., budget and schedule) are adjusted accordingly. It is important that no office should start executing the changes before they are approved even if the changes are initiated by the Client. Closing project is identified in this paper as one of the major challenges in MOE. Each office is normally responsible for closing the work under their scopes. However, the support offices have smaller scopes of work, therefore they usually de-staff earlier than the lead office. If the support offices de-staff before the close out is complete, the work is transferred to the lead office which may not have sufficient background understanding to properly close out the work/scope. To avoid this circumstance, the projects must plan and execute the project closing process carefully. It is also important that sufficient budget is allocated for the project closing process. Electronic archiving of project documents is recommended to facilitate the project closing. Other challenge identified for project closing process is lessons-learned management. Lessons learned from all offices need to be captured, analyzed for follow-up actions or recommendations, archived, and internally published. Lessons learned are proprietary and required careful review before they are published to avoid any commercial or legal impacts. Some EPC companies may have a corporate function dedicated to manage lessons learned from all projects. If not, the project management team in the lead office should be responsible for managing lessons learned from all offices. As this is a part of project closing, management of lessons learned needs to be planned, scheduled and have budget provided for like other project work. Project Scope Management After the preliminary project scope statement is developed, the project scope must be further refined. Scope allocation among the offices is a major part of scope management for MOE projects. Depending on the types of projects, the scope can be further divided vertically or horizontally. For example, oil and gas facility construction projects normally divide scope vertically by geographical areas of the facilities while power plant construction projects usually divide the scope horizontally, by specialized technical systems such as steam lines, control systems, rotating equipments, etc. Nevertheless, the project scope should be divided in the fashion that requires as little coordination as possible. In reality establishing a balance between MOE scope division and effort to coordinate the project scopes becomes a fine art for the project management team. Several criteria are used to allocate the scopes among the multiple offices. These include expertise and experience, cost, resource availability, and organizational strategy. The lead office is mainly responsible for scope allocation. It is identified in this paper that clear understanding of scope is one of the key elements to successful MOE. Therefore, it is highly recommended that the lead office organize kick-off meetings to engage the support offices as soon as possible in order to develop the scope definition and WBS. It is crucial that these processes are a joint effort between the lead office and support offices. This will develop a better understanding of the scope and a sense of ownership for the support offices which will later benefit the scope control process (e.g., recognizing scope changes and their impacts). Tools that are used for scope planning are responsibility matrices that clearly indicate the responsibility among the offices at project deliverable level (e.g., division of responsibility, material assignment schedule, control and monitoring needs, etc.). Detail responsibility to verify and accept the project deliverables can also be included in the responsibility matrix. Critical deliverables are accepted directly by the lead office for review before transferring to the Client, while the other deliverables can be submitted directly by the support offices to the Client. However, the lead office has overall responsibility to ensure that the project deliverables are completed as per project scope. The scope should be controlled centrally by the lead office as a part of integrated change management discussed in the previous section. As a result, it is important that the lead office has a good understanding and control of the scopes that are performed by all offices. Project Time Management Project work broken down into tangible components and assigned to a resource is essential for schedule development. Project schedules should be developed by the lead office in close communication and cooperation of support offices. The lead office usually initiates high-level schedule which contains major project milestones usually knows as master schedule, then the support offices provide detail information (e.g., activity sequence, activity resource estimating and activity duration estimating) to be incorporated into the master schedule. Once the project schedule is developed and adopted as a time management tool, activity status information required to update this schedule is collected from all offices. It is important that all offices follow the master project schedule. Use of universal scheduling tools that provides visibility to all offices particularly benefits the MOE execution. Communicating and resolving schedule misalignments among offices is considered to be one of the challenges for MOE. Therefore, it is recommended that the master schedule control is centralized and the lead office assign personnel to coordinate schedule information from all offices. Project Cost Management Cost estimating is a significant activity during the early execution of the project. During the early stage the scope and responsibilities are with the lead office, therefore the cost estimating is also performed by the lead office. Early estimates are conceptual estimates with some details (e.g., major equipment cost, estimated bulk quantities and construction cost). When further design development takes place and if significant scopes are allocated to support offices, area estimators could be assigned to provide input to the lead estimating team. Detail estimates are developed when significant engineering is completed. Input and feedback from all the execution offices are used in developing detail estimates. Once the detailed estimates are approved and implemented each support office is responsible for its scope of work. Typically, total cost management and final