United Nations Essays (4494 words) - United Nations System

United Nations The United Nations is an organization of sovereign nations not a world government. It provides the machinery to help find solutions to disputes or problems, and to deal with virtually any matter of concern to humanity.It does not legislate like a national parliament. But in the meeting rooms and corridors of the UN, representatives of almost all countries of the world large and small, rich and poor, with varying political views and social systems have a voice and vote in shaping the policies of the international community. The year 1995 marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Organization.The UN has six main organs, listed below. All are based at UN Headquarters in New York, except the International Court of Justice, which is located at The Hague, Netherlands.The General AssemblyThe General Assembly, sometimes called the nearest thing to a world parliament, is the main deliberative body. All Member States are represented in it, and each has one vote. Decisions on ordinary matters are t aken by simple majority. Important questions require a two-thirds majority.The Assembly holds its regular sessions from mid-September to mid-December; special or emergency sessions are held when necessary. Even when the Assembly is not in session, its work goes on in special committees and bodies.The Assembly has the right to discuss and make recommendations on all matters within the scope of the UN Charter. It has no power to compel action by any Government, but its recommendations carry the weight of world opinion. The Assembly also sets policies and determines programmes for the UN Secretariat. It sets goals and directs activities for development, approves the budget of peace-keeping operations and calls for world conferences on major issues. Occupying a central position in the UN, the Assembly receives reports from other organs, admits new Members, approves the budget and appoints the Secretary-General.The Security CouncilThe UN Charter, an international treaty, obligates States to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. They are to refrain from the threat or use of force against other States, and may bring any dispute before the Security Council. The Security Council is the organ to which the Charter gives primary responsibility for maintaining peace and security. It can be convened at any time, whenever peace is threatened. Member States are obligated to carry out its decisions. The Council has 15 members. Five of these China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members. The other 10 are elected by the Assembly for two-year terms. Decisions require nine votes; except in votes on procedural questions, a decision cannot be taken if there is a negative vote by a permanent member (known as the veto).When a threat to international peace is brought before the Council, it usually first asks the parties to reach agreement by peaceful means. The Council may undertake mediation or set forth principl es for a settlement. It may request the Secretary-General to investigate and report on a situation. If fighting breaks out, the Council tries to secure a cease-fire. It may send peace-keeping missions to troubled areas, with the consent of the parties involved, to reduce tension and keep opposing forces apart. It may deploy peace-keepers to prevent the outbreak of conflict. It has the power to enforce its decisions by imposing economic sanctions and by ordering collective military action. The Council also makes recommendations to the Assembly on a candidate for Secretary-General and on the admission of new Members to the UN.The Economic and Social CouncilWorking under the authority of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council coordinates the economic and social work of the UN and related specialized agencies and institutions. The Council has 54 members. It usually holds two organizational and one substantive session each year; the substantive session includes a high-leve l special meeting, attended by Ministers and other high officials, to discuss major economic and social issues.The Council recommends and directs activities aimed, for instance, at promoting economic growth of developing countries, administering development projects, promoting the observance of human rights, ending discrimination against minorities, spreading the benefits of science and technology, and fostering world cooperation in areas such as better housing, family planning and crime prevention.The Trusteeship CouncilThe Trusteeship Council was established to ensure

The History of the Taxi

The History of the Taxi A taxicab or taxi or cab is a car and driver that can be hired to carry passengers to a requested destination. What Did We Hail Pre-Taxi? Before the invention of the car, the practice of vehicles for public hire was in place. In 1640, in Paris, Nicolas Sauvage offered horse-drawn carriages and drivers for hire. In 1635, the Hackney Carriage Act was the first legislation passed that controlled horse-drawn carriages for hire in England. Taximeter The name taxicab was taken from the word taximeter. The taximeter is the instrument which measures the distance or time a vehicle travels and allows an accurate fare to be determined. The taximeter was invented by the German inventor, Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891. Daimler Victoria Gottlieb Daimler built the worlds first dedicated taxi in 1897 called the Daimler Victoria. The taxi came equipped with the newly invented taxi meter. On 16 June 1897, the Daimler Victoria taxi was delivered to Friedrich Greiner, a Stuttgart entrepreneur who started the worlds first motorized taxi company. First Taxi Accident On September 13, 1899, the first American died in a car accident. That car was a Taxi, there were about one hundred taxis operating on New Yorks streets that year. Sixty-eight-year-old Henry Bliss was helping a friend from a street car when a taxi driver lost control and fatally hit Bliss. Yellow Taxi Historical Facts Taxi company owner, Harry Allen was the first person to have yellow taxis. Allen painted his taxis yellow to stand out. Taxi Dreams: By the end of the 19th century, automobiles began to appear on city streets throughout the country. It was not long before a number of these cars were hiring themselves out in competition with horse-drawn carriages.Vance Thompsons Cab Drivers: Vance Thompson (1863-1925) published five articles on horse cab drivers in Paris, London, Dublin and New York and on gondoliers in Venice.Taxi! A brief history of the London Taxi: The first motorized London taxi, the 1897 Bersey, was electrically powered and was called the Hummingbird because of its sound.In 1922, the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company was founded in Joliet, IL, and production was set for three taxis a day

