The Incident Of My Mini Experiment - 1267 Words

The incident My opportunity to practice or implement my mini experiment when I was called in to a meeting with the General Manager and several other staff. The goal was to review a major situation where key components were not in stock. Resulting in the business not being able to function correctly until resolved. My goal in relation to my mini experiment, was to remain engaged in the meeting and not allow my default routine of mentally withdrawing and shutting down to take place for as long as possible. Incident insights The meeting was heading for a finger pointing session this struck me of the chronically defeated team (Tyson 2010), and how this leads to poor team performance. This frustrated me as I wanted to contribute in a positive†¦show more content†¦This is holding my breath for a three count, in order to stop my mouth from making comments I regret. Instead allowing my mind to think of solutions or options to remain actively engaged in the meeting and not withdraw into myself. When the time came I took the opportunity and employed the circuit breaker. Experiment outcomes, the good The impact this had on the tone of the meeting was noticeable. It became apparent to me the General Manager was expecting me to behave the way I had previously, having my mini meltdown. When it became apparent I was not, and able to progress the conversation past the usual point he appeared to be visible thrown by this. I felt he had already planned the exchange in his mind before walking into the meeting. This had an unforeseen side effect as the General Manager had lost control of the meeting and I was now effectively running it. We were able to address the immediate issue and form action points to move forward. This is an example of me being able to influence in real time in order to achieve positive goals for myself and others. Somehow I had managed to remain detached yet engaged (Hughes 2015) resulting in a more productive experience. Experiment outcomes, the bad The next steps in the meeting was when I was unsuccessful in delaying my default routine. I relinquished control of proceedings back to the General Manager. The overriding dynamic of the

Understanding The Intricacies Of Ministry - 1231 Words

A Practical Approach to Understanding the Intricacies of Ministry For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. - Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics Like any other profession, the call to ministry requires intense preparation. In fact, the process of personal and professional development of clerical leaders demands the necessary interplay between theory and praxis. Certainly, while courses in exegesis, ethics, systematic theology and critical interpretation among others are designed to expand the theoretical, supervised ministry transports the budding theologian directly into the practical realm of ministry through practice . Over the course of the semester I have gleaned valuable insights through baptism by emersion into the often-unseen realities that shape ministry within the context of local congregations. Often the external structures visible to members of the laity do not accurately reveal the internal elements of planning, organizing, and coordination required for effective ministry. Certainly, my experience has reaffirmed the notion that ministry can be demanding. In other words, I have come to the conclusion that the call to ministry is a call to challenging, yet meaningful work. At the very onset of the supervised ministry process, I relished the opportunity to increase my understanding of the life, and work, of the 21st century minister, I had a myriad of questions concerning issues such as the daily demands on the minister’sShow MoreRelatedMy Goals And Future Plans1536 Words   |  7 Pagesrequired logical thinking, and this was the very reason it had conquered a portion of my mind. Pu rsuing science was everything I ever wanted. In spite of getting a good rank in the All India Engineering Entrance Exam, I chose to reap an in depth understanding in science even when I had to stay 3000 miles away from home. I am an undergraduate student, currently in the final year of a 5-year Integrated BS-MS program at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER-TVM)Read MoreThe Socio Ecological Model Of Childhood Obesity Essay1660 Words   |  7 Pages A geographical perspective can facilitate better understanding of how everyday lived environments are complicit in producing higher rates of obesity and its associated diseases among New Zealanders, particularly in children. Childhood obesity is widely regarded as a significant health concern in New Zealand (NZ), owing to its growing national prevalence, its links to long term ill-health, and high economic burden on the health system. A socio-ecological model can be used to demonstrate how environmentsRead MoreLanguage Is A Building Block For Success2137 Words   |  9 Pagescurriculum. Becoming literate is undeniably a critical achievement in today’s society and not only focuses on a child’s ability to read and write but rather their capacity to apply certain skills and knowledge to effectively comprehend and communicate intricacies within the world. The process of reading is multifaceted, which only develops through explicit instruction and practice. Learners must develop a solid foundation of literacy knowledge, which will allow for automaticity and fluency in reading andRead MoreI Want to Graduate as a Civil Engineer1156 Words   |  5 Pagesabout how things were shaped in the world. When I visited towns and cities I was always stuck staring at physical structures – be it an ancient monument or a daunting skyscraper. Fortunately, I had patient members in my family who explained the intricacies that ensured my interest only deepened. The person who inspired me to the world of civil engineering was my uncle who showed me intricate drawings from his office and liked my inquisitive nature. In addition to my school related commitments, I participatedRead MoreOperation Eagle Claw : A Learning Experience1561 Words   |  7 PagesOperation Eagle Claw – A Learning Experience In order to gain a thorough understanding of Operation Eagle Claw, it is imperative to account for the historical context which governed the military at the time. Induced by public opinion and the economic state of the United States proceeding the Vietnam War, dramatic reductions in appropriations and personnel plagued the Department of Defense. Consequently, in the midst of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the United States military was labeled as a â€Å"hollowRead MoreThe Effects Of Public Safety On Our Nation On 9 / 111644 Words   |  7 Pagesto create more teamwork amongst what many consider to be a decentralized organization. When the Bush Administration saw our overall issue with working together to deter terrorism, and discuss ways of helping the public safety organization, other ministries and governments around the world to help with the expansion and better communication sharing. Prezelj (2015, p. 22) states that subsequent comparative analysis of national counter-terrorism practices showed that by 2005 14 out of 27 EU countriesRead MoreA Leadership Development Of The Church Essay2277 Words   |  10 Pagesintentional development must take place. Trust is another hurdle in the conviction and sustainability of a leadership pipeline. As much as the pastoral staff must be open-handed, those in positions of leadership now must not tightly grip their places of ministry and influence. At the heart of vulnerability lies the willingness of people to abandon their pride and their fear, to sacrifice their egos for the collective good of the team. As Lencioni writes the previous statement about teams, the principleRead MoreWired For Intimacy : How Pornography Hijacks The Male Brain2091 Words   |  9 Pagesmajor impact on the way men look at women. Many authors and scholars present pornography as a spiritual matter, but Struthers thinks the matter at hand is also a physical problem. â€Å"Pornography is also a physical matter, rooted in the biological intricacies of our sexual desire.† (15) The purpose of the book is to look into the physical impact of porn. The book is broken into two different sections. The first section looks at the male brain on porn. It opens this section by attempting to defend pornRead MoreWomen At The Un Peacekeeping Operations3604 Words   |  15 Pagespartaking. Pivotal words: UN Peacekeeping operations, ladies, security, UNSC Resolution 1325. Presentation All through more than sixty year long history of peacekeeping operations under the protection of the United Nations (UN), their number and intricacy have been always expanding. Parallel with the augmentation of the peace operations order to peace building, furthermore post-clash reproduction, there was an expanding need to contract a more noteworthy number of qualified, experienced and decentlyRead MoreEffects of Staff Training and Development3086 Words   |  13 PagesRESEARCH PROPOSAL TOPIC: EFFECTS OF STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF SECRETARIAL STAFF IN AN ORGANIZATION A Study to be carried out in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology department of National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) and department of department of Research Management Directorate (DRMD) 0. INTRODUCTION 1. Problem Statement Training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills

Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of Ict Free Essays

qFactors Affecting the Successful Implementation of ICT Projects in Government David Gichoya, Research School of Informatics, Loughborough University, UK D. M. Gichoya@lboro. We will write a custom essay sample on Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of Ict or any similar topic only for you Order Now ac. uk Abstract: A government is a huge and complex organisation, whose operations and strategic focus could be greatly enhanced by the well focussed application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to support improvements in productivity, management effectiveness and ultimately, the quality of services offered to citizens. While the benefits of ICT in government cannot be disputed, there are several concerns about its success as well as the strategies to be adopted in implementation of systems in various countries. In this paper, the characteristic challenges that developing nations face, which make ICT implementation in government fail to succeed are identified and synthesised. The paper presents results of literature review of case studies from both developed and developing countries and preliminary studies grounded in the Kenya e-Government reality. The key factors are identified, synthesised and categorised under common broad categories. This results in a rich picture of ICT implementation experience that helps to identify possible solutions. A descriptive framework for categorising key factors in ICT implementation in government illustrated with references to the literature is proposed. The input variables are categorised into factors for success (drivers and enablers), and factors for failure (barriers and inhibitors). The output variables are categorized into organisational and technological benefits. Finally, an action for success is proposed. This action includes suggestions for increasing the impact of factors for success while reducing the impact of factors for failure and use of available good practice. Keywords: Government informatics, ICT projects implementation, e-Government, information system, ICT success and failure applied to various phenomena (Beynon-Davies 2002). Following this definition of informatics, government informatics can be defined as the application of information, information systems and information technology within government. This therefore includes application of eGovernment which is â€Å"primarily to do with making the delivery of government services more fficient† (Bannister, Remenyi 2005). 1. Background With the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and eGovernment, it is possible to improve efficiency and effectiveness of internal administration within government and to re-locate government service from government offices to locations closer to the citizens . Examples of such locations are cyber cafe’, telecenters or a personal computer at home or office. While the benefits of ICT in government cannot be disputed, there are several concerns about its success as well as the strategies to be adopted in implementation of systems in various ountries. This paper therefore presents the findings of a literature review, knowledge acquired from reviewed case studies from developing countries and a preliminary study grounded on Kenyan government. The paper considers the characteristic challenges that developing nations face, which make ICT implementation in government fail to succeed. A descriptive framework for categorising key factors in ICT implementation in government and an action for success are proposed. The action for success is presented as response to situation specific challenges. In support of government informatics, Tapscott (1995, p. v) argues that ICT causes a â€Å"paradigm shift† introducing â€Å"the age of netwo rk intelligence†, reinventing businesses, governments and individuals. Ndou (2004, p. 2) quoting Kaufman (1977) observes, â€Å"the traditional bureaucratic paradigm, characterised by internal productive efficiency, functional rationality, departmentalisation, hierarchical control and rulebased management is being replaced by competitive, knowledge based requirements, such as: flexibility, network organisation, vertical/horizontal integration, innovative entrepreneurship, organisational learning, speed up in service delivery, and a customer driven trategy, which emphasise coordinated network building, external collaboration and customer services† all of which are supported by ICT. Informatics is a bridging discipline that is fundamentally interested in the application of information, information technology and information systems within organisations. Informatics is therefore the study of information, information systems and information technology ISSN 1479-439X 1. 1 e- Governments initiatives According to Kaul and Odedra (1991) governments around the world have been engaged in the process of implementing a wide 175  ©Academic Conferences Ltd Reference this paper as: Gichoya D (2005) â€Å"Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of ICT Projects in Government† The Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4, pp 175-184, available online at www. ejeg. com Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) range of (ICT) applications. Countries have been classified by the United Nations according to their Computer Industry Development Potential (CIPD) as advanced or less developed Mgaya (1999). Advanced include, for example, the United States, Canada, West European countries and Japan; less developed include for example Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, Kenya and Bulgaria. For all countries, use of ICTs for government reinvention is increasing not only in investment but also in terms of visibility with a number of high-profile initiatives having been launched during the 1990s. According to Heeks and Davies (2000), this reinvention has taken place especially in the advanced countries. Western countries are convinced that the information society will result in economic and social benefits (Audenhove 2000). The author quoting Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, notes that information infrastructures are expected to stimulate economic growth, increase productivity, reate jobs, and improve on the quality of life. Heeks (2002) observes that there is a big difference between ICT implementation and use between developed and developing countries. However, Westrup (2002) observes that similarities can also be expected. These similarities include funds which are never sufficient, bureaucracy and user needs. The difference is how problems are ad dressed in different countries. It can be argued that, with their adequate resources and advanced technology, the Western countries have an easier way of implementing ICT projects than DCs. Most developing countries are characterised by limited omputer applications in the public sector, inadequate infrastructure and shortage of skilled manpower (Odedra 1993). Odedra (1993, p. 9) notes that â€Å"this situation exists not merely due to lack of financial resources, but largely due to lack of coordination at different levels in making effective use of the technology†. This uncoordinated efforts can only result in duplication if each department implements its own ICT projects without due regard to compatibility within the government. technical and support staff and facilities including buildings. So far, the Government Information Technology Investment and Management Framework is onnecting all ministries to the Internet under the Executive Network (Limo 2003). The government is a lso connecting the ministries to run integrated information systems for example the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and the Integrated Personnel and Pensions Database (IPPD). While developing countries may have similar characteristics, the Kenyan context presents various challenges that affect the successful implementation of ICT projects. Characteristics that define Kenyan ICT environment: †¢ Most ICT projects are initially donor funded. †¢ Some donations are made without prior consultation or carrying out a needs nalysis by the recipient organization †¢ Operational/running costs are met by the government. Funding (capital and human resource requirements) ends with the project phase. †¢ The budgets for ICT are inadequate but rising. †¢ A lack of ICT policies and master plans to guide investment. To the extent that, with a number donors funding ICT, there have been multiple investments for the same product due to lack of coordinati on. †¢ A focus on ICT applications that support traditional administrative and functional transactions rather than on effective information processing and distribution within and without government epartments; †¢ Unstable ICT resources. This paper therefore helps to answer the following questions: 1. What critical factors or variables can be identified as important in terms of their effect on ICT project implementation in government? 2. Are there common variables and can the variables be synthesised and categorised under common broad categories for specific action to be taken? 3. Does the resulting analysis of the data lead to a framework that enables analysis and understanding of the ICT implementation experience in Kenya and can it help to identify problems and solutions? 4. Does this in turn result in a framework hat can be used to guide ICT 2. ICT Implementation in Government of Kenya Over the last five years, the Kenyan government has initiated some capital investment towards set up and installation of ICT infrastructure. Funding for these investments is achieved through partnerships between the government and development partners. The foreign funding component constitutes the largest percentage of this investment in terms of technology. The government contribution is usually in the form of www. ejeg. com 176  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya implementation in Kenya and other developing countries? 