reporting remain the responsibilities of the lead office. Cost control strategy can be either centralized or decentralized, depending upon the scope splits, project staffing, level of effort needed to control and report project cost. For instance, if a support office is allocated a small scope (e.g., the support office only produces isometric drawings), total cost control can be performed by the lead office. On the other hand, if a support office has significant scope (i.e. a complete plant area), cost control for that area can be assigned to the support office with periodic reporting to the lead office. Regardless of centralized or decentralized cost control strategy, the lead office has a responsibility to control and report to the Client overall project cost. Project Quality Management The quality planning should be initiated by the lead office with consideration to Clients quality standards and requirements. Project quality assurance and quality control are typically executed by all offices. For the MOE projects that involve support offices from foreign countries or from different companies, different quality practices may be allowed as long as they comply with the project quality management plan. In case the quality assurance and control of support offices do not comply to project quality plan, the lead office may need to execute these two processes as appropriate. Project Human Resource Management For MOE projects, the lead office should initiate the human resource planning by providing allocated man-hour budget to the support offices. Factors such as capability, reliability, quality, and expertise of the support offices should also be considered when developing the budgets. Then the support offices are responsible for developing their own staffing plans. The lead office should also ensure that: the budgets allocated to the support offices are appropriate; all managers are trained to do staff planning; and the staffing plans developed by the support offices align with project plans (e.g., budget, schedule, and scopes of work). As leadership is crucial for project success, the project lead roles (e.g., engineering leads) in the support offices should be identified early. These lead roles provide direction to the teams and are communicating channels between the lead office and the support offices. Some projects may instead select to assign a coordinating role for smaller scope of work allocated to the support offices. Lead offices may influence staff assignments at support offices especially for the lead positions. However, the support offices are usually responsible for acquiring their own project teams for the reasons that they have better knowledge and understanding of their staff as well as they are directly responsible for the staff career development. MOE projects have to overcome many challenges in developing the project team. Phone calls and meetings between offices in different time zones are more difficult to arrange while communicating only via emails may not be an ideal approach to develop a working relationship. Cultures and languages also add challenges to communication. It also takes time to develop trust and working relationship between offices which is a challenge for offices that have never worked together before or offices that have high-turnover or are downsized. Other challenges are standardizing or aligning work processes. This paper identifies that having staff from the leading office visit support offices at regular intervals and vice versa is an effective approach to build project team for MOE projects. These visits could be for training, meetings, or trouble shootings. The project should arrange these visits as often as possible during the project life cycle. VDO conference is also recommended as a more effective meeting tool than just a phone conference. The project management should be instrumental in arrange all-office team building activities such as project progress presentation, discipline presentations and recognition and reward program. Each office is responsible for managing its own staff. However, the lead office needs to manage overall performances of the support offices. Cultural difference should be considered for appropriate management style. It should also be noted that the performances between offices should not be compared without understanding the legitimate factors that may impact the performance from each office (e.g., expertise experience). Other challenge found in managing the MOE team is that delivery and performance issues (e.g., rework, delay, or actual amount of remaining work) may not be communicated to the lead office. These are often driven by fear of negative consequences such as losing work. Therefore, it is important to set reasonable performance targets based on capability of the support offices and the lead office provides support in solving any performance issues such as training and trouble shooting. Project Communication Management As a part of communication planning, it is recommended that the stakeholder analysis is performed for all offices to determine the project communication requirements. Communication planning should address information, information originator, information receiver, frequency, and communication medium. It is important that the lead office is the only point of contact for handling commercial and contractual matters. When appropriate, mass communication methods such as group email, project portal, shared drive are recommended for MOE projects. It is important that project changes (e.g., revisions) are communicated with high priority between offices to prevent rework, especially if work is shared between multiple offices (e.g., outputs from one office become inputs for the other offices). To facilitate the information distribution during the execution phase, the use of information distribution matrix is recommended. The matrix determines the list of employees that the information is to be distributed to and is managed by document management group. Overall project performance reporting should be a responsibility of the lead office with inputs from support offices. The performance reporting should be included in the communication management plan. Reporting schedule and format should be developed and agreed upon by all offices. Necessary trainings (e.g., use of tools to collect performance information, data gathering and data analysis) should be provided to all offices to ensure reporting accuracy