Use of Force Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Use of Force - Research Paper Example The paper shall also look at the limit to which the police can go and areas where the police has gone beyond its boundaries in order to do its duty. Use of force is described as the power which the agents of administration in the State apple to curb down the revolt from the people, as well as marinating law and order in the society for the effective functioning of the society. â€Å"Governments and law enforcement agencies shall adopt and implement rules and regulations on the use of force and firearms against persons by law enforcement officials. In developing such rules and regulations, Governments and law enforcement agencies shall keep the ethical issues associated with the use of force and firearms constantly under review.† (Crimes Act 1914 - SECT 3ZQA, CommonWealth Consolidated Acts ) The Government uses force as a means to prevent crime in the society. In the developed and the developing nations, the State allows the police, which is the body responsible for controlling law and order, to use force as a means for the prevention of crime or for the deterrence of the same. One of the examples of such move would be when the police is deployed to manage riots which have broken in out in a number of States throughout the world. The state uses the tools to manage the situation in the society. The use of force may also be used by the executive branch when it deploys the military for the safety of the society and the maintenance of law and order. The system is managed in a way that the State uses force only when it is required in extreme circumstances. Governments and law enforcement agencies should develop a range of means as broad as possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of for ce and firearms. These should include the development of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view to increasingly restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons. For the same purpose, it should also be possible for law enforcement officials to be equipped with self-defensive equipment such as shields, helmets, bullet-proof vests and bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to decrease the need to use weapons of any kind. Force can be divided into two segments: 1. Verbal Force 2. Non-Verbal Force Verbal force is the force which is applied to the people where the Administration tries to settle and solve the matter through the use of the words. It tries to pacify the crowd with the intension of not hurting anyone in the gathering. Verbal use of force can be accompanied by tear gas shells as well as other means of retaliation by the police and the armed forces to avoid any kind of violence in public. The m ain idea with this regard is to make sure that no one gets hurt and the people are able to salvage their life without injuring their fellow beings in a mass protest or a riot. It should be applied in those cases where the police and the Para-military force feels that the tension has not gone out of hands and there is scope for the police to be able to control the crowd with the use of the word and not weapons. However, there is a very thin line of difference with respect to the force deployed by the plice and it should avoid in every circumstances to use non-verbal force. Non-Verbal Force: Non-verbal force is used in extreme circ

Street Food Sellers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Street Food Sellers - Research Paper Example There are numerous people who sell street food in developing countries and mostly the goods are homogenous is nature , each person will sell the exact same good which is going to be a perfect substitute to market competitors. A large number of producers is also going to determine that one producer or consumer cannot influence the market price. A producer who wishes to increase the price cannot do so as consumers are going to shift to the other business selling street food at cheaper rates. A single consumer cannot influence market price as well, they can signal to the producer as to how much to produce but one consumer cannot dictate market price. The producer has to keep equilibrium at the efficient output. The producer must minimize costs in order to sell at a competitive price in the market. Each producer has a small market share due to the perfectly competitive nature of the goods, one producer will not be able to secure a larger market share due to the same reason it will not be able to affect market price. ... The reason why Street Food sellers in developing countries is an example of perfect competition is due to the fact that the business face the same characteristics of perfect competition and hence is declared to fall under that category. Monopoly – A monopoly is a market structure which is characterized by the domination of one firm in the market share of good producing differentiated goods with significant barriers to entry. An example of a monopoly business is South West Gas in Arizona which is a monopoly due to the reason that it falls under the same characteristics as that of a monopoly as it is shown below Since it is the only gas provider in the region the market is dominated by the business .Some characteristics include that there is an in-elastic demand for its product, for example if South West Gas decides that it is going to increase the price of its goods the consumption of that good will not decrease due to a lack of substitutes of that good. There are no or very fe w substitutes of gas, so the business can afford to charge high prices without the fear of the consumers shifting to an alternate good. There is no interdependence on other firms / competitors since it is the largest and only gas provider in the region it does not have to account for the competitor’s actions before devising a market strategy. There are numerous barriers to entry in the market , one due to the economies of scale enjoyed by the monopoly the new firm ( even if it enters the market) cannot rival South West Gas for prices as the monopoly has the advantages of lower costs. Another barrier to entry is the obvious utilization of gas resources in the land by the

Did Attorney Evans Bump Her Head on the Glass Ceiling Case Study

Did Attorney Evans Bump Her Head on the Glass Ceiling - Case Study Example When working together though, both men and women tend to portray certain behaviors and they tend to even identify with them. According to (Powell, 48), women demonstrate emotional behaviors and an extended level of care and concern for their families and children. From the case, for example, women attorneys always complained that they were not allowed enough family time and it was becoming a bother to them. Due to the notion that is held by people that women are weaker, they try to prove themselves stronger and can end up working round the clock so as to achieve the recognition they always long for. This can make the women be possessive and always fight for equality in the group. On the other hand, behave to be stronger both emotionally and physically but they can bear less stress as compared to women. Men also tend to care for the women in the group emotionally and will always be willing to support them at least in a normal working environment. In an organization, the contribution of every member is as important and in a working group, both men and women have different strengths that can be helpful to the general success of the organization. To begin with, women are good organizers and are always sensitive to the current ideas that come up in the organization and affect each worker in one way or another. This means that women can come up with the ideas that can work towards the improvement of the workers' welfare hence motivating them to work towards the general good of the company. Men, on the other hand, can be good in idea generation and can always be there for their partners at work if need be.

