ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Project management knowledge areas Projects refer to temporary endeavors that are undertaken with the objective of attaining unique purpose. To develop long term competitiveness, organizations in different economic sectors are increasingly integrating projects in their strategic management practices. To attain their desired goals, project managers must ensure that projects are effectively managed. In view of this, project managers should possess and incorporate relevant skills, techniques, knowledge and tools. Consequently, it is important for project managers to be conversant with a number of project management knowledge areas. The main project management knowledge areas that project managers should take into account include project integration management, time management, project scope management, project cost management, human resource management, quality management, communication management, procurement management and risk management. Project management knowledge areas  Recommended tools                                                                                                                          Justification for the tool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Project integration management      Designing and development of clearly outlined project charter and project plan. Currently, the new HRIS project is in its planning stage.  The project charter and project plan will aid in illustrating the activities to be undertaken in order to effectively integrate the new HRIS. Cultural-fit analysis tool will contribute towards development of a strong project team. This will attained through integration of effective team formation process which include forming, norming, and storming stages.                                                            -An effective cultural-fit analysis tool will be instituted.
Overview Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a popular investment option adopted by firms in the contemporary business environment. This form of investment stream occurs when a firm decides to assume partial ownership of either a company stock or physical assets in a foreign country. Besides, this business manoeuvre enables a firm undertaking FDI to gain a significant measure of controlling its management systems and structures. Although portfolio management and FDI are close and interrelated terms, they are quite distinct in the sense that the former does not permit any tangible degree of securing company control. On an international scale, the inflow in FDI is often considered to start from ten percent of ownership of stocks or assets of a foreign company. In order to accomplish FDI projects, special arrangements such as mergers and acquisitions have to be effected. Alternatively, international franchising can also be used as a channel of attaining the FDI goals. Contrary to the common perception, FDI by firms may not only flourish in economies that are in transition, but also in those economies that are emerging. For this reason, the percentage growth of firms wishing to invest in other countries has steadily grown due to such factors like highly skilled and low cost labour resources, wider marketing base compared to the domestic economy, readily available natural resources, stable political environment as well as geographical advantage. This paper seeks to explore the key motives why firms engage in FDI in both developed and developing host countries. Resource seeking Empirical based research has conclusively established that the desire to seek resources is one of the driving motives why a firm would engage itself in Foreign Direct Investment (Bjorvatn & Eckel, 2006) . A company may be prompted to secure its investment abroad since the domestic ground is either too costly or lacks the relevant factors of production. It is vital to note that skilled and unskilled labour or advances in technology may markedly escalate the cost of production at the domestic level therefore leading to low returns. On the other hand, advances in technology or managerial capabilities may not be accounted for when seeking to invest abroad since such resources can be accessed readily at home though at a higher cost. Hence, assets that are non market in nature are of utmost importance when carrying out FDI since it is impossible to transfer them through transactions. For instance, a firm may not be in a position to import high skilled and affordable labour at will owing to economic and political barriers at hand (Grossman et al., 2006). On the other side, FDI undertakings that aim at seeking skilled labor may also demonstrate unique characteristics and patterns related to spill over in production. In other words, resource seeking FDI whether in terms of human labour or other natural factors of production such as land have equal implications and meaning to the firm in question. The bigge
Introduction Given the devastating outcomes that may accompany calamities associated with storms, it is dangerous to downplay the importance of monitoring, evaluation, and quality control which are very critical to ensuring the success of any rescue efforts. Many times, however, organizations tend to forget the aspect of quality management in the planning and sadly, this leads to unpreparedness when the disasters strike (Leitmann, 2007). A regular update of the disaster preparedness and emergency management will ensure that response teams are able to deliver as expected when the time comes. According to Haddow, Bullock and Coppola (2008), the natural disasters always prompt stakeholders to recreate their response plan and devise new ways of responding to disasters. The challenges faced during Hurricane Katrina clearly pointed out that better response mechanisms must be developed and followed fully (Brooks & Darling, 1993). Apparently, the need for disaster preparedness has continued to grow as the organizations realize that being caught unaware is quite devastating (Tierney, Lindell & Perry, 2001). This paper looks at how a lack of quality management interfered with the response mission during Hurricane Katrina. A number of issues that led to poor response have been examined and recommendations have been made for better and organized response in the future. Research Questions  1. The questions to be answered by this research include:  2. How prepared was the response team before the storm happened?  3. What support mechanisms were put in place to help the response team to achieve its objectives?  4. How effective were partnership created during the response? Description of Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina is one of the strongest storms to ever be experienced in the history of the United States. Among the cities affected, there are New Orleans, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi (FOIA, 2006). According to Goldman and Coussens (2007), almost 90,000 square miles suffered from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. In Louisiana State, for example, nearly 1.7 million people suffered the devastating effects of the storm and required to be evacuated. The rescue task was a daunting one and had to involve people being moved from the affected and heavily populated regions to safe locations both within the affected state as well as to other states around the country. Even though efforts were made and about 1.5 million people were evacuated from Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina happened, close to 200,000 individuals who remained behind were severely affected by the storm. Some of these people failed to evacuate because of lack of resources while others simply made a choice to stay behind rather than move to safe places
Safety is one of the major concerns in modern civil aviation. For this reason, it is crucial to prepare pilots and crew members for various scenarios. It means that realistic training is essential to practice under existing conditions. Respondents need to undertake practical training to prepare them to deal effectively with these types of emergencies. In the discussed video, the communication from the crew to air traffic control (ATC) was delivered about twenty minutes out (Haynes, 1991). That is why there is a need to enhance specialists’ skills to deal with these types of emergencies effectively. The Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) and the local military unit were prepared to assist with the aircraft’s response (Haynes, 1991). At the same time, it is vital to establish such processes on the aircrew and on the ground to ensure successful reactions to unusual conditions. Another possible way to improve emergent situations’ responses is to train personnel to a standard methodology to allow for cross-functional understanding and interoperability. The training of individuals is a crucial part of the current safety measures and procedure of how to act in unexpected situations. Moreover, training should presuppose the ability to function in different scenarios as various types of risks can precondition the crash of aircraft. For this reason, it is crucial to enhance crew members’ skills by using simulations and realistic training. Government involvement is another fundamental aspect of emergency response training. It helps to gather additional support for organizing such courses and standardize them. Moreover, there is a need to involve other agencies in these activities because they can monitor and collect useful information. The involvement of these actors will contribute to a better planning and response procedure. The discussed video shows that ARFF operations are crucial for creating a safe environment and can benefit from the involvement of additional actors (BBC, n.d.). It means that the establishment of a new approach can help to reduce the risks. Furthermore, it is possible to state that federal control is a crucial asset needed in managing emergencies and responding to them. The federal government took part in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and all requirements are outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The Federal control is essential in guaranteeing that all response activities are verified and enacted in due time. On the other hand, the local authorities are demanded for the response as they observe that everything is organized in accordance with AEP. The local organization should be responsible for making sure that the personnel engaged in the operations are qualified. In such a way, government, federal, and international agencies’ involvement is vital to attain higher interoperability levels and better risk management. As stated previously, safety is the central concern for civil a
Today, the deployment of projects has outpaced the development of a typological theory of project management. The mainstream approach that doesn’t differentiate between radical and incremental innovations leads to the assumption that all projects are similar. Thus, there’s a need for a comprehensive two-dimensional typology of projects and management styles. In their research, Shenhar and Dvir seek to meet the said need by elaborating a framework that may also be of practical use. The researchers elaborated a conceptual model with two dimensions, namely technological uncertainty and system scope. Technological uncertainty was described as an inability to foresee outcomes due to the discrepancy between the present and needed information; the scale levels varied from low to super-high. As for the system scope dimension, Shenhar and Dvir defined three clusters of project management styles, which constitute a hierarchy and are designated as assembly, system, and array. Further, Shenhar and David collected two sets of data, using qualitative and quantitative methods. At the first stage, Shenhar and Dvir studied project dynamics; the second stage entailed data collection from questionnaires and interviews with project managers. The investigation aimed at predicting the dependent variable – project success. The results showed that technological uncertainty appeared to be the main factor affecting the projects’ characteristics, for each level correlated with distinct managing patterns. At that, the uncertainty dimension was primarily linked to the way technical problems were addressed as opposed to the system scope dimension that mainly dealt with administrative issues. The projects falling under the third system scope category required more meticulous planning and documentation. The authors concluded that the managing style compatibility with the technological uncertainty level contributes the most to a project’s outcome. As for the future of research, they do not reject the possibility that other frameworks might be developed. Reference List Shenhar, AJ & Dvir, D 1996, ‘Toward a typological theory of project management’, Research Policy , vol. 25, pp. 607-632.
Introduction Organizational structure and design play an important role in defining the management approach of a firm. This is clearly evident at LPA Group Plc, one of the leading manufacturers of electromechanical, electronic, and LED lighting systems in the world. This firm has been very successful in the recent past following the restructuring of its organizational structure. The top management realized that the firm was expanding very fast, and the traditional structure that was used before could no longer be effective enough to help in the normal operations. It was considered necessary to come up with a new strategy that would address the issue of geographic expansion following the decision of the board of directors to go global. According to Schein (2010), organizational structure and design largely depend on the nature of the business, geographic coverage, and the control that a firm has over its overseas subsidiaries. LPA Group Plc has embraced a decentralized organizational structure as the best way of dealing with the challenges of global market operations. The diagram below shows the organizational structure of this firm at the top management unit. Organizational Structure Implications of the Current Organizational Structure on Organizational Behavior As shown in the diagram above, the chief executive officer of this firm has four managing directors who help him in the top management unit. Each of the four managing directors heads the four main production units at this firm. The chief executive officer heads the council of the directors, but each of the four managing directors has the power to define how his or her department is run as long as the approval of the chief executive officer is obtained. In this organizational structure, the managing directors have mid-managers who are responsible for various tasks within the units. Although they work towards achieving the overall vision of the organization, each of them has specific strategic objectives in line with their area of operations. The current organizational structure of this organization has some implications that directly affect organizational behavior. The top management unit has struggled to create an organizational culture that is uniform across all the departments. The organization is finding it difficult to have a uniform organizational behavior for all the employees of the firm. This problem is a direct implication of the semi-autonomous structure embraced by the firm. Each of the four managing directors has been given the authority to come up with strategies that will make their units successful. For this reason, each of them would formulate policies that they consider appropriate. The organizati
While listening to No Doubt song “Just a Girl”, I noted how Stefani tries to show her frustration with gendered stereotypes and injustices. She also appears to be sarcastic when describing her appearance. She claims that her appearance prevents her from doing certain things in society. She describes herself as little and small, which might be interpreted as delicate and fragile. Stefani is being sarcastic with her qualities because she is neither of them, yet she is automatically labeled weak because she is a woman (Rosa, 2019). It is evident to me how Gwen’s decline of tolerance is portrayed by the passage from a mellow, charming tune and a relaxed, scornful voice to shouting, restating, and quicker music. I am saddened by her message in the song, as it exemplifies how inequitable being a woman can be. Women are not allowed enough freedom to be themselves without having to constantly defend themselves (Andrijevic et al., 2020). Additionally, the song demonstrates how inequalities in gender roles existed in society at the time. This is because, Stefani shows how she struggles to be viewed as an equal to men in the male-dominated music scene of the mid-1990s, particularly in the rock genre. From the song she satirizes rock’s masculine chauvinism, exposes women’s disturbance with gender preconceptions, and surfaced the way for future female singers and fans through mockery. Looking at the message Stefani is attempting to convey, I think the song has the potential to be a protest song. This is because the song’s subject revolves around ‘power through your sexuality,’ vulnerability, and social change in the feminism stereotype (Rosa, 2019). For instance, Gwen Stefani’s satire aims to make people realize how difficult it is to be a female, and how societal preconceptions impede women from pursuing their dreams. According to her, women are capable of self-sufficiency, contrary to the belief that they require male care.
Race and ethnic stratification remain quite burning issues in the American society. Multi ethnic American society has faced a variety of problems which led to violence, tension and disintegration. African Americans constitute the major minority group in the USA. This group also remains one of the most discriminated even though the struggle of the 1960s has resulted in a number of improvements for African Americans. It is possible to explain this group’s vulnerability by issues associated with race. In the first place, people tend to ‘perceive’ others on the basis of phenotype (peculiarities of physical appearance). Admittedly, African Americans differ significantly from White Americans due to their skin color. Therefore, appearance becomes one of the most important distinctive features used by people to shape their behavioral patterns. Nonetheless, the multiethnic society is often associated with racial intermixture. Therefore, the variety of phenotypes increases. At that, the variety within ethnic group is considerably higher than that between different races. This contributes to tension between people within a specific ethnic group. People characterized by mixed phenotypes tend to unfit both groups. They are neglected by White Americans and, at the same time, they are not seen as equals by African Americans. It is also important to note that race is a predominantly social construction. Thus, people tend to use race as the means to justify colonialism and slavery, discrimination and exploitation. African Americans faced a variety of hardships. Slavery was justified by false assumptions that African Americans were inferior due to biological features of the race. It is necessary to note that these ideas still exist in the contemporary society. These wrong assumptions contribute to ethnic stratification existing in the modern American society. African Americans have long been deprived of numerous opportunities. This ethnic minority has also been associated with predominantly manual labor. This led to a variety of negative effects. Thus, African Americans are now the most discriminated minority group. For instance, immigrants of other ethnic heritage are less discriminated as they do not bear dramatic phenotypic differences. Besides, immigrants of Hispanic or Asian heritage are often perceived as professionals who are quite equal to White Americans. It is necessary to note that ethnic stratification is associated with prejudice which can hardly be eliminated from the American society. There is also certain stratification within the group African Americans based on heritage. African Americans who are descendants of slaves brought to the Americas do not see newcomers, e.g. immigrants coming from Africa, as equals. The majority of African Americans have to complete low-paid work as other ethnic groups tend to occupy higher-paid jobs. It is important to note that the Civil Rights movement led to empowerment of the ethnic minority, or at least, some representatives of the group. Thus, some African Americans managed to acquire certain social stability and become a part of the so-called middle class. This, in its tu
Modern system of education is changing and these changes affect many participants of this process. Teachers and students are the participants of the educational process which are affected in the same way and this influence is interrelated. It is important to state that it is impossible to underestimate the role of a teacher as a leader, while the process of change. Engagements teachers bear and motivation they apply no their students while the implementation of the change in school where teachers put students and their knowledge on the first place are crucial; teacher is a leader and this position makes him/her do all possible to encourage students for learning, explaining them how interesting and fascinating studying may be. To begin with, it should be stated that to be a good leader and to be able to encourage students for further studying, a teacher should be able to be a role model for their students. Elaine Fink, being a Superintendent of the District once said, “If expect principals to do the very hard job for leading an industrial community, then I have to have the same expectation of myself. I see myself as the leader of the principals, in just the same way as they are the leaders of their teachers” (Fink & Resnick, 2001, p. 5). The same happens with the student-teacher collaboration. Showing personal example, teachers are to show their self-regulation skills, decisiveness, and commitment. Only in this case students will trust a teacher will follow him/her (Fullan & Scott, 2009, p. 116). If teachers want students to participate in the learning process with joy, if they are interested in students faster development, the change should be should be directed at improvement and should be carefully planned. A teacher should understand what students need and what should be made to achieve this result. School environment, climate and culture should be considered before a goal-based plan creation (Lindahl, 2006). There are cases when students are set against different changes, especially in the sphere of school culture and environment. This problem can be easily solved as the main reason for change resistance is the lack of motivation. Teacher is a person who should explain students the benefits of the change for them. General improvement in studying does not bother students too much, they are interested in their personal benefit. Teacher is a person who can affect students and motivate them properly for them to be able to face the changes with pleasure (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2004, p. 113). When is good motivation possible? This question is crucial as having answered it teachers will b able to motivate their students without problems. Knowing students better is one of the main methods to understand students, the ways they can be motivated, the goals for their studying, etc (Leo, 2007). The teachers of China have a good method for getting on with students, they have tim