Objectives Essays

Objectives Essays Objectives Essay Objectives Essay Human Resources Mission We provide a positive HR service experience for applicants, employees, and retirees and collaborate with departments to recruit, develop, support, and retain diverse and talented employees who are the key to Virginia Techs reputation and success. Human Resources Vision We deliver Human Resources programs and services with such quality and expertise that campus departments gain a competitive advantage from our collaborative efforts to make Virginia Tech a great place to work. HR Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives Goal One: Promote and enhance our competitive total rewards package to recruit and retain top talent. Objectives: Create a total rewards message to educate HR partners, hiring managers, and recruits on the total value of the Virginia Tech employment package Work closely with management to reinforce the need for competitive compensation for individuals Virginia Tech wishes to attract and retain Fine tune benefits package within the Virginia higher education restructuring framework Focus on retirement planning and support for current and retired employees Define a minimum level of employee educational benefit across all senior management areas Goal Two: Support the talent development of our employees through professional development, career evelopment, and improved performance management. Invest in professional development programs to improve leadership capabilities, Job skills, and employee productivity Develop comprehensive career management tools, job enrichment strategies, and mentoring programs to help employees prepare for new opportunities Provide organizational consulting servi ces to all senior management areas to spur improved organizational and individual performance Goal Three: Promote the achievement of work-life balance and wellness in our employee community. Expand the use of flexible work arrangements through greater supervisory and mployee awareness about the potential benefits to employees and departments Inform employees about the importance of education, awareness, self-care, and behavioral change in improving wellness and productivity Collaborate with individuals and departments, both on and off campus, to deliver a broader range of wellness programs and services for improved physical and mental health Assess the ongoing need for more child-care options based on analysis of local supply and demand Goal Four: Deliver HR services, programs, and communications which are highly valued by our prospective employees, current employees, and retirees. Target employee communications more effectively to meet employee information needs Leverage technology to streamline HR service processes and improve access to employee information Define HRS customer service promise and assess and improve customer satisfaction to a common standard through reg ular surveys Develop HR scorecard for central HR and senior management areas as an overall assessment and improvement tool Plan new office location so that it provides a productive work environment for improved service and program delivery Goal Five: Foster a diverse, inclusive community with a positive work environment. Develop a Building a Better Work Environment curriculum for supervisors Conduct regular organizational climate assessments and collaborate with senior managers to improve the campus work climate Partner with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, senior managers, and department heads to promote and uphold our Principles of Community Educate the campus community on the prevention of harassment and discrimination and productive ways to resolve conflict Insure we promote our commitment to diversity and non-discrimination through our actions and in our outreach and employee recruitment efforts Assess and address reasons why talented eople leave the Virginia Tech employee community Goal Six: Compete for top talent with effective recruitment strategies and efficient recruitment processes. Identify more proactive recruiting solutions for staff and AP faculty positions Build relationships with senior management areas by assigning them staffing specialists and developing recruitment strategie s focused on their recruitment priorities Improve employee onboarding experience through three month check-up Design and implement a central hiring procedures portal for managers to use when hiring all Job types Provide search support for AP faculty searches upon request