Stakeholder Management and Culture Management

Stakeholder Management and Culture Management The process of identifying and managing project stakeholders and culture is one of the most important processes in project implementation because not only is project success judged by stakeholder satisfaction, but because every stakeholder makes an essential contribution to the project (Verzuh 2008, p.48). Beside stakeholder identification and management, project managers are required to establish a balance between implementing global standards and responding to local needs in their efforts to effectively manage the diffusion of stakeholder principles and practices (Nicolod 2007, p.484). Despite the great importance associated with stakeholder and culture management processes, these thorny processes or areas in project implementation have received less attention especially when comparisons are done relative to other areas that depend on these processes (Sharp et al. 1999, p.1). Such areas include, but are unlimited to, scenario-based requirements and user involvement in the project development stages. It was from this perspective that this paper decided to make the following contributions on this topic: first, a study was developed based on the theoretical framework involved in the identification and management of stakeholder relationships. The project went on to review literature that helps its users to understand clearly the balance that needs to be struck between understanding of organizational culture and stakeholder management. It is from the above perspective that this case study aimed to study the role and the influence of various stakeholders in the implementation of projects. In tackling this case study, the author began by stating the aim the need for studying this topic. This was followed by a review of the literature. The literature review clearly established who the project stakeholders were. In addition, their role and their influence in the project were clearly identified. Moreover, the literature review defined organizational culture and went on to establish its link with stakeholder management. After reviewing the literature, the author, in a holistic view, explored how a reputable Saudi technology firm, Zuhair Fayze Partnership (ZFP), identified and managed its stakeholders during a multi-million project implemented by the company. This project, which was undertaken in the year 2001 involved the analysis, design, development, installation and commissioning of a Facilities Information System to the Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAF)- a renown aviation branch that services all Saudi Arabias Airbases. Having explored on the findings from his study, the author conclude by giving a critical analysis of his experience. It should be highlighted that this case study, having been compiled after the implementation of a military IT project, presented a unique structure and experience. This was so because it involved the development of a military system and as such some of its details could not be studied openly due to security restrictions. As such, some knowledge gaps might be present in this case study thus constituting its major limitation. 2.0 Aim and rationale of this paper This papers aim was to identify who the key project stakeholders were, how they were managed and how their expectations come to influence the success of the FIS project. In addition, the author assessed how organizational or national culture shaped the expectations of key stakeholders. All these were intended to help him and the users of this paper to develop suitable and effective stakeholder management strategies in their current or future project assignments. More so, in writing this paper, it should be noted that the author was motivated by the fact that despite the many developments in techniques and development tools to effectively manage projects, several projects have still experienced difficulties that have affected their overall quality leading to time and cost overruns. Mohammed (2006) in reviewing Morris and Hough (1987) research on an estimated 3500 projects established that overruns were the norm in project implementation since they ranged between 40 to 200 percent. The figure below depicted general statistics associated with project success from this research. Parameter %-age rating Succeeded 29 Failed 18 Challenged 53 Table 1 showing the statistics of project success and failure Pie chart 1 depicting the statistics of project success and failure 3.0 Literature review 3.1Project stakeholders Singleton (2007) defined stakeholders as organizations or individuals who are actively involved in projects and whose interests may be negatively or positively affected in the courses of completion or execution of these particular projects (p.12). According to him therefore, stakeholders were made up of two categories; indirect stakeholders and direct stakeholders. Indirect stakeholders were summed up by those individuals who, despite having some level of influence or interest in the operations of the business, were not directly involved in the operations of the project. On the other hand, direct stakeholders were composed of individuals who were directly involved in the operations of any project lifecycle. As such, they were affected by the particular project, had the power to influence it or had stakes in the successful completion of the project. The following figure 1 showed the levels of stakeholder influence and interest. High Interest Manage them closely Keep informed of project operations High Influence Low Influence Keep satisfied Monitor their operations Low Interest On their part, Walker and others (2008), in trying to establish a valid description of who a stakeholder was, discovered that stakeholders were groups or individuals who possessed some right aspects or interest in the operations of a project and thus contributed to or were impacted by say, the outcome or the work of the project (p.648). To them, stakeholders could be classified into four groups namely; upstream stakeholders, downstream stakeholders supply-chain partners, project team stakeholders and external stakeholders. Figure 1 below showed these groups of project stakeholders. Walker and his group (2000) in assessing the influence of project stakeholders and their mapping by project teams, came to the conclusion that identifying stakeholders could help trigger a course of investigation that leads to a better understanding of the nature and types of power and influence that may be exerted on, within and to project management teams (p.648). Frooman (1999) expounded on this point by stating that in identifying the project stakeholders, the project managers were likely to determine whether their projects were to be awarded with the needed resources. On their part, Post and others (2002) though acknowledging Freemans popularised description of a stakeholder as the interests and entities that are either involuntarily or voluntarily involved in a firms operations, went on to develop their own stakeholder view that stressed on the need for stakeholder relationships in any project that involved creation of any organizational wealth (p.1). In addition, Sharp and others (1999) just simply defined a stakeholder as any individual or group who affected or were affected by achievement of a projects objectives (p.1). They went ahead to list various categories of stakeholders as including managers of a project, end-users, engineers involved in system analysis, design and development, customers who are going to make use of the developed system, external bodies for instance system regulators, domain experts and many more (Sharp et al.1999, p.1-2). The three scholars expounded on their definition by giving another perspective that stakeholders may be composed of three categories namely those external on the project team; but who are internal in the organization, those internal on the project team and those who are external to both the organization and the project team (Sharp et al. 1999, p.2). 