Functions of Management Essay

This seminar would not have been possible without the assistance of a number of eminent persons. First of all I thank God almighty for blessing this venture and finish successfully. I express my sincere thanks to Head of the Department, MBA Narayanaguru College Of Engineering,Chennai for his encouragement and support for the successful completion for this seminar. I also express my sincere gratitude to my guide, for the kind assistance, supervision, encouragement and constructive criticism, which gave me constant support amidst of her busy schedule throughout my seminar work. I also express my wholehearted gratitude to all my classmates who have co-operated and supported for doing this seminar. I also thank my family members for their loving support. I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude once again to all those who helped me to make this undertaking a success. INTRODUCTION Management is a universal phenomenon. It is a very popular and widely used term. All organizations – business, political, cultural or social are involved in management because it is the management which helps and directs the various efforts towards a definite purpose. According to Harold Koontz, â€Å"Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals†. According to F. W. Taylor, â€Å"Management is an art of knowing what to do, when to do and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way†. Management is a purposive activity. It is something that directs group efforts towards the attainment of certain pre – determined goals. It is the process of working with and through others to effectively achieve the goals of the organization, by efficiently using limited resources in the changing world. Of course, these goals may vary from one enterprise to another. E. g. : For one enterprise it may be launching of new products by conducting market surveys and for other it may be profit maximization by minimizing cost. Management is often included as a factor of production along with‚ machines, materials, and money. According to the management guru Peter Drucker (1909-2005), the basic task of management includes both marketing and innovation. Practice of modern management originates from the 16th century study of low-efficiency and failures of certain enterprises, conducted by the English statesman Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Management consists of the interlocking functions of creating corporate policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing an organization’sresources in order to achieve the objectives of that policy Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources and natural resources. One of the first persons to sit down and try to work out what managers do (and what they should do) was a Frenchman called Henri Fayol. Fayol was a mining engineer who became the managing director of an ailing coal mining firm and turned it into a highly successful coal and steel business. All this took place between 1888 and 1918, when he retired. In 1916, after many years of thinking about the job of the manager, he published a small book called General and Industrial Management. Henry Fayol was years ahead of his time in linking strategy and organizational theory and in emphasizing the need for management development and the qualities of leadership. Igor Ansoff, in Corporate Strategy (1965) said that Fayol ‘anticipated imaginatively and soundly most of the more recent analyses of modern business practice,’ although Peter Drucker in his great compendium Management: Tasks, Responsibilities and Practice (1973), criticized the application of Fayol’s functional approach to larger and more complex organizations than the one he knew and managed. Oddly enough, it was years before a translation appeared in English, even though it contains a great deal of wisdom and sense. Henri Fayol, the father of the school of Systematic Management, was motivated to create a theoretical foundation for a managerial educational program based on his experience as a successful managing director of a mining company. In his day, managers had no formal training and he observed that the increasing complexity of organisations would require more professional management. Fayol’s legacy is his generic Principles of Management. Of Fayol’s six generic activities for industrial undertakings (technical, commercial, financial, security, accounting, managerial), the most important were The Five Functions of Management that focused on the key relationships between personnel and its management. The Five Functions are: 1. Planning drawing up plans of actions that combine unity, continuity, flexibility and precision given the organisation’s resources, type and significance of work and future trends. Creating a plan of action is the most difficult of the five tasks and requires the active participation of the entire organisation. Planning must be coordinated on different levels and with different time horizons; 2. Organising providing capital, personnel and raw materials for the day-to-day running of the business, and building a structure to match the work. Organisational structure depends entirely on the number of employees. An increase in the number of functions expands the organisation horizontally and promotes additional layers of supervision; 3. Commanding optimising return from all employees in the interest of the entire enterprise. Successful managers have personal integrity, communicate clearly and base their judgments on regular audits. Their thorough knowledge of personnel creates unity, energy, initiative and loyalty and eliminates incompetence; 4. Coordinating unifying and harmonizing activities and efforts to maintain the balance between the activities of the organisation as in sales to production and procurement to production. Fayol recommended weekly conferences for department heads to solve problems of common interest; 5. Controlling identifying weaknesses and errors by controlling feedback, and conforming activities with plans, policies and instructions. Fayol’s management process went further than Taylor’s basic hierarchical model by allowing command functions to operate efficiently and effectively through co-ordination and control methods. For Fayol, the managing director overlooked a living organism that requires liaison officers and joint committees. The first and last functions—planning and control—are immediately recognizable from the analysis that has just been carried out, and indeed there tends to be less argument generally about these two functions than about others. Organizing is, of course, similar to planning in that it is concerned with preparation for some future events. But whereas planning is the more glamorous activity of deciding on the overall future direction of the business, organization is that tough, demanding business of putting together the elements in such a way that the overall plans succeed. Command is seen as the function that actually makes things happen. It is really derived from military practice, and no doubt in Fayol’s time all employees in organizations responded to command. The very word suggests ‘ordering about’ and has been the subject of a great deal of debate and argument. Fayol did not really intend it to be taken in a very narrow sense, but rather in the sense of making sure that things get done—the actual operations of the organization. As a result, all kinds of substitute words have been used in its place—like ‘direction’ and (horribly) ‘actuating’. The fifth function of management in Fayol’s view is that of co-ordination. It is concerned with harmony, with making sure that all the bits work together, and, like an orchestra under its conductor, play the same tune. This is the only function that does not seem easily to stand on its own and will be found to be part of planning, of organizing, of control, and the key to successful operations themselves. An organization, therefore, begins with a strategic plan or definition of goals, progresses to a structure to put that plan into action, is carried forward by controlled activity between manager and workforce, has the work of its disparate departments harmonized by coordinated management and, finally, is subject to checks on the efficiency of its working, preferably by the ndependent ‘staff’ departments separate from the functional departments. The five functions of management have been adequately discussed, but there are two other aspects of management that Fayol mentioned that must be looked at separately. Fayol believed that a manager obtained the best performance from his workforce by leadership qualities, by his knowledge of the business and his workers, and by the ability to ins till sense of mission. Qualities needed in a manger: †¢ Physical: healthy, vigorous; Mental: ability to understand and learn, judgment, mental vigor, adaptability; †¢ Moral: firmness, acceptance of responsibility, initiative, loyalty, tact; †¢ General Education: good general knowledge; †¢ Special Knowledge: for the work; †¢ Experience Fayol also stressed on the importance of managerial training, ‘steady, methodical training of all employees at all levels’, and made the point that a manager should not ignore his responsibility for his own training. Fayol’s 14 principles derive from the circumstance that Fayol felt that management was not well defined. In his striving to change this circumstance he suggested â€Å"some generalized teaching of management† to be a main part of every curriculum at places of higher education and even beginning in â€Å"primary schools† . Fayol’s dedication to this idea is demonstrated by the fact that after retirement he went on to not just write books about management ideas, but more importantly, he found the Centre For Administrative Studies (CAS) in 1917 in Paris . The CAS mainly functioned as a centre of discussion between professionals from a large variety of professions, in order to further the knowledge and understanding of management principles. Discussion is what Fayol had in mind, when he presented his 14 principles . In Fayol’s own words: â€Å"Are they [the principles] to have a place in the management code which is to be built up? General discussion will show†. In the following I will discuss each of his principles under the aspect of a comparison with examples, historic or modern, and in relation to other theoreticians of management, in order to examine how Fayol’s principles hold up as â€Å"management code† today. Following are the fourteen principles of management developed by the Henry Fayol: Division Of Work The idea of division of work, or as Adam Smith called it â€Å"division of labour†, in 1776 probably goes back to the beginning of work itself. Fayol recognizes this in considering specialization as part of â€Å"the natural order† comparing it to the organs of the body . â€Å"The object of division of work is to produce more and better work with the same effort†, Fayol describes. This very objective has not been altered in today’s labor. In a sense this principle is the fundamental feature of modern economy, allowing for the largest increases of productivity. Peter F. Drucker informs us, that the 20th century has seen a rate of 3% productivity increase per year, hence productivity has risen 50 fold since the time of Frederick Taylor, who acted as a catalyst in the development of division of work . An example of this fact can come from early industrialization, namely the Ford motor company , where Taylor’s system of a scientific approach was applied. Taylor was interested in skill development by means of standardization and functional specialization . One worker would assemble the dashboard, another would assemble the wheels, and yet another would paint the exterior. The effects of this are well known and lead to Ford becoming not just the predominant car maker but also the inventor of the conveyer-belt production system- revolutionizing many industries. However, one could argue that extremes of division of work could lead to undesired effects. Division of labor can ultimately reduce productivity and increase costs to produce units. Several reasons as causes for reduction in productivity can be thought of. For example, productivity can suffer when workers become bored with the constant repetition of a task. Additionally, productivity can be affected when workers lose pride in their work because they are not producing an entire product they can identify as their own work. Douglas M. McGregor for instance cautions that â€Å"people, deprived of opportunities to satisfy at work the needs which are now important to them, behave†¦with indolence, passivity,†¦lack of responsibility,†¦unreasonable demands for economic benefits† . This circumstance was probably well recognized by Fayol, when he states that the â€Å"division of work has its limits which experience and a sense of proportion teach us may not be exceeded† According to Henry Fayol under division of work, â€Å"The worker always on the same post, the manager always concerned with the same matters, acquire an ability, sureness and accuracy which increases their output. In other words, division of work means specialization. According to this principle, a person is not capable of doing all types of work. Each job and work should be assigned to the specialist of his job. Division of work promotes efficiency because it permits an organizational member to work in a limited area reducing the scope of his responsibility. Fayol wanted the division of work not only at factory but at management levels also. 2. Authority and Responsibility Authority and responsibility go together or co-existing. Both authority and responsible are the two sides of a coin. In this way, if anybody is made responsible for any job, he should also have the concerned authority. Fayol’s principle of management in this regard is that an efficient manager makes best possible use of his authority and does not escape from the responsibility. In other awards when the authority is exercised the responsibility. In other awards when the authority is exercised the responsibility is automatically generated. The division of an enterprise into distinct departments, each independent of the others but subject to a common authority, has diverse causes such as the great growth of business, or a diversity of operations demanding very different capabilities or the physical separation of the various activities. Whatever the cause for which this division into departments exists, one must, under the penalty of duality of command, make sure that each service and each function is clearly defined and delimited. These departments, functions and powers, created arbitrarily, generally have no independent existence; one could always constitute them differently and they can be changed. But as soon as they have been instituted they must be defined and delimited very clearly. If not, certain parts will be neglected or forgotten while other parts will be handled by several authorities at once. Much vigilance is necessary to avoid these twin perils. The definition of departments and functions carries with it, naturally, the specifications of rights, duties and responsibilities for each. Each must know to whom and for what he gives orders, to whom and for what he must obey. On the other hand, each person in authority at every hierarchical level must always be familiar with what is going on in all areas under him. The means that can be used to carry out this responsibility are: direct supervision, control, meetings, reports and a good accounting system. 3. Discipline The Dictionary Larousse defines this as follows: â€Å"A group of unspoken rules or of written rules intended to ensure good order and regularity in a company or an assembly. ’’ This definition seems to me to be exact. Here we are not faced with the principle but an essential rule contingent or dependent on the goal, the constitution, the personalities and so on. These rules, which are as numerous as they are varied, have almost exclusively as their goal the achievement of Unity of Command and its corollaries. The rights, duties, responsibilities, and the place of each person must be determined and specified. Good rules greatly facilitate the progress of events. But whatever the value of these rules might be, their effectiveness and discipline itself will always depend on much tact, much skill and the conduct of the leaders. According to Henry Fayol discipline means sincerity about the work and enterprise, carrying out orders and instructions of superiors and to have faith in the policies and programmes of the business enterprise, in other sense, discipline in terms of obedience, application, energy and respect to superior. However, Fayol does not advocate warming, fines, suspension and dismissals of worker for maintaining discipline. These punishments are rarely awarded. A well disciplined working force is essential for improving the quality and quantity of the production. 