Roles of a Supervisor in Virtual Organization Essay

Roles of a Supervisor in Virtual Organization - Essay Example The essay "Roles of a Supervisor in Virtual Organization" talks about the management aspect of the virtual organizations by analyzing the benefits and disadvantages of the virtual organizations. Supervisory roles in virtual organizations require the creation of world-class systems of learning to enhance the innovative competitiveness of the organization to match world-class standards. Supervisors for virtual management require thorough training and experience to be able to manage and coordinate the various activities of the virtual organizations. Facilitation of performance is one of my key role as a virtual supervisor. As a supervisor, I will boost performance by encouraging employees in their virtual workplaces to work harder while at the same time removing obstacles to successful performance. Some of the notable obstacles that I will concentrate on to remove include obsolete technology, delays in the transmission of critical information and inefficient work design. Recognition of the issues, analysis of the causes, and identification of the solutions earlier can help to differentiate between success and failure of the virtual work team. Therefore, as a supervisor, I will put proper mechanisms in place to address the aforementioned issues by using communication the appropriate tool. Through communication, I will strengthen the member identification by providing members of the virtual organization with the opportunity of creating and sharing their varied views of the defining features of the organization.

Human Resource Management in its environment Essay

Human Resource Management in its environment - Essay Example In the Harvard map or Harvard model of HRM, Beer et al argue the need for methods to assess the appropriateness of policies chosen by general managers of companies. Thus when general managers do choose human resource policies, strategies or practices for their organizations they also require proper methods to assess the effectiveness of such policies or strategies implemented. To assess the effectiveness of management policies, the Harvard Map or model as proposed by Beer et al seems to be rather useful. The model by Beer et al has an informal rather than a formal approach to management and brings out analytical description of the determinants and consequences of HRM policies. According to Beer’s Harvard model, the human resource policies within any organization are influenced by situational factors and stakeholder interests. The situational factors in a business environment would be related to management philosophy, business strategy, task technology, labor market conditions as well as legal and societal values and structures. These factors tend to shape yet constrain HRM policies and place limits in such policies although these factors are in turn shaped and influenced by human resource policies. So situational factors such as business strategies and labor conditions influence the HRM policies used or followed by general managers of companies although other factors such as stakeholder interests would be as important in determining the type of policies followed by businesses . Stakeholder interests would be policies that are influenced by or in turn influence stakeholder interests such as interests of the shareholders, governments, communities, management, employees, and investors of the business. According to Beer et al, human resource policies of companies should not only influence stakeholders but also in turn should be influenced by all stakeholder motives, wishes and interests. If human resource policies do not meet the

Open a new restaurants that serves the best and health foods based on Term Paper

Open a new restaurants that serves the best and health foods based on body metrics - Term Paper Example describe the challenges and risks when it comes to the opening of the restaurant and a recommendation of how the challenges and risks can be properly mitigated. The first challenge is privacy concerns in regards to the information given on the health status of a person, the age as well as the weight of a person. These are often personal matters that many people want to remain private (Reuvid, 2013). It is imperative to understand that there are a variety of reasons as to why people place high value when it comes to protecting their privacy, confidentiality as well as their security of health information. Many psychologists often depict privacy as a basic need which has a right intrinsic value. For this reason, they often see privacy being objectively valuable in itself and they believe that it is an essential component of any human being. Privacy of information ensures that several human fundamental values are observed. For example, personal autonomy which is the ability to make personal decisions is observed, secondly, privacy ensures individuality in that a person can be able to become oneself and do whatever one likes. Thirdly, a person often values his or her privacy in order to obtain respect from the society. Finally, privacy is often safeguarded by persons in order to ensure that they still remain with their dignity as well as worth as human beings. For this reason, it can be seen that most of the potential customers might be reluctant to give out information that they consider private. Further, they do believe that there is no law that exists that prevents the restaurant from revealing information about their weight, state of health and age to the public. For this reason, most people will be reluctant when it comes down to giving out the vital information needed to run the restaurant. Further, there may also be fears regarding the safety of the information with the employees. There are several employees that are malicious and might spread personal and

