How Single parenting has negative effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Single parenting has negative effect - Essay Example In this regard, the current discourse aims to contend that single parenting has negative effects that are detrimental to the children, and to the single parent, in the long run. Single parenting poses risks to the parent tasks to raise the children alone due to exposure to more stressors in responding to the needs of the family. As a single parent, the mother or father has to find ways and means to support the children holistically; meaning, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. As asserted by Hertz, â€Å"women who came from working class backgrounds were at one and the same time proud of their mothers’ employment achievements and sad that it was their mothers who were doubly burdened with keeping family life together† (6). As such, the need to fit all tasks and endeavors in a limited time frame poses health risks to single parents, including risks for developing anxieties, depression, cardiovascular diseases, and even burnout. Concurren tly, single parenting also exposes the children to be recipients of bursts of emotions and negativity. This fact was revealed by Aldort and Aldort who contended that â€Å"sometimes, in spite of all our intentions to love and be kind, what we might feel toward a child is anger and even resentment† (15). ... These are often feelings that we may not be aware of because of fear and discomfort rooted in our past experiences† (Aldort and Aldort 15). The negative impact of these outbursts to children include loss of confidence in themselves, depression, low morale, and even fear to socialize, trust others, and open up, as required. After having presented the negative effects of single parenting to the parent and the children, it could also be asserted its damaging repercussion to social structures, particularly in terms of maintaining a solid and unified family as the basic unit of society. Single parents need to exert double efforts to make up for the loss of the physical presence of spouse and of a father or mother to the children. As such, there seems to be something lacking that is felt by the parent and the children alike. This void could not be replaced by material things or by other people. Therefore, the negativity associated with trying to fill the void remains persistent. As a verred, â€Å"warmth, discipline, materialism - dealing with all these issues effectively demands that we address not only the challenges that parents face, but also the needs that they have as they try to be the best parent they can† (Levine 169). As such, inasmuch as the single parent focusing all his or her efforts to provide a holistic support to the children, the needs of the parent could most likely be neglected and wanting. Thus, the core values of maintaining a cohesive and supporting family, as the basic unit, are definitely eroded as society begins to accept single parenting as the socio-cultural norm in contemporary societies. There are those who argue that

The Core Objective Of JWD Organisations

The Core Objective Of JWD Organisations The case study that we are going to cover is of JWDs consulting project management intranet site project, the objective of this case is to identify and to recognize the critical assumptions and constraints of project management. The core objective of JWD is to provide world class project management services related to project management to various organizations that is in need for better project management services. According to the CEO of JWD, Joe Fleming the company can streamline its services and also can increase and maintain its business opportunities and services by providing all the informations related to project management and its services on the companys intranet site, to make the services and products informations available to its current and potential clients. Objectives The business objective of JWD is to formulate strategies to find new opportunities and to continue their growth in the market along with increasing the profitability of the company. The major objective of the company in formulating the project management intranet site is to support the objectives as defined by the company in its strategy and to increase the visibility of the expertise of the firm to its internet. The company will not only achieve their strategic objectives but also help in reducing the organizations internal costs by presenting standard tools, techniques, templates, and project management knowledge to all the internal consultants that are associated to the company. The project management intranet site will give a threshold to the company in meeting those objectives finally. Current situation and problem/opportunity statement JWD currently has a fully functioning web site as well as a corporations intranet; the organization uses the website to provide information about the company. And the intranet is basically used for providing human resource information to the employees such as let know the employees about the hours where they have to put their efforts on various projects and also let know the employee about their benefits and other assets and also allowing them to change certain informations about them at times. The other major advantages of the intranet for the employees is that they can access the online directory related to the company and its clients, the intranet also provides the employees with the benefit of using the web based e-mail system where they can read and compose mails from their ID that is given to them from the company. The firm also uses an enterprise-wide project management system where the firm can track the progress in the projects and other reports and processes that is going on in the organization. The major focus of the enterprise-wide project management system is that it can focus on the status of deliverables and other meetings scopes, time and cost goals. The opportunity that the company has about including a new section on the companys intranet is that of sharing the consultants project management information and knowledge across the organization. The main point about the JWD consultancy is that it recruits only professional and experienced consultants that have wide knowledge and an area of expertise in the field of consultancy and gives them freedom to work on projects that they feel feasible according to the corporations requirements, and which they think might fit in the structure of the organization. However even the most experienced and the most talented professionals is seeking for advice in the company on how to work effectively and efficiently as the business is growing exponentially and the projects are becoming more and more complex. Critical assumptions and constraints The intranet site that is proposed should be a valuable asset to the company as the company had invested a huge amount and resources in the project. For the success of the project many factors plays a major role such as the consultants and the clients should actively support the project to give a threshold and a sense of satisfaction to the company as it is very important for the company to keep their morale up. The intranet site must have the capability of generating back the amount that was invested in the project by reducing the internal costs of various other processes that were going on in the organization before the introduction of the project of intranet site, and also to provide new business opportunities to the company. The main part that is to be played in the success and the initiation of the intranet site project should be that of the project manager who should make sure that all the processes related to the project is successfully implemented and is of worth. Secondly there should be an active participation in the project by expertise from various sections of the company as well as from the clients organization. The new system should be capable of running on the existing softwares and hardwares of the company so that no extra cost of implementing new hardware and software should be faced by the company. One more thing that the software should be capable of is that the software should be very handy to use i.e. there should be no complexity in operating the software by the client and other user form the public so that no extra cost should be faced by the company in providing the training and knowledge about the software. But the main thing is that the software should be secured enough so that no unauthenticated user can access the data that is not meant for him. Analysis of options and recommendations There are three options before the company to address the opportunity The first option before the company is to do nothing i.e. any need for any new software or service solution as the business is doing well, new service can only make the job more complicated for the company. The second option before the company is to buy new specialized software rather than building one and to make a little development about the software to increase and to maintain its capability in the company. The third option before the company was to design and develop new intranet capabilities in the company itself using mostly the resources that they already had with them like the existing hardwares and softwares and the human resource that they have in the organization. Based on the discussion that was done with the stakeholders the ultimate conclusion that JWD arrived to is to use the third option. 6. Preliminary project requirement The major features and services that the intranet site promises to provide are: The intranet site will give user an access to several project management templates and tools. I.e. the user must be able to use the templates and tools and also get have access to the instructions of how to use these templates and tools along with the examples to use these templates and tools on real time projects and services. One more feature that is included is that the user will be able to submit new templates and tools that can prove to be beneficial for the company and also reflects the users ability. The submission of templates and tools are subjected to be first edited and screened from the project management office. The user will have an access to related project management articles that will help them in working on their own project. The clients and consultants will feel as there is an information overload when they will research on the project management information. This results in the wasting of precious time that they should be spending with their clients. The new intranet facility will include an access to all the project management articles that will prove to be very important in the project management, the articles will be made available to be searched by the topic name, this will save the precious time of the user and hence results in high productivity. The user can also send a command to the project management office requesting them to find additional articles that will meet their needs. The intranet site will also have links to other main web-sites that will help the users in gaining important knowledge about the subjects. The site will also have a brief description about the external web-sites. The site will have a very important feature named ask the experts that will help in building relationship with the current and the future clients, this feature will also help in sharing knowledge with the internal consultants. The intranet will have appropriate security measures so that only authenticated persons can get the informations and no person can get that information that is not meant for him, only the internal consultants and the authenticated persons can have access to the required information. The site must have a feature to charge for the premium services to the internal members and the internal consultants. The site must also have a feature to charge the external users for some features. The payment option should have a credit card option along with other payment options. The user should be able to download the required information and data only after the verification of the payment. The other features that should be included in the site should be suggested by the users. 7. Budget estimates and financial analysis The JWD consultancy estimated the cost for the entire project to be $1, 40,000. The estimate that the consultancy arrived at is based on the factors that the project manager has to work for 20 hours per week in a total for about 6 months, and the other internal staff that is estimated to be working for 60 hours per week for a total duration of 6 months. The customer representatives were not considered to be paid under the project, the staff project managers pay will be $50 per hour, the pay of other members of the project management staff was considered to be $70 per hour, some initial cost were also estimated to be $10,000 for purchasing softwares and services from suppliers. After the completion of the project JWD estimated that the cost for the management and the maintenance of the software thereafter is estimated to be $40,000 per year by the company, this cost that was estimated were primarily to update the ask the expert feature and the online articles. The projected benefits were based on the reduction of hours that the consultants will spend on doing the research on the project management information, tools and templates and other related features. The projected benefits that the consultancy estimated were of the profit and new services that the project will develop for the country and hence will count in the companys revenue. The company estimated that if 400 consultants will save 40 hours per year and if they could bill that time span to other projects that have generated a profit of $10 per hour, then it is estimated by the company that they could earn a profit of $1, 60,000 per annum, and if the intranet produces new business by 1% then it is estimated that the profit generated by the new project would be at least $ 40,000 per annum. Therefore the total profit that the company estimated would be around $ 2, 00,000 per annum. 8. Schedule estimate The sponsors of the company were hoping to see the project completed within six months, but there were flexibility in the schedule. The estimated life cycle of the product was assumed to be around 3 years by the company, and the product is considered to be very useful in its lifetime. 9. Potential risks Several risks were involved with this project. The first and the foremost risk that was assumed by the company was that of the internal consultants and the external clients, as they dont have any idea about the interest of the clients and the internal consultants in the new system i.e. the clients and the internal consultants were not satisfied that if the project will be proved to be fruitful and will be profitable for the organization. User input also has a great significance and is very crucial for the system to be successful as the users are the ones that populate the data into the system, and the users were the ones that could tell the efficiency of the system and also realize the potential benefits of using the system. The technical risks that were involved in the system were the searching method that was used to search the data on the intranet, and the security risks that were involved in the system like that of hacking into the system and the failure of the payment system. But the system were using only that technologies that are technically proven by the experts therefore, there is a very little chance that the system will fail because of the technical failure. The major business risks that were included in the system are the risk of the investment of money and time along with the investment of human resource. One more major business risk associated with the system is that of the projected benefits of the system i.e. not realizing the projected benefits of the system would be a great business risk for the organization as the organization would suffer a huge loss if they couldnt identify the potential of the software. 10. Exhibits (Budgeting) Exhibit A: financial analysis for the project management intranet site Table : financial exhibit Project charter Project title The title of the project was project management intranet site project Project start date The project was scheduled to be started on May, 2, 2008 Project finish date The project was scheduled to be ended on November, 4, 2008 Budget information The budget that the firm allocated for the project management intranet site was $ 1, 40,000. The initial estimate that the project manager estimated was a total of 80 hours per week work and that work was estimated to be done by internal labors majorly. Project manager Erica bell was appointed as the project manager for the whole project. Project objectives The objective before the firm was to develop a new capability that is accessible on JWD consulting intranet site, the main task of the site will be to help internal and external customers in managing new projects effectively and conveniently. The main features of the site is that the site will contain several tools and techniques that can be downloaded by the authenticated users and the outside users after paying some amount, the site will also contain examples of completed projects and templates that will be based on real time projects and that can be used by the internal consultants and clients for detailed understanding and completion of their projects effectively, the site will also contain important articles based on project management topics and that can also be used for gaining knowledge and understanding about the project management related topics, the site will also have an article retrieval service that will allow the user to send their query for the related article to the project management section and the project management section will made available those articles to the user. The intranet site will also have links to various other useful sites with a brief overview of the contents and the usefulness of the site, this feature will help the user in getting all the information about any related topic that they are unable to find on the companys intranet site. The intranet site will also have an ask the expert feature on the site that will help the users to post questions and queries that they have about any project, after asking the advice from the experts about a related project the user will get an expert advice on how to tackle that problem and the related strategies about that project. Some sections of the intranet site will be made available to the user so that they can access for free of cost, the other features of the site will be paid for the external users. But most of the section of the intranet site will be accessible to current customers and the internal consultants of the company, but there could be some features for which the internal consultants and the clients would have to pay, that features would be the value added or the add-on features of the site. Approach The approach applied by the firm on the project is: The first thing that the project management team does is that they conducted a survey among the consultants and the customers to determine the critical features of the new intranet site. The second approach that the project management team applied is to review the external and internal templates and to review the project management documents thoroughly. The third approach by the project management team is concerned with the security and the accessibility features of the intranet site i.e. the project management team researched on the softwares that will provide the security features, manage user inputs in a corrected and well accessible mode, facilitate the articles, and to use and to implement the ask the experts feature. The fourth approach that had being taken by the project management team is to use the iterative approach to develop the intranet site i.e. to continuously feed suggestions from descent users and to make the changes accordingly if applicable anywhere in the site like that related to the security features, and the applications. The fifth approach that the project management team has taken is related to the financial aspects of the project intranet site i.e. the team is developing approach to determine the ways to measure the value of the intranet site in terms of reduced costs and in terms of finding ways to generate new revenues, both of these strategies is being monitor during the project and for one year period after the completion of the project. Roles and responsibilities Table : role and responsibilities of the team Comments: I will support this project as time allows, but I believe my client project take priority. I will have one of my assistants support the project as needed-Michael Chen We need to be extremely careful testing this new system, especially the security in giving access to parts of the intranet site to the public and clients.-Kevin Dodge and Cindy Dawson Project management planning Planning phase in the project management process is considered to be the most difficult phase as it consists of various processes and often is an unappreciated process. As planning is not always facilitated therefore many peoples assume that project planning is a vein process and view it in negativity. The main purpose of the project planning is to guide the project in executing successfully. And to successfully execute the project it is necessary that the planning for the project execution should be realistic and useful i.e. it should be feasible, therefore a fair amount of time and process is required for the project planning process. In the project planning process peoples who is knowledgeable with the project planning phase should work on the project planning process. The planning and processes table explains all the areas of project management planning like knowledge area of the project, planning process of the project, and the outputs that the team was getting after executing each and every task. In view of the fact that the project management intranet site project was relatively small therefore, the project manager Erica believes that the most important planning documents that the team should consider should be the: A team contract that will bound the team to their responsibilities. A project scope statement that will clarify the scope and other aspects of the project A work breakdown structure i.e. WBS should also be included. The team will also need to formulate a Gantt chart analysis that will cover all the dependencies and the resources that is entered. All the documents that were discussed and other information that is related to the project will be available to all the team members so, that the team members would have a detailed understanding of all the processes that is going on and will have a chance to make suggestions wherever applicable. JWD consulting had already used project websites for quite a few years and had been very successful in facilitating communications and document related informations. JWD consulting had also created project organization charts, along with a formal communications management plans, quality management plan, a detailed cost estimate plan, procurement plans, and other planning documents that is really helpful for the company in formulating strategies and other plans. As soon as the project team had signed the charter, the project manager Erica organized a team-builder meeting related to the project management intranet site, the purpose of calling the meeting was that she wants each and every person of the group to get comfortable with each other i.e. she wanted that each person in the group should not be shy of any other person of the group and should feel comfortable with working with them, Erica herself had talked and met other members of the team personally and shared her professional experiences with them, this was the very first time that the whole project team is spending much time together. The team members consisted of Jessie faue who worked with Erica in the project management office, therefore they knew each other very well, but as Jessie was new to the company therefore she needed a team gathering to interact with others, Michael Chen was the senior consultant for the firm and had been involved in highest priority projects for the exte rnal clients, Michael attended the meeting with his assistant Jill Anderson who will support the project in the absence of micheal, michaels involvement in the project was a double benefit for the team as he is very straightforward in dealing clients and is very experienced in his field, Michaels assistance would also be a great benefit for the team as Michael knew both of the client representatives from past projects. Kevin dodge was JWDs intranet guru who had a great insight of technical aspects and had a very good experience in this area. Cindy Dawson was also from the IT department of JWD and she also had a good experience in working as a business consultant and has remarkable negotiating skills. Kim Phuong and page miller was the two client representatives, and they were very excited about the project, but they were cagey of sharing sensitive information about their company with the team of JWD. Erica had used certain techniques to let the team members get to know each other, she asked everyone about their dream vacations and where they want to spend most of their time, this activity proved to be an ice-breaker activity for the team as everybody felt relaxed after sharing their thoughts with each other. After the session, Erica explained each and every aspect related to the project to the team and also explained the importance of the project and other major aspects, she also explained that the most important thing in working as a team is an effective teamwork therefore she then asked everyone to sign a contract that every person in the group felt comfortable in signing the project. Contract signing between the team members for all projects had always been the key strategy of JWD to help in promoting the team work and to clarify the communication between the team. Erica then explained the major aspects of the contract explaining all the details and aspects related to the contract, and then showed the team a sample template related to the contract. Erica then divided the project management team into a group of two, the first group is the group consisting of all the members from the consulting department and in the other group she departs all the members of the information technology department. This strategy of Erica helped the team as all the members are now related to a particular group where they expertise their field, now everyone can provide their ideas and contribute to the knowledge related to the project in their fields. Table : planning processes and output Scope statement Project name: project management intranet site project Date: may 18, 2008 Prepared by: Erica bell, project manager Project justification The CEO of JWD consulting, requested this project to support the company in meeting its strategic goals. The main features of the intranet site is that the site would increase transparency of the companys products and services to the current clients and to the potential clients, with the help of the intranet which would be available to the clients and potential clients. The intranet site will also help the company in reducing its internal costs and also help in streamlining the processes and operations that is going on in the company, the intranet site will also help the company to increase the companys profitability by providing new opportunities, standard tools, new techniques, templates for assistance in project development, and will also provide project informations and knowledge to internal clients. The budget passed for the project is $ 1, 40,000. An additional amount of $ 40,000 per year will also be required after the completion of the project for the maintenance of the site and to include new features in the site. The benefits that are estimated that the site would produce per year would be $200,000 per year by generating new businesses. It is very important to keep focused on the system paying for itself i.e. the amount that is invested in the development of the project, within one year of the completion of the project. Project management related deliverables Business case, charter, team contract, scope statement, WBS, schedule, cost baseline, status report, final project presentation, final project report, lessons-learned report, and other related documents are important for the management of this project. Project execution Executing any project involves taking necessary actions to ensure all the processes are executed and is complied in the project management plan. Project execution also includes the work that is required to include any new hardware or software or any new process to include into normal operations. Most of the products that the project had promised to deliver had been completed in the project execution phase and usually requires most of the resources to accomplish most of the processes. All the processes are like knowledge area, executing processes, and the output of the project execution phase is listed in the planning process and outcome table. The main focus of many customers and project sponsors is the outcome that is related to providing the products, services, or the particular result that is desired from that project. Besides the outputs that are listed below other outputs are equally important like change requests, corrective actions. As the project was relatively smaller project, therefore it was very much possible for Erica to work closely with other team members on the project to make sure that they all are working correctly and in the right direction. Erica had a very good networking with peoples across the world that can help her whenever there is any problem related to the project, through networking Erica can well take advantages of her networking skills by getting the work done through other peoples in the firm and external peoples without any additional cost. She assured everyone that whoever uses the intranet application will also understand that they were producing as part of the project and assured them that this project will surely help each and every one of them in the future. Erica knew that providing a strong leadership and using excellent communication skills will surely help in the project execution in a much better way. that the firm majorly uses to outsource the portions of the projects. Erica knew that Joe the CEO of the company and other project sponsors would like to see project reports and progress made in the project through milestone reports therefore Erica formed a milestone report based on that. Joe also wanted Erica to alert him to any potential issues and problems whichever arrived in the project, Erica used to meet all the project team members to talk on the issue quite frequently and also use to give Joe review about the ongoing in the project on a regular basis like once in a week or after completing a particular milestone. Instead of using the project management software, Erica used the word processing software to create milestone report because the project was a relatively low level project, and she can very well manipulate the report format easily in the word processing software. Table : milestone report as of June 17, 2008 Gantt chart Network Diagram Note: Path shown in red color is critical path. Many conflicts did arrive in several meetings like conflicts on human resource and other issues. Sometimes it often happened that Michael seemed a little bored and Erica did noticed that thing, Michael often left the room in the middle of the meetings to talk to other clients, seeing that Erica asked Michael about the situation and found that though Michael was supportive for the project but he told Erica that he can only spend a little time for the project. Erica saw that Michael was much more productive outside the meetings, therefore Erica thought that Michael should attend minimal time for team meetings and should concentrate on other issues like project development and related issues, Erica saw that Michael was contributing to the team by contributing to the team by providing the feedbacks and also through his leadership on the ask the expert feature for the intranet site. Therefore Erica adjusted his communication style and allowed Michael to manage the things as he would like to manage. Another major conflict arose when Cindy was contacting the potential suppliers for asking assistance on ask the exert feature and related user request features. Kevin wanted to develop and write all the software for the project itself but instead Cindy insisted on purchasing the softwares and thought it would produce more business sense to buy all the softwares from a reliable source. Cindy had to convince Kevin to buy the software requirements and that it would be more effective if we purchase the required softwares from reliable sources. Cindy discovered that their estimate of $ 10,000 to buy the software was only half of the amount that were needed for the project, she therefore discussed this problem with Erica explaining the need for custom development of the softwares no matter which supplier they choose for the project. Erica therefore agreed on to buy the softwares from some outside source, and therefore asked the suppliers to approve the additional funding that is required for the software. Joe did agree on to allocate additional amount but he still emphasized on the fact that the project should pay for itself within one year of completion of the project. Erica also had to ask Joe on the matter that the project team were receiving low responses from the user on the surveys and requests. Therefore Joe sent out an email to all the JWD consulting consultants and other employees requesting them to provi

Natural Disaster :: Earthquakes, Tornados, Flood

Debris is scattered for miles, houses are destroyed, trees are bent, and vehicles have been thrown. This would be an aftermath of a natural disaster. Natural disasters come in many forms such as earthquakes, tornados, floods, blizzards, fires, and volcanic eruptions, just to name a few. Every type of disaster is not subjected to one specific area. This means that people in certain areas only have to prepare for those disasters that are likely to occur in their region. Throughout the world, natural hazards are a frequent occurrence. On a range of scales they create disaster, destruction and deaths of people. â€Å"A natural process only becomes a natural hazard when the risk of human loss is presented.† (Page 2) An earthquake is â€Å"a sudden shake of the Earth's crust caused by the tectonic plates colliding.† (Page 2) The vibrations may vary in magnitude. â€Å"The underground point of origin of the earthquake is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the surface is called the epicenter.†(Page 3) Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife. â€Å"It is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunamis and volcanoes, that are actually the human disaster.† (Page 5) Earthquakes may last only a few seconds or may continue for up to several minutes. They can occur at any time of the day or night and at any time of the year. â€Å"They are caused by stress that builds up over time as blocks of crust attempt to move but are held in place by friction along a fault.†(Page 8) â€Å"When the pressure becomes stronger than the friction holding them together, adjoining blocks of crust can suddenly sl ip, rupturing the fault and creating an earthquake.†(Page 10) Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction through several ways. â€Å"The effects include the volcanic eruption itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock. Second, lava may be produced during the eruption of a volcano. As it leaves the volcano the lava destroys any buildings and plants it encounters. Third, volcanic ash generally meaning the cooled ash - may form a cloud, and settle thickly in nearby locations.†(Page 14) The main killer of humans in the immediate surroundings of a volcanic eruption is the â€Å"pyroclastic flows, which consist of a cloud of hot volcanic ash which builds up in the air above the volcano and rushes down the slopes when the eruption no longer supports the lifting of the gases.

The Age of Social Influence

We know that the once linear and transaction-centric purchase funnel is now multi-directional, random and heavily influenced by opinion and information gathered by consumers. And we know that because of social media and technology, consumers can now enter the purchase cycle at various points, and spontaneously influence others as they travel along the path the purchase. But do we really understand how marketers can unlock the real value of all this? Do we know how social media works with other more established media?And do we know how to harness the power of social media for real commercial gain? In order to find aanswers to some of these crucial questions, Initiative set out to explore the individual and combined strength of TV, social and mobile, and how consumer interaction with each has altered the path to purchase. Specifically, we wanted to investigate: †¢ Howdoweproducegreatersynergybetweenoursiloed media,socialandmobilebudgetsandtacticsthatresultina greaterreturnoninvest ment? †¢ Whataretheimpactofsocial,TVandmobileonshopper decision-making? †¢ Whatroledoesconsumerinfluenceplayalongthepathto purchase?However, our study found that while the integration of social, TV and mobile has indeed altered the way consumers make decisions about brands, it is not because of their ability to simply multiply brand messages. Increasingly, consumers are becoming the driving force powering what, when and where brand interactions occur. Based upon our findings, Initiative believes that by leveraging the consumer’s natural inclination to engage with media across multiple screens and social media, we can create a consumer-powered media synergy effect that is both non-linear and emotional – driving deeper engagement and trust.

Supporting Good Practice in Performance and Reward Management

Supporting Good Practice in Performance and Reward Management 3PRM Activity 1 Performance management Performance Management is both a strategic (about broad issues and long-term goals) and an integrated (linking various aspects of the business, people management, individuals and teams) approach to delivering successful results in organisations by improving the performance and developing the capabilities of teams and individuals.Two main purposes of performance management are; * To help the employees in identifying the knowledge and skills required for performing the job efficiently as this would drive their focus towards performing the right task in the right way, which in turn helps work towards the business objectives as their tasks are generated and focussed around the organisations goals. Promoting a two way system of communication between the supervisors and the employees for clarifying expectations about the roles and accountabilities, communicating the functional and organisat ional goals, providing a regular and a transparent feedback for improving employee performance and continuous coaching and development. The most important stage and component of any performance management process which forms the basis of performance is Appraisals.Appraisal systems are a formal method of monitoring and reviewing individuals’ performance. This is important as they enable the individuals to gain a clear picture of how they are doing and to identify areas where they may need additional support or training. They also ensure that the work of the individual is focussed towards the overall objectives of the organisation and whether they are on track to meet their objectives they have been set. There are three main components of performance management; Planning – This is done in form of appraisals. Performance planning is jointly done by the appraisee and also the appraiser in the beginning of a performance session. During this period, both the manager and staf f decide upon the targets and the key performance areas which can be performed over the next year. * Monitoring – Regular monitoring of performance is one of the key component to performance management it is usually done in the form of informal appraisals and these should also occur though regular contact and one to ones.It gives an opportunity to monitor the achievements of objectives for staff, keeps a check on how the individual is getting on in relation to the tasks, identifies any problems which can prevent the individual from achieving their work objectives. * Review/evaluating – Managers should be giving feedback on a regular and continuing basis. This is the stage in which the employee acquires awareness from the appraiser about the areas of improvements and also information on whether the employee is contributing the expected levels of performance or not.The employee receives open feedback and along with this the training and development needs of the individua l is also identified. The appraiser adopts all the possible steps to ensure that the employee meets the expected outcomes for an organisation through guidance, mentoring and representing the employee in training programmes which develop the competencies and improve the overall productivity. This stage also is an opportunity for strengths to be identified and how these can be utilised to support the business objectives further. Motivation and performance managementThe relationship between motivation and performance management is a close one, they work along each other. Motivation is the key to an individual's degree of willingness to exert and maintain their efforts towards the organisational goals. Motivation levels are likely to have an effect on performance. If an individual has high motivation, it is likely to increase their performance. Although this may not always be the case. Here is a list of some of the things that motivate individuals; * Money * Reward schemes * Sense of ac hievement * The environment * Professional Development * Benefits Etc. There are many motivational theories here I will explain two of them. Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation at the workplace shows the difference between two factors of motivation. The two factors being satisfiers, which are the main causes for job satisfaction (motivation), from hygiene factors which are the main causes for job dissatisfaction (demotivation to stay in the job). Examples of motivating factors are achievement, recognition, responsibility and the work itself. Hygiene factors include: working conditions, salary, relationship with colleagues, supervision, etc.An organisation needs to influence satisfiers through performance management using range of tools such as: job descriptions, supervision, performance appraisals, continuous development/training, rewards and career development. Maslow’s theory of motivation is called the â€Å"hierarchy of needs†. Maslow believes that pe ople have five main needs in the following order of importance; 1. Physiological – the need to eat, drink, sleep, reproduce. 2. Safety – the need for shelter and to feel secure. 3. Love/Belonging – the need to feel part of a group and to be accepted. . Esteem – the need to feel good about themselves and the need to be recognised for achievements. 5. Self-actualisation – the need for personal fulfilment and the need to grow and develop. Maslow's hierarchic theory is represented as a pyramid, with the lower levels representing the more fundamental needs, and the upper levels representing the growth/being needs, and ultimately the need for self-actualisation. According to the theory, the higher needs in the hierarchy become evident only after all the needs that are lower down in the pyramid are met. RewardsMost organisations use rewards within their performance management system to motivate individuals. Two main purposes they do this are; * To help at tract individuals – The better rewards that the organisation gives the more people are going to be attracted to work for them so more people will apply for jobs there. * Retain the individuals – Rewards for good performance is motivation for staff to stay with the organisation it helps make them feel valued in turn makes them work harder. Rewards are not just financial but non-financial too. Rewards can be things such as; * Pay rise/ bonus.Some bonuses are based on performance of an individual, the team or the organisation and is usually target / objective focused. * Recognition. This could be through increased responsibility, praise during one to ones, a certificate of recognition, etc. * Flexible hours and time off – This could be a generous holiday period or increased holiday to reward employees for long service. Also some organisations use flexible working as a reward. Data needed for managing performance All materials need to be prepared for managing perfor mance (appraisal meetings) these would include internal and external data, although most are internal.An internal piece of data for example would be if it was a sales organisation they would bring along the report for the percentage of sales the individual has made and this would be compared to the targets set. The comparison would show how well individual has done to meet these this would then be discussed in the next stage. Other examples would include notes agreed tasks and records of performance, achievements, incidents, reports, previous performance appraisal documents and a current job description.An example of an external piece of data would be benchmarking, where the manager would collect data from other organisations to analyse and compare the sales the individual has made, this would show how the employee's participation is developing not only themselves, but also the constitution as a whole, compared to the other organisations, earlier collected data from. Another example would be feedback from external customers or other organisations. Managing Performance The key aims of performance management are to continuously improve the performance of individuals and that of the organisation.It involves making sure that the performance of employees contributes to the goals of their teams and the business as a whole. Part of the management is to review the individuals performance whether it be good or poor performance. The aims of the meetings for performance management are to encourage and motivate not to undermine. Factors to be considered whilst managing good performance would be reward for the individuals’ performance, how to keep the individual motivated to keep up the good work and any training needs to help develop further.Factors to consider whilst managing poor performance would be thinking about how to deal with discussing the performance as these can be difficult conversations for managers, thinking about why the performance is poor and think ing about how to improve the individuals’ performance, what measures can be put in place and how this can monitored. Most organisations have their performance reviews at once a year in the form of appraisals and have 6 month reviews. Although managers should keep their staff informed of their performance and giving feedback throughout the whole year.This can be done through one to one’s or regular meetings. The purposes of the performance reviews are * to check how the team member is getting on in relation to the tasks and objectives agreed, * to identify any problems which may be preventing the individual from achieving their work objectives, * to highlight opportunities for improving work processes, * to build confidence and self-esteem within the individual * to plan future work, set tasks and agree objectives * to agree ways to support the individual in the future, * to discuss the individuals feedback and how they feel about their job.The process of appraisals App raisal systems vary in different organisations, some have standardised procedures, some have few guidelines and leave it to the manager to plan and implement. There are three main stages of an appraisal preparation, the meeting and the follow up. * Preparation – Both the manager and the individual need to prepare for the appraisal by reviewing the individuals performance including the overall performance, the quality of the work and checking if targets have been met. * The meeting – The manager needs to make sure that a suitable venue is planned and available, private and free from interruptions.Within the meeting the manager needs to set the tone which will influence whether the discussion is helpful to both manager and individual they need to make sure that the individual is relaxed. Then both the manager and individual going through the appraisal document discuss * Performance and identify areas of good performance and the weaker investigate the reasons for the weak ness and highlight the areas for improvement * clarifying, defining, redefining priorities and objectives making sure that they are specific to the organisations objectives * motivation through agreeing helpful aims and targets motivation though achievement and feedback * training needs and learning desires – assessment and agreement * identification of personal strengths * career and succession planning – personal and organisational * team roles clarification and team building * organisational training needs assessment and analysis * the individual and managers mutual awareness, understanding and relationship * reinforcing organisational philosophies, values, aims, strategies, priorities * additional responsibilities, employee growth and development * counselling and feedback * manager development The follow up is the review by the manager where they need to complete the documentation by writing up what had been discussed. Making sure that the write up is agreed and s igned by the individual. Managers need to keep continuous monitoring and evaluation on the individual throughout the year and ideally hold a review within that time. Activity 2 The hopeful outcome of the meeting was to discuss with the individual their performance over the last six months, including what went well and what hadn’t gone so well. Why things had gone well or not so well and if there was anything to improve performance or training needs.The outcomes of the appraisal with Hannah were that over the last six months as the manager I felt that Hannah has been doing well and providing a good service. Her only downfall is that sales have gone down but this was due to Hannah having a month off work with a broken leg. This was discussed within the meeting using the Appraisal form and was met with targets to be achieved. The appraisal form used was effective as it covers all areas of performance including how the individual felt about the previous six months it also covers how the manager felt they performed.It discusses what they have enjoyed most and least, quality of their work, management of workload, targets and identifies if any training is needed. These things covered are important as it lets both the manager and individual know how the individual is doing within the organisation and whether they need any further development or training. This is a motivator to the individual as they can gain job satisfaction that they are going in the right direction and helping towards the overall aim and objectives of the organisation.This appraisal system could be improved by having more input from the individual so they can have their say on what they have done and how they feel they have done which maybe the manager has not recognised. This would help the individual to feel they receive the recognition they deserve for the work they have input. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) should be incorporated to the form as the targets need to be SMART otherwise it would be unfair for the individual to set unattainable targets to meet as they won’t meet them which will affect their performance reviews.

Catch-22 essays

Catch-22 essays Joseph Heller lived a long and prosperous life, throughout his 76 years he divided his time as a writer, teacher, and air force bombardier in World War II. He wrote a lot of books including some of his most famous; Something Happened, Good as Gold, Picture This, and Closing Time. His first, most remembered, and popular novel was Catch-22. Catch-22 is closely related to his experiences in the Air Force during the Second World War. Catch-22 is a war novel that is grotesque, cynical, and funny all at once. The story is based around the main characters events and feelings during the Second World War. The main character is a soldier named Yosarian who hates the war. He has a desire to live and be free, but is unable to do so because of the constraints that bureaucracy places on him. The war is no place for him and he feels like everyone is trying to kill him. Yosarrian just wants to go home, but he is constantly being thrown into brutal combat missions, where his safety is of no concern. His colonels are also continually raising the amount of missions that the members of the squadron are required to fly before given a dispatch home. Yosarian is forced into this brutal war and fights to stay alive and one day be free. The Story forms around Yosarian and the reader sees the gruesome war through his eyes. For example you see that Yosarians view towards war was obviously changed because of the death of his friend Snowden, who died in his arms on one of his missions. This haunts him and is part of the reason Yosarian lost all desire to participate in the war. Yosarian tries to get out of war in many ways. He spent a lot of time in the hospital faking illnesses and injury. For example in the opening chapter of the story Yosarian is in a Italian hospital pretending that something is wrong with his liver. Yosarian also pleas insanity, when he comes across a military law known as Catch-22. Catch-22 can make it p...

Free Essays on Silver Mining

Roughing It This Literature selection from Roughing IT by Mark Twain was about the gold and silver mining experience of Mark Twain. Everyone at that time had â€Å"silver fever†. Mark Twain like everyone else had a goal. Goal to find silver! Mark confessed without a shame that he expected to find masses of silver just lying all round the ground. Things weren’t as easy as Mark thought they would be! They had to build small, rude cabin. The first chance that Mark got he went away from the cabin; keeping his eyes on the others he began his search. He found something shinny and he realized it was gold. Never did he dream of finding gold only silver! Making sure no one sees him he started scooping the gold out. He decided to keep his gold find a secret. Eventually he told Mr. Ballou, who was a gold miner about his gold find. As Mr. Ballou looked at the â€Å"treasures† he told Mark that it wasn’t real gold! Nothing-gold glitter. Mark Twain’s dreams went down the hill. When I first read the article I didn’t understand it at all. After re-reading it few times I understood it more. I don’t think I would ever go mining. You spend so many days away from your family with no guarantee. Why not just live on what you have? In my opinion people who go mining are just greedy! In a way I could see where they are coming from. They just want more and better things for their loved once. They go through so much and in the end in most cases they have nothing. Mark Twain got his hopes up so high and in the end, he had nothing, and that’s what happens to most people. This article was really had me thinking. I definitely don’t think I would ever go through all that torture just for money. Money isn’t everything. Health and Happiness is!!!... Free Essays on Silver Mining Free Essays on Silver Mining Roughing It This Literature selection from Roughing IT by Mark Twain was about the gold and silver mining experience of Mark Twain. Everyone at that time had â€Å"silver fever†. Mark Twain like everyone else had a goal. Goal to find silver! Mark confessed without a shame that he expected to find masses of silver just lying all round the ground. Things weren’t as easy as Mark thought they would be! They had to build small, rude cabin. The first chance that Mark got he went away from the cabin; keeping his eyes on the others he began his search. He found something shinny and he realized it was gold. Never did he dream of finding gold only silver! Making sure no one sees him he started scooping the gold out. He decided to keep his gold find a secret. Eventually he told Mr. Ballou, who was a gold miner about his gold find. As Mr. Ballou looked at the â€Å"treasures† he told Mark that it wasn’t real gold! Nothing-gold glitter. Mark Twain’s dreams went down the hill. When I first read the article I didn’t understand it at all. After re-reading it few times I understood it more. I don’t think I would ever go mining. You spend so many days away from your family with no guarantee. Why not just live on what you have? In my opinion people who go mining are just greedy! In a way I could see where they are coming from. They just want more and better things for their loved once. They go through so much and in the end in most cases they have nothing. Mark Twain got his hopes up so high and in the end, he had nothing, and that’s what happens to most people. This article was really had me thinking. I definitely don’t think I would ever go through all that torture just for money. Money isn’t everything. Health and Happiness is!!!...