An Introduction to Virtue Ethics

An Introduction to Virtue Ethics â€Å"Virtue ethics† describes a certain philosophical approach to questions about morality. It is a way of thinking about ethics that is characteristic of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, particularly Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.   But it has become popular again since the later part of the 20th century due to the work of thinkers like Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, and Alasdair MacIntyre. The Central Question of Virtue Ethics How should I live?   This has a good claim to being the most fundamental question that you can put to yourself.   But philosophically speaking, there is another question that perhaps has to be answered first: namely, How should I decide how to live? There are several answers available within the Western philosophical tradition:   The religious answer:  God has given us a set of rules to follow. These are laid out in scripture (e.g. the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Koran). The right way to live is to follow these rules. That is the good life for a human being.Utilitarianism: This is the view that what matters most in the world in the promotion of happiness and the avoidance of suffering.   So the right way to live is, in a general way, to try to promote the most happiness you can, both your own and that of other people– especially those around you–while trying to avoid causing pain or unhappiness.Kantian ethics: The great German philosopher Immanuel Kant argues that the basic rule we should follow is neither â€Å"Obey God’s laws,† nor â€Å"Promote happiness.† Instead, he claimed that the fundamental principle of morality is something like: Always act in the way that you could honestly want everyone to act if they were in a similar situation. Anyone who abides by this rule, he claims, will be behaving with complete consistency and rationality, and they will unfailingly do the right thing. What all three approaches have in common is that they view morality as a matter of following certain rules. There are very general, fundamental rules, like â€Å"Treat others as you’d like to be treated,† or â€Å"Promote happiness.† And there are lots of more specific rules that can be deduced from these general principles: e.g. â€Å"Don’t bear false witness,† or â€Å"Help the needy.† The morally good life is one lived according to these principles; wrongdoing occurs when the rules are broken. The emphasis is on duty, obligation, and the rightness or wrongness of actions. Plato and Aristotle ‘s way of thinking about morality had a different emphasis. They also asked: How should one live? But took this question to be equivalent to What kind of person does one want to be? That is, what sort of qualities and character traits are admirable and desirable. Which should be cultivated in ourselves and others? And which traits should we seek to eliminate? Aristotles Account of Virtue In his great work, the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle offers a detailed analysis of the virtues that has been enormously influential and is the starting point for most discussions of virtue ethics. The Greek term that is usually translated as â€Å"virtue† is arà ªte.  Speaking generally, arà ªte is a kind of excellence. It is a quality that enables a thing to perform its purpose or function. The sort of excellence in question can be specific to particular kinds of thing. For instance, the main virtue of a racehorse is to be fast; the main virtue of a knife is to be sharp. People performing specific functions also require specific virtues: e.g. a competent accountant must be good with numbers; a soldier needs to be physically brave. But there are also virtues that it is good for any human being to possess, the qualities that enable them to live a good life and to flourish as a human being. Since Aristotle thinks that what distinguishes human beings from all other animals is our rationality, the good life for a human being is one in which the rational faculties are fully exercised. These include things like the capacities for friendship, civic participation, aesthetic enjoyment, and intellectual enquiry. Thus for Aristotle, the life of a pleasure-seeking couch potato is not an example of the good life. Aristotle distinguishes between the intellectual virtues, which are exercised in the process of thinking, and the moral virtues, which are exercised through action.   He conceives of a moral virtue as a character trait that it is good to possess and that a person displays habitually.   This last point about habitual behavior is important.   A generous person is one who is routinely generous, not just generous occasionally. A person who only keeps some of their promises does not have the virtue of trustworthiness. To really have the virtue is for it to be deeply ingrained in your personality. One way to achieve this is to keep practicing the virtue so that it becomes habitual. Thus to become a truly generous person you should keep performing generous actions until generosity just comes naturally and easily to you; it becomes, as one says, â€Å"second nature.† Aristotle argues that each moral virtue is a sort of mean lying between two extremes. One extreme involves a deficiency of the virtue in question, the other extreme involves possessing it to excess. For example, Too little courage cowardice; too much courage recklessness. Too little generosity stinginess; too much generosity extravagance. This is the famous doctrine of the â€Å"golden mean.†Ã‚   The â€Å"mean,† as Aristotle understands it is not some sort of mathematical halfway point between the two extremes; rather, it is what is appropriate in the circumstances. Really, the upshot of Aristotle’s argument seems to be that any trait we consider a virtue as to be exercised with wisdom. Practical wisdom (the Greek word is phronesis), although strictly speaking an intellectual virtue, turns out to be absolutely key to being a good person and living a good life. Having practical wisdom means being able to assess what is required in any situation. This includes knowing when one should follow a rule and when one should break it. And it calls into play knowledge, experience, emotional sensitivity, perceptiveness, and reason. The Advantages of Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics certainly didn’t die away after Aristotle. Roman Stoics like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius also focused on character rather than abstract principles. And they, too, saw moral virtue as constitutive of the good life– that is, being a morally good person is a key ingredient of living well and being happy.   No-one who lacks virtue can possibly be living well, even if they have wealth, power, and lots of pleasure. Later thinkers like Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and David Hume (1711-1776) also offered moral philosophies in which the virtues played a central role.   But it is fair to say that virtue ethics took a back seat in the 19th and 20th centuries. The revival of virtue ethics in the mid-late 20th century was fueled by dissatisfaction with rule-oriented ethics, and a growing appreciation of some of the advantages of an Aristotelian approach. These advantages included the following. Virtue ethics offers a broader conception of ethics in general.  It doesn’t see moral philosophy as confined to working out which actions are right and which actions are wrong. It also asks what constitutes well-being or human flourishing. We may not have a duty to flourish in the way we have a duty not to commit murder; but questions about well-being are still legitimate questions for moral philosophers to address.It avoids the inflexibilities of rule-oriented ethics.  According to Kant, for instance, we must always and in every circumstance obey his fundamental principle of morality, his â€Å"categorical imperative.† This led him to conclude that one must never tell a lie or break a promise.   But the morally wise person is precisely the one who recognizes when the best course of action is to break the normal rules. Virtue ethics offers rules of thumb, not iron rigidities.Because it is concerned with character, with what kind of person one is, virtue ethics pay s more attention to our inner states and feelings as opposed to focusing exclusively on actions. For a utilitarian, what matters is that you do the right thing–that is, you promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number (or follow a rule that is justified by this goal).   But as a matter of fact, this is not all we care about. It matters why someone is generous or helpful or honest. The person who is honest simply because they think being honest is good for their business is less admirable that the person who is honest through and through and would not cheat a customer even if they could be sure that no one would ever find them out. Virtue ethics has also opened the door to some novel approaches and insights pioneered by feminist thinkers who argue that traditional moral philosophy has emphasized abstract principles over concrete interpersonal relationships. The early bond between mother and child, for instance, could be one of the essential building blocks of moral life, providing both an experience and an example of loving care for another person. Objections to Virtue Ethics Needless to say, virtue ethics has its critics. Here are a few of the most common criticisms leveled against it. â€Å"How can I flourish?† is really just a fancy way of asking â€Å"What will make me happy?†Ã‚   This may be a perfectly sensible question to ask, but it really isn’t a moral question. It’s a question about one’s self-interest. Morality, though, is all about how we treat other people. So this expansion of ethics to include questions about flourishing takes moral theory away from its proper concern.Virtue ethics by itself can’t really answer any particular moral dilemma. It doesn’t have the tools to do this. Suppose you have to decide whether or not to tell a lie in order to save your friend from being embarrassed. Some ethical theories provide you with real guidance.   But virtue ethics doesn’t. It just says, â€Å"Do what a virtuous person would do† which isn’t much use.Morality is concerned, among other things, with praising and blaming people for how they behave.   But what sort of character a person has is to quite a large extent a matter of luck.   People have a natural temperament: either brave or timid, passionate or reserved, confident or cautious. It is hard to alter these inborn traits. Moreover, the circumstances in which a person is raised is another factor that shapes their moral personality but which is beyond their control.   So virtue ethics tends to bestow praise and blame on people for just being fortunate. Naturally, virtue ethicists believe they can answer these objections. But even the critics who put them forward would probably agree that the revival of virtue ethics in recent times has enriched moral philosophy and broadened its scope in a healthy way.

