Doing Research in Business and Management Essay - 24

Doing Research in Business and Management - Essay Example Good financial management proved essential in achieving business goals, especially in relation to understanding financial statements that are critical to business success. Negotiation and communication skills from previous modules also proved useful in the business project module, particularly since these skills were invaluable in understanding how to deal with suppliers, customers, business associates, and employees (Heerkens, 2014: p28). Finally, knowledge about business legal issues was also applied because business projects are subject to various legal requirements like contracts with suppliers. My experiences working with the team on the project, especially our development as a virtual team, were particularly insightful. For example, it became increasingly evident as we progressed with the project that virtual team-working allows project team members to share information, decision-making, and innovation without the hazards, cost, and time of travel (Edmonson, 2012: p75). However, creating a virtual team was more difficult than I had initially anticipated. It was especially difficult to create high performance within the team without the required careful support, structuring, and attention to processes that enable teamwork to achieve its full potential. The most important challenges in making the virtual teamwork were leadership, management of conflict, relationship building, and effective communication. In relation to communication, it became increasingly important for the team leader to focus on processes for situation adaptation, especially given that the use of technolog y reduced the social presence and richness present in a face-to-face context (Gignac, 2013: p44).  Moreover, the initial building of high-quality relationships based on commitment, cooperation, respect, and trust was difficult despite its importance to the efficient functioning of teamwork.

Multiple Sclerosis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Multiple Sclerosis - Assignment Example The organization’s environment offers a friendly atmosphere, the shared value among all employees, which assists in easy assimilation of all levels of multiple sclerosis stages. The Jackson Center for Multiple Sclerosis has the assumption that all patients have the right to good health as upheld in the constitution. The behavioral character absorbed by the entire fraternity of employees assists their patients and families by offering openness from both parties, from the acquired information from the families and patients; offering education or furthering research is eased. This support offers a significant role in the lives of those living with multiple sclerosis and their families (Pakenham, 2007). The founders were catalyzed to this organizational culture from dissatisfaction from concern and existing services, losses encountered by patients and families in their lives’ prime resulting from multiple sclerosis. The Jackson Center for Multiple Sclerosis leads in the treatment and study of multiple sclerosis. The families a given a high priority by being offered the opportunities to share their multiple sclerosis experience with others who can identify and understand them (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2002). Gathering at this center upholds the organizational culture by ensuring a fun, positive and educational atmosphere; this is what makes it unique. The center enhances strategies to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and bring acceptance within the society. The Jackson Center for Multiple Sclerosis organizations environment puts patients and their families first by offering individual appointments, support groups, care givers and family sessions. In conclusion, this makes the center an icon and pillar in establishing strategies underwritten in their organization culture, improving the lives of multiple sclerosis patients and their

Stalin Early Life Essay Example for Free

Stalin Early Life Essay * Born in 1879 in Georgia. Lived in a very hostile environment and was deeply influenced by this in his later years. * His father abused him and his mother. He wanted Stalin to become a shoemaker like himself. * His real fathers identity is highly disputed and may have been one of the various men around the town. * Stalin was a very bright boy and worked hard in his studies. He was also teased by others and bullied others too. He showed early signs of being a gangster and was respected and fear by many in his town. Becomes a Revolutionary * Lived under czarist domination and was introduced to forbidden Marxists books * Preached revolution to the workers and ran crimes in order to fund his communist operations. * Was sent to Siberia and prison many times but always managed to escaped. * In 1903 he joined with other activists to plan an overthrow of the Czarist government. Lenin saw Stalin as a man who could get the job done. * His involvement in the 1917 revolution was limited though. * During the Civil War he became the enforcer of the party and fought for the communists Family Life * His first wife Ekaterina Svanidze died in 1907. Stalin loved her very much and was crushed by her death. * They had a son named Yakov Dzhugashvili who Stalin did not care for. Later in WWII Yakov was captured by the Germans and commited suicide with an electrocuted fence. * Had a second wife named Nadezhda Alliluyeva. Had two children with her, Vasily and Svetlana. His wife and him did not seem to get along very well and one evening she committed suicide. Stalin Emerges * Stalin having been disappointed by his minor role in the Russian revolution, wanted to gain more power and make a name of himself. He wanted to be seen with the great communist leaders such as Lenin, Marx and Engels. To do his he had a plan to take control of the Communist party. * The other communists party members looked down upon Stalin because they believed he was a worthless bum who just did the grunt work of Lenin. * Assumed the position of General Secretary in