Onus of Ethical Lapses Lies on Business Schools Free Essays

Concept Paper Seminars in HRM Final Project Bushra Fatima, MBA 2k8 13 May, 2010 th Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 2 Ethical Lapses in Businesses: Onus lies on B Schools? I joined NUST Business School two years back, after I did my engineering degree. The logical premise, I gave to justify my choice to enter a Business school was not that I was passionate about studying business administration in anyway, but was the fact that the MBA is a good add-on to my degree, ensuring better and well paying career options in the long run. In my view back then, a business school was meant to churn out managers, like so many medical and engineering schools that churn out doctors and engineers. We will write a custom essay sample on Onus of Ethical Lapses Lies on Business Schools or any similar topic only for you Order Now By the end of my first semester of MBA, my perception was changed. Getting an MBA doesn’t make you a manager. Management is more of a practice, something that needs to be done outside the safe environment of Business school. According to one of my professors: â€Å"It’s like swimming; you cannot learn it by sitting cozy in an air-conditioned classroom listening to the lecture†. However, like most professions you need to understand the theory behind the practice. Hence, the case with teaching ethics in business schools and the responsibility of the institute to instill ethical values in the students is challenged. Business people act in unethical ways when they start evaluating the risk and rewards of being a moral person. Business school should teach that economic analysis is only helpful and proper when all of the options being considered are morally correct. Aristotle believed ethics was more than just learning a set of rules. Ethics was a way of living. â€Å"One becomes a lute player by playing the lute, one becomes a builder by building; likewise, one becomes courageous by doing courageous acts (a virtue for Aristotle)†¦ † Before I hold the business schools responsible for the ethical lapses that happen in the business world, let us delve into some reality check. Can ethics be taught? Studies show that MBA alters how students view businesses and their roles and responsibilities as managers. Students bring in their ethics and moral values which may be hard to transform all together but a slight change in attitudes may be infused in them during the course of study. However, even if the student learns complete theory associated with ethics, there is no guarantee that what he does outside the class would be in conformance with what he has learnt in class. Unless, the class learning is supported by a value structure of the student’s environment on campus and at home, a message of double standards is sent. That brings me to what the student really learns in the business school and what is emphasized upon during his tenure there. When a student is taught about leadership for example, the emphasis is on business leader’s gain in terms of wealth and building multibillion dollar enterprises rather than what they have contributed to the society or what change they have made for the betterment of humanity. The business schools tend to give a myopic view of success and leadership to the students equating success with monetary gain thus monetization of the concept of leadership. A profitable enterprise according to the business schools are ones which works towards increasing short term monetary gains for the shareholder instead of emphasizing on sustainable growth and benefiting all stakeholders in long term. Thus, indoctrination of money mindedness in done to the extent of poisoning the young mind to think ethics as old school philosophy which stands in the way of success. Overall business schools convey a subtle but lethal message of privilege. Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 3 The business school teaching methodology that puts too much emphasis on case study system gives a false confidence to the student that he knows how to solve real life problems. He is encouraged to make use of the economic models without taking into account the variety of problems and issues that may arise as a result of those decisions. The application of the knowledge is taken as a means to a definite end without enabling him to do critical analysis. He is taught how to solve problems but he is not taught think about the side effects of his decisions. The cases highlight success stories and emphasize on numerical and financial aspects without focusing much on the nitty gritty humanistic details. Another problem is that each dimension of business is taught more or less in isolation. The marketing people emphasize on marketing aspects, the finance people emphasize on the financials and the human resource people see things through their own colored glass thus isolating the student from the intricate details of implications resulting from their skewed decisions. The ethics aspect in most case discussions is never emphasized and students are seldom told what not to do. It is important for the students to come up with smart solutions and strategies and they should be able to state their financial viability but nobody questions the ethical viability. For many students ethics equals to norms. Norms they say is how things are done usually which can mean that people can justify their actions just because it is largely acceptable. This leads us to the bandwagon and group think mentality which exists among students. As a society we function collectively. So if it is socially acceptable to bribe, people are going to do it without questioning morality of the action. Business schools, or for that matter any school of learning is responsible to bring a change in the trend of blind followership and enable critical thinking; thus, contributing to evolution of societies. We live in an ethically dysfunctional society. We don’t teach our children to be responsible citizens; instead we emphasize on competing and being the best. We teach children that it’s a jungle out there where survival is that of the fittest. When it comes to making a career choice, we impose that career is one which gives a better return on the money invested on education; thus, forcing them to take up careers not out of passion but out of economic need. This vicious cycle which starts at home makes young minds believe that being successful is equivalent to how much money somebody makes. The educational system also reiterates the same fact, when children are divided into art and science group, on the basis of the grades they get. Aptitude and intelligence is quantified by how much marks a kid gets. If somebody is in a profession such as teaching it is undervalued, because it pays less, and is often the perception that somebody who is a failure otherwise, ends up teaching. Little emphasis is placed on how one can benefit the society by adopting a certain profession; same is the case with people going to business schools. Business school students are there to benefit themselves. Through their induction systems business schools hunt for the overtly ambitious, people who are aggressive and who seek to reach the top at all costs. People who once out of the rigorous and fierce system seek quick success and try to win position of importance in top of the line firms. While business schools have excelled at producing graduates that demonstrate competence in engineering investment products based on complex mathematical models and implementing students exceptional ability at marketing and optimizing productivity, little has been done to enlighten the Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 4 student as to how to use his/her acquired intellectual virtues in a manner which promotes morality. Although students leave the university environment excelling with intellectual resources, there is no attempt being made to demonstrate how these attributes can be used to habituate excellence of character. Business schools tend to minimize their responsibility to indoctrinate students with a sense of moral obligation or a proclivity towards the pursuit of moral excellence. I am not saying that being ambitious is wrong. Somebody who is taking up MBA is supposed to be ambitious but that ambition running into raw greed is dangerous. The lust for success and narrow selfish gain is when a person is forced to resort to unethical behavior. The economic models taught at most business schools take away the humanistic element and talk about bottom line and how important is it to achieve that. It infuses a dog-eat-dog attitude among students. Altruism and social responsibility is ridiculed and called soft aspects and are often ignored. The responsibility of business schools starts from the induction process of candidates. They need to assess that people they are lining up to take up positions of power are ethically sound people and are bent on doing good for all the stakeholders instead of