Successful People

How to Become a Successful Person Knowing how to become a successful person is essential for every person. It gives him an easy way for a good living. The characteristics of a successful person is different for every person, it depends on how they view it. My view about a successful person is someone who has the right balance in happiness between family and career and is happy in who he/she is and what he/she does. The first thing to become a successful person is to have skills.A successful person eeds to become the specialist in their Job area, no matter how difficult the situation is. Next is to have self-confident, never look down in yourself, because when you do it, that's when you will fail. Passion is also an important need, because success can be obtained by many people, but maintaining the drive to reach the goals requires a passion to achieve it. Beside all of that, there is one thing that is hard to be earned. Why do so many of us fail to act? We know what we must do, yet w e lack the will to do t.In another word, we lack of the courage. Success cannot exist without courage, many people who cannot be success are those who have the highest training and ethics, but lack of the courage. So what we need to overcome failure is having the will to act. A successful person is not afraid to take risk and make difficult decisions, and the important thing is they are ready to accept the responsibility of it. The next step to be a successful person is focus, creative, and optimistic. Why do we need to be focus?Because it is our drive that pushes us forward and keeps our momentum, but without focus we will Just move for the sake of motion. Why do we need to be creative? Because when we stuck with the old ideas, we can make the new ones. And why do we need to be optimistic? Because, an optimist can see the opportunity in every difficulty, optimism is in the heart of a successful human being! After having and being all of that, the next step is what needs to be done. Find the goal of your life can be a good start.After that define the meaning of success as you ee it, you can't be success if you dont know what it means to you, so set clear goals and be realistic. Trust other people to do their Job so you can focus on your own Job. Being surrounded by successful people is also a way to create a culture of success, they can make you become enthusiastic and even connect you to other people that can change your life. Stay away from distractions is also an important thing to become successful. There are always distractions and it is your choice to stay away from them or not.The last is gather as much information as you can, make intellectual connections from it and use it to make your life better. So listen, study, learn, and understand everything that you think is important. The characteristics that you need to have, what you need to be, and thing that needs to be done are all important. Things that you need to have and you need to be are the basic that must be in you, and then use all of it to do the things that need to be done. Each part plays a role that is vital to turn someone into a successful person. Adrian Kohar Accounting 1

Era of globalization cultural differences

IntroductionIn this epoch of globalisation in concern environment, companies are spread outing their concern all over the universe, i.e. in different states and each of them with different civilizations. One country in peculiar of turning importance is intercultural direction accomplishments. Culture in international concern presents is recognized to hold a major function to play in the international gross revenues, selling, enlisting, direction and amalgamations. â€Å" In short, civilization is behind everything we do or state. † ( www.kwintessential.co.uk ) Therefore, in the international and multi-cultural concern community, there are really much possibilities of misinterpretations which can hold a negative consequence on the people which will intern impact the productiveness of the organisation. This complexness requires a director to accommodate in order to offer modern solutions to these jobs. ( www.kwintessential.co.uk ) Culture is:Something shared by all or about all members of some societal group.Something older members of a group attempt to go through to younger members.Something ( as in the instance of ethical motives, Torahs, and imposts ) that shapes behaviour, or structures one ‘s perceptual experience of he universe. †Therefore civilization is all that one needs to cognize in order to be accepted in a society or an administration which is a sum sum of all the beliefs, values and norms shared by a group of people who have been brought up in a society to believe, experience, construe and respond in a peculiar mode. Or it is a human demand of accommodating to fortunes and conveying these accomplishments and cognition to the following coevalss. It can besides be said as civilization as mental scheduling is besides crystallisation of history in the custodies, heads and Black Marias of the present coevals. ( Hofstede, 2001 ) . This essay will speak about the cultural difference between India which is my place civilization and UK which is the opposite number. I have chosen UK because I have been to UK for my Supervised Work Experience ( SWE ) and during my stay in UK I ne'er paid attending towards the UK civilization dimensions and would now like to analyse with regard to the different theoretical accounts. But before that Lashkar-e-Taibas have a expression at some imposts or values that are followed in these states:India – HindooismSocial freedom amongst the sexes is non appreciated.Use of first name to turn to people is avoided.The method of recognizing depends on the societal position of the individual you are run intoing i.e. if a boy is run intoing his male parent normally he greets him by bowing down and touching his pess. Where as educated people, in concern meeting agitate custodies to welcome or recognize each other.If invited for dinner one may merely hold the dinner with the concern spouse and non the whole household and make non acquire disquieted if you host asks you several times to hold some more nutrient. It is Indian usage to do certain that the invitee does non acquire up hungry from the tabular array. Besides at the tabular array 1 should utilize the right manus in go throughing nutrient as Indian consider left manus as impure.United kingdom:British people are formal, sophisticated, value privateness and are sensitive.Within UK controlled concern environment, maintain decorousness and avoid familiarity in frock and conversation, volume and cheering is excessively forbidden.Family names and first name are preferred.British people are good negotiants as they are tolerant and good hearers.All right manners and good etiquette are expected at all societal occasions.Gift giving is non a normal usage in UK.( Harris, 2004 & A ; Rodrigues, 2001 )Hofstede ModelCross-cultural survey to happen out the differences in national civilizations, this was done by Hofstede acros s 60 different states which included matched samples of concern employees. These surveies together identified four independent dimensions of national civilization differences. The dimensions explored werePower distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism verses Bolshevism and Masculinity verses muliebrity. The first of four dimensions discovered by Hofstede is called power distance. Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful member of an organisation or an establishment accept and expect that the power is distributed unevenly( Hofstede, 2001 ) .The basic job which is prevalent here is to what extent in a civilization the grade of inequality between a less powerful single and a high powerful person is expected and accepted. India stands at the 10/11 place in the study with a mark of 77 whereas Great Britain is on the 42/44 place with a mark of merely 35. ( see appendices- ) For illustration– During my SWE the service operation caput of the whole hotel concatenation was really friendly, who was besides the caput of my section. I used to portion my personal jobs with her and even travel out for dinner. This illustration would be farther analyzed in the competences. The 2nd dimension is labeled as uncertainness turning away ( UA ) . It refers to the extent a civilization or organisation prepares its members to experience comfy or uncomfortable in an unstructured state of affairs ( Hofstede, 2001 ) . The issue involved here is the degree to which a civilization or society would accept rigorous Torahs and ordinances over uncertainness and hazard. States or civilizations hiting high on UA have long history and the population is homogenous. Risks even calculated are avoided and new thoughts and constructs are hard to present whereas states on low UA tonss are wholly opposite. Although there is non much of a difference in the ranks given by Hofstede but still India scores a higher rank than Great Britain, besides this dimension does non hold a major function in the nucleus competences. ( see appendices- ) The 3rd is individuality and Bolshevism which is the grade to which a civilization emphasis on that right of an person as compared to those of a group. Countries hiting high on individuality live in the â€Å" I † civilization and strive for personal ends and accomplishments. In such states it is acceptable to prosecute personal ends at the disbursal of other. Whereas a state hiting low in individuality has the â€Å" we † civilization. Individual desires and end could be suppressed for the good of the group. For Example– In UK civilization people ever consider themselves as an Individual, they are more daunted about themselves even if they belong to same household, whereas in India people consider each other as a portion of a group and that ‘s the ground articulation households still exist in Indian society. The last 1 is maleness and muliebrity which refers to the distribution of function between the two genders i.e. male and female. States with high maleness are observed to hold the undermentioned features i.e. Precedences in life for people are achievement, wealth and enlargement. Normally people settle struggles through aggressive means.Women and work forces have different functions in society. OftenProfessionals in these states work for longer hours and short holidaies. Whereas in counties which are low in maleness the followers is observed. Precedences are the household, relationships and quality of life.Conflicts are normally solved though negotiation.Men and adult females portion equal places in society. Masculinity/Femininity are every bit powerful but in regard to Hofstede, 2006 research both India and UK portion common Masculinity civilization as in both of these civilizations societal gender functions are clearly distinguishable. ( see appendices )Hall ‘s ModelThe critical differentiation is made by the anthropologist Edward Hall between high and low- context civilizations and how these contexts have an consequence on communicating. In High Context cultures high context communicating: information is either in the physical context or internalized in the individual with small communicating in the expressed words or message and on the other manus a low context civilization communicating most information is contained in expressed codifications, such as words ( Harris, 2004 ) . High context civilizations depend to a great extent on the external environment, state of affairss, and non-verbal behaviour in making and construing communications. In high context civilizations when persons communicate they try to happen out how much the hearer knows about what is being discussed. Peoples in high context civilizations emphasize on interpersonal relationships, besides developing trust is really of import factor or measure which should be made before get downing a concern. Peoples are collectivized and work on their intuition instead than on grounds and are more indirect every bit good as formal. India is high context civilization. Whereas in Low Context cultures the environment is less of import, and not -verbal behaviour is frequently ignored. While communicating is traveling on the hearer knows nil or small and need to be told about what is being discussed. Peoples in low context civilizations emphasize legal paperss instead than bury personal relationships or trust. Peoples are individualistic and work based on logical logical thinking and non on intuition, besides they are direct and informal. UK is a low context civilization. For illustration– During my SWE I was asked by my co-worker to assist her with the work burden. Alternatively of stating I can non, I said it would be hard. The illustration would be analyzed in the competences countries. The 2nd construct given by Hall was to make with the how different civilizations construction or pull off their clip i.e. polychronic verses the monochronic clip orientation. The polychronic civilizations believe in making many things at one clip and the monochronic civilizations believe in making one undertaking at given point of clip and clip is low-level to interpersonal relationships. UK belongs to monochromic civilization and India is a polychronic civilization.PigeonholingAnother of import factor or variable that the directors in the organisation demand to maintain in head is pigeonholing.