Saturday, August 31, 2019

Bounded Rationality in Education

I am inspired most by the cognitive bias and the risk control of the decision- making while learning this course. Having been engaged in the financial industry for years, I am deeply aware of the fact that most individual investors tend to perform those bounded rationalities for characteristics of decision-making while making investment, but I can’t find out the reason for their existence.After learning this course, however, I feel suddenly enlightened. The phenomenon that has bothered me so long is caused under the influence of the cognitive bias and emotion which will affect the risk assessment and judgment made to the investment object. In western countries, most families make investment mainly in dominant financial assets including stock, bond, real estate and insurance and have strong awareness of the risk averse in above fields.Meanwhile, there’re many organizations and books about the decision-making that are referred to by the individual investor. In Chinese fam ilies, in addition to the above investment of the financial assets, the investment of the family education, as a special form which involves all Chinese people, takes a large proportion. This is because a long-term funding is made by parents ever since their kids are born as a result of the non-free education in China. Never let children lose at the starting line† and â€Å"education is the largest investment† are two popular education ideas in our country, which comprehensively inflect the current situation of Chinese families’ investment to the children education. As parents put the entire earning into their kids, a good return is surely expected. But since income is companied with risk, Chinese education investment, therefore, belongs to the risk investment and, meanwhile, has the specific characteristic that is not covered in western theory.The invest object in this essay is mainly about the education domain in China, I think it’s also necessary to app ly the theory of this course to avoiding the influence of the cognitive bias as well as the mental trap and the irrationality in the education investment. By introducing the behavioral motive of the education investors, I intend to master its pattern and make judgment of the irrational behavior, which, I believe, will help protect the interest of the family investor. FindingThe misunderstanding of the family education investment in China is generated mainly because investors, i. e. parents, make blind investment without thinking about their economic conditions, the investment risk as well as the personalized growth of their children. In traditional Chinese culture, parents’ education investment to their children is unconditional and selfless, which lead to a lack of scientific and rational planning as well as decision in the education investment in many families and, meanwhile, cause some misunderstandings.The â€Å"following blindly† phenomenon of purely pursuing high and abroad education is becoming more and more violent. Considering the cognitive bias of investors, the education investment with high expectation and input, instead of bringing expected return to the family members, leads to extra economic burden and, at the same time, might influence the development of the educatees’ career in the future.As attention has been paid to the generation of the misunderstanding of the education investment behavior, many scholars make analysis in terms of the government policies, the social environment, the high education and other macro level. Through learning the course, I, on the other hand, would like to say that the education investment is mainly from the cognitive bias while investors make their decision. The cognitive bias includes all kinds of decision-making bias caused by the restraint of investors’ cognitive psychology and external environment.The cognitive bias of the decision-making of the family education investment is gener ated under the influence of the external environment and socio-cultural background with the asymmetric information as well as the cognitive level and personal preference of investors, which causes the lean on Heuristic. Bazerman argued that the misapplication of heuristics to inappropriate situations leads people astray. It’s difficult to calculate the specific input and output of the family education investment in a quantitative way, resulting in the ambiguity of the assessment of the effect of the education investment.As there’re a large number of variables of the non-monetary cost-benefit in the education investment, our estimation has to be adopted to judge the cognitive part SYSTEM 1. Analysis Despite the difference in the investment object between the education and the traditional investment, the behavior of the education investment of a family which is as a micro investor, is subject to the risk of the expected return of the investment, the risk as well as the i nfluence of other corresponding factors, which has common character with the investment behavior in the decision-making.The science of behavior and decision-making, as a course between the marginality of the psychology and the economics, tries to involve the behavior of the irrational complex investors into the standard theory of the decision-making by making amendment to the assumption of the traditional management theory according to the research findings in the psychology. In our study, we find the decision-making theory laying more emphasis on people’s â€Å"bounded rationality†.It explains the investor behavior and makes it more close to reality based on the theories of the cognitive psychology and the behavioral science as well as related principles of the economics. Under the condition of uncertainty, some cognitive factors will influence people to make their decision. The most common way is to make decision by adopting â€Å"the elicitation method† by in vestors. It’s not easy to make a rational investment while facing the risk mainly because it can’t avoid the heuristic bias in the decision of the family education investment.The effect of the demonstration by example of the education investment income and the representativeness heuristic. Family investors usually care too much about the prominent, specific and typical information while neglecting the abstract and complex data. Therefore, parents often take typical cases learned through media as the foundation and reference for the decision-making, which might be influenced by the â€Å"representativeness heuristic bias†.For example, some families help their children study abroad considering the successful cases they know, though overseas study might not fit them at all. It is believed that people can find familiar modes to make judgment by assuming that the circumstance in the future is similar to that in the past without thinking about the reason of how those modes happen or the repeat probability of those modes. Decisions and judgments made under the condition of uncertainty are not accurately calculated and analyzed by using the probability theory in the assumption of the â€Å"Rational Man†.It is firmly convinced by investors with â€Å"representativeness bias† in the stock market that a â€Å"good company† can surely produce â€Å"good stock†, similarly some parents will believe that a â€Å"good school† can foster â€Å"good students†, which typically embodies the representativeness bias. The limitation of searching information by investors and the availability heuristic. Regarding the availability heuristic, some people think that it is generated due to the overwhelming memory and search bias, that is to say, not all information will be searched unbiasedly while related information is searched in memory.Decision makers of families tend to use information that is easy to access, so the limit ation in searching information is inevitable since people can’t have a comprehensive knowledge about the professional quality of education providers, the demand for the education products in future market as well as the state of educatee’s endeavor and intelligence. We can say that the characteristics of the information insufficiency and asymmetry really stand out.Besides, there’s a distinct asymmetry in the cost and benefit of the education investment caused by the hysteretic nature of the decision-making effectiveness of the education investment. The decision-making of the education investment, built based on the future expectation, is a subjective expected value by people. Information that is searched from memory in the first place will become the major foundation for people to make judgment and decision as this information has advantage in the stimulus frequency, novelty and vitality.For example, high education means high income. Studying at college is, on a whole, positively correlated to the income obtained by children in the future. Parents tend to compare their children with the group of the same age in the education level, usually with those accessible ones such as relatives, colleagues or those reported in news media. Compared with the complicated and boring calculation and prediction as well as the omnibearing information search that waste time and energy, people would rather picking common reference object as the decision foundation.Though it can simplify the process of decision-making and reduce its difficulty, the availability information has strong one-sidedness and bias can be seen in the behavior that the decision-makers pick the information itself. We can see from the above that the â€Å"availability bias† is a key factor not to be neglected in the misunderstanding of the family education investment. The competitive psychology and anchoring effect of the education investment.We often develop estimates by starting with an initial anchor that is based on whatever information is provided and adjust from the anchor to yield a final answer (Epley, 2004; Epley & Gilovich, 2001). Mussweiler and Strack (1999) showed that the existence of an anchor leads people to think of information that is consistent with that anchor. The competition in the education investment shows parents’ expectation for their children while the competitive psychology can influence decision-makers’ normal investment behavior owing to the negative effect caused by the anchoring effect.Decision-makers, for lack of the quantitative analysis, usually refer to the obscure reference foundation obtained from former experience and make comparison as well as judgment of the input and income from one or several points of view, which will become the key point in the decision-making of the education investment. The competitive psychology is necessary for the achievement of higher value in one’s life.Many families, how ever, ignoring the specific circumstance of educatees, take the education investment as an unrealistic comparison caused by the anchoring effect which influences the investors to rationally adjust the â€Å"anchored† object. The family decision-makers will decide the investment direction and level according to the â€Å"anchored† assessment result by choosing external reference objects which distract their normal decision-making. Therefore, an irrational conclusion is generated. The bias produced by the education investment object can direct influence the decision of the investee.That is to say, the cognitive bias of the decision of obtaining employment appears among graduates, which consequently lead to the output of the education investment that is less than the expected return. Firstly, We can see the bounded rationality of the graduate employment from their overconfidence. The overconfidence might be the most stable psychological feature of human being since it is indicated in many evidences that people tend to be overconfident for the estimation of the occurrence probability of uncertain events while making decision.Thus bolstered by the availability of supportive evidence, we overestimated the accuracy of our knowledge and the truth of our tentative hypotheses (Koriat, Lichtenstein, & Fischhoff,1980) This feature, however, can lead to an overestimation of their knowledge and ability, an underestimation of the existing risk as well as the exaggeration of their control ability of events and, what’s worse, the decision bias. Besides, the â€Å"Sheep-Flock Effect† that are based on information, reputation and reward can be found among graduates as a result of the herd mentality, which might influence graduates’ decision-making of obtaining employment as well.Second is the self-control bias. The so-called self-control means the control of emotion. Without the self-control, no rational decision can be made and, meanwhile, ind ividuals tend to attribute success to themselves while failure to others or objective conditions. In obtaining employment, the failure is usually attributed to non-self factors such as the recruitment policy of enterprises or the stronger backstage of others instead of to students themselves or to the fact of whether they fit such enterprise culture and work environment.With such bias, students, even though be hired by certain enterprise, will finally be eliminated due to their weak adaptation. Solutions Owing to the feature of the family education investment, the investor is not exactly the beneficiary. The beneficiary of parents’ education investment is their children while its decision-makers are parents, so the quality and cognitive level of parents have an important influence to the investment behavior. With the strategies of our literature (Bazerman, Chapter 11), I supposed to provide three of them to solve our problem and increase the effectiveness of investor’s decision-making processes.In our case, parents should firstly DEBIAS JUDGEMENT to unfreeze their basic knowledge and psychology about the education investment and, by making analysis of typical cases, be guided to know the source and harm of various blind education investment as well as to think about the decision process and behavioral characteristic of themselves so as to avoid the herd mentality. The second solution should be provide to those administration department of the public.They should strengthen the informatization construction, lay stress on the policy advocacy and the public opinion’s influence to the family education investment as well as construct the â€Å"rational† environment of the education investment. Provided investors have enough accurate information, it will help avoid the generation of the bias and reduce the frequency of bias behavior. Meanwhile, the public opinion department should increase the information channels as well as the number of information issued and its promptness and accuracy so that media can correct the bias of investors’ behavior.Finally, Using expertise or taking a outsider’s view can be a good choice for our investors. The planning and consulting industry of personal career and special agency of the family financial management should be rapidly developed to make up the lack of the cognition of investors. Owing to the long period length and the irreversibility of the education investment, family decision-makers have no chance to learn and improve their behavior one more time. In that case, a special agency should be adopted to guide decision-makers to be more rational by making analysis of their psychology.As the decision-making of the family education investment is traditionally seen as a family issue that can only be decided by family members, a special agency is needed to make planning and guidance of the behavior with strong sense of subjectivity and irrationality. In some developed countries, the career planning companies as well as the assessment and testing agencies for the personality development of students are set up to make up the limitation of decision-makers’ cognition about the educated.There are a large number of institutional investors in the financial field which grasp detailed and accurate information as well as solid professional theoretical knowledge since they are professional investment organizations operated by technical investment staff with rich experience, so they usually can secure their ends in the market by their advantages compared to those medium and small investors. The latter has more â€Å"irrational† factors than institutional investors.Every individual decision of the family education investment is like the â€Å"private investor† in the stock market while enquiry agencies equipped with professionals and technical evaluation software are like the â€Å"institutional investor† which can make put forwar d the advice of the rational education investment as well as the prediction of the future return on the basis of fully respecting the individualization growth of students through the scientific analysis made by professionals and the systematic evaluation with the help of professional software, in which way the misunderstanding of the behavior can be effectively avoided.Conclusion In this essay, we have introduced the investment of the education in China, as a special investing form which involves all Chinese people, belongs to the risk investment and, meanwhile, has the specific characteristic that is not covered in western culture. Since it’s difficult to calculate the specific input and output of the family education investment in a quantitative way, I depicted five typical cognitive biases to evaluate the misunderstanding in our investment. The first three biases the representativeness heuristic, availability heuristic and anchoring belong to the investor.But the bias abov e produced by the education investors can direct influence the decision of the investee. The overconfidence and self-control bias become the main biases of the students when they graduated from school. With such biases, the utilities of the output always take disappointment. Owing to the biases, I also provide some strategies of our literature to solve our investing problem and increase the effectiveness of investor’s decision-making processes. By using expertise or taking a outsider’s view and debias judgment, investors are able to unfreeze their mindset and provide their children a better decision in education.References: [1] Max H. Bazerman & Don A. Moore, 2009, Judgment In Managerial Decision Making, 7th Edition. [2] Tim Dalgleish & Mick J. Power, 2000, Handbook of Cognition and Emotion, WILEY [3] Tversky A, Kahneman D. , 1974, Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science. [4] Tversky A, Kahneman D. , 1972, Subjective probability: A judgment of repres entativeness. Cognitive psychology. [5] Shleifer, A. , 2000, Inefficient Markets: An Introduction to Behavioral Finance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Book Report