LLM EC Competition law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LLM EC Competition law - Essay Example Within the UK Articles 81 and 82 EC have been incorporated into the Competition Act 1998 (CA). The aim of these articles and the CA is to prohibit agreements, business practices and behaviors that have, or are intended to have, a damaging effect on competition in the UK (in the EU for the EC Articles).1 Article 81 prohibits any dealings that will distort competition within the EU, which includes any agreement from insider trading through to companies discriminating to supply goods or services on the basis of preferential businesses. The sale and supply of goods and services should be open to all members of the class that the company deals with. Also the sale of goods and services should be based on fair and open grounds, examples that the Office of Fair Trading and the EC use to illustrate anti-competitive agreements, in addition to cartels, include: The basis that the EC has used to identify what grounds are anti-competitive can arguably be determined as not economic, but more socially based. On economic grounds could such agreements as shown above not be a way to create a more competitive market, because if the present competitors agree to limit output does this not open the door for new businesses to open up in order for supply to meet the demand. Therefore it is questionable whether the current system of law is really dealing with what is economically competitive on economic grounds3. This is even more apparent with Article 82 EC, which deals with identifying what equates to abusive behavior by a company in respect to EC competition law. In order to be abusive under the company must be in a dominant position, which raises a question on the fairness of this article because if a company is not in a dominant position why is it not abusive This seems to be more of a social rather than an economic factor, because it means that if you are NOT a powerful and dominant company you can do as you wish.4 This illustrates that the grounds that EC law is determining on abuse in fact favors one sector of the economy over others, i.e. the underdogs. Is this not an abuse of competition law, because in certain instances dominant companies are a natural part of the industry's landscape, e.g. water, natural resources and fuel. This indicates that the current approach to determining a breach of competition law is in fact ironically a breach itself. The definition of dominance comes from the cases of United Brands5 and Hoffman-La Roche6 where the ECJ (European Court of Justice) defined the concept of dominance as: A position of economic strength enjoyed by an undertaking which enables it to prevent effective competition being maintained on the relevant market by affording it the power to behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, customers and ultimately of its consumers.7 It is commendable that the ECJ indicates the need to protect the interests of the consumer; however is this determination on the basis of the economic grounds of

Team Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Analysis - Essay Example Alexies is another flexible, charming, extraordinary caring and social lady. She ensures that everything required to make the team moving such as writing materials are provided. She is also able to change very first with situations, hence flexible and understanding. Dre is another excellent administrator who shows traits of a very dedicated and a curious thinker who is not able to resist an intellectual challenge. The then complements the team by reminding us always of the rules and regulations of the team that must be followed and ensures participation by every group member. Jawon is another charismatic and inspiring man who is able to mesmerize his listeners. He therefore help the team with inspiring quotes and related experiences to help us make informed decisions as we work together as a team. Sharon closes the list as a spontaneous energetic and a strategic thinker who always has a plan for everything. She therefore helps the team with its planning of activities in a logical man ner, which has been a milestone in enabling the team to achieve its some of its goals. On my side, I am also another smart, energetic and very perceptive person who always adds in the gap in the team to join all the ideas presented in order to make logical conclusions, hence making the team make steps towards completion of its tasks. After we were assigned team members, we went ahead to work with the team members as assigned as we believed in working with anybody as a team to uplift each other. We did not therefore add or drop any team members. The team therefore was not affected in anyway due to new members getting in it or other members being dropped. Some of the biggest challenges have been those concerning place and time to meet. Initially, after the members had been assigned to the team, we were faced with the challenge of finding the most appropriate place to meet. We wanted a quiet place with minimal

Same-Sex Marriage Essay Example for Free

Same-Sex Marriage Essay The issue over same-sex marriage has come into the limelight beginning 1993 when the Supreme Court in Hawaii favored the issue and ruled that rejecting a union of two people from the same gender is not constitutional. The matter became highly controversial as some states made rulings allowing same-sex unions, while others do not based on religious doctrines and arguments. Marriage is an integral part of society and the nation as a whole. Marriage creates a family, which is considered to be the basic unit of society. Parents rear their children to be positive contributors as they grow up and take more active roles. Without the families, the nations social fabric will weaken, and in turn, every other institution will also be affected. The benefits of the union affects the community in many ways. For instance, marriage establishes the paternity of a child, making it easy to assert about child support. Marriage also prevents conflicts regarding relationships. These are just two benefits of the union that the government sees and recognizes. Because of its impact to society, marriage has come to be defined and regulated by laws, both religious and governmental. The federal and state governments, to promote stability and order, not only have the right to define marriage. It is, in fact, their duty to create laws that define marriage in relation to what society dictates. In Massachusetts, for example, its Supreme Court sees the need to legalize and constitutionalized same-sex marriage. This decision was based not on personal views but on intrepretation of the states laws. In other states, rulings were issued liberalizing marriage, but not entirely making it constitutional. However, many states have amended the definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Those against it sees same-sex unions as a factor that would not be good for their states. Work Cited The U. S. Constitution Online. Contitutional Topic: Marriage. 19 April 2008 http://www. usconstitution. net/consttop_marr. html

Review of Dickersons End Of Blackness Essay example -- essays research

Debra Dickerson, a lawyer and journalist, sets out to inform blacks that they have to give up on the past. If they do not give up on the past, there will be no future for blacks in America. She opens her book, The End of Blackness: Returning the Souls of Black Folks to Their Rightful Owners, by saying â€Å"this book will both prove and promote the idea that the concept of ‘blackness,’ as it has come to be understood, is rapidly losing its ability to describe, let alone predict or manipulate, the political and social behavior of African Americans† (p.3). My first thought after finishing this book was that she did not prove anything. Dickerson’s goal in this book, I gather, is to criticize contemporary approaches to race. She does this without leaving anything or anyone untouched. She questions the civil rights establishment, which sets the current tone of black politics to white apologists who continue to minimize the affects of slavery. One of her main arguments is that as long as blacks define themselves in terms of inherited blackness the civil rights movement will never be complete. Not only do blacks need to stop identifying with the past, they must surrender. According to Dickerson, â€Å"blacks must consciously give up on achieving racial justice† (p 16), is this a possibility? I do give credit to Dickerson for noting that blacks in America still face structural barriers to equality, among them poor scholastic achievement, crime, family breakdown and infant mortality; however, ...