4. Unity of Command As an enterprise grows, there comes a time when the leader can no longer provide personal direction to every employee: he therefore appoints intermediaries to transmit directives and to supervise their execution. As the enterprise grows even further, the leader cannot even direct these first level intermediaries and he is obliged to create others to transmit his directives to the first and thus a hierarchy is formed. Its origin is therefore independent of â€Å"Unity of Command’’: it results from a limitation of personal abilities. But the principles of â€Å"Unity of Command’’ requires that the Leader pass through these intermediaries to reach the lower-level employees; departure from these regular channels provokes duality. Such is the â€Å"Hierarchical transmission of orders’’ which is commonly known as the Hierarchical Principle. The results of ignoring this principle are ruffled feelings; discontent, discouragement and conflict, just like the result of ignoring the fundamental principle. Nevertheless, infractions are fairly frequent though sometimes caused by good intentions: for example, perhaps there is an agent at the third level who, finding that the normal channels are too long, gives orders directly to a first-level employee (X1), without passing through X2; meanwhile someone at the fourth level (X4) believing that he hasn’t been understood, or for some other reason, gives direct orders to X2, resulting in a duality of command and the inevitable consequences; discontent, confusion of responsibilities and the work is held up. In practice one constantly has to compromise respect for the hierarchical channel with the need for timely response. A subordinate should take order from only one boss and he should be responsible and accountable to him. Further he claimed that if the unit of command is violated, authority is undermined, disciplined in danger, order disturbed and stability threatened. The violation of this principle will face some serious consequences. In this way, the principle of unity of command provides the enterprise disciplined, stable and orderly existence. It creates harmonious relationship between officers and subordinates, congenial atmosphere of work. It is one of the Fayol’s important essential principle of management. 5. Unity of Direction Fayol summarizes this principle with the words: â€Å"one head and one plan for a group† . Hence, this point is naturally closely connected to the unity of command principle. Again Sloan and GM can serve as an example. Sloan introduced a wide variety of metrics in order to measure the performance of departments and the firms that were part of the GM concern. His attitude is ummarized in his words: â€Å"We have such control over this ship [the GM corporation] that we know exactly where we are at all times† . Or as Fayol said: â€Å"Unity of direction is provided for by sound organization of the body corporate†¦Ã¢â‚¬  . That means first one must know where to take the company and subsequently constantly assure that the plan is still on track. The success story of GM un der Sloan exemplifies the validity of this principleFayol advocates â€Å"One head and one plan† which means that group efforts on a particular plan be led and directed by a single person. This enables effective co-ordination of individual efforts and energy. This fulfils the principles of unity of command and brings uniformity in the work of same nature. In this way the principle of direction create dedication to purpose and loyalty. It emphasizes the attainment of common goal under one head. 6. Subordination of individual interests to general interests The interest of the business enterprise ought to come before the interests of the praise individual workers. In other words, principle of management state that employees should surrender their personnel interest before the general interest of the enterprise. Sometimes the employees due to this ignorance, selfishness, laziness, carelessness and emotional pleasure overlook the interest of the organisation. This attitude proves to be very harmful to the enterprise. An organization is much bigger than the individual it constitutes therefore interest of the undertaking should prevail in all circumstances. As far as possible, reconciliation should be achieved between individual and group interests. But in case of conflict, individual must sacrifice for bigger interests. In order to achieve this attitude, it is essential that – Employees should be honest & sincere. Proper & regular supervision of work. – Reconciliation of mutual differences and clashes by mutual agreement. For example, for change of location of plant, for change of profit sharing ratio, etc. 7. Fair Remuneration to employees According to Fayol wage-rates and method of their payment should be fair, proper and satisfactory. Both employees and ex-employers sh ould agree to it. Logical and appropriate wage-rate and methods of their payment reduces tension and differences between workers and management, create harmonious relationship and a pleasing atmosphere of work. Further Fayol recommends that residential facilities be provided including arrangement of electricity, water and facilities. 8. Centralization and Decentralization The command exercised by the higher authority and which, be it direct or through successive levels in the organization, reaches all parts of the organization, and the responses which return in the reverse sense, either directly or through the levels, to the central authority, constitute what one has rightly called â€Å"Centralization. ’’ It is not an arbitrary institution nor is it optional. It is an inevitable consequence, enforced, in fact, by Unity of Command. Centralization can be practiced in greatly different ways: the field can be left open for individual initiative, or it can be completely stifled. One finds examples ranging from a rigid structure with only passive obedience, to a vibrant organism where freedom of action spreads out with the most perfect subordination. One leader, having great ability and a great influence can, without inconveniencing a small business, handle all matters, make his own decisions and impose a passive obedience: as the enterprise grows, such a leader will become inadequate and his method will be deplored. Another leader will give a lot of authority to his subordinates, but what happens if these subordinates are only mediocre? It is therefore a matter of degree: one must consider the importance of various circumstances, the special difficulties which they cause, their extent, the distance which separates the various parts of the business and so on: one must also take account of the value of the employees. Only consideration of the circumstances can decide the respective balance between power and initiative, which it may be convenient to give to all employees. At the same time, it seems certain to me, the matter of subordinating being separate, that one must give all employees the largest amount of freedom of action and initiative possible. The strength of the leaders is augmented through the strength brought by lower-level employees and therefore they must be developed to the maximum extent possible. Let us not forget, in passing, that personal satisfaction and self-respect are often stronger than self-interest when it comes to stimulating individual initiative. The great problem of centralization and decentralization can therefore be summarized s follows: compulsory centralization with the greatest possible individual initiative. As for the amount of authority and initiative to be given to each person, each case must be considered separately, it is the eternal question of degree, which is the great and continuing preoccupation of the administrator. Whether one buys or sells, builds or demolishes, recruits or dismisses, punishes or reward s, in a word acts or refrains from action, the line to follow is never clearly defined: one must select from various alternatives. Neither principles nor rules can abolish arbitrary decisions. There should be one central point in the organisation which exercises overall direction and control of all the parts. But the degree of centralization of authority should vary according to the needs of situation. According to Fayol there should be centralization in small units and proper decentralization in big organisation. Further, Fayol does not favor centralization or decentralization of authorities but suggests that these should be proper and effective adjustment between centralization and decentralization in order to achieve maximum objectives of the business. The choice between centralization and decentralization be made after taking into consideration the nature of work and the efficiency, experience and decision-making capacity of the executives. 9. Scalar Chain The scalar chain is a chain of supervisors from the highest to the lowest rank. It should be short-circuited. An employee should feel the necessity to contact his superior through the scalar chain. The authority and responsibility is communicated through this scalar chain. Fayol defines scalar chain as â€Å"the chain of superiors ranging from the ultimate authority to the lowest rank. The flow of information between management and workers is a must. Business opportunities must be immediately avoided of. so we must make direct contact with the concerned employee. Business problems need immediate solution, so we cannot always depend on the established scalar chain. It requires that direct contact should be established. Every orders, instructions, messages, requests, explanation etc. has to pass through Scalar chain. But, for the sake of convenience & urgency, this path can be cut shirt and this short cut is known as Gang Plank. A Gang Plank is a temporary arrangement between two different In the figure given, if D has to communicate with G he will first send the communication upwards with the help of C, B to A and then downwards with the help of E and F to G which will take quite some time and by that time, it may not be worth therefore a gang plank has been developed between the two. Gang Plank clarifies that management principles are not rigid rather they are very flexible. They can be moulded and modified as per the requirements of situations 10. Order: According to Fayol there should be proper, systematic and orderly arrangement of physical and social factors, such as land, raw materials, tools and equipments and employees respectively. As per view, there should be safe, appropriate and specific place for every article and every place to be used effectively for a particular activity and commodity. In other words, principles that every piece of land and every article should be used properly, economically and in the best possible way. Selection and appointment of the most suitable person to every job. There should be specific place for every one and every one should have specific place. This principle also stresses scientific selection and appointment of employees on every job. One knows the formula for material order:â€Å"a place for everything and everything in its place. ’’ At the same time should there not be a specified place for everything and someone designated to put everything in that place? Unity of Command indirectly deals with this matter by imposing delimitation of departments and of the authorities, which are responsible for them. Every act of the enterprise and everything belonging to it must have its respondent, that is to say, someone who is responsible for it. It is order in deeds and with things: it is the means of avoiding waste of material and time and for avoiding conflicts. Thus, Unity of Command appears with its retinue of secondary principles as an important and fundamental natural law, and this impression is only strengthened as one studies the point further. No one denies its importance; many people are vaguely aware of it but its value is only really appreciated by a few and if one considers that as with every good rule of housekeeping it gets in the way of imaginative solutions, one can explain why it is violated so often. Numerous infractions occur, such as orders which arrive at their destination without having followed the hierarchical route, such as the encroachment by one department upon another, such as the stopping or disarray of the administrative mechanism due to the absence of the leader, and so on. At least five times out of ten it is errors of this type, which upset the business. 11. Equity â€Å"Equity and equality of treatment are aspirations to be taken into account in dealing with employees†, Fayol says. Clearly, this standard is not easily achieved, however, today’s work environment is arguably more equipped to tackle this issue than previous generations of corporations. One indication for this claim is to be found in the fact that most companies have appointed officials who deal with complaints of employees against the management, for instance the so-called ombudsman . However, this system is naturally not fool proof and private organizations attempt to draw attention to the victims of mistreatment. One example is an organization taking care of claims of victims of mobbing within the company Novartis . While the problem still persists, Fayol’s principle is being recognized by corporations and enhanced by the public opinion and most importantly the lawmakers . Several nations, e. g. Germany, Sweden and others, intend to tackle the problem of unequal treatment by passing laws that intend to establish a juridical basis for people who fell victim of inequality. The principle of equality should be followed and applicable at every level of management. There should not be any discrimination as regards caste, sex and religion. An effective management always accords sympathetic and human treatment. The management should be kind, honest and impartial with the employees. In other words, kindness and justice should be exercised by management in dealing with their subordinates. This will create loyalty and devotion among the employees. Thus, workers should be treated at par at every level. Equity means combination of fairness, kindness & justice. The employees should be treated with kindness & equity if devotion is expected of them. It implies that managers should be fair and impartial while dealing with the subordinates. They should give similar treatment to people of similar position. They should not discriminate with respect to age, caste, sex, religion, relation etc. Equity is essential to create and maintain cordial relations between the managers and sub-ordinate. But equity does not mean total absence of harshness. Fayol was of opinion that, â€Å"at times force and harshness might become necessary for the sake of equity†. 12. Stability of use of personnel It is Fayol’s opinion that it is better to have a â€Å"mediocre manager who stays† than â€Å"outstanding mangers who merely come and go† . Fayol does not only apply this idea to management though, he also points to negative effects of a lack of stability when it comes to employees. While this point might be debatable to some extend it is clear that stability contributes to better planning possibilities. It also allows for a psychologically beneficial state of mind of the employees, hence certainly improving efficiency and the willingness to perform well for the corporation’s good. Apparently however, this rule of requirement has not sunken in generally. This is demonstrated by the fact that most countries have passed employee protection regulations when it comes to the reasons why people can be laid off. Internationally the International Labor Organization, a section of the United Nations, watches over various aspects of employment and also deals with unfair dismissals of employees . While from an employee perspective the protection laws make sense, employers may occasionally view this issue differently. In fact, it is easy to find web-blogs with advice how to fire workers without ensuing lawsuit and some influential individuals, for instance Chandrajit Banerjee, head of the Confederation of the Indian Industry , demands it to become easier to hire and fire in India . Maybe a way out of this dilemma and back to following Fayol’s principle can derive from an example Henry Chesbrough gave when discussing differences in culture between the USA and Japan . Chesbrough describes how little loyalty US-employees exhibit compared to the Japanese counterparts. He also analyses the reason as stemming from the fact that Japanese firms have a tighter relation to their employees. He for example points to a better social security system, like pension plans, in Japan. The spill-over effect that endangers US American companies to loose important innovative advantages by losing skilled employees to other companies is thereby contained in Japan. This example shows that stability of tenure is not only important but connected to social and cultural factors management must take into account if they want to maximize their productive capacity. It also shows, that this principle is a two-way street. While stability is important for the employee it is just as important for the employer. One would think that this leads to both parties pulling in the same direction. But as we can see from the above example, it requires a change of mind in some instances to establish an environment of trust and mutual care. Principle of stability is linked with long tenure of personnel in the organisation. This means production being a team work, an efficient management always builds a team of good workers. If the members of the team go on changing the entire process of production will be disturbed. It is always in the interest of the enterprise that its trusted, experienced and trained employees do not leave the organisation. Stability of job creates a sense of belongingness among workers who with this feeling are encouraged to improve the quality and quantity of work. Fayol emphasized that employees should not be moved frequently from one job position to another i. e. the period of service in a job should be fixed. Therefore employees should be appointed after keeping in view principles of recruitment & selection but once they are appointed their services should be served. According to Fayol. Time is required for an employee to get used to a new work & succeed to doing it well but if he is removed before that he will not be able to render worthwhile services†. As a result, the time, effort and money spent on training the worker will go waste. Stability of job creates team spirit and a sense of belongingness among workers which ultimately increase the quality as w ell as quantity of work. 13. Initiative Fayol summarizes the need for employees to show initiative in the saying, that â€Å"the initiative of all, added to that of the manager†¦represents a great source of strength for businesses† . He suggests to management to â€Å"inspire and maintain everyone’s initiative†. Some modernly run companies have come to find their special ways in order to ensure employee satisfaction, and, concomitantly their initiative. One example is again Google and their policy of â€Å"20% time† . This policy implies that employees get a large part of their time to invest in projects of their choosing. While these projects are not necessarily connected to their immediate work tasks experience has shown, that they often built the basis for spin-off ideas that benefit the firm. Others, like 3M and various Biotech and Pharmaceutical companies have followed suit, and it is said that 3M has developed the post-it notes as a spin-off of an idea conceived during a personal project period . As a Google employee put it: â€Å"the 20 percent policy is as important to attracting and retaining employees as it is to sparking fresh ideas†. Business professor Robert Fulmer at Pepperdine University adds: â€Å"Paradoxically, letting go of employees through independent projects can mean getting more from them. It’s a way to get people to go beyond what’s expected of them†. Apparently, with the right strategies a company can increase employee participation and initiative by given the â€Å"inspiration† Fayol requested from the management. Workers should be encouraged to take initiative in the work assigned to them. It means eagerness to initiate actions without being asked to do so. Fayol advised that management should provide opportunity to its employees to suggest ideas, experiences& new method of work. It helps in developing an atmosphere of trust and understanding. People then enjoy working in the organization because it adds to their zeal and energy. To suggest improvement in formulation & implementation of place. They can be encouraged with the help of monetary & non-monetary incentives. Under this principle, the successful management provides an opportunity to its employees to suggest their new ideas, experiences and more convenient methods of work. The employees, who has been working on the specific job since long discover now, better alternative approach and technique of work. It will be more useful, if initiative to do so is provided to employees. In simple, to ensure success, plans should be well formulated before they are implemented. 