5. Does the resulting framework build on revious frameworks either in terms of its applicability to real life situations, its inclusive nature, its cohesiveness, and its ability to generate questions for further research? The research strategy envisaged is close to one used by Doherty, King et al. (1998), since the objectives are partly confirmatory but primarily exploratory. The strategy involves use of in-depth interviews, observation and documentary review. This approach provides new insights, grounded in the Kenya e-Government reality, int o factors that contribute to the success or failure of ICT projects. It also shows the relationship between the doption of good practice during implementation and the resultant level of success attributed to the operational systems. The methodology envisaged therefore has two dimensions, one theoretically based on ICT literature; and the other analytically based on case studies. This paper therefore includes knowledge acquired from a literature review and a preliminary investigation grounded in Kenya. focus. Planning projects Implementation of ICT A familiar maxim says, ‘if you cannot plan it, you do not do it’. Another maxim says, ‘I never planned to fail, I just failed to plan’. Planning spans a whole project period. It begins once the roject planning activities determine the organization’s strategy and identifies the ICT projects. Within the framework of a few fixed constraints, project plans evolve with the lifecycle. The constraints are time and money so each project has a clear deadline and a tight budget. According to Moran (1998, p. 39), plans fall into one of the two categories: vision without substance and a budget without vision. The identified problems of vision without substance are vagueness of future vision, lack of institutional vision, current position and time. Identified issues of budget without vision are questions as to what roblem is being solved, what are the priorities and definition of the roles and responsibilities. With ICT projects being advocated for and financed by donors, budget without vision is likely to be the project plan. Maciaszek (2001, p. 10) has suggested some planning models and methods for ICT implementation. Further, Aineruhanga (2004) observes that planning as a tool can help in reducing waste by identifying the pre-requites conditions for successful ICT implementation rather than â€Å"rushing into a complex e-Government strategy without having first finalized a national ICT policyà ¢â‚¬ . Figure 1 presents a research framework onstructed from these preliminary studies. The framework specifies the area of research interest and shows how ICT implementation success affects ICT facilities quality and information system quality. In turn ICT facilities quality and information systems quality affect the perceived benefits. An ICT project implementation can only be perceived to have succeeded if the perceived benefits are realised. ICT facilities quality can be assessed after careful evaluation of the infrastructure to determine technical functionality. For example if the facilities were for networking different departments, the question may be hether this has been achieved successfully. This will involve a technical and user evaluation of the functional communication systems. Information system quality can only be determined by evaluating the information they generate. For example if the information is for budgeting purposes, the question might be whether the inform ation system can generate accurate and timely financial information. Three reasons are identified for poor project planning in organisations. These are; risk management had not been addressed, business systems had not been justified to the full and lack of involvement from management Knott and Dawson (1999). These can be taken as the major reasons but are not exhaustive. This is due to the diversity of the implementation environments. Also, as noted by Bannister and Remenyi (2000), p. 1), when it comes to complex decisions, managers often rely on methods which do not fall within the traditional boundaries of so-called rational decision making. It is observed that managers sometimes base decisions on ‘acts of faith, gut instinct or blind faith’ (referred to as strategic insight). As noted by Harindranath (1993), though developing countries commit a sizable amount of economic resources to ICT, for hem to reap maximum benefits, ICT needs careful planning and coordination prior to implementation and use otherwise trial and error methods of implementation that characterise most government ICT applications will only succeed in the wastage of scarce resources Perceived benefits are the end products that can be used to judge the success of the whole system. If the per ceived benefits like easier communication, networking, and system integration, timely, relevant, complete and useful information are not realised, then the system will be perceived to have failed. Attributes of each component are shown for clarity and www. ejeg. com nd 177 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) Figure 1: Research framework 1998, Heeks 2002, Mgaya 1999). However, a careful review of reasons for failure identifies other factors whose presence or absence determines success or failure of projects. To begin with, the researcher looks at the output variables which are the benefits to be achieved if the initiative succeeds. The purpose of this is to clarify the goal of ICT projects. These goals may form a key element to the planning process as described above. Achievement of these goals helps to determine how to classify ICT projects. In ddition, perceptions of, and reasons for ICT failure are reviewed and these helps to identify possible key variables. 3. ICT performance evaluation ICT evaluation can be defined as establishing by quantitative, and/or qualitative methods the value of the ICT to the organisation Khalifa et al. (2004). Performance cannot be judged as good or bad without the successful implementation of the project. In this paper, the technical or operational implementation of ICT infrastructure is of interest. Evaluating ICT projects can be quite problematic and can sometimes be quite subjective (Heeks 2002, Currie 1995, Bannister, Remenyi 2004, Irani 002, DeLone and McLean 2002, Bannister and Remenyi 2000) and there is no single ICT evaluation method that can be applied to all situations (Khalifa et al. 2004). Currie (1995) justifies this position using various case studies drawn from businesses in various developed countries while Heeks (2002) observes that evaluation is subjective and can depend on circumstances including time. Evaluation leads to the determination of success or failure of an ICT project. 4. 1 Output variables 4. ICT and IS success and failure Many benefits can be achieved using ICT in government. However, a word of caution given by Saul and Zulu (1994) is in order. The authors see ICT as a means to an end and not an end in itself. The value of ICT lies in its ability to assist the government in finding solutions to its problems. ICT expenditure can only be justified if there are benefits accruing to it and not adopting it for its own sake. Literature shows that planning and management of ICT projects has a very poor record in developing countries (Galliers et al. 1998, Qureshi The benefits are listed below: †¢ Cost reduction †¢ Quality of service delivery www. ejeg. com 178  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 5. Factors for ICT success and failure Increasing capacity of government Improved decision making Transparency Improved efficiency Improved access to information Other technological benefits for example cheaper and efficient and access to large storage capacities within larger and more advanced computers While discussing factors for success and failure, it is necessary to clarify the â€Å"opposite† effect of most factors. This means if the presence of a factor encourages success, the lack of it encourages failure (examples are, proper infrastructure and well motivated staff). The converse is true such that if presence of a factor causes failure, its bsence will cause success (examples are bureaucracy, poor project and change management). 4. 2 Categorisation of ICT projects failure Broadly, the assessment of worth of an ICT venture focus on considerations of the success and failure of IS. The issue of ICT failure can be analyzed by assuming that learning from IS failures will provide us with important lessons for f ormulating successful strategies for the planning, development, implementation and management of information systems. While discussing dimensions of ICT failure, Beynon-Davies (2002, p. 201) considers both the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the informatics model. The horizontal dimension is expressed in terms of the difference between development failure and use failure. The vertical dimension is expressed in terms of failure at the level of ICT systems, IS projects, or organization, or at the level of the external environment. Six types of IS failure is identified as follows: †¢ Technical failure †¢ Project failure †¢ Organizational failure †¢ Environmental failure †¢ Developmental failure †¢ Use failure Beynon-Davies supports the argument with several case studies and quotes other models for IS failure put forward by Lyytinen Hirschheim (1987). 5. 1 Factors for success Factors for success are those occurrences whose presence or absence determines the success of an ICT project. They can be drivers or enablers as described by (Moran 1998, Riley 2000, Doherty et al. 1998, Heeks 2003b, Mugonyi 2003, Heeks 2004, Khaled 2003). . Their absence can cause failure and their presence can cause success. Drivers are the factors that encourage or reinforce the successful implementation of ICT projects. Some of these are listed below: †¢ Vision and strategy †¢ Government support †¢ External pressure and donor support †¢ Rising consumer expectations †¢ Technological change, modernization, and globalization Enablers are the active elements present in society, which help overcome the potential barriers. Some of these are listed below: †¢ Effective project, coordination and change management †¢ Good practice 5. 2 Factors for failure The factors for failure are those occurrences that constraint proper/smooth implementation of ICT projects in government. These can either be barriers or inhibitors as described by (Khaled 2003, Gakunu 2004, Aineruhanga 2004, Heeks 2003a, Ndou 2004, Bhatnagar 2003, Saul and Zulu 1994). ICT success or failure in developing countries can be categorized into three depending on the degree of success (Heeks 2002). First, is the total failure of an initiative never implemented or in which a new system was implemented but immediately abandoned. Second is partial failure of an initiative, in which major goals are unattained or in which there are significant undesirable outcomes. Associated with partial failure is the sustainability failure where an initiative first succeeds but is then abandoned after a year or so. The last is success of an initiative where most stakeholders attain their major goals and do not experience undesirable outcomes. For the purpose of this paper, Heeks categorisation is more relevant since it can be sed to categorise the few projects implemented by the Kenyan government using the above criterion as the case may be. www. ejeg. com Barriers can be considered as those occurrences that hinder ICT implementation. Some of these factors for failure are listed below. †¢ Infrastructure †¢ Finance †¢ Poor data systems and lack of compatibility †¢ Skilled perso nnel †¢ Leadership styles, culture, and bureaucracy †¢ Attitudes 179 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) Inhibitors do not necessarily prevent the implementation of ICT projects but they do prevent advancement and restrict successful mplementation and sustainability. Some of these factors for failure are listed below. †¢ User needs †¢ Technology †¢ Cordination †¢ ICT policy †¢ Transfer of ICT idolisers †¢ Donor push far as they help in shaping the process of identifying the areas of weaknesses in ICT implementation in government. In this paper, functionality is considered to depend on ICT systems and usability and utility are crucial in determining stakeholder satisfaction, which increases stakeholder acceptance, and reduces resistance to adoption. 7. Action plan for success The best way to achieve maximum benefit for ICT implementation is to have all the factors for uccess with no occurrence of th e factors for failure. However, in real world that is not the case. Given such a situation, an action to increase the chances of success is required. Clockwork (2004) suggests the following framework for implementing e-Government projects. 6. Previous models for ICT project success Several models for assessing success, failure and the way forward for ICT systems in general DeLone and McLean (2002) and developing countries Heeks (2002) have been suggested. These and other models are considered relevant to this paper. The model proposed by DeLone and McLean (1992, p. 87) was later overlaid on a impler scheme of functionality, usability and utility by Beynon-Davies (2002). This overlaid model introduces the idea of functionality and usability, which are considered relevant to ICT implementation. Beynon-Davies argues that, the worth of an IS will be determined in the three contexts of functionality, usability and utility. The framework consists of five stages: †¢ Examine national e -Readiness †¢ Identify and prioritize themes †¢ Develop a program of action †¢ Apply to target groups †¢ Implement solutions – the final stage of the framework, is to implement the solutions. A key factor in this implementation is to ensure that the rganization is ready and in place to realize the new activities and corresponding changes. Some ICT best practices that have been â€Å"harvested† from a review of successful applications are suggested by Clockwork. Given their simple situation, developing countries are in a position to make effective and speedy use of such best practices for their own purposes. This can be viewed from an angle of ‘technology leapfrog’ which can be achieved through appropriate technology transfer (Ifinedo 2005). DeLone and McLean (2002, p. 2) acknowledged the difficulty in defining information system success and noted that different researchers ddress different aspects of success, making comparisons difficul t and the prospect of building a cumulative tradition for I/S research similarly elusive. The ITPOSMO model seeks to explain the high rates of failures of information systems in developing countries Heeks (2002). This model assumes the designers of IS are remote which means their contextual inscriptions are liable to be significantly different from user actuality. It assumes the designers come from developed countries or have been trained in developed countries and their knowledge of the local circumstances is at variance with the local reality. This model can be used in explaining some of the reasons as to why implementation of ICT in Kenyan government fails. However, the interest of the paper is on the whole of the ICT implementation which views IS as a passenger. The suggested best practices in ICT are: 1. Do not underestimate the complex environment in which ICT programs evolve. ICT projects are too often believed to have a technology focus. 2. Be sure to select a project that is expected to demonstrate the greatest benefit for your target group. 3. Government staff should be ‘re-skilled’ to anticipate the changes that accompany an ICT structure and new roles 4. Identify the right technologies. 5. Make a decision on how an organizational process fits your technology. 6. Strong program and project management is essential to develop and implement successful ICT solutions. The first two models deal with ICT/IS in general but Heeks model is for ICT/IS implementation in government and especially in developing countries. All these models act as useful guides in highlighting some of the key variables that affect ICT success. They are considered in this paper as www. ejeg. com 180  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya 7. Do not underestimate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of an ICT project. The above best practices might not be sufficient but they can act as a basis for further research. In this paper, the best practices have been analyzed but their adoption in Kenya is not clear at this early stage of e-Government implementation. prophylactic against failure and should be adopted more widely. 7. 3 Local improvisations According to Heeks (2002), local improvisation is done to reduce actuality-reality gaps. This can be through hybrids that recognize local capacities and improve success rates. However, Heeks notes that schemes to develop these hybrids in the DCs are virtually nonexistent thus hampering improvisation. Participative approaches to implementation e. g. group working and end-user involvement; have to be carefully considered since most have been developed for the industrialized countries. Examples of how these participative IS techniques were a failure, are the case of Mexico’s General Hospital and an enduser development initiative for health IS in South Africa (Heeks 2002). The implementations failed because of the large gap between design assumptions and requirements and actuality of organizations into which ICT was introduced. The conclusion drawn is that these implementations failed because there was too large a gap between he design assumptions and requirements of those techniques and the actuality of organizations into which they were introduced and not necessarily because of participative design is necessarily wrong. 7. 1 Conducting e-Readiness assessment In this paper, e-Readiness refers to the government ability to take advantage of the ICTs as a facility to enhance and improve its administrative functions. e-Readiness has several components, including telecommunications infrastructure, human resources, and legal and policy framework. e-Readiness assessment suggested above can be conducted on: †¢ Data systems infrastructure Legal infrastructure †¢ Institutional infrastructure (standardization of various departmental means of communication and the technology that is used) †¢ Human infrastructure †¢ Technological infrastructure †¢ Leadership and strategic thinking readiness (short, medium and long term plans by specific government ministries) In this regard, e-Readiness assessment can be used as an information-gathering mechanism for governments as they plan their strategies for ICT implementation. It can help the project team to better understand what impediments to ICT implementation exist and what initiatives are needed to overcome them. . A descriptive conceptual framework for developing countries context A framework for mapping the knowledge gained from both the literature and the case studies is given in figure 3. The framework gives a pictorial representation of a conceptual format of the literature for representational purpose. Input variables are all those factors considered as inputs to an ICT project. Some of these factors though necessary might be absent and are considered to be factors for failure. Other factors are present but their presence becomes obstacles to success. These are categorised as factors for failure. 7. 2 Design divisibility Divisibility of local design can decrease chances of failure as explained by Heeks using the Volta River Authority (Ghana) as an example (Heeks 2002, p. 109). Divisibility is achieved by: modularity (supporting one business function at a time by allowing separation of, for example, accounting and personnel functions), incrementalism (providing stepped levels of support for business functions by allowing separation of, for example, clerical and management support). In Kenya this has been achieved to some extent. Both the personnel and accounting functions are computerised with varying degrees of success within the ministries. This has been done through the implementation of Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and the Integrated Personnel and Pensions Database IPPD). Heeks (2002) observes that design divisibility is therefore a www. ejeg. com The input variables that act as the foundation of the ICT project and are considered as main ingredients to ensure the success of the project are referred to as drivers or prerequisites while those variables that encourage success are referred to as enablers or essentials. As ICT projects are implemented, it is necessary to map the input variables to assess where action should e taken. Output variables are represented as either organisational or technological benefits. The 181 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) organisational benefits are the benefits that accrue to the organisation. Technological benefits may not necessarily accrue to the organisation but are regarded as benefits resulting from imp lementation of the technology. These benefits can be enjoyed by individuals, the organisation and the public. situation specific action. Input and output variables are considered as far as they affect the success and failure of ICT implementation. The framework takes cognisance of broad premises (benefits, challenges and impact) of the Kenyan perspectives discussed in this paper and those observed by (Avgerou and Walsham 2000, Berleur and Drumm 2003, Heeks 2002) for both research and action. Lastly the framework shows the response which is presented as action for success. The response proposed has three characteristics. First, it analyses the situation, second, it looks at the various factors contributing to success and/or failure and finally an action for success to a In the response, action is taken to increase the chances of project success by reducing the mpact of the factors for failure and increasing the strength of the factors for success. Drivers (Prerequis ites) Factor for s uccess Input variables 1. Fina nce 2. Infrastruc ture 3. Attitudes 4. Coordination 5. Strategy 6. Skills 7. O thers E nablers (Essentia ls ) Action plan for s ucce ss : 1. Conduct an e-readiness assess ment 2. Strategy and Policy – a decla ratio n b y the government stating goals and objectives by appointing a board for co-coordinating ICT impleme ntation 3. Local improvisation inc lud ing design divisibility 4. Encourage public-private partne rs hip to create sustainable ICT programs 5. O thers Response O utput varia ble s 1. Organis ational be ne fits †¢ Improved efficienc y †¢ Improved access to information †¢ Tra nsparency 2. Te chnological be ne fits †¢ Cheaper and efficie nt communication †¢ Large stora ge †¢ Real time process ing Barriers Facto rs for Failure Inhibitors Figure 3: Descriptive framework or region within which their work is located (Avgerou and Walsham 2000). As the literature reviewed suggests, developing countries are still far behind in implementing e-Government and it is hoped that successful implementation of ICT projects will act as a strong foundation for eGovernment initiatives. 9. Conclusion To fulfil the development needs of ICT projects, those involved in the design, implementation and management of IT-related projects and systems in the developing countries must improve their capacity to address the specific contextual characteristics of the organisation, sector, country www. ejeg. com 182  ©Academic Conferences Ltd David Gichoya cooperation from development partners on ICT projects †¢ To produce guidelines that the governments can use to help define their needs and agendas with regard to government ICT implementation and use †¢ Provide a basis for assessing good practice for ICT implementation in government Contribute to the body of knowledge on ICT implementation According to Doherty et al (1998), the factors that influence the ultimate level of success or failure of informatics projects have received considerable attention in the academic literature. Doherty et al (1998, p. 3) summarised studies on success factors and current research objectives involvi ng empirical studies. Future papers will include the findings of cases studies done in 9 ministries of the Kenyan government. Therefore, this further research will identify and categorise the factors influencing ICT implementation according to their degree of influence in Kenya and suggest ossible actions. In this paper, the factors affecting ICT implementation have been categorised into factors for success and factors for failure. These have been further categorized as either drivers, enablers, barriers or inhibitors. The paper does not classify the factors in terms of their influence. However, vision and strategy and government support are considered important for success while lack of funds and poor infrastructure are considered as major factors for failure. As many arguments for ICT planning prove, ICT project implementation is a complex exercise and more research is needed to identify challenges, ood practice and solutions for successful implementation. This paper analyses and syntheses both all information gathered to develop a framework that hopefully can be used during ICT infrastructural planning and implementation in developing countries. The response framework discussed in this paper is expected to be used to: †¢ Provide a basis on which to analyze and specify international support and References Aineruhanga, M. , 2004. Focus on the ‘Kenya ICT Week’. Chakula Newsletter, (9),. Audenhove, L. V. , 2000. Information and communication technology policy in Africa: A critical analysis of rhetoric and practice. In: C. AVGEROU and G. WALSHAM, eds, Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing company, pp. 277-290. Avgerou, C. and Walsham, G. , 2000. Introduction: IT in developing countries. In: C. AVGEROU and G. WALSHAM, eds, Information technology in context: Studies from the perspective of developing countries. 1 edn. Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing company, pp. 1-7. Bannister, F. and Remenyi, D. , 2005. The Societal Value of ICT: First Steps Towards an Evaluation Framework. http://www. ejise. com/volume6-issue2/issue2-art21. htm edn. Reading, England: Academic Conferences Limited. Bannister, F. and Remenyi, D. , 2004. Value Perception in IT Investment Decisions http://www. ejise. com/volume2/volume2-issue2/issue2-art1. htm edn. Nr Reading, England: Academic Conferences Limited. Bannister, F. and Remenyi, D. , 2000. Acts of faith: instinct, value and IT investments. Journal of Information Technology, 15(3), pp. 18. Mar. 2004-pp. 231-241. Berleur, J. and Drumm, J. , 2003-last update, information technology transfer to developing countries [Homepage of ICT research and consulting], [Online]. Available: http://www. straub-odedra. de/Artikel/7Information%20Technology%20Transfer. pdf [06. 06, 2004]. Beynon-Davies, P. , 2002. Information systems : An introduction to informatics in organisations. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Bhatnagar, S. , 2003-last update, Enabling E-Government in Developing Countries: From vision to implementation. Available: http://www1. worldbank. org/publicsector/egov/lweek/Bhatnagar. pdf [24. 04, 2004]. Clockwork, 2004-last update, A framework of e-governance and ICT best practices [Homepage of International institute for communication and development], [Online]. Available: http://www. iicd. org/about (search with clockwork) [20. 04. 2004]. Currie, W. , 1995. Management strategy for IT : an international perspective. London: Pitman. Delone, W. H. and Mclean, E. R. , 2002-last update, Information Systems Success Revisited [Homepage of IEEE Computer Society], [Online]. Available: http://csdl. computer. org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2002/1435/08/14350238. pdf [08. 12. 2004]. Delone, W. H. and Mclean, E. R. , 1992. Information Systems Success: The quest for the dependent variable. Information systems research, 3(1), pp. 87-95. Doherty, N. F. , King, M. and Marples, C. G. , 1998. Factors Affecting the Success of Hospital Information Support Systems. Loughborough: Loughborough University Business School. Gakunu, P. , 2004-last update, E-Government Strategy for Kenya. Available: http://www. apc. org/apps/img_upload/6972616672696361646f63756d656e74/egov_Presentation_for_ICT_Conven†¦ [10. 5,2005]. Galliers, D. R. , Madon, S. and Rashid, R. , 1998. Information Systems and Culture: Applying the ‘stages of growth’ concepts to development administration. Information technology for Development, 8(2), pp. 89-100. www. ejeg. com 183 ISSN 1479-439X Electronic Journal of e-Government Volume 3 Issue 4 2005 (175-184) Harindranath, G. , 1993. Information Technology Policies and Applications in the Commonwealth Developing Countries: An introduction. In: G. Harindrabath and J. Liebenau, eds, Information technology policies and applications in the commonwealth developing countries. 1 edn. London: Commonwealth secretariat, pp. 1-5. Heeks, R. , 2004-last update, Building Transparency, Fighting Corruption with ICTs [Homepage of iconnect online], [Online]. Available: http://www. iconnect-online. org/base/ic_show_news? sc=118id=2363 [20. 04. 2004]. Heeks, R. , 2003a-last update, Building E-governance for Development: A framework for national and donor action [Homepage of Institute for development policy and management], [Online]. Available: http://idpm. man. ac. uk/publications/wp/igov/igov_wp12. df [18. 02. 2004]. Heeks, R. , 2003b-last update, Causes of E-Government Success and Failure [Homepage of IDPM, University of Manchester], [Online]. Available: http://www. e-devexchange. org/eGov/causefactor. htm [24. 08. 2004]. Heeks, R. , 2002. Information Systems and Developing countries: Failure, success, and local improvisations. http://www. fes. uwaterloo. ca/crs/ plan674d/isysanddcountries. pdf edn. Philadelphia: Taylor Francis. Heeks, R. and Davies, A. , 2000. Different Approaches to Information Age Reform. In: R. HEEKS, ed, Reinventing Government in the information age. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 2-48. Ifinedo, P. , 2005. Measuring Africa ‘s e-Readiness in the global networked economy: A nine-country data analysis http://ijedict. dec. uwi. edu/viewarticle. php? id=12=html edn. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology. Irani, Z. , 2002. Information systems evaluation: Navigating through the problem domain. http://www. sciencedirect. com/science? _ob=MImg=B6VD0-46BS994-27=5968=browse=10%2F31%2F2002=999599998=c=dGLbVlzzSkWW=C000010119=1=122878=14fc7e06636944bc46cfc4c4229e9358=f. df edn. online: Elsevier. Kaul, M. and ODEDRA, M. , 1991. Government initiatives in information technology application: A Commonwealth perspective. Report on the Information Technology Policy Wor kshop 12-16 November 1990. Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London, UK: Commonwealth Secretariat, pp. 33-47. Khaled, M. , 2003-last update, Information technology in government: an action plan for Bangladesh. Available: http://www. sictgov. org/IT%20Action%20Plan%20for%20BG. doc [25. 05. 2004]. Khalifa, G. , Irani, Z. , Baldwin, L. P. and Jones, S. , 2004. Evaluating Information Technology With You In Mind. ttp://www. ejise. com/volume-4/volume4-issue1/issue1-art5. htm#_ftn1 edn. Reading, England: Academic Conferences Limited. Knott, R. P. and Dawson, R. J. , 1999. Software project management. Loughborough: Group D Publications. Limo, A. , 2003-last update, Computer use bound to transform Kenya [Homepage of Nation Media Group], [Online]. Available: http://www. nationaudio. com/News/DailyNation/24122003/Comment/Comment241220031. html [10. 01. 2004]. Maciaszek, L. A. , 2001. Requirements analysis and system design : developing information systems with UML. Harlow: Addison-Wesley. Mgaya, R. J. , 1999. Adoption and diffusion of group support systems in Tanzania, Delft University of Technology. Moran, C. R. , 1998. Strategic information technology planning in higher education: A new roadmap to the 21st century academy. 1 edn. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc. Mugonyi, D. , 2003-last update, US queries new computer deal [Homepage of Nation Media Group], [Online]. Available: http://www. nationaudio. com/News/DailyNation/03092003/News/News81. html [24. 06. 2004]. Ndou, V. , 2004. E-Government for developing countries: Opportunities and challenges. http://www. is. cityu. du. hk/research/ejisdc/vol18/v18r1. pdf edn. City University of Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong, Erasmus University of Rotterdam and University of Nebraska at Omaha. Odedra, M. , 1993. IT policies in the commonwealth developing countries. In: G. HARINDRANATH and J. LIEBENAU, eds, Information technology policies and applications in the commonwealth countries. 1 edn. London: Commonwealth secret ariat, pp. 9-35. Qureshi, S. , 1998. Fostering civil associations in Africa through GOVERNET: an administrative reform network. Journal of Information Technology for Development, 8(2), pp. 1-136. Riley, T. B. , 2000. Electronic governance and electronic democracy : Living and working in the wired world. London: Commonwealth Secretariat. Saul, F. and Zulu, C. , 1994. Africa’s survival plan for meeting the challenges of Information technology in the 1990s and beyond. Libri, 44(1), pp. 77-94. Tapscott, D. , 1995. The digital Economy: Promise and peril in the Age of the Networked Intelligence. London: McGrawHill. Westrup, C. , 2002. What’s in information technology? Issues in deploying IS in organisations and developing countries. In: C. Avgerou and G. Walsham, eds, Information How to cite Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of Ict, Essay examples

The Home Depot-Leadership in Crisis Management free essay sample

The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management Introduction Established in 1979, The Home Depot has proved to be a leading retail company founded upon providing excellent products at competitive prices sold from knowledgeable sales representatives. Through this concept, The Home Depot has dominated both professional and do-it-yourself sales across the world. In 1992, The Home Depot was faced with a new challenge. Hurricane Andrew struck with vengeance and devastated 75,000 homes across Florida. Since 10% of The Home Depot’s stores were located in Florida, this quickly became a corporate emergency. The Home Depot stepped up to the challenge and stood behind their customers. Depot froze prices for supplies the community would need to rebuild or even sold products at costs in some cases. Then-CEO Bernie Marcus stated â€Å"This is not a time to make money on the back of other people’s misfortune† (Herman). This attitude proved prosperous for The Home Depot when profits increased 44%. With this eye opening experience, The Home Depot decided to take further actions to prepare their employees and customers for future hurricanes. Paul Raines was hired by The Home Depot and eventually was made the Divisional Leader for the Southern Region. His experience in the third world countries made him the perfect candidate to lead Depots crisis management project. When 2004 rolled around, Florida was viscously attacked with four storms in a seven week period. Through the devastation, The Home Depot utilized this period as a learning tool. The storms of 2004 developed three main â€Å"Crisis Management† concepts for The Home Depots: speed, preparedness, and chain of command. Speed was crucial for the community and The Home Depot strived to open as swiftly as possible after the storms ceased. The Home Depot stayed ahead of the storms by having a surplus of storm relief inventory, as well as workers close enough to be called upon when the major threats had passed. Finally, the employees of The Home Depot understood who was in charge and calling the shots. From these concepts a â€Å"Crisis Command Center† was born for category two hurricanes or worse. The Command Center consisted of conference rooms where representatives could meet and develop a plan of attack. With the click of a mouse they were able to determine what their customer’s main needs were. The main goal of the Command Center was to insure employee safety, re-open stores, and make sure computer systems were accurately working which included pay roll and cash registers. In 2005 the Command Center was put to the test when Hurricane Katrina attacked the Gulf Coast. The Home Depot began preparations well in advance and was ready to reopen stores as soon as possible after the storm had passed. Managers worked eighteen hours a day, which paid off when of the thirty-three stores in Katrina’s path all but ten opened the following day. With such an elaborate Command Center and well informed staff, The Home Depot was able to provide the communities with the supplies they needed to begin rebuilding their homes (Herman). In 2007, a new crisis was thrown at The Home Depot. This predicament was far more personal than any storm could ever be. Columnist Scott Burns verbally attacked The Home Depot in a published article on MSN. com. Customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness were all under attack by disgruntled customers. In a short period of time, there were over 7,000 posts and 10,000 emails of customer complaints. Corporate Officials were outraged over the online posts. This was a delicate situation that needed to be dealt with. Official’s feared making a public statement would draw media attention to the article which had not yet been a hot topic for the television. Then CEO Frank Blake, felt he had no choice but to respond on the MSN post board. He made a lengthy apology to all disgruntled bloggers. He pleaded for all concerns to be forwarded to a private email account. He vowed to improve upon these negative insights and hoped to once again regain their trust. As Blake assumed, the media went crazy and picked up the article. Blake decided to utilize the Crisis Management plan to handle their current reputational attack (Herman). At the current time, the main issues faced by the â€Å"Command Center† were natural disasters such as hurricanes. From the Crisis Management Command Center, The Home Depot had found the key to success when handling natural disasters: speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Utilizing these tools, The Home Depot had developed a great starting point for handling their Reputational Crisis. The Home Depots crisis management skills were analyzed in a SWOT analysis, which can be viewed in appendix A. In mainstream media, the public tends to remember the negative and forget the positive. Regardless of how many wonderful things The Home Depot had done for the community, the current reputational attack was going to be remembered the most. Blake’s swift response was both beneficial and harmful to The Home Depot in my opinion. I agree the Home Depot needed to respond quickly to the article; however, I feel they should have brought the media’s attention to the article through a press conference rather than by a post on a message board. If The Home Depot had made a verbal response, they could have put their own spin on the article. Blake’s apology was a good tactic which could have been carried over to a verbal response. Reputational attacks are bound to happen to major companies and The Home Depot needs to learn from this and be prepared to respond through positive publicity. Ways to accomplish this would be through donations, charity events, sales, or other generous acts which would benefit the community. These acts could help cover reputational attacks. The Home Depot also needs be prepared with the proper chain of command to respond to situations like these (Herman). Analysis: Decision Making Biases The Home Depots reputation crisis presented several decision making biases which involved crisis management situations where decisions had to be made under uncertainty. These biases included overconfidence, inertia, selective perception, representation, and self-serving biases. The overconfidence bias was based on the illusion that a company was superior to its competition, allowing the company to focus on successes and forget the situations where failures occurred. The Home Depot most likely assumed they were one step ahead of the competition. This assumption led them to believe their customers also felt The Home Depot was a superior company. Unfortunately, this was not the case and was revealed through the MSN article. The inertia bias was based upon the term procrastination which demonstrates when a projects immediate effect is unpleasant; a company will delay the project even if the long term reward outweighs the immediate negative effect. Essentially, this was a probable cause why The Home Depot postponed improving upon customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness before it was attacked by the media. The Home Depot also likely encountered the selective perception bias. This bias focuses on instances where a company was influenced by its own base of interpretation more than the environment around them. In simplistic terms, The Home Depot had tunnel vision and was not focusing on the needs of their customers. The representation bias also applies to crisis management when companies ignore the laws of random occurrences and evaluate the likelihood of an event (social disaster such as the reputation attack on The Home Depot) based on how closely they resemble some other event (natural disaster for instance). Lastly, but not least, the self-serving bias focuses on situations where a company takes recognition for successes but blame external factors for failures. The Home Depot could have easily gone down this path with its reputation crisis, but it stood up to its own mistakes and faced the issue head on (Lehrer). Analysis: Crisis Leadership Now As discussed in the introduction, The Home Depot’s Disaster Management plan was based on three concepts which included speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Throughout the years, The Home Depot proved their Disaster Management plan worked for various tragedies encountered by the company. Their methods have fallen right in line with approaches mentioned in the book, Crisis Leadership Now. Within this book, it states â€Å"If businesses are ready to survive and recover, the nation our economy are more secure† (Barton). The Home Depot was prepared and wasn’t afraid to get involved. The Home Depot’s Disaster Management plan also went along with the material within the Crisis Leadership Now, by showing The Home Depot practiced the idea that a company can best shield itself not just by assuming it’s protected, but by investigating deeper into potential problems and exposures. Along with that, The Home Depot was also promoting family and individual preparedness for disasters. Home Depot’s latest crisis involving the company’s reputation dealt with managing a crisis and handling key stakeholders. With such a public outcry for improvement, a quick response was needed to keep control of the situation. Crisis Leadership Now explains an â€Å"8 hour window† concept where â€Å"If you can capture what has happened, who is impacted, and how you intend to communicate your response with a clear plan of action within 8 hours, you have the foundation for an excellent recovery plan† (Barton). I believe The Home Depot followed this concept in formalizing a response on the MSN. com message board. The question which arises however is whether or not they should have carried the company’s response over to a verbal reply that would have appealed to more dissatisfied customers. Analysis: Managing the Unexpected The Home Depot’s Disaster Management Plan also follows several principles for HRO’s (high reliability organizations) that were laid out in the book â€Å"Managing the Unexpected†. There are a total of 5 principles which include: 1. Preoccupation with Failure – Do not focus primarily on business successes. 2. Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations – See as much as possible and welcome diversity. 3. Sensitivity to Operations – Be more attentive to the front line and be less focused on strategy. 4. Commitment to Resilience –Have the ability to bounce back after mistakes and learn from them. 5. Deference to Expertise – Do not focus expertise decisions on a hierarchical system where the top level makes all decisions. Place authority with person(s) with most expertise wherever they are located in the hierarchy. Weick) It is in my opinion that The Home Depot closely followed all five of the principles above. The two that stand out the most to me are the company’s â€Å"Commitment to Resilience† and â€Å"Deference to Expertise†. The Home Depot’s commitment to resilience can easily be seen over the years where the company produced a quick turn around after major natural disasters, as well as their response after the company’s latest reputational crisis Also, the company’s deference to expertise can be seen as top executives gave more power to the individual store managers. The executives realized that the specific store managers had more expertise for the individual store location than executives did. The fact that The Home Depot closely follows all five of the principles stated above shows that the company is a highly reliable organization (Weick). Conclusion The Home Depot has become an industry leader in Crisis Management. They continue to learn from their mistakes as well as from experience. The Home Depot should keep in mind there is always room for improvement. The key is not only to have plans set in place for natural disasters, but also for disasters such as reputational attacks. The Home Depot should continue to prepare for all sorts of tragedies. This will only insure their longevity in the field, as well as reassure customers of their core values. The Home Depot should rejoice in their successes and embrace their faults when trying to improve. Negative publicity will always be a concern for such a large company, but with a secure plan of attack, The Home Depot will continue to lead the way for home improvement.