The book under analysis is the work by Frey James My Friend Leonard. This choice was spurred by controversial reaction it provoked among the public and literary critics. This novel is, actually, a sequel to the book A Million Little Pieces published a year before. The genre of My Friend Leonard may be defined as a memoir though, as the author himself admits, it contains a certain degree of fictional elements. Frey James is an extraordinary figure in modern American literature. His own biography of a person who experienced problems with alcoholism, drug addiction, and even being a convicted criminal provides Frey with the manifold material which he successfully employed in the memoir. The main character of the memoir is obviously author’s namesake James who serves time in a prison. After jail release James returns to Lilly, his girlfriend, to Chicago but the life outside the prison is far from harmony. James finds his girlfriend dead after committing a suicide overnight. Being struck by this dreadful discovery the main character still does not go to seeds; he decides to stay in Chicago and takes up job of a bouncer in Chicago pubs. However feeling of rage and the weight of reality makes James be scared of relapse thus he appeals to his old friend Leonard. Since their meeting the story assumes its main plotline – the relations between two men, the relations which border upon the friendship and father-son bonds. Leonard is an Italian mobster who offered James to be his â€Å"stepfather† when they both where in rehabilitation: â€Å"I would like you to be my son.† Leonard gladly relieves his friend and â€Å"son† and helps him to get him on his feet. As the time lapses the scene of action together with the main character transfers from Chicago to Los Angeles. James changes his activity. Now he is a writer. He still maintains close relationship with Leonardo, who remains his faithful friend and tutelary father. The relations that develop between them are presented from deeply psychological side. The author aims to show the deep feeling of people who far from ideal figures still are human and exhibit the best example of the relations called friendship. The depiction of feelings expressed to animals is as masterfully executed as the feelings among humans. Thus while reading the passage where James takes his dog to the hospital to put it to sleep and the farewell scene makes the reader feel the same emotions. â€Å"The vet inserts the needle, depresses the plunger. Cassius yelps like a little puppy, my big tough pitbull feels the sting, I hold him as his blood courses through his veins I hold him as he stumbles, as he falls, I hold him as he dies. I look into his eyes and I tell him I love him and I’ll miss him and I’m so so so sorry. He dies in my arms and I hold him and I cry, I cry, I cry.† Returning to the main character and his friend Leonard we witness how their relations arise to its peak point and suddenly Leonardo vanishes. After insistent search James finally finds Leonard and learns that Leonard is gay, suffers from AIDS, and lives his last days. James remains with him and spends these few days near Leonard. Speaking about the mood left after reading the story, it is a deep impression created by its emotionality and at the same time this emotionality at some moments seems exaggerated not typically for that kind of genre. Nevertheless the style does not allow the story turning into melancholy narrative. Frey writes in short simple sentences, often neglects punctuation and thus creates easy reading that develops fluently. As a result we receive favourably distinguishable prose in the genre of memoir but with flavour of captivating fiction. Reference: Frey James (2005). My Friend Leonard. New York: Riverhead.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Baroque Music

