Project Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project Management - Case Study Example In addition, the acquisition of the best and most competent people to manage projects ensures that the stakeholders of the organization stay up to date with the current knowledge about it as well as ensuring that they take advantage of all offers that the organization has to give, hence giving the organization a competitive edge over other’s. The hiring of competent staff ensures that an organization is able to make adjustments quickly, according to the changes in the marketing scene in the world and it does this for the purpose of assisting its stakeholders keep up to speed of things so that they do not lose any opportunities if there are any unexpected changes. Having competent people managing an organization’s projects provides a swift means through which individuals can easily be able to make connections with people and resources which they have need of in order receive the services they want from the organization. It has been stated that the acquisition of competen t managers for projects is one of the reasons why many organizations in the world today have become successful and are able to retain this success. One only has to log onto the internet to see the scale of success that many companies have been able to acquire and all of this due to competent project management that has been prevalent within them (Mauro, Plinio, Gilmar and Mamerto, 2012). It has been found that competent management is a means through which an organization can be able to ensure that it does not face any damaging scandals because of mismanagement (Baird and Riggins, 2012). While previously it was a subject which was not taken based on merit, the selection of project managers has now developed into a massive undertaking which has created the need to have competence in working on projects, because to not do so would be to doom the project or the organization to failure, like the case of Gary Allison in the Orion Shield project. As the years have progressed, project manag ement is moving from being a profession where individuals can survive without a lack of skills to one where there is plenty of opportunity for those who take a direct hand and are dedicated to it (Cruceru, 2012). When managing a project, managers have to be able to ensure that they have complete control of the project, otherwise, there is likely to be failures due to incompetence. In addition, project managers should adopt a strategy that is so well done it touches the emotions of those who witness it and as long as more people continue to the activities being done within the project, then the influence of this project is likely to be immense. It has become common knowledge that effective project management is essential and this belief has developed to such an extent that many organizations have actually come to believe that it is the solution to the diverse problems that they have been experiencing with their own projects. More organizations than ever today are making a bid to ensu re that they not only have competent managers, but also that their projects are done in the most professional way possible. The lack of professionalism has created a situation where organizations