Six ways of being religious

How To Prepare The Students To Travel To Foreign Country

How To Prepare The Students To Travel To Foreign Country While preparing the students to trip, the teacher must think over the steps to be made to convince the students of the advantages of travelling. Thus, the first and most important issue is related to the experience which students can get while communicating with native speakers.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on How To Prepare The Students To Travel To Foreign Country? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In my opinion, the most important advantage for students is an opportunity to improve communication skills as well as to obtain some knowledge concerning culture peculiarities of other country. The teacher may point out that students who have an opportunity to visit foreign countries can get not only emotional experience, but also mental and social one. Social experience is related to customs and traditions which a person can become familiar with. Mental experience, in its turn, concerns with numerous cognitive processes which impact on intellect development. One more issue I would like to touch on concerns with the so-called subjective experience, which means the perception of other reality. Thus, the teacher is to explain his/her students that subjective experience appears when students interact with foreign environment. One should keep in mind that understanding other reality is also to be taken into consideration. Thus, the teacher is to explain the students that foreign reality means world views or beliefs which differ from the reality of their own nation. Another point I would like to draw your attention to is related to the notion of concept. Thus, the teacher is to explain that most concepts which students must take into account are related to the linguistic origin. For instance, it is a well-known fact that learning foreign languages is not an easy task, and in most cases the native speakers of English will not understand those who speak Russian. Thus, the main problem is not onl y the lack of practice, but some aspects which touch upon various countries mentality. So, the thing which is considered to be of primary importance is the teacher’s concentrating on the advantages which students are able to receive. The idea to show the students some documentary films seems to be rather attractive too. For instance, watching a film is considered to be a necessary step to provide students with some general/basic knowledge about the country they want/can visit. On the other hand, they can become familiar with the realities (traditions, customs) of other country. Some economic issues are also to be taken into account. Thus, the teacher must touch on certain contradictions concerning economic questions. Next step which the teacher is to draw his/her attention to concerns with educational quality improvement. Of course, nobody will deny the fact that direct communication with native speakers as well as feeling the atmosphere of foreign life can not be replaced by foreign literature reading/studying.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In other words, the theory is considered to be a good thing, but practice is more important. Finally, there is a great opportunity to enlarge students’ knowledge about the history and geography of the country they are going to visit. Thus, the students are able to become familiar not only with the social history, but also with cultural and economic history. In some cases, military history as well as environmental one is also to be taken into account. The disadvantages are also to be touched on. Thus, the teacher is to describe some unpleasant situations which may occur while travelling.

Employee Health Plan 2010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employee Health Plan 2010 - Essay Example The Employee Health Department would schedule check-ups and administration of annual PPDs, (kindly spell out) vaccinations such as Hepatitis B, MMR, Varicella and Influenza through regular correspondences and memoranda. This 2010, the Kennedy Health System is considering administering Pertussis Vaccine to those with risk of exposure. Further, a wellness program would be launched this year with the objective of maintaining good health and improving one’s lifestyle through awareness of health risks and practice of well balanced nutritional diet and enough physical exercise. The 2010 Kennedy Health System Employee Health programs focuses on associate vaccination programs assisting in following up on body substance exposures, injuries, and communicable diseases and maintaining employee health records as required by NJDOHSS, OSHA, AOA, and the Joint Commission. In addition, pursuant to the requirements of OSHA and the Joint Commission of Accredited Hospitals Organization, standards on the Safe Patient Handling Act would be highlighted and required orientation and training, as required, would be administered. The wellness programs (weight and stress management, smoking cessation, cardiovascular health management) would be launched on a self-directed approach making it free, voluntary and addresses unique issues tailored to each employee’s needs. The EHP focuses of measuring its effectiveness through performance evaluation reports and regular assessments specifically in areas of high risk exposures such as Sharps/Fluid Exposure; Communicable Diseases; Influenza Vaccinations; Hepatitis Vaccinations, MMR Vaccines, Varicella Vaccines, among others. With the upcoming implementation of the administration for Pertussis Vaccine to those with risk for exposure, appropriate standards and rules of administration would be outlined for dissemination and appropriate guidelines. Benefits for the EHP are available to all new and

Joe chaney case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Joe chaney case - Assignment Example Likewise, it is possible for the manager to give employees some incentives for their hard work. By giving simple praise and monetary rewards, Joe can be motivated to improve his work performance and make Joe feel more satisfied with his work. Upon using the Performance Diagnostic Model, the cause of Joe’s performance problem includes: expectations and incentives problem. Joe is not motivated at work because he feels that he is being neglected by the architects because he do not have a degree in architecture and that he is only a draftsman in the company. In line with this, he stated that â€Å"no one around here respects my opinion† (Whetten and Cameron, p. 363). This is a clear sign that there is miscommunication between the manager, architects, and Joe. The lack of work incentives is also another problem that made Joe become less motivated. In line with this, Joe is not happy because his wife has to work in order to support the financial needs of his family (Whetten and Cameron, p. 363). Even though Joe is spending extra time and effort at work, he does not receive any additional monetary benefits to support the needs of his family. This makes Joe’s intrinsic outcome decline. To reshape Joe’s behavior, it is important for the manager reprimand the situation by knowing the main cause of Joe’s declining work performance. By knowing the main cause of his problem, the manager can easily develop strategies that could effectively address the main problem. To redirect Joe’s negative thoughts about being neglected or feeling less important at work, the manager should confront Joe about his declining work performance. During the discussion, the manager can express his support to Joe’s situation by giving praises for his previous outstanding work performance. This strategy will increase Joe’s feeling of being important and

The NHS Improvement Plan 2004 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The NHS Improvement Plan 2004 - Essay Example imaging tests who do not have an appointment within 20 weeks will be offered the choice of having their scan at another provider within a maximum of 20 weeks. This brings new challenges to the NHS, for it covers all diagnostic imaging tests apart from CT and MRI, and other clinical specialities like echocardiography, ultrasound scanning performed in urology/urodynamics and GI physiology, and vascular scanning performed in vascular technology departments. This obviously brings the independent providers into the scene. It is true that whenever choice is introduced, local services tend to improve. Firstly, the threat of competition leads local services to improve their standards. Second, choice leads to the creation of new provision which benefits local people. This will certainly ring true for the imaging services as well. People are to have control over issues like when and where to get a screening done and thereby ensure the quality and convenience that they want. But the local independent sector providers are more or less new to the market. As such, strong management and co-ordination of services by clinicians, radiographers and managers is imperative for ensuring the safety of the patients. Moreover, there are various concerns about the quality of service provided by the independent sector. In June 2004, Alliance Medical Ltd. won a contract to supply the NHS with 130000 MRI Scans per annum for five years. The contract was widely criticised by healthcare unions, including the Society of Radiographers (SoR) which said that the government should have consulted radiographers and those who knew the service best. Patients given MRI scans by Alliance Medical Ltd... The researcher of this essay aims to critically evaluate the statement "By 2008, the Independent Sector will provide up to 15% of procedures on behalf of the NHS" and indicate what effect this will have on NHS Services provided by Imaging Departments of the United Kingdom. The researcher states that NHS Improvement Plan, 2004, predicts a promising healthcare scenario with the policy makers making it clear that the independent sector will play a key role in delivering NHS care, providing upto 15 percent of procedures on behalf of NHS in order to support capacity and choice. This will certainly provide better opportunities for patients as they will have an increased number of choices. The researcher mentiones that there are various concerns about the quality of service provided by the independent sector today. Thus, an increase in the number of choices will have major implications for imaging services as this has reduced waiting times to a great extent. It is describes that this will c ertainly ring true for the imaging services as well. But problems continue to surface, as the services are not integrated into NHS Departments of Radiology to an extent, which the situation demands. In conclusion, the researcher sums up that an ideal approach, in this case, would be enabling flexibility of staffing, and making the best use of teleradiology with images acquired being transmitted to an available radiologist and at the same time maintaining skills and quality assurance of machines and staff.