â€Å" Stereotypes are set of attitudes that causes us to impute qualities and features to a individual based on the group to which that single belongs. † ( Harris, 2004 ) It fundamentally involves categorising and doing perceptual experiences about people based on one ‘s experiences and it guides one ‘s behaviour towards that group of people in a peculiar manner.TeamworkA squad is a figure of individuals associated in same joint action, while teamwork is described as concerted or co-ordinated attempt on the portion of individuals working together towards the realization of a end ( Harris, 2004 ) . A hotel house can merely last if the employees are ready to work and bring forth an effectual squad. As each and every operation in the cordial reception industry is interrelated to each other. For illustration front office is depended upon housekeeping section for clean suites and eating house is dependent on kitchen for cooking nutrient. Therefore in order to hold a successful multicultural squad member should hold complimentary accomplishments and should believe in favour of the squad. ( illustration see appendices- )CommunicationAll activitie s involve communicating. In the planetary epoch different managerial activities like motivation, taking, dialogue interchanging information etc are all based on the director of one civilization to pass on efficaciously and successfully to people of other civilizations. Communication can non merely verbal or written but besides non-verbal i.e. organic structure linguistic communication, looks etc( Adler, 1997 ) .In international Hospitality and Tourism industries linguistic communication plays a really of import function, as both of these industries include direct guest contact ; good linguistic communication and communicating accomplishments can either do or interrupt the feeling of the organisation – particularly hotels. ( illustration see appendices )Conflict and NegotiationConflict- â€Å" A province of inharmoniousness between incompatible or antithetical individuals, thoughts, or involvements ; a clang † ( www.ANSWER.COM ) Causes of strugglecommunicating failurepersonality strugglevalue differencesend differencesmethodological differencessubstandard public presentationdeficiency of cooperationdifferences sing authorizationdifferences sing dutycompetition over resourcesnon-compliance with regulations( www.geocities.com )These are some of the factors which causes struggle in an on the job environment of an organisation which needed to be resolved through assorted manners and agenciesForceNegotiateBargainAvoidAdjustment and Appease( Mead 1998:2005 ) The most of import tool is negotiation which ‘s is used to decide struggle â€Å" Negotiation is a procedure in which two or more entities come together to discourse common and conflicting involvements in order to make an understanding of common benefit †( Harris, 2004 ). In international concern dialogue, there can be misconstruing due the difference in the civilization to civilization in linguistic communication, cultural conditioning, dialogue manner, attack to job work outing etc. Negotiation plays a really of import function in Hospitality and Tourism Industries, such as dialogue on room rate with invitees and travel agents in different states etc. As India belongs to polychromatic civilization, while taking determinations people from India tend to affect other people ( co-workers ) into the dialogue procedure which makes the procedure longer. This besides confirms the stereotype associated with them. This besides happens as India a leftist and high PDI state. Whereas UK which is monochromatic civilization they see clip as an plus and measure to be scheduled, they emphasize on doing dockets and complete the work or taking the determination in clip. Negotiation can besides be effected by the communicating manner of the state i.e. as explained earlier the construct of high and low context civilizations i.e. misconstruing due to miss of lucidity amongst the two civilizations therefore taking to unsatisfactory consequences of dialogue.Measuring myself- Me, As a directorAfter finishing my brooding pattern assignment and following up the undertakings given to us. After making the Hofstede ‘s mensurating cultural differences approach theoretical account or exercising and I found that I measured maleness more than muliebrity which clarifies that the occupation which is given or I undertake is done to acquire personal sense of achievement and I look for new and ambitious chances for a high success.I would depict my ego as low power distance human being as I would wish to work with those troughs which makes determination by si ng all the employees view points instead doing their ain personal determination I would focused more on Bolshevism instead on Individualism as I look for more chances to better upon my accomplishments and develop new accomplishments by accommodating to new on the job conditions ( see appendices- ) Cultures are usually attributed to groups of people but, within group each person has his/her ain person characters which make the individual stand out from others. I would depict my ego as a good hearer, good perceiver, concerted with employees, Flexible and competitory ( see appendices- ) . These single features make me stand out from other members of different civilizations. The consequences of CCAI indicate that my strongest are is Personal Autonomy and my weakest country is Flexibility/Openness. While tonss in Emotional Resilience and Perceptual Activity about the same. ( see appendices- ) The country in which I lack the most is communicating among different civilizations ; while I can easy manage state of affairss in which things do non travel as per program or state of affairss and in which emphasis and tolerance occurs. I lack in country where I am expected to pass on among different civilizations, despite of the fact that, I would love to pass some clip with people from diff erent civilizations. By bettering my intercultural accomplishments such as communicating i.e. how to respond on different thoughts, people and experiences and I should non concentrate on what other people are stating and making instead do my ain determinations. This will do me a better individual while I am in different civilization and in my ain civilization. Besides I should larn to appreciate different people and disbursals. In the following six months by following up the action program I would better on my communicating accomplishment by reading novels and newspapers and besides at the same clip seek interact and discourse on different issues with people in college whom I usually do n't interact with, as it will besides assist me in appreciating different people as good. Completing this exercising would assist me in covering with different people at my hereafter work topographic point and besides pass oning efficaciously with them. ( see appendices- )Decision and RecommendationsThe chief focal point of this essay was to analyse similarities and unsimilarities among Indian and UK civilizations. This was done though usage of two theoretical accounts of cultural analysis done by Hofstede and Hall. It was realized that both the civilizations are excessively different from each other. As cordial reception and touristry industry are turning at a rapid graduated table and due to globalisation of the concern, t he demand for multicultural employees is increasing, but pull offing employees from wholly different civilizations like in India or UK would be great challenge faced by the directors in the industry. Besides international visitants frequently expect that service suppliers should understand and esteem their imposts, beliefs and civilizations, if non it may take to traverse cultural struggles. Following are the recommendations for UK and India based directors:Cross cultural preparation should be provided to the employees so that they can set in new civilizations. Information about other civilizations should be provided which will take to better understanding amongst the employees and enhanced teamwork.While pass oning with Britishers, Indian people should utilize simple words which are grammatically right should be used and direct communicating should take topographic point as British people belong to a low context civilization and prefer messages/communication to be structured straig ht, that they get immediate to the point and province decisions and bottom line.Proper apprehension of other civilizations and taking appropriate dialogue procedure can bring forth effectual and utile dialogue. A director must happen out the common and the uncommon values of his and opposite numbers civilization in order to carry on effectual and successful dialogue. While negociating between UK and Indian civilizations, directors should take attention of the organic structure languages, Gestures and usage of grammatically right linguistic communication for communications should be used besides, importance of clip should be taken into consideration.Cross cultural preparation should be provided to the employees so that they can set in new civilizations. Information about other civilizations should be provided which will take to better understanding amongst the employees and enhanced teamwork.Another consideration for planetary directors is that they should have/develop good hearing a ccomplishment.BibliographyAdler.N.J, ( 1997 ) , International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 4th Edition, South-Western, United States.Abercrombie.N and Warde.A ( 2001 ) , The Contemporary British Society, Black good PublishersLtd, Great Britian.Brislin. W.Richard, ( 1981 ) , Cross Cultural Encounters, Pergamon Press, USA.Brislin.W. Richard and Cushner. K, ( 1996 ) , Intercultural Interactions, 2ed, Sage Publications, USA.Barker. C. ( 2002 ) , Making Sense of Cultural Studies, Sage Publications, London.Conflict: Definition, Synonyms, from answers.com ( online ) cited on 2 November URL: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.answers.com/topic/conflictFrancesco, A. M. & A ; Gold, B. A. ( 2005 ) International Organizational Behavior: Texts, instances and exercises