just making money and fame for themselves. Ethical values should be made part of the selection criteria and should have more weightage than brilliant academic credentials and qualifications. This is under the premise that you cannot transform ethical values of a person by teaching him ethics in classroom. So this is a better way to take out the bad eggs in the first place. The selection committee should see that the student is willing to work for the betterment of the society and this should reflect on his profile as part of his credentials. Also the candidate’s reference checks should be made and the information given on his profile should be verified in order to make a correct character assessment. However, even if the corrective system is in place it doesn’t ensure hundred percent that ethical lapses won’t happen. As long as there is bigger personal stake involved, unethical practices will take place. One would always question what is in it for them to act ethical, when the bigger gain and recognition goes to someone who cut corners and got away with it. The importance of teaching ethics cannot be ignored as it makes us question every action’s ethical validity. However, the responsibility of business schools is not just to preach ethics in the classroom but to infuse ethics at all levels and balancing the values taught with values practiced. The prevalent belief of innocent until proven guilty gives a chance to students to play around with the system and to get away with questionable behavior. Cheating for that matter is a tolerable action until you are caught. The competition is so tough that students tend to use all means whether fair or unfair to get good grades. For them, ethical are all those actions for which they don’t end up punished. The business schools like any other professional institution should have a â€Å"Hippocratic professional code of conduct† and anybody found to be going against it should be made to pay by dismissal from the profession altogether. In Pakistan where corruption has become a norm an element of change is needed and business schools can play their role in this regard. Top notch business schools should have the power to scrap the degree of those graduates who get involved in unethical behavior such as our ex-prime minister who was an IBA graduate and was alleged of being involved in money laundering. Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 5 The curriculum in the business schools should not teach ethics as an isolated course, focusing on philosophy, which end up making the young minds more confused. Rather, ethics should be directed to instruct students to make ethically sound decisions based on rational thought measuring the implications in the real world. Students should be aware of the examples of those who did not comply with ethics and ended up losing everything including their reputation so that they know the dire consequences and think twice before engaging in questionable behavior. The strategy class for example should teach the students not just to build a strategic direction of the company in order to maximize short term profits but also to make choices which go hand in hand with company’s values that can guide their overall culture on the basis of which sustainable growth of an enterprise is achieved. The curriculum in business schools should be such that it encourages out of the box thinking instead of limiting and confining the thought to achieving profits that are investor and company centric. Courses should enable looking at the bigger picture, looking at not short term gains but long term implications on economic, human and environmental development. The purpose of business studies should not be just to prepare students to excel in the prevalent business world but also to find faults in it and try to evolve the system for the better. Business students should be able to criticize business model’s viability, they should be able to challenge the basic assumptions and redesign and re-engineer theories, which in the first place are responsible for the current economic crisis faced by today’s world. The business school curriculum should encompass courses that ignite student’s creativity and encourage him to innovate and come up with viable solutions which benefit the society. Projects with focus on solving global problems such as energy crises or greener planet should be encouraged, as they infuse a spirit of global leadership which is meant to bring a positive change. For a developing country like Pakistan such a focus is imperative as we have been a victim of the capitalist mind set in which the wealthy have become wealthier and the poor have become poorer. We are a debt ridden country and sustainable development is answer to all our problems. So, the top notch business schools are responsible to give back leaders who are focused on creating wealth not just for themselves but create an opportunity of living a better life for millions. To sum it all, the burden of responsibility of ethical lapses of business leaders lie on business schools as the system somewhat creates an unharnessed greed for personal success. This needs to be controlled through redesigning the curriculum and the existing environment, which teaches them to be responsible and creates ethically sound leaders instead of shrewd businessmen. Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 6 MBA: In Spirit The MBA is meant to be a holistic degree one which infuses analytical ability, provides a sound based of practical knowledge on basis of which decisions can be made. The two year MBA program is challenging and rigorous which does not only infuses a spirit of competition in the student but teaches him to collaborate and work in teams to get greater success. The program is meant to groom a student’s leadership qualities and gives him courage and knowledge to pursue his ambitions. The MBA is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It is a degree designed to give you the ability to develop your career to its fullest potential, at an accelerated pace. What will you get out of an MBA? Aside from a powerful life experience, the MBA degree should supply three main value propositions: Skills, Networks, and Brand. Skills These include the â€Å"hard skills† of economics, finance, marketing, operations, management, and accounting, as well as the â€Å"soft skills† of leadership, teamwork, ethics, and communication that are so critical for effective management. MBA students acquire these skills inside and outside the classroom. Since MBA programs attract people from very diverse industries and cultures, a program should be able to leverage these differences and translate them into learning opportunities. Networks An MBA degree program offers access to a network of MBA students, alumni, faculty, and business and community leaders. This network can be very useful when beginning a job search, developing a career path, building business relationships in your current career, or pursuing expertise outside your current field. For example, entrepreneurs need access to capital, business partners, vendors, and clients. Artsrelated businesses need access to funding and strategic management in order to position themselves to be relevant in the marketplace. Global businesses need access to local business cultures as they expand their enterprises to new territories. Brand The MBA degree is a recognized brand that signifies management and leadership training. The particular school and type of MBA program you attend also have brand associations that can help open doors based on the school’s reputation. The strength of a school’s brand is based on the program’s history, its ability to provide students with technical skills and opportunities for personal growth, and the reach of its alumni and industry network. A powerful brand can give you the flexibility to make changes throughout your career. Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 7 Concluding Note I believe that MBA should not have specializations in it. It should be a holistic degree in every sense covering courses critical in making organizational strategies. There should be emphasis on leadership and ethical practices. The intent of MBA should be to give the student confidence and help him in career growth. Critical Analysis of Human Resource Management It’s a cliche for organizations in today’s modern high performance corporate world to say that â€Å"people are our greatest assets†. But today the importance of it is all the more accepted. Human capital is a competitive advantage that competitors cannot imitate. So, human resource management and the practices associated with it have become accepted by managers in all forms of organizations as one of the most important strategic levers to ensure continuing success. The Origins Traditionally known as â€Å"personnel management†, was largely an outcome of increased government regulations regarding employment conditions, discrimination, employments rights, health and safety concerns etc. In many organizations today, this older notion of personnel administration still holds sway with its emphasis on rules and regulation. The modern concept of â€Å"human resource management† finds its roots in the 19th and 20th century by the end of the industrial revolution in United States. The notion of employee welfare came into light when managers started to face issues with work force control mainly due to influx of immigrants in the workforce. During this time methods of workforce control were devised and F. W. Taylor came up with the concept of scientific management. Later Henry Ford implemented this concept in his automotive factory. He also came up with the first ever employee welfare department which ensured that no part of employee’s life effected his/her productivity in the workplace. However the methods were more personnel control oriented. By the 1960s, the notion of personnel management had become well-established with a number of clear areas of responsibility attached to it including: †¢ Selection and recruitment †¢ Training and development †¢ Pay and conditions †¢ Industrial relations Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 8 Employee welfare †¢ Occupational health and safety. In the 1980s, the concept of human resource management began to gain ground. At the root of the new thinking about the management of people in organizations was the perception of the increasing competitiveness of the global economy. The success of large Japanese corporations in export markets for traditional western products such as cars and electronic goods in the 1970s and 80s took many western corporations by surprise. Studies of Japanese corporations emphasized the importance of effective people management in the competitive strategies of these organizations. The studies showed that Japanese employers performed far better than their western competitors in terms of labor productivity and in process innovation. The key to this success lay in the human resource management practices adopted by Japanese corporations such as Toyota and Matsushita. These practices became evident in western countries as Japanese corporations established manufacturing plants throughout Europe and North America. The human resource management practices which had been so successful in Japan were transplanted with great success to these overseas transplants. The practices included: †¢ Strict and rigorous selection and recruitment †¢ High level of training, especially induction training and on the job training †¢ Team working †¢ Multi-skilling †¢ Better management-worker communications †¢ Use of quality circles and an emphasis on right first time quality †¢ Encouragement of employee suggestions and innovation †¢ Single status symbols such as common canteens and corporate uniforms. The integration of these human resource management practices was to create an organizational culture that allowed workers to identify their own success with that of the corporation. Thus, organizational or corporate culture became an important element in understanding the competitive success of firms and was a major theme of management thinking in the early 1980s. These new human resource management practices and the emphasis on the creation and maintenance of corporate culture stood in sharp contrast to the regulatory view of personnel management that had emerged in the mid-20th century. In fact, many of the new practices were not seen as the exclusive province of the human resource manager but were viewed as the responsibility of line managers in organizations. Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 The Criticism Although the roots of human resource management might be relatively clear historically, the term itself and the meaning of human resource management has been the subject of fierce debate amongst practitioners, academics and commentators since its emergence in the early 1990s. Some have simply substituted the term human resource management for perso nnel management and claimed that everything has remained the same. In some cases, this can be seen in the migration of job titles that took place in the last decade as the title of human resource manager has replaced that of personnel manager. Others have argued that human resource management represents a fundamentally new way of managing people at work that goes well beyond the old functional notion of personnel management and emphasizes the creation of a culture in the workplace that harnesses the commitment of individuals to the organization. Yet others, exasperated with the endless definitional debate that seems to surround human resource management, have argued that it is simply an illusion, a â€Å"hologram† behind which we may see many techniques and practices in operation but which is essentially determined by the observer. However, the notion of employee commitment is one which appears to be integral to many of the models and theories of human resource management that have appeared. This notion of harnessing the commitment of employees in organizations was first articulated strongly by Walton (1985) who described how modern organizations were moving their management styles from one based on control, to one based on commitment. Human resource management clearly encompasses the older regulatory hangovers, but goes much further in embracing the management of change, job design, socialization and appraisal as the key levers to achieve organizational success. Modern Human Resource Management The aims of human resource management today are not just integration with the business strategy of the organization, employee commitment, flexibility and quality, but takes commitment as a major integral element. â€Å"Human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques†. The main assumptions underlying the modern concept of human resource management shows how much the concept has progressed from the ld notion of personnel management. Firstly, human resource management is clearly not simply the province of the human resource manager. Line managers play a critical role in human resource management and, in fact, could be argued to be the main Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 10 organizational exponents of people management. Second ly, human resource management is firmly embedded in business strategy. Unlike the personnel manager, the HR manager is part of the top level strategic team in the organization and human resource management plays a key role in the achievement of business success. Thirdly, the shaping of organizational culture is one of the major levers by which effective human resource management can achieve its objectives of a committed workforce. Thus, human resource management is concerned not only with the formal processes of the management of people but also with all the ways in which the organizational culture is established, re-enforced and transmitted. Challenges faced by HR as a Profession The sense that HR is somehow ‘failing to deliver’ is a central theme in the writings of a number of influential American writers. Jeffrey Pfeiffer (1997), for example, writing about the future of Human Resource Management, suggests that it would be wrong to conclude that the growing interest in HR and Human Resource Management necessarily means that the future of the HR function (in its departmental form) is bright: â€Å"My advice is to resist the temptation to believe that HR managers and staff in organizations have a rosy future or a future at all, because there are some profound problems facing human resources as a function within organizations, as contrasted with the study of human resources as a topic area that makes its viability and continued survival problematical. What has emerged so far in this critical perspective on HR is that many of the activities that HR professionals engage in appear not to be valued by managers and employees. This is because there is either no evidence that the activities actually achieve things that matter or because it is very difficult to prove that what HR does actually r esults in improvements in behavior and performance. If the latter is the reason, then the task of HR is to look carefully at the way in which it measures and evaluates effectiveness; if the problem is more to do with what HR does and how it carries out these activities, then the challenge it faces is more fundamental. The HR function is generally criticized to be an accomplice in trends such as downsizing and contingent work arrangements that are often blamed to undo much of the progress made in managing employee relationships in the past several decades. Also HR professionals are accused of showing lack of leadership in demonstrating the business impact of managing people effectively. Writers such as David Ulrich have suggested redefining HR role not by what it does but by what it delivers: results that enrich the organization’s value to customers, investors and employees. The four key roles that HR professionals need to play