the 1920s a job no one else wanted. He built up power on this position by spreading good propaganda about himself and negative propaganda about his rivals particularly Leon Trotsky. * When Lenin died in 1924, Stalin immediately began creating propaganda showing that he was Lenins most suitable successor. He spreaded negative rumors about the ideas of Leon Trotsky (Trotskyism) and told the Russian people that his ideas were the best. * In 1928 Stalin had Trotsky arrested and exile where he would eventually end up in Mexico and dieing from an assassin sent by Stalin. Stalins Second Revolution; Modernizing Agriculture and Industry * Early in 1928 Stalin launched his program for collectivization. All privately held agricultural land was seized by the State and so food production could be done so more efficiently. The food was given to the workers who were needed for the industrialization process. * Stalin also started the industrialization process analogous to the collectivization. This brought Russia into an expansion of many types of industries. * Stalin had anyone who opposed his laws branded as traitors to the state and were sent to Siberia where they would have been either shot or killed as examples of anyone opposing him. Stalin and Providence * Believed he had an important role in saving Russia from Czar domination and hostile nations. * Saw himself as a victim of persecution and conspiracy and would attack others before they could attack him. He was very suspicious, paranoid and resentful. * Avoided contact with ordinary people and praised himself with endless propaganda showing him as their great leader. Terror and Purges * By the mid 1930s Stalin would make sure he would have had absolute power in the party. The first step to this would be dealing with the surviving party members in the revolutionary days. * He held trials and made sure that the suspect confessed to his crime through torture and threat of death. He made many party members admit that they were traitors to Russia and had them shot. * Even his secret police the NKVD werent safe from him and many were killed in order to cover up any traces towards him.

Importance Of Cost Control In Construction Projects

Importance Of Cost Control In Construction Projects The purpose of this report is to explain the importance of cost control in construction projects and its function. The Cost Control is an important process in construction project. It is widely practiced by contractors and needs to carry out throughout the life of project. The main objective of cost control of a project is to gain the maximum profit within the designated period within the budget. To monitor and control actual expenditure against the estimated project budget. The project budget is represented by the tender price / contract sum. According to Nunnally (1998), cost control of a project involves the measuring and collecting the cost record of a project and the work progress. It also involves the comparison of actual progress with the planning. The main objective of cost control of a project is to gain the maximum profit within the designated period and satisfactory quality of work. A systematic procedure of cost control will give a good result in collecting important data in estimating and controlling of the cost of the coming projects in future. After preparing the reports based on the actual costs, it is important to distribute the remaining budget for the future periods and estimate or re-estimate the cost of the work yet to be completed. Any new information must take into account since the commencement of contracts. It is important to ensure that there should not be any under claim or over claim of the work done. This is required to maintain a steady cash flow. Also it helps the client and the contractor to manage their expenditure and income. The cost control techniques generally used in construction projects are: Cost Value Reconciliation, Control of Project Cash flow, Break  ¿Ã‚ ½ Even Analysis, Budgetary Control, and Contractors cost Control, Cost Comparison, Schedule Control and Asset Register 2. INTRODUCTION The cost control is a process that should be continued through the construction period to ensure that the cost of the building is kept within the agreed cost limits. The cost control can be divided into major areas: the control of cost during design stages and the control of cost by the contractors once the construction project has started. According to Nunnaly (1998), cost control of projects involves the measuring and collecting the cost record of a project and the work progress. It involves the comparison of actual progress with the planning. The main aims of the cost control: a) To gain the maximum profit within the designated period within the budget. b) To keep the total expenditure within the amount agreed by client, frequently based on approximate estimate of cost prepared by the quantity surveyor in the early stages of the design process. There is a need for strict cost discipline thought all stages of design and execution to ensure that the initial estimate, tender figure and final account sum all are closely related. c) To give the building client good value for money  ¿Ã‚ ½ a building which is soundly constructed, of satisfactory appearance and well suited to perform the functions for which it is required, combined with economical construction and layout. d) To achieve a balanced and logical distribution of the available funds between the various parts of the building. The cost controlling system we can use as a tool for estimating the new projects based on previous experience. To win a new project As a quantity surveyor for a construction company to research this project, I have started with reading text books to get theoretical understanding of the subject. Thereafter I have discussed the technique of cost control with my colleague and managers to get practical knowledge of this application. 