Kant Moral Law Theory Essay Example for Free

Kant Moral Law Theory Essay â€Å"Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. † – Kant (1788), pp, 193, 259 Immanuel Kant introduced and initiated his ‘moral law theory’ in the late 18th century. The doctrine in question sought to establish and constitute a supreme or absolute principle of morality. Kant disputes the existence of an ‘ethical system’, whereby moral obligations are obligations of ‘purpose’ or ‘reason’. The accuracy of actions [i. e. the rightness or wrongness of an individual deed] is determined by its configuration and conformity with regard to ‘moral law’. Evidently, according to Kant, an immoral transaction is invariably contemplated as an illogical or unreasonable occurrence or action. The supreme moral principle is a consistent working criterion that proves to be practically helpful and theoretically enlightening when used by rational agents as a guide for making personal choices (Kant VI). A supreme guiding moral principle must carry with it an absolute necessity and be done out of duty to the moral law in order to be free from corruption. Kant believed in a fair and impartial law. He accredited and affirmed the presence of an objective moral law that we, as humans, were/are able to identify with through the process of reasoning. Kant argued that we are able to recognise and distinguish moral law, without making reference to the possible consequence or outcome. Immanuel Kant declared a differentiation between statements [i.e. posteriori and priori] that he believed to coincide with moral law. A posteriori statement is one that is based on experience of the material world. In opposition, a priori statement requires no such knowledge; it is known independent of the phenomenal world. Furthermore, Kant continued to make additional distinctions with regard to analytic and synthetic statements. An analytic statement, he claims, is one that by its very nature is necessarily true, as the predicate is included within the definition of the subject. Example: – [â€Å"all squares have four sides†]. The previous statement is of an analytic nature, as the predicate, i. e. the square having four sides, is implicit and is part of the definition of the subject – [â€Å"square†]. An analytic statement is necessarily true – true by its own authority, and is purely explicative, as it tells us nothing new about the subject. In contrast, a synthetic statement is one in which the predicate is not included in the definition of the subject, and thus is not necessarily true. A synthetic statement also tells us something new about the subject. Prior to Kant, it was widely accepted that there were only two types of statement: a priori analytic and a posteriori synthetic. Kant accepted these two statements although believed there to be a third: a priori synthetic statement. These are statements that are known independent of experience that may or may not be true. Kant claimed that these priori synthetic principles are inherent within us and therefore subsequently form the basis of all moral decision making. Kant’s theory is based on and is primarily concerned with the aspect of ‘duty’. Kant believed and promoted the notion that to act morally is one’s ‘duty’, and one’s ‘duty’ is to act and proceed in accordance to the principles of moral law. Due to this, Kant’s theory is categorised and distinguished as a ‘deontological argument’. A deontological theory is one that maintains the moral rightness or wrongness of an action and depends on its fundamental qualities, and is independent of the nature of its consequence – â€Å"Duty for duty’s sake†. This perspective can be viewed in contrast to the beliefs and ‘rules’ associated and belonging to teleological arguments, i. e. utilitarianism. Immanuel Kant argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the â€Å"Categorical Imperative. The categorical imperative has derived from the initial belief and notion that humans base their moral judgment on pure reason alone. This view can be viewed in contrast to a ‘morality theory’, which assumed/s that human’s actions are guided by emotions or desires. Example: When deciding what I ought to say to a friend who is distraught. Rationale would dictate that I give sensible advice, whereas my emotions may impulsively tell me to give comfort and sympathy. The categorical imperative declares and differentiates between obligatory and forbidden actions, and places further emphasis on the notion of ‘duty’. This statement can be strengthened through the following quotation – [â€Å"All in imperatives command either hypothetically or categorically†¦ If the action would be good simply as a means to something else, then the imperative is hypothetical; but if the action is represented as a good in itself†¦ then the imperative is categorical. †]. Example: If someone tells me that they will buy me dinner if I give them a lift into town, then this is a conditional action and would fall into the hypothetical imperative category. Conversely, if I think that I should give my friend a lift into town with no other agenda (i. e. she will not buy me dinner because of it), then this is a categorical imperative because it is independent of my interest and could apply to other people as well as myself. There are three principles of the categorical imperative: * Universal law; * Treat humans as ends in themselves; * Act as if you live in a kingdom of ends. 1. The categorical imperative is [â€Å"Do not act on any principle that cannot be universalised†]. In other words, moral laws must be applied in all situations and all rational beings universally, without exception. 2. [â€Å"Act that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other human being, never merely as a means, but always at the time as an end. †] – The previous statement declares that we must never treat people as means to an end. You can never use human beings for another purpose, to exploit or enslave them. Humans are rational and the highest point of creation, and so demand unique treatment. 3. The quotation [â€Å"So act as if you were through your maxim a law-making member of a Kingdom of ends†] states Kant’s belief in the fact that humans should behave as though every other individual was an ‘end’. In conclusion, it is arguable that the categorical imperative possesses a sense of authority with regard to what actions are permitted and forbidden under Kant’s moral law theory.

Free Yellow Wallpaper Essays: The Dead Paper -- Yellow Wallpaper essa

The Dead Paper of Gilman's Yellow Wallpaper  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This passage from The Yellow Wallpaper clarifies the position of the reader in the story. It brings into question, right on the first page, who the woman (and Gilman herself) is addressing and why. When she writes, "I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind," it is as if she is having an aside with the reader. If she were truly talking to dead paper, why would such a comment be required? The idea of "dead paper" makes one think of something that is written, never to be published or read. In this sense, the caption can make the reader feel as if he or she is looking in privately on this woman's diary. The fact that this is "a great relief" to her mind makes the reader feel slightly less furtive about this, while giving the diary-type style raison d'à ªtre. At the same time, (since this story was meant to be published and read) this comment in and of itself addresses the reader personally, as if to put special confidence in him or her. The issue here is the differenti...