Baroque Music New style music began to be developed in 1600, and this form of music later was called the Baroque style. Baroque music is quite different from medieval and early Renaissance music, the development of new harmonies and melody lines adds rhythm and variation of the work, giving them new shapes and shapes. The structure of the music also changed, forming various forms such as fuel and cannon, and introduced various instruments. In the Baroque era, Baroque music represents the fundamental order of the universe, but it is always full of vitality and elegance The style of polyphonic music is exquisite decoration, which is the definition of baroque music The baroque music is not a musical style, there are a variety of styles ... Robert has personally experienced major changes in the music industry.To enter the music culture The first step was a junior high school where my father joined the school band.Tipping trumpet and baritone is a bait to invite him to music.This early lo ve for music is that a group of friends piano and guitar It led to the creation of a garage band to join. The era of baroque music occurred between 1600 and 1750, the style of Baroque art prospered throughout Europe; during this period the range and complexity of the music expanded. Baroque music began with the composition of the first opera (with the dramatic solo voice of the orchestra). In the Baroque era, the use of multiple simultaneous melody lines of polyphonic alignment music is still important (being aligned to medieval vocal music is very important). German Baroque's composer writes small orchestras such as string instruments, brass instruments and woodwind instruments, as well as choirs such as organ, harpsichord, harpsichord and keyboard instruments. During this period, several key music formats were defined. And it followed the late stages of further development and evolution, including Fugue, Invention, Sonata and Concerto. The late Baroque style is a complex, complex and lavish decoration. Baroque Music Baroque Music New style music began to be developed in 1600, and this form of music later was called the Baroque style. Baroque music is quite different from medieval and early Renaissance music, the development of new harmonies and melody lines adds rhythm and variation of the work, giving them new shapes and shapes. The structure of the music also changed, forming various forms such as fuel and cannon, and introduced various instruments. In the Baroque era, Baroque music represents the fundamental order of the universe, but it is always full of vitality and elegance The style of polyphonic music is exquisite decoration, which is the definition of baroque music The baroque music is not a musical style, there are a variety of styles ... Robert has personally experienced major changes in the music industry.To enter the music culture The first step was a junior high school where my father joined the school band.Tipping trumpet and baritone is a bait to invite him to music.This early lo ve for music is that a group of friends piano and guitar It led to the creation of a garage band to join. The era of baroque music occurred between 1600 and 1750, the style of Baroque art prospered throughout Europe; during this period the range and complexity of the music expanded. Baroque music began with the composition of the first opera (with the dramatic solo voice of the orchestra). In the Baroque era, the use of multiple simultaneous melody lines of polyphonic alignment music is still important (being aligned to medieval vocal music is very important). German Baroque's composer writes small orchestras such as string instruments, brass instruments and woodwind instruments, as well as choirs such as organ, harpsichord, harpsichord and keyboard instruments. During this period, several key music formats were defined. And it followed the late stages of further development and evolution, including Fugue, Invention, Sonata and Concerto. The late Baroque style is a complex, complex and lavish decoration. Baroque music The style of polyphonic music in the Baroque period contains elements contrasting exquisite decoration, which is the definition of baroque music. The Baroque era is a transition period of art and music. Renaissance means playback and is often seen as playback. Baroque music is not a collective style of music, it is many different styles that can be divided into at least three different periods. Through the Renaissance, people have new interest in art and music, which brings the Baroque era, it seems to be a more transitory phase and has brought the maturity of classical era classical music starting from the end of baroque . What is the essence of baroque music? Baroque music represents order, the fundamental order of the universe. But it is always full of energy and beauty. Music reflects the mood of the times, and then as usual. Through this short overview, from the beginning to the present, please follow the development of music with baroque music in the historical context. Music a nd playing are as stylish as anything else. Currently there are two ways to play baroque music. It is modern and real. Both names are misleading. A little understanding of these options will guide you to the recording you choose later. The performance of baroque chorus music requires life and vitality. Music is full of excitement. In baroque music, it is common for emotional matches to a certain part of composition. This comes from the Baroque view that individuals are always controlled by a single emotion or emotion. But this does not mean that music should not be ruthless. Baroque choral works may have more obvious emotions than the music of the Renaissance. Emotional contrast MUST be achieved when some part is over and the other part starts with new rhythm and new dynamics I like baroque music rather than classical music. I chose baroque music because it is more interesting. Classical music is just too simple compared to baroque music. In baroque music, more emotions are evoked. A good example is Four Seasons by Vivaldi. For me, classical music is too boring and repetitive. Baroque music always makes me wary, let me guess what will happen next. I care more about the meaning of the work than the meaning of the work. I like Baroque music, but I never crush classical music. Many wonderful pieces come from two era of music Baroque music The style of polyphonic music in the Baroque period contains elements contrasting exquisite decoration, which is the definition of baroque music. The Baroque era is a transition period of art and music. Renaissance means playback and is often seen as playback. Baroque music is not a collective style of music, it is many different styles that can be divided into at least three different periods. Through the Renaissance, people have new interest in art and music, which brings the Baroque era, it seems to be a more transitory phase and has brought the maturity of classical era classical music starting from the end of baroque . What is the essence of baroque music? Baroque music represents order, the fundamental order of the universe. But it is always full of energy and beauty. Music reflects the mood of the times, and then as usual. Through this short overview, from the beginning to the present, please follow the development of music with baroque music in the historical context. Music a nd playing are as stylish as anything else. Currently there are two ways to play baroque music. It is modern and real. Both names are misleading. A little understanding of these options will guide you to the recording you choose later. The performance of baroque chorus music requires life and vitality. Music is full of excitement. In baroque music, it is common for emotional matches to a certain part of composition. This comes from the Baroque view that individuals are always controlled by a single emotion or emotion. But this does not mean that music should not be ruthless. Baroque choral works may have more obvious emotions than the music of the Renaissance. Emotional contrast MUST be achieved when some part is over and the other part starts with new rhythm and new dynamics I like baroque music rather than classical music. I chose baroque music because it is more interesting. Classical music is just too simple compared to baroque music. In baroque music, more emotions are evoked. A good example is Four Seasons by Vivaldi. For me, classical music is too boring and repetitive. Baroque music always makes me wary, let me guess what will happen next. I care more about the meaning of the work than the meaning of the work. I like Baroque music, but I never crush classical music. Many wonderful pieces come from two era of music

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

System Solutions for Brand Development Bank for Foreign Trade of Essay

System Solutions for Brand Development Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  the bank also offers trade financing and international settlements to both corporations and financial institutions with the leading customers being the importers and exporters of the products and the services that the bank offers amongst its wide variety of business objectives. Domestic settlement is offered through the VCB money, and it is the leading platform in e-banking and does the role of acting as a center for clearing of foreign currencies. The bank is the leader in Vietnam’s foreign exchange market and offers card services as it has a big system of automated teller machines (ATMs) that dispense money through cards issued by the bank.This study declares that  brand expansion is a communication utility that comprise an appropriate analysis and planning on how a particular brand can be positioned in a market, which the brand is targeted at the quest to maintain a desired solution for the particular brand. This means that the brand mu st try to establish a good relationship with the public as a means of its brand development strategy. The justification for brand development is usually to create an emotional connection between the market, which includes the customers and the constituents served by the business and the products or the services offered by a particular company. A proper brand, therefore, delivers the messages clearly thus confirming your credibility while at the same time connecting your target prospects emotionally in that it motivates the user of your products or services.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Advantages of Nuclear Power and Comparison with the Fossil Fuels Assignment

Advantages of Nuclear Power and Comparison with the Fossil Fuels - Assignment Example Fossils are the remains of the dead organisms buried in earth’s crust. When such bodies undergo changes like anaerobic decomposition through millions of years, the products formed are hydrocarbon compounds like coal, petroleum, natural gas. Such products are storehouses of chemical energy, which is released when they undergo combustion reactions. As such they are called as fossil fuels (Josepha Sherman, 2004). 3. Nature has borne the cost of production of fossil fuels and humans have to bear only the cost of extraction and processing it. As such fossil fuels are cheaper than the non-conventional forms of fuels like nuclear fuel. 4. The fossil fuel in solid form, coal, is the most widely used fuel in power generation as it is found abundantly in nature. Similarly the liquid and gas forms like petrol, natural gas are easily transportable through pipelines. The depleting reserves of fossil fuels and the monopoly of certain oil-producing countries in controlling its prices have compelled mankind to look for alternative sources of energy. A few of them are hydroelectric power, nuclear power, wind energy, solar energy, and geothermal power. Hereunder we will discuss two of them viz. hydroelectric power and nuclear power. It is the electricity obtained by water falling under gravity from higher to lower level. Huge generators  convert the potential energy of water stored in dams while falling down. The potential energy of the water stored in dams is converted into electrical energy. The water rotates the turbines placed in between. The rotating turbines, in turn, rotate the generators connected to it, producing electricity. Nuclear power is created by causing fission of unstable nuclei 235U. Such nuclei are bombarded by neutrons which cause the fission of such nuclei along with the release of a tremendous amount of heat energy and also neutrons. These liberated neutrons in turn cause fission of more nuclei and a chain reaction are set into motion producing more heat  energy.  

Monday, August 26, 2019

Minorities and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Minorities and Education - Essay Example Currently, the minorities comprise of the largest proportion of low and middle class earners in the country. In the past, the US Supreme Court handled many cases that were resolved in favor of minorities. Dr. Martin L. King believed that for equality to be achieved, Whites majority needed to adjust many aspects in their lives, a thing they were not willing to do. Altho...ugh many people felt that minority students needed a different approach of learning due to a different culture, some felt that it was a deliberate move not to do so. For instance, Shor and Freire (15) believed that education does not shape society, but rather the society shapes the education depending on who has power (Douglas 75). Public opinion Race, public opinion, and social sphere In American society, issues relating to race seem to intertwine together with social class, in such a way, that one cannot clearly have an honest discussion regarding race without having to look at the issue of class. Many people avoid the discussion of race although it is still very much alive within people’s hearts. These aspects of the society were constructed, seemingly for the advancement of such community as white. The African –Americans are widely blamed for the wrong things happening in the community. Some scholars believe that a number of events in the society have continuously led to the tremendous income inequality between Whites and Blacks. According to Douglas (29), these events comprise of reconstruction, suburbanization, and the contemporary institutional racism as among the key factors in the widening gap between the communities. Additionally, the media seems to have aggravated the situation, by distorting the views of the ground. These media houses, owned by the ruling class, distort views about economics by making believe the ruling class is nonexistent and that poor Blacks are actually the dregs of society (Bobo 28). Thus, the media with its 'magic' apparently make the sins and al so harshness towards African-Americans go away by claiming it is their fault and blaming that they are poor. As a result, upper and middle-classed Americans end up fearing and loathing poor Blacks and often refusing to make a connection between systematic form of racism and high poverty evident amongst African-Americans. In a similar vein, a widening wealth gap describes how offending but legal dealings amongst corporations and politicians usually lead to work wages stagnating far too long and millionaires becoming even more richer. Racial attitudes, Educational level and personality measure Many people insinuate that high black people crime rates are a result of blacks' predisposition to criminal behavior. They base this premise on the correlation, for instance, between cities having large populations of black people also having relatively high crime rates. Such a theory is simplistic and superficial, although this level of pseudo-scientific kind of analysis could hold some water. However, some people say that if this theory held true, such same numbers would be reflected worldwide. In America, Black people descend from African Blacks. Thus, why do African countries fails to reflect same ridiculously high crime rates? In America, Whites are viewed to be the most read community (McDonald 39). It is seen obvious for the children of the rich to attend the best school in the

Corporate strategy and business objectives (Michael Porter) Case Study

Corporate strategy and business objectives (Michael Porter) - Case Study Example An elimination process enables us to confirm that MDCM falls into the Efficient, Predictable Operators quadrant. To begin with, we are informed that MDCM did neither research and design (R&D) nor marketing. A company that is focused on using differentiation as its competitive strategy would typically be actively engaged in R&D. Secondly, the medical device manufacturing industry is not one defined by a relatively high rate of change partly due to the nature of its market and partly due to the high cost of medical devices. The first overall strategic goal of MDCM is to bring down the company’s cost structure (more information would be required before we can specify by what percentage). From the case we are informed that MDCM had the worst operating and profit margins and also that its high internal costs did not allow it to price competitively against smaller, more efficient rivals (Jeffery and Norton 3). The CFO, Sharon Leis, confirm this where she states that MDCM had the least efficient cost structures in the industry. In spite of its high cost structure we are informed that MDCM continued to excel in customer satisfaction (Jeffery and Norton 3). The second strategic goal of this company is reduce the time it takes for different business functions to access updated, relevant information in 24 hours or less. When gather from the case that it takes too long for both CFO and marketing and sales staff to get the information they need. CFO Sharon Leis laments that it takes her 45 days whereas the VP of marketing and sales Pat Perry complains that it takes his staff a week to get the relevant information. This means that it takes too long before the organization devises a plan to tackle whatever threat or opportunity that may arise. The CEO Max McMullen realized that both of these overall strategic goals will depend a lot on the IT infrastructure and systems of the organization. For this purpose McMullen hired a CIO to

Sunday, August 25, 2019

My Leadership Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

My Leadership Philosophy - Assignment Example Leaders solve problems and encourage creativity thus driving competitiveness in the organization (Martin, 2006). Effective leadership approach should foster the formation of meaningful relationships and enhance harmony in teams in order to facilitate job coordination and collaboration across the organization (Northouse, 2010). Accordingly, leaders should use their interpersonal skills to persuade their followers to dedicate their efforts and abilities towards the attainment of the outlined common goals. This essay will describe my leadership in terms of skills approach and present a plan of action to improve my leadership and motivation skills. The leadership approach that best describes me as a leader is the skills approach. This is a leader-centered perspective of leadership and I have certain knowledge and skills that are essential for effective leadership (Martin, 2006). According to Kaz field research, leaders demonstrate effective administration through use of knowledge and competencies to accomplish certain objectives (Northouse, 2010). I have technical skills and analytical skills in language and computer that will be essential in my future career. Accordingly, I have human skills that are essential in working with subordinates, peers and superiors. I am capable of creating an environment of trust since I am sensitive to the concerns of others and thus I will cater the ideas of others in my decision-making (Northouse, 2010). I believe I have well developed conceptual skills that are key to outlining the organizational vision and communicating new ideas to peers and subordinates. I am able to express the company goals with hypothetical notions in order to persuade the followers to accept my vision for the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2010). According to the skills model, I have skills and capabilities that are essential for high job performance that I have developed from my education and

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Implementing Network and Personnel Security Measures Research Paper

Implementing Network and Personnel Security Measures - Research Paper Example In relation to the present network security manufacturing industry, Cisco and IBM can be considered as the leading corporations which provide safe and steady internet environment within the networks of the different global institutions. Cisco Cisco is generally known as one of the inclusive manufacturers in terms of producing a range of effective network security devices. A few of the major Cisco devices include Cisco Threat Defense Solution, Network Admission Control Appliance and Cisco Secure Access Control System among others (Cisco, 2013). The associated costs of the Cisco network security devices vary in accordance with the functions and network structure of the institutions. In general, the network security devices offered by Cisco are cost effective and can be procured from Cisco distributors, dealers along with other retail stores (Cisco, 2013). IBM The network security devices offered by IBM are highly effective for averting, detecting and eliminating different network relat ed vulnerabilities that emerge while designing and deploying network management applications. The devices offered by the company ensure adequate security of the internal information and prevent the access of unauthorized guest users. A few of the major network security products of IBM include ‘IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager for z/OS’, ‘IBM Security Access Manager for Enterprise Single Sign-On’ and ‘IBM Security AppScan Enterprise’ among others (IBM, 2013). The IBM internet security devices can be procured from the company’s own distribution networks. The network security products offered by the company are relatively more cost effective than other products offered by the different vendors (IBM, 2013). Functionality of Cisco Devices for Governmental Agency Source: (Cisco, 2013) Functionalities of IBM Network Security Devices for Governmental Agency Source: (IBM, 2013) 3. Maintenance Plan for the Government Agency to Ensure Having the Latest Security Measures The maintenance plan concerning the installation of advanced network security devices is one of the essential steps for the government agency to uphold the security of its vital information. Therefore, the maintenance plan of the network security devices within the government agency would be primarily focused on five major practices. The following are the primary activities of the maintenance plan for the government agency to ensure having the latest security measures: Monitoring performance of the network security devices as per their expected outcomes Ensuring better alignment of network security devices with the primary objectives of the government agency Confirming appropriate development of the network security devices installed within the agency Continuous minimization of the network down-time and, Minimizing IT related costs of the government agency Source: (Torstensson, 2010) a. Risks Associated with not fulfilling the Activities Outlined within the Maintenance Plan The improper or unstructured maintenance plan of the network security devices can generate various types of risks for the government agency. A few of the major risks associated with not fulfilling of activities of maintenance plan include: Increase vulnerability from the access of unauthorized guest users Weaken data protection capabilities of the network security devices Misrepresentation of information Increase in agency’

Friday, August 23, 2019

THE ROLE OF CONTROLLED DRUG RELEASE IN CANCER THERAPEUTICS Essay

THE ROLE OF CONTROLLED DRUG RELEASE IN CANCER THERAPEUTICS - Essay Example Cancer is known to develop when a gene mutation occurs in the oncogene and suppressor genes. The cell becomes incapable of repairing its damaged DNA and undergoes programmed cell death (Castro 2011, p.12). The cells continue to grow resulting in accumulation of many abnormal cells. These tumours are able to invade the nearby healthy tissues making them cancerous also. Some of the common cancers in the world are liver, lung, prostate, cervix, skin, breast and others. Therefore, there are many types of cancer depending on the organ attacked (Melancon, Zhou and Li 2011, p.12). Cancer has the capability of spreading to other body parts through blood and lymphatic systems. It should be noted that not all tumours are cancerous. For example benign tumours neither invade the neighbouring cells nor spread through the lymphatic or blood systems (Horcajada, Serre, Ferey, Couvreur and Gref 2011, p.102). When cancer is able to spread to other body parts successfully, the process is called metasta sis. Scientists research reported in Nature Communications (October, 2012) that spread of cancer is facilitated by the adhesive properties of cancer. Specific molecular interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix cause them to become unstuck at the original tumour site. Many drugs have been formulated in treatment of cancer. However, the effectiveness of these drugs is not as expected since they have serious side effects to the users. The effectiveness of these drugs is being hindered by the hydrophobic nature of these drugs. Therefore, development and application of nanotechnology is one of the solutions to these blockages. (Gubin, 2009, p. 54). Multi Drug Resistance This leads to most of the drugs to have little efficacy unless used in huge doses which will in turn lead to toxic side effects. The main problem in cancer treatment is the multi-drug resistance of the cancerous cells to chemotherapeutics. This is due to the over expression of the Adenosine Triphosphate (AT P)dependent efflux pump called P-glycoprotein which pumps drugs out of the cells body. Loss of P53 genes that promotes cell apoptosis, over-expression of bd-z genes that blocks cell death, reduced drug uptake due to damage of foliate carriers, and increased DNA repair (Dass and Choong 2008, p.21). Liposomes Liposome is an artificial vesicle with an aqueous space into which drugs are inserted (Jain, Das, Swarnakar and Jain 2011, p.37). They have the ability to target cancer cells. They are being used as vehicles for drug administration. The tight junctions in the endothelium cells do not allow movement of large molecules like liposome out of the blood vessel in a normal cell (Yoshikawa, Okada and Nakagawa 2007, p.33). On the other hand tumour cells have hyper-permeability in their endothelial cells due to a physiological defect hence they allow penetration of liposomes inside them (Natalya, R., Zhonggao, G. And Anne, K. 200). Anti-cancer drugs are being coated with these liposomes cr eating a reservoir in the blood system. On detection of a cancerous cell, the liposome extravasates from these leaky blood vessels, and accumulates in the tumours and kills the cancerous cel

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Access to Bank Credit to Small and Medium Enterprises Essay Example for Free

Access to Bank Credit to Small and Medium Enterprises Essay Finance function is the most important of all business functions. It remains a focus of all business activities. Financing SMEs has acquired enormous importance in contemporary world of finances. This is primarily due to the national focus and priority of various countries developed and developing ones as well. In the Sri Lankan context , the government has provided impetus to the authorities to increasingly cater to the emerging financial needs of the SMEs. Bank and Institutional finance are expected to be made available on easy and flexible terms and conditions and on priority basis. Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) are hit by poor access to funds. This can be overcome if financial institutions are able to assess firm- specific and general risks and offer innovative products. This as per my personal opinion can be achieved by the formal financial institutions even when the so called sound credit principles are applied in a firm-specific manner to suit individual borrowers. In order to obtain bank credit, SME loan applicant shall prepre an effective credit proposal ,in a way, that the financial institution could consider favourably. See more: Beowulf essay essay SMEs such as restaurants, lathe-work shops, brick-kilns, grocery stores, rice mills, factories and farming etc. need finance to purchase capital goods and raw materials, procure stocks, pay wages ,meet other working capital requirements and support expansion plans. Despite the efforts of the Government and support from the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka by including SME as a priority sector and by providing refinance facilities , there continue to be a huge demand supply mismatch in SME financing. One of the major reasons for banks being unable to bridge this gap is the perceived credit risk involved in financing SMEs. This is primarily due to non-availability of proper accounting records, valid bills and working capital management etc. As at present,to mitigate such credit risks , banks typically look for enhanced collateral or equity , both of which cannot be brought in by most entrepreneurs . Further, due to small size and local presence of SMEs , the transaction costs involved in financing them are relatively very high. However, the good news is that wider credit distribution could be made to SME sector using modern secured transaction law ,introduced recently by the Secured transactions Act 2009, which recognizes utilization of movable assets of a business as collateral to obtain credit. Further the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka(CA Sri Lanka)in its capacity as the sole accounting standard setting authority in the country has introduced a simplified financial reporting standard for the benefit of the SMEs in the country. The reporting framework so far has been a general setoff accounting standards to be used by all organisations . In 2011 CA Sri Lanka published the Sri Lanka accounting standards for SMEs (SLFRS for SMEs) with effect from 1st January, 2012. By removing some accounting treatments permitted under full SLFRSs, eliminating topics and disclosure requirements that are not generally relevant to SMEs , and simplifying requirements for recognition and measurement, the SLFRS for SMEs reduces the volume of accounting treatments applicable to SMEs by more than 90% when compared with the full set of SLFRSs. SLFRS for SMEs would be applicable for the entities that do not have public accountability (listed companies) and publish general purpose financial statements for external users such as Banks and supplier creditors. This will greatly help SME entrepreneurs to access other organizations in a formal manner and enhance their businesses, once they commence practicing this accounting reporting procedure. In the face of the bank’s reluctance to lend for want of proper accounting records , these enterprises are compelled to resort to high cost, non-continuous financing from money lenders and other informal sources , or continue to operate at sub-scale. However when SMEs start practicing and using above two facilities ( provisions in the Secured Transactions Act 2009 and the simplified SME Accounting recording procedure) the problem of enjoying credit from formal institutions such as Banks will be greatly reduced. Risks faced by any business can be broadly classified as idiosyncratic or systemic. Idiosyncratic risks are specific to an enterprise , like skill of entrepreneur or location of business. Systemic risks on the other hand , are beyond the control of any enterprise Such risks make up the environment in which a business operates ,that is, the economic environment, social environment, fiscal environment etc.. Thus the systemic risk involves risks due to change in preference of customers, changes in economy and changes in tax structure etc. Therefore the key to financing any enterprise lies in the ability of the borrower submitting his credit proposal with relevant information necessary o financier to evaluate the loan applicant to manage the risks involved in the proposed business. High quality origination can help evaluate idiosyncratic risks specific to the enterprise, well. Traditional form of risk mitigation is to cushion the risks with as much as equity from the entrepreneur. A high quality local financier with geography and business specific information about such enterprises in the operational area will be able to evaluate and manage this risk well and will demand less equity to be brought in by the entrepreneurs. Systemic risks, however, are quite different from the firm-specific risks and are arising out of the changes taking place in the market characteristics. It affect the business in every aspect and as such is huge and no amount of equity is sufficient when the financier is uncertain about an enterprise selling anything at all in the environment where demand patterns and economic situations can change very quickly. Therefore particularly in financing procurement of capital goods for long periods ,the banks search for cues to establish that the business has a current and future ability to service loans, even in an uncertain business environment. Hence in financing acquisition of capital goods it takes the form of project evaluation , however small is the business. Such situations can be managed by local bank branch which is quite familiar with the market environment of the locality. Thus the turnover and the other financials can be projected by the local bank branch staff in a more realistic manner using their knowledge in customer preferences and scale of demand in the area. This helps banks to reduce the risk involved in project loan type term finance. Further more flexible and innovative evaluation techniques have to be used in considering term loans for SMEs. However, SME enterprises that have large number of cash transactions , poor record of sales, produce undifferentiated goods and lack known usual clients , assessment of systemic risk becomes very difficult. Such challenges, however, can be addressed through structures , that allow financiers to trap cash flows by imposing conditions in the loan offer letter that permit resorting to a stronger and well established sales pattern in a supply chain. Some ways of financing working capital needs of SME businesses are supply chain financing where a supplier and a buyer have maintained books of accounts properly can be financed. For example , small enterprises that manufacture and supply sauces, jam and the like to large enterprises such as supermarkets can be financed if their cash flows are reconciled with bills , or by obtaining a collateral /guarantee from the company to which it supplies. Banks also can finance similar transactions of SMEs by discounting Bills of Exchange drawn by the supplier( SME entrepreneur ) and accepted by the large enterprise to which supplies have been made. This provides part of necessary working capital needs of the enterprise enabling it to continue production at an enhanced scale.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Evacuation Sources Questions Essay Example for Free

Evacuation Sources Questions Essay Well, to answer this question I must first analyse both the sources, source B is a picture depicting what seems to be a class of evacuees and their teacher walking down the road, probably to the train station to be evacuated. The picture shows many of the children waving and smiling, and what seems like a lot of them skipping, showing them being happy about being evacuated. Being a photograph, it is quite unlikely that it has been changed in any way, or staged to show the children being happy, as the scene seems quite natural. However it is still possible that it was staged by the government at the time to encourage people not to resist evacuating their children, this would be done by showing the children happy and carefree, not afraid or worried about it. Also the picture was taken at the start of the war, when not many people had been evacuated, at this time the children and their families may not know exactly where they were going, and may have treated it like a holiday, so therefore they probably wouldnt be to afraid about what was happening. So, overall this source is quite a useful source, but that of course depends on what for, it is useful for showing childrens reactions to being evacuated at the start of the war, however this wouldnt be useful for any time before or after this, limiting its usefulness. This also could, if it was a staged photograph by the government, be useful for showing what the government wanted people to think. Source C however is quite different to the previous source, this is an interview with a school teacher during the evacuation, in 1988, in this source, it offers a different view of the childrens feelings about being evacuated, in this source, it tells us that the children were afraid to talk, showing that they werent care or worry free about the situation. This source is primary evidence, as the person was there at the time, however this is taken in 1988, and the person could very well have forgotten some of the details of the evacuation, and therefore their memory of the event could be unreliable. However this might not be the case, and therefore it could be quite reliable. Overall, I think that source B is the most reliable, as it is a photograph taken at the time, and therefore the details of the situation would nearly definitely be correct, source C however is an account from memory and therefore the details could be wrong. Source D is a photograph taken by the government during the war of evacuees being bathed, it shows three bath tubs close together with all the children washing and laughing, this scene would be likely to give the impression that the children, and the places they went to were hygienic, this would lessen the worries of the childrens families, and also may convince more people to become host families, because the children here seem healthy, clean and happy, not dirty smelly children with bad manners, as was many peoples views of them. Also this may convince people to evacuate their children, as many families living in the cities were to poor to even bath their children, so this would be seen as an improvement in their lifestyle and living conditions. Also, if this picture was taken after around January 1940, when many evacuees returned, many of their reasons being that they felt they were better of at home, and that life with the host families was unhappy, or the parents believed this to be so, then this photograph could be being used by the government to convince families to keep their children with host families, that life out there wasnt as bad as it was made out to be. So overall I think that it really depends on when this photo was taken, which would determine why it was taken.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

A PC Repair Business Proposal

A PC Repair Business Proposal With PC Repair, computer and technical consulting services such as repairs, training, networking and upgrade services are offered to small local businesses and home PC users. For a company like ours to maintain their customer relations, our company will focus on marketing, responsiveness and improve quality of the services to our customers. At present our PC Repair will be a partnership, but after about one year it will migrate to a Limited Liability Company in January 2013. Our PC Repair business at its early stage will start at a rented office, utilizing one studio room in the rented premises and serving customers in the local Louth area and beyond. In the fourth month of our plan, we will move into a leased office environment and employ a second computer technician. With increase in sales, we will equally employ additional personnel. Your companys goals. Our primary customers will be small business PC users and the residential PC users. Our short and long term goals of our business is to: The goal of our business is to create standard for on-site computer solutions through fast, on-site service, quick response time and easy turn around. To provide the best service available to the people in the community at an affordable price. To generate customer satisfaction so that at least 40% of our customer base is repeat business. To generate considerable market share so that PC Repair is a common name. Constant growth in sales from start up through year three we will repay our loan and beyond. Provide our employees with adequate training; make the place of work a conducive and great place to work, fair pay and benefits, and incentives to use their own good judgement to solve customers problems Explain in a few paragraphs your short- and long-term goals for the company. How fast do you think it will grow? Who will be your primary customers? 3. The service or product planned to offer. We will be offering computer repairs, training, and networking and upgrade service to our customers in two main distinct categories namely home PC users and small business users. As our PC Repair business starts to grow with increase in customers demands as well grows, we will start to provide software development to our business customers. From the very first day of our business inception, we will start offering our customers with on-site repair and consulting services. This service will alleviate our customers with the problem of taking time out of their busy days bring a computer in to our workshop. The issue of bring a computer to workshop for repair is one of the biggest disturbances among small business owners needing computer help. It will be easy for us to offer on-site repair because most of our diagnostic equipment is portable. We can only remove a PC from our customer premises to our workshop only when the problem requires a more detailed diagnosis or repair. We will as well be providing our customers with free pick-up and delivery of PCs that is requiring repair. In the fourth month of our business, we will purchase a company van in order to meet up with the challenges associated with our services. With our PC Repair business we will be providing our customers with an extended maintenance agreement. In this regard, our business customers can deal with technical support and repair needs or requirements as a single line-item expense, instead having to plan for unexpected failures and problems with (security funds) a rainy-day fund they may never use. Maintenance agreements will provide a high gross margin for our business, and provide our customers with peace of mind. We will concentrate on hardware and networking support while offering a limited software support installation and compatibility issues. The reason is that software development is much more rapid than hardware does, and our customers will have such varied software needs that we may not possibly keep up with all of them. We will then advice our customers to register their software and use the support of the software vendors options. We will, however, keep up to date with multiple operating systems and networking developments. We will be working with our business customers to ensure that they have the compactable hardware, Operating Systems, networking devices, backup systems, and software. Backup and security will be our top priority for our potential customers, as the rate of internet usage has becomes more common, and as well as more and more daily business records and transactions are stored electronically. 4. The market potential for your service or product. The computing industry nature, with its rapid technological growth rate, creates a concern for the need for businesses skills been up-to-date and providing advice to customers on computer-related issues. Small business PC users and home PC users will provide the majority of our business income. Business Week expects the computing industry to grow at a rate of 12% and the processor speeds to continue to expand for years to come, providing a rich resource for sales [1] With our PC Repair business we will focus majorly on the small business market, because these customers usually dont have full-time IT personnel, but they have the needs for fulltime IT. Our PC Repair business will offer these customers with affordable on-demand services. We can also offer maintenance agreements that generate extra monthly income to our business. In respect of our residential customers, we will provide them an affordable, helpful and flexible schedule service to fit with their needs. Our target market will focus on having competitive advantage over PC World and its likes in surrounding areas. Market research shows there are loads of business for a small company such as ours PC Repair. 5. A marketing strategy. We will exploit the weakness of our competitors in our market strategy. We will run a reasonable number of advertisements on the local news papers business page, local radio stations and the local television houses and post some bills. This will happen in the starting phase of our business. Our advertisements will focus on our advantages, such as on-site service, competitive rates, and quick response time to faults and turn-around times. In the advertisement, our opening date will be made known to the public, and a free diagnostic service will be give for the first 30 customers. We will maintain these opening advertisements with a smaller direct-marketing drive to some small business owners within and around the county, with lists drawn from the local Chamber of Commerce. For the first year that we are in business, we will not relent on advertising our business periodically and offering promotions such as discounts, free diagnosis etc. We will be running monthly advertisements in sections rather than the business one so that we will have steady response from home PC owners from different areas that saw our advertisements. In order to attract more customers, we will make a promotion for three months for example, Spyware removal on a desktop PC for â‚ ¬50 including tax and software. This offer will draw the attention of customers because spy is a menace for small business PC users and many home PC users 6. A three- to five-year financial projection. To get our PC Repair business started, we must provide cash and assets. We are also seeking a short-term loan, to be secured with the owners home equity, and repaid within three years [1]. In the first three months our financial plan calls for limited growth, followed by much higher sales when we will be hiring additional technicians. Our projections are relied on market research and ratios that is compared to similar businesses. We will try to cut down our operational expense as we grow, and maintain a positive cash balance as we repay our three-year loan. For us to achieve these goals, we will employ a vigorous advertising campaign or drive to exploit our competitors weaknesses. Using good cost control, we will see a modest, yet comfortable, net profit the first year, even after moving into a leased space and recruit new employee. 7. An exit strategy. All good business plans include a section that lays out the benchmarks youll use in deciding to call it quits. The strategy could be based on a Euro figure, revenue growth, the markets reception to your idea, or a consensus among top officers.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Excessive Pride in Young Goodman Brown :: Nathaniel Hawthorne, YGB

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is an allegory.   Hawthorne’s moral story is told through the perversion of a religious leader, Goodman Brown. Goodman is a Puritan minister who lets his excessive pride interfere with his relations with the community after he meets with the devil. The result is that Goodman lives the rest of his life in exile within his own community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Young Goodman Brown" begins when Faith, Brown's wife, asks him not to go on an "errand".   Goodman Brown says to his "love and (my) Faith" that "this one night I must tarry away from thee."   When he says his "love" and his "Faith", he is talking to his wife, but he is also talking to his "faith" to God.   He is venturing into the woods to meet with the Devil, and by doing so, he leaves his unquestionable faith in God with his wife.   He resolves that he will "cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven."   This is an example of the excessive pride because he feels that he can sin and meet with the Devil because of this promise that he made to himself. There is a tremendous irony to this promise because when Goodman Brown comes back at dawn; he can no longer look at his wife with the same faith he had before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Goodman Brown finally meets with the Devil, he declares that the reason he was late was because "Faith kept me back awhile."  Ã‚   This statement has a double meaning because his wife physically prevented him from being on time for his meeting with the devil, but his faith to God psychologically delayed his meeting with the devil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Devil had with him a staff that "bore the likeness of a great black snake".   The staff which looked like a snake is a reference to the snake in the story of Adam and Eve.   The snake led Adam and Eve to their destruction by leading them to the Tree of Knowledge.   The Adam and Eve story is similar to Goodman Brown in that they are both seeking unfathomable amounts of knowledge.   Once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge they were expelled from their paradise.   The Devil's staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the Devil's ceremony which destroys Goodman Brown's faith in his fellow man, therefore expelling him from his utopia.

Procrastination Essay -- essays research papers

1. What am I talking about? I am the thief of productiveness and time. I sound simple, but in fact I’m quite complex. I am a strange phenomenon. My purpose seems to make my life more pleasant, but instead it almost always adds stress, disorganization, and frequent failure. I want to achieve some outcome, usually something myself and others can value and respect; â€Å"I’ve got to start.† I delay briefly thinking of real and imagined advantages of starting to change later; â€Å"I will do it tomorrow.† 2. Good evening gentlemen. My name is Bobby Hurley. I’ve been in the military now for just over nine years. All this time I’ve always said that I’m going to finish my degree but until this past year I have never been able to stay committed to doing so because I am a procrastinator. I’ve gotten some help with my procrastination from various web sites. That’s why this evening I would like to talk to you about three important aspects of procrastination. These include the reasons for procrastinating, some symptoms of procrastination, and how to cure procrastination, but first, let me explain what procrastination is. Procrastination, though not officially classified as such, is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another and can have roots in several officially recognized "illnesses", such as phobia, depression, and even low self-esteem. For some people it can be a minor problem but with others it is a source of considerable stress and anxiety. 3. This brings me to my first point, reasons for procrastinating. One reason for this is poor time management. What this is, is not being able to manage your day or yourself effectively. You may be uncertain of your priorities, goals and objectives or may be overwhelmed with the task. As a result, you may put off your academic assignments for a later date. You may also spend a great deal of time with your friends and social activities. Lastly, but most importantly, you worry about your upcoming examinations, class projects or papers rather than completing or studding for them. 4. Another cause of procrastination is having difficulty concentrating. What this is, is your inability to stay focused on one subject or object for any length of time. When you sit at your desk y... ...er projects, use a timer or alarm clock to help you stick with your plan. If you know you will not be able to concentrate on a project for 3 hours, break up your work into 1-hour blocks for 3 days. It's much easier to face an unpleasant task if the time you are giving it is brief. 9. Another method to cure procrastination is to avoid perfectionism. If you accept nothing less than a perfect performance, you may never get to work on a task because you're worried that it won't be perfect. Remember that doing your best is fine, and that giving yourself enough time to do your best will reduce stress. 10. In conclusion, I have covered three important aspects of procrastination to include the reasons for procrastinating, the symptoms of procrastination, and how to cure procrastination. I’d like to thank you for your time and attention and urge you the next time you’re thinking about putting off an assignment or task to think carefully about the long-term side effects. Sure, you might get some good grades or praise from your boss or teacher but eventually it will catch up with you and by that time it will be too late. Thank you.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Methods of Business Research Essay -- Business and Management Studies

Methods of Business Research According to the American Marketing Association, marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services. Marketing research is not a perfect science. It deals with people and their constantly changing feelings and behaviors, which are influenced by countless subjective factors. To conduct marketing research you must gather facts and opinions in an orderly, objective way to find out what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them. It is impossible to sell products or services that customers do not want. Learning what customers want, and how to present it attractively, drives the need for marketing research. Small business has an edge over larger concerns in this regard. Large businesses must hire experts to study the mass market, while small-scale entrepreneurs are close to their customers and can learn much more quickly about their buying habits. Small business owners have a sense their customers' needs from years of experience, but this informal information may not be timely or relevant to the current market. Marketing research focuses and organizes marketing information. It ensures that such information is timely and permits entrepreneurs to reduce business risks, Spot current and upcoming problems in the current market, identify sales opportunities and develop plans of action. Business research is essential because it involves statistical information about the external and internal environment of the company. This information is required while planning strategically, setting objectives and determining the competitive advantage of the company or the product. Studies based on morale, employee opinions, absenteeism and the management of people provide valuable insights into the prevailing conditions of employee management relations and tend to strengthen and improve levels of productivity and growth by fostering efficiency and effectiveness as well as competitiveness. Research on financial matters can guide the company with respect to financial issues and problems as well as opportunities. This research can lead to financial prosperity. While research is used widely to study markets and their opportunities, research is also used to study the company’s production and marketing operations. ... ...text of marketing plans. Since the business has to carry out strategic planning with reference to a company and its functions a separate specialized R&D department should be made. The reason is that research provides information on the external and internal environments of the company, on the development of a competitive edge, goals and performance measuring controls. The information collected may not be interpreted in the same way, which may lead to chaos and confusion and accurate and appropriate decisions may not be made. An un-integrated department for R&D would mean the employment of research specialists who have the expertise to collect accurate information, provide information about different opportunities and interpret it accurately. Researchers need to be well equipped with data collection, measurement and analysis tools to make the best possible use of the information gathered. There fore, in larger businesses, it is almost essential for company to have a separate well equipped research department to deal with large amounts of data in an effective manner in order to maintain the focus of strategic development on the different functions of the organizaiton

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Project management success factors Essay

Housing is the critical issue in global urbanization which have a tremendous impact on the environment – both during construction and through out their. As the key element in urban development, housing plays a vital role in attaining the goal of sustainable development. Effective of project management is becoming increasingly important for sustainable housing to remain competitive in today‟s dynamic business environment. This paper attempt to establish a theoretical framework for project management success factors in sustainable housing development. Review on past literature on the subject were carried out to build the existing research works on the area and to establish critical success factors of project management best practices. At the end of this paper, a new area of managing sustainable housing for future direction of this research was identified. A list of critical success factors for project management practices for sustainable housing development was established. Keywords: Sustainable Housing, Sustainable Development Project Management, Critical Success Factors. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Housing, as human basic need, is a very important issue of people‟s everyday life. In 1948, the United Nations, in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stated that â€Å"everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services†¦Ã¢â‚¬  . Housing provision is one of the major challenges facing developing countries. Under the Seventh Malaysia Plan (1999-2000) and Eight Malaysia Plan (2001-2005), Malaysian governments are committed to provide adequate, affordable and quality housing for all Malaysian, particularly the low income group. This is in line with Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlement and Habitat Agenda (1996) to ensure adequate shelter for all. In order to be sustainable, housing initiatives must be economically viable, socially acceptable, technically feasible and environmentally compatible (Choguill, 2007). In the other hand, housing encompasses the immediate environment, sanitation, drainage, recreational facilities, and all other economic and social activities that make life worthwhile (Olejado, 2003). The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) report, Our Common Future has led to a world-wide notion of the concept of sustainable development (Meldon, 1998). However, it has been argued that the history of the concept of sustainability can be traced back to the terms â€Å"stationery† or â€Å"steady state economy† used by the nineteenth century political economist (European Environment agency, 1997). Today there are over 300 published definitions of sustainable development, the products of diverse world views and competing vested interests (Moles and Kelly, 2000). Fundamentally, sustainable development addresses three major areas; I. People living today are entitled to justice and equal rights; II. Environmental degeneration must be alleviated or eliminated; and III. Future generations must not be impoverished as a result of current actions (Redclift,1987). Our Common Future explores how sustainable development â€Å"is not a fixed state of harmony but rather a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are made consistent with future as well as present needs† (Moles and Kelly, 2000). In other words, (WCED, 1987, 8) it‟s defined as â€Å"development which meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†. The Commission not only observed that environmental problems need to be addressed, but also socials problem, such as inequity, property, non-prosperity and the violation of human rights, that are related to explosive population growth and the enormous expansion of environmental harms caused by human activities. According to the Commission, solving these problems requires global economic growth whilst respecting ecological constraints (Klunder, 2004). Other studies, (Ding, 2008) defined sustainable development is as a concern of attitudes and judgment to help insure long-term ecological, social and economic growth in society. While the term of sustainable development is well known and widely used, there is no common understanding and approach for it. The perception of sustainability especially when it comes to what â€Å"needs† is regarded as important varies much by different nation and even different people with different points in time, economic, social and cultural backgrounds (Zinkernagel, 2001). The detail of what comprises sustainable development is very context – specific and the same condition and practice cannot apply everywhere. Therefore, sustainability has its diverse implications in every corner of the world and in every sector of a society (Bell and Morse, 2003). For construction sector, the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (1990) explains sustainable as directed towards the reduction of the environmental and health impacts consequent to construction, buildings and the built environment. Such construction processes would bring environmental responsibility, social awareness, and economic profitability objectives to the fore in built environment related projects (Langston and Ding, 2001). There are various definitions of sustainable housing; The European Union defined sustainable housing in the following perspective: construction (e.g. Quality of construction), social and economic factors (e.g. Affordability and psychological impacts) and ecoefficiency (e.g. Efficient use of non-renewable resources) (VROM, 2005). Previously, IHBC (1998) definitions  present the general factor of a sustainable housing practice that is applicable under various circumstances, depending on the conditions where it‟s implemented (Larasati, 2006). Basically, all these definitions were carry out the idea of Principle 15 of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on The Human Environment: â€Å"Planning must be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding adverse effects on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all† (UNEP, 1972). A sustainable house is cost-efficient over time, comfortable, cheap to maintain and complements our unique environment (Queensland Government, 2004). â€Å"Sustainable Housing† is a new concept in developing countries and unearthing projects covering all aspects of sustainability proved to be difficult (Ebsen, 2000). For housing that make up a great proportion of building, sustainable housing could be defined as housing practices, which strive for integral quality (including economic, social, and environmental performance) in a broad way (John, Croome & Jeronimidis, 2005). The focus on sustainable housing implies a perspective of flows (Klunder, 2004). From this viewpoint, a sustainable  housing is characterized by the minimization of the environmental impacts of material use, energy consumption and water consumption during the whole service life of the building. 2.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT Malaysia is a developing country heading towards industrialization. The growths of industries bid rapid housing expansion due to the high demand from the customer. A good housing area has to fulfill the health aspect from the building, drainage, clean water supply, domestic waste management and suitable ventilation. The quality of housing and it‟s social, economic and environmental performance is critically important to sustainable development. However, the lacks of practices of project success factors in housing development activities may often bring about water, air and land pollutions thus affecting the natural environment, health and quality of  life. These issues are often raised today as problems of uncontrolled development of housing growth as concern for the environment is not considered. With this concern in mind, housing and other social services become priority in today‟s development programmes which aimed at improving the quality of life and contributing towards the formation of a caring society. However, the issue of sustainable housing are still new and not that familiar in our country. With referring back the house being built in the past decade, those houses were not meeting the essential criteria of sustainability and unfortunately, there are little to none; in depth studies for this matter. Although the homes that create may look good and be cheap to build, they are poor value if they weather poorly, have high energy and other running costs, are expensive to maintain and cannot adapt to changes in use. According to Maylor (1999) those organizations that are most resourceful in seeking out best practices and making those aspects work for them will be the most successful. Although project management has proved its success in many construction projects, there is however some problems associated with the manner in which the system has been selected and/or implemented (Noum S. et al., 2004). Here, critical factors of successful project management were establish to develop a new area of managing sustainable housing for further studies of this research to ensure its potential for future sustainability. 2.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Based on the problems stated above, two main questions are formed as below: 1) What are the critical factors that are required for the successful implementation of sustainable housing practices? 2) What are the critical factors project management best practices in sustainable housing development? 2.2 OBJECTIVES There are two objectives for this paper: 1) To identify factor that are required for the successful implementation of sustainable housing practice. 2) To establish the success factors that determines the best practices for project management in sustainable housing. 3) To establish guideline for project management best practices for sustainable housing. 3.0 FACTORS EFFECTING PROJECT SUCCESS Nowadays, companies are increasingly using projects in their daily work to achieve company goals. The only way organizations can be driven to achieve excellence is by keeping an eye on competition and world best practice in all aspects of the business (Bendell et. all, 1998). Recently more and more organizations are recognizing that translating corporate strategies into actions requires project management. Consequently, it is vital that projects are successful (Baccarini, 2003). Critical success factors are important influences that contribute to project success. So, critical success factors are the set of circumstances, facts or influences which contribute to the project outcomes. According to Mobey and Parker (2002), to increase the chances of a project succeeding it is necessary for the organisation to have an understanding of what are the success factors, to systematically and quantitatively assess these factors, anticipating possible causes and effects, and then choose appropriate methods of dealing with them. Once identified, the success of the project can be achieved. Generally, the success of a construction project depends on a number of factors, such as project complexity, contractual arrangements, and relationships between project participants, the competency of project managers, and the abilities of key project members (Chua et al., 1999). Bayliss, (2002) in his report said that successful project delivery requires the concerted effort of the project team to carry out the various project activities, but it is the project manager who, at the center of the project network, is responsible for orchestrating the whole construction process. Possessing the core project management competence would help to define the ability of project managers to deliver good performance towards the attainment of project success. The search for factors that influence project success has been growing interest over the past decade. Among researchers that have tried to a certain extent to identify success factors for project management are Pinto and Slevin (1987,1989), Cooke-Davis (2002), Muller and Turner (2003), Belassi and Tukel (1996) and etc. Success factors are those input to the project management system that lead directly or indirectly to the success of the project or business. Belassi and Tukel, 1996, categorized success factors into four main group. These are factors relating to the project, project managers, organization, and external environment. Others researcher, Chan et al., 2002 identify a set of project success factors; project team commitment, contractor‟s competencies, risk and liability assessment, client‟s competencies, end-users needs and constraints imposed by end user. As referred to the ten critical success factors developed by Pinto and Slevin (1986), Pinto and Mantel (1990) suggest that â€Å"these critical success factors were found to be generalisable to a wide variety of project types and organizations†. Their model is one of the most widely quoted lists of critical success factors (Muller and Turner, 2007). However a single set of project success factors may not be suitable for all industries (Lim et al, 1999; Hartman et al, 1996). Liu and Walker 1998 suggest that as industries operate differently, â€Å"a set of critical success factors may not be transferable from one project to another project†¦only generic areas can be identified and used as broad guidelines.† A comprehensive review of the literature research on success factors of project management was conducted. Table 1 gives lists of the critical success factors developed in the various literatures. Several researchers have identified the factors that significantly determine project management success. Based on the frequency analysis, the critical success factors are prioritised as shown in Table 2. Table 1. Summary of literature reviews from various author‟s for project success Author‟s Pinto & Critical Success Factors Belassi Cooke- Baccarini Andersen Hyvari Turner & Khang Slevin & Davies (1999, et al., Muller & (2002) 2003) (2006) (2005,07) Moe (1987,89) Tukel (2006) (1996) (2008) Project Understanding √ √ Top Management Support √ √ Information/Communication √ √ √ √ Client Involvement √ √ √ √ Competent Project Team √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Authority of the Project Manager/Leader Realistic Cost and Time Estimates √ Adequate Project Control √ √ √ √ √ √ Planning/Controlling Project mission /common goal √ √ Project Ownership √ √ √ √ √ √ √ feedback √ √ √ √ √ √ √ or empirical basis. Table 2: Prioritisation of CSFs Critical Success Factors Prioritised Occurrence No. Frequency of Rank 1 Competent Project Team 8 1 2 Authority of the Project Manager/Leader 6 2 3 Project Understanding 5 3 4 Top Management Support 5 3 √ √ Remark: â€Å"√ † critical success factors that is determined by the authors either on a conceptual Sr. √ √ √ Monitor performance and √ √ √ Adequate Resources √ √ √ Risk Management √ √ √ Problem Solving Abilities √ √ 5 Client Involvement 5 3 6 Project mission /common goal 5 3 7 Adequate Resources 4 4 8 Realistic Cost and Time Estimates 4 4 9 Information/Communication 4 4 10 Project Ownership 3 5 11 Monitor performance and feedback 3 5 12 Planning/Controlling 3 5 13 Risk Management 3 5 14 Adequate Project Control 2 6 15 Problem Solving Abilities 2 6 The frequency analysis in Tables 1 and 2 revealed that there are only one critical success factors in all frameworks in common which is competent project team. The analysis also showed that authority of the project manager/leader is prioritised in rank 2. The analysis further revealed that 5 out of the 8 frameworks have four critical success factors in common: Project Understanding, Top Management Support, Client Involvement and Project Mission/common goal. The Adequate Resources, Realistic Cost and Time Estimates and information/Communication success factors have their presence in forth frameworks respectively. The other critical success factors (namely, Project ownership, Monitor performance and feedback, Planning/Controlling and Risk Management) are presented in very few frameworks (Table 1 and 2). Meanwhile, the other two factors were not commonly found in the literature which is adequate project control and problem solving abilities. 4.0 FACTORS OF PROJECT SUCCESS FOR SUSTAINABLE HOUSING The subject of project management is vast and numerous authors continuously add to the body of literature on the subject. According to the Project Management Institute (2004), the discipline of project management can be defined as follows: Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction. Project management best practices may be described as optimum way of performing work to achieve high performance (Ramabadron et all., 1997). According to Dey (2002), current project management practices of organizations in the industry sector do not always ensure success. The main problems with projects planning and implementation have been cost and time overruns and quality non-achievement. Dey (2002) stated that the main contributing factors are: ï‚ · Expansion of the scope and subsequent quality increases of input resources; ï‚ · Engineering and design changes; ï‚ · Underestimation and incorrect estimation and ï‚ · Unforeseen inflation ï‚ · Project size and complexity and etc. Dey, (2002) illustrates projects management growing popularity has stimulated interest in how companies compare in their application of project management process, tools and techniques. Successful project management can contribute towards project success but is unlikely to be able to prevent project failure (de Wit, 1988). The various variables affecting the success factors are identified in the  previous section. There are Project Understanding, Top Management, Support Communication, Client Involvement, Competent Project Team, Authority of Top Level, Realistic Cost and Time Estimates, Adequate Project Control, Problem Solving Abilities, Risk Management, Adequate Resources, Planning/Controlling, Monitor performance and feedback, Project mission /Common goal, and Project Ownership. Furthermore, a new conceptual framework that includes the indentified variables of project success is shown in Fig. 1. Its show that variables project success can influence a variable of criteria measuring sustainable housing. Figure 1: Framework of Project Management Success Factors in Sustainable Housing. Project Management Success Factor Criteria Measuring Sustainable Housing: Competent Project Team Authority of the Project Manager/Leader Project Understanding Top Management Support Client Involvement Project mission /common goal Adequate Resources Realistic Cost and Time Estimates Information/Communication Project Ownership Monitor performance and feedback Planning/Controlling Risk Management Adequate Project Control Problem Solving Abilities ï‚ · Energy Efficiency ï‚ · Use of Materials ï‚ · Water Efficiency ï‚ · Disposal ï‚ · Site Issues ï‚ · Green ï‚ · Traffic ï‚ · Outdoor environment and Indoor environment Project Management Success Factors in Sustainable Housing – Economically ; are cost-efficient over the lifespan of the dwelling – Environmental/Ecology ; are resource efficient in terms of materials, waste, water and energy – Social/Community ; are safe, flexible and comfortable for people with varying abilities * Critical success factor of project management were establish to come out the best practices in new area in Sustainable Housing. An extensive literature survey on sustainable housing also has been carried out to select criteria measurement frameworks for this study. The relevant literature has revealed that different researchers have adopted similar sustainability criteria‟s framework that consider on three basic themes of the sustainable construction; social, environmental, and economic. Below, there are a few literatures findings in term of criteria of measuring sustainable housing: 1. Winston (2007) have carried out some important characteristics of sustainable housing include: sustainable land-use planning; resisting scattered settlements; housing close to employment and public transport; higher residential densities; sustainable construction; high standards of energy efficiency in use of dwellings; housing availability, affordability and quality; access to green space, and a high quality residential environment. Many sustainable building indicator sets are derived from conceptual models (Winston and Pareja, 2008). 2. Blaauw (1997), the following environmental theme are derived from a workbook for sustainable building and housing: Energy, Use of Materials, Water, Disposal, Site, Green, Traffic, Outdoor environment and Indoor environment. 3. Building Environmental Science & Technology (B.E.S.T), formulated residential green building guidelines: Emphasize the reduce, recycle, re-use, renewable; use energy, water and resource efficiently; healthy indoor air quality; building has affordable community; development creates a sense of well-being; the home remains reasonably affordable and cost effective. 4. (Bennett and James, 1999) Effective sustainability measurement should consider the complete triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and societal performance which is: a) Social Sustainability ï‚ · Healthy internal environment ï‚ · Safety (personal, household and environmental) ï‚ · Provision of social amenity ï‚ · Provision of recreation amenity ï‚ · Accessibility to jobs and amenities b) Economic Sustainability ï‚ · Cost efficient over time ï‚ · Adaptability with min. cost ï‚ · Affordability ï‚ · Job creations and local economy c) Environmental Sustainability ï‚ · Energy efficiency ï‚ · Water efficiency/Conservation ï‚ · Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions ï‚ · Waste management / recycling ï‚ · Material efficiency ï‚ · Pollution prevention– noise, water, air ï‚ · Optimization & conservation of land ï‚ · Protect and enhance biodiversity ï‚ · Reduction of car dependency 5. Green Building Manual from the US Department of Energy (DOE) & Public Technology, Inc. (PTI) include the following points: ï‚ · Site Issues: selection of building sites, landscaping, watershed, site materials and equipment ï‚ · Building Design: building systems (heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems) and indoor environmental quality ï‚ · Construction Process ï‚ · Operations & Maintenance ï‚ · Economics & Environment: energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, construction costs, building maintenance & management savings. For the purpose of this research, eight aspects of criteria sustainability that can be used to analyze sustainable housing , were derived from the six environmental themes that are distinguished The National Measures for Sustainable Building (Hendriks, 2001): ï‚ · Energy: reducing the demand for energy, promoting the use of sustainable energy resources and using energy efficiently ï‚ · Materials: more efficient use of materials, reducing waste and removing it responsibly ï‚ · Water: reducing water usage, preventing land drying up, and protecting water quality ï‚ · Indoor Environment: improving air quality, improving thermal comfort, and reducing noise levels. ï‚ · Surrounding Environment: supporting bio-diversity, strengthening the perception of the environment (including maintaining old townscapes) and reducing nuisance (noise, wind, odor) ï‚ · Miscellaneous: improving the flexibility of the home with regard to accommodating new functions and improving safety It is expected that study of project management best practices in the extent of project success could lead toward meeting criteria of sustainable housing. This approach in sustainable housing area will provide much needed information to local authorities to take more effective control of housing issues. 5.0 CONCLUSION The implementation of success factors for project management in sustainable housing is important in other to ensure project success. Apparently, the sustainable housing is one of the major contributors to the development of any country. Unfortunately, in our country Malaysia, the issue of sustainable housing development is still new and not yet the proactive action had been taken to develop the housing sector in sustainable way. Thus, this research is proposed to identify success factors for project management in sustainable housing area. At the end of this paper, a new area of managing sustainable housing for future direction of this research will identified. A list of critical success factors from various authors for project management success for sustainable housing development in Malaysia was established. 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