3. WHAT IS COST CONTROL? Controlling how much is spent on a certain item on project. Anything above a certain amount needs approval of higher authority The process of controlling the expenses of cost in a project, from the starting of client ¿Ã‚ ½s idea to the completion and final payment on site An active process to control the causes of the cost changes, to document those cost changes, and to monitor cost fluctuations within the project 4. STATEMENT OF FACTS IN COST CONTROL According to Nunnally (1998), cost control of a project involves the measuring and collecting the cost record of a project and the work progress. It also involves the comparison of actual progress with the planning. The main objective of cost control of a project is to gain the maximum profit within the designated period and satisfactory quality of work. A systematic procedure of cost control will give a good result in collecting important data in estimating and controlling of the cost of the coming projects in future. 5. THE PURPOSE OF COST CONTROL To monitor and control actual expenditure against the estimated project budget The project budget is represented by the tender price / contract sum. 6. THE IMPORTANCE OF COST CONTROL There has in recent years been great need for an understanding of construction economics and cost control, particularly during the design stage of projects. The importance of this due largely to the following:- * The increased pace of development in general has resulted in clients being less likely to tolerate delays caused by redesigning buildings when tenders are too high. * The clients ¿Ã‚ ½ requirements today are more complex than those of their Victorian counterparts. A more effective system of control is therefore desirable from inception up to the completion of the final account, and thereafter during cost-in-use. * The clients of the industry often represent large organizations and financial institutions. This is a result of takeovers, mergers and some public ownership. De-nationalization has often meant that these large organizations remain intact as a single entity. There has thus been an increased emphasis on accountability in both the public and the private sectors of industry. The efficiency of these organizations at construction work is only as good as their advisers. * Contractor ¿Ã‚ ½s profit margins have in real terms been reduced considerably during the past decade. This resulted in their greater cost-consciousness in an attempt to redress possible losses and remain competitive. * There has, in general, been move towards the elimination of waste, and a greater emphasis on the efficient use of the world ¿Ã‚ ½s scarce resources. This has necessitated a desire for improved methods of forecasting and control of costs. * There is a general trend towards greater cost-effectiveness, and thus a need to examine construction cost, not solely in the context of initial costs, but in terms of whole-life costs. * World recession has generally produced a shortage of funds for capital purposes and construction in general. This has been coupled with high inflation and interest charges, resulting in an increase in the cost of construction. Although the relative costs compared with other commodities may be similar, the apparent high costs have resulted in greater caution, particularly on the part of clients. 7. POST  ¿Ã‚ ½ CONTRACT COST CONTROL Project cost control commences at project inception stage by the client. Thereafter costs are controlled continuously and at every stage of the project up to finalization of the construction contract. 8. THE PROJECT BUDGET For cost control on a project, the construction plan and the associated cash flow estimates can provide the baseline reference for subsequent project monitoring and control. For schedules, progress on individual activities and the achievement of milestone completions can be compared with the project schedule to monitor the progress of activities. The final detailed cost estimate provides a baseline for the assessment of financial performance during the project. To the extent that costs are within the detailed cost estimate, the project is considered to be under financial control. Overruns in particular cost categories signal the possibility of problems and give an indication of exactly what problems are being encountered. Expenses oriented construction planning and control focus upon the categories included in the final detailed cost estimation/cost plan prepared by the contractors. For cost control monitoring purpose, the original detail cost estimate is typically converted to a project budget, and the project budget is used subsequently as a guide for management. Specific items in the detailed cost estimate become job cost elements. Expenses incurred during the course of the project are recorded in specific job cost accounts to be compared with the original cost estimate in each category. In addition to costs, information on material utilization and labor inputs and productivities within each cost code is also typically monitored in the project budget. With this information, actual materials usage and labor employed can be compared to the expected requirements. As a result, cost overruns or savings on particular items can be identified as due to changes in unit price, labor productivity or in the amount of material consumed. The number of cost code associated with a particular project can vary considerably. For contractors, on the order of four hundred separate cost accounts might be used on a project. In developing or implementing a system of cost accounts / cost codes an appropriate numbering or coding system is essential to facilitate communication of information and proper aggregation of cost information. Particular cost accounts are used to indicate the expenditures associated with the specific projects and to indicate the expenditures on particular item throughout an organization. Cost coding is also used for comparing the budget with actual expenditure, which is typically referred to as cost/value reconciliation. Sample of material requisition form showing the cost code with the allowance and remaining allowanceSample of project budget summary 9. TECHNIQUES AND WAYS FOR CONTROLLING COSTS The most important of all the cost control techniques is