Upper Saddle Row, New Jersey, Pearson/Prentice Hall.Grazia. V. ( 1981 ) , The Cultural Of Content, University of Cambridge, CambridgeHooker.J, ( 2003 ) , Working Across Cultural, Standford University Press, Califonia.Hofs tede.G, ( 1985 ) , The Cultural Relativity of Organizational Practises and Theories, London.Harris. P. , Robert.T. M & A ; Sarah. V. M, 2004, Pull offing Cultural Differences – Global Leadership Strategies for twenty-first century, 6th Edition, Elsevier, London.Hodgetts. R, Luthans. F, Doh. J, 2006, International Management – Culture, Strategy, and Behavior, 6th Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd, New Delhi.Hofstede. G, 2001, Culture ‘s Consequences, 2nd Edition, Sage Publications, LondonKwintessential ( 2008 ) , Intercultural Training ( online ) cited on 3 December URL: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/intercultural-training.htmlMead, R. 1998 International Management: Cross Cultural Dimensions 2nd edition Cambridge MA. Blackwell PublishersMead, R. 2005 International Management: Cross Cultural Dimensions 3rd edition Cambridge MA. Blackwell PublishersRodriguez. C, 2001, International Management – A cult ural Approach, 2nd Edition, South-Western College Publication, United KingdomRobinson. M. ( 1999 ) , Cultural Conflicts In Tourism Inevitablity and Inequality, CAB Publication, USASchneider.C.Susan. and Basoux Louis.J, ( 1997 ) , Pull offing Across Cultural, Prentice Hall, Europe. Storry.M and Childs. P. ( 1997 ) , British Cultural Identities, Routledge New YorkSamovar. A.Larry and Porter.E. Richard, ( 2003 ) , Intercultural Communication, 10th edition, Thompson Learning, USASingh.Y. ( 2002 ) , Culture Change In India, Rawat Publication, Jaipur.Yokel: Causes of struggle ( online ) cited on 4 November URL: hypertext transfer protocol: //geocities.yahoo.com/causes of struggle

Net Present Value

Critics to DCF methods Ducht an UK companies * However, it is found inappropriate to use DCF methods for investments that have got strategic implications. * There are various reasons for the use of open approach. Since the outcomes of these projects are highly unforeseen, according one interviewee, the application of quantitative tools is not plausible. Therefore, companies tend to apply the rule of thumb methods rather than standardized quantitative models. The justification for not applying quantitative models is some times attributed to the nature of a project. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions Specifically, it has been alleged that the traditional appraisal methods of payback, discounted net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) undervalues the long-term benefits; that traditional financial appraisals assume a far too static view of future industrial activity, under-rating the effects and pace of technological change; that there are many benefits from investments in new technology which are difficult to quantify and are often ignored in the appraisal process; and lastly, it is claimed that the systems of management control often employed by large organizations compound the bias against those investments which, although expensive, reap rewards vital for lon g-term viability. The first issue is a criticism of financial technique; the next two are criticisms of the way in which business operations are modelled; and the last is an issue of organizationalc ontrol and behavior. * We show that the criticisms directeda traditional appraisal methods may to some extent be based on misconceptions of the financial models and the ways in which they are best used * A similar objection is raised to the use of NPV and IRR. The claim is that discounting future cash benefits under-emphasizes the future benefits of new technology. This problem may be exacerbated by the application of risk premia to the discount rate. New echnology is assumed to be riskier than that which has been well established, Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it * The assumptions related to DCF are increasingly becoming so disconnected from business reality that its continued use should come with the following warning, ‘This financial man agement technique is hazardous to your business. ’ * DCF as a capital investment appraisal tool suffers from a number of major limitations. These limitations include its narrow perspective, exclusion of non-financial benefits, overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo, inconsistent treatment of inflation, and promotion of dysfunctional/cheating behaviour. Previous authors, including Hastie (1974); Ramasesh and Jayakumar (1993); and Adler (2000) have enumerated and discussed the various sins of DCF. * The objections against the use of DCF for capital investment appraisal have often been objected to themselves. Kaplan (1986), for example, feels that the supposed limitations of DCF are in truth a limitation of the user and not of the technique. For example, the selection of a static discount rate is a failure of the user and not of the technique itself. Likewise, the inconsistent treatment of inflation, the overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo alternative, the adoption of a narrow organisational perspective, and manipulative and cheating behaviour are again all mistakes of the user. Even the difficulty of including non-financial benefits is seen as a lack of the financial analyst’s imagination rather than an inherent shortcoming of the technique. To help overcome the problems of DCF for capital investment decision-making, proponents of real options theory have argued for the tandem use of the Black and Scholes’ (1973) model and DCF. – The problem with DCF, and which cannot be overcome by its real options complement, occurs when data is not accessible or quantifiable. Not only do these occasions happen quite frequently, but also they become increasingly common as the decision moves from the operationally mundane to the strategically critical. The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques * Surveys of capital budgeting practices in the UK and USA reveal a trend towards the increased use of more sophisticated investment appraisals requiring the application of discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques. Several writers, however, have claimed that companies are underinvesting because they misapply ormisinterpret DCF techniques. * the only justification we can think of for using the accounting rate of return method is because top management believe that reported profits have an impact on how financial markets evaluate a company. This is further reinforced in many companies by linking management rewards to short-term financial accounting measures. Thus a project’s impact on the financial accounting measures used by financial markets would appear to be a factor that is taken into account within the decision-making process. Dimson and Marsh (1994) have expressed concern that many UK companies may be using exces sively high discount rates to appraise investments and, as a result, these companies are in danger of underinvesting. In the USA it has also been alleged that firms use discount rates to evaluate investment projects that are higher than their estimated cost of capital (Porter, 1992). Conclusions: Ducht an UK companies * All the UK case study companies apply combined methods of investment appraisal and most of them combine the DCF techniques with the value based management methods, such as SVA and EVA. The combination among the Netherlands companies, however, is mostly with the accounting based measures. Project decision-making in most of the case study companies is found decentralized, which provides the benefits of teamwork in project management. * In terms of appraisal model selection, however, the result is heterogeneous. Most companies prefer to apply combined methods of appraisal. Uniform methods of evaluation are no applied across all stages of a project, which will make diffi cult the comparison of project values at different stages. Although research in capital budgeting suggests the use of quantitative models for R&D and ICT projects, the application is not found in practice. In contrary, firms are relying on qualitative and non-standard approaches. This does not have rigorous theoretical basis, and hence, the decision-making process may not get an acceptable yardstick for its rationality. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions * Payback methods are inadequate appraisal techniques and should never be used alone. NPV and IRR are appropriate ways of valuing future cash-flows. Any bias in their application will be due to a systematic use of too high a discount rate, but this can be avoided by correct analysis. Assumptionsa bout the futurec an lead to bias if an over-optimisticp ictureo f the no-investment position is taken, but again this is an avoidable pitfall. As for the benefits ignored, many of these can be quantifieda nd broughtf ormallyi nto the analysis. W hereb enefitsc annot be quantifiedt, hey shouldn everthelessb e stateds o that they can be givenp roperc onsiderationw hena finalj udgement is made. The bias due to the use of short-term financial criteria can be removed by the use of measures reflecting the longer-term benefits of present investments. In principle, then, the biases of capital-investment appraisals are avoidable, but one difficulty remains. New technology invariably leads to greater complexity, and any unwillingness to face this complexity in the capital-investment process is likely to lead to bias against change. * NPV, IRR and PB undervalue long term benefits * Benefits from investing in technology very difficult to quantify and often are ignored in the appraisal process. DCF analysis places too little weight on the future due to the magnitude of the discount rate (too high). Reasons for a too high discount rate: 1. 2. to compensate non-profit projects 3. – To calculate the required rate of return we use t he CAPM – Managers? interests different from shareholders? ones so higher rate or return determined. Then, again, the critic/problem is not of the appraisal method but of its application or understanding Theory-practice gap in .. : UK The survey results indicate that UK corporations have increasingly adopted prescribed textbook financial analysis. The stage has now been reached where only a small minority do not make use of discounted cash flows, formal risk analysis, ppropriate inflation adjustment and post-auditing. However, managers continue to employ simpler rules-of-thumb techniques. There has not, in general, been a replacement of one set of methods with another, but rather, a widening of the range of ways of analysing a financial decision. Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it It has been said, ‘Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards. ’ There is no denying that DCF is wonderful at looking backwa rds and calculating, for example, the actual NPV a project has earned. Sometimes, generally when commonplace, operational decisions are involved, DCF can even work as a forward-looking tool. To work in this manner, however, requires the relevant cash flow data to be either present or, perhaps with a bit of work, discoverable. DCF does not work well when the decision at hand is strategic in nature. In these situations, the data is often neither present nor discoverable in time for an ex ante evaluation. Only after the decision is made does useful data likely become available. The condition described here is well captured in the lyrics of the Rolling Stones’ song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’: You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes, well you might find You get what you need. When it comes to matters that really matter, DCF and real options theory fail to enlighten us. Instead, they sap managers’ energy by focusing their attention on Pareto’s trivial many at the expense of his vital few. In the end, managers end up missing the forest in their search for the non-existent trees. It is time that as educators, we rediscovered the vital few and culled out the trivial many topics that have crept into our course outlines. DCF should be one of the first topics we drop or at a minimum drastically prune back. It is not only a prime example of the trivial many, but it is a potential hazard to firms that use it for decisions that affect firm strategy. Do I hear any other offers? The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques The use of conservative cash flow forecasts, combined with the incorrect treatment of nflation and excessive discount rates observed in the survey suggests that many UK organizations may be rejecting profitable investments. Given these problems it could be argued that DCF procedures should be abandoned or give n little weight in long-term investment decisions. We strongly disagree. DCF procedures should not be ignored or relegated in importance merely because they might be used incorrectly. Instead, decisionmakers should recognize potential problems and be careful to ensure that the financial appraisal is performed correctly. CRITICS TO PAYBACK PERIOD Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions The objection to payback methods is that they ignore all cash flows after the desired payback period, which may be as short as 2 or 3 years. Thus they take no account of the long-term advantages that many large investments in new process technology bring, so the use of payback criteria is worthy of comment. 5 Payback can be insensitive to considerable variation among projects (in terms of their cash flows). 6 Payback methods are simple rules of thumb. Their attraction is their simplicity, and robustness for making judgements on possibly optimistic costings and uneasily quantified business risks. However, they do ignore medium- and long-term cash flows, and it is perhaps surprising that they seem to be regarded as serious tools of financial analysis. Net present value Firms generally have many investment opportunities available.   Some of these investment opportunities are valuable and others are not. The essence of successful financial management is identifying which opportunities will increase shareholder wealth. There are three basic and related concepts that form the very foundation of modern day finance: present value, net present value (NPV) and opportunity cost. Present value gives the value of cash flows generated by an investment and NPV gives the effective net benefit from an investment after subtracting its costs. Opportunity cost represents the rate of return on investments of comparable risk. Application of these concepts enables us to value different kinds of assets, especially those which are not commonly traded in well-functioning markets. NPV of an asset or investment is the present value of its cash flows less the cost of acquiring the asset. Smart investors will only acquire assets that have positive NPVs and will attempt to maximize the NPV of their investments. The rate of return received from an investment is the profit divided by the cost of the investment. Positive NPV investments will have rates of return higher than the opportunity cost. This gives an alternate investment decision rule. Good investments are those that have rates of return higher than the opportunity cost. This opportunity cost can be inferred from the capital market and is based on its risk characteristics of the investment. To assess why Net Present Value leads to better investment decisions than other criteria, let us start with a review of the NPV approach to investment decision making and then present four other widely used measures. These are: the payback period, the book rate of return, the internal rate of return (IRR) and profitability index. The measures are inferior to the NPV and should not, with the qualified exception of the IRR, normally be relied upon to provide sound investment decisions. These measures are commonly used in practice. The NPV represents the value added to the business by the project or the investment. It represents the increase in the market value of the stockholders’ wealth. Thus, accepting a project with a positive NPV will make the stockholders better off by the amount of its NPV. The NPV is the theoretically correct method to use in most situations. Other measures are inferior because they often give decisions different from those given by following the NPV rule. They will not serve the best interests of the stockholders (Brealey, 2002). To calculate NPV we should firstly forecast the incremental cash flows generated by the project and determine the appropriate discount rate, which should be the opportunity cost of capital. Then calculate the sum of the present values (PV) of all the cash flows generated by the investment. NPV = PV of cash inflows – initial investment. To make decision on investment, we should accept projects with NPV greater than zero and for mutually exclusive projects, accept the project with the highest NPV, if the NPV is positive. The NPV represents the value added to the stockholders’ wealth by the project. The discount rate should reflect the opportunity cost of capital or what the stockholders can expect to earn on other investments of equivalent risk (Brealey, 2002). The NPV approach correctly accounts for the time value of money and adjusts for the project’s risk by using the opportunity cost of capital as the discount rate. Thus, it clearly measures the increase in market value or wealth created by the project. The NPV of a project is not affected by â€Å"packaging† it with another project. In other words, NPV(A+B) = NPV(A) + NPV(B). The NPV is the only measure that provides the theoretically correct measure of a project’s value (Ross, 2002). Payback Period. The payback period is simply the time taken by the project to return your initial investment. The measure is very popular and is widely used; it is also a flawed and unreliable measure. It is simple to calculate and easy to comprehend. However, payback period has very limited economic meaning because it ignores the time value of money and the cash flows after the payback period. It can be inconsistent and the ranking of projects may be changed by packaging with other projects. Discounted payback is a modified version of the payback measure and uses the discounted cash flows to compute payback. This is an improvement over the traditional payback in that the time value of money is recognized. A project, which has a measurable discounted payback, will have a positive NPV. However, the other disadvantages of payback still apply. It is also not simple anymore (Investment Criteria). Book Rate of Return (BRR). This is a rate of return measure based on accounting earnings and is defined as the ratio of book income to book assets. Accounting earnings are reported by firms to the stockholders and the book return measure fits in with the reported earnings and the accounting procedures used by firms. However, the measure suffers from the serious drawback that it does not measure the cash flows or economic profitability of the project. It does not consider the time value of money and gives too much weight to distant earnings. The measure depends on the choice of depreciation method and on other accounting conventions. BRR can give inconsistent ranking of projects and rankings may be altered by packaging. There is very little relationship between the book return and the IRR. (Brealey, 2002). Internal Rate of Return (IRR). IRR is defined as the discount rate at which the NPV equals zero. Used properly, the IRR will give the same result as the NPV for independent projects and for projects with normal cash flows. As long as the cost of capital is less than the IRR, the NPV for the project will be positive. IRR can rank projects incorrectly, and the rankings may be changed by the packaging of the projects. For mutually exclusive projects, IRR can give incorrect decisions and should not be used to rank projects. If one must use IRR for mutually exclusive projects, it should be done by calculating the IRR on the differences between their cash flows (Ross, 2002). Profitability Index. Occasionally, companies face resource constraint or capital rationing. The amount available for investment is limited so that all positive NPV projects cannot be accepted. In such cases, stockholder wealth is maximized by taking up projects with the highest NPV per dollar of initial investment. This approach is facilitated by the profitability index (PI) measure. Profitability index is defined as: NPV/Investment. The decision rule for profitability index is to accept all projects with a PI greater than zero. This rule is equivalent to the NPV rule. The modified rule applied in the case of capital rationing is to accept projects with the highest profitability index first, followed by the one with next highest, and so on till the investment dollars are exhausted. This rule will maximize the NPV and stockholder wealth. If the resource constraint is on some other resources, the profitability index needs to be modified to measure the NPV per unit of the resource that is rationed. The profitability index cannot cope with mutually exclusive projects or where one project is contingent on another (Brealey, 2002). Thus, comparing NVP with other criteria we can assert that NPV is superior to other criteria. First, it is the only measure, which considers the time value of money, properly adjusting for the opportunity cost of capital. Second, it gives consistent measures of the project’s value (i.e. not affected by packaging with other projects). Third, it clearly measures the value added to the stockholders’ wealth. The only exception to the superiority of NPV is when the firm is constrained by capital rationing. This implies that the firm cannot finance all positive NPV projects and should therefore choose projects that give the highest NPV for each dollar of investment. The profitability index that is defined as the ratio of NPV to the investment amount is used to achieve this selection. However, the other criteria for the evaluation of projects are found to be popular in practice. If using them, we should make sure we use them in the best possible way and understand the limitations of them. For example, we should always compare mutually exclusive projects on the basis of the difference between their cash flows, because that it is the cash flows that determine the value of a project. Inadequate forecast of the cash flows can be far more disastrous than using the wrong appraisal technique. Cash flow forecasts are difficult to make and can be expensive. It does not make sense to waste the forecasts by using an inferior method of evaluation. References: Brealey, Richard A. & Myers, Stewart C. (2002). Principles of Corporate Finance, 7th ed. Chapters 5 – 6. Irwin/McGraw-Hill Book Co. Investment Criteria, Chapter 9. Introduction to Finance. COMM 203 Homepage. College of Commerce, University of Saskatchewan, 2004 from http://www.commerce.usask.ca/faculty/loescher/Commerce203/CapitalBudgeting/Investment_Criteria.ppt Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jordan, B. & Roberts, G. (2002). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. Net Present Value Critics to DCF methods Ducht an UK companies * However, it is found inappropriate to use DCF methods for investments that have got strategic implications. * There are various reasons for the use of open approach. Since the outcomes of these projects are highly unforeseen, according one interviewee, the application of quantitative tools is not plausible. Therefore, companies tend to apply the rule of thumb methods rather than standardized quantitative models. The justification for not applying quantitative models is some times attributed to the nature of a project. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions Specifically, it has been alleged that the traditional appraisal methods of payback, discounted net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) undervalues the long-term benefits; that traditional financial appraisals assume a far too static view of future industrial activity, under-rating the effects and pace of technological change; that there are many benefits from investments in new technology which are difficult to quantify and are often ignored in the appraisal process; and lastly, it is claimed that the systems of management control often employed by large organizations compound the bias against those investments which, although expensive, reap rewards vital for lon g-term viability. The first issue is a criticism of financial technique; the next two are criticisms of the way in which business operations are modelled; and the last is an issue of organizationalc ontrol and behavior. * We show that the criticisms directeda traditional appraisal methods may to some extent be based on misconceptions of the financial models and the ways in which they are best used * A similar objection is raised to the use of NPV and IRR. The claim is that discounting future cash benefits under-emphasizes the future benefits of new technology. This problem may be exacerbated by the application of risk premia to the discount rate. New echnology is assumed to be riskier than that which has been well established, Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it * The assumptions related to DCF are increasingly becoming so disconnected from business reality that its continued use should come with the following warning, ‘This financial man agement technique is hazardous to your business. ’ * DCF as a capital investment appraisal tool suffers from a number of major limitations. These limitations include its narrow perspective, exclusion of non-financial benefits, overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo, inconsistent treatment of inflation, and promotion of dysfunctional/cheating behaviour. Previous authors, including Hastie (1974); Ramasesh and Jayakumar (1993); and Adler (2000) have enumerated and discussed the various sins of DCF. * The objections against the use of DCF for capital investment appraisal have often been objected to themselves. Kaplan (1986), for example, feels that the supposed limitations of DCF are in truth a limitation of the user and not of the technique. For example, the selection of a static discount rate is a failure of the user and not of the technique itself. Likewise, the inconsistent treatment of inflation, the overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo alternative, the adoption of a narrow organisational perspective, and manipulative and cheating behaviour are again all mistakes of the user. Even the difficulty of including non-financial benefits is seen as a lack of the financial analyst’s imagination rather than an inherent shortcoming of the technique. To help overcome the problems of DCF for capital investment decision-making, proponents of real options theory have argued for the tandem use of the Black and Scholes’ (1973) model and DCF. – The problem with DCF, and which cannot be overcome by its real options complement, occurs when data is not accessible or quantifiable. Not only do these occasions happen quite frequently, but also they become increasingly common as the decision moves from the operationally mundane to the strategically critical. The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques * Surveys of capital budgeting practices in the UK and USA reveal a trend towards the increased use of more sophisticated investment appraisals requiring the application of discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques. Several writers, however, have claimed that companies are underinvesting because they misapply ormisinterpret DCF techniques. * the only justification we can think of for using the accounting rate of return method is because top management believe that reported profits have an impact on how financial markets evaluate a company. This is further reinforced in many companies by linking management rewards to short-term financial accounting measures. Thus a project’s impact on the financial accounting measures used by financial markets would appear to be a factor that is taken into account within the decision-making process. Dimson and Marsh (1994) have expressed concern that many UK companies may be using exces sively high discount rates to appraise investments and, as a result, these companies are in danger of underinvesting. In the USA it has also been alleged that firms use discount rates to evaluate investment projects that are higher than their estimated cost of capital (Porter, 1992). Conclusions: Ducht an UK companies * All the UK case study companies apply combined methods of investment appraisal and most of them combine the DCF techniques with the value based management methods, such as SVA and EVA. The combination among the Netherlands companies, however, is mostly with the accounting based measures. Project decision-making in most of the case study companies is found decentralized, which provides the benefits of teamwork in project management. * In terms of appraisal model selection, however, the result is heterogeneous. Most companies prefer to apply combined methods of appraisal. Uniform methods of evaluation are no applied across all stages of a project, which will make diffi cult the comparison of project values at different stages. Although research in capital budgeting suggests the use of quantitative models for R&D and ICT projects, the application is not found in practice. In contrary, firms are relying on qualitative and non-standard approaches. This does not have rigorous theoretical basis, and hence, the decision-making process may not get an acceptable yardstick for its rationality. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions * Payback methods are inadequate appraisal techniques and should never be used alone. NPV and IRR are appropriate ways of valuing future cash-flows. Any bias in their application will be due to a systematic use of too high a discount rate, but this can be avoided by correct analysis. Assumptionsa bout the futurec an lead to bias if an over-optimisticp ictureo f the no-investment position is taken, but again this is an avoidable pitfall. As for the benefits ignored, many of these can be quantifieda nd broughtf ormallyi nto the analysis. W hereb enefitsc annot be quantifiedt, hey shouldn everthelessb e stateds o that they can be givenp roperc onsiderationw hena finalj udgement is made. The bias due to the use of short-term financial criteria can be removed by the use of measures reflecting the longer-term benefits of present investments. In principle, then, the biases of capital-investment appraisals are avoidable, but one difficulty remains. New technology invariably leads to greater complexity, and any unwillingness to face this complexity in the capital-investment process is likely to lead to bias against change. * NPV, IRR and PB undervalue long term benefits * Benefits from investing in technology very difficult to quantify and often are ignored in the appraisal process. DCF analysis places too little weight on the future due to the magnitude of the discount rate (too high). Reasons for a too high discount rate: 1. 2. to compensate non-profit projects 3. – To calculate the required rate of return we use t he CAPM – Managers? interests different from shareholders? ones so higher rate or return determined. Then, again, the critic/problem is not of the appraisal method but of its application or understanding Theory-practice gap in .. : UK The survey results indicate that UK corporations have increasingly adopted prescribed textbook financial analysis. The stage has now been reached where only a small minority do not make use of discounted cash flows, formal risk analysis, ppropriate inflation adjustment and post-auditing. However, managers continue to employ simpler rules-of-thumb techniques. There has not, in general, been a replacement of one set of methods with another, but rather, a widening of the range of ways of analysing a financial decision. Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it It has been said, ‘Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards. ’ There is no denying that DCF is wonderful at looking backwa rds and calculating, for example, the actual NPV a project has earned. Sometimes, generally when commonplace, operational decisions are involved, DCF can even work as a forward-looking tool. To work in this manner, however, requires the relevant cash flow data to be either present or, perhaps with a bit of work, discoverable. DCF does not work well when the decision at hand is strategic in nature. In these situations, the data is often neither present nor discoverable in time for an ex ante evaluation. Only after the decision is made does useful data likely become available. The condition described here is well captured in the lyrics of the Rolling Stones’ song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’: You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes, well you might find You get what you need. When it comes to matters that really matter, DCF and real options theory fail to enlighten us. Instead, they sap managers’ energy by focusing their attention on Pareto’s trivial many at the expense of his vital few. In the end, managers end up missing the forest in their search for the non-existent trees. It is time that as educators, we rediscovered the vital few and culled out the trivial many topics that have crept into our course outlines. DCF should be one of the first topics we drop or at a minimum drastically prune back. It is not only a prime example of the trivial many, but it is a potential hazard to firms that use it for decisions that affect firm strategy. Do I hear any other offers? The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques The use of conservative cash flow forecasts, combined with the incorrect treatment of nflation and excessive discount rates observed in the survey suggests that many UK organizations may be rejecting profitable investments. Given these problems it could be argued that DCF procedures should be abandoned or give n little weight in long-term investment decisions. We strongly disagree. DCF procedures should not be ignored or relegated in importance merely because they might be used incorrectly. Instead, decisionmakers should recognize potential problems and be careful to ensure that the financial appraisal is performed correctly. CRITICS TO PAYBACK PERIOD Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions The objection to payback methods is that they ignore all cash flows after the desired payback period, which may be as short as 2 or 3 years. Thus they take no account of the long-term advantages that many large investments in new process technology bring, so the use of payback criteria is worthy of comment. 5 Payback can be insensitive to considerable variation among projects (in terms of their cash flows). 6 Payback methods are simple rules of thumb. Their attraction is their simplicity, and robustness for making judgements on possibly optimistic costings and uneasily quantified business risks. However, they do ignore medium- and long-term cash flows, and it is perhaps surprising that they seem to be regarded as serious tools of financial analysis.