Murder Mystery story Essay

This is also securing the readers perspective on Sherlock Holmes. All through the Speckled Band Sherlock Holmes displays his distinct ability to decipher the exact meaning of a situation. At the same time that Holmes is doing this, the reader becomes more and more confused about the situation in hand. This is where Conan Doyle’s first person narrative becomes crucial to the story. He uses Dr. Watson as a translator of Holmes’ genius. Watson helps the readers understand exactly what’s going on and, in a way, puts their minds at ease. This is typical of Arthur Conan Doyle. He creates a psychological battle in the minds of the reader. He uses Holmes to create a trouble with interpretation of sequences past and to come and then simplifies it through Watson. This is what makes all Conan Doyle’s stories so brilliant for the reader. Conan Doyle uses Holmes to build up suspense with a possible flaw in Holmes’ brilliance when he declares that the committer of the crime is more cunning than himself. This is essential to the story. Holmes has been portrayed as the best detective in England up to this point and now he himself declares that he has been defeated. This creates extreme suspense for the reader. Also among Holmes’ abilities is his ability to disguise himself. He makes himself appear to be a person with distinct business at the Roylott estate. â€Å"This fellow should think that we had come as architects or on some definite business. † This adds to Holmes’ list of excellencies. He is now toying with the mind of the villain in order to accomplish he task he has been set. The unexpected ending. By the end of the Speckled band Doyle has created such suspense and confusion in the minds of the readers that they are waiting in dire anticipation to find out how it will end. The Speckled Band is, in fact, a poisonous snake native to India, the living place of Dr. Roylott for several years. Roylott used the snake to make its way through the ventilation and into the bedroom of Miss Stoner and poison her. No matter how intelligent the reader they would not have the ability to predict this ending. This is a classic ending because it surprises the reader and although the identity of the villain was obvious all the way through the story, it was never clear how he would have murdered his stepdaughter. This is again excellent writing by Conan Doyle. He builds up tension by repeating the events of the past death of Julia Stoner when Holmes re-enacts the sequences of that fateful night with Helen Stoner as a trap for Dr. Roylott. Arthur Conan Doyle uses vast imagery and description to keep the reader glued. It is with this imagery that he creates the tension and creates a sense of tragedy in the mind of the reader. The word black is repeated several times, and this gives a feeling of doom and imbalance. This, paired with nocturnal, silence, darkness and all the other words of sinister imagery creates more tension for the reader. It all builds up and gives the reader an incentive to carry on, to find out what will occur in the next sequence. All the way through there is a mysterious atmosphere and this only pushes the story further into the classic murder mystery genre. Everything down to he scenery and especially the buildings create a tense atmosphere. Conan Doyle wants to put a picture into the mind of the reader, such that they can almost see exactly they are reading about. â€Å"Grey, lichen-blotched stone†¦ windows broken†¦ picture of ruin. † All these are distinct factors of a house that can be picture in an infinite number of different ways for each individual reader. As this essay concludes the Speckled Band by sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a classic murder mystery story. All the criteria in the second paragraph have been fulfilled. There can be no argument that Sherlock Holmes is the greatest fictional detective in the whole of English literature and Arthur Conan Doyle is, without doubt, the most memorable writer of classic Murder Mystery stories up to the present day. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Part a Critical Analysis of Project Management Plan