and consistency. Project Procurement Management One of procurement decisions to be made at the beginning of an MOE project is purchasing and managing strategy for each material commodity. It is generally more economical that bulk material (e.g., bulk piping materials, steel, and cables) requirements from all offices are consolidated and purchased together by the lead office. However, commodities that require customized engineering design such as mechanical and electrical equipments may be managed more effectively if they are procured by the same engineering office. After the decisions are made, the procurement organization then can be setup to support the commodity management strategy. It is a best practice to have procurement organizations in all engineering offices. However, some smaller projects may choose to setup only one project procurement organization in the lead offices. Subcontract function (which is a part of procurement management per project pr

The Information Technological Human Resources Management Techniques Commerce Essay

The Information Technological Human Resources Management Techniques Commerce Essay The information technology in human resources management application, will be helpful for the re-definition and optimizing human resources management operation flow.This also raises the working efficiency, improves the grade of service, and thus increasing the information and professional human resources management platforms productivity. Certainly, in as much as information technology has contributed to the growth of human resource management, it is also important to highlight that human resource management will continually to grow in all ramification. But the information technology also to a certain extent steady developed certain function for the human resources. This research will analyze all aspect of the usage of technology in human resource management and how opportunities are still there to aid the advance of human resource. LITERATURE REVIEW Understanding of HRM De Cenzo and Robbins (1996: p8) defined HRM as the part of the organization that is concerned with the people as a whole and renders support in all aspect to them. Sequel to this, is the definition given by Bratton and Gold (2003: p7), that HRM is the strategic approach to managing employment relations with emphasis to the capability of the employees so as to sustain competitive edge. Lastly, Alan Price (2004: p32) gave a rather accurate HRMs definition as that part of the organization responsible for recruiting capable, dynamic and committed people, so as to manage and reward their efforts which will lead to competencies for the organization. The most important part of the organization is human resource management. Having a human resource management is not just the fact but having an effective one tat is able to align the organization goals into action is the most important thing. Finding revealed by Evan et al (2002) shows that human resource management is a core part and asset of any organization because it is very important in the sustaining of business success. Cross (2000), shows that human resource management inter-connects all people in the management and development of the organization. Likewise, human resource management is the driving force of the organization. According to the business dictionary, human resource management is defined as an administrative activity associated with planning, recruitment, selection motivation as well as developing people through work. (http://www.businessdictionary.com) Information technology on the other hand takes a proactive definition which looks at the Today, human resource management is now faced by many problems which is fast making it less effective in many ways. PRESENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN HRM The importance of technology cant be ignored wisely because of the many advantages it gives to employees as well as the overall success it provides for human resource management which equally translates to the overall organizational structure in a positive way. Information technology, by no doubt has helped to value the workforce as a relevant asset that defines the overall organizations culture and philosophy. The use of information technology in human resource management can be seen visibly in the mode and operation of human resource management. Today, the training and selection method is done via the use of information technology and this is fast making the overall process more effective than ever as a whole. Jerman-Blazic, (1996) stated that the use of internet and information technology offers much quicker access to latest scientific and technological innovations of the companies and research institution. This particular true because human resource will continually pay attention to transformation of employees in the organization just as technology would be driving tool to accompany this objective. Acquiring and gathering fresh knowledge whether supplementary or existing ones can only be attained via information that is technological in nature. Further to this, this researcher feels that information technology offer awareness and it is the driving force of changes as well. This observat ion can be seen by the research conducted by Lindstrom, Moberg Rapp (1997) which says: With Internet and (more broadly) Information-and-Communications-Technology (ICT) development in the full swing for the last two decades, organizations have been provided with a whole range of new possibilities for performing work and structuring organization In another review, new technology may also be required for implementing a low cost strategy if the technology can improve efficiency (Mondy, Noe Premeaux 1999, p148). The adoption of information technology assists closely in the cost analysis of any intending project that the human resource is undertaking since there are improved efficiency in all ramification. The process of human resource planning requires some level of technological application which will be incorporated into the overall strategic implementation of the company. Mondy, Noe Premeaux (1999) also concluded that aligning information technology to human resource management supports the overall implementation of plan as well as conducting analysis. Likewise, in time and labor management, the use of information technology cant be ignored because it is advantageous. IT enables the gathering and application of employee time and work