3.2 Understanding organizational or national cultures Weiss (2008) defined organizational culture as the shared values and meanings as held by organizational members in common, and are articulated and practised by an organizations leaders (p. 300). To Weiss therefore, corporate culture is transmitted through: Leadership styles and values as espoused and practised by organizational leaders. The heroes and heroines that the company rewards and holds up as models (Weiss 2008, p.300). The rights or symbols valued by organizations. The way of communication that exists between project heads and their stakeholders. Weiss (2008) went ahead to highlight that though organizational cultures were both invisible and visible, informal and formal, project managers needed to study and understand organizational cultures through observation, listening and interacting with project or organizational stakeholders. Furthermore, they could study organizational culture in the following ways: studying an organizations physical setting and reading company policies to familiarise themselves with its expected norms or behaviours. On his part, Chinyio (2007) defined organizational culture as involving the level of deeper and basic beliefs and assumptions as shared by the members of organizations, that unconsciously operate and defined in the basic taken for granted fashion, as organizations view of themselves and their environment (pp.176-177). Ideally, House and his group (2002) in their GLOBE research program theoretically defined organizational culture as any shared motives, beliefs, values, interpretations and identities or meanings of important events that emerge from most common member experiences and are passed across generations of age (p.5). Furthermore, in helping us to broaden our understanding of culture, Schein (1996) highlighted that culture manifested itself at 3 levels namely the level of deep tacit assumptions, the level of espoused values that reflected on what a group wished to be and the day to day behaviour. For any project success, project implementers needed to have a clear understanding of all the identified levels. From their perspective, Osland and Bird (2000) noted that there was a tendency for observers to confuse individual with group values (p.69). As such, there was need for project expatriates to carry out keen observations to identify the variance in behavioural norms for individuals, organizational cultures, subcultures as well as changing sections of the society (p.70). More so, Schein (1996) when analyzing why innovative projects failed to proliferate and survive noted there was lack of alignment amongst the following categories of culture: the operator culture which existed amongst the subordinates of an organization, the engineering culture which existed amongst the middle level managers and the executive culture which was present amongst the company top management (p.9). 3.3 The link between stakeholders and organizational culture Studies on project management have shown that coupled with leaderships, organizational cultures are central to projects operating efficiency and overall effectiveness. Studies have generally revealed that cultures are the glue that holds other organizational dimensions (strategy, structure, people and systems) together (Weiss 2008, p.300). Project success will only be achieved if project leaders come to associate themselves with modelling, building and helping to sustain ethical and legal organizational or national cultures via comprehensive and properly defined compliance and ethics programs. 3.4 Key steps in stakeholder management Singleton (2007) identified the following as the key steps in any stakeholder management process: Identification of key stakeholder groups Determination of stakeholder influences and interests Development of management strategies for each identified groups. On his part, Gibben (2010) postulated that before going ahead to implement any project, project leaders or managers needed to take into account the following issues (p.14); Clearly identify project stakeholders; Gather key data or information of the identified stakeholders; Use the collected data to determine or identify stakeholder priorities; Establish the strengths and weaknesses of the various stakeholders; Identify the stakeholder support; Predict the stakeholder behaviours. This can be determined by studying organizational culture and finally; Prepare a stakeholder management strategy. All the above stages can be summarized under stakeholder analysis approach. Tellingly, Strong and Rath (2005) argued that the approach of stakeholder management contained three key steps namely; stakeholder identification, stakeholder analysis and stakeholder planning (p.173). Furthermore, on their part, Carayannis and his group (2005) stated the following as the key steps involved in stakeholder management (p.184). Identifying and classifying the stakeholders of the project (against, neutral, for) and analyzing their possible project impacts. This could be done using the project lifecycle. Isolating and analyzing project stakeholders with any likely negative impacts Incorporating and involving key primary project stakeholders (included and not limited to the clients, labour union, suppliers, contractors, consultants, and government agencies) in the project plan and in every subsequent phase of the project Ensuring that the required information is regularly availed to the identified stakeholders at appropriate times. This will ensure that the identified key stakeholders will clearly concur with project objectives leading to a successful completion of the particular project. 3.5 Stakeholder management strategies These are the approaches used by project managers in minimizing the influences caused by the identified project stakeholders. From his research, Karlsen (2002) found out that in most projects, systematic or formal stakeholder management strategies did not exist (p.22). From his research, stakeholders were managed on a random basis since there were no plans, processes, methods or well-functioning strategies. As a result, project managers decided on the best solutions of managing any identified stakeholder weaknesses. However, Wolper (2004) went ahead to propose the four generic strategies of managing stakeholder relationships (p.172). These were: Collaborating cautiously with the stakeholders who were found to have a mixed blessing relationship on the project. Involving and trusting the supportive stakeholders Implementing defensive strategies that are pro- active in nature for the non-supportive stakeholders; and Monitoring the stakeholders with little/marginal relationships with efficiency. 