An Analysis of Project Networks as Resource Planning Tools

An Analysis of Project Networks as Resource Planning Tools| Usage and availability of resources are essential considerations when establishing Project Networks in Resource Planning. This analysis has focused on some of the risks of certain actions used to offset resource constraints, advantages/disadvantages for reducing project scope, and options/advantages/disadvantages for reducing project duration. If implemented correctly, careful consideration of the outlined risks will make managing a project a little less painless. | Following is an analysis of project networks as resource planning tools.The analysis will be segmented into three topical areas to include: * Risks associated with leveling resources, compressing, or crashing projects, and imposed durations or â€Å"catch-up† as the project is being implemented; * Advantages and disadvantages for reducing project scope to accelerate a project and what can be done to reduce the disadvantages * Three options for reducing pro ject duration and advantages and disadvantages to these options Risks Associated with Leveling Resources, Compressing, or Crashing Projects, and Imposed Durations or â€Å"Catch-Up† The text (Gray and Larson, 2008) gives good definitions for the risks associated with certain actions used to offset resource constraints. The act or process of evening out â€Å"resource demand by delaying noncritical activities (using slack) to lower peak demand† (Gray and Larson, 2008) is considered leveling resources.This action ultimately increases the resource utilization, which is more than likely the desired result. Even though one may get the desired results resource-wise, leveling resources often results in pushing out the end-date of a project. In most cases, that is the extreme outcome. Another risk that bears its head when slack is reduced, is loss of flexibility which equates to an increase in critical activities. Without slack anywhere in a project network, ALL activities bec ome critical. This means that everything has to fall perfectly in place in order to stay on the prescribed timeline. Compressing a schedule means that you will be conducting project activities in parallel. Compressing is not applicable to all project activities.A good example can be seen if you have activities labeled â€Å"Hire Workers† and â€Å"Dig Foundation†. You can’t implement the â€Å"Hire Workers† and â€Å"Dig Foundation† activities in parallel because to dig a foundation you need to have someone to do the digging. (brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/51684. aspx#ixzz0ongX7ECF, 20 May 2010). Risks of compressing include: * Increases risk of rework * Increases communications challenges, and may * Require more resources Crashing a schedule involves allocating more resources so that an activity can be completed on time or before time, assuming that by deploying more resources the activity can be completed earlier.One good aspe ct about crashing a schedule (just like compressing), you do not need to crash all activities. The activities that impact the schedule are those with no slack, thus being the only ones that are affected. Risks associated with this action are as follows: â€Å"Budget: Since you allocated more resources, you will not deliver the project on-budget. Demoralization: Existing resources may get demoralized by the increase in people to complete activities that were originally assigned to them. Coordination: More resources translates to an increase in communication challenges† (brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/51684. aspx#ixzz0onfuKUmj, 20 May 2010).These risks combined or by themselves can ultimately pose the overall risk of reducing the effectiveness of the existing resources. Advantages and Disadvantages for Reducing Project Scope to Accelerate a Project and what can be Done to Reduce the Disadvantages Reducing the scope of the project can lead to big savings both in time and costs. It typically means the elimination of certain tasks. At the same time scaling down the scope may reduce the value of the project such that it is no longer worthwhile or fails to meet critical success factors. An advantage to reducing project scope is the project is more likely to stay on schedule and on budget. It also allows for more focus being applied to the remaining deliverables in the project scope.A disadvantage that may arise is loss of quality in work due to key quality deliverables selected to be cut in order to balance the timeline of the project. The key to offsetting the disadvantages is â€Å"reassessing the project requirements to determine which are essential and which are optional. This requires the active involvement of all key stakeholders. More intense re-examination of requirements may actually improve the value of the project by getting it done more quickly and for a lower cost. † (just answer. com 21 May 2010) Three Options for Reduci ng Project Duration and Advantages and Disadvantages to these Options Reducing the duration a project can be managed by reducing the duration of an activity/activities almost always results in higher direct cost.When the duration of a critical activity is reduced, the project’s critical path can be change with other activities and that new path will determine the new project completion date. Following are three options to reducing project duration. Adding Resources: This is a popular method to reduce project time by assigning additional staff and equipment to activities-if it is assessed appropriately. The activities at hand need to be researched accordingly and proper determinations of how much time will be saved prior to just throwing bodies at it. The first thing that comes to mind when you add resources is â€Å"double the resources, reduce the length of the project in half.The unforeseen disadvantage that arises is the increase in the amount of time that an existing tea m member must spend in explaining what has been done already and what is planned. This increases the overall communication time spent by the team which phenomenally ends up adding/losing valuable time. Outsourcing Project work: A common method for shortening the project time is to subcontract an activity. The subcontract may have access to superior technology or expertise that will accelerate the completion of the activity (Gray and Larson, 2008). Additionally, significant cost reduction, and flexibility can be gained when a company outsources (Gray and Larson, 2008).Disadvantages that may be experienced are conflict due to contrasting interpersonal interactions and internal morale issues if the work has normally been done in-house (Gray and Larson, 2008). Scheduling Overtime: The easiest way to add more labor to a project is not to add more people, but to schedule overtime. The www. businesslink. gov outlines potential advantages of using overtime working include: * a more flexible workforce * the ability to deal with bottlenecks, busy periods, cover of absences and  staff shortages without the need to recruit extra staff * increased earning for employees * avoidance of disruption to jobs where the workload is more difficult to share,  e. g. ransport and driving * the ability to carry out  repair and maintenance which has to be done outside normal working hours However, disadvantages may include: * the expense of premium overtime rates * inefficiency if employees slacken their pace of work in order to qualify for overtime * regular long working hours, which  can adversely affect employees' work, health and home lives * fatigue, which  may increase absence levels and lead to unsafe working practices * employee expectations of overtime, leading to resentment and inflexibility if you try to withdraw it. (businesslink. gov, 22 May 2010) Conclusion Usage and availability of resources are essential considerations when establishing Project Networks in Reso urce Planning.This analysis has focused on some of the risks of certain actions used to offset resource constraints, advantages/disadvantages for reducing project scope, and options/advantages/disadvantages for reducing project duration. If implemented correctly, careful consideration of the outlined risks will make managing a project a little less painless. References Brighthub. com. Difference Between Schedule Crashing and Compressing, Retrieved 20 May, 2010 http://www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/51684. aspx#ixzz0onfuKUmj Brighthub. com. When to Crash or Compress a Schedule, Retrieved 20 May 2010 http://www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/51684. aspx#ixzz0onfuKUmj Read also: Conveyor Belt Project