Part A Critical Analysis of Project Management Plan Executive Summary Table of Contents 1 Introduction This report will present the critical analysis about humanities financial services review project management plan. The purpose of the report is to apply the different theories and ideas regarding the project management plan. The main purpose of the critical analysis is to critique as well as evaluate somebody’s work based on the opinion, idea and perspective of someone. It is an academic report that contains a description of the project plan (part B) as well as its content.This report will also express the opinion of the author with regards to the different part of the project management plan that has chosen. It will analyze the whole project plan by breaking down the project into parts and then studying and evaluating each and every part using the support and help of different references from different books, journals and other related studies. This report will also show the importance of a project plan and who will be benefited from its use and implementation. The structure of the report will follow the structure of the chosen project plan.It will individually analyze the different part or aspect of the project plan based on the project management body of knowledge. The main focus of the report is to give analysis about the different important aspect of the project management plan such as the time or schedule, money or cost, human resource or work breakdown structure as well as different risk that can be encountered by the project during the implementation of the plan. 2 Project Background 2. 1 Information about the Work 2. 1. 1 Title: Humanities Financial Services Review Project Management Plan . 1. 2 Author: Craig Medley 2. 1. 3 Publication Information: Project Id HUM-PR-P1, v. 04 Draft, August 30, 2007, from http://edo. humanities. curtin. edu. au/pdf/Project_Managem ent_Plan_2007. pdf 2. 2 Project Description The chosen document focuses on the pla n for the management of the humanities financial services review project. It was written in order to show or review the different areas or aspects of the newly implemented new transactional systems in November 2007, with an upgrade to the finance one to the Concur and BPI in Humanities only.It can help to know the different processes and flow of data and information of its accounting and purchasing transactions across each and every division (Medley 2007, p. 4). The Faculty of the Humanities of the Curtin University of the Technology offers different courses in Media, Communications, Built Environment, Art and Design, Education, Languages, Human Services as well as Social Sciences. All f the said courses are only few of the courses that the said department of the Curtin University is offering (Faculty of Humanities 2008).The project plan focuses on the implementation of the finance and accounting system of the department that focuses on the needs of the users of the system like invo icing, ordering, approving, reconciling, access to the system, structure of the outputs, skills and request and access for the different outputs (Medley 2007, p. 4). The project management plan will help the current system to improve its operations and increase the security that will eventually help to meet the demands and needs of the different stakeholders or users. Structure and contents of the Project Plan 3. 1 Project Management Plan and Its Purpose 3. 1. 1 What is Project Plan? Project management plan or simply project plan is a document that corresponds to the overall purposes or objectives, responsibilities, resource requirements and agenda for the project (Baker & Baker 2003, p. 29). It is considered as more than a playbook that determine what are the different works or task that are need to done and accomplish (Phillips 2004, p. 32). It is a fluid document that controls the following elements: Provide structure – project plan is developed in order to present a struc ture or composition in order to get the project to its completion. It must be methodical and systematical but brief and short, compilation of different documents that serves as a point of references in the course of the project implementation (Phillips 2004, p. 32). ? Provide Documentation – documented project plan is needed in order for the project to be a successful one. This is due to the fact that it must present historical references and the different reasons behind the decisions that have been made (Phillips 2004, p. 32). Provide Baselines – a project plan includes a number of baselines. As the project shift towards the finishing point, the management together with the stakeholders and the project managers can use the project plan in order to see what was predicted for the costs, schedules, qualities and scopes – and compare it to the present condition (Phillips 2004, p. 32). Project plan is the output or result of the planning phase that confines the diff erent information that has been observed and fulfilled with the team and lays out the different activities and processes about how the project will be carried out.It also represents the projected reality (Martin & Tate 2001, p. 155). 3. 1. 2 Purposes and Importance of the Project Plan The major function of the project plan is to provide a step-by-step insight into what it takes in order to satisfy the requirements or the needs of the system (Frame 2002, p. 97). An inclusive and fittingly comprehensive project plan is essential to a successful completion of any project. It can help to direct the project itself.Without the aid or help of a project plan, it will hard and even impossible to lead a group to carry out their different responsibilities in order achieves their common goal (Baker & Baker 2003, p. 29). It is a directing document of the project management that serves up as a storage area for all of the supplementary plans. It is a guiding document for the project and it’ s intrinsically needs to replicate all of the information that is critical or crucial to the project manager, project team, customer as well as management sponsor. It offers broad direction as to the cost, schedule and requirements baselines.In its thorough and comprehensive form, it provides much more exact and precise guidance on the nature of the components of the different supporting plans (Pritchard 2004, p. 100). 3. 2 Stakeholder of the Humanities Financial Services Review Project Management Plan The main audience or target of the humanities of the financial services review project management are the higher officials who are involved in the overall process and management of the different financial and accounting activities in the humanities department of the   Curtin University of the Technology.The plan will focus on the review of the different areas of the current system of the humanities of the Curtin University of the Technology such as the different internal process flo ws such as invoicing, ordering, approving as well as reconciling; the number of the people or the user that can access the systems of the Concur and the Finance One; the structure of the invoicing as well as procurement function as well as the different responsibilities and functions of each and every users; the different skills of every users; the different uses and what they are used for such as the request for the Curtin tax invoice and its different uses and the different types of transactions that are involved with the credit card or purchase request (Medley 2007, p. 4).All of the said information together with other result of the review will be helpful for the management in order for them to improve the current system of the Humanities department that will ensure competitive advantage for their part because it can make the life of their stakeholders a lot easier. It can also help them to excel in their different operations as well as to ensure or add their financial security. 3. 3 Structure of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the Humanities Financial Services Review Project Management Plan 3. 4 Different Sections of the Humanities Financial Services Review Project Management Plan 4 Conclusions 5 Recommendations Part B Humanities Financial Services Review Project Management Plan 1 Introduction 1. 1 About this Document This document provides a plan for the management of the Humanities Financial Services Review Project. 1. 2 BackgroundNew transactional systems and processes have been implemented recently, being Concur and BPI (Humanities only) with an upgrade to Finance One to occur in November 2007. In addition, the Division is looking at ways in which to best undertake support activities including purchasing and accounting to ensure that efficiencies are obtained. A Financial Services Office is already operational and undertakes some financial processes i. e. electronic processing of credit card transactions. Based on the above, it is now timely to review current sys tems, processes and structures which accounting and purchasing transactions operate under across the Division.The areas that would be reviewed include but are not limited to; internal process flows (including invoicing, ordering, approving and reconciling), the number of people with access to systems (both Concur and Finance One), the structure of the invoicing and procurement function (who does what), skills, and how systems are used and what they are used for (e. g. request for Curtin tax invoice, what are allonges used for, what type of transactions are going through credit cards / purchase request). 1. 3 Project Sponsor The Project Sponsor is Ken McCluskey 1. 4 Project Manager The Project Manager is Craig Medley. 1. 5 Project Team The Project team is comprised of Raymond Seah and Craig Medley 1. 6 Key StakeholdersThe key stakeholders (Humanities only) of this project include: Executive Dean Deans Review Panel 2 Project Scope 2. 1 Strategic Link This project specifically contribu tes towards to the following strategic objective(s):  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Excellence in operations  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Financial security 2. 2 Project Benefits The expected benefits and impacts of the project deliverables are: ? Improved definition and understanding of the role / scope of work of the Financial Service Office in Humanities, ? Roadmap and high level implementation plan for the agreed changes, ? Improved efficiencies and effectiveness of processes within Humanities through standardization and centralization where identified, Potential cost savings and risk reduction in procurement and credit cards processes / systems. 2. 3 Project Deliverables The project’s key deliverables are: Document / s covering: ? Matrix of processes and systems under Humanities Financial Services Office and respective Teaching Areas, ? Services identified for improvement via end to end processing / procurement arrangements / invoicing, ? Recommended proces s flow for identified services, ? List of service deliverables (with the resource requirement) of the Humanities Financial Services Office, ? Policies to support recommended services, ? High level implementation plan 2. 4 Out of Scope The following items are considered out of the scope: ? Implementation of recommendations Expenditure incurred whilst traveling (this may be included at a later date) 2. 