Eye Contact with Japanese Businessmen Essay Example for Free

Eye Contact with Japanese Businessmen Essay In Japan, the businessmen avoid eye contact. The businessmen would rather not waste their time and distract other men, especially their senior officers. Distractions may be embarrassing, especially when one should be focusing on the task at hand. In this research paper, comparisons among America and its culture will be displayed to accumulate ideas on why the Japanese avoid eye contact. There is more than one factor playing in Japanese customs on avoiding eye contact. This paper generates ideas from animalistic behavior, to parental control, to busy cities, to friends, to professional NBA players, and to a religion that began in the United States. Not only is eye contact distracting, but also unnecessary while the notion of withdrawing oneself can be seen as helpful to cope with certain conditions in the environment. As we study cultures we can determine the differences between countless etiquettes and mannerisms across the world. Looking at two separate countries, we can compare what is considered acceptable and unacceptable. Because we live in the Unites States, it is easy to know what we, as Americans, should do and not do in a business meeting. If American businessmen, especially ones who are uninformed, meet with Japanese businessmen, the possibility of embarrassing or offending the Japanese culture is likely when conducting business at an absolute or selfish angle. The Japanese culture maintains a business that is great on group effort and loyalty. With these certain characteristics, the Japanese take on many roles to support their ways of humility. This is why we can see the Japanese businessmen intentionally avoiding eye-contact with other businessmen during a meeting to preserve modesty. Business is a consolidation within man to form an agreement at peace. We learn from studies of history and animals that staring is a sign of aggression. When eye contact is made, a mutual reflection of a challenge (or fight) occurs. Both parties may not want to partake or antagonize a fight, but when the eyes of humans and animals alike connect, the brain will induce a chemical reaction that triggers responses in the body to take action in order to defend itself. Now in a business setting, the Japanese arent ones to create a fight when a disagreement occurs. This is a way to respect senior decisions to avoid acting naive. If we take a look at the American culture, we can see how American parents confront their children when the children are misbehaving. Young children will naturally want to stop all eye-contact and maybe even run away. To correct this behavior, parents are told to maintain eye contact while communicating with their child. This is a way to build trust in a healthy rel ationship. When we think of the word business, its easy for Americans to think of New York City, a place of a heavily, dense population of business trafficking. The place can be described as busy because everyone is running around while trying to get to their next business meeting. It wouldnt be considered rude if someone bumped into you by accident if they were rushing into a taxi cab. A newcomer to the city might, at first, be outraged, but in time city dwellers are accustomed to it. In Japan, perhaps eye-contact avoidance is another practice due to high population. The Japanese is one culture to like their privacy. A great way to ruin ones privacy is to intentionally engage in eye-contact, especially with a prolonged engagement. Imagine coming home from work everyday in public transportation and running into an unknown interval. One thing a person might do is make eye-contact with a stranger to see if the stranger is aware of this interval. Now imagine you are conducting a meeting and you come across some interval in your way. An instinctive reaction is to seek help. However, in an important business meeting, this is a devastating episode in which you may bring down a friend if he is unaware of this interval as well. The best thing to do, in Japanese customs, is to own up and not throw your best friend under the bus with you. How should you do it? Perhaps avoid eye contact and stay calm with your best manners at hand. The Japanese are known to close their eyes when they are listening intently. This is a reaction to block out from sensing other things that are going on in the room. In America, we can find many distracting things that are meant to distract you. If you go to an NBA playoff game and watch a professional basketball player attempt a free-throw at an away game, you will see almost everyone in the audience do their best to distract the player, in order for him to miss the free-throw. You will hear loud noises, see shirts waving, and even see fan memorabilia made, bought, and obtained for that sole purpose during a free-throw shooting. One American religion, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints shows reverence similar to the Japanese eye contact phenomenon. During a sacrament meeting at the LDS church, many people will give talks or performances such as singing or violin playing. In one, hour long meeting, there may be up to 5 or more people conducting a session. After each person concludes their talk or performance, it is in the Mormon practice to show gratitude with reverence. The LDS members will keep quiet during the session without gossip or clapping to maintain the spirit. Comparing the Japanese to an LDS sacrament session, closing the eyes and being reverent is a way to block out an unnecessary force. As we can determine in an NBA playoff game, there is no room for respect. Players will have to play hard and with whatever comes in their way. Eye contact is a method to show people I am here. People have an ambition, or sometimes a reaction, to make ones presence known. We do it for attention, for work, or to make new friends. However, the Japanese have grown accustomed in a practice of avoiding eye-contact when things are busy and sometimes serious. In the business place, respecting senior officers is important to maintain ones own status while progressing in rank. It is important for the Japanese not to discourage other businessmen or to bother them during a stressful time. How else can one show respect than to maintain a personal boundary?

The play - A Dolls House Essay Example for Free

The play A Dolls House Essay This play is about a womans marriage and how it is altered by the lie she has told. The supporting characters in the play enhance the emotional effect of the play and cause us (the reader) to have various emotions which, range from annoyance to sympathy for all characters in the play. The play is about relationships in particular a picture perfect marriage, which is not all as it seems. From a more social point of view it is about womens role in society during Ibsens (the author) lifetime. The play is a reminder to modern day women that the things we take for granted now (our independence i. e. taking out a loan without father/husbands authorisation. ) were very difficult if not impossible to achieve then. The play reaches its climax in three acts, and uses its acts to get the point of the story across. Act one is the introduction to the story. It is where we (the reader) find out about Noras (the main character) secret. It sets the scene very well, as this is where we really get to know Noras personality, which is not at all as it first seems. Act two develops the story, this is where the supporting characters really add their personalities to the play and bring another image of Nora to the forefront and also add more depth to the story. Act three is the conclusion. This is where all the drama from the first two acts is thrown together to form a very dramatic end. A Dolls House builds up tension and atmosphere like a pressure cooker. Towards the end of the play it explodes into a surprising but excellent finale, but although it has a dramatic end it is not frantic or hurried, it is actually rather to the point. Torvald is married to the central character of the play, Nora. Torvalds complete ignorance of his wifes true nature only builds up the tension and atmosphere once you begin to understand Nora. Torvald is a petty and arrogant man; this contributes towards the tension for the reader because we soon begin to dislike his character. He appears to be very patronising and sexist and treats his wife as a possession, cant I look at my most treasured possession? At all this loveliness thats mine and mine alone, completely and utterly mine. However in Ibsens time (1879 the Victorian period) this was the acceptable, if not expected behaviour of a husband. Torvald thinks that the more unintelligent a woman is the lovelier she is. But do you think I love you any the less for that; just because you dont know how to act on your own responsibility I wouldnt be a proper man if I didnt find a woman doubly attractive for being so obviously helpless

The Many Ways To Be Polite

The Many Ways To Be Polite Politeness is the actions taken by a competent speaker in a community in order to attend to possible social or interpersonal disturbance. Politeness is something strange which can be seen in different forms and levels. What is polite and what not depends on where you grew up and what norms of politeness you acquired there ( Meyerhoff 2006: 81). In a conversation a speaker might say something that would be considered very rude by the listener, but that speaker might actually just trying to be polite. He was being polite according to the standards of where he grew up. So, politeness is expressed in different ways, in different places. In this essay, we will see the different forms and levels of politeness and how these forms attend to different social needs. Also we will look at examples of the different forms that requests and apologies can take. We will explore how useful is distinguishing between the politeness which is used between friends and with people that we are not very familiar with. Then we will briefly discuss about the frameworks of politeness that are used in a workplace interaction and intercultural communication. All these phenomenon of politeness will be discussed in this paper with consideration of Brown and Levinsons theory (1978) in order to illustrate how there is more than one way of being polite. According to Meyerhoff (2006) there are a number of different ways in which linguists can analyse politeness. The various approaches differ primarily in the emphasis placed on the speaker, the addressee or both, and the emphasis given to accounting for behavior that would be considered polite or behavior that would be considered impolite (p. 83). The most widely known and extensively used approach to the study of politeness is Brown and Levinsons theory which has the most dominant position in the field.People associate politeness just with ways of speaking that avoid causing offence by showing deference to another person. (Meyerhoff 2006: 84). Brown and Levinson (1978) state that deference would be inappropriate in any speech community, in some contexts. Comments that orient to in-group membership may be what starts an interaction and avoid causing offence. For example you do not always reply thank you so much when someone helps you, cheers or thanks works better. Extreme deference c ould be taken as ironic or snobbish. Now, before continuing in more depth with Brown and Levinsons theory, it is useful to refer to Grices Maxims (1975), a set of rules that people follow in communication to maintain participant harmony. Brown and Levinsons theory suggests that these four Grices principles for speaking in a cooperative way, were correct. These rules can be summed up as the Maxim of quality where a person should be truthful and sincere, the Maxim of quantity: a person must say no more or less than required, the Maxim of relevance: being relevant to that topic and the Maxim of manner: being perspicuous. All of which underpins and is underpinned by the idea that the people involved in a conversation will cooperate with each other (the cooperative principle). These four principles are not considered to be a theory of face but constitute a foundation for a theory of face, later developed by Brown and Levinson. (Adapted for Brown and Levinson 1978:95 ) The theory of Brown and Levinson suggests that there are two types of politeness. The negative politeness strategies which are the strategies that avoid offence by showing deference (e.g. Do you mind if I borrow it for a second?) and the positive politeness strategies are those that avoid offence by highlighting friendliness (e.g. You look fit and healthy-any chance you could help me push the car?). Also, considering a strategy to be polite or impolite depends on the attention that a speaker pays to his own face wants and the addressees face wants. The term face derives from the work of Goffman (1967). In Goffmans work, face was a personal attribute or quality that each of us works to protect or enhance. In Brown and Levinson the definition of face emphasises less that interpersonal and communal nature of the face wants. Face is the public self-image that every model person (MP) claims for him or herself. Brown and Levinson propose that we want to guard our face against possible dama ge when we interact with others. (Meyerhoff 2006: 84) Now, it is important to refer to the factors involved in choosing politeness strategies. Choosing what kinds of strategies would be polite or impolite in a situation depends on evaluating three main factors. Power, distance and weight (cost) of imposition were identified by Brown and Levinson. Power refers to the difference in status between participants in discourse, distance relates to the level of familiarity that exists between the speaker and the addressee, and weight of imposition relates to the extent to which one wishes to impose on another person. People often put more effort to be polite to people that their position have greater social power than we have. For example I will use more negative politeness strategies (more polite) to a government official processing a passport application than I will use (less polite) to a telemarketer who rings during dinner. This has to do with power because I want the government official to do me a favor and speed up my application as for the telemarketer, he needs something from me so I am the one with power. Also, the social distance between speakers has a huge effect on the way that they speak to each other. Generally, we give more attention to the negative face wants (more polite) of people we do not know very well and we are more abrupt to close friends. For example when you are cooking with a close friend you might say Youve got the butter instead of I think the butter is closer to you that it is to me so could you pass it to me. But, when working with someone that you are not very close you might ask in less direct way, showing more attention to their negative face wants, you might say something like Excuse me, are those the telephone accounts? Could I have them for a second? . The cost of imposition, according to Brown and Levinson meant how big the social infraction is. An example is when you ask someone for the time, which is considered as a situation with a minor imposition, you can a stranger in the road for the time and the politeness strategies pay little attention to face wants (Sorry do you have the time?). But, asking for money is greater imposition. You usually ask for money someone you are close to and if the amount is big you will probably ask someone who is even closer to you, like a very close friend. Under this framework there are three social variables which shape the way that people choose the politeness strategies they will use.Their attention to others positive and negative face wants will be determined by the relative power and social of the interactants and by the social lost of the imposition (Meyerhoff 2006: 88). These three factors are by no means independent. Earlier, I referred to the two types of politeness and the term face. Actually, there are two types of politeness because we are concerned with maintaining two distinct kinds of face, the negative and the positive face. The negative face is the want of every competent adult member of a community that their actions be unimpeded by others. The positive face is the want of every member that their wants be desirable to at least some others. (Brown and Levinson 1987:62 in Meyerhoff 2006: 85). Some societies orientate more towards deference and being attentive to negative face wants. In such societies it seems very rude to ignore the distance that might be between you and your addressee and talk as if you know her or him better than you do. A Language example is Forgive me, Ms Smith, I do apologise, but could I possibly intrude for a second. In this sentence the title Ms shows deference politeness and distance attending to negative face. Forgive me and I do apologise try to reduce the imposition of the request and attends to negative face. A further attempt to reduce the cost of imposition is could I, possibly and a second. In contrast, there are societies which orientate towards positive face. The interaction between strangers is expected to be more personable and friendly. In these societies it is rude to interact by emphasizing or drawing attention to the social distance between the interlocutors. Such a society is the Australians, where the use of first names is the norm even in professional contexts. A language example of such a society is a greeting to an old friend that you have not seen for some time e.g. Tapper! Its been ages. Youre looking good. Whatve you been doing nowadays?. In this greeting the use of ingroup code (the nickname Tapper), showing attention to the addressees interests (Whatve you been doing nowadays?) and exaggerating the speakers interest or approval (Youre looking good) are strategies that attend to the addressees positive face wants. Brown and Levinson suggest that some conversational events which represent a threat to another individuals self-image are described as inherently facethreating acts (FTAs). When such an event occurs it is sure that somebodys positive or negative face wants will be threatened, and the participants have to decide what politeness strategies they will use. Examples of FTAs are expressing thanks and making an apology, these are threats to the speakers face wants. Saying thanks establishes indebtedness to the other person. Making an apology is having to state publicly that you have done something stupid or unkind, this threatens your positive face wants as other people may not identify you and will be unwilling to suggest that they share your wants and desires. So depending on how serious an FTA is it will require more or less action to mitigate (or reduce) the potential damage to the addressees or the speakers face. (Meyerhoff 2006: 90). As I said in the introduction I will also briefly discuss about the frameworks of politeness which are used in intercultural communication. Peoples use of politeness varies in intercultural communication depending on where they come from and how their societies orientate towards politeness. An example of such differences is when making a request for a drink in a bar in English and doing the same in German. In English you usually use strategies to attend the addressees negative face wants. (Could I have a glass of red wine, please?). But, in German there is not such an attention to the servers negative face wants and it is appropriate to say I will get red wine. Sometimes a could or please may be added but using both will sound absurd and snooty. (Meyerhoff 2006: 97). Another example is how people refuse an invitation to a meal from a social superior. In some cultures a general answer like Im busy that night Im afraid will be perfectly acceptable but in western communities people want to give a reason for your refusal. (Holmes 2001: 275). This has to do with peoples negative and positive face wants. People from western communities are more concerned about their positive face, they want their wants to be desirable to at least some others and they do not like drawing attention to the social distance. In conclusion, indeed there is more than one way of being polite. As it is presented above, politeness has many forms and levels and can be used in different ways. Politeness is perceived differently depending on where you grew up and your social status so it can be also expressed differently. People use different strategies to express politeness in a conversation depending on who is the addressee, what is his social status and how close they are to him. According to Brown and Levinsons theory there are two basic strategies, the positive and the negative strategy. These two strategies exist because we are concerned to maintain two kinds of face, the negative and positive face. People have to evaluate three factors in order to decide what strategies they will use, power, distance and cost of the imposition.

School Security: Safe but Subtle Essay -- essays papers

School Security: Safe but Subtle The most infamous and deadly act of violence to occur in a U.S. school were the events of April 20, 1999. In Littleton Colorado two teens went on a shooting and bombing spree that left 15 dead and 24 wounded before they shot and killed themselves. During the rampage, the two fired about 900 rounds of ammunition from two sawed off shotguns, a 9-mm semiautomatic carbine, and a semiautomatic handgun. Police also later found more than 30 bombs placed throughout the school (Brock, 2001). In light of recent acts of violence in the nation’s schools, school safety and security have become a hot topic. However, the issue of school safety goes beyond student violence. It includes property damage, theft, and anything else that concerns the overall well being of schools. While it is important to create a safe environment in schools it is also necessary to make sure students feel comfortable in this atmosphere. The security can not be so overbearing that it becomes a negative tactic that gets in the way of the students main objective, learning. Barely noticeable cameras, ID cards, and security guards without uniforms can help generate this safe, but comfortable learning environment. On the other hand metal detectors and mini police forces may be a little too reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel, 1984, or even modern prisons. School security should not be overbearing or obtrusive where it gets in the way of a comfortable environment that is conducive to l earning in the nation’s schools. Schools are safe places. However, the American public has become increasingly concerned with crime in schools and the safety of students. In part, this concern has been shaped by the highly publicized acts ... ...iew of School Safety Research. Retrieved April 28, 2005 from http://nssc1.org/studies/statistic%20resourcespdf.pdf. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Are America’s Schools Safe? Students Speak Out: 1999 School Crime Supplement. Retrieved April 28, 2005 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp/pubid=2002331. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). Indicators of School Crime and Safety; 2003. Retrieved April 28, 2005 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/crime03. Watson, R.J., & Watson, R.S. (2002). The School as a Safe Haven. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey. Wright, Joe. (2004). Let’s See Some ID. American School & University, 76(7), 56-57. Retrieved April 14, 2005 from Academic Search/EBSCO database. http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=12649650.

Television and Media Essay - Dangers of Censorship :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Dangers of Censorship Imagine yourself as a journalist today who is frozen and wakes up in the United States 100 years from now. The country has changed quite a bit from what you remember. Technology has definitely advanced, language seems to have evolved a bit, and nothing looks the same, except fashion. Due to a recent trend that brought back the 90's you are strangely up on the recent fashion trends. As you roam the streets, you try to gain a bearing on this advanced country so you pick up a newspaper. You notice something rather peculiar about every article - the only source is the United States Government. As you read further, you notice very little information is given at all, and the details that are given are always in favor of the government. Thinking back to 1999, you remember that high school publications were already censored and college censorship was not far behind. Could that trend have moved all the way to professional journalistic organizations? While this is merely a fictitious projection into the future, it portrays the likely outcome of the precedents that are being set today. If nothing is done, trends in high school and college censorship may lead to total press censorship in the United States, thus violating the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This would, in turn, exterminate journalism and leave an assorted field of public relations. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states that "congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." A journalist, whether he or she is a writer, editor, photographer or artist, believes in this right and has an obligation to use it to inform the public. So, the First Amendment not only protects journalists' rights to free speech, but it also protects the public's right to information. However, the courts have begun to take away these rights. It began with high school publications in 1988. During the case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the U.S. Supreme Court decided against students and gave school officials the ability to censor student publications without violating the First Amendment. High school journalists now have the right to only print what the officials deem appropriate.

Gangs of the Black County - Original Writing :: Papers

Gangs of the Black County - Original Writing "Get ya' bananas, ten for a pound! How about you love? Fancy some bananas?" These words could be heard shouted through the rustle and bustle of Dudley Town Market on the High Street. It was a typical market town, it had the smells and some sights, a Norman Castle perched upon a hill overlooked the town, but one could tell that not that long ago this town was something more important than it was today. Dudley was in the heart of the Black Country, it was the key town during the Industrial revolution, supplying iron ore to large companies. Believe it or not underneath the littered ground there are hundreds of man made mines, which have scarred the landscape of the Black Country. The High Street is one long road with shops parallel to each other, but it lacked many 'designer' high street shops; it had a few, but not enough. Since a nearby shopping complex had opened no one wanted to go to Dudley anymore. So this lonely town was left with many pound and discount shops. Mr Arjun Singh, a renowned businessman who had a small chain of discount stores around the Black Country, owned one of these shops. He had three sons, Abdul, Arjun Jr and Sanjit. Mr Singh's wife had passed away a year before, the victim of a tragic car accident. Abdul, the eldest of the three sons, was still emotionally tormented by his mother's death. Recent CCTV footage had shown that Mrs Singh had been a victim of an organised hit and run ordeal. The blame had recently been laid onto another local businessman, Jason Barley. One of his 'upmarket' stores was right next to Mr Singh's discount shop. It was thought Mr Barley had gang connections all over the Black Country, however not enough evidence was available to point an accusing finger at Jason Barley to the murder of Mrs Singh. Monday was an important day for Mr Singh and his three sons because Mr Singh had yet again cut all the prices on his stock.

Moss and Mcadams

Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm In the Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm also know as M and M, Bruce Palmer has just been promoted to account manager. He has been assigned to lead and manage the Jacksonville Audit. Zeke Olds has been assigned as one of the five accountants on the Jacksonville Audit and is known as an innovator in regards to problem solving. The firm operates under a matrix organizational structure which requires Palmer to share his valuable resource, Zeke Olds, with a team that is being managed by Ken Crosby. Crosby is responsible for managing special consulting projects and has requested that Olds also be assigned to his Springfield project. Over the course of about two months, there were several issues between Palmer’s and Crosby’s teams with having to share Olds. Ultimately, it resulted in Olds being reassigned to work on the Springfield project full time instead of be shared between the two teams. This paper will examine what response a project manager should provide if faced with the same issues Palmer faced within the case. Secondly, this paper will examine what Palmer could have done to avoid losing Olds. In addition, this paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of operating under a matrix organizational structure. Finally, this paper will examine what the management of Moss and McAdams can do to more effectively manage situations like what occurred in case. Doing Things Differently Over the course of six weeks of having to share Olds between the Jacksonville Audit and the Springfield project, Palmer experienced several issues with Crosby. At the initial phase of the project, both Crosby and Palmer agreed that Olds would dedicate his mornings working on the Springfield project and his afternoons would be dedicated to working on the Jacksonville project. From the onset, Crosby continually continue to disregard the agreed upon terms of the work schedule. If I were Palmer there are several things I would have done differently in an effort to not lose Olds, but more importantly, decreasing the impact upon my projects schedule. I would have definitely added having to share Olds as a risk factor in regards to meeting my projects baseline deadline and cost. In addition, additional time would have been added into my baseline schedule to reflect having to share Olds. All of these risks would have been communicated to upper management and to Sands to ensure that they were aware of the cost and time impact with having to share Olds. If management insisted on moving forward, I would have negotiated with Sands and Crosby that Olds be assigned to the Springfield project in exchange for adding two accountants onto the Jacksonville Audit. Basically, the Jacksonville audit appears to require accountant auditing skills. Olds has a reputation for being an innovative problem solver and his skill set seemed to be better suited for the Springfield project. The requirement for my project is to conduct and audit which accounting skills is key and should be able to be performed by other accountants at the firm. By adding 2 additional resources to my team to replace the one resource, I may be able to complete the project in less time and save money. Escape the Inevitable Palmer possibly could have possibly done several things to avoid losing Olds. However, given Olds skill set and his apparent ability to come up with innovative solutions, it is possible that the Olds would still have lost interest in conducting an audit as opposed to working on the special consulting project team. However, if it Olds was a vital resource for the Jacksonville Audit, Palmer could have possibly reduced the impact to his schedule and budget by seeking out a solution sooner than he did. Initially, he could have requested a meeting with both Crosby and Sands after the first week of experiencing issues. This would have brought to light the potential negative impact to the Jacksonville audit which still would ultimately impact Moss and McAdams. Palmer could have gotten greater commitment from Crosby and ask for some type of penalty or consequence each time there is no adherence to the agreed upon work schedule. Living in a Matrix According to Gray and Larson (2008), a matrix type of organization is one in which a hybrid organization form of a project management structure is placed directly over the functional order of the normal business operations. Typically, this type of organizational structure has two chains of command and the project participants have to report to two separate chains of command. This type of structure is designed to use resources efficiently. It is also intended to provide an optimal solution while being able to accomplish multiple projects at the same time. According to Gray and Larson (2008), there are several advantages and disadvantages to this type of organizational structure. The advantages of this type of structure are that it allows multiple projects to go on at the same time by sharing resources. It also allows the project managers to focus on coordinating and integrating different units or resources that can be integrated into several functions within the organization. Also, at the completion of a project, it is easier for project participants to transition from one team to another. Lastly, it allows greater flexibility by allowing the sharing of resources. According to Gray and Larson (2008), there are several disadvantages to operating under a matrix organization. One of the disadvantages of a matrix organization are infighting between project teams because of having to share resources. Another disadvantage is that is it can be stressful for team members with having to report to more than one chain of command. In addition, it can slow projects down as a result of having the teams to agree on items that impact multiple functional areas. Effective Management The management at M&M definitely has their hands full with operating under a matrix umbrella. Palmer experienced several issues with attempting to manage his project. The Moss and McAdams firm could have done a few things to help out in his situation. My first recommendation is that they implement a project management office instead of having Sands to operate within this capacity. Her role is that of office manager and I don’t believe with her other duties that she can effectively manage assigning personnel to different teams. In addition, the project management office would ultimately see the percentage that resources are actually being allocated to a project. Overseeing cost and time is something that the project management office can oversee and provide insight to each project team. According to CIO. com out of four hundred and fifty people were surveyed about the benefits of the formation of a project management office (PMO). Thirty seven percent of those surveyed reported a sixty five percent success rate increase with the usage of a PMO. It is my belief that this firm would greatly benefit from the implementation of a project management office. In addition, they could implement some type of policy in regards to team members that are not being team players. Management should step in to help out in these types of situations. Ultimately each project team is combined together to make up one firm which is Moss and McAdams. Conclusion Overall this was a great case to review. It provided a lot of insight into possible things a project manger may be faced with. It was pretty obvious that Palmer definitely reacted later rather than sooner. In doing so, his delayed reaction impacted his project timeline and cost while Crosby continued trucking right along. It appears that identifying a problem quickly and working to resolve it quickly can be a key that either makes a project success or failure. References Gray, C. , and Larson, E. (2008). Bus517: Project management: The managerial process: 2009 custom edition (4th ed. ). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Why You Need a Project Management Office. (2003). Retrieved from CIO. com: http://www. cio. com/article/29887/Why_You_Need_a_Project_Management_Office_PMO