Revolts in Medieval Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Revolts in Medieval Europe - Essay Example There were many political, economical and social reasons for these revolts, which happened one chasing the other. Europe had been suffering from the three orders of society, ruling class, clergy and common people, for a long time. In some regions and states, it was the ruling class that harassed the poor and in some other regions, it was the clergy. Actually, the religious superstitions were such, that clergy, abbots, papacy got away with unspeakable crimes. The political size and management of states, economic upheavals were the other newly introduced issues. "Since the early fourteenth century new elements had come into play. The growth in the size of states and the increasing number of wars had raised the financial requirements of governments and made the state of inequality, already observable in the thirteenth century, harder to bear," Mollatt and Wolff (p.107). The reasons and problems had accumulated for decades, and while looking at them from this distance, it is surprising that the church leaders and kings failed to recognise them. Unrest was clearly in the air and unfortunately, no steps were taken by either the ruling class, or the religious leaders and every time, the situation was mishandled and reached the inevitable gory end. In the beginning of 14th century Europe came to a grinding halt, due ... In the beginning of 14th century Europe came to a grinding halt, due to popular revolts. It was the time when a series of revolts combined with unfortunate epidemics like Black Death (1348), Great Famine (1315 - 1317) hit Europe with unbelievable mayhem. According to climatologists, it might have occurred because of Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age, and the overpopulation of around a 100 million in Europe. At least half of the population was wiped out in these catastrophes, while the remaining half was terribly troubled by a series of popular revolts. Those were violent and unfortunate times. There was severe unhappiness in the continent combined with continuous wars and skirmishes, social unrest, class struggle, economic depression, and to top it all, religious bigotry. France and England got involved in the most tortuous Hundred Years' War and the Great Schism ruined the arguable unity existed till them in the Catholic Church. German States with diverse identities cropped up and this undermined the Holy Roman Empire, which lost its importance and authority. Those were unhappy and difficult times, crying in need of social reforms and political insight, without being provided. Popular revolts were by peasants in the countryside and by bourgeois in the towns, but the victims were the same, abbots, nobility and kings and chieftains. "The Middle Ages by themselves harshly tested human perseverance, imagination, and spirit. Living conditions were squalid for almost everyone except the ruling elite; most of the riches of Western culture were preserved at best in monasteries and on other continents. Then came the widespread famines, prolonged wars, and plagues that mark Europe's late medieval period as one