14. Espirit De’ Corps (can be achieved through unity of command) It refers to team spirit i. e. harmony in the work groups and mutual understanding among the members. Spirit De’ Corps inspires workers to work harder. Fayol cautioned the managers against dividing the employees into competing groups because it might damage the moral of the workers and interest of the undertaking in the long run. To inculcate Espirit De’ Corps following steps should be undertaken – There should be proper co-ordination of work at all levels Subordinates should be encouraged to develop informal relations among themselves. Efforts should be made to create enthusiasm and keenness among subordinates so that they can work to the maximum ability. Efficient employees should be rewarded and those who are not up to the mark should be given a chance to improve their performance. Subordinates should be made conscious of that whatever they are doing is of great importance to the business & society. He also cautioned against the more use of Britain communication to the subordinates i. e. face to face communication should be developed. The managers should infuse team spirit & belongingness. There should be no place for misunderstanding. People then enjoy working in the organization & offer their best towards the organization. In order to achieve the best possible results, individual and group effort are to be effectively integrated and coordinated. Production is a team work for which the whole-hearted support and co-operation of the members at all levels is required. Everyone should sacrifice his personal interest and contribute his best energies to achieve the best results. it refers to the spirit of loyalty, faithfulness on the part of the members of the group which can be achieved by strong motivating recognition and importance of the members for their valuable contribution, effective coordination, informal mutual social relationship between members of the group and positive and constructive approach of the management towards workers’ welfare SEMINAR 3 MANAGEMENT LEVELS Managers are organizational members who are responsible for the work performance of other organizational members. Managers have formal authority to use organizational resources and to make decisions. In organizations, there are typically three levels of management: top-level, middle-level, and first-level. These three main levels of managers form a hierarchy, in which they are ranked in order of importance. In most organizations, the number of managers at each level is such that the hierarchy resembles a pyramid, with many more first-level managers, fewer middle managers, and the fewest managers at the top level. Each of these management levels is described below in terms of their possible job titles and their primary responsibilities and the paths taken to hold these positions. Additionally, there are differences across the management levels as to what types of management tasks each does and the roles that they take in their jobs. Finally, there are a number of changes that are occurring in many organizations that are changing the management hierarchies in them, such as the increasing use of teams, the prevalence of outsourcing, and the flattening of organizational structures. Top-Level Managers Top-level managers, or top managers, are also called senior management or executives. These individuals are at the top one or two levels in an organization, and hold titles such as: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operational Officer (COO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chairperson of the Board, President, Vice president, Corporate head. Often, a set of these managers will constitute the top management team, which is composed of the CEO, the COO, and other department heads. Top-level managers make decisions affecting the entirety of the firm. Top managers do not direct the day-to-day activities of the firm; rather, they set goals for the organization and direct the company to achieve them. Top managers are ultimately responsible for the performance of the organization, and often, these managers have very visible jobs. Top managers in most organizations have a great deal of managerial experience and have moved up through the ranks of management within the company or in another firm. An exception to this is a top manager who is also an entrepreneur; such an individual may start a small company and manage it until it grows enough to support several levels of management. Many top managers possess an advanced degree, such as a Masters in Business Administration, but such a degree is not required. Some CEOs are hired in from other top management positions in other companies. Conversely, they may be promoted from within and groomed for top management with management development activities, coaching, and mentoring. They may be tagged for promotion through succession planning, which identifies high potential managers. Middle-Level Managers Middle-level managers, or middle managers, are those in the levels below top managers. Middle managers’ job titles include: General manager, Plant manager, Regional manager, and Divisional manager. Middle-level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management. They do so by setting goals for their departments and other business units. Middle managers can motivate and assist first-line managers to achieve business objectives. Middle managers may also communicate upward, by offering suggestions and feedback to top managers. Because middle managers are more involved in the day-to-day workings of a company, they may provide valuable information to top managers to help improve the organization’s bottom line. Jobs in middle management vary widely in terms of responsibility and salary. Depending on the size of the company and the number of middle-level managers in the firm, middle managers may supervise only a small group of employees, or they may manage very large groups, such as an entire business location. Middle managers may be employees who were promoted from first-level manager positions within the organization, or they may have been hired from outside the firm. Some middle managers may have aspirations to hold positions in top management in the future. First-Level Managers First-level managers are also called first-line managers or supervisors. These managers have job titles such as: Office manager, Shift supervisor, Department manager, Foreperson, Crew leader, Store manager. First-line managers are responsible for the daily management of line workershe employees who actually produce the product or offer the service. There are first-line managers in every work unit in the organization. Although first-level managers typically do not set goals for the organization, they have a very strong influence on the company. These are the managers that most employees interact with on a daily basis, and if the managers perform poorly, employees may also perform poorly, may lack motivation, or may leave the company. In the past, most first-line managers were employees who were promoted from line positions (such as production or clerical jobs). Rarely did these employees have formal education beyond the high school level. However, many first-line managers are now graduates of a trade school, or have a two-year associates or a four-year bachelor’s degree from college. Management Levels And The Four Managerial Functions Managers at different levels of the organization engage in different amounts of time on the four managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Planning is choosing appropriate organizational goals and the correct directions to achieve those goals. Organizing involves determining the tasks and the relationships that allow employees to work together to achieve the planned goals. With leading, managers motivate and coordinate employees to work together to achieve organizational goals. When controlling, managers monitor and measure the degree to which the organization has reached its goals. The degree to which top, middle, and supervisory managers perform each of these functions is presented in Exhibit 1. Note that top managers do considerably more planning, organizing, and controlling than do managers at any other level. However, they do much less leading. Most of the leading is done by first-line managers. The amount of planning, organizing, and controlling decreases down the hierarchy of management; leading increases as you move down the hierarchy of management. Time Spent on Management Functions at Different Management Levels   Several defining characteristics demarcate management skills and differentiate them from other kinds of managerial characteristics and practices. First, management skills are behavioral. They are not personality attributes or stylistic tendencies. Management skills consist of identifiable sets of actions that individuals perform and that lead to certain outcomes. Skills can be observed by others, unlike attributes that are purely mental or are embedded in personality. Whereas people with different styles and personalities may apply the skills differently, there are, nevertheless, a core set of observable attributes in effective skill performance that are common across a range of individual differences. Second, management skills are controllable. The performance of these behaviors is under the control of the individual. Unlike organizational practices such as â€Å"selectively hiring,† or cognitive activities such as â€Å"transcending fear,† skills can be consciously demonstrated, practiced, improved, or restrained by individuals themselves. Skills may certainly engage other people and require cognitive work, but they are behaviors that people can control themselves. Third, management skills are developable. Performance can improve. Unlike IQ or certain personality or temperament attributes that remain relatively constant throughout life, individuals can improvement their competency in skill performance through practice and feedback. Individuals can progress from less competence to more competence in management skills, and that outcome is the primary objective of this book. Fourth, management skills are interrelated and overlapping. It is difficult to demonstrate just one skill in isolation from others. Skills are not simplistic, repetitive behaviors, but they are integrated sets of complex responses. Effective managers, in particular, must rely on combinations of skills to achieve desired results. For example, in order to effectively motivate others, skills such as supportive communication, influence, empowerment, and self-awareness may be required. Effective managers, in other words, develop a constellation of skills that overlap and support one another and that allow flexibility in managing diverse situations. Fifth, management skills are sometimes contradictory or paradoxical. For example, the core management skills are neither all soft and humanistic in orientation nor all hard-driving and directive. They are oriented neither toward teamwork and interpersonal relations exclusively nor toward individualism and technical entrepreneurship exclusively. A variety of skills are typical of the most effective managers, and some of them appear incompatible. Regardless of organizational level, all managers must have five critical skills: technical skill, interpersonal skill, conceptual skill, diagnostic skill, and political skill. Technical Skill. Technical skill involves understanding and demonstrating proficiency in a particular workplace activity. Technical skills are things such as using a computer word processing program, creating a budget, operating a piece of machinery, or preparing a presentation. The technical skills used will differ in each level of management. First-level managers may engage in the actual operations of the organization; they need to have an understanding of how production and service occur in the organization in order to direct and evaluate line employees. Additionally, first-line managers need skill in scheduling workers and preparing budgets. Middle managers use more technical skills related to planning and organizing, and top managers need to have skill to understand the complex financial workings of the organization. Interpersonal Skill. Interpersonal skill involves human relations, or the manager’s ability to interact effectively with organizational members. Communication is a critical part of interpersonal skill, and an inability to communicate effectively can prevent career progression for managers. Managers who have excellent technical skill, but poor interpersonal skill are unlikely to succeed in their jobs. This skill is critical at all levels of management. Conceptual Skill. Conceptual skill is a manager’s ability to see the organization as a whole, as a complete entity. It involves understanding how organizational units work together and how the organization fits into its competitive environment. Conceptual skill is crucial for top managers, whose ability to see â€Å"the big picture† can have major repercussions on the success of the business. However, conceptual skill is still necessary for middle and supervisory managers, who must use this skill to envision, for example, how work units and teams are best organized. Diagnostic Skill. Diagnostic skill is used to investigate problems, decide on a remedy, and implement a solution. Diagnostic skill involves other skillsechnical, interpersonal, conceptual, and politic. For instance, to determine the root of a problem, a manager may need to speak with many organizational members or understand a variety of informational documents. The difference in the use of diagnostic skill acr0oss the three levels of management is primarily due to the types of problems that must be addressed at each level. For example, first-level managers may deal primarily with issues of motivation and discipline, such as determining why a particular employee’s performance is flagging and how to improve it. Middle managers are likely to deal with issues related to larger work units, such as a plant or sales office. For instance, a middle-level manager may have to diagnose why sales in a retail location have dipped. Top managers diagnose organization-wide problems, and may address issues such as strategic position, the possibility of outsourcing tasks, or opportunities for overseas expansion of a business. Political Skill. Political skill involves obtaining power and preventing other employees from taking away one’s power. Managers use power to achieve organizational objectives, and this skill can often reach goals with less effort than others who lack political skill. Much like the other skills described, political skill cannot stand alone as a manager’s skill; in particular, though, using political skill without appropriate levels of other skills can lead to promoting a manager’s own career rather than reaching organizational goals. Managers at all levels require political skill; managers must avoid others taking control that they should have in their work positions. Top managers may find that they need higher levels of political skill in order to successfully operate in their environments. CONCLUSION * Management has been identified as the systematic body of knowledge based on general principles,concepts,theories and techniques which are variable in terms of business practice. These are embodied in the managerial functions of planning,organising,planning,controlling and directing which form the job of a manager. * In the organisation there are 3 levels called top level,middle level and lower level management ,each one having important role in smooth running of the organisation. * The lack of management skills will lead to poor decision making.