4.0 Project case study 4.1 How ZFP identified and managed its key stakeholders This being a military technology system, ZFP used a different but distinct approach of implementing the system. The process of stakeholder identification was the third in its project implementation stages after the definition of the strategic issue and the determination of underlying factors. The following is a detailed analysis of how ZFP carried out this important but mostly overlooked process of project implementation. The company project implementation committee started by identifying the key stakeholders. In doing this, the committee categorised the stakeholders into two broad categories. These were the primary and secondary stakeholders. The following were identified as belonging to the primary stakeholder category: Customers or users of the FIS system (Saudi Arabian air force soldiers) Project managers, supervisors and engineers from ZFP and RSAF. RSAF shareholders (all Saudi Arabian air force bases: Dhahran, Tabuk, Taif, Al Kharj and Khamis Mushait and the Saudi Government) Suppliers/contractors/subcontractors of hardware and any software packages Project steering committee Primary stakeholders were considered as those individuals or groups who had key interests in the FIS project. As such, they were likely to be affected by the operations in the FIS project lifecycle. On the other hand, secondary stakeholders were described as those individuals who had no or very few interest on the FIS project. They were considered vital in this project since their actions may have, in one way or another influenced the quality of the general system that was to be developed then. For instance, the steering committee had pointed out that the Saudi Arabian media constituted a key secondary stakeholder since any negative covering on this huge public and military project might have caused great damage to the successful completion of this project. This was so because negative publicity towards the project may have raised public outcry which would have resulted in the Saudi treasury suspending the financing of this complex and multi-million FIS project. Besides the media, other individuals or groups who made it to the secondary stakeholder category included and were unlimited to the following: The licensing agency (Malath Cooperative Insurance Reinsurance) Saudi Arabian environmentalists The general Saudi Public Professional organizations in the Saudi Kingdom for instance, Legalized Institutes for Project management in Saudi Arabia. Competitors (those firms who lost their bids to deliver the system) Anyone one who validly claimed to have a stake in the FIS project Having successfully identified FIS project stakeholders, the steering committee left it to the project manager to analyse their influence and create a management strategy for this project. As such, the project manager, after close consultation with project supervisors, developed the following as the stakeholder analysis and management strategy: Stakeholder(s) Interest/Issues of concern Action (s) Saudi air force soldiers, RSAF shareholders, management teams and project engineers They were to be the key users of the system and as such were to provide a supportive relationship. Were low as potential threats but high on ensuring potential co-operation. Since they had a supportive relationship, their relationship management was likely to be managed on a rare basis. ZFP was to involve these supportive stakeholders in all its relevant project issues. The licensing agencies, environmentalists, professional organizational, competitors and the general Saudi public These were to present three types of relations; mixed blessing, non-supportive and marginal stakeholder relationship. As a result of these relationships, they were to constitute high potential threats and thus needed high potential co-operation from the project managers to address their hidden and bad intentions. These categories of stakeholders were to be managed through cautious, monitoring and proactive defence strategies. Besides using these strategies, generic strategies, most appropriate to any new diagnostic category, was to be adopted. For instance, instead of ZFP defending itself against negative publicity, it was to develop a high quality system at an affordable competitive price. The quality of the FIS system would thus speak for itself leading to the non-supportive relationships losing their credibility in their efforts to dispute the project Table 2 showing how ZFP analysed and developed stakeholder management strategy 4.3 How stakeholder expectations affected the successful delivery of the project. As noted earlier, the declaration that a project was successful can only be justified if the specific project clearly answered to the needs or expectations of most, if not all, stakeholders. In this technology project, the identified primary and secondary groups of stakeholders had their own unique expectations which were clearly and appropriately addressed by the overall project manager (with the assistance of the steering committee members). 5.0 A discussion of my experience 5.1 Identification of key stakeholders As previously highlighted, the steering committee that was chosen to oversee the implementation of this huge IT project had, in liaison with the project manager, held several sessions in the initial stages upon which key FIS project stakeholders were identified. From the workshops held, it was established that two categories of stakeholders claimed ownership to this project. These were the primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders were constituted by Saudi air force soldiers, RSAF shareholders, project management, project engineers, project suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors amongst others. Secondary stakeholders were constituted by the licensing agency (Malath Cooperative Insurance Reinsurance), environmentalists, professional organizational, competitors and the general Saudi public. 5.2 Understanding key stakeholder expectations Other than the RSAFs managing providing a detailed description of the requirements of the FIS system that was to be developed, the project manager and the steering team had to do their best to ensure that additional funds were provided to the various phases of the project on a need basis. Moreover, the management from both companies were frequently updated on the status of the FIS project amongst other stakeholder expectations. In the end, a hi-tech Facilities Information System was delivered, installed and commissioned to the delight of the many project stakeholders. 5.3 The assessment of key stakeholder influence The FIS project steering members and the overall project manager carried out a comprehensive analysis of the two categories of stakeholders. This was done with the main intention of determining their influence and the need to counter it. During this analysis stage, four stakeholder relationships were identified by the management team. It is from these relationships that the influences of these stakeholders were determined. The two types of relationships were: The supportive relationship which was constituted by all the primary stakeholders as listed above. This category of stakeholders posed a low potential threat to the success of the FIS project since they fully supported the aim and goals of the FIS project. They thus worked hard to help achieve the project aim and goals. The non-supportive relationship was made up of a few secondary stakeholders for instance the competitors. They formed a most distressing relationship and as such were high potential threats. 5.4 management of key stakeholder influence In managing the influences of key stakeholders, the steering committee members decided to use a collaborative and proactive defence to address the influence of the non-supportive stakeholders. In adopting this strategy, the management intended to turn the negative non-supportive relationship into a supportive stakeholder relationship. For example, when environmentalists tried to inquire on the suitability of the FIS system in conserving the environment, the steering committee took it upon them to organize a consultative and awareness forum where this specific stakeholder was comprehensively updated on the strengths of the FIS system in conserving and preserving the environment. At the conclusion of the forum, all stakeholders had joined the supportive stakeholder relationship. The influences of supportive stakeholders were addressed through a strategy that was dubbed as trustworthy involvement. This strategy placed little attention to the management of these stakeholders since they posed a low threat to the survival or successful completion of the FIS project. 5.5 Understanding the organisational culture Having established the above stakeholder management strategy, ZFP held meetings and reviewed organizational policies. This was carried with the main intention of understanding RSAFs organizational culture. From the reviewed reports and the observations made, it was established that most air force soldiers in the four airbases were technology gigs and as such, would comfortable interact with the high-tech FIS system that was being developed. 5.6 Understanding national culture characteristics of its team members and identified key stakeholders Being a Saudi Arabian technology firm and boasting a hundred percent Saudi workforce, ZFP did not experience difficulties in understanding cultural characteristics of the Saudi Kingdom. The steering committee had noted that most Saudis were tolerant, self-directed, efficient, logical, task-oriented, multi-tasking, collaborative, team-players and entrepreneurial. These characteristics were manifest in most stakeholders and were even identified by the project manager as the key strengths that propelled the FIS project to emerge a success. 5.7 How my observations compared with the literature The author had reviewed a lot of literature both from the class lectures and electronic sources. This literature had comprehensively covered amongst others the following objectives: To study some of the stakeholder concepts To understand the nature of stakeholder engagement in various projects To clearly define who the stakeholders were and go ahead to state their role in project implementation To understand the various stakeholder influences and how stakeholder management strategies were developed to counteract the established stakeholder influences. To define national and organizational culture and to establish their link with stakeholder management. Having participated in almost all project phases and keenly observed the various project activities, the author highlight that ZFP, as a reputable technology firm, was worth its reputation as one of the best Saudi Arabian technology firms. This is because of the systematic manner in which its employees implemented the various project phases. For instance, before identifying the key stakeholders, the steering team had clearly stated and established the strategy for this project. This had been followed by a comprehensive review of the factors influencing the project. The stakeholder management, though overlooked in most worldwide projects, received its value of attention with key stakeholders being clearly identified, their analysis being carried out and a management strategy established to counteract their influences. All this matched the concepts studied in the literature review. 5.8 Effective implementation of the project As the saying goes, it is always hard to achieve 100 percent success in any (project) endeavour. Despite the FIS project being declared a success, it should be noted that this project, if objectively analysed, had some weaknesses in its implementation stages. The following recommendation can be made on the stakeholder and culture management phases; which were the key themes of this study: The project management team should specifically identify the key stakeholder in any future project. This will help the management to carry out comprehensive analysis of the specific stakeholders. As such, they will adequately propose as many options of managing their influences. This is vital because it was noted that the management team had generalized some of their stakeholders. For example, instead of just listing competitors as secondary stakeholders, they should have gone ahead to identify who constituted these technology competitors. For instance, The Consolidated Contractors International Company had in many cases emerged as the greatest competitor to ZFP. There was thus need to establish a management strategy that could counteracted its influence in such multi-million technology projects. Conclusively, it should be emphasized that the presented case study has reviewed theoretical and highlighted the observations from a practical perspective. Through theoretical literature review, the author had the opportunity to expound on his knowledge on the categories of individuals that summed up the project stakeholders. Furthermore, the author found out that rational approach to stakeholder management involved exhaustive identification of stakeholders through mapping of their project roles. To add, the idea that the implementation of suitable communication processes to projects with multiple stakeholders reinforced my knowledge that communication was the key aspect of winning the support of project stakeholders. In the end, in identifying the limitation of this study, the author points out that the observations made in this project were restrictive in nature. This is because the author, being a learner, was not granted permission to study all project aspects due the restrictive measures that accompanied this military project. There is therefore need for further research to examine relationships between performance and corporate actions, key aspects which have been studied on a sketched outline in this case study.