Equity and trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Equity and trusts - Essay Example If each of these elements can be ascertained by reference to Sadhia’s will and trust instrument, the trustees will be bound by her dispositions. However, the emphasis is on certainty of intention. It was held in Tana & Anor V Tana & Anor, that â€Å"certainty of intention is in many ways the most important† certainty.2 Therefore, in a typical case, once the court is satisfied that the â€Å"declarant had the requisite intention it will strive to validate it.†3 It is against this background that the trustees of Sadhia’s estate should proceed. Bearing in mind that certainty of intention is the most important element for determining whether or not each of Sahdia’s gifts form valid declarations of trusts, the trustees are advised to proceed with this mindset. The gift of the cottage to Sadhia’s husband appears at first glance to be a discretionary trust in that the declaration assumes that her husband will do what is necessary to benefit the children of the marriage. In other words Sadhia has left the question of their children’s benefit up to her husband’s broad discretion. Certainty of subject matter is unambiguously Sadhia’s cottage and that is assuming Sadhia only has one cottage capable of being distinguished from any other realty she leaves behind. The objects of the trust are also unambiguously stated and are the children that Sadhia shares with her husband. The difficulty however, involves certainty of intention. It was held in Wright v Atkyns Turn & R 143 it is possible to descern whether or not there was an intention to create a trust by the words used. However those words must be clear and imperative4 although he failure to use specific words will not render the creation of a trust invalid.5 That said, the use of the words â€Å"in full confidence that he will do what is necessary to benefit our

Summary 1 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary 1 234 - Essay Example Similarly, this can foster peer cooperation. Music can also help children to understand the emotions of others and help them to build relationships with other children, family and teachers. If you introduce music from other cultures in to your classroom, you can even increase the cultural awareness of your little ones! Music has a great impact on social-emotional skills, but it also strengthens physical skills. Dancing is a common music-related gross motor activity that young children love to do. If you play dancing games like "the Twist" and "Freeze", children can also practice their balance. There are also many ways to incorporate fine motor activities with music, like finger plays and interactive motion songs, like "Wheels on the Bus". Songs like "Hokey Pokey" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" , when done regularly, can also increase a child's body awareness and help them to learn the names of body parts. "Hokey Pokey" can also increase a child's bilateral coordination, or the ability to use both sides of his body together. Cognitive skills are another group of skills that are enhanced by music. Songs such as "One, Two, Buckle my Shoe" and "Five Little Monkeys" build counting skills and repetitive songs build pattern skills. Music activities can also foster pretend play, which begins to develop in toddlers at around 18 months of age. Literacy skills can also be developed through music.

Culture and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Culture and Change - Essay Example A culture is made up of different life experiences that an employee brings with him/herself in a workplace. The whole philosophy of culture becomes especially important to comprehend when an inevitable need to bring or manage an organization-wide change initiates. Thus, it can be said that culture and change are very closely associated in the context of an organizational setup. Mullins (cited in Venance, 2007) claims that those employees who deliberately resist changes in the organizational culture and system can actually cripple the expected performance criteria of that organization, since the importance of change is profoundly necessary in today’s competitive world. Appreciable organizational culture can be seen at Wal-mart which is one of the biggest corporations in the world. Sam Walton, who is the founder of this company and is also called the king of customer service, has redefined the managerial culture which is too conspicuous to be ignored at Wal-mart today. Wal-Mart has been strictly following the religiously derived managerial concept of servant leadership in an attempt to answer the expectations of their employees. (Johnson, 2010). Paying attention to the expectations and demands of the employees has always been considered very important for lining up with the desires of the customers and increasing the productivity level. Also, Wal-mart has always focused on keeping the costs low for winning over the other major companies in the competition. Simple to comprehend and easy-to-relate-to rules are made almost every other month and actions are quickly taken, while respecting the demands of the organizational culture. Basically, the bedrock of the Wal-Mart culture is mainly associated with elements like religion, patriotism, a classless collective identity, modern science, rationality, ecology, relentless struggle, and low costs. The phenomenal culture existing in Wal-mart originates from three fundamental beliefs, which are