to deliver the contributions are as follows: ? A partner in strategy execution: This doesn’t mean that HR should take responsibility for HR and business strategy, which is rightly the domain of the chief executive, but that the head Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 11 of the HR department should be an equal partner with other senior managers and should ‘have a seat at the top table’. An administrative expert: This is about getting the basics right and adopting a much more instrumental approach to the use of procedures. The emphasis needs to be on the efficiency of the HR department — reducing its cost base and speeding up its cycle times, without compromising on quality or effectiveness ? An employee champion: This is about HR recognizing that work intensification and an increased sense of insecurity are becoming the new reality for many people and that this is associated with weakened levels of employee commitment. This, in turn, affects the preparedness of employees to contribute more than their contracted level of effort and performance. The role of HR here is to ensure that employees remain engaged and committed, or become re-engaged, either directly through the activities of HR or by HR working with line managers to ensure that they can create a positive psychological and emotional working environment. ? A change agent: According to Ulrich (1997), this role involves HR in building the organization’s capacity to embrace and to capitalize on change. Given that change is the norm for most organizations, the ability to implement and manage the change process is seen as critical to the organization’s ability to function during the change process and to reap the benefits from the changes that have been made. Reducing resistance to change is seen as a key HR contribution. Gaps between HR Academics Practice There’s an incontestable gap between what’s happening in scholarly research and what’s happening in the world of practitioner. However, there’s consensus among academics and research-savvy HR professionals, that HR managers who follow evidence-based principles are best positioned to optimize the success of their organizations. Still, most HR professionals have little time, interest or tolerance for reading researches. Practitioners focus on solving problems and getting tasks done in time- and pressure-packed settings. Academics explore, contemplate and pursue research that can take three years or more before culminating in a journal article. HR practitioners don’t care about the theory behind the practices. They don’t care why processes, tests, or other instruments or procedures work, just that they do. If wearing plaid instead of polka dots on Tuesday’s increases retention, they’ll do it. According to a business school professor, â€Å"People want to Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 12 see cost-benefit analyses before they implement. It’s not enough to know structured interviews will give you better-quality people. Practitioners want to see how it affects the bottom line. † Research and academic findings may not always have concrete outcomes. For practitioners ambiguity doesn’t help. They want concrete solutions supported with business outcomes something translated into profits, often missing in HR research. Academics tend to be interested in different subjects than practitioners. For practitioners, those subjects may be too theoretical or too esoteric, or may not be a need-to-know priority. But for academics, whose careers rise or fall on their success at achieving tenure and promotion, the topics are influenced by what the academic reward structure requires. Fault lies with HR curriculums. HR curriculums should develop the competency in all HR professionals to know what is and is not a scientifically based finding or conclusion. We need to audit our curriculums to make sure students are being taught to appreciate the importance of evidence-based management and the role of research in advancing HR. That requires basic understanding of math and statistics. Most undergraduate business and industrial psychology curriculums feature at least one course in statistics, and some observers say that should suffice. In recent years, faculty members have been reluctant to add more quantitative requirements to HR curriculums for fear of losing students. According to my observations most people choose HR because they are math-phobic. Also there is little emphasis on doing research and supporting it quantitatively. In most MBA programs graduate students are not being asked to do research or even read it. When I asked an MBA student his point of view about research, he said; â€Å"MBA students don’t like reading research, so instead students are just discussing cases and practicing being a leader. The HR curriculum should be designed in a way that forces students to engage in consulting. Thus, forcing them to connect the taught courses with field knowledge and enabling them to do hands on research and get comfortable with statistics. This will force them to do analysis and make interpretations. Academics who moonlight as consultants are more likely to relate to the realities of the workplace. Encourage faculty and practitioners to develop and partner in research. Establish conferences or thinktank sessions that bring them together. Encourage exchanges. Cross attendance does occur, but not in enough numbers to create a shared comfort zone. Businesspeople should also cooperate with researchers to enhance body of knowledge and include practical aspects rather than unworkable theories. Another way to increase practical knowledge base is to support sponsored research. Corporations should invest in academics doing research that practitioners need. Experts agree that applied research should meet three criteria. It should be: ? ? ? Rigorous–conducted scientifically so the results can be validated and replicated. Relevant–directed at learning more about, furthering or solving some HR-related problem. Readable–accessible to practitioners who stand to benefit. Bushra Fatima, NUST Business School, 2010 13 Conclusion As a profession HR needs to defend its value by aligning itself with organization’s strategy and focus on achieving business strategy instead of just working as a support function. The HR academia suffers in terms of creating practical value because of its lack of collaboration with HR practitioners. The two can benefit each other and enhance body of knowledge which is far better applicable in real work environments. How to cite Onus of Ethical Lapses Lies on Business Schools, Papers

The Golden Fish free essay sample

Once upon a clip, in a land far far off lived a really hapless twosome in a hovel non far from the border of the sea. Their lone agencies of nutrient was the fish that the old adult male caught in the sea. One forenoon, as was his usual modus operandi, the fisherman took his fishing cyberspace down to the sea. But on this twenty-four hours something unusual happened, on this twenty-four hours the fisherman caught the Golden Fish. The Aureate Fish begged for the fisherman to save his life, and offered in return to allow the fisherman any want he would wish. But the kind-hearted fisherman asked for nil, and returned the Golden Fish to the sea. However, the fisherman s married woman was non so kindhearted, she became ireful when he related the narrative to her, and sent him back to the sea to catch the Golden Fish and to wish for a loaf of staff of life. We will write a custom essay sample on The Golden Fish or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The fisherman did as he was told, he caught the fish and wished for a loaf of staff of life. When he returned place he found a fresh adust loaf of staff of life on the tabular array. The fisherman s married woman so decided that she wanted more than merely a loaf of staff of life. The following forenoon she sent her hubby to inquire for a new. He returned place to happen his married woman with a new washtub, but she still was nt satisfied. The undermentioned twenty-four hours the hubby was sent to the sea to happen the charming fish and to wish for a new house. This want was, like the 1s before it, granted to the fisherman. But the fisherman was sent back once more the following twenty-four hours to wish that his married woman would go governor. This clip he returned place to happen his married woman dressed in wealths and telling about retainers. But the adult female was still unhappy, and demanded to go Queen of all the land. Finally, even being Queen of all the land did non fulfill the married woman, and so she sent her hubby one time last clip to the sea to catch the Golden Fish and to wish that she would be swayer of the sea and of all animals who live in it. The fisherman caught the fish, and made the want. However, when he returned home his married woman was dressed in her old shred, standing by her old broken washtub, inside the old hovel, with non even a loaf of staff of life to eat.