The United States must Reduce Illegal Immigration Essay -- Papers

I am driving my car and trying to get to Miami. I get lost. I stop at a gas station because I need someone to direct me in the right direction. I end up in a city called Hialeah where there are very few English speaking people. The people that are there only speak Spanish. What do I do? This scenario happens to many people everyday. How do we deal with situations like this one? The city of Hialeah is a major example of immigration. According to Webster's College dictionary, the meaning of immigration is coming into a country or region to live. Immigrants come from all over the world to live in America. Why is that? The main reason that everybody wants to go to the United States is because if they would go somewhere like France or Japan, although they would get higher wages, there is a much greater chance of getting harassed, arrested or deported in those countries, as opposed to the United States (Bergen 1). I lived in South Florida for fifteen years. Throughout that time , I was exposed to different situations that involved immigration. I feel that it should definitely be restricted. United States immigration policy in recent decades has not provided for strong, effective measures to reduce illegal immigration, and at the same time, explicitly authorizes high levels of legal immigration (Delaet 3). Therefore, there have been high levels of immigration in this country since the 1960s, which actually reflect the basic provisions of United States immigration policy. Since the 1960s there have been few acts that have been passed. For example, the Immigration Act of 1990 had a major impact on the United States. In 1980 public polls indicated that a majority of the United States public favors establishing current... ...In conclusion, there are many problems that the United States is facing today, being that immigration is one of them. Right now, at this time, bills are pending that will dramatically restrict legal immigration for years to come. Though some immigrants come to work in America, half of them do not even get a job and somehow end up on welfare. They claim that they want to live in the United States because it is a "free country," as far as morals are concerned, but the right to live in another country involves a belief in the moral and judicial rights of that nation. Bibliography Cornelius, Wayne A., et al. Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective Decaet, Debra. U.S. immigration Policy in age of Rights. London: Praeger, 2000. Wilson, Charles., et al. Economic Issues in Immigration. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs, 1970.

Reverend Henry Ward Essay

Reverend Henry Ward is best known for changing the Jamaican school system. Up until Reverend Henry Ward got involved with the government to change it, the system was a flawed, failing system, with hundreds, if not thousands of children unable to get educated because of the lack of facilities. Although churches and infant centres tried their best to cater for as many children as possible, there was simply too much demand. That was until Reverend Henry Ward got involved in the schooling system. In 1938, Reverend Henry Ward started researching primary education for young children and began to campaign for children in Jamaica. The campaign was a hard task to take on, as there very little education services back then, and not a lot of money was put aside by the government to place into building and creating schools and education centres. In 1938, after alerting the government of the desperate need for primary schools, Reverend Henry Ward developed a number of community schools that later became known as â€Å"basic schools†. He then went on to create schools in areas that needed critical help. He once said in an interview that he created a school for 3-6 year olds after seeing them unprotected, running about the streets unattended. In 1941, Reverend Henry Ward held a presentation to the Jamaican Board of Education calling for the creation of ‘play centres’. These centres were to include play stories, action songs, lessons on pets, the caring of a garden, the teaching of reading, writing, numeracy, craft and handy work. This was dropped by the government, sadly, although they did then create more â€Å"basic schools† in Ward’s name. Without Reverend Henry Ward fighting every step of the way for basic, primary education, Jamaican schools would still now be very far and few between.

Free Essays on Prosititution

from other prostitutes and from experience on the street. The lack of knowledge is due to most starting the role of prostitution at a very young age. Some prostitutes have also learned to use other means of communications such as the internet to get clientele and even call themselves escorts to try and get out of the fowl name of prostitute. Escorts use terms such as buying time, in call session, which is basically where a john goes to visit the escort at their hotel, residence or meeting spot or outcall sessions, where the johns will have the escort come to his residence or hotel. (Henslin, 2004 p. 12-13) 1 Structural Functionalism: Prostitutes do not make up any certain race, gender or age. The only things prosti... Free Essays on Prosititution Free Essays on Prosititution Prostitution Sociology Prostitution is the selling of sex for money. In most places throughout the world prostitution is legal, however in the United States prostitution is illegal except certain areas such as Las Vegas, NV. Prostitution ranks are predominantly female, but there are males that sell their bodies as well. Prostitutes are normally drug and/or alcohol abusers who live on the streets or run down residence and stoop to selling their bodies for a low amount of money. Prostitutes normally hang out in run down and high crime areas of a city and are very easy to spot due to their dress attire and hanging out on the streets at odd hours of the day and night. Internationalism: Prostitutes are very streetwise and know the ins and outs of legality regarding their profession. Prostitutes used many symbols and code words to attract the clientele or Johns, as they are known in the community. Prostitutes use a lot of their gestures to keep from being arrested and also to let their clientele know who they are and what they are willing to do. Many prostitutes are uneducated and learn a lot of their street knowledge, gestures and words from other prostitutes and from experience on the street. The lack of knowledge is due to most starting the role of prostitution at a very young age. Some prostitutes have also learned to use other means of communications such as the internet to get clientele and even call themselves escorts to try and get out of the fowl name of prostitute. Escorts use terms such as buying time, in call session, which is basically where a john goes to visit the escort at their hotel, residence or meeting spot or outcall s essions, where the johns will have the escort come to his residence or hotel. (Henslin, 2004 p. 12-13) 1 Structural Functionalism: Prostitutes do not make up any certain race, gender or age. The only things prosti...