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example However there is still uncertainty as to whether the healthcare providers feel comfortable using the electronic medical records (EMRs). Their perceptions and attitudes as concerns the use EMRs are unknown and therefore also difficult to know whether they are adapting to the transition or not. There are very few studies if any on these issues of perceptions and adoption. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK LOSCIN’S TECHNOLOGICAL COMPETENCE MODEL Locsin’s model of technological competency as caring in nursing is a model that specifically integrates who nurses are as professional, with the modern technology they encounter at their work places. Locsin’s central premise is that the competent use of technology demonstrates caring in nursing. Since the contemporary nursing is believed to be a call to practice in a technologically mediated profession (Casterline 2006). The ultimate purpose of the technological competency in nursing is to acknowledge that wholeness of persons is a focu s of nursing and that various technological means can and should be used in nursing in order for nursing to realize wholeness of person more fully (Locsin & Purnell 2009). ... The theory is highly linked to the various statements of the research questions. The theory as applied to the use of EMR’s, health care providers can show they care about their clients or patients through the use of the EMRs to better synthesize the important health information about their patients. For example the nurse’s knowledge of the person as a whole human being improves the nursing process and ultimately patient care. Therefore through great organization and efficiency of the EMRs the nurse is able to use this t his or her advantage to know the patients more completely and thus provide quality care. The theory is linked to attitudes and perceptions such that if the health care providers perceive the EMR’s positively it will lead to â€Å"knowing† of the patient as a â€Å"whole† and this is important in improving health care delivery. If they know the patients and feel that the use of EMRs is good it means that they will easily adopt it for their continued use and in so doing improve patient health. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The research aims to answer the question: What are the attitudes and perceptions of health care providers as concerns the use of electronic record keeping in medical practice? A qualitative research is a kind of systematic empirical inquiry into meaning. This is because the research is ordered or planned, following specific rules that are defined by members of a given community. The research is grounded in the world of experiences that members of a given community have gone through. The research therefore intends to find out what people make sense of these experiences (Yin 2011). Therefore qualitative research involves a qualitative and

How does your company deal with preparing staff to work in another Essay

How does your company deal with preparing staff to work in another country and for incoming foreign staff - Essay Example Understanding these relations is very important for an organization, which desires to manage its employee-employer relationship effectively. PROPOSED STUDY: This paper gives an examination of the employee organization rapport by probing the employee perception of what they owe their company and what they feel their company owes them in return. The paper also examines these aspects from a cross-cultural perspective by determining how societal culture affects employee attitude concerning their obligations to the employer and what the employer owes them. Purposely, the paper delves at how various cultural aspects of collectivism, the employees’ perception of the terms of their employment relationship. Additionally, whilst most studies focus on employees’ behavior and attitudinal reactions to their company’s failure to meet obligations, less has been unraveled about how companies deal with preparing their staff to work in another country and for incoming foreign staf f. This paper aims at discussing in depth, how Ford Motor Company prepares its staff to operate in remote countries. The paper gives an exclusive introduction to the company’s background, after which it embarks on the thesis statement, which is, how the motor company has dealt with preparing its staff to work in another country and for incoming foreign staff. ... The company has employed more than 25600 peoples by the end of December with its headquarters based in Michigan and Dearborn. Ford has recorded revenues of more than $182,456 million in just one fiscal year; that is up to December 2007. An increase of around 7.6% over that gained in the year 2006. The company’s operating profit of the company used to be $6,631 million in the economic year 2007 put under compared to an operating loss of around$8, 291 million in the year 2006. This loss, however, in 2007 reduced to $3,722 million (Ford Motor Company, 2000). The company operates two businesses: Automotive Division In this business, it produces a variety of vehicles, among cars in the medium, large, small, and premium segments as well as buses, SUV’s, Vans, and trucks. Its automotive vehicle brands include Mazda, Mercury, Ford, Volvo, and Lincoln. Ford also owns a 34.4 % controlling stake when considering Mazda (Lussier, 2013). Because it is the consumer trend towards lesse r and more cost-effective cars, it has increased its business in this part. Ford’s automotive business can safely get organized into five segments: Premier Automotive (PAG). Ford added onto, manufacturing and distributing trucks and cars, it, also, avails a diversity of after sales products and services via its dealer network (Rowley, 2013). The Financial Service Division The Ford Motor Credit Company was initiated in the year 1923 as a completely owned subordinate of Ford. This business provides automotive financing for Volvo, Mercury, Ford, and Lincoln’s customers. The Credit business was established so that Ford Motor Company dealers could offer competitive financial services to both business and individuals. The Major financial services entail: