Planning and Control (Project Management) Coursework

Planning and Control (Project Management) - Coursework Example After completing the both parts provide a range of possible duration of the equipment installation activity that is the activity can be completed minimum of 13.33 hours and maximum in 15.33 hours. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 2 Data: The cost for design phase of the software development is as follows: The best case / lowest cost = $35,000, The worst case / highest cost = $60,000, The most typical case / likely cost = $44,000 Part A: Expected Cost = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected Cost = ($35,000 + 4 * ($44,000) + $60,000) / 6; Expected Cost = $45,166.67 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = ($60,000 – $35,000) / 6; Standard Deviation = $4,166.67; Part C: The part A of the question presents that the expected cost of the developing software application in the design phase which is equivalent to the $45,166.67. ... After completing the both parts provide a range of possible cost of the design phase that is from $41,000.00/- to $49,333.33/-. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 3 Data: From the previous records, the following numbers of carpenters are required to complete the job: The best case / fewer number of carpenters = 4 carpenters, The worst case / largest number of carpenters = 9 carpenters, The most typical case / likely number of carpenters = 6 carpenters Part A: Expected number of carpenters = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = (4 + 4 * (6) + 9) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = 6.17 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = (9 – 4) / 6; Standard Deviation = 0.83; Part C: The part A of the question presents the expected number of carpenters required to complete the job and after applying the formula of PERT beta the calcul ated value is 6.17. In the part B of the question the standard deviation of the expected number of carpenters is calculated that is equivalent to 0.83. After subtracting and adding the value of standard deviation from / to the expected number of carpenters, the resulting value would provide us the estimated number of carpenters required to complete the job and the range is from 5.34 to 7 carpenters. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 4 – Dangers allied with PERT Technique The utilization of PERT technique involves several dangers and risks that include but are not limited to the following: The PERT technique becomes complicated when

Research methodologies-------the reason of the talent flows from a Essay

Research methodologies-------the reason of the talent flows from a state owned bank to a private bank - Essay Example The services offered by the bank includes retail banking, corporate banking, foreign currency transaction, consumer credit, Great Wall debit and credit card services, investment banking, fund management and clearing and settlement (Bank of China, n.d.; Bloomberg, 2013a; Bloomberg, 2013b; The Financial Times Ltd., 2013). The other bank which is considered in the study is CMBC. CMBC was established in the year 1996 in Beijing. It is non-state owned enterprise and was founded in strict compliance with the regulations and rules lead down by the commercial banking law and the company law (CMBC, n.d.). The bank conducts commercial banking business by providing loan, deposits, issues financial bonds, discounts, settlements, government bond trading and underwriting, bank guarantee, letter of credit and other financial services (Bloomberg, 2013c; Bloomberg, 2013d). The study is conducted on the employees and the human resource manager of the two organizations in order to gain a clear understa nding regarding the selection and the rewards policies and how these are related to the talent flow from the state owned banks to the private owned banks. 4.1 Employees of Bank of China This section briefs about the responses of the employees of Bank of China regarding the study. ... nts came to know about the vacancy from an advertisement given in the newspaper and rest that is 5 percent of the respondents was selected through campus recruitment. On asking the employees of Bank of China regarding how did they apply and when did they get call; they said that after going through the details of the position and the eligibility criteria mentioned in the notice, they need to fill up the application form available on the website of the bank and send it to the human resource department of the bank via e-mail as mentioned in the notice. About 50 percent of the respondents received a call from the bank after three months of sending the application; whereas almost 30 percent and 20 percent of the respondents got a call after 60 and 75 days respectively. When the question regarding how many rounds of interview did the candidate faced was asked the employees of Bank of China, about 100 percent of the respondents replied that they faced only one round of interview. However, they stated that there is one round for lower and lower middle level of recruitment but in case of higher level the number of interview ranges from 2 to 3. The interview is only conducted after the candidates have successfully passed the written examination. When the employees were asked whether they think that the selection procedure that the organization follows is an appropriate way to judge the potential of the candidate, they said that the selection procedures included resume screening, written examination and interview; after the candidate qualifies these steps then background investigation and physical examination are conducted. About 60 percent of the respondents feel that the selection procedure used by the organization in an appropriate way to judge the potential of a candidate.