to appoint a small team of qualified and experienced people well versed in the financial management team to manage the daily finances of the company in a very professional and systematic manner. The cost control software can be helpful in doing the work in comparatively less time and with more accuracy. A. COST VALUE RECONCILATION The cost and value of the project must be reconciled and monitored regularly. This allows a contractor to manage and control actual against estimated expenditure. This will also allow the contractor to monitor costs and value movement and importantly also monitor profit levels. For the purpose of cost control, it is not sufficient to consider only the past records of costs and revenues incurred in a project. Good project commercial managers should focus upon future revenues, future costs and technical problems. For this purpose, traditional financial accounting schemes are not adequate to reflect the dynamic nature of building project. Accounts typically focus on recording routine costs and past expenditures associated with activities. W.H.Lucas and T.L.Morrison,  ¿Ã‚ ½Management Accounting for construction Contracts, Management Accounting, 1981, PP- 59  ¿Ã‚ ½ 65. Sample of a typical cost/value Reconciliation B. CONTROL OF PROJECT CASH FLOW A positive cash flow is critical to any business. On building projects cash flow is typically generated from the periodic payment for works completed, i.e. interim payments. Cash flow forecasts are unusually prepared and based on the program of works for internal purposes and for use by the client. Sample cash flow forecast C. BREAK _- EVEN ANALYSIS A break even analysis determines the point at which one method becomes superior to another method of accomplishing some task or objective. Break even analysis is a common and important part of cost control. Example:- One illustration of break even analysis would be compare two methods of road construction for a road that involves a limited amount of cut-and-fill earth work. It would be possible earthwork by hand or by bulldozer. If the manual method were adopted, the fixed costs would be low or nonexistent. Payment would be done on a daily basis and would call for direct supervision by a foreman. The cost would be calculated by estimating the time required and multiplying this time by the average wages of the men employed. The men could also be paid on a piece-work basis. Alternatively, this work could be done by a bulldozer which would have to be moved in from another site. Let us assume that the cost of the hand labor would be $0.60 per cubic meter and the bulldozer would cost $0.40 per cubic meter and would require $100 to move in from another site. The move-in cost for the bulldozer is a fixed cost, and is independent of the quantity of the earthwork handled. If the bulldozer is used, no econ omy will result unless the amount of earthwork is sufficient to carry the fixed cost plus the direct cost of the bulldozer operation. Breakeven Example for Earthwork Excavation If, on a set of co-ordinates, cost in dollars is plotted on the vertical axis and units of production on the horizontal line parallel to the x  ¿Ã‚ ½ axis. If variable cost per unit output is constant, then the total cost for any number of unit production will be the sum of the fixed cost and the variable cost multiplied by the number of units of production, or F+NV. If the cost data two processes or methods, one of which has higher variable cost, but lower fixed cost than the other are plotted on the same graph, the total cost lines will intersect at some point. At this point the levels of production and total cost are the same. This point known as the  ¿Ã‚ ½breakeven ¿Ã‚ ½ point, since at this level one method is as economical other. Referring the above Figure the breakeven point at which quantity the bulldozer alternative and the manual labor alternative become equal is at 500 cubic meters. We could have found this same result algebraically by writing F+NV = F ¿Ã‚ ½+NV ¿  ½, where F and V are the fixed and variable costs for the manual method and, F ¿Ã‚ ½ and V ¿Ã‚ ½ are the corresponding values for the bulldozer method. Since we all values are known except N, we can solve for N using the formula N = (F ¿Ã‚ ½  ¿Ã‚ ½ F) / (V-V ¿Ã‚ ½) D. BUDGETARY CONTROL Budgets are used for planning and controlling the income and expenditure in many different organizations. It is through the budget that a company ¿Ã‚ ½s plans and objectives can be converted into quantitative and monetary terms. Without these a company has little control. The budget may represent a total sum divided among a number of subheadings or work packages. It is important that the various sub headings include a timescale, since the expenditure by both the contractor and the client needs to be matched against income or the availability of funds. While the contractor will have a work program for the project and this can be costed, the procedure may be disrupted by delays on the part of all those involved and through changes (variations) to the original scheme. This information will give a rate of expenditure and a rate of income throughout the project, and by deducting income from expenditure the amount of capital required at the different times can then be calculated. The contractor will need to aggregate this information from all projects in order company position the company position. For budgeting purpose these data are prepared in advance of work being carried out on site. The information will also be collected after the execution of the works in order to establish the  ¿Ã‚ ½as done ¿Ã‚ ½ position and to facilitate a comparison with the budget. This known as budgetary control. In common with other control techniques, budgetary control is a continuous process undertaken throughout the contract duration. When variances from the budget occur, the contractor will need to assess the reason for them. E. CONTRACTORS COST CONTROL The contractor, having priced successfully enough to win the contract through tendering, must now ensure that the work can be completed for the estimated costs. One of the