Object and Opt-out on Moral or Religious Grounds

Object and Opt-out on Moral or Religious Grounds Hashtag: #HDPyasambildirgesi (HDP Declaration of Life) Object and Opt-out on Moral or Religious Grounds Non-recognition of the right to conscientious objection is an enduring and highly controversial issue in Turkey and recently, HDP (Haklarm Demokratik Partisi), the country’s leading opposition party promised to legalize it if their candidates win the June 2015 parliamentary election. Conscientious objection or CO according to UN Commission on Human Rights is the right of every individual to object on grounds of conscience but a number of states such as Turkey are unwilling to recognize it as an important human right. Conscience or our sense of right or wrong is in effect the core features of a person’s moral and spiritual identity. Normally, people refused participation or involvement in something because it is against their moral and religious principles.  For example, some people refused to participate in war because of their deeply embedded moral, ethical, or religious belief that killing another human being is wrong. Note that personal code, political, sociological, philosophical, psychological, and other pragmatic reasons are not accepted the basis for a conscientious objection. Students at public or government-subsidized private schools are free to attend religion classes but they can also choose not to and exercise their right to conscientious objection on moral or religious grounds. The right to object is also applicable to a vast range of issues such as oath taking, compulsory patriotic exercises, school curricula, and others that may be easily granted due schools’ obligation to satisfy its neutrality obligation. For instance, a student’s objecting on a culturally impartial and race discriminating curriculum may be allowed to opt-out or exempt him from course requirements. However, similar to conscientious objection to military service, ritual practice, living arrangement, and others, the objection made on moral or religious grounds should pass the test of sincerity. Want to know more? Go here: Womens Right to Education Relieving Students School-Related Stress   Developing Students Creativity and Self-Expression Smoking in Public Places Should Be Banned The Misdemeanors of Well-Educated People in Public Office Testing the Sincerity of the Conscience Most educational institutions have formal policies permitting students at all levels to exercise their right to conscientious objection. In medical schools, for instance, students are allowed to use alternatives if testing of certain laboratory animals such as mice, dog, cats, rabbits, and others violates their conscience. In the United States, the right to conscientious objection to dissection in educational projects is guaranteed by law and school policies authorizing teachers to cooperate and develop an acceptable alternative with their students. The right to conscientious objection is potentially vulnerable to abuse such as avoiding the arduous training and danger associated with military service. It is, therefore, necessary to ascertain whether the objection is actually based on conscience rather than personal code or philosophy in life. A student exercising the right to conscientious objection and opting-out of a religious education class must clearly demonstrate that attending such class violates his or her conscience. For instance, the right may be granted if the student is a member of another religious group or verifiable evidence of a religious conviction that receiving religious teaching other than their own preacher or priest is a sin. Similarly, a student’s conscientious objection on racially discriminating and culturally impartial curriculum must be accompanied by strong conviction or proof of sincere and meaningful and enduring belief that is contradictory to that of the curriculum.

Reflections on history Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflections on history - Coursework Example This era also saw new kingdoms and technology. In fact, the Middle Ages set the stage for the birth of modern Europe. This is divided into two parts: the early middle ages and the high middle ages. The Early Middle Ages saw the Fall of the Roman Empire. The fall started on the second century. The debate still goes on today about the theory of the fall of the Roman Empire but generally, what happened was mismanagement. The Roman Empire was suddenly too big for some of the leaders and they failed to maintain the civic infrastructures that they built, like libraries, public baths and schools. Because of this, merchants also lost the confidence in investing in the empire and the intellectual development of the empire stagnated. It also became unsafe for traders to trade, thus economic collapse followed. This vulnerability offered the barbarians the chance to attack the empire. This event led to the fall of the empire and some Romans migrated to lands as far as Iberia. The Roman Empire fe ll because of the repeated Gothic invasions. The felled Empire saw a wave of Germanization in their culture, and it was controlled by many barbaric tribes. Charlemagne was an important character in this era. He was the king in the largest territory in Europe that time. He was named by Pope Leo III as the Emperor of the Roman Empire. This is not to be confused with the Byzantine Empire which is the medieval Roman Empire since his territory is called the Carolingian Empire. This period also saw Byzantium and Avar Khanate.

Accounting project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accounting Project of Best Buy Incorporated - Assignment Example The Annual Report of the company in 2009 is also examined to identify the potential issues and strengths of the company. This is carried out to examine the financial position and performance of Best Buy during the recent three years so that a decision can be made whether it will be profitable to include this company’s stocks in the investor portfolio. Though the profits have declined in the last two years, over 100 stores were opened by Best Buy worldwide in the years 2008 and 2009. The company now has a total of about 155,000 employees (full time, part time and seasonal). In 2008, Best Buy acquired 50 % stakes in Best Buy Europe, Napster and 75 % stakes in Five Star. This has increased the portfolio of Best Buy and indicates the international growth in terms of a number of stores, investments and product base. The objectives set out for the near future include growing the market share, providing digital solutions, attaining international growth and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the operations. The net earnings have decreased by 29 % in 2009; however, the revenue has increased mainly due to the acquisition of Best Buy Europe. A reduction in customer traffic was recorded in 2009 when compared to 2008, mainly due to the global economic slowdown and reduction in consumer expenditure (Form10-K). The liquidity ratios compute the ability of the company to meet its liabilities with the assets at hand. They also indicate the effectiveness of the company in terms of debt collection and moving inventory to sales. The liquidity ratios for Best Buy are computed as shown below: The liquidity position of Best Buy has become very weak over the three years and the quick ratio is just 0.28 in 2009. The decrease in liquid assets can be attributed to the decreased customer traffic.