5 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) The project tasks to produce the project deliverables are listed in the Gantt chart at Appendix B1. 2. 6 Constraints The following key project constraints were identified: ? Availability and willingness of staff to contribute ? Data quality 2. 7 Assumptions The following key assumptions influenced the development of this Project Management Plan: ? All staff will be available as required 3 Project Time Schedule 3. 1 Schedule The detailed project schedule is provided in the Gantt chart at Appendix B1 4 Project Costs 4. 1 Budget summary The budget breakdown is summarized as follows: Resource Type |Total Cost ($) |Hours | |Human resources |$30,000 | |Equipment and products | |Consumables | |Totals |$30,000 | |   |   |   |   | The Communication Plan examines the key contacts, frequency of communications, and communication medium to be deployed.It is used to ensure adequate consideration has been given to consultation and information dissemination. It is attached as Appendix D. 5 Project Accountabilities 5. 1 Project Organizational Chart The Project Organizational Chart provides a visual representation of the project team and project reporting structure. It is attached as Appendix B. 5. 2 Responsibility Assignment Matrix The Responsibility Assignment Matrix outlines responsibilities allocated to individuals for each task. It is attached as Appendix C. 5. 3 Project Sponsor The roles and responsibilities of the Project Sponsor include: Responsibility to senior management for the project;Endorsing this document to confirm that proj ect scope and deliverables are correct; Approving changes to scope, schedule, and quality; Reviewing progress and providing strategic direction; Resolving issues beyond the Project Manager’s authority; Providing the resources and sponsorship for the project; and Examining the project at completion2 and completing a Project Sign-off form. 5. 4 Project Manager The roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager include: Managing the day-to-day operations of the project to ensure the project deliverables are produced to scope, schedule, and quality; Monitoring and controlling the Project Management Plan;Providing status reports to the Project Sponsor; Leading the project teams to meet the project objectives; Undertaking the tasks assigned, as specified in the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (refer Appendix C); and Consulting with the Project Sponsor and key stakeholders to maintain communications and keep parties up to date on project progress. 6 Communications Plan 6. 1 Plan The Communication Plan examines the key contacts, frequency of communications, and communication medium to be deployed. It is used to ensure adequate consideration has been given to consultation and information dissemination. It is attached as Appendix B4. 7 Risk Management Plan 7. 1 Risk AssessmentThe Risk Management Plan, attached as Appendix B5, examines risks, rates those risks and identifies potential treatment strategies. 8 Project Control 8. 1 Progress Reporting The Project Management Plan will be controlled on a regular basis, by means of completing Project Status Report to the Project Sponsor on a fortnightly basis. The key elements are scope, schedule, and risk, with the control process comprising: †¢ Monitoring and measuring performance; †¢ Comparing performance to this plan; †¢ Reporting on deviations and issues; and †¢ Taking corrective action (where necessary). 8. 2 Change Management Any proposed changes to the scope or quality will be processed as follows: Proposed changes will be evaluated on the basis of their impact on the project process and outcome, and in light of reasonable alternatives; ? Proposed changes will be formally recorded on a Project Change Control report and submitted to the Project Sponsor; ? The Project Sponsor will review proposed changes, and either accept or reject them; and ? Accepted changes will be communicated to all concerned stakeholders, and project documentation will be amended accordingly. Appendices Appendix A1 Project Management Areas of Knowledge and Its Process ? Appendix B1 Task, Schedule & Gantt Chart Adapted from (PMI Standards & Duncan 1996, p. 7) Appendix B1 Timeline/ Gantt Chart Appendix B2 Project Organizational Chart Appendix B3 – Responsibility Assignment Matrix ID |WBS TASKS |Project |Team Member |Review Committee |Sponsor | | | |Manager | | | | | | |Craig |Raymond |Ken |   | |1 |Policy review |R |I |N |I | |2 |Purchase to Pay Stream |R |I |N, C |A | |2. 1 |Data analysi s |R |I |N, C |C | |2. 2 |Data modelling |R |I |N |N | |3 |Invoicing Stream |N, I |R |I, C |I, C | |3. |Invoice profiling |N, I |R |N |N | |3. 2 |Develop process documentation |N, I |R |N |N | |3. 3 |Present P2P and Invoice data |R |I |N |N | |4 |Interviews |R |I |I, C |C | |4. 1 |Define questions |R |R |C |I | |4. 2 |Agree on questions |R |I |C |A | |4. |Conduct interviews |R |R |I, C |N | |4. 4 |Collate information |R |I |N |N | |4. 5 |Develop activity lists / |R |R |I |N | | |matrices | | | | | |4. 6 |Develop process maps |R |R |N |N | |4. 7 |Review process maps with users|R |R |I |I | |4. |Present findings |R |I |N |C, I | |5 |Recommendations development |R |R |I |I, A | |5. 1 |Analyze prior findings |R |I |N |N, I | |5. 2 |Brainstorm options |R |I |I |I | |5. 3 |Develop recommendations |R |I |I |I | |5. 4 |Review recommendations |R |I |I |I | |5. 5 |Finalize ecommendations |R |I |A |A | |   | |LEGEND | |R – Responsible for executing activity A – Approval author ity | |I – Provides input C – Consulted | |N – Notified | APPENDIX B4 – Communication Plan Stakeholder |Information To Be Communicated|Frequency |Medium |Responsible |Timing | |Faculty/Area Administration staff affected by this review | |Review Panel |Request for feedback on the |Once before the |Meeting |Project Sponsor, |31st August | | |draft project plan and |project is | |Chair of panel & | | | |outlining next steps |officially kicked| |Project Manager | | | | |off | | | | |Executive Dean |Presentation of the draft |Once before the |Meeting |Project Sponsor and |Beginning of Sept 07 | | |project plan. The purpose of |project is | |Project manager | | | |the project; next stage on |officially | | | | | |from previous financial |kicked-off | | | | |services review project | | | | | | |looking at financial | | | | | | |transactional processes & | | | | | | |where these could be improved | | | | | | |& additional services that may| | | | | | |then res ide within the | | | | | | |division’s financial Services | | | | | | |office in the future. | | | | | |Representative from |Outline of Humanities |Prior to project |Meeting & Emails |Project Sponsor and |1st meeting end of August | |Price Waterhouse looking|Financial Services Review |kick-off | |Project Manager | | |at standardization of |project and the Project Team’s| | | | | |processes & systems |approach.Also to gain input | | | | | |across the organization |into the project depending on | | | | | | |some of the objectives that | | | | | | |Price Waterhouse have been | | | | | | |tasked with. | | | | | |Executive Dean and Deans|Kick-off Project, Project plan|At start of Presentation at HMB |Project Sponsor & |10th Sept | | |- main project objectives, |Project | |Project Manager | | | |communications plan, risks & | | | | | | |key areas being covered in the| | | | | | |project | | | | | |Project Sponsor |Project Status updates – |Fortnightly |Meeting |Projec t Manager |Starting 5th September | | |activities, key findings and | | | | | | |issues | | | | | |Financial Services |Introduce the new Associate |Once |Meeting |Project Sponsor, |Approx 3rd week in Sept | | |Director Transaction services | | |Project Team, & | | | |to the project and go through | | |Chair of Review | | | |project plan & request his | | |Committee | | | |involvement on the review | | | | | | |committee | | | | | |Review Committee |Introduction of the new |One of three |Committee meeting |Chair of Review |Towards end of September | | |Associate Director Transaction| | |Committee & Project | | | |services to the review | | |Manager | | | committee as a new member, | | | | | | |Also Summarization of | | | | | | |activities, findings at end of| | | | | | |Purchase to Pay Stream Phase | | | | | | |plus next steps | | | | | |Faculty/Area |General communication to staff|One of three |One on One meetings |Review Panel Members|Towards end of Sept | |Administration staff |in their area about the 1st | | | | | |affected by this review |phase i. e.P2P & Invoicing | | | | | | |quantitative analysis | | | | | |Review Committee |Summarization of activities, |Two of Three |Committee meeting |Project Manager |Towards end of October | | |findings at end of Invoice | | | | | | |Phase plus next steps | | | | | |Faculty/Area |General communication to staff|Two of Three |One on One meetings |Review Panel Members|Towards end of October | |Administration staff |in their area about the 2nd | | | | | |affected by this review |phase i. e. Interviews | | | | | |Review Committee |Review of draft |Three of Three |Committee meeting |Project Manager |Mid November | | |recommendations and gather | | | | | |feedback for inclusion in | | | | | | |final report | | | | | |Faculty/Area |General communication to staff|Two of Three |One on One meetings |Review Panel Members|Mid November | |Administration staff |in their area about the | | | | | |affected by this review |‘draf t’ recommendations | | | | | |Executive Dean and Deans|Project Outcomes and |Conclusion |Presentation at HMB |Project Sponsor and |Early December | | |Recommendations | | |Manager | | Appendix B5 Communication Plan Calendar *Note – Meeting dates with exception of HMB are indicative and subject to change Appendix B6 Risk Management Plan Legend for the Risk Management Plan Defining Likelihood Ratings The following table outlines the definition of likelihood rating as applied to the risk assessment. Descriptor |Definition | |Almost certain |Expected to occur in most circumstances | |Likely |Will probably occur in most circumstances | |Possible |Might occur at some time | |Unlikely |Could occur at some time | |Rare |May only occur in exceptional circumstances | Defining Consequence Ratings The following table outlines the definition of consequence rating as applied to the risk assessment. Consequence |Project Consequence | |Catastrophic |Unacceptable effect on project ob jectives | |Major |Major effects on project objectives, requiring significant effort to rectify. | |Moderate |Moderate effects on project objectives, requiring management effort to rectify | |Minor |Some difficulties experienced, but these are easily managed. | |Insignificant |No noticeable effect on project management objectives | Defining Risk Rankings The following table outlines the definition of risk categorizes, determined by combining the likelihood and consequence of a risk. RISK FACTOR |Insignificant |Minor |Moderate |Major |Catastrophic | |Almost |Low |High |High |Extreme |Extreme | |certain | | | | | | |Likely |Low |Moderate |High |Extreme |Extreme | |Possible |Low |Moderate |High |High |Extreme | |Unlikely |Low |Low |Moderate |High |High | |Rare |Low |Low |Low |Moderate |High |

3 Ways Kids Can Teach Us About Content Writing and Delivery

3 Ways Kids Can Teach Us About Content Writing and Delivery Do you ever feel like your business writing is overly formal? Stilted? Drab? You’re not alone. Companies face the same problem, often bringing in experts like me because so many of their employees write and deliver content that makes their audience yawn, or worse, hit â€Å"Delete.† To address this issue, I ask clients the following question frequently: â€Å"How would you say or explain this to a child?† Here are three places I recommend using this trick to transform content into something people actually want to read: 1) Your LinkedIn profile. In presentations like How to Put Your Personality into Your LinkedIn Profile, I suggest doing this exercise: Explain what you do for work to a 5-year-old. That way, instead of using big words that few people understand, you will be forced to present what you do in a simplified, engaging way. You might not use the exact same words you’d use to talk to someone 35 or 55 years your junior, but something might come out that is fresh and refreshing! Here’s how one LinkedIn user, Jess Hornyak, describes herself: Its safe to say I don’t fit into a traditional bubble. Im an art director, but Im really so much more. Im a strategist. A writer. An artist. A competitor. Its why I’m looking for people who could use a little more non-traditional in their everyday lives. Plus, it means Im never bored. And definitely not boring. Do you see the childlike energy in what she wrote? She definitely keeps me reading! I challenge you to put this type of wonder in your own LinkedIn profile, even in subtle ways. Your readers will appreciate it. They might even pick you first for the kickball team. 2) Video scripts and videos. When I was working with a company who writes video scripts and then produces the videos to explain its product to users, I was fortunate to have the speaker from the video in the room. I asked her to read her script, and she asked if I wanted her to use her â€Å"video voice.† â€Å"Sure!† I said. It turned out that her video voice sounded like she was reading and presenting, rather than like she was talking to me. I asked her to read the script as if she were reading to a child. She started to see that the script contained so much lingo that it was actually impossible to read it that way. A conversation ensued about how to create less terminology-dense content for the company’s users. Shortly thereafter, I encountered a perfect example of kid-friendly content. Take a couple of minutes to listen to the audio for this Social Media Examiner article on How to Use Showcase Pages for Business. You’ll notice the excitement, even giddiness in her voice. You can hear her smiling. That’s the voice we use to talk to little ones. You may also notice a nice amount of variety in sentence structure in the Social Media Examiner article. There are shorter sentences, longer sentences and questions mixed in throughout. That’s how we talk to kids too. Not all of your content will be read aloud in an audio or video. But reading content aloud to yourself or another person, even if it’s being sent in an email or posted on a site, will give you a great sense of how it sounds to the reader. After all, most readers read things with an internal voice that we want to sound conversational and not bore us to death. 3) Instructional materials. When we talk to kids we don’t say things like, â€Å"These toys need to be picked up by you.† No. We say, â€Å"Pick up your toys!!† You’ll notice that the first sentence is written in passive voice (for a tutorial on passive vs. active voice, see Grammar Girl’s article on the topic). If you’re a writer, you know that passive voice takes more words and generally puts people to sleep much faster than active writing. Yet technical writers often default to phrases like, â€Å"The search box is found in the upper right corner of your screen. When a search term is entered into the box, the site will be searched.† Are you asleep yet? What about something more like this: â€Å"Looking for something on our site? Just enter what you want in the search box in the upper right corner of your screen. Presto! Your search results appear!† That second option is much more kid-friendly, isn’t it? Of course, depending on your company’s brand, you might choose to use words like â€Å"Presto† – or not. Always be appropriate to your company brand guidelines. Or you might get sent to your room. If you’re having trouble breaking out of adult speak, try talking to an actual child about any of the above three items. Or, do this exercise: Write a script where you invite a child in your life to go on a trip to Disney World. How would you talk? What questions would you ask? How would they respond? Writing this way will jostle your brain and wake up some creativity cells. Let’s face it: We’re kids at heart. And with everything we’re juggling on a daily basis, we can have the attention span of a 5-year-old. So let’s keep our communications simple and wondrous. Tap into your inner kid and have fun!