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Long Key Pine Rocklands Habitat Essay Visiting the Everglades National Park’s Long Pine Key Rockland Habitat, I felt like one of the billions of people on earth right now that are tired of their hustle and bustle lifestyles albeit addicted to them. Like those people, I have a daily schedule that leaves me little or no time to consider visits to beautiful places such as the Pine Key Rockland Habitat on a regular basis. We make plans to take vacations, and we watch television as though it is a necessity. But, the Long Pine Key Rockland Habitat reminds me that there is much more to real life than we imagine we have the time to dwell on. What if all of us talked about pine rocklands and other marvels of nature on a daily basis – leaving our toxic thoughts about people and situations behind? Life, I believe, would be far more pleasant if we only took the time to experience change within ourselves. Indeed, the Pine Key Rockland Habitat did not only inspire calmness in me but also encouraged me to discuss my thoughts on modification of mindsets with close friends. I believe that the fresh air of the Pine Key Rockland is mind altering especially if we have spent too long a while in a cluttered region of the world. People throng cities to raise their standards of living and compete to purchase new technologies not only to raise their standards of living further but also to show off. Yet, places that take us back to our roots as human beings continue to beckon us home. ‘There is much more to life,’ they inform us. ‘Instead of trying to be like everybody else, take your time to visit such places in order to reconnect with your roots and become original in your thinking. ’ I felt that the Long Pine Key Rockland Habitat was communicating with me thus. I wrote a poem along these lines because poetry allows me to express my most important thoughts in a few words. Use of many words reminds of noisiness and even noise pollution associated with our hustle and bustle lifestyles. Poetry, on the other hand, takes me back to the Pine Key Rockland Habitat with its aura of calm. My poem about Pine Rocklands is a sonnet, â€Å"A Picture of the Earth As Seen from Outer Space. † I chose the sonnet form because it is convenient to use. This style of poetry is traditionally used for songs of love. Because love was an essential feeling for me to feel toward the Pine Rocklands as they took me beyond the tense hustle and bustle lifestyle to soothe my nerves, the sonnet form was appropriate to use. The sonnet is about reconnecting with all that remains glorious on the earth at a time when humans develop complicated machinery to leave it. After careful studies, scientists conclude that they are still unable to find habitable places like earth beyond earth. Earth remains as home and life on it is not never-ending. Thus, the poem has the Long Pine Key Rocklands Habitat telling the individual with more on his hands than he can manage to take a break and return to his roots in his thinking. It is a given that the reader, as though traveling beyond earth on a complex piece of machinery, cannot give up on his hustle and bustle lifestyle completely to return to life in a forest. The Pine Rocklands understand this, which is why they advise the reader to approach it for greater knowledge than before instead of entirely disregarding it. Humans did not have to create the Pine Rocklands, so therefore gaining knowledge through the ecosystem is easier than developing machinery to leave the earth. Like a rocket in space, the Pine Rocklands are known to burn in order to maintain themselves. The main difference between the two is the following: space ships remind us of man’s ingenuity while pine rocklands remind us of God, the creator of marvels of nature. In a dog eat dog world, I believe it is necessary to remember God so as to be well-behaved and advise others to be so, too. Although my poem, â€Å"A Picture of the Earth As Seen from Outer Space† does not reflect on God, it clearly defines the differences between God-made technology, which is the Pine Rocklands, and man-made technology, that is, the space ship that human beings seem to have escaped on. The space ship is a metaphor for our hustle and bustle lifestyles. Because the Long Pine Key Rocklands burn in order to sustain themselves, the metaphor was useful. But the main facet of the Pine Rocklands discussed in this poem is their appearance as a wonder of nature untouched by the hustle and bustle lifestyle of modern people. The Pine Rocklands are not only worth visiting but also remembering through photographs and pictures we save in our memory banks. Moreover, they offer an overabundance of knowledge. This, too, is touched upon in the poem. After all, scientists may study biodiversity in the Pine Rocklands just as well as psychologists may conduct research on relaxation there and seekers of truth may ask for reasons behind things within themselves or from God. What is more, the Pine Rocklands of the Everglades National Park are not the only place on earth to define as â€Å"A Picture of the Earth As Seen from Outer Space† in the context of the poem. Fortunately, our earth has plenty of such marvelous places to visit and refresh our minds. Thus, this poem may be edited to include names of all pine rocklands on earth. The earth has a furnace within, that is, the molten magma in its core. For this reason, I believe it could apply to all marvels of nature on earth regardless of whether they are pine rocklands or other ecosystems. Only the names may change. The fact that countless people of the world need to connect to the environment at this point in time – especially because of the dangers their hustle and bustle lifestyles pose to the ecosystem – remains unchanged. A Picture of the Earth As Seen from Outer Space We have left it to go onward, Though earth remains home, beckoning Us: Defying gravity, bird In the sky, o space ship, coming Home would be far more interesting! I am the Pine Rocklands, I too Burn to stay alive, as giving Of knowledge – I am homelike too! Get down, come back, do not attempt More than you can handle, return To refresh your eyes, I have bent Down before you. Simply return Home. Live with me, watch me from a distance; There is no place like home, with your presence.

Project Management Gantt And Schedules Construction Essay

Project Management Gantt And Schedules Construction Essay Project Management is a huge subject and without it, construction or engineering projects as we know them today simply could not be undertaken. Project management has needed to adapt as the industry has grown and methods have developed particular in the last century, which has seen possibly the greatest transformation of all. Some aspects of Project management have had to be adapted with this whereas others have led the way to change, thanks to innovative thinking from the likes of Fayol and Maslow. The successful management of a civil engineering project depends upon a number of factors. Planning, Organisation, Communication, Decisiveness are all subcategories that need managed. It is imperative that the right procedures are put in place at the start of the project. Good project management will allow for excellent organisation and tracking; better control and use of resources; reduced complexity and early identification of problems leading to quicker correction. A project manager should have a sound body of knowledge that will include the nine core areas of scope, time, cost, risk, integration, quality, procurement, communications and human resources. In addition to a project engineers professional judgement they will need to call upon the necessary tools in order to manage a project successfully, which could include past or similar tasks undertaken or specific management tools, such as charts and schedules. History of Scheduling Gantt charts were developed by mechanical engineer, Henry Laurence Gantt in the early 20th century as a visual tool to show scheduled and actual progress of projects. Although commonplace, today the Gantt chart was fundamental change in the way projects were managed at the time. Gantt charts were first used on high profile construction projects like the Hoover Dam (1931) and the interstate highway network (1956). Complex network diagrams called PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) charts were invented as part of the Polaris missile submarine program in 1955. Booz-Allen Hamilton worked with the U.S. Navy to create these charts and schedules. The Critical Path Method (CPM) was developed by the DuPont corporation in 1957, to deal with a variety of tasks and numerous interactions at many points in time. Arguably, the evolution of modern project management is a direct consequence of the need to make effective use of the data generated by the schedulers in an attempt to manage and control the critical path. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) was initially developed by the U.S. defence department, as an advancement of the PERT system noted above. In 1968, it was issued as a military standard, which required the use of work breakdown structures across the U.S. defence department. The standard has been revised and updated over the years and is still in use today. Project Installing new steel beams throughout an existing masonry building and adding a new floor. The project will start on January the 14th and is to be completed by Friday the 29th of March. List of Tasks I have assumed the process of this project management starting from the design phase. Existing masonry strength investigated/tested for ability to take loads Building survey to set out the masonry piers and levels Steelwork design required based on loads to be imposed /spans between piers Timber floor joists and edge restraints designed (with timber plywood deck to act as structural diaphragm). Fabrication drawings completed and issued for tender Steel Tender period Fabricator chosen and contract signed for steelwork Fabrication commences Method statement to complete (Health and Safety) Method statement approved by CDM co-ordinator Erection of scaffolding around piers Existing general masonry repair to piers Masonry removal for padstone and bearing end of beams Padstone installation (Pouring of the in-situ concrete padstone) Concrete padstone curing Ordering of steel installation equipment (crane rig or cherry pickers) Steel delivery to site Steel erection and fixing Timber cut on site Timber floor joists fitted Plywood cut to size Timber edge restraints fixed Plywood decking fitted. Scaffolding around piers removed Project handed over to client for fit out As built drawings records sent to Building Control Project Completion. The importance of getting this engineering aspect of the project completed on time (using affective and accurate scheduling) will allow the decking to be fitted and make the floor usable, enabling the fit out to commence on time and without the need for expensive temporary platforms. Estimated resources and time periods for the tasks Task resources for personnel- abbreviations for use in tables, charts etc. PM Project Manager SU Surveyor SE Structural Engineer FB Steel Fabricator SW Site Workers HS CDM co-ordinator (Health Safety) Estimated No. of days required to complete the task. Personnel resource abbreviation Breakdown of time and resources example Detailed name of the task from task list on previous page Shortened task name as it will appear in schedules PM 0 Days Existing masonry strength investigated/tested for ability to take loads Existing Masonry Test SU 7 Days Building survey to set out the masonry piers and levels Building Survey SU 3 Days Steelwork design required based on loads to be imposed /spans between piers Steelwork Design SE 4 Days Timber floor joists and edge restraints designed Timber Design SE 3 Days Fabrication drawings completed and issued for tender Fabrication Drgs SE 3 Days Steel Tender period Steel Tender Period FB 7 Days Fabricator chosen and contract signed for steelwork Fabrication Contracts PM N/A Steel fabrication commences Steel Fabrication FB 15 Days Method statements to complete (Health and Safety) Method Statements PM 2 Days Method statement approved by CDM co-ordinator CDM Approval HS 5 Days Erection of scaffolding around piers Scaffolding SW 3 Days Existing general masonry repair to piers Masonry Repair SW 2 Days Masonry removal for padstone and bearing end of beams Masonry Removal SW 2 Days Padstone installation (Pouring of the in-situ concrete padstone) Padstone Installation SW 2 Days Concrete padstone curing Concrete Curing N/A 3 Days Ordering of steel installation equipment (crane rig or cherry picker) Plant Order PM N/A Steel delivery to site Steel Delivery FB 1 Day Steel erection and fixing Steel Erection SW 2 Days Timber cut on site to fit Cutting Timber SW 1 Days Timber floor joists fitted Timber Joists SW 4 Days Timber edge restraints fixed Timber Restraints SW 3 Days Plywood cut to size Cutting Plywood SW 1 Day Plywood decking fitted Plywood Deck Fixed SW 1 Day Scaffolding around piers removed Scaffolding Removal SW 1 Day Project handed over to client for fit out Project Hand Over PM N/A As built drawings records sent to Building Control As Built Records PM 1 Day Project Completed Project Completed N/A N/A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) The WBS communicates a clear view of the total scope of the project, providing a logical and coherent statement of what the project comprises of. The WBS is neither over-simplified or overly complex. It is not a project plan or a project schedule, and it is not a chronological listing. A coding system is implemented to enable cost, schedule, technical and other data to be cross referenced across a project. The project manager is to structure the project work into WBS elements that are: Definable can be described and easily understood by project participants. Manageable a unit of work where specific responsibility/authority can be assigned. Estimate duration and cost can be estimated in terms of resources. Independent minimum dependence on other on-going elements (i.e. assignable to a single task), and clearly distinguishable from other work packages. Integrate integrates with other project work elements and with higher level cost estimates and schedules to include the entire project. Measurable can be used to measure progress; has start and completion dates and measurable milestones. Adaptable sufficiently flexible so the addition/elimination of work scope can be accommodated in the WBS framework. On the following pages are two different forms of the WBS. A standard tabular view used for quick reference / easy production, and the more familiar tree structure view; used to show more clearly the flow of tasks and their relationships. Gantt Charts A common technique for scheduling construction activities is the Gantt chart, named after the developer Henry Laurence Gantt, as mentioned in the introduction section. The Gantt chart lists the construction tasks that need to be performed down a single column, generally in the order in which they are to be carried out, along with a second column indicating the length of time required to complete each task. At the top of the chart, dates for the construction project are noted in a horizontal row. To the right of each task a line/bar indicates the starting date to the completion date for that task. All tasks in the first column are charted in this manner across the rows of the chart, with the bar for each task beginning at the earliest possible starting date. Many tasks must be completed in sequence, requiring the completion of one activity before the next can be started, although some tasks may be completed independently of other work and can be charted when the work is most convenient. The charting of activities allows the project manager to identify critical points in the construction schedule and provides the opportunity to adjust the tasks to meet schedule demands. Gantt charting is useful for small projects that must be completed in a linear manner, or one step after the other, and for contractors who have small crews and can only engage in one activity at a time. Most Gantt charts these days are constructed using computer scheduling programs. Templates provide a listing of typical construction tasks so the project manager only has to insert the duration of the work; scheduling programs have advanced to the point where data about the activities, such as duration and sequence, can be provided and the entire chart generated. For my worked example I have used Microsoft Project. On the following page is a Gantt chart, listing the project tasks and scheduling dates of completion; noting how each task is related and creating a program of works in real time, with dates and deadlines throughout the working week. It outlines which tasks are reliant on others and also which can run concurrently or have no specific scheduling requirements. For example the steel needs to be designed and ordered before it can be delivered to site and the padstones it sits on would need to be in place and the concrete cured before the steelwork could be erected. To maximise time efficiency these tasks will run concurrently (i.e. padstones can be installed while steel is fabricated and before it is delivered to site) these links between tasks can be seen on the Gantt chart. Critical Path Analysis (CPA) Similar to the Gantt chart the critical path analysis is a project-management technique that lays out all the activities needed to complete a task, the time it will take to complete each activity and the relationships between the activities. Also called the critical path method, critical path analysis can help predict whether a project can be completed on time and can be used to predict problems within the program both before starting it and as it progresses, to keep the projects completion on track and ensure that deliverables are ready on time. Advancing from the Gantt chart on the next page is the project critical path (highlighted in red on the subsequent page). Any fluctuations to these dates would have a knock on effect to the overall programming of the project meaning time would need to be made up elsewhere on the remaining tasks, or possible weekend overtime working would need to be implemented to ensure the project was completed by the March 29th deadline. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) As projects become even more complex and unpredictable, more complex scheduling methods become appropriate. Methods such as the program evaluation and review technique combines critical path analysis with probability to identify completion dates that are optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely. Such scheduling techniques are not applicable to every project, but may be used in large construction projects that are likely to be influenced by nature or human factors. Examples include projects that are to be completed during unseasonable weather conditions or grading in an area that may be delayed due to unknown underground conditions. PERT planning involves the following steps that are described below. Identify the specific activities and milestones. The activities are the tasks required to complete a project. The milestones are the events marking the beginning and the end of one or more activities. Using a work break down structure is helpful to list the tasks that in later steps can be expanded to include information on sequence and duration. Determine the proper sequence of the activities. This step may be combined with the task identification step above since the activity sequence is evident for some tasks. Other tasks may require more analysis to determine the exact order in which they must be performed. Construct a network diagram. Using the activity sequence information, a network diagram can be drawn showing the sequence of the serial and parallel activities. Each activity represents a node in the network, and the arrows represent the relation between activities. Software packages simplify this step by automatically converting tabular activity information into a network diagram. Estimate the time required for each activity. Days are a commonly used unit of time for activity completion, but any consistent unit of time can be used. PERT has the ability to deal with uncertainty in task completion time. For each activity, the model usually includes three time estimates: Optimistic time generally the shortest time in which the activity can realistically be completed, also referred to as the best time. Most likely time the completion time having the highest probability. Note that this time is different from the expected time, (as explained below). Pessimistic time the longest time that an activity might require, also referred to as the worst time. PERT can also assume a beta probability distribution for the time estimates. Expected time For a beta distribution, the expected time for each activity can be approximated using the following weighted average: Expected time = ( Optimistic + 4 x Most likely + Pessimistic ) / 6 This expected time is not always used on the network diagram. On the following page I have used Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) scheduling to construct a network diagram that estimates; best, worst and most likely time periods for each task. While also determining the proper sequence of the activities with a critical path and milestones.

Death of a child and the impact to parental grief

Death of a child and the impact to parental grief Adulthood is the stage in  the human lifespan that captures the stages of acquiring independence from the family of origin, establishing loving relationships and having and raising children.   When adults transition into the role of spouse and parent they are not likely to attribute this meaningful time of life to crisis.   The death of a child disrupts the biological order of the lifespan and challenges a parents understanding of their world (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008). Researchers have labelled the death of a child as one of the most tragic events a parent must endure.   In a study by Sanders (1980) comparing bereavement in individuals who experienced the death of a parent, spouse and child, Sanders identified more intense grief reactions among those who survived the death of a child (as cited by Arnold and Buschman Gemma, 2008).   A childs death impacts the parent on multiple levels; as an individual, as a partner and as a contributing member of society.   Grief is often complicated by the addition of anxiety and fatigue which impedes communication in relationships and with other members of a family (Toller and Braithwaite, 2009).  Ã‚   According to Emmons, Colby and Kaiser (1998) grief is often equated to the destruction of the persons assumptive world (as cited by Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008, p. 204).   Additionally, Colin Murray Parkes (1970) defines the assumptive world as represent[ing] the totality of what the individual knows or thinks he knows. It includesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ our plans and our prejudices (as cited by Tedeschi and Calhoun, 2004, p. 21).   The length of parental grief has been estimated by some to last upwards of a decade following the childs death while other researchers acknowledge parental grief as lasting indefinitely (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008).   The negative effects of prolonged grief have implications on bereaved parents mental and physical health well into midlife (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008).    This paper will explore the impact that the death of a child has on the mother and father as individuals and together as a couple.   It will examine how individuals use coping mechanisms and a quest for meaning to transform this crisis in adulthood into the potential for personal growth and a renewed sense of purpose for life.   For the purposes of this paper bereavement and grief will be defined.   According to Parkes and Weiss (1983) bereavement is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦encompassing the entire experience of anticipating a death, death itself and the subsequent adjustment to living (as cited by Meert et al., 2009).   In addition, Therese Rando (1993) defines grief as the process of experiencing the psychological, behavioural, social and physical reactions to the perception of loss (p. 22). Although crisis in adulthood is inclusive of both men and women, research shows gender specific styles of grieving and coping with the death of a child.   In a study conducted with bereaved parents by Toller and Braithwaite (2009), mothers identified the need to express their grief through discussing the death and the shedding of tears.   In her book When the Bough Breaks: Forever after the Death of a Son or Daughter, author Judith Bernstein (1998) discusses womens grief response as frequently revealing and more likely desolate.   Bernstein (1998) explains that mothers expressive grief may be the result of the degree mothers are invested in their parental role.   Ã‚  Expression of emotions can be significantly difficult in a mothers grief experience of a stillborn baby when societal support may be absent or limited due to the inability of society to recognize the birth and death as a meaningful event (Cacciatore, 2010).   