information. It enables the tracking of employee in a scientific way that allows for easy analysis. It also enable human resource managers or senior personnel to know which employee is actually performing and the ones that are not performing and show improvement. Druckers work (2001) also added to this view by supporting that IT tracks employees performance.. It is a known fact that many organization differ in their approach to human resource planning and practices. E-HRM IN THE TODAY ORGANIZATION Ernst finds that electronic human resource management (e-HRM) is a web-based tool to automate and support HR processes. The implementation of e-HRM is an opportunity to delegate the data entry to the employees. eHRM facilitates the usage of HR marketplaces (e-recruitment) and offers more self-service to the employees (http://www.thestep.gr) The need to gather and have conceptual knowledge in this modern world is fast becoming a necessity and thus the adoption and use of information technology in human resource is no longer a new thing. When human resource and information technology are brought together, we see that there formulation leads to what we call e-HRM. A term used to denote the adoption of information technology in the human resource management department or policies. Information technology and human resource management is now known as e-HRM (Zhang Wang). IT has brought about revolution in organization through the adoption just as firms are now having corporate website which is now shifting the manual form of doing job to the computerized one such that mistake are eliminated to the minimal level. Consequently, the process of hiring new employees has been challenging and quite tasking. Tim Knox, in his article entitled expert strategies for hiring best employees suggests the use of information technology of hiring potential candidates to the job. The traditional view should be discarded and give way to the claims of Tim. Today, many companies through the human resource department are now employing employee through the Internet and other technological means. This is helping to reduce the demanding circle of having to be so physically in all the process that requires attentions. Kanungos (2006) work can be used to support this argument as he labelle d out that IT is so relevant and important also in the profit accumulation of the company. Knowledge management is very crucial and important for gathering knowledge that will be useful in all ramifications and surfaces of the organization. Since human resource department works with all departments, there is a need to understand that information technology is very essential and important as well. Likewise, recalling Jens et al (2010) work, one is able to see that HRIS and eHRM is used only at the professional and bureaucracy level. This view is thus misleading because not all human resource managements are operating at the bureaucracy level. Supporting this claim is the work of Mukama (2003). HRIS would only benefit the organization and has nothing to do with bureaucracy. CONCLUSION Information technology in human resource management plays a major role not only by the usage but also by the implementation and evaluation. It is a know fact that IT has helped to move human resource management forward to a level in which organizational activities are now less demanding and easy to use. There is now a pressing need to understand the role and use of information technology in all aspect of the organization as well. This is because many literature reviews on this research topic focused on information technology in the overall organizational context while others focused on Human resource information system (HRIS) and e-HRM. The human resource management has more than enough functions and thus the use of information technology should applies; researchers on this topic should bear this on their mind always. This research focused on all areas that information technology is making impact in the human resource management, however, there is still a need to further research on impact of IT in developing nation as it is obvious that are not adjusting fast to this trend. Word counts excluding references: 1,589. BIBILIOGRAPHY REFERENCES De Cenzo David A. and Robbins Stephen P. (1996) Human Resource Management 5th edn, John Wiley Sons Inc, Canada Bratton John and Gold Jeffrey (2003) Human Resource Management: Theory and practices, 3rd edn, Palgrave Macmillan, London Alan Price (2004) Human Resource Management in a Business Context, second edition, John Wiley Sons Inc, Canada Evans, P, Pucik, V, and Barsoux, JL (2002)  The Global Challenge. Frameworks for International Human Resource Management, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York Cross, E (2000) Managing Diversity-The Courage to Lead, Quorum Books, Westpoint, CT, USA Business dictionary.com human resource management http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/human-resource-management-HRM.html. Accessed on 10th October 2010 Jerman Blazic, B. (1996). Internet. Ljubljana: Novi Forum Lindstrom, J, Moberg A. Rapp B. (1997), On the classification of telework. European Journal of Information Systems 6, pp. 243-255. Mondy RW, Noe RM Premeaux SR(1999) Human resource management 7th edn Prentice hall international, USA Kanungo, RP (2006) Cross culture and business practice: are they coterminous or cross-verging?  Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 13: 1, 23-31 Drucker, P. (2001). The Essential Drucker, Butterworh-Heinemann Oxford, UK   Zhang, Li1; Wang, Hong, Intelligent information processing in human resource management: an implementation case in China Blackwell Publishing Expert Systems, Volume 23, Number 5, November 2006 , pp. 356-369(14). Tim Knox expert strategies for hiring best employees Mama http://www.timknox.com/amazon. Accessed on 23rd October 2010 Ernst Biesalski knowledge management and e-human resource management http://www.thestep.gr/trainmor/dat/%7B0aa92187-62c6-4b0e-ad94-c71652d05db8%7D/article.pdf. Accessed on 24th October 2010 Jens Kaasbà ¸ll and Marlen Stacey Chawani, Gro Alice Hamre Jon Sandvand Competencies and Learning for Management, Information Systems Journal of Information, Information Technology, and Organizations Volume 5, 2010 Mukama, F. (2003). A study of health information systems at local levels in Tanzania and Mozambique.Improving the use and management of information in health districts. Unpublished Master, University of Oslo, Oslo.