duties of the contractor ¿Ã‚ ½s quantity surveyors is to monitor the expenditure and advice site management of action that should be taken. This process also includes the costs of subcontractors, since these forms a part of the main contractor ¿Ã‚ ½s total expenditure. The contractor ¿Ã‚ ½s surveyors also comment on the profitability of different site operations. Where loss-making situations are encountered, decisions need to be taken to reverse this position if at all possible. The fact that estimators can be wide of the mark when estimating, even with common items, the contractor would seek reason for such a wide variation between costs and prices. This will be done for two reasons; first, in an attempt to recoup some of the loss; second, to avert such errors in future work. This situation may have arisen for one of the following reasons. * The character of the work is different from that envisaged at the time of tender. * The conditions for executing the work have changed. * Adverse weather conditions severely disrupted the work * There was inefficient use of resources. * There was excessive wastage of materials. * Plant had to stand idle for long periods of time. * Delays had occurred because of a lack of accurate design information F. COST COMPARISION In practice it is always difficult make to comparison between costs and valuations, since either the full items of expenditure are unavailable or the valuation has only been approximately prepared. However, the contractor does need to determine which contracts are profitable and which are not, and also to determine which operations gain or lose money. The information which is the generated may be used to form the basis of contractual claims or to assist in future tendering and the contractor ¿Ã‚ ½s selection of projects for which to tender. Both the actual profit and percentage on cost can be calculated from the given table. This offers the contractor an indication of the financial Trent, although in order to measure this realistically these figures need to be compared with their respective budgets. It is unclear from these data alone whether the contract was successful. By inference it can be suggested that the project reached its most successful stage in terms of profit alone at month 7. The profit  ¿Ã‚ ½expenditure ratio, however, had been decreasing since the commencement of the contract. This is also typical feature of fixed price contracts if the anticipated profit has been disturbed evenly throughout the project. Towards the end of the contract the project was probably losing money. For example compare the expenditure with the valuation for the month 9. This may suggest that work has been deliberately overvalued during this early stage. Month (Valuation  ¿Ã‚ ½ expenditure) G. SCHEDULE CONTROL In addition to cost control, commercial managers must also give considerable attention to monitoring schedules. (E.g. variation schedules) Construction typically involves a deadline for work completion, so contractual agreements will force attention to schedules. More generally, delays in construction represent additional costs to the client due to late facility occupancy or other factors. Just as costs incurred are compared to budgeted costs, actual activity durations may be compared to expected durations. In this process, forecasting the time to complete particular activities may be required. The methods used for forecasting completion times of activities are directly analogous to those used for forecasting. For example, a typical estimating formula might be : Df = Wht Where Df is the forecast duration, W is the amount of work, and ht is the observed productivity to time t. As with cost control, it is important to devise efficient and cost effective methods for gathering information on actual project accomplishment. Planned Vs Actual Expenditures H. ASSET REGISTER A part of Cost control techniques maintain and updating the register of the company ¿Ã‚ ½s inventory of assets, e.g. plant and equipment. The inventory should list all of the items that have been purchased by the company, their date of acquisition, initial value, current value (approximate), and/or depreciation, age and expected renewal date. The location of the asset and, if appropriate, the manufacturer ¿Ã‚ ½s serial number should be included. This register will remain an active document and be constantly updated. The inventory provides an accurate checklist for insurance purpose and to substantiate claims should these be necessary. The asset register can also be employed for taxation purposes in respect of depreciation and replacement funding. It acts as a financial register for the company ¿Ã‚ ½s assets. 10. ILLUSTRATIONS (TABLES AND GRAPHS) A. PROPORTION COMPLETION Vs EXPENDITURE FOR AN ACTIVITY B. PLANNED VS ACTUAL PROGRESS OVER TIME ON A PROJECT C. COST CODE SAMPLE D. VARIATION SCHEDULE SAMPLE E. LIGHT FITTINGS TRACKING SCHEDULE 11. CONCLUSION The main objective of cost control is to minimize and reduce the project costs. Cost control is necessary for all types of project disregarding its sizes. Most of the contractors have their own cost control system. The amount of detail and time interval between cost control reports must be considered, which is different according to level of management for which they have prepared mostly, it will be on monthly basis. After preparing the reports based on the actual costs, it is important to distribute the remaining budget for the future periods and estimate or re-estimate the cost of the work yet to be completed. Any new information must take into account since the commencement of contracts. It is important to ensure that there should not be any under claim or over claim of the work done. This is required to maintain a steady cash flow. Also, it helps the client and the contractor to manage their expenditure and income. The cost control techniques generally used in construction projects are: Cost Value Reconciliation, Control of Project Cash flow, Break  ¿Ã‚ ½ Even Analysis, Budgetary Control, and Contractors cost Control, Cost Comparison, Schedule Control and Asset Register.

Hackers and the Evolution of Intellectual Property Rights Essay

Hackers and the Evolution of Intellectual Property Rights Introduction According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, theft is, "The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious taking and removing of personal property, with an intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same" (Webster's 2). Before the advent of moveable type, no one had cause to apply this concept to information rather than physical property. If one were to steal a book, the act was easily recognized as of the same moral color as stealing a horse, a nugget of gold, or any other physical object. The thief?s possession of the stolen item constituted the rightful owner?s lack of it, a loss both real and measurable. Today, theft seems a hazier concept, due to the popularization and codification of Intellectual Property (IP) rights. IP rights differ from standard property rights in that they signify an individual's right of ownership over "intangible things" (Kinsella 3). Arguably, the most important such things are patents and copyrights. Patents protect inventions, and copyrig hts protect "original forms of expression" (Fisher 1). In both cases, the right to ownership amounts to ownership of an idea, not a physical object. Intellectual Property Rights in the United States The first American federal copyright law was enacted in the first year after the states ratified the Constitution. The original protection extended was for a period of fourteen years, with one renewal possible at the end of the term assuming the continued survival of the author. As famously stated in an 1853 federal circuit court ruling over Uncle Tom?s Cabin, such protections provided for government intervention only to protect the author?s, ?exclusive right to print... ...insella, N. Stephan. ?In Defense of Napster and Against the Second Homesteading Rule?. LewRockwell.com. 4 Sept 2000. URL: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/kinsella2.html Schwartz, John. ?A Heretical View of File Sharing?. New York Times Online. 5 April 2004. URL: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30813 ?The Approved Licenses?. Open Source Initiative. 2004. URL:http://www.opensource.org/licenses/index.php The Mentor. ?The Conscience of a Hacker?. 8 January 1986. URL: http://surf.to/jaeger/hackman.html ?The Open Source Definition?. Open Source Initiative. 2004.URL: http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php ?Theft?. Webster?s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Dictionary.com. 6 May 2004. URL: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=theft ?Welcome to Open Source?. Open Source Initiative. 2004. URL: http://www.opensource.org

Down Syndrome Essay -- Biology Biological Medical Essays

Down Syndrome They used to be called "Mongoloids," an ethnic insult coined by John Langdon Down, an English physician during the nineteenth century. But now they are known as people, individuals with a condition known as Down syndrome. (3). It wasn't until the 1960s that Jerome Lejeune and Patricia Jacobs discovered the cause of Down syndrome (also called trisomy 21). But with technological advancements within the scientific community, more and more information has been gathered about the condition that affects about one in every one thousand children born around the world. (4). Research shows that Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused by certain chromosomal abnormalities. Chromosomes within cells are composed of proteins and genetic information in the form of DNA. Human cells normally contain 23 pairs of chromosomes to make a total of 46 chromosomes in each cell. When sex cells (eggs and sperm) divide through the process of meiosis, one cell splits into two parts so that each of the resulting cells only has 23 chromosomes, rather than 46. But many errors can occur during cell division. During meiosis, the chromosomes are supposed to split and go to different areas of the cell. This step in the process of meiosis is called disjunction. But sometimes during cell division, a chromosome will not detach and it will stay with its pair chromosome. This results in one of the new cells having 24 chromosomes and the other having only 22 chromosomes. An error such as this is called nondisjunction. If a cell with this error mates with a normal cell, the fert ilized egg will end up with an uneven number of chromosomes. (3). In the instance of Down syndrome, 95 percent of all cases are caused by nondisjunction, and 90 p... ... some cells, researchers get closer and closer each year to discovering the mystery of trisomy 21. With every new development, and with increased education and research, the quality of life improves for the people who, not long ago, were exiled from society for being "different" from other people. Internet Sources: 1)"Prenatal Screening for Down Syndrome", http://www.ds-health.com/prenatal.htm 2)"Comprehensive Speech and Language Treatment for Infants, Toddlers, and Children with Down Syndrome", http://www.ds-health.com/speech.htm 3)"Trisomy 21: The Story of Down Syndrome", http://www.ds-health.com/trisomy.htm 4)Down Syndrome: Background Information", http://www.nas.com/downsyn/faq1.html 5)About Down Syndrome", http://www.ndss.org/aboutds/aboutds.html#PPgenetic 6)About Down Syndrome http://www.ndss.org/aboutds/aboutds.html#PPmedical

Leadership Approaches

Leadership implies the ability to guide, direct, or influence people. In a certain family owned coffee plantation, the need arose for a quick decision on enlisting the company into the stock exchange. Given its rising fortunes, future prospects and need to acquire addition expansion capital, this was a good move. But this is a family-owned business, and selling its shares to the public might amount to selling the family’s fortune away. The first son who had the running of the company under his hands had to take the decision. He was not a professional in the business, so he called for two separate meetings of the company board and the family. Having heard collectively, he was able to sell 50% of the company shares to the public, leaving 50% to the family members, discretionary rights to buy as much of the public offers as they are able. Groups  of  people  living in bands have no formal leadership, and all people have input in making group decisions. Most decision-making in tribes occurs within households. Occasionally, most or all members of lineages or clans convene to make important village decisions, such as about dealing with neighboring tribes. Descent groups may also regulate access to crucial resources, such as favored hunting areas, and choose where people will live. (Bodley, 2006) According to Max de Pree  (1924  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  ), the best management process for today's environment is participative management based on covenantal relationships. Industrial Management, in business, is a term used to describe the techniques and expertise of efficient organization, planning, direction, and control of the operations of a business. Industrial management and the managerial grid Thus the style approach tends to analyze the individuals involved and see how best to harness their collective contributions to realizing the collective company goals. This is explained below: Technical: The technical ingenuity of an individual alone can not accomplish the required task and as such technical expertise is best utilized in team work, especial at the middle and supervisory levels. Human: The Human Resources of a skilled employer depends on training. For the top levels, this is most essential because it defines the course the company has to follow. Also, for the supervisory and middle level, an average proficiency is needed. Conceptual: the conceptual power of the middle level brings up growth while that of the top level drives this growth and ensures its sustenance. The managerial grid simply defines a hierarchy of flow of management in a leadership set-up. It clearly defines positions of authority and responsibility by all involved. A managerial grid, which consists of the CEO as the boss, includes the administrative, finance, operational and marketing management is it line of responsibilities. Work flows progressively, with each division taking decisions it is well vested on or its line of duty. Major decisions are taken by the board comprising of the CEO and managers. This enables the company to take sound and fair decisions which is responsive to the general interest of the company’s sustenance. In the theory of industrial management, organization has two principal aspects. One relates to the establishment of so-called lines of responsibility, drawn usually in the form of an organization chart that designates the executives of the business, from the president to the foreperson or department head, and specifies the functions for which they are responsible. The other principal aspect relates to the development of a staff of qualified executives. The Managing Director or CEO is the most senior manager of a company. The managing director is responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, but has a seat on the board of directors. The managing director may also be the chairman of the company, but in large companies the role of chairman is usually separate from that of managing director. He works with the Board of Directors or a group of directors elected by stockholders at the annual general meeting of a company to supervise the running of the company. Executive directors are managers of a company, working full time and with salaries paid by the company. Nonexecutive directors have no management position and are likely to look after the affairs of the company on a part-time basis. The  top  managers  of  a corporation are appointed or dismissed by a corporation’s board of directors, which represents stockholders’ interests. However, in practice, the board of directors is often made up of people who were nominated by the top managers of the company. Members of the board of directors are elected by a majority of voting stockholders, but most stockholders vote for the nominees recommended by the current board members. Stockholders can also vote by proxy—a process in which they authorize someone else, usually the current board, to decide how to vote for them. Businesses  rely  on  effective human resource management (HRM) to ensure that they hire and keep good employees and that they are able to respond to conflicts between workers and management. HRM specialists initially determine the number and type of employees that a business will need over its first few years of operation. They are then responsible for recruiting new employees to replace those who leave and for filling newly created positions. A business’s HRM division also trains or arranges for the training of its staff to encourage worker productivity, efficiency, and satisfaction, and to promote the overall success of the business. Finally, human resource managers create workers’ compensation plans and benefit packages for employees. Planning in industrial management has three principal aspects. One is the establishment of broad basic policies with respect to production; sales; the purchase of equipment, materials, and supplies; and accounting. The second aspect relates to the implementation of these policies by departments. The third relates to the establishment of standards of work in all departments. Direction is concerned primarily with supervision and guidance by the executive in authority; in this connection a distinction is generally made between top management, which is essentially administrative in nature, and operative management, which is concerned with the direct execution of policy. Control involves the use of records and reports to compare performance with the established standards for work. Industrial management as just defined dates from the latter part of the 19th century. A notable impetus to its evolution was provided by the American engineer Frederick Taylor, who developed techniques for analyzing the operations involved in production and for setting standards for a day's work. The techniques originally devised by Taylor were adapted by industrialists to other phases of