Healthy Ways of Keeping Fit

There are a lot of ways to keep fit. The important thing is that you find an activity that you enjoy doing and that you stick with it. There is a variety of things you can do. You can run, walk, swim, bike, go hiking, do yoga, lots of different methods for keeping fit. Another enjoyable way is to go dancing. Dancing is a very good aerobic activity, requires physical liveliness and burns a lot of calories. The other thing that is significant is making sure that you follow a healthy diet. You want to make sure that you have enough energy to do these activities that you actually enjoy doing to keep your body fit.Therefore, following a healthy diet means ensuring that you eat when you are hungry, you stop eating when you are full, you include plenty of different types of fruits and vegatables, whole grains, things like brown rice, oatmeal millet, all those types of things are considered whole grains. You also want to include some type of lean protein whether that’s from legumes, b eans such as pinto beans, garbanzos, or seafood or lean cuts of meat or poultry without the skin. Any of those are sources of lean proteins that are very beneficial for your body.And again, that particular method of eating will make sure that you have the energy that you need to actually perform these different types of activities you enjoy doing. So when you find the activity you like, try to do it several times a week at least 4 to 5 times a week will really help improve your level of fitness. More than that can actually cause you to lose weight if you are trying to actually lose weight. As you see there are several different ways of keeping feet. It can be any type of physical activity that you enjoy doing.

Politics in Modern Film (V for Vendetta)

The film I focused on for this essay, V for Vendetta, was filmed and produced in 2006 by Warner Brothers. The plot of the film circulates around a mysterious and charismatic masked freedom fighter being hunted down by the totalitarian British government in the near future. Although his full identity is kept a mystery throughout the film, audiences learn he was a victim of a cruel scientific experiment involving â€Å"unwanted† British citizens and hormonal drugs.He spends decades planning out his revenge on those involved. While making preparations for both his revenge and a nation-wide revolution, the character known only as V has a run-in with a young woman working for the broadcasting station he later taking hostage. The day he takes the station hostage, the woman named Evey recognizes him as the same man who rescued her one night from crooked British patrolmen prowling the streets. Evey comes to his aid as V is almost caught and she is knocked unconscious in the process.Th e rest of the film leads audiences into the ever-thickening plot as a detective investigates and attempts to track down the â€Å"terrorist† only to discover an even more sinister power behind the deaths of thousands of British citizens: their own government. Putting this film into a category based on its intended audience was a challenge. The film expresses values both of the mass and subgroup categories. The values shown are ones that indirectly praise American government for its constitutional rights of religion, press and speech, but it also promotes ideas of anarchy.Although both views have their strong arguing points in the film, I believe this film expressed more mass values. This is because the criteria for subgroup values demands that the public must be largely portrayed as being stupid and counter-active to the goal at hand. However, in this film, V must rely solely on the public‘s participation in order to carry through his vision of freedom. In a televised s peech to the populace, V makes claims that have resounding similarities to our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Fairness, justice and freedom are more than words. They are prospectives. † He says. This is, in my mind, one of the most profound quotes in the film, behind his other statement that †people should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people. † The timing of the film and its statements on war point directly to America’s involvement in the war on terror and to President George Bush. The movie was filmed in 2005, only two years after the official war in Iraq was launched.The High Chancellor in the film, Adam Suttler, is described as being an ultra-conservative man with no understanding of political process. This parallel seems to encourage a commonly debated political theme pointed out in the White House by Americans opposed to the invasion and the war overseas. The film even makes a blatant statement about America being in an on-going war that deprived it of its wealth and resources. A line reads: â€Å"They were a country who had everything, absolutely everything; and now, 20 years later is what?The world’s biggest leaper colony. † There are still many Americans today who have strong aversion to the presence of American military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. â€Å"The Voice of England†, the a man revered as the biggest spokesperson in the English broadcasting sector, delivers a line in the film as he goes down the list of people unwanted and banished from the country’s boarders. This list, in addition to teens with sexually transmitted diseases and homosexuals, names Muslims specifically.In 2005, there was still unease in America about Muslim-Americans and risks they might pose to national security, much like the unrest about American-Japanese citizens that marked the time after the onset of World War II. Detective Finch, the detective working the V case to track him down before the revolutionary date, has a discussion with his partner after unearthing facts about the government. â€Å"If your government was responsible for the deaths of almost a hundred thousand people, would you really want to know? This observation has striking similarity to theories voiced by a small portion of society who claim the attacks on the World Trade Center were carried out by our own government. The number 5 is a common theme in the film: the number of V’s cell in the concentration camp, the fifth of November being the date of the revolution, and the number of branches to the British government [they call the branches the nose, eyes, finger, ear and mouth]. This is also the number of branches of our military: The Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air force and Homeland Security Coast Guard.Whether or not this parallel is intentional, it is one I noticed. A blacklist is also mentioned in the film after Chancellor Suttler demands the 1812 Overture, which played during the Old Bailey Statue’s explosion, be added to the back list so he may â€Å"never hear it again. † This is the only Cold War reference in the film which tells me is was intended to be a more general statement about government censorship and control of information made available to the public.One political, or even social, statement made in the film that I agree with is Finch’s statement about how this †terrorist† still has human emotions, shown by his taking and protection of Evey after she rescues him. I believe one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter and people will always be at odds with each other. It is important to remember that even the most violent people do have passions and concerns. When one fights that hard for something, it obviously means a great deal to them. People are quick to forget about the humanity element in wars.During the investigation, Finch and his partner watch V on a video monitor as he stands over Evey’s unconscious body. Finch’s partner says, â€Å"He’s a terrorist. You can’t expect him to act like you or me. † Finch, who sees that V took the girl to protect her out of compassion, responds with â€Å"some part of him is human†. Another statement made that I agreed with was one that also amused me. Detective Finch is searching for records of the concentration camp that supposedly imprisoned V years ago, but has little luck finding any.He says, â€Å"One thing is true of all governments; the most reliable records are tax records. † Isn’t that true? This movie used many effective avenues of media to reach its audience. It included and alluded to several other pieces of literature and music within the film itself, which was a very clever device used to influence audience members to explore those hints individually. Literature seen in the film like â€Å"The Count of Mote Cristo† and the theatrical play â€Å"Faust† may also hold clues to political statements made even more subliminally in the film if evaluated within the context.

Wants vs. Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wants vs. Needs - Essay Example The notion of wants and needs will be accorded in this instance in the context of desert survival with the semi-nomadic Ju/'hoansi Bushmen in the Kalahari desert. Contrary to the common views that desert survival is relatively easy, being stuck or to live in a desert for an indefinite period of time needs a lot of careful planning and effective strategy. Before deciding which things I need to bring with me, it is important to describe the prospective conditions. Half of the Kalahari Desert does not qualify as a desert because it â€Å"receives much more rainfall† (Encyclopaedia Britannica, â€Å"Kalahari Desert†), than the other half of the desert. While rains occur at a significantly large volume annually with â€Å"a mean precipitation of more than 20 [Student’s Last Name] 2 inches† (Encyclopaedia Britannica, â€Å"Kalahari Desert†), still the area is extremely dry and there are no surface water. By and large, the sand is red and hot. Edible veget ation and fruit-bearing trees are present in some parts of the desert but occur on a single season within a year. Semi-nomadic tribes like the Bushmen live in Kalahari Desert. Majority of the Bushmen, also known as â€Å"Shan†, have shelters of their own. Water is their main concern. In dry seasons, they use sip-well to extract water from the ground. While they are hunter-gatherers and plant eaters, they also consume a considerable amount of insects especially during hot seasons (Morris 57). They also have common household necessities like knives, cloaks, blankets, etc. Given these conditions, I have come up with a list of things, either a need or a want, which I will be bringing with me in a stay with the Bushmen for an indefinite period of time: (1) distilled water; (2) medical kit; (3) communication tools; (4) wool jacket; (5) alcohol. Living in a stern environment in so far as water is concerned is both difficult and life threatening. Thus, water is a dire need for someon e who will have to spend an indefinite period of time in the desert. To prevent diarrhoea or other related diseases, it is absolutely helpful to bring large volumes of distilled drinking water. Similarly, dangers are very common in the desert. Poisonous creatures like scorpions and snakes are lurking everywhere. It is especially important to anticipate the possibility of encountering these dangers, or even worse, getting bitten by these deadly creatures in order to carefully plan the travel. Hence, a medical kit should not be discounted as it helps preclude the possibility of injury or even death. Similarly, deserts like Kalahari have very erratic weather conditions. Temperatures are normally high during the day but go too low during the night. If the body is not used to recurrent weather changes, one may [Student’s Last Name] 3 not be able to survive; therefore, a wool jacket should be brought together with the traveller. This somehow neutralizes the body temperature, which may help in regulating the blood flow. As aforementioned, water is the prime concern in Kalahari; water is scarce in the area. Thus, it is rather inappropriate to employ the same hygienic practices in the desert; in other words, taking a bath is relatively not a possibility. Nevertheless, this should not serve as a

A Comparison of Fertility Rates Between China and Niger Essay

A Comparison of Fertility Rates Between China and Niger - Essay Example Flags of China and Niger ‘Total fertility rate’ is the measurement most widely used by demographers to measure fertility (Jones, 2004: 98). It indicates the average number of children that would be born to 1,000 women of childbearing age. China’s current birth rate stands at 1.54 children per woman (CIA World Fact Book, 2011), and is currently 188th out of 230 countries on the CIA’s Total Fertility Rate List (2011). There are cities/ provinces within China such as Hong Kong and Macau that have the current lowest fertility rates in the world at 1.04 and 0.91 children per woman respectively. China’s current population stands at 1.3 billion, but their population growth rate of 0.493%, is amongst the lowest in the world. There are currently only 12.29 births per 1,000 women. China’s fertility rate of below 2 children therefore indicates that its population is falling below replacement level. According to the CIA World Fact Book (2011), Nigerâ€⠄¢s birth rate stands at 7.6 children per woman, which makes it the country with the highest birth rate in the world. Its current fertility rate is 50.54 births per 1,000 of the total population. Niger’s current population stands at 16.5 million, with an annual 3.643% population growth rate. 49.6% of Niger’s total population is below the age of 14.

The Bretton Wood's institutions play a big role in intervening with Essay

The Bretton Wood's institutions play a big role in intervening with internal affairs of developing countries. How successful hav - Essay Example This is through regular monitoring and rigid policies especially on nations with weak institutions. On the other hand, foreign investment for poor nations should be limited to acquiring manageable loans and grants that do not collapse the economies. This will increase excellence both African and Asian nations in terms of economic prosperity. Development entails the well-being of a nation or individual in various forms. This may include economic, social or political development and the way it affects the citizens of such a country. Similarly, development may also encompass the gradual advancement or growth that leads to the progress in other sectors of the nation in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exports among others. Other fundamental areas include education, health and governance in the context of the provision of services for the benefit of the citizenry. Therefore, the involvement of Bretton Wood’s institutions such as IMF, World Bank and IBRD ensure there is a f inancial regulation and fair dispensation of funds to sponsor developmental projects. Such institutions also participate in the regulation of the systems that oversee the monies dished to nations especially the third world countries (Szirmai 45). On that account, there are several ways, which education development, through funds acquired from Bretton Wood’s institutions has helped the advancement of nations. This is manifested in the increase of public schools and literacy levels where there participation of IMF and World Bank is high. In other words, education is now associated with sustainable development that permits people to gain skills, knowledge and skills. Other benefits include values and attitudes that are meant indicate a sustainable future where everyone thrives. Similarly, educational development has meant that matters of sustainable prosperity are translated in areas of learning and teaching for the purpose of students and society. In the same breadth, Bretton W ood’s institutions have given funds to support the reduction of poverty, biodiversity and sustainable consumption to education an enjoyable venture (Tiwari 167). This is manifested in a nations such India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore where financial aid is boosting the education standards of most schools. In this case, the IMF and World Bank has dispensed funds in the ministries of education to facilitate standards of education. Therefore, this has translated to competencies of imagination, critical thinking and decision making skills in a mutual may for kids. This is also apparent in teachers and tutors who get motivation from governmental and non-governmental ventures. However, when it comes to economic development in terms of assistance from Bretton Wood’s institutions, there are interesting issues. This suggests that economic development entails concerted and sustained actions that are used by policymakers in the promotion of the living standards including eco nomic health. In the same breath, y in failed states mostly found in Africa such as Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo, economic development refers to qualitative and quantitative alterations in the economy (Mbaku 134). Therefore, IMF and World Bank have not been successful in their development ventures because of several reasons. For example, issues such as bad governance policies, corruption and civil wars have hampered the efforts of Bretton

The 2012 Obama Presidential Campaign Research Paper - 1

The 2012 Obama Presidential Campaign - Research Paper Example The primary purpose of surfacing is to help determine the focus of the campaign (Smith 189). Barack Obama establishes the rhetorical theme for the campaign. Running for his second term, as he travels around the country, he begins to understand the concerns of the people, begins to relate himself to those concerns, and begins to develop solutions to issues that appear to be in agreement with popular opinion. The mass media reiterate Obama’s statements and hence help transform the issues and opinions into state or national concerns. Barack Obama officially declared his re-election campaign on the 4th of April 2011 (EM Publications (b) 18). The very first communication activity they engaged in was a promotional video depicting Obama supporters mobilizing for the re-election campaign. They used Facebook and Twitter to reach a larger target audience. Even the official announcement of his re-election plan was carried out through an online video that can be viewed on his campaign web site. The campaign started with the slogan ‘It Begins with Us’ (EM Publications (b) 18). Another communication strategy of the Obama campaign for 2012 was the decision to base the campaign in Chicago, where recent former U.S. presidents also based their re-election campaigns. On the 30th of April 2012, the campaign launched a new slogan: ‘Forward’ (EM Publications (b) 18). Basically, Obama had a massive campaign effort. Obama applied his 2008 campaign communications to reinforce his goals for 2012.

Financial analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Financial analysis - Essay Example It serves government consumers, individual consumers, small and midsized businesses, and education enterprises. Apple’s financial year ends on the last Saturday of September and has an approximate period of 52 or 53 weeks. In connection to this, the main aim of this paper is to take out Apple Inc. financial analysis. Financial Analysis refers to the assessment of the profitability, stability and viability of a business entity or project. It is based on information derived from the financial statements including the Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash flow and the Income Statement, a single financial statement cannot give full information about the firm but together they give useful information (Gibson 2012, pg. 6). It is useful in benchmarking that majorly involves comparison of different companies’ performance comparison or comparing the company’s performance over time. The information is also used by management and investors in decision making and forecast future performance. We analyze data as revealed by Apple Inc.’s annual Reports and also carry out ratio analysis that helps us discover more information about the business (Michelle 2012, pg. 45). Apple operates in different geographical areas including the Americas, Japan, Europe, Asia Pacific and retail operations, it is hence involved in segment reporting and all the information from various sources is consolidated and used as the company’s financial information from which the company’s performance is analyzed (Brooks 2012, pg. 86). This paper aims to analyze the financial statements of Apple Inc from 2011 to 2013 to determine which year was more profitable, that is, time series analysis. The results could also be useful in performing industrial analysis which involves comparing one company’s performance to another in order to determine which one is doing better. Measure the ability of

Consumer Participation in Mental Healthcare in Australia Research Paper

Consumer Participation in Mental Healthcare in Australia - Research Paper Example The optimistic logic of mental health is that it leaves a special variety of stress on human emotions while mental illness conducts negative stress on human thoughts and actions. However, mental illness is not subjected to any physical illness or disease but considered, as a psychological disorder in humans ((Editor),H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr (Editor),S.F.Spicker ). During 1970’s, it was widespread that mental illness and mental health were the two different shaft of a continuum. Since, there are varying degrees of health and sickness that indicates a person’s behavior, a thin line is present between mental health and mental illness. However, one may become sick from being healthy subjective to enough stress and anxiety in social environment. Likewise, in 1980’s, this theory was rejected by (Michel’s and Marzuk1993; Wilson1993) stating that a person can either be sick or healthy (, Department of Health). According to this statement, mental illness in a per son is demonstrated by its abnormal behavior. For example, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, anger, aggression and substance abuse etc. In addition, the sources of mental illness are biochemical, biological, neurological or genetics. Mental health delineates self-esteem, self-actualization and realization, ability to fulfill desires, and significant relationships. Consequently, mental health is far more different from mental illness (, Department of Health).   Subsequently, Australia and New Zealand have been working significantly in providing mental health care facilities to the consumers, as a result, the country’s national policies, effective strategies and legislation have been prepared.  

Using an event case study of your choice, discuss and analyse the role Essay

Using an event case study of your choice, discuss and analyse the role and evolution of events and their impact on society - Essay Example They were competing in 43 events. As from the year 1994, the Olympics of summer and winter have been done separately and have been alternated after every two years. The Olympic Games were closely related to the religious festivals of the cult of the Zeus. It was not the Integral part of the right. Indeed, they had a unique behavior and their aim was to show the physical qualities and the tremendous performance of the young generation. In addition, it was aimed at fostering good relations between the cities in Greece. According to the views of the specialists, the games had vital importance to the religion and owed them their purity. The Olympic Games are the sole and complex scheme, and its extent, range and complexity are like no other. Therefore, following this reason, for a town to host a fruitful Olympic games, many years of keen and precise planning is required, with all the relevant authorities, organizations and stakeholders working in unity together. Many games are played in the Olympics. These games include Rugby, athletics, Badminton, Judo, Olympic, Swimming, Boxing, Table tennis and many others. The beginning of the Olympic games is buried deep in the ancient times. Historical records show that a weird Olympic was played in Egypt 3,000 years ago and Ethiopia it was played 1000 BC. Several museums give evidence of this event played in Greeks and Romans. In South Africa, history states that Olympic was played in Aztec Indians before Columbus landed in the new universe. The current game of Olympic advanced in England in the early 18th century. It evolved mainly in the schools of England. The first competition done for Olympic for men was in 1908 games in London Olympics, in England. Ireland, Scotland and England were the main competitors. Olympic had many controversies since it was started. After appearing for the first time in 1908, it was subsequently dropped in the 1912 event. It then appeared in 1920, in

Organizational theory and design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Organizational theory and design - Assignment Example According to Tseng (2003), mass customization is production of services as well as products that meet customer’s needs at personal level. This is where the customized products reflect the normal production cost but unlike a normal product, they meet more needs. Firms, just like manufactures, have their main objective as customer satisfaction. Therefore, incorporating mass customization in firms will greatly impact in service provision and customer satisfaction. There are various types of mass customization that firms can put into consideration in implementing mass customization. These types include transparent customization, adaptive customization, collaborative customization, and cosmetic customization. Collaborative customization involves seeking firsthand information from specific customers on the kind of product they would prefer. On other hand, adaptive customization is where a firm produces products that are standard and customizable to the hands of the final user while transparent customization involves production of unique for specific customers. Finally, cosmetic customization involves producing a standard product but they are marketed in unique ways to different customers. For firms to succeed in mass customization they need to capitalize on investigating more on customers’ needs in relation to service provision. This can be achieved through market research such as identifying the market niche that need to be satisfied, its uniqueness and finally the target market. For example, in the banking sector the services are custom made according to the needs, age, gender, and income levels of its customers. Superior management in any firm involves the managers personally coping with situations that ought to be learned through the help of their experience and interpretation of the surrounding environment (Pine and Davis, 1999). Formal training

Sensory Perceptions Essay Example for Free

Sensory Perceptions Essay Provide at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. The inaccuracy of sensory information is based our experiences in life or what we experiencing at any given moment. Our sense organ is working when something arouses our nerve cells called receptor in a sense organ (Thinkquest.org. 2011, p.1). Our sight, smell, hearing, taste, and feel are part of our physical awareness. Each sense collects information about how we view the world, self and things, which detects changes within our body, mind and thought patterns (Carter, Aldridge, Page, and Parker. 2009, p.76). Our senses may not deliver accurate data to our brain if our thoughts are not clear. We have been alerted by scientist and philosophers that our sensory information is superficiality (Kirby and Goodpaster. 2007, p.56). All through our life, our senses have enriched our brain in which the senses and the brain are link as we think (p.55). Our inaccuracy of sensory information is limited when there’s an illness, lost of job, exhausted, or death. When demands we face exceeds our ability to meet them, we will feel stressed or anxiety, which affect our ability to use our sensory information. Also our sensory of information have limitations; what smells pleasant may not taste pleasant, a week ago, I brought four peaches from Giant, they were beautiful, nice color, firm texture, and they smelled good, however, they tasted horrible! not one, all of them. Basically, our senses are imperfect. My beliefs in the inaccuracy of sensory information. Identify and describe at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy of sensory data. Being observant, looking at things in small details and describing what you see in your owned words (Kirby and Goodpaster. 2007, p.58). Dr. Rita Carter tells us when we look at a scene, we have the impression of seeing all of it at in one glance or we just typically pick out just a few tiny details (2009, p.85). Once we change our habits how we see things, we will realized that no two things are alike. Hearing is the most crucial to our sensory data (Kirby and Goodpaster. 2007, p.59). To become a better listener, we must want to listen which a factor contributing to the accuracy of our  sensory data. According to the book Thinking (2007) â€Å"We can extend our senses by willing and by trying to absorb more intensely the sensual information around us†, this step would be contributing factor to the accuracy of sensory data. We can keep our thinking revitalized and razor-sharp through interaction by sharpening our sensory data by focusing on one sense at a time, writing with the opposite hand, going home or to work in a different direction. The tools I use to help me with my sensory data: (1) ask questions, (2) listening to my inner self or tune in to my conscious, (3) what is my mind set, angry, upset or depress, and (4) using the material in my book Thinking (2007) as a guide to improve my sensory data. Discuss the roles of â€Å"nature† and â€Å"nurture† with regard to the interpretation and evaluation of sensory data. Nature and nurture are the two factors shaping the way our brain functions (Carter, Aldridge, Page, and Parker. 2009, p.192). Nature refers to an individual’s set of genes inherited from his or her parents. The brain is also altered by the nurture which is all the environmental in which an individual is exposed to throughout life (p.192). Nature is a persons biology is his or her destiny, ultimately, whatever experiences he/she has in life positive or negative. I have childhood friends, who came from well to do family, college graduate, great career in the government, lived in nice home, parents were always nice and pleasant. Later on in life, I found out she was sexual abused by her father and eventually she turned to drugs. The experience of my childhood friend has shape the way she behave as a person and changed my ways of believing and thinking what appears to be good is not always necessary true. I did not see the false face of her father, because he was always nice and pleasant. With my childhood friend’s experiences, I’m mindful of my sensory before I make any decision. Have I slipped, yes and I know why. Nature or nurture, every single life experience we have comes to us through our sensory data. References Carter, Rita. Aldridge, Susan., Page Martyn., and Parker Steve (2009). The Human Brain Book. Kirby, Gary and Jeffery Goodpaster. (2007). Thinking, (4th ed). Edition for Strayer University. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Thinkquest. (2010). Introduction to the senses Retrieved:

Creation of a Theatre Booking System

Creation of a Theatre Booking System Emmett Harkin Cathal Murray Conor McCallion Bebito Jacob The problem brief which we have decided as a group is the Theatre booking system. The problem is that the theatre wants to develop a new ticketing system for the customers. This system can be a terminal located in the theatre, mobile application, or interactive device. The system needs to consider how information relating to events, seating plans is displayed. The reasons why we are undertaking this project because there are many problems we can fix as a team for example: If you make a payment many theatres make it difficult to cancel tickets so you dont get a refund on tickets. Language Barriers when displaying the interface site, Customers could make the mistake of choosing the wrong seats and the wrong night and the payment problems after the customer makes the booking on the tickets so their card might not have been accepted and requires to start the process over again and the aim is to make this system simplistic as possible for the end user. But The main problem that we are trying to address within this system is displaying the availability of seats for each performance within a time limit.   So, when the users are looking for tickets for a specific performance then there should be a time limit of 5 minutes for each person so they reserve those seats depending on how many tickets they are looking for because they will be more than one customer on the one server trying to get those tickets and seats for the specific night. The customer might change his/her mind and cancel those tickets for the performance so the other user can buy the available tickets. It will then display the seating plan and what seats are available on the night of the performance. Some customers may require disability assistance so the user can tick the checkbox and a line of text which will provide the best seating for this person and it will make sure that there will be someone seating beside this including with another person. This topic requires investigation because as a team we can fix the problem above and what were trying to address to make sure that the customer gets the best experience of the interface and can follow the process of fixing the problem of the current system.       2.1 PACT Analysis People With the booking system being available to everyone this means it should be as generic aspossible to ensure all users have an equal chance when using the system. All users will have different physical ability, computing knowledge etc. so this means that the system must cater for all. There will be a help page with a user guide so no matter what level users are at they will be able to navigate through the website with ease. The layout of the website will be simple and consistent to ensure a professional look which will again ensure easy navigation for the user. Activities With this application it should be effortless for users purchasing a ticket for a show andthere will be multiple ways in doing this, e.g. searching for a show by genre. The process in purchasing a ticket is very simple, first choose the show they would like to see, which ever date and time and then confirm the booking of the ticket(s). Once the ticket(s) have been booked then the user will be given a reference number which they will have to bring to the theatre with them. This reference number will be entered into a kiosk and their ticket(s) will be dispensed. Context The context in which a theatre customer is presented depends largely on the circumstances which the customer finds time to order theatre tickets for a specific performance. There may be non-English speaking people who wish to buy tickets. Therefore, we could have a language changing facility where a dropdown menu showing displaying a language text as well as a national flag to make selection more convenient. People who visit the website may be sight disabled, and many older people possess this disability, in this case a pan and zoom facility might be introduced. Technologies A webpage may be viewed on a variety of devices. These could be PC,laptop, internet TV, mobile device such as smartphones, etc.   we will have to make the webpage viewable for different sizes of screenwith input and output selectable and viewable by allocating ample space for controls and viewable images. We should also consider the constraints of the small space of a webpage presentation on a mobile device. Controls likewise must be sized appropriately on a mobile device for more convenient use by the user. 2.2 Persona User Stories Conceptual Scenarios and Concrete Scenarios Name: John Parker Gender: Male Age: 45 Education Level: Degree in Computing Occupation Level and Job: Senior Systems Analyst 10+ years experience Income:  £40,000- 50,000, Family Life: Married with two children Personal interests/activities Enjoys different types of genres of performance: Including  Comedy, Musical, Opera and Variety Shows etc. And like watching sports like football  and golf. Knowledge level of the system we are developing for is for an experienced  user as John works within the computing business as a senior systems analyst and  has a degree in Computing and has also over 10 years experience in this field. Attitude towards and level of interest in the system John is very interested in the  workings of this system and is very eager wanting to know how the required system  needs to work and how to make it as easy as possible for John to work this system as  he is already an experienced user. User Stories John decided to booked a performance for les Miserables on the  Thursday 20th February 2017 and 19.45pm for two adults, two children and Johns  Mum who requires assistance. The total cost for the five tickets altogether costs  Ã‚ £109.50.   But the problem was that John would not make the show due to working  duties and he needs to change the date of the performance and doesnt want to cancel  the tickets. So, John rang the theatre box office and John asked if they could change  the date to the Friday the 21st of February at 20.00pm and they confirmed that it will  be the same price and same seats and they will be assistance required on the night  of the performance. Conceptual Scenarios Booking a theatrical performance- People which have the basic computing skills will be able to contact the theatre box office anytime via the internet by searching for the contact number and rectifying any changers that can be made and will be able to book tickets, choose a time and date. The John will receive confirmation of the performance. Concrete Scenarios a Booking a theatre performance John needs to change the date and time for the show which is next week. The date and time will need to be tomorrow around 7.30-8pm. John uses his PC and the internet at his work. He has no difficulty in checking his theatre booking system. 1. He logs in My Account and check is booking and clicks on change date and time and then receives the confirmation of the change date and time of the performance. (See Appendix for More Scenarios and User Stories) 2.3 Use Cases 1. Searching for performances- When a customer enters the website of the main page the customer can search for the different types of performances in the whats on page within the main page the customer can scroll down sorted by date or can search for a specific performance in the search box within the header of the page. (See Appendix for more Use Cases to support information) 2.4 HTA Analysis Customer Purchasing Ticket for Booking Performance 1. Selecting a Performance, 2. Checking/date Availability, 3. Ticket pricing/selection- (3.1 Ticket pricing Families, 3.2 Ticket pricing concessionary/disability, 3.3 Ticket pricing adult, 3.4 Ticket pricing child, 3.5 ticket pricing infant), 4. Seat Selection  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚     Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   5. Make a payment (5.1 Payment via debit/credit card, 5.2 PayPal, 5.3 Cash)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ €šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   6. Generate Tickets/Receipt (6.1 Deliver ticket via post, 6.2 via email, 6.3 reserve at local theatre) (See Appendix for more HTA Analysis) 2.5 Requirements Specification We have refined and prioritised the Requirements using the MoSCoW approach into a detailed requirements specification. (See appendix for interview and questions and more prioritised requirements). Must Have The Theatre system must provide the user with information of all current shows The system shall enable customer or visitor to view list of performances displayed at each venue by date and time. The system must provide the user with information of upcoming events/shows The system must allow users to book a quantity of tickets for a show within a time limit. The system would have allowed seat selection for people who need assistance because according to the guardian Disability people would get the worst seats when watching movies or performances (www.theguardian.com) The system must provide users with a booking confirmation Should Have The Theatre system shall have search function. Customer can search performances based on performance name, date, time and venue. The booking system shall function to create account. The system shall record all the following data from the customer, except for the optional fields, all other data is mandatory. Could Have The speed of the system will allow customers to reserve tickets quickly. The system must have backed up data every 24 hours and the backup copies stored in online cloud information service Wont Have (For later development) The system shall have username and password recovery function. The system shall ask Security Questions that customer entered during registration. 3.1 Sketches/Screen Design of Storyboard of the Foyle Theatre booking System 3.2 Sketches of Site map/Navigation Diagram for purchasing Tickets 3.3 Wireframes of the Home Page and Performance Page (See appendix for more Wire Frame design of the interface). 3.4 UI Mock-up/Paper Prototype of Home Page and Choose Performance Page (See appendix for more UI Mock-up/Paper Prototypeof the interface). http://guides.library.ulster.ac.uk/content.php?pid=459328sid=3760470 https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/aug/25/disabled-cinemagoers-worst-seats-campaign http://www.reallyusefultheatres.co.uk/our-theatres/about/adelphi/30 http://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/Theatres/NovelloTheatre/NovelloTheatre_Access.asp http://www.shaftesburytheatre.com/your-visit/access-information/ https://www.eno.org/your-visit/disabled-access/ http://www.theatrepeople.com/info/frequently-asked-questions https://help.ticketmaster.co.uk/why-is-there-a-time-limit-when-i-book-tickets-online/ https://www.eventbrite.com/support/articles/en_US/How_To/how-to-increase-or-decrease-the-amount-of-time-to-complete-an-order?lg=en_US www.gentingarena.co.uk/venue-info/disabled-visitors/ http://www.millenniumforum.co.uk/about-us/accessible-facilities/ https://www.cheaptheatretickets.com/london-theatre-access/ https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access www.malvern-theatres.co.uk/your-visit/disabled-access https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/money-saving-tips-and-discounts-for-disabled-people Persona User Stories Conceptual Scenarios and Concrete Scenarios Name Michael      Gender MaleAge 20Education level University StudentOccupation and level at job Part time sales advisorIncome  £8,000 + student loanFamily life In a relationshipPersonal interests/activities Football and computingKnowledge level of the system you are developing for Experienced user as he studies computing at university Attitude toward and level of interest in system Interested in the new system because there is a way of reserving a ticket Story: I am planning on buying a ticket to a show in the theatre to surprise my girlfriend for  her birthday. The problem I have is that I am unable to purchase anything online  because I dont have a credit/debit card. Everything I buy needs to be paid for with  cash. So, I was hoping there would be a system implemented that I could reserve a  ticket and then pay with cash whenever I get to the theatre. With me being at university  and, working part time I will have to find out the times of each show and what days  they are on and either book it off with work or try and fit in with my days off. Conceptual Scenario: Purchasing a ticket For a user looking to purchase a ticket then there are multiple options for doing so. These would be paying with credit card, PayPal as an option or if the user doesnt  choose paying by card then they have an option to reserve a ticket and then pay by  cash when they arrive at the theatre. Users can also search through different shows  for different dates and it will show what time these shoes commence at. Concrete Scenario:Michael needs to book two tickets for him and his girlfriend to see a show for her birthday. He does not own a debit/credit card so he is unable to book a ticket online. With his university commitments and him working part time he has no time to go to the theatre and sort it there. This means he will need to reserve a ticket and then pay for it with cash when he arrives. He then needs to check the website for all dates and times of each show to sort a show that he is free for. Name: Sean Gender: MaleAge: 34Education: BSc Computer ScienceFull Time/ Part time Job: Full time ProgrammerIncome:  £34,000.Family life: Married, 3 children under 6. Hobbies/activities: Rugby, Gaelic and Computing Knowledge level of the system you are developing for: Experience in C++, C#, Java and HTML learned through university degree. Interest in system: The existing system doesnt accommodate the purchase of snacks online. Persona: I have persona I have chosen is that of a family who wants to pre-buy the snacks for the cinema in order to get into the theatre faster and with less hassle. Currently it is not possible to pre-buy snacks or drinks online. The family wants to pre-purchase the snacks along with their tickets so they can get into the cinema without having to wait. Story: A family wants to pre-buy the snacks along with their cinema ticket. There are three children under the age of 6 in the family. The parents had a negative experience at the cinema before on a release of a major title. They found that it was difficult to wait in a long line with three kids and the whole process lasted over half an hour. By pre-purchasing the snacks, they wouldnt have to wait in the long line and instead go in without having to wait. Conceptual Scenario:The customer will have the option to pre-purchase a variety of different foods and drinks online. Only the most popular foods will be made available online in case there is an issue with their availability. The customer can pay for the snacks with a credit, debit card or PayPal. Once the ticket is ordered an email will be sent to the customer. The email will have a digital copy of the ticket with seat allocations and a unique key that will be useful later. Once the customer is at the cinema, they can avoid the regular line and go to the ticket machine where they have to enter the code they received in the email and print the ticket. Once the ticket is printed they can go ahead to the barrier and scan the ticket to access the theatre. Once the ticket is scanned staff working in the kiosk are prompted with the snacks they ordered and their seat allocations so it can be brought to them before the movie. Use Cases 2. Booking some performance/performances- When the customer has chosen their performance the customer can choose how many tickets that the customer wants and choosing the seat selection for the person/people for this performance on the specific data the customer has chosen. 4. Payment of performances- When the customer has chosen how many tickets he/she wants and picked the seats required, the customer can make the payment on tickets by a few payment options either credit/debit card, PayPal, or cash at the theatre. 5. Generate Tickets/Modify Tickets When the customer has completed the payment of the tickets the customer will getting a booking ID number and would say congratulations on buying your tickets and they will be delivered to you by the choice of the customer wants for example by email, by post or reserve and collect at the theatre. 6. Update Shows of Performance- The Theatre Manager is responsible for making sure that the shows will be updated and no old shows or shows that are over are displayed to the customer and will also show new shows coming soon to the theatre. 7. Generate Reports-   The Theatre Manager must make sure that the reports will be generated every few weeks about how many people are attending each show? what is the most popular night within the theatre for a show? How much money is incoming per show? How much is required outgoing to pay the staff and performers within the theatre? 5.3 HTA Analysis- Modify tickets, Generate Report, Manage Theatre Information 1.Select My Account to login for modifying select tickets, 2. My account requires username and password, 3. Cancel Tickets (3.1 Full Refund within two days before performance, 3.2 Partial Refund if cancel within one day of performance, 3.3 No Refund if cancel tickets on the day of performance), 4. Change Performance(4.1 Change Date/Time of performance depending of availability within five days of performance, 5.2 Change seating plan depending on availability within five days of performance) 5. Confirmation of change via receipt Group and Order Report by Date, 1.1.1. Enter Start Date, 1.1.2 Enter End Date 1.1.3 View Report pricing/selection Group and Order Report by Show- 2.1.1 Choose show from list of shows,2.1.2 View Report. 1.1 Add Show, 1.1.1 Look for available date in calendar, 1.1.2 Enter Show information, (1.1.2.1 Enter Name of Show, 1.1.2.2 Enter Show Images, 1.1.2.3 Enter age view rating) 2.1 Edit a Show , 2.1.1 Look for a show in list, 2.1.2 Modify show information(2.1.2.1 Modify name of show, 2.1.2.2 Modify show images, 2.1.2.3 Modify age view rating), 2.1.3 Submit information, 3.1 View a show(3.1.1 Look for a show in list and select it), 4.1 Delete a show, 4.1.1 Look for a show and select it, 4.1.2(automatic deletion of show when date expires) Requirements Specification We have refined and prioritised the Requirements using the MoSCoW approach into a detailed requirements specification. Must Have Username Password Password Confirmation. First Name Last Name Street Address 1, Postcode, City/Town Country Telephone Number Mobile Number Should Have Bank/Building Society name Card number Sort code Expiry date Issue date Security key Could Have Fax Number (Optional) Foyle Theatre Priority Member Card Security Questions Security Answer Check box, whether customer want to receive newsletter via email The system shall send activation link via email to customer to activate the account. Wont Have (For later development) Develop an Android Application system Develop an IOS Application for this system Interview Transcript Interviewer: Name? Stakeholder: James Gallagher Interviewer: Company / Department? Stakeholder: Foyle Theatre Interviewer: Title / Role? Stakeholder: Manager Interviewer: Primary responsibility? Stakeholder: To ensure that every night the theatre runs as smoothly as possible Interviewer: What tasks are you responsible for completing? Stakeholder: I would have to plan any events for the coming future, I would ensure staff are trained to the highest level. I also discuss different matters with other theatre managers to ensure I can keep the theatre as up to date as possible. Interviewer: To whom are you responsible for performing these tasks? Stakeholder: To both my staff and to the customers Interviewer: What problems do you run into in your day-to-day work? Stakeholder: Typical problems would be, customers sitting in the wrong seats. Customers not having reserved the correct number of tickets before arriving. Customers arriving at the wrong time for the same show. Customers arriving to a different show than what they bought a ticket for. Interviewer: Is there a standard way of solving it, or do you have a workaround? Stakeholder:These problems can be solved but it is normally down to the customer to help us out, for example for anyone sitting in the incorrect seat if they will be asked to move or if not we would ask the people who reserved these seats to sit elsewhere if they dont mind. Interviewer: Why is this a problem? Stakeholder:Its a problem because some people need the seats they have chosen due to disabilities or whatever. Interviewer: How do you solve the problem today? Stakeholder: If anyone is in the incorrect seat they are asked to move to the correct one. Interviewer: How would you ideally like to solve the problem? Stakeholder: For there to be no problem in the first place, everyone sits in the seat they have chosen or the seat assigned to them. Interviewer: Who will be the users of the system? Stakeholder: Our customers Interviewer: What level of education or training do the users have? Stakeholder: Their levels of education will vary Interviewer: What computer skills do the users have? Stakeholder: Any computer skills with customers will also vary from beginner to an experienced user Interviewer: What training needs do you expect for the future system? Stakeholder: All staff members will need training but the levels will vary as some staff maybe more experienced than others. This will be the same for the users Questionnaires This is a sample questionnaire which we have giving to customers about the system and about the Foyle theatre as well.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Customer 1 Customer 2 Customer 3 Wireframes 5.6 UI Mock-up/Paper Prototype