FBI Case Study

The â€Å"Who Killed the Virtual Case File? † case study is a clear example of project failure which resulted on not only balloon the cost of the project, but also loss that could be counted on millions of dollars. Because of the size of the project and the failure of the project, it is broadly used to prevent future IT Project Management disasters. Project Overview: When special agent Larry Depew collected evidence of illegal activity of the Russian and Italian mafia tax skim activity, FBI didn’t have database system, which could organize and support all the information gathering processes that were needed for the organization. A decade later, Depew was landed in his first project management job called FBI Virtual Case File project (VCF), even though he had no previous experience. In the PMBOK Guide book describes what abilities a project manager should possess to successfully manage projects is: knowledge, performance and personal . In the results of lack of experience and ineffective planning the project was unfortunate failure. Because of availability of funds, the FBI’s 23 divisions developed own database system for each of the different divisions. In the result FBI ended up with 45-50 different investigative databases and applications, which are not communicating with each other. Also, the Automated Case Support (ACS) system was cumbersome to use, inefficient and had limited functional capabilities. Additionally all 13000 were really old which resulted in not supporting new software’s. Intranet that connected FBI offices had 56-kilobit-per second modems. SAIC (Applications International Corp. ) for software developed delivered 700,000 lines of code bug-ridden, off target system which resulted in $105 million worth loss. However, researches and findings showed that the FBI—lacking IT management and technical expertise—shares the blame for the project's failure. The research and study later on painted a picture of an enterprise IT project that fell into the most basic traps of software development, from poor requirement gathering, planning and bad communication between software developer and FBI. The key issues related to the failure of the project: * Violation of the Project Scope Management. One of the main factors of VSF project was poorly defined business requirements and overly specific nature of the requirements defined in systems design and analysis phase which resulted in creating 400 functional deficiencies found after testing the system. * Violation of the Project Cost Management The lack of IT investment processes resulted in ballooning the cost of the project in spite of the millions of dollars spending which was the also one of the main reason of VSF project failure. Violation of the Project Time Management Overly ambitious schedules and poorly defined schedule is one of the among VSF project failures. * Violation of Project Risk Management Procedure The lack of a plan to guide hardware purchases and deployment was one also of the failures of VSF project. Resolution: * The FBI’s higher management will be participating in the new software development to overcome the discrepancies associated with the previous those were VCF project. FBI is planning to purchase software from the vendor to digitize all documents, crime related evidence paperwork processes in the single database and still continue use VCF project systems up until it will be replaced with the desired software. * The new project will deploy and create new monitoring, risk management system which involves planning, scheduling and target oriented testing. Relevance to IT Project Management: * Project Scope Management Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that project includes all the work required, to complete the project successfully. Scope Management includes following steps: clearly defining and documenting project business requirements by the company shareholders (collect requirements), develop a detailed description of the project (define scope), subdivide project deliverables and project work into smaller, manageable components (create WBS), formalize acceptance of the completed project deliverables, and monitoring the status and scope (verify scope), and managing changes to the scope baseline (control scope). FBI’s VSF project failed to define detailed project requirements, formalize acceptance of completed project deliverables by SAIC and monitoring and managing the scope by project manager. * Violation of the Project Cost Management Project Cost Management includes the processes involved in estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget. The cost management process includes: developing an approximation of the monetary resources (estimate costs), estimating costs of the individual activities (determine budget) and monitoring the status of the project budget and managing changes to the cost baseline (control costs). VSF project failed to address cost control in project cost management, because it had possibility to receive funding from the government. * Violation of the Project Time Management. Project Time Management includes the processes required to manage timely completion of the project. It includes following processes: identifying the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables (define activities), identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities (sequence activities), estimating quantities of material, people, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity (estimate activity resources), coming up with the approximate number of works periods needed to omplete individual activities with estimated resource (estimate activity durations), analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constrains to create project schedule (develop schedule), and monitoring the status of the project to update project progress and managing changes to the schedule baseline (control schedule). In VSF project most of the required activities in time management FBI m anagement and SAIC failed to follow. * Violation of Project Risk Management Procedure. Project Risk Management includes the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and monitoring and control on the project. It includes following processes: defining how to conduct risk management activities (planning), determining which risks may affect the project and documenting their characteristics (identify risks), prioritizing risks for further analysis and combining their probability of occurrence and impact (perform qualitative risk analysis). Numerically analyzing the effect of identified risks on overall project objectives (perform quantitative risk analysis), developing options and actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives (plan risk responses), and implementing risk response plan, tracking identified risks, monitoring residual risks, identifying new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project (monitor and control risk). In the FBI case none of the project risk management was applied to minimize risk associated with the possibility of the failure of the VSF project. Key Takeaways: It is important follow IT project management rules in order to develop the system. Main lessons learnt from the case study: * Business requirement analysis and technical requirements are crucial in the success of the project in planning phase. * Managing communication between companies’ key shareholders and server providers is required for productive outcome of the development. * Project monitoring and testing is vital task and should be accepted throughout the development * Prototypes be shown to client on regular basis to avoid all changes required at the end of the project * Having a individuals without proper knowledge in the rojects leads to the project success * Planning and monitoring leads to delivering the right product and timely completion of the project * Unsystematic approach in project time management could lead to delay in completion of projects * Deficient and unsatisfactory requirements lead to incomplete projects failure Research Approach For my research approach, I used Project Management and body of knowledge to identify main processes of the project management, and applied some basics acquired from the Systems Analysis and Design class to identify where FBI’s VSF project failed to address and manage this huge multimillion dollar project.