Who Am I Essays - Testament Of Pope John Paul II,

Who Am I Who Am I? Believe it or not, I find very difficult to talk about myself. I think that the only way to accurately describe myself is to give a little background information. I was born in Indianapolis, where I have lived my whole life. I live in an old three-story farmhouse, which was built in the 1780's. It has been remodeled somewhat since then but all of the woodwork is the same. The surroundings are beautiful, like a calendar picture. The house sat on about 15 acres of land. Most of that was in the woods and there was a small stream that ran through it. As a child, I was very adventurous. It seemed like every day I would travel further and further from my house. I was always the one who was curious about how far we could go and what else could we do. My friends looked to me as a leader. As I got older, I realized that I had some athletic talent. I began to play just about every sport that I could for my elementary school and middle school. Baseball, and football were the two sports that I excelled at all during high school and now in college. Even though sports took up a lot of my time as a child and as a teenager, I felt that there was something missing in my life. It is something that made me who I am today and still works through me daily. I am talking the love of my personal savior Jesus Christ. It took me 14 years of my life to realize how lost I was without him. He comes before everything in my life. That is why I am proud to say that I am a Christian. If I did not have Christ in my life I would not be the great person who I am today. English Essays

Burger King Customer and Market situation of the industry Essays

Burger King Customer and Market situation of the industry Essays Burger King Customer and Market situation of the industry Paper Burger King Customer and Market situation of the industry Paper yet if it were in a promotion it would be sold for 5 Dhs. thus prove that the margin of profit is extremely high. Distribution situation: In terms of distribution we wish to discuss the number o branches and their locations. In that aspect McDonalds has far more branches and stall as compared to Hardees or Burger King. McDonald in its short span of few years has already established an extensive network of outlets through out the UAE with heavy emphasis on Dubai. Where as Burger king has only 6 outlets. Also McDonalds is located at many venues where it draws its synergies from the location it is in. we found that McDonalds has located its outlets at petrol pumps in major malls and also near residence and office or trade hubs, this allows them to attract customers. We found that McDonalds drew a major advantage against Burger King by locating it self across the UAE and in the Globe so that it was accessible and available. This attributed to better product awareness. Burger King on the other hand has failed to establish itself so strongly in the Dubai market and UAE market, yet it has counted on Snob effect to draw its customers. Burger king how ever has located it self in few yet prime locations where it draws on from the high spending power of the consumers and also on accessibility (City Center). Promotion and Competitive situation: The fast food industry in the region has shown the emphasis and the importance of promotion. In the burger industry itself we can see a promotional war-taking place between McDonald and Burger King, with Hardees playing a minor role. Where McDonalds and Burger king emphasizes on Value Meals and movie memorabilia, Hardees emphasizing on Big Gifts and prizes. But we can see that the Global Advertisement and promotional campaigns of these burger giants spills in to UAE also. Most of the promotional schemes undertaken here are very much similar to the ones undertaken in the region and hence no customization is seen. Though lucrative market for both McDonalds and Burger King we saw that other than value meals both had nothing special for the Regional or UAE market. The competition between McDonald and Burger King is fierce as now both compete to capture a larger market share of the existing size of the market. Burger King has so far emphasized on its Value and quality and hygienic food. The Competition for Burger king and McDonalds is rising slowly but steadily from Hardees who underwent a radical face lift and change of logo and customer driven service standards, yet the real competition is coming from a wholly unpredictable side, the small cafeterias. Yep though hard to believe these small sized cafeterias are spread out through out the entire UAE and cater to a large segment of the market. What we noticed was that on daily basis and on regular basis teenagers, college students and working class people preferred to go to these small cafeterias rather, and prefer Hardees and McDonalds and Burger king on special occasion or if quality is of prime concern or if time was of essence. Surprisingly of the 100 students we questioned 85 accepted that they went more regularly to these small cafeterias than to anywhere else. The reason they stated was that these students stated was that these cafeterias were available everywhere and anywhere, they were much cheaper and they had good things to eat. Though baffling as it may sound we think that there is a common segment, which is competed by the burger industry and these small cafeterias. The upper segment of the market with good marginal propensity to consume and with higher end of the income strata preferred burger outlets. The low-income group of people namely students who cannot afford or labor class prefer these cafeterias. And the teenagers/student and white collar people prefer either of the two, depending on their budget at that given time and the accessibility. We found that these classes of people namely the middle class were very flexible and would adapt to either of the two industries, i. e. urger or cafeterias. When compared with price we found that both were cheap and the cost of a decent average Burger meal from Hardees/ McDonald/ Burger King would be same for a complete meal from these small cafeterias. We understood that the only thing, which differentiated or made the difference, was the quality of the food. As one student put it; we students are ok with anything, it all costs the same for us, we are hungry and we need something to eat, now if it is a burger or if it is a cafeteria burger for us it is all the same. On asking a white-collar male bachelor, he replied we have to be practical as bachelor I consider saving an importance, and if I can get a filling meal at one of these cafeterias which are near by why should I go further down the road to locate a burger joint? Unless I am looking for quality it is indeed a threat, which needs to be addressed by the burger industry. The small cafeterias though catering to a different segment o the market, do sometimes and are taking growing share for the burger joint industry. They are a threat and need to be addressed for the future of burger joints.