business, including the employment of qualified workers, and wage incentive programs either to replace or to supplement the piecework system that had previously prevailed. Industrial management experts who succeeded Taylor have applied his techniques to a wider range of business problems. Among the leading successors are the Austrian-American management consultant and educator Peter Drucker and the American economist, writer, and diplomat John Kenneth Galbraith. New  explanations  and  fresh policies were urgently required; this was precisely what Keynes supplied. In his enduring work The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, the central message translates into two powerful propositions. (1) Existing explanations of unemployment he declared to be nonsense: Neither high prices nor high wages could explain persistent depression and mass unemployment. (2) Instead, he proposed an alternative explanation of these phenomena focused on what he termed aggregate demand—that is, the total spending of consumers, business investors, and governmental bodies. When aggregate demand is low, he theorized, sales and jobs suffer; when it is high, all is well and prosperous. From  these  generalities flowed a powerful and comprehensive view of economic behavior—the basis of contemporary macroeconomics. Because consumers were limited in the amounts that they could spend by the size of their incomes, they could not be the source of the ups and downs of the business cycle. It followed that the dynamic forces were business investors and governments. In a recession or depression, the proper thing to do was either to enlarge private investment or create public substitutes for the shortfalls in private investment. In mild economic contractions, easy credit and low interest rates (monetary policy) might stimulate business investments and restore aggregate demand to a figure consistent with full employment. More severe contractions required the sterner remedy of deliberate budget deficits either in the form of spending on public works or subsidies to afflicted groups. Some  big  corporations established overseas operations and became multinational. Producers in the United States depended on world markets to buy oil, iron, steel, and food that they exported. They also increased their overseas investments. Standard Oil (later Exxon), for instance, developed oil resources in Venezuela and the Middle East. Coca-Cola swept through Europe, where it set up bottling factories. New types of bureaucrats ran the big businesses of postwar America. In The Organization Man (1956), sociologist William H. Whyte wrote that employers sought managers who would adapt to corporate culture, which rewarded teamwork and conformity. The essential characteristic of the behavioral approach to learning is that events in the environment are understood to predict a person’s behavior, not thoughts, feelings, or other events that take place inside the person. Strict behaviorists believe that it is dangerous and unscientific to treat thoughts and feelings as the causes of a person’s behavior, because no one can see another person’s thoughts or feelings. Behaviorists maintain that human learning can be explained by examining the stimuli, reinforces, and punishments that a person experiences. According to behaviorists, reinforcement and punishment, along with other basic principles such as generalization and discrimination, can explain even the most advanced types of human learning, such as learning to read or to solve complex problems. Conclusion In the situation described above, the head of the family coffee company simply executed collective leadership. The leader behavior thus makes sense when you realize the amount of gains that has been added to the company based on this sharp approach. This supports the leadership theory described and it has helped me to understand my feelings and behavior in this particular situation. Business  plays  a  vital role in the life and culture of countries with industrial and postindustrial (service- and information-based) free-market economies such as the United States. In free-market systems, prices and wages are primarily determined by competition, not by governments. In the United States, for example, many people buy and sell goods and services as their primary occupations. In 2001 American companies sold in excess of $10 trillion worth of goods and services. Businesses provide just about anything consumers want or need, including basic necessities such as food and housing, luxuries such as whirlpool baths and wide-screen televisions, and even personal services such as caring for children and finding companionship. A typical example of a non-collective leadership is in a one-man business. The Entrepreneur thus is one who assumes the responsibility and the risk for a business operation with the expectation of making a profit. The entrepreneur generally decides on the product, acquires the facilities, and brings together the labor force, capital, and production materials. If the business succeeds, the entrepreneur reaps the reward of profits; if it fails, he or she takes the loss. In his writings, the Austrian-American economist Joseph A. Schumpeter stressed the role of the entrepreneur as an innovator, the person who develops a new product, a new market, or a new means of production. One important example was Henry Ford. In the industrialized economies of the late 20th century, giant corporations and conglomerates have largely replaced the individual owner-operator. There is still a place for the entrepreneur, however, in small businesses as well as in the developing economies of the Third World nations. (Redmond, 2006) References Bodley, John H. â€Å"Culture.† Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 Dryzek, John. â€Å"Political Science† Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 Redmond, WA â€Å"Entrepreneur.† Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 Redmond, WA â€Å"Industrial Management.† Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 Redmond, WA â€Å"Invention (device or process).† Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006