Babri Masjid Demolition Case And Formation Of Hindu Community History Essay

Babri Masjid Demolition Case And Formation Of Hindu Community History Essay Introduction The Babri- Masjid dispute in Ayodhya as been the cause of violence between the Hindus and the Muslims for many decades each faith claiming the ownership of the disputed holy site. Ayodha is a pilgrimage is a pilgrimage site that is used both by Muslims and Hindus and two faiths attend the annual Ram festivals which are attended by more than 500000 people. Both faiths belief that the well water found in the site has miraculous curative properties. Hindus claim that the site where the mosque stood was similar spot where the temple build in 12th century in honor of the Lord Rama had stood and got destroyed during the reign of Babur. The two faiths have been clashing constantly especially with the Hindus trying hard to erect a temple for worship in the same site while the Muslims resisting and refusing to allow such ideas. Violence has erupted severally calling for the intervention of the civil administration which refused the place to be used as a place of worship and that no one builds a temple there until the dispute is resolved. Getting a viable solution the dispute had taken decades characterized with massive bloodshed and l loss of lives and still remains a contentious issue in Ayodhya region and the entire Indian/muslim society. History of the Babri-Masjid dispute in Ayodhya The Babri Mosque was in 1528 by Babars general Mir Baqi following the orders that were given by Babur after the destruction of the Ram Mandir. The first recorded violent incident regarding the issues took place in 1853 at the time when Nawab Wajid reigned. The clash emanated from the claims by the Hindu sect Nirmohis that the mosques stood where the destroyed ancient temple stood. To curb the spiraling violence the British administration in 1859 was forced to erect a fence in the site to separate the places of worship allowing the Muslims to use the inner court and the Hindus to use the outer court (Jaffrelot, 1996). In 1949 there was a controversial incident where idols of Lord Rama appeared inside the mosque and it was alleged to have been placed by Hindus and that incident led to a massive protests by the Muslims and resulted to both parties filing law suits against each other and to curb the situation the government proclaimed the premises as a disputed area and all the gates to the site were locked. In 1984, Vishwa Hindu Parishad party spearheaded the formation of a committee that was intended to liberate the disputes holy site and to carry out the building of a temple in the site and the leader of the Janata party Lal Krishna later took over in leading the campaign. Formation of the committees prompted the order by the district judge to open the gates of the Babri mosque to allow the Hindus to worship in the site and this again sparked protests by those of muslim faith resulting to the formation of the Babri Mosque Action Committee which was responsible for ensuring that no temple was build near the mosque. 1n 1989 the campaigns by the VHP party to construct a Ram Mandir in the site were stepped up and led to the laying down of its foundations on the land that was adjacent to the mosque. 1990 saw the VHP activists destroy part of the mosques and the Prime Minister Chandra put some efforts to resolve the issue in vain. The VHP supporters demolished the mosque in 1992 and stirred up nationwide riots between the two faiths Hindus and Muslim resulting to death of more than 2,000 people and in response to the disaster the government set up a justice MS Liberhan commission which was to inquire in to the conspiracy that led to the destruction of the mosque. Since then there have been several attempts to resolve the dispute but an amicable solution have been reached and more deaths and riots have been experienced in 2002 when 58 people were killed on an attack on the train in Gordha which was ferrying Hindu activists returning from Ayodhya. The train attack sparked more protest in Gujarat which lead to death of 1000-2000 people which were mostly Muslims and the high court started hearings on the ownership of the site same year. Following a court order archaeologists begun a survey in the religious site to determine whether Lord Rama really existed on the disputed site and the team attested to have found evidence of a temple beneath the mosque and the finding were disputed by the Muslims. By 2004 Advani and the BJP still had unwavering commitment that the building of the temple in Ayodhya was inevitable and in 2005 the government extends the term of Liberhan Ayodhya commission and in 2007 fifteen persons that included a lawyer were sentenced to life sentence by a local court on accusations that they burned nine persons alive during the communal riots in Kanpur after the demolition of Babri Masjid in December 1992. Seventeen years after it was setup and with 48 extensions, the Liberhan commission submitted its report to the prime minister Singh and that saw the high court pronounce its final judgment which was a split verdict suggesting division of the disputed land into three equal portions between the Ram temple, Nirmohi Akahara (plaintiff) and finally the Sunni Wakf board (Irani, 2004). Formation of Hindu community. As the comment every history is the history of the present goes, the Hindu community have been formed and reshaped for centuries by the progressive events that would lead to the demolition of the Babri-Masjid mosque by in December 1992 in Ayodhya. The community has had occurrences that have taken place on a progressive chain that when linked form the history of the formation of the Hindu community. The Babri-Masjid case has taken more than eighteen years to with nearly fifty trans-governmental extensions, more bloodshed and loss of lives in riots and intentional attacks directed towards the disputing factions. The case was opened in 1992 and closed in 2010 having faced a lot of challenges in trying to deliver a fair judgment to the contesting parties the muslim and Hindu believers who both claim to own the Ayodhya religious site (Yadav, 2008). The case manifests an act that done by Hindus as a manifestation of violence that is fought psychologically and is directed towards their oppressors mainly the Muslim community who are alleged to be gradually converting Hindu places of worship into mosques. The Hindu community is believed to be fighting a psychological war that involves a collective or folk memory of the people and the institutional memory of its oppressors. This struggle for liberation by the Hindu community is just a record of resistance that the people have been fighting since the destruction of their temple build for Rama in Ayodhya back in 15th century by the Muslim leaders of the time. Such re-currying riots and resistance have contributed to the formation of present Hindu society. For instance the existence of the various factions of Hinduism like the Buddhism and are as a result of defection by members of the Hindu mainstream due to pressures related to the continued fight to reclaim their grabbed religious s ites like the Babri Masjid. The collective memory in such community formation have been eternalized by intergenerational passage of ancestral events through literature, art, folk traditions and culture and in the current generation such memory is fostered by the wring down of biographies which evokes the continued struggle for liberation by the community. Celebration of birth and death anniversaries of their past leaders is also used by the community to keep the memory alive. The memory unleashed to their leaders inspires the current generation to do something to avenge the atrocity. For example a sportsperson and a crusader against racial injustice once commented that they are haunted by the misdeeds that their ancestor faced in the hands of their oppressors and that are why when they bowl lethally and bet explosively as if they are taking revenge. This means that the daily activities carried out by the current Hindu community is influenced by the past events and which makes current events the future history. Several religions like the Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and the influx of Christianity and Islamic faiths as well as their easy acceptability by some Hindu community is a revelation of de-fragmentation of the community into new formations as result of the continued struggle with the caste system in the society. The minority groups have continuously resisted to the discrimination by the majority dogma and this has resulted to defection from the community and the n joining forces with the group that consider their pledges like promotion of equality. The act of splitting of the community leads to adoption of varying beliefs and practices which have greatly contributed formation of a diversified Hindu community. The Babri-Masjid Demolition Case has led to more misunderstandings between the Hindu community as people are divided between supporting their religion by fighting for the building of the temple in Ayodhya and advocating for peace and harmony between the Hindus and the Muslim community. The daily controversy has led to formation of a more divided Hindu community which affects the future history of the community in a similar way the past events and struggles for liberation led to the current history of the past Hindu community.

Inherit The Wind Essay -- essays research papers

In Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s tense drama, â€Å"Inherit the Wind†, three strong characters express powerful opinions: Bertrum Cates , Henry Drummond, and Mathew Harrison Brady. First, Bert Cates, the defendant, is charged with teaching â€Å"Darwinism† to his sophomore class . Second, Henry Drummond, the defense attorney for Cates, displays his beliefs of the right to think. third, Mathew Harrison Brady, the â€Å"big-shot† prosecuting attorney, illustrates his bigotry of creationism. To conclude, these three essential characters are fighting for their personal beliefs. Primarily, Bert Cates, a 10th grade teacher, struggles to obtain his right to have an open-mind, and encourages others to do so. The defendant, simply tries to teach a lesson in his Hunter’s Civic Biology, but while doing so is hastily over charged by the bigots of Hillsboro, Tennessee. As he explains himself to a fellow school teacher: â€Å"I did it because...I had the book in my hand...and read to my sophomore science class chapter 17, Darwin’s Origin of Species...All it says is that man wasn’t stuck here like a geranium in a flower pot; that living things come from a long miracle, it didn’t just happen in seven days†. It seems odd, or even bizarre that this premise is so hard to accept in Hillsboro. All in all, Cates is merely opening another aspect to the beginning of time. Another powerful opinion yearning to be exposed, is the one held by Henry Drummond, the defense’s attorney. The lawyer undoubtedly came to d...