“Everyday Use” by Walker Essay

Although I enjoyed â€Å"Everyday Use† by Walker, I did not find the first person point of view to be as effective as I would have liked it to be. By writing the story from mama’s point of view Walker denies the reader a chance to gain insight to how the other characters are feeling about the situation. The story tends to give the reader a bias opinion of the events that occur in the story. I believe that if Walker had used an omniscient point of view instead of a first person point of view the story would have been a lot more effective. Mama had a very bias opinion of Dee and by using her point of view for the story the reader may adopt her opinion. But had Walker used an omniscient point of view the reader could have gained insight into Dee’s thoughts and feelings. With the gained insight the reader would be given the chance to form his or her own opinion of Dee. Further insight into Dee’s thoughts and feelings would explain to the reader why Dee acts so superior to Mama and Maggie. The reader would get an idea of whether she really did feel superior or if she was trying to hide her true feelings. An omniscient point of view would also give the reader insight into Maggie’s thoughts and feelings. Being a younger sister myself I couldn’t help but wonder how Maggie felt about her sister. Mama gives the impression that Maggie feels about Dee the same way she does. With an omniscient point of view the reader would know whether or not this is true. When given more personal insight into characters I find that I feel more empathy towards them and enjoy the story more. It makes it more memorable and meaningful for me.

What Is the Difference Between Manga and Comics

What Is the Difference Between Manga and Comics How Do Manga and American Comics Differ? Both American comics and Japanese manga are designed to entertain the reader. However, they are totally different. The main difference is in their art style: while manga tends to be more stylized, American comics are usually realistic. Also, they vary in their genres, cost, creation, size, presentation and target audience. Let’s Take a Closer Look at Manga vs Comics’ Comparison Color Whereas American comics are almost always designed in color, manga is more often black and white. Of course, readers appreciate the efforts put into coloring the comics, but many find themselves more engaged in reading manga. However, there is something more affected by the color, which will be covered below. Presentation The processes of creation and presentation are also things that represent the difference between manga and comics. As it was just mentioned, manga is published in black and white. But what is also remarkable is that manga is printed on cheap paper like the kind that is used for newsprint. On the contrary, American comics are usually published in full color. There are also some comic books that deserve a nice treatment, which cannot be said about manga. Size If you look at both, you will notice that manga books come generally in a smaller size than western comic books, about 1/2 or 1/3 the size of American comics, in phonebook-sized magazines. But at the same time, manga books are thick and can include over a hundred pages, whereas American comics are much thinner and have about 30-40 pages. The majority of manga books can be found and read online. When we consider the page count, manga books have much in common with graphic novels, which are simply collections of monthly American comics. At the same time, manga books have far bigger page count and an entire manga may consist of thousands of pages. Creation Western comics are predominantly created in assembly-line fashion. That means the following: the writer first writes the story, a letterer adds dialogs, a sketcher draws sketches, an inker inks them and the colorist fills in the color. One of great examples is Batman. Some comic books do not have enough visual consistency, but readers usually do not care whether the book has their favorite superhero in it. With regard to manga, it is almost always created by a single person who does all the chores. Some manga writers have assistants, but they do not do any other work except inking pages. Also, it should be mentioned that manga production in Japan has much bigger scope than comics’ production in USA and makes up about 40% of all published magazines and books in Japan. Moreover, about 40% of the Japanese movies are anime, which makes up the motion equivalent of manga. While American comics are created predominantly for children, the Japanese ones are designed for a far wider audience. Manga is published in magazines and journals for people of all ages. Storyline and Price The storyline in Japanese comics moves a bit faster as these books have higher page count. Also, there is less dialogue and fewer panels there. Manga books’ prices are usually higher than that of an average paperback novel. Angle Frequently used bird’s and worm’s eye views are typical for manga. Together with motion lines, the actions appear more captivating to the reader. Also, it is notable that manga artists usually create higher villains, whereas American comics’ heroes are almost always similar heights to the villains. Cultural Differences Manga has a significantly slower pace and places less emphasis on action. Mangaka – people who create manga – do not hurry with their storytelling like American comics’ writers. Therefore, manga requires more patience from the audience. As a result, the reader gets more gratifying payoff when the actions in the story do actually gain steam. Also, whereas in American comics we can see full-page spreads dedicated to actions, in manga there are full-page spreads dedicated to emotional reactions. Besides, when we talk about manga vs American comics, it should be also mentioned that the panel layout differs in both: in manga, the panels are read from right to left. Thematic Differences Although during last few years the western comics have explored some dark topics, they are still mostly known for its family-friendly superhero genre. Manga, on the contrary, is comfortable exploring risquà © material like sex, violence and scatology. For us, it may seem weird, but there is actually a cultural reason for such freedom in exploring these concepts. In Japan, most people affiliate to Shinto and Buddhism,   which are the religions that do not equate sex with shame. For this reason, Japanese are usually more liberal in exploring sexuality than the Americans. Characters One more significant manga vs comics difference is that manga’s characters tend to constantly become stronger, whereas the comics’ heroes usually retain their same level of strength, very rarely becoming stronger. If a hero in an American comic book gets stronger, generally such a change does not last too long. For example, let’s look at Superman and Goku. There is a multiplicity of iterations of Superman, but just one of Goku. Dragonball has had spin-offs, yet there does not exist any alternate of Goku. Now, if you would pit both characters against one another when they debuted, Goku would hardly win. Now flash forward to where they are now. Goku has become far stronger over the years and now he would easily overpower Superman. What is also interesting to point out is the longevity of characters in both Japanese and American comics. One of the good illustrations to look at in western comics is Captain America. He first appeared in 1941, and multiple fans still buy comics and watch movies with this hero. Such heroes and their stories tend to be refreshed, rebooted, and redone for better. What is meant to say, American comics’ heroes never seem to die, while in manga, stories eventually have a logical conclusion, and may get some spin-off instead. Style Differences For American comics, it is typical to center the establishing shot with an aim to occupy the first scene in the comic. In manga, on the contrary, the establishing shot is placed at the bottom of the page. Besides, in manga you can see more of a cinematic style that portrays heroes in dramatic angles more in synchronization with a film than comics. In manga, all the scenes are structured frame-by-frame and represent snapshots of the actions and in synchronization with dialogues. In American comics, stories and visuals do not necessarily synchronize with dialogues and visual actions. This is one more difference that should be noted between comics vs manga. Manga in Japan is not considered a kind of entertainment just for kids and teenagers like that of western comics, but manga books are published in three major genres: Shonen manga (for boys), Shojo manga (for girls) and Hentai (for adults). Shonen manga books typically include much action and adventure, whereas Shojo manga are mostly about love and relationships. However, these genres are not limited to their respective audiences; actually, both can fascinate anyone who reads it. As for Hentai, such books are generally adult-themed and contain risquà © stories. Hentai manga books are designed strictly for adults. Eventually, it is hard to determine a strict position, which kind of comics is better. This topic can be argued for an entire day, but at last, does it really matter? The readers can simply enjoy both American comics and Japanese manga, choose elements they like and blend them. Both western and Japanese comics are filled with fascinating stories, strong themes, and offer great opportunities to spend some time.