15 Purposes for Parentheses

15 Purposes for Parentheses 15 Purposes for Parentheses 15 Purposes for Parentheses By Mark Nichol Parentheses are versatile tools for writers. These examples illustrate their uses; use them to enclose the following: Examples, directions, explanations, and clarifications: 1. â€Å"Retain ampersands when they appear as part of an official name (Barnes Noble, Ben Jerry’s).† 2. â€Å"At that point, you may want to consult with a professional. (Refer to the Resources chapter for a list of tax advisers.)† 3. â€Å"Here is a selective glossary of editing and production terms. (Synonyms are in italics; cross-referenced terms are in bold italics.)† 4. â€Å"Precede the dollar amount with the initials US only to avoid confusion (in, say, an article about Australia, where the basic unit of currency is also called the dollar).† Numerals that confirm a spelled-out number in a contract: 5. â€Å"The confirmation letter is due within thirty (30) days.† Abbreviations (usually) after the first reference to the full version of the term: 6. â€Å"The country’s import and export levels are regulated by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).† Note: If the abbreviation is well known or is used again within the next sentence or two after the full name, omit the parenthesized abbreviation immediately after it. Numbers or letters that distinguish items in a run-in list: 7. â€Å"The constituent parts are (1) the thingamajig, (2) the whatchamacallit, and (3) the whatsit.† Note: Sometimes, only the close parenthesis is used in this format. However, usually, neither numbers nor parentheses are necessary in such cases. Modifying words or phrases, or interjections: 8. â€Å"The writer will (one hopes) produce well-crafted prose.† 9. â€Å"It turns out that he had (gasp!) told the truth.† Translations, pronunciations, or equivalents: 10. â€Å"She ran from the kuma (bear).† 11. â€Å"Stay at the warung (wah-ROONG) near the mosque.† 12. â€Å"The distance from Marseille to Paris is 771 kilometers (479 miles).† The area code in a phone number or a unit in a mathematical or logical expression: 13. â€Å"(213) 867-5309† 14. â€Å"a(b) = c† In-text citations: 15. â€Å"However, the literature is ambivalent on this issue (Howard, Fine, and Howard 1925; Marx et al. 1912).† Punctuation in Parentheses A full sentence in parentheses is capitalized and is followed by a period preceding the closing parenthesis: â€Å"Have these resources on hand before you begin. (Items listed in parentheses are desirable but not essential.)† A partial sentence in parentheses is not capitalized and is not followed by a period but may precede a question mark or exclamation point: â€Å"Use a dark, fine-pointed pen (erasable pens allow for neat alteration) or pencil.† â€Å"Now that you’re finished (you are finished, aren’t you?), we will proceed.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:The Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetWoof or Weft?

Case study, Greener Pastures The Launch of StaGreen by HydroCan Study

, Greener Pastures The Launch of StaGreen by HydroCan - Case Study Example This newly created product is said to have been unable to retain water for long once applied on several grass types hence cutting down on the desire for frequent advertising and extra water (MacKenzie 96). However, despite their anxiety to launch their product into the market, they direly needed adequate answers to a variety of questions e.g. the type of segment to set its target, the way to position this new product and the type of strategy for launching the product. The marketing consultants effectively made an analysis of the communication options, prices, costs and markets. Their eventual task was to come up with a comprehensive strategy in order for the new firm to launch its newly designed product. After a comprehensive analysis of this product, it was deduced that the product was extremely beneficial and had the same appearance other fertilizers although it had a significant impact on most common grass types’ root systems. This product also had the ability to reduce the desire for manual watering processes up on most grass types by almost up to 40 percent thus rendering the product to be of considerably high demand (MacKenzie 96). The key issue that needed to be addressed is the type of market to be initially targeted for this new product. There had been a variety of clashing views regarding the target market segment; this firm’s CEO intended to make its initial market segment target as garden market and consumer lawn while Mr. Humphreys preferred the target to be directed to garden market and commercial lawn. Because the two markets needed an extremely different launch strategy, choosing an appropriate segment had been the principal concern. Since both leaders possessed entirely biased positions, the consultants were aware that they had a difficult task of presenting strong, viable reasons to support all their recommendations. In order to render the