Cacciatore (2010) identifies that parents presumptio n of support from family, friends and medical staff may be based in their own value and understanding of the loss which contradicts the support actually afforded them.   Additionally, Shainess (1963) challenged that childbirth that ends with the death of a baby not only has the potential to devastate a womens self-image but also may alter how she relates herself to others (as cited by Cacciatore, 2010).   Stillbirth has been coined as the invisible death because very few people knew or met the child, the mother has very few keepsakes to memorialize their child and inevitably the mother may feel pressure to forget the child by their social network (Cacciatore, 2010).   Li, Laursen, Precht, Olsen and Mortensen (2005) found that bereaved mothers, compared with nonbereaved mothers, were at much higher risk for first time inpatient psychiatric care.   The risks remained notably higher for more than five years following the death of a child (as cited by Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008).   In addition, Radestad et al. (1996) identified bereaved mothers of stillborn babies experience higher rates of anxiety up to three years following the death as compared to mothers who had live born children (as cited by Cacciatore, 2010). Bereaved mothers often question their ability to be successful at motherhood following the death of a child (Cacciatore, 2010).   Children within the family unit are often impacted by the death of a baby when their parents grief makes them unavailable to their emotional demands (Cacciatore, 2010).   Interestingly, a study by Peterson (1994) found that the death of a baby continues to affect future generations.   In the study, adult daughters of mothers who experienced a stillbirth, reported fear during their own pregnancy, in addition to guilt, anxiety and grief in adulthood that impacted attachment with their own children (as cited by Cacciatore, 2010). Mothers may illicit varied strategies to cope with the death of their child.   In a study of 47 bereaved mothers, Cacciatore (2010) found that 21% acknowledged using alcohol and illegal drugs as a form of coping, while 45% of respondents reported contemplating self-harm.   All of the respondents indicated that the death of their child had considerably altered their identity (Cacciatore, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Men and women do not always experience grief following the death of a child in the same way.   It is not uncommon for fathers to experience societal messages that encourage a traditional male role of strength that bravely supports the mother following the childs death (Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006).   Not surprisingly, these messages may explain why research has found men are more likely to deny grief or grieve in private while suppressing reactions or hiding feelings (Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006). In a study of fathers reactions to infant loss, Colsen (2001) examined conscious and unconscious responses to grief.   The study showed that some fathers had pronounced grief reactions in the unconscious while denying the presence of grief consciously (as cited by Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In analysis of the research, several studies have indicated that fathers use physical activity as a means to cope with grief as well as to assimilate control over their emotions (Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006; Toller and Braithwaite, 2009).   In addition to feelings of physical pain, often attributed to the physicality of mens grief, fathers identify strong and prolonged feelings of guilt, anger and bitterness after the death of a child directed at themselves, God and caregiving personnel (Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006).   Interestingly, in a study by Barrera et al. (2009) concerning parent adjustment following the death of a child, researchers found that the fathers interviews were significantly longer than those of the mothers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As indicated in the discussion surrounding maternal grief, several studies have concluded that increased alcohol consumption also contributes to the fathers grief experience (Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006).   In fact, in a study by Vance et al. (1995), concerning gender differences and psychological grief reactions for bereaved parents, research found that alcohol use in parents directly after the death and up to three years following, was significantly higher than the control group who had not experienced a death (as cited by Aho, Tarkka, Astedt-Kurki and Kaunonen, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parents may also share common experiences of grief following the death of a child. In a study of parental adjustment six months after the death of their child, participants identified that they mourned a future without their children and that they would never see the child meet milestones such as their graduation or wedding (Barrera et al., 2009).   In addition to missing milestones these same participants reported a significant need to physically touch their children again (Barrera et al., 2009).   Some parents of children who died in the pediatric intensive care unit indicated that they needed mementos to assist them in feeling connected to their child.   Mementos ranged from a stuffed animal to a locket of the childs hair (Meert et al, 2008).   In fact, researchers argue that the ability of the parents to establish a continued connection with the deceased child through the use of memories is integral to the parental experience o f bereavement and coping (Barrera et al., 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition to continuing the bond with their deceased child, parents have additional stress in establishing commonalities and differences in grief within the marital relationship.   Meaning is derived from telling the story of the childs death and this can be particularly difficult for bereaved parents who often feel that their social network is not receptive to talk of the death experience (Toller and Braithwaite, 2009).   Alternatively, parents may turn to one another as a means of support but this can also prove difficult since both partners are experiencing the death simultaneously (Toller and Braithwaite, 2009).   In a study by Toller and Braithwaite (2009) of bereaved parents they found that parents wanted to grieve with their spouse while concurrently indicating that they also needed space to grieve separately from their partner.   The parents in this study reported that grieving together was difficult due to the differing ways in which they and their partners approached and even expressed grief (Toller and Braithwaite, 2009). A fear for many bereaved spouses is the statistical relevance of divorce among bereaved parents.   Although some research indicates a higher occurrence of divorce following the death of a child, other research challenges the methodology and difficulties in tracking divorced couples in order to make concise conclusions (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   A more alarming finding is the evidence of depression and long term health concerns among bereaved parents.   In their study, Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong (2008) analyzed data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and found that bereaved parents, in midlife and on average 18 years following the death of their child, reported more symptoms of depression   and cardiovascular problems than their nonbereaved cohort.   In fact, 83% of bereaved parents in the WLS reported depression within three years of their childs death (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008).   The researchers of this study concluded that the return to employment, social and family roles may indicate full recovery following the death of a child but persistent episodes of depression and health related issues suggest internal turmoil that may not be recognized and acknowledged by friends and family (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2 008).   Furthermore, this study showed that the ability to function was not greater with the passing of time since the death and suggested that the bereavement following the death of a child may lead to continued health concerns for decades (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008). Bereaved parents do find ways to cope and manage the grief both individually and as a couple.   Many parents indicate that surviving children provide them with a sense of purpose and parents reinvest energy into ensuring these children are learning how to cope with the death of their sibling (Barrera et al., 2009).   Barrera et al. (2009) identified the presence of surviving children at the time of death to be linked with lower instance of marital discord.     Researchers in multiple studies found that bereaved parents who did not have surviving children reported a strong desire to have another child through pregnancy, adoption or fostering (Barrera et al., 2009; Arnold and Buschman Gemma, 2008). Interestingly Videka-Sherman (1982) found evidence that parents who had a subsequent child following death were more likely to have better psychological adjustment to grief (as cited by   (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg and Hong, 2008). In the study conducted by Toller and Braithwaite (2009) the majority of bereaved parents indicated that although they experienced grief differently than their partner, they were eventually able to identify and empathize, even accept the differences.   Bereaved parents who recognized that grieving is unique to each individual and in turn gave their spouse room to grieve or engaged with others for support found that they were able to navigate the differences and maintain a healthy relationship (Toller and Braithwaite, 2009).   Although therapeutic models encourage an ability to be open and heal, Toller and Braithwaite (2009) suggest that selective closedness has shown evidence of health in grieving (p. 273).   In fact, nonverbal communication between spouses is possible to create connection in grieving through hand holding, physical closeness and expression through letter writing (Toller and Braithwaite, 2009). Many parents have identified the need to redefine themselves integrating the experience of being a parent to a child who has died (Barrera et al., 2009).   Parents have described the need for their child to be validated and recognized in a societal context, given worth in order to aid them in their ability to grieve that child (Meert et al, 2009).   Of additional importance is the acceptance from family, friends and parents social network to allow bereaved parents to grieve in a way that is meaningful to them at their own speed and without judgement (Meert et al., 2009). Ultimately, bereaved parents incorporate a variety of support strategies to assist them in coping with the death of their child (Barrera et al., 2009).   Many bereaved parents identified an eventual revitalized purpose to life, commonly associated with a desire to give back to the community and support other bereaved parents (Barrera et al., 2009).   Following the death of a child, Calhoun and Tedeschi (2001) theorise that individuals undergo a reorganization of beliefs surrounding significance of the world and oneself. According to Calhoun and Tedeschi (2001) posttraumatic growth is the positive changes in relationship to others, spirituality or philosophy of life, and sense of self that follows bereavement (p. 344).   A study by Engelkemeyer and Marwit (2008) of bereaved parents found that parents who reported growth were also the parents who identified having a positive outlook regarding self-worth and characterised themselves as being lucky.   The death of a child has a profound effect on the parents as individuals and as a couple that creates a crisis in their transition through adulthood.   Bereaved parents may experience negative or positive consequences of the grief experienced following their childs death and these effects will be felt throughout the remainder of their lifespan. A quote from one bereaved mother eloquently sums up the enormity of death on the life experience: Death being such a major part of life is something that only those who experience it firsthand can truly attest to being at the very core of our existence.   Death changes who we are and what we feel about life entirely.   Death even steals our perception of time and how a month ending, or a year ending or the celebration of new life affects us.   Death comes in and manipulates everyone we come in contact with, while making us an alien to everyone (Ruffin, 2010, p.9).