Howard Stringers Sony Leadership

Howard Stringers Sony Leadership The report is an evaluation of the organization structure implemented by Sir Howard Stringer in October 2005. The transition of Sonys organization structure from Transnational structural to multidivisional structure has been analyzed in detail. Goold and Campbells five tests have been conducted to determine the appropriateness of Sir Howard Stringers structural choice given his desire to make Sony a more innovative and flexible organization. The risks and benefits of the structural choice has also been assessed. The report displays the cultural web of Sony before and after Sir Howards arrival. It was derived that the Reconstruction type of strategic change had been used to bring about the transformation in the organizations culture. Consequently, Sir Howard adopted the Education and Communication and the Collaboration/Participation styles of strategic change implementation. In conclusion, it can be seen that the stock share value has increased during 2005-2007 which means that Howard Stringer was doing a good job at implementing his change. Introduction As a part of this report let us start by introducing Sony Corporation. SONY Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game consoles, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony was founded on 7th May 1946. The representative corporate executive officers at Sony as of today as Howard Stringer(Chairman, CEO and President), Ryoji Chubachi (Vice Chairman) and Nobuyuki Oneda (Executive Deputy President and CFO). (Sony Global (2009) has provided the above information). Sony Corporation (commonly referred to as Sony) is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding  ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. (FY2008). Its name is derived from sonus, the Latin word for sound. Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its five operating segments-electronics, games, entertainment (motion pictures and music), financial services and other. Sonys principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. The companys slogan is make.believe. (Wikipedia (2009) provided information regarding Sony Corporation). Company Strategy Vision (2005): make Sony cool again Vision (2009): make.believe When Howard Stringer joined as the CEO of Sony Global Japan he made new strategies and used those strategies to restructure the organization to be in-line with these strategies. Firstly, he looked at the core competencies of the company and focused mainly on the electronics, games and entertainment sector. He established a growth strategy saying, Our target is for the Sony Group to achieve consolidated sales of over 8 trillion yen and an operating profit margin of 5% (electronics 4%) by the end of fiscal year 2007. NewsBlaze (2005) published the company strategy from the fiscal year 2005 to 2008 as given in Appendix C of this report. The three-year revitalization plan/strategy was as follows (in brief): Restructuring the Electronics Organization Eliminated the corporate silos and bring more focus on competitive growth. Improving Sonys Profit Structure Cost Reductions Sale of Real Estate, Stock and Non-Core Assets Strengthening Sonys Current Electronics Business Focus on areas of the Electronics business by bringing profitability in television by the second half of 2006. Focusing Resources on Growth Strategy Making the HD World and Major Profit Pillar Launching of a range of high-definition products in 2006. Focusing on Intelligent Interoperable Products Developing network-enabled products and applications Strengthening Technology Development Creation of Home and Mobile Platforms Concentrating Investment on Semiconductors and Key Component Devices Next-Generation Display (OLED) Enhancing Software Development Group Convergence Strategy Pursuit of mobile entertainment Establishment of Cell Development Center Group Strategy by Individual Sector focus on: Games Entertainment Motion Pictures Music Mobile Phones Financial Services Network Services, Retail Retail Business Note: Refer to Appendix C for a detailed Company Strategy. Organizational Structure Corporate Structure of Sony Corporation From the analysis on the organizational structure that Howard Stringer was trying to implement in 2005 we can see that it was clearly a multi-divisional structure. This structure has been further worked on since 2005 and there have been slight changes to the same. Multi-Divisional structure (M-form) The multi-divisional structure is also known as the product structure where the divisional structure groups organizational function into a division. Each division works as an independent section within the company and the divisional structure contains all the necessary resources and functions within it. Each Division will have its own sales, engineering and marketing departments. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2009). Howard Stringer was attempting to implement the multi-divisional structure. He had assigned Ryoji Chubachi to handle the main Electronics business and Chubachi had implemented the multinational matrix structure. We will not go into details of the matrix structure but will explain it below in brief. In case of the Multinational Structure of the organization we can see that there were a few business units that were put together in order to increase their responsiveness in the market. There were five committees created across all these business units and business groups. This gave a better integration of knowledge, flexibility and the ability to analyze these units across its procurement, technology, product strategy, sales and productive business outcomes. Strategy and Organizational Structure When Howard Stringer took over the Sony Global Corporation in 2005 he gave strategies for each product in the company. The strategies are stated above in the Introduction section of this report. As per the strategies implemented we can see clearly that he had devised different strategies for each core product that Sony was providing and so he also divided the companys organizational structure the same way. Thus, we see that the company is become more flat and each division is reporting to the Headquarters. As in a multidivisional organization such as Sony, the divisions become flexible as in the sense that they are able to merge, add or close divisions. This is apparent in the fact that Sonys Mobile division merged with Ericsson to produce Sony Ericsson range of mobiles. It can also be seen that Sonys Music Entertainment division had a 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group naming Sonys Music division as Sony BMG Music Entertainment and in August 2008 Sony bought Bertelsmanns 50% shares and Sony renamed its Music division as Sony Music Entertainment. Ergo, it is apparent that because of Sonys multidivisional structure each division is able to work as its own company which is flexible enough to have joint-venture projects as in the case of Sony Ericsson and the company is also able to make the decision of buying over another company such as the Bertelsmann Music group. When Howard Stringer took over Sony he also closed down a chain of restaurants and other non-core business companies that Sony owned. With a multidivisional structure in place Sir Howard Stringer was able to control and oversee each division from a distance by monitoring the business performance of each division. If we look at the advantages of a multi-divisional structure we can see that because the structure is divided by product lines it allows each division to grow and specialize on their competences. We can see that each division has actually become its own company like the Sony Electronics Inc., the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. As we will see in the redundancy test later in this report we can see that each of the companies that are based in each country have their own head offices. This means that there are many parent levels in this organization which means that many of the supporting departments such as HR and IT will be redundant but due to the large organization structure of the company Sony needs these headquarters to be set-up. Although the knowledge sharing and cooperation between the business units become very limited but Howard Stringer has tried overcoming this by placing five strategic committees across the business units which are the product, technology, production, procurement and sales. Thus standardizations and centralization has helped to reduce effort and poor coordination. Also, with Howard traveling around Sonys operations at a rate of 30,000 air miles a month (Nakamoto 2006) is building spirits and reflecting in the eyes of the employees all around Sony. Goold and Campbell Tests We will use the Goold and Campbell last 5 tests to determine the appropriateness of Howard Stringers structural choice given his desire to make Sony cool again (Clayton 2005). The Specialist Cultures Test: The Organization Structure: Specialist Culture test In the Specialist Culture test we placed Sony between Good and Very Good as Sony has an Engineer-driven culture (Edwards, Lowry, Ihlwan, Hall 2005). Sony is an engineering culture (Paczkowski 2008) says Howard Stringer and they really take care of their engineers. Engineers have the freedom to think and come up with new designs. When a certain project was untaken engineers from all the different departments met in one place to finish that task. This shows that there is no organizational contamination of the specialist engineer culture test. The Difficult Links Test Shared know-how Links Sony holds Knowledge-sharing sessions and several other activities company wide. They host forums to enable interactive discussion about the company news and they engage their employees in company developments and in-the-Know at all times as claimed by them on their website. Sony also provides all documents, policies, lessoned learned and all other types of documents on their intranet sites. Shared Tangible Resources Links Though with a multidivisional organization with so many parent companies the amount of duplication of work increases but after Sir Howard Stringer came into Sony he divided all core businesses by products into separate units that would report to the Corporate office and setup a corporate RD unit to reduce the duplications and also brought in standardized engineered products to help the reduction of cost. Pooled Negotiating Power Links Sonys Mobile division merged with Ericsson to produce Sony Ericsson range of mobiles. Ericsson had the latest mobile technology and Sony had the vast experience in consumer electronics and entertainment like music, pictures and games. Bringing them both together in a 50-50 joint venture gave Sony power in the market. This would help both the companies generate economies of scale. It can also be seen that Sonys Music Entertainment division had a 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group naming Sonys Music division as Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Financial analysts covering the merger anticipated that up to 2,000 jobs would be cut as a result, saving Sony BMG approximately $350 million annually (Wikipedia, 2009) Coordinated Strategies Links After Sir Howard took over he put together the Electronics Unit which consisted of: The Semiconductor Business unit Core component Business Unit BP Business Group Audio Business Group Digital Imaging Business group VAIO Business Group Video Business Group TV Business Group Connect Company He strategically placed all these units and groups together in order to establish Sony as a leading player. They wanted to develop a semiconductor and core components group thus they put these two relevant new business units under the Electronics Unit. With this new engineering structure Sony wanted to increase their internally sourced components, centralize their engineering functions and reduce their cost by consolidating and cutting down their manufacturing sites. Vertical Integration Links By coordinating the flow of its internally sources components and by standardizing designs through out the company Sir Howard has managed to reduce cost and enhance product development. New-Business Creation Links Vertical integration is very obvious in the Sony business as they try to enter the digital world they are buying companies and doing joint ventures to meet the specific needs of their customers and that is to bring the mobile, music, gaming and video entertainment together. Sony is in a good position to do a backward or forward integration in case it decides to do so. The structure is flexible enough to accommodate that. The links are best handled through self-managed networking among units n top management should leave this up to the unit rather than impose to-down coordination process. The Redundant Hierarchy Test: The Organization Structure: The Redundant Hierarchy Test The reason we have placed them between satisfactory and good is because although the company had many parent levels in the organization they were able to reduce the redundancy through standardizing they internal sourced components. Sony also standardized its designs across the different units and in its core business which was the Electronics Business they had five committees across each group which were the product, technology, production, procurement and sales. This centralization has helped to reduce effort and poor coordination. Also, with Howard traveling around Sonys operations at a rate of 30,000 air miles a month (Nakamoto 2006) he tends to increase the communication gap between the different groups and companies at Sony. The Accountability Test The Organization Structure: The Accountability Test The reason we have placed them between good and very good is because in the multidivisional structure the overall structure of the company is flat. Thus, most of the units are directly reporting to the corporate office. This increases the responsibility and accountability of each unit heads. The Flexibility Test The Organization Structure: The Flexibility Test The reason we have placed them between good in the case of its flexibility is because Sonys structure after Sir Howard Stringer had made it flexible for the company like the Sony Mobile business unit to merge with Ericsson Sonys Music Entertainment division had a 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group. Sony also sold many of its non-core assets like the restaurant chains etc after its restructuring since it made it easy by moving these non-core business units out of the way to concentrate on the core business. The Risk and Benefits of the Multidivisional Structure As we found out through our analysis that Sony Corporation has a multidivisional structure and Goold and Campbells five tests of good general design principles helps us to see what risks and benefits that Sony Corporation faced when Howard Stringer took over. The Benefits   In Electronics group Sony placed centralized decision-making power over key areas under the Electronics CEO. This change assures coordination and focus across newly defined business groups. Exact horizontal coordination in main areas- product planning, technology, procurement, manufacturing, and sales and marketing-will allow fast and streamlined decision making across product lines. Concentration on particular business area (Games, Entertainment, Electronics, Mobile phones) Flexible (Sony Corporation can focus its resources on different business groups, which depends on market situation, add, close or merge divisions ) Specialization of competence (We can see that each division has actually become its own company like the Sony Electronics Inc., the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.) Ability to give clear direction and make a working environment that draws out the unique talents of employees and helps them to reach their full potential Encourages general management development Ownership of strategy (As per the strategies implemented we can see clearly that he had devised different strategies for each core product that Sony was providing and so he also divided the companys organizational structure the same way) Investment in core businesses Sony divisions enable to work in tandem for their mutual advantage (to develop new-age products).    The Risks Conflicts between divisions Additional cost of the center Difficulty of co-operation between business groups (due to the large organization structure of the company the knowledge sharing and cooperation between the business units become very limited but Howard Stringer has tried overcoming this by placing five strategic committees across the business units) Divisions might grow too large (as we said before each division has actually become its own company like the Sony Electronics Inc. or the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and there is a risk of them grow too large) Power is centralized As CEO Sir Howard Stringer recalled in a 2005 New Yorker article, the engineers started to suffer from a damaging not invented here syndrome, even as rivals were introducing next-generation products such as the iPod and Xbox. As a result of their belief that outside ideas were not as good as inside ones, they missed opportunities in such areas as MP3 players and flat-screen TVs and developed unwanted products-cameras that werent compatible with the most popular forms of memory, for instance. Looking at the above risks and benefits we can see that though there were a lot of risks in the structure Sir Howard needed to make a decision and he made this decision with the help of allies in the company and he also took help from persons who were made in-charge of changing the IBM structure many years back. They were successful in doing so and since Sir Howard was declared President of Sony Global we can say that he is still in there and is still fighting and restructuring to put Sony back on to globe again. Sony is today coming up with new customer focused products rather than products that are innovative but it is not what the customer wants. The Cultural Web Before Howard Stringer Organizational culture sometimes influences the organizations strategy if taken for granted. Culture has played a role in Sonys current financial difficulties. They had power blocks which hindered the flow of communication and corporation between the management, designers, production and marketing. The Cultural Web, developed by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes in 1992, provides one such approach for looking at and changing your organizations culture. Using it, you can expose cultural assumptions and practices, and set to work aligning organizational elements with one another, and with your strategy. The Cultural Web identifies six interrelated elements that help to make up what Johnson and Scholes call the paradigm the pattern or model of the work environment. By analyzing the factors in each, you can begin to see the bigger picture of your culture: what is working, what isnt working, and what needs to be changed. The six elements are: Power Structures: Sony had a culture, were long serving executives have very strong influence on the organization. At their annual general meetings all these executives take up the front seats whiles the lower ranks are relegated to the back. Many of the working seniors did not even discuss their share values and did not have the involvement in the business. Control Systems: Sony emphasized on budget plans and emergency fixes as their main control systems. Quality was not really emphasized, they believed in getting the work done with the least amount of cost. Lower level staffs were not awarded for their achievements or bonuses given at the end of the year. All these were aimed at controlling cost. Organizational Structure: They had the functional/Transnational type of organization where the CEO sits at the top and all functional heads report to him. They believe in top management taking all the decisions without the involvement of the junior level engineers. These caused lack of communication and co-operation between the various units and more of delegation to get the problem solved. Stories: Sony had gone through continuous restructuring for the past 9 years to improve their financial positions. Sony was not customer focused. They did not invest in non-core businesses and lacked new-age products even though they had very good and talented engineers. Although Sony believed in harmony of the people and the company but with all this restructuring the morale of the employees was down and this was evident when there was a comment that there is sparkle in the eyes of the employees after Howard Stringer took over. Rituals Routines: As per the Japanese culture of respect Sony had a ritual that it never fired its high rank executives even after retiring. The senior managers were made Advisor (Gunther, 2006) and each of them had their own secretary, a car and driver and they also had the authority to second-question people who were actually working at Sony. At Sony the ritual was that if an engineer came to know about a fault in the product they would let the seniors know they would just fix the problem and just do it. Thus seniors were not involved in the business Symbols: There was a symbol of seniority when the company never really retired its senior managers and also in the fact that during annual meetings the seniors would be given the preferred and best seats in the hall while the others were given uncomfortable seats to symbolize the importance that Sony gave to its senior managers. To create the harmony they want and give employees a range of different health and wellness programs. Some of those (as taken from the Sony Site) are as below: They provided On-site fitness centers On-site flu shots On-site cafeterias Wellness fairs 100% medical and dental plans Health risk assessments Gym discounts Stop Smoking programs Nutrition information Ritual Routines Respect for senior managers Work in Harmony giving employees the best working environment. Seniors never got fired. Engineers got the freedom to do what they wanted to. Engineers did not inform senior managers of faults they just fixed it. Stories Continuous restructuring Morale was down Believed in the harmony of the environment and the peoples freedom of working in that environment Symbols Senior management given big pays No one really gets retired Health related programs and discounts available. Complete Medical covered. The Paradigm Respect for Seniors Emphasis on Harmony through-out the company Health and wellness programs, discounts and medical coverage Engineer-driven Culture New innovative products Power Structure A lot of power was given to seniors in the company who were not involved in the day to day work. Less responsibility on the shoulder of the seniors managers as responsibility was not taken Control Systems Budgets Emergency Fixes Organizational Structures Transnational Branches/devolved Delegative leadership style Engineer-driven culture Figure 7- Cultural Web before Howard Stringer became CEO of Sony Global Sony Corporation mainly focused on giving the best environment to its employees especially its engineers who were the minds behind the innovations. A high level of respect was kept between the senior and junior employees in the company. Various Health and wellness programs and benefits were available for employees. Sony was an engineer-driven culture which put what the engineers thought and innovated before what the customers wanted or what the market demanded. The Cultural Web After Howard Stringer Power Structures: Howard was made the new CEO thus giving power of the company to him. He was able to make changes but very smartly Howard made Chubachi his right hand man since he was aware that he was the first non-Japanese CEO of the company. His power can be seen in the fact that Howard is now President of Sony in 2009. Control Systems: There was a more cost control in the company through reduction of employees in many of the sites. Manufacturing companies were consolidated and shut down in many areas. Rewards and bonuses based on group performance (not seniority) after Howard Stringer had taken over. Organizational Structure: With the structural changes that Howard had made to the company Sony had a flatter structure. Management was made to be more involved in each of the business units of the company. There was more responsibility given to senior and middle management. Stories: As per Chubachi, it was said that since Sir Howard had taken over there was a sparkle in the eyes of the employees. The over all morale of the company was better. After Howard came people were still not sure if they knew where they were leading to but they understood the company strategy which was to make the company cool again. People were more excited. Rituals Routines: After Howard came he dissolved the advisory board that consisted of 45 senior mangers who had a say in the company even after they had retired. Main customer who had used Sony products for a long time where now giving their inputs on the Sony products. Engineers were given more appreciations. Success was being celebrated through Award ceremonies, Christmas parties, training programs and knowledge sharing sessions. Symbols: After Howard came he dissolved the advisory board that consisted of 45 senior managers who had a say in the company even after they had retired. Each of them had a secretary, a car and driver and probably many other benefits. The gap between the senior management and the juniors was being reduced. Ritual Routines Good communications Customer involvement Appreciations Giving praise Celebration of success Stories Reduced Gap between the senior managers and juniors. People were more aware of the company strategy. Symbols Senior management who had retired where not taken care of by the company. Promotions based on group performance The Paradigm Respect for Seniors Emphasis on Harmony through-out the company Health and wellness programs, discounts and medical coverage New innovative products Power Structure Engineers given limited power Management given more responsibility along with current power. Restructuring of power in the company Control Systems Budgets Partnership agreements Financial controls Organizational Structures Multi-divisional Units based on market priority and business needs. democratic leadership style Figure 8- Cultural Web after Howard Stringer became CEO of Sony Global From the above cultural web we can see that Sony did not undergo major paradigm changes but did move from a transnational structure to a multi-divisional (Electronic department was a matrix) structure. Sir Howard Stringers Change Management Change management is also known as Change control. It is usually referred to the process by which the change of a system/process/organization is implemented in a controlled manner. If we look at the above Cultural Webs before and after Sir Howard Stringer took over Sony we can see that in order to bring the changes as per the paradigms shown above he had to adopt a Change Management program. Organizational change management processes include techniques for creating a change management strategy which is getting everybody involved in the change process. Engaging senior managers as change leaders, they become the sponsors of the change program. You also need to build awareness of the need for change (communications) getting everybody to understand why the need for change. Developing skills and knowledge to support the change (education and training), helping employees move through the period of change (coaching by managers and supervisors), and methods to sustain the change (measurement systems, rewards and reinforcement). Howard Stringer had instituted all these processes for his change management, but due to the dominance culture that existed before Howard Stringer took over, he had some resistance against his change management programme. There were forces for change and forces against change. Using Kurt Lewins force field analysis tool will help us analyse some of the driving and restraining force in Howard Stringers change management. These were some of the forces for and against his change management. Positive Forces ( + ) He came from a different culture and a different way of doing things Customers want new products Improve speed of production and raise volumes of out put Involvement of all employees using the bottom-up approach Experience and talented engineers It was a long-term strategy Introducing new technologies Reducing cost Dominant values where they believe in top management taking all the decisions They believe in the status quo, the normal way of doing things Negative Forces ( ) Not customer focused Fear of losing their position or become redundant Uncertainty not sure if the change program will work or not As per Johnson and Scholes in their book Exploring Competitive Strategy they have provided a framework for strategic change. Diagnosing the change situation à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Managing Styles and roles à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Levers for managing change In the case of Sony it is evident that Sir Howard adopted the Reconstruction type of strategic change. In this type of a change the paradigm does not fundamentally change but there will be majo

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children Essay -- ADHD Dis

Introduction:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people have heard of the term Attention Deficit Hyperactive (ADHD) disorder. â€Å"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder that interferes with an individual’s ability to attend to tasks (inattention), inhibits one’s behavior (impulsivity), and may interfere with a person’s ability to regulate one’s activity level (hyper-activity) in developmentally appropriate ways (Barkley 19)†. The most important job for teachers and parents is to separate fact from fiction, to clarify what we know and don’t know.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Properly diagnosing ADHD, medication choices, and behavioral interventions are the key focal point. Is medication truly worth the side effects? Diagnosing ADHD   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the name implies, ADHD is typically characterized by two distinct sets of symptoms: inattention and hyperactivity / impulsivity. Although these problems usually occur together, one may be present without the other and still qualify for an ADHD diagnosis. Children are diagnosed with ADHD when they have met specific guidelines within these two categories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A number of parents observe signs of inattentiveness, restlessness, and impulsivity in their child even before their child starts school. The child might lose attention while playing a game or watching TV, or the child might dash about totally unrestrained. Since children mature at different levels and vary in character, nature, and energy levels, it is critical to obtain a specialist’s diagnosis of whether the behavior is suitable for the child's age, the child has ADHD or the child is simply immature or uncommonly high-spirited.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To qualify as having ADHD, the symptoms must significantly affect a child's ability to function at home and at school. A diagnosis is based on the guidelines provided in the â€Å"American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) published in 1994 (Barkley 133)†. In general, children are diagnosed with ADHD if they show at least six symptoms from each category. Dr. Berkley lists the following symptoms for each category:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inattention: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Often fails to pay close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork or other activities †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Often has trouble sustaining attention during tasks or play †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Often doesn't seem to listen when spoken ... ...counseling the child and the family and facilitating them in the development of new skills, attitudes, and ways of relating to each other. The important step is proper diagnosis of ADHD. It is imperative to know about any medication being prescribed for each individual child. Work Cited Page: American Academy of Physicians â€Å"ADHD: What Parents Should Know.† Family Doctor, 10 April, 2005 Barkley, Russel A. Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents. New York: The Gilford Press, 2000. Eli Lilly and Company â€Å"Strattera.† Strattera 10 April, 2005 McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a Division of McNeil-PPC, Inc â€Å"Prescription Medication Overview† Focus on ADHD. 14 April, 2005 Rabnier, David. â€Å"Behavioral Treatment for ADHD: An Overview.† Health. 14 April, 2005 Wilens, Timothy E. Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids New York: The Guilford Press, 1999. Wilens T.C. et all. Does stimulant therapy of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder beget later substance abuse? A meta-analytic review of the literature. Pediatrics, (2003) 111:1:179-185.

Media’s Influence on Civil Rights Movement Essay

â€Å"The brutality with which official would have quelled the black individual became impotent when it could not be pursued with stealth and remain unobserved. It was caught—as a fugitive from a penitentiary is often caught—in gigantic circling spotlights. It was imprisoned in a luminous glare revealing the naked truth to the whole world† – Martin Luther King (8, Kasher) The media controls the way the public views a controversial event. It can create the illusion that everything is perfect by leaving out important information, or can reveal the deplorable truth as the media did during the Civil Rights Movement. It was not always that way though, during the Colonial Era the media glossed over the brutality African Americans faced. It was not until the photography and recorders were invented that the media could really no longer deny the awful reality of the African Americans’ lives. With the Civil Rights Movement as an example, the media has evolved into a more reliable source. As history goes on, African Americans are being reported on more truthfully; the media has evolved into a more objective source containing more factual information. During 1700s, blacks were dehumanized and treated as animals; they cooked, gathered and did anything their master ordered. When they finally took a stance and decided to revolt they were lynched. Yet, in the eyes of the media whites were the heroes. Instead of reporting on the revolts with objectivity, the reporters commonly asserted their opinions into the articles, â€Å"In the past white news media ignored positive images of African American life† (10, Kasher). No matter what the incident was the â€Å"white man† always was superior. Through the media’s perspective, the whites were harmless and superior to the blacks. In an article from the Colonial Era when the slave revolts occurred the slaves were portrayed to be villains. The article stated, â€Å"They conspired to murder all the Christians here and by that means thinking to obtain their Freedom†¦ [They] put their bloody design in Execution and setting fire to a House, they stood prepared with Arms to kill everybody that approach’d to put it out and accordingly barbarously murdered the following persons that were running to the fire†¦This has put us into no small Consternation the whole Town being under Arms† (Boston News Letter, April 14, 1712). Besides objectivity, the article failed to inform the public of the brutalities the slaves faced everyday. Never did the article state what happened to the slaves after the incident either. However, when slavery was abolished the black man was not always viewed as the villain. Nonetheless they were definitely not treated equally compared to whites, which fueled their fight for equal rights. Without the media, the Civil Rights Movement would have never been successful. The pictures and videos of the violence the blacks tolerated from white supremacists helped their cause because the photos and videos were undeniable. No longer were the black people viewed as villains. â€Å"Scenes unthinkable to Americans as American were shown to America and all the world. Public Sympathy and financial support, as well as political backing, flowed to movement organizations† (8 Kasher). The Emmett Till Case was an amazing example of this, the Jet and Chicago Defender (both leading periodicals), reported on the story. The papers both included a picture of his swollen face as the aftermath of his horrific death. His case would transform the minds of many during that decade. From the attention the pictures of Emmett Till caused, the media recognized that shocking pictures made people want to read the articles. Also, the newspapers could not produce fake pictures, which forced them to be more truthful in their stories (Kasher 8). Currently, racism is still an issue in the United States but the press has helped bring awareness to the issue. For example, there are multiple blogs on how the world is still segregated even though there are no laws to support it. With the rise Internet, anyone is able to blog about their opinion on something or bring attention to a problem that is not being covered in the media. According to the book Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein, the average writer is over forty, which means there is not a lot of new and fresh ideas brought to the table for newspapers and magazines (373 Kline and Burstein). However, with the new and upcoming trend of blogging there are a variety of opinions and ideas. Also, social networking has enabled people to communicate faster and it’s harder for the government or press to hide certain information from the public in order for our countries reputation to be protected. In respect to racism and how the media reports on it, our country still has a long way to go but has come far. There are still the inevitable reports about African Americans being in gangs and shootings; however there are also stories of African Americans doing amazing things like becoming president. As the press learned during the Civil Rights Movement, people react more to shocking news so that’s probably why there is so many negative events that are broadcasted over the television and newspapers. The Internet has enabled the press to have more accurate and timely stories. The media has evolved into a more reliable source especially compared to Colonial Era. Also with all activity on the Internet the press is no longer the only source of information that the public can receive. That forces the media to be more truthful and value their reader’s trust.

Community Health Assessment Essay

Riverside County is a vast geographical area in Southern California with a diverse population. It represents a melding area of different cultures, ideals and median income, resulting in a community full of variety. Geographically, Riverside County covers 7200 sq. stretches eastward from the Orange County border of Southern California to the border of Arizona. There is a variety of climate within the county, as it includes a section of the Cleveland National Forest including Mount San Jacinto Mountains with a peak of 10,800’ and the eastern portion of the county is made up of the arid Mojave and Colorado deserts. (Wikipedia) Population Economic Status Assessment The population of 2.3 million is made up of 46.5% Hispanics, 7% African Americans, 1.9% Native American’s 6.6% Asians and 38.5% whites. 27% of the population is made up of those under 18 years old, over 12% is over 65 and over 7% is under 5 years. Over 50% of the population is female. (Citydata) Healthcare challenges include a large population of Spanish speaking immigrants that often lack an understanding of resources available. There are over 54,000 people in the county enrolled in Low Income Health Plans but over 15% of the population, 620,000 people are uninsured. The county developed healthcare program for those individuals that do not qualify for Medi-Cal has 25,000 enrollees. In 2013 there were 33 reported non-business related bankruptcies filed, with a national average of 25% citing medical expenses directly as cause. Home sales peaked in 2008 in both median price and number of home sales. Following the recession, sale prices fell but has steadily risen since the end o f 2012, nearing the early high numbers. Neighborhood/Community Safety Inventory Several types of crime present problems for the community. In 2005 there were 39 murders, 115 rapes, 416 robberies, 1577 assaults, 3829 burglaries, 8215 thefts and 3910 auto-thefts. Over 15,000 people are incarcerated in Riverside County. (Citydata)There is significant drug problems in the county increasing crime and resulting in family disruption. The manufacturing of  methamphetamines plagues the area especially in the rural areas and desert regions, which make it easier to perform unnoticed. Drug related crime is common in the inner city areas of the county including Riverside City, Jurupa Valley, Banning, Moreno valley and Perris. Air quality presents the primary environmental hazard due to smog and other pollutants that often exceed the state averages. Ozone 1 and 8 hour exposure, PM 2.5, PM 10, Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Oxide levels all exceed the US average significantly. In 2005, Riverside County had the second highest levels of PM 2.5 and Ozone 8 hour exposure in the st ate of California. Other environmental hazards include heat exposure in the arid regions during summer months and the poisonous plants found in the region. Poison Oak, Oleander, Stinging Nettles, Jimson Weed and mushrooms are all poisonous plants identified in Riverside County. (Citydata) Vectors contributing to possible disease transmission include ticks, fleas, rats and squirrels. Plague has been identified in isolated squirrels, Hanta virus has been confirmed in mice and rats. The county does battle a considerable West Nile Virus risk with mosquito larva populations in stagnant water sources. (Vector) 2011 had 30,611 live births, with 2.9% late or no prenatal care in Riverside County. (CDPH) Birth rates have remained steady over the last ten years averaging 10-12 per 1000 persons annually. Deaths have followed a slight decrease in tend over the last ten years, as have infant deaths. Population growth has grown sharply over the last ten years, almost doubling the state average. (Citydata) Disaster As sessment Tool Because of the population makeup of Riverside County, with near half of Hispanic descent and many having Spanish as their primary language, there is a high likelihood that disaster response in this community will require a large Spanish speaking component. Another group that will require special planning for disaster response is the disabled. Riverside County has over 20,000 sensory disabled individuals between the ages of 21-64, 39,000 mentally disabled in the same age group and 55,000 physically disabled also in this age group. Because of the large immigrant population and the large number of imprisoned or jailed individuals, there is a higher risk for TB transmission which could affect persons staying at shelters in close proximity to one another during a disaster. Riverside County has a robust  Emergency Response Plan which is detailed in the two part document found on the Riverside County Fire Department webpage. The arid desert regions present flash flood risks when sudden rainstorms deliver water levels above that which the soil can absorb. Because of the overall arid environment, wildfires are a seasonal risk and have plagued the county considerable in recent years. The county is dissected by the San Andreas fault line, resulting in a 4711% rate of earthquakes over the US average. Natural disasters over the last 60 years include 22 fires, 15 floods and 7 severe storms. (Geology) Many of the rural areas of the county are adjacent to areas of denser population, and house communities based around having horses and other livestock. Disaster management in these areas will require additional resources and cooperation to facilitate moving personal animals, including horses, goats and other medium size livestock, to safe areas. These areas, usually possessing a strong cohesiveness, will likely work well together in such situations. Significant preparations have been made for notification of disast er information, utilizing state level disaster comms down to the local HAM radio operators, as well as satellite communications and personal cell phone notifications. Cultural Assessment Tool The majority immigrants come from Mexico at 66%. Just under half of the population identify with a specific religion at 43%, and by far the majority report as Catholic at 66%. Additionally 5% associate as Mormons, leaving 29% as members of all other religious sects and denominations. In all of California, Latinas overwhelmingly make up the group of mothers seeking late prenatal care, with white and blacks following. In 2002 this number was 41,000 for Latinas, 15,000 for whites and 5,100 for blacks. Riverside County has a considerable Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual and Transgender population at 70,747 persons. By far the most dense makeup of this group is in Palm Springs where the LGBPT population is estimated at 40% of the cities entire makeup.