The Persecution of Innocenece essays

The Persecution of Innocenece essays This essay will examine in detail the wrong doings of society upon the Hutterite people. It will also show how the Hutterian Brethrens agricultural expertise has been beneficial to the world. It will explain many accounts of torture and hardship endured by these people. The Hutterian brotherhood has been wrongly persecuted because of their religion and their way of life, for many years. The first written account of the Anabaptist movement dates as far back as January 21, 1525. On this evening several young men attempted to baptize one another. They did this upon confession of the faith. These young men had all planned to study classics at University but they quickly turned to the Bible. The young men mentioned as founders of Anabaptism were Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and Jorg Blaurock. All of these men were well-respected scholars.1 The newfound Anabaptist movement seemed to spread rapidly throughout Switzerland, southern Germany, Tirol, and Moravia. A German chronicler described the rapid growth in these words, Anabaptism spread so quickly that their teachings soon covered, as it were, the land. They soon gained a large following and baptized many thousands, drawing to themselves many sincere souls who had a zeal for god. Because of this astounding increase in the number of Anabaptists church and state officials resolved to extirpate the Anabaptists. This is where all the death and torture began for these innocent people.2 Only eight days after the first Anabaptist baptismal service, there was a continual flow of mandates issued against them. There were over two hundred edicts proclaimed against the Anabaptists in the sixteenth century, one hundred of which were issued in the first twenty years. Such officials as territorial rulers, bishops and the emperor issued the mandates. The mandates were not only directed against the Anabaptists themselves but against anyone who helped or aided them in a...