Enterprise Systems Case Study Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Enterprise Systems Case Study Analysis - Essay Example For example, an organization has a number of departments include: sales & marketing, procurement & inventory, finance & accounting and human resources. In order to automate the organization develops independent or separate information system for each department and these individual systems might not be integrated because of incompatibility. Therefore, the information or data available in one system might not be accessible to the other independent information system. In this regards, it can be stated that the organization could not be benefited from the main purpose/advantages of the information systems including the information must be shared easily, correctly, and on time among business units. Disparate Independent Systems – High Maintenance Cost Problem The second problem of disparate information that has been identified in the paper is the huge cost of their maintenance. There are two types of maintenance costs, the first is the direct maintenance costs and the other is ind irect maintenance costs. ... nformation or communication flow problem in the independent information systems, the organization’s management has to bear indirect costs by taking wrong decisions by their own instinct rather than the decisions based on the information / reports provided by the group of independent information systems. Precisely, it can be stated that if an organization has the fragmented or autonomous information systems, the operations of the organization is fragmented (Davenport, 1998). Identification of Two Issues in each Organization in China Implementing ERP CosmeticCo Company There are total five (5) problems have been identified in the case study for implementation of ERP in CosmeticCo company by Sweden’s Intentia AB – the software package provider (ERP vendor). The five problems include: the language, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Partnership, human resource, report and table. From these I have chosen the language, and report and table problems and it is pertine nt to mention here that according to the authors of the paper, both chosen problems are categorized as cultural problems. Language In the words of Davison in 2002, the culture is â€Å"A collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group from another†. Particularly the Chinese are strict to their language and the only way to make the Chinese understand is to write in their own language rather than the Western language. However, the MOVEX ERP software did contain English words by which the human resources got confused and unable to use the software effectively. The Davison identified three cultural reasons of failure in ERP in China from which one is â€Å"miscommunication due to homonyms in the Chinese language†. It is one of the important factors to be considered while deployment of software

Executive Summary Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Executive Summary - Case Study Example Different researchers and scholars focus on specific issues that relate to these programs in one or more of the aforementioned concerns. In his article, Junsen Zhang focuses on the links, relationships, and effects realized between welfare programs and criminal behavior. The objective is to determine whether such programs reduce or exacerbate criminal activities (Zhang 121). The primary concern for Junsen Zhang in this line is property crime. In assessing the relationship between welfare programs and criminal behavior, Junsen Zhang highlights the position held by Medicaid in regard to criminal behavior. Junsen Zhang’s article, The Effect of Welfare Programs on Criminal Behavior: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, addresses the effects that welfare programs have on criminal behavior. In the article, an analysis that is both theoretical and empirical is presented in the process of accounting for all the underlying variables in the subject matter. According to Zhang (123), welfare programs have some form of effect on criminal behavior. Generally, welfare programs exhibit a negative relationship to property crime. This effect is significant in evaluating the success of the specific program in question. In other words, welfare programs are associated with reduced crime activities. However, this is not always the case. The variables and factors that define each implemented welfare program influence the outcome of that program in regard to illegal practices. In his theoretical and empirical analysis, Junsen Zhang found out that Medicaid’s effect on criminal behavior is relatively little. In other words, Medicaid does not trigger a reduction in property crime or any other related illegal activities. The use of empirical data crowned Junsen Zhang’s findings relative to the predictions that had been made in the study. Therefore, empirical findings confirmed the positive, negative, or little effects of welfare programs on criminal behavior based on the

Risk Identification In Water Treatment Plant Projects Construction Essay

Risk Identification In Water Treatment Plant Projects Construction Essay Projects can fail for a number of reasons and the risks are always high. All project, program, and portfolio are subject to risk, whether positive or negative risks. The aim is to decrease negative risks and enhance positive risks. Managing risks is one of the most important tasks for the construction industry as it directly affects project outcomes. Unfortunately, many organizations do not realize that there is a need to include risk management as a key element to success in business. Hence, some organizations delegate the risk management tasks leaving to someone to needs to plan, identify, assess, develop response plans, and control risks or do just part/ parts of the risk processes. It is not integrated into their project management philosophy. Project risk management has been intensively discussed in recent years. Projects are becoming shared efforts of multiple parties construction industry is a good example of an area, where the project outcome is delivered in an extremely complex actor network. This paper discuss identified the common and specific risks that may occur in the infrastructure projects specially in the water treatment plant projects in Egypt then we make initial assessment to these risks through a questionnaire was designed using the matrix method then we make analyzing of the responses of this questionnaire. Introduction This paper is focused only on the qualitative assessment of the risks. We use the matrix method for the assessment of these risks. Responses to the questionnaire were then collected and analyzed. The analysis included ranking the risks in terms of degree of occurrence (probability) (v.high, high, med, low, very low) the level of influences (impact) (v.high, high, med, low, very low) as the following matrices: A general water supply system is composed of water sources, raw water transmission pipes, water treatment plants, and water distribution networks. However, these components and subsystems give the greatest opportunities for both natural and human-related influences because most of them are spatially diverse and accessible. With respect to this, researchers have identified the potential vulnerable areas during the process of delivering water from the sources to the customers as (see Figure 1): (1) water sources (e.g., river, reservoir, and wells); (2) water treatment plant that removes impurities and harmful agents and makes water suitable for domestic consumption and other uses which consists of: Screen, Mixing tank, Flocculation basin, Settling tank, Sand filter, Disinfection (3) water distribution pipelines that deliver clean water on demand to homes, commercial establishments, and industries which consists of: pipes, pumps, junctions/nodes, fitting (4) storages (tanks water tower s); and (5) other facilities (transmission pipes, channels, pumps, valves, etc.).These vulnerable points are the focus of risk assessment. Figure 1 Elements and vulnerable points in a general water supply system QUANTITY REQUIREMENTS: Factors affecting used Consider the following factors affecting use ashore: * Water uses (domestic, industrial, fire protection) * Peak demands (all uses). * Other essential demands. * Missions of the activity. * Climatic effects. Water treatment plant Water treatment plant is the most important facility in a water supply system to remove contaminants in raw water, disinfect treated water, and produce drinkable water to consumers. However, hazards may be introduced during the process of treatment, or hazardous circumstances may allow contaminants to pass through treatment in significant concentrations. Constituents of drinkable water can be introduced through the treatment process, including chemical additives used in the treatment process or products in contact with water. Furthermore, suboptimal filtration following filter backwashing can lead to the introduction of pathogens into the distribution system. Three attributes are crucial to water users: * There must be adequate quantities of water on demand. * It must be delivered at sufficient pressure. * It must be safe to use. In our paper we will focus on the Water treatment plant in the water supply system which considers an important part in the water supply system. We will discuss the risks may occur in the projects we will make an initial assessment to these risks but at the beginning we will give overview of risk management in the construction projects specially the infrastructure projects which owned by the government, we will discuss the risks from the view of contractor. Research methodology A questionnaire was designed for assessment for all possible risks that may occur in the water treatment plant projects in EGYPT which some of these risks are general risks that may happen in all infrastructure projects and some are specific risks for the water treatment plant projects through the construction operation phase as discussed previous in the stage of risks identification then forward to some of managers in. This paper is focused only on the qualitative assessment of the risks. We use the matrix method for the assessment of these risks. Responses to the questionnaire were then collected and analyzed. The analysis included ranking the risks in terms of degree of occurrence (probability) (v. high, high, med, low, very low) the level of influences (impact) (v. high, high, med, low, very low) as the following matrices: 1- Identification of risks Categories of risks for infrastructure and service delivery projects: 1-Political risks: Political risks are the first category of risks identified. It contains all the risks of government actions that may endanger a project. 1-1 Political support risks: Host government support is essential for any infrastructure projects (ex: government support for the owner disputes on land) 1-2 Taxation risks: Taxation risks mat raises of tax rate, or applied new tax tariffs, which, may lead to decrease the promoter profit and unbalanced project cash flow. 1-3 Import/export restrictions risk: The import and export restriction risk covers the legislation changes, which arrange the import of the equipment. 1-4 Failure to obtain approvals. Failure to obtain approval risk occurs when the central or local government authority does not approve the project-related issues in time or even cancels the ones already approved. Obtaining approvals for a project from complex web of government agencies and departments, from municipal to provincial to central government levels, can be extremely time-consuming process, delaying entire projects and hurting their financial viability. 2-Financial risks: The risk that the financiers will not provide or continue to provide funding to the project 2-1 Delayed Payment by the government: Payments on time are considered extremely important by the contractors maintain the cash flow and eliminate financial difficulties . Delayed payment will influence the financial situation of the contractor, especially if the due payment is substantial and or delayed for along time. 2-2 Changes in law regulation: Local authorities and government have specific codes and regulations that might be changed or revised from time to time. These regulations must be adhered to by contactors. But this has low probability to occurrence in our project because it is owned by the government. 2-3 Inflation risks: This risk category mainly depends on the economic conditions of the country. As the inflation increases this risk becomes more important. 2-4 Interest rate changes. 2-5 Devaluation risks. 2-6 Financial failure: Financial failure of any party (contractor or owner) wills significant impact the projects schedule and consequently the budget. This is more likely happen in big projects where the owner (government) might not have sufficient fund for the project or the contractor bids low on the project. 3- Development risks: Development risks describes the risk of the bidding procedures, which are very important part of the project, the bid evaluation criteria must be clearly defined and the bids must be evaluated in a public and objective manner, the chances for success are predictable. The competitive bidding systems usually lead to terms and conditions more favorable to the national interest. An orderly and transparent bidding procedure should also win public support for that project which can solve the problems that face the contractor such as land owner disputes. 3-1 Bidding risks: The bidding process in Egypt includes the following risks, which can face the contactor: contractor spend high cost for the preparation of the feasibility studies, investigation, design, planning and estimation of the project to be able to tender. Contractor warred about the risks of their innovative proposals being put out to competitive tender without gaining exclusivity or preferential treatment from other competitors. 3-2 Planning delay: The planning delay risks refer to the delay of the tender evaluation by the government officials whom responsible to do such task. 3-3 Approval risks: Delays in approval risk appear when the central of local government authority does not approve the project-related issues in time. Obtaining approvals for a project from complex web of government agencies and departments, from municipal to provincial to central government levels, can be extremely time-consuming process, delaying entire projects and hurting their financial viability. 3-4 Force majeure risk: Force majeure risk is the risk that a specified event entirely outside the control of either party will occur and will result in a delay or default by the contractor in the performance of its contractual obligations. for example cyclone, earthquake, outbreak of war. 4-Site risk: Site risk is the risk that the project land will be unavailable or unable to be used at the required time because of Land owner disputes that the site will generate unanticipated liabilities, with the result that the service delivery and revenues are adversely affected. 4-1 Site access: This risk category refers to the right of way and access to the project site. This an important category especially if the project is in a remote or undeveloped area or where access is limited to small trucks where large construction tools like big trucks and loaders cannot get into the project site. Also, this important when the project is located in a very congested area or access to other facilities and public areas need to be blocked or detoured in some stages of the project. 4-2 Statutory approvals. 4-3 Environmental issues 4-4 differing site condition: This is a clear risk category and could happen in most of construction projects. For instance the soil conditions changes and the contractor might face or hard soil during excavation instead of soft soil as the top layer at the site showed or as the tender document may have indicated. Another example is underground buried utility piping, power cables and high water table area. These types of differing site conditions occur mostly in renovation and /or expansion of existing projects where new construction interface with the existing structures. These differing site conditions will require extra efforts and may necessitate special equipment and tools for excavation and/or de-watering. 4-5 Suitability of the site and any existing infrastructure: Means existing of any underground infrastructures (e.g. sewage pipes) 5- Construction risks: Construction risks are the identified risk category which contains the risks faced the project during the construction phase which can be highly affect on the project cost and in turn the investment needs to complete the project. It can be endanger to the feasibility of the project. 5-1 Delay risks: Delay risk means delay in the construction time schedule which, can be occur due to poor project management applied or due to bad cost estimation, which lead to financial failure. 5-2 Cost overrun risks: Cost overrun risk occur when construction costs exceed original estimates, either due to inflation, non realistic cost estimation, excessive design changes or lack of risk management framework. 5-3 Re performance risk: Re performance risk is occurred due to reconstruct or maintains the bad work done by unqualified contractor. 5-4 Completion risk: Completion risk refers to the non-completion of the project due to effect of force majeure or unforeseen soil conditions. 5-5 Variation risks: A change in work is an important risk category in the construction projects. It could be change in work procedures, methodology o change of plans and scope of work. These changes might lead to change orders demolitions and re-working and must be considered in the assessments of risks because they affect the project budget, schedule, safety and quality. Normally changes in work result because of insufficient planning at the project definition stage or because of lack of clear scope and drawing detail or simply because the owner s desire to make changes to the project. 5-6 Loss or damage to work: Loss or damage to work risks rises by the unforeseen soil conditions or breakdown of equipment, which are common occurrences on any construction site, especially for large civil engineering projects. Usually, these will have repercussion on cost and time but the effects are usually surmountable with today s technology. 5-7 Force majeure risk: Force majeure risk is the risk that a specified event entirely outside the control of either party will occur and will result in a delay or default by the contractor in the performance of its contractual obligations during the construction period. For example, earthquake, outbreak of war. 5-8 Mistakes in installation of pipes. 5-9 Mistakes in installation valves of pipes. 5-10 The permeability of the reservoir during a test. 5-11 Labor equipment availability: This risk category is mainly related to the availability of some of the resources namely, labor, material and equipment. Certain jobs may require specific skilled expertise and /or special material and equipment that might not available or scarce in the local market and take a long time to procure. For example a skilled a qualified welder or special lifting and fitting of some heavy structure that may require crane capacity or piece of equipment that is not available in the local market may force the contractor to hire a certain skilled labor and import the special piece of the equipment or change the construction method to suit. This is more likely to happen in complex major projects or projects involving some degree of high technological complexity like water treatment plant project. 5-12 Labor equipment productivity: Like the previous risk category, certain jobs involving the productivity of labors and equipment might be affected because of the complexity of jobs or the nature of the work. if this not routine, then the labor and/or the equipment operator need to go through a learning curve. Another example that might affect labor and equipment productivity is the morale of the labor and the use of defective tools and equipment. 5-13 defective material: Material is essential resource for construction projects and there is need for quality control and quality assurance to eliminate material replacement and re-work. this risk category becomes more important for lump sum contracts if the specifications were not well defined. 5-14 labor disputes: This is more likely to happen in large companies where the work forces are multinationals who come from different countries with different background or where the relationships between management and workforce are tense. Usually any labor dispute is either resolved internally or by the local authorities and police. 5-15 Safety accident: Safety and accidents in construction projects can not overlooked, especially when the projects involves deep excavation or high elevation construction. The risk category is inherited in the construction industry but can be minimized by following safety rules and the use of safety equipment such as goggles, safety hats and shoes. 5-16 Coordination with sub. Contractor: Coordination with sub-contractors and material suppliers is an important task especially in a multi-player environment like big construction projects. Beside it could be risky if not kept smooth, in a timely manner and continuous. Miss-coordination between subcontractors and material suppliers (especially for long lead items) will lead to schedule and budget overruns. 5-17 Quality of work: Quality of work would reflect the reputation of the contractor and might either rank him on the top of contractors or force him out of the market. Generally, owners (government) strive to get a quality end product by their project and contractors try their best to deliver quality projects. However; poor workmanship that leads to demolition and rework will negatively impact the project budget and schedule. Also, interior quality of work will reflect the bad reputation of the contractor. Good quality and assurance programs will helps reduce the negative effects of this category. 6- Operation risks: Operation risk describes the category of risks faced the project during the guarantee period of the facilities, which starts after project completion continued for one year such as equipment breakdown or the discovery of defects in the work which may hinder the revenue generating capability. 6-1 Technical risks: The breakdown of equipment or failures of any part of the project which are common occurrences on any project, Usually, these will have repercussions on cost and time but effects are usually surmountable with today s technology. 6-2 Corruption risk: It the risk of occurrence of failure or breakdown in any part of the water treatment plant, e.g.(breakdown of the pipes, or failure of tanks in the system) during the guarantee period of the project. 6-4 Force majeure risk: Force majeure is the risk that a specified event entirely outside the control of either party will occur and will result in a delay or default by the contractor in the performance of its contractual obligations during the operation period. For example cyclone, earthquake, outbreak of war. Water treatment plant Water treatment plant is the most important facility in a water supply system to remove Contaminants in raw water, disinfect treated water, and produce drinkable water to consumers. However, hazards may be introduced during the process of treatment, or hazardous circumstances May allow contaminants to pass through treatment in significant concentrations. Constituents of drinkable water can be introduced through the treatment process, including chemical additives used in the treatment process or products in contact with water. Furthermore, suboptimal filtration following filter backwashing can lead to the introduction of pathogens into the distribution system. Meanwhile extreme natural hazards, willful human attacks, or interdependency failures (e.g., power failures) can all introduce risks in water treatment process. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results analysis of the risks discussed in the previous, the following conclusions were reached: From the analysis of the six risk categories depended on the questionnaire received from five managers in the Arab company, our conclusions were as follow: * The most critical risks in the political risks were the: import export restriction failure to obtain approval, the lowest critical risks were: taxation risks. * The most critical risks in the financial risks were the: devaluation risks payment failure. the lowest critical risks: inflation risks. * The most critical risks in the development risks were the: bidding risks the lowest critical risks: force majeure risks. * The most critical risks in the site risks were the: differing site condition risks the lowest critical risks: site access risks. * The most critical risks in the construction risks were the cost overrun risks coordination between the subcontractor the lowest critical risks: force majeure some risks discussed in the matrix. * The most critical risks in the operation risks were the force majeure risks the lowest critical risks: technical risks. * At all the most critical risks category in the construction risks category. REFERENCES 1. Risk management of the BOT projects in Egypt. by Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim Hara Faculty of engineering at Cairo University. 2. http://www.google.com.eg/search?hl=arq=2ech10_riskbtnG=%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB+Google%E2%80%8Fmeta=aq=f oq= 3. http://www.google.com.eg/search?hl=arq=LECTURE+11+RISK+MANAGEMENTbtnG=%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB%21meta= 4. Hierarchical Risk Assessment of Water Supply Systems Huipeng Li Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Loughborough University 5. ASSESSMENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT PERCEPTION AND PRACTICES OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR IN SAUDI ARABIA.BY ALI ABDULLAH AL SALMAN. APPENDIXES