Human Resource Management in its environment Essay

Human Resource Management in its environment - Essay Example In the Harvard map or Harvard model of HRM, Beer et al argue the need for methods to assess the appropriateness of policies chosen by general managers of companies. Thus when general managers do choose human resource policies, strategies or practices for their organizations they also require proper methods to assess the effectiveness of such policies or strategies implemented. To assess the effectiveness of management policies, the Harvard Map or model as proposed by Beer et al seems to be rather useful. The model by Beer et al has an informal rather than a formal approach to management and brings out analytical description of the determinants and consequences of HRM policies. According to Beer’s Harvard model, the human resource policies within any organization are influenced by situational factors and stakeholder interests. The situational factors in a business environment would be related to management philosophy, business strategy, task technology, labor market conditions as well as legal and societal values and structures. These factors tend to shape yet constrain HRM policies and place limits in such policies although these factors are in turn shaped and influenced by human resource policies. So situational factors such as business strategies and labor conditions influence the HRM policies used or followed by general managers of companies although other factors such as stakeholder interests would be as important in determining the type of policies followed by businesses . Stakeholder interests would be policies that are influenced by or in turn influence stakeholder interests such as interests of the shareholders, governments, communities, management, employees, and investors of the business. According to Beer et al, human resource policies of companies should not only influence stakeholders but also in turn should be influenced by all stakeholder motives, wishes and interests. If human resource policies do not meet the

Project Management Essay Example for Free

Project Management Essay Let’s consider finding a new house as our personal project since we can’t sustain to live in our current residence. We will take the traditional technique of project management for this personal project. A traditional technique involves a series of steps or stages that has to be completed. For this technique, there are five different phases during the development or until the project is completed. The first phase of the traditional technique is the project initiation stage. During this stage, we have to map all our current scenarios or our current situation to our future situation. In this phase, we have to gather all the information about our current situation (i.e. rent, size of place, location, etc). We should also be able to quantify the scope of our project. We must know what our limitations are (i.e. budget, location, etc) and other relevant information. Then we have to gather information for our future home. We have to use the same set of questions (present and future situation) to set the same point of comparison when we compare, or in project methodology terms, when we match and map our current scenario to our future scenario. After matching and mapping, it is now time for us to plan for our future residence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second phase of the traditional technique is the project planning or the design stage. Now, in case the future residence needs a few repairs (i.e. adding another bedroom, installing a new telephone line, painting the fence white, buying more curtains for the several windows, etc) since it was picked because it has the most number of pros than the rest and is marginally better than the current, then this phase will make the future residence better suit our needs. After repairing, the future residence can now be tested if it is already safe to live at. It is now time for our next stage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The project execution or production stage is where we initially move in to our place to test how we feel about our new house. We must be able to deliver everything that was set as our scope or our task-to-accomplish even before the initiation stage. Now, to make this efficient and measurable or quantifiable, we have to list down a set of questionnaire or a set of steps to do and test our new house against it. This phase is called the project monitoring. In this phase, processes are performed to anticipate and correct the potential problems that may arise upon project completion before it happens. To make our personal project quantifiable, we must subject it to a series of questions where it can pass or fail. Questions should be targeted about the changes that we made during the design stage (i.e. if the future scenario served its purpose, etc). For this stage, if there are some questions that our future house was not able to resolve, these will be treated as issues which should be resolved before we will be able to move on to our completion stage. For our project to be quantifiable, profitable, or justifiable, the future scenarios should be subjected to questions that are based, but not limited, to the changes that the current scenarios were subjected to. And the future scenarios should be able to remedy most, if not all, of the remiss of the current scenario. In short, our future scenario should be able to pass all monitoring stage questions in order for our project to be a success. After all issues are closed, or all problems are resolved, we can now move on to our project completion stage. For the project completion stage, our project passed the monitoring stage and all issues are already resolved. Our future residence is finally ready to be moved in and called a home. Reference: LEWIS, James. 2002. Fundamentals of Project Management. New York: AMACOM

Evaluation of Housing Strategy in UK

Evaluation of Housing Strategy in UK New Deal for Communities Strategy Evaluation of the Kensington, Liverpool NDC Area Table of Contents (Jump to) New Deal for Communities (NDC) – Principles and Background Thumbnail of Kensington, Liverpool Funding for Kensington Selection of Areas for the NDC Project Success of the NDC in Kensington Conclusion Bibliography New Deal for Communities (NDC) – Principles and Background The Housing Green Paper, entitled ‘Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All’ was produced by the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions in April 2000o. The paper identifies the 3 major challenges (p7) facing housing in England to be First, to improve the conditions and opportunities of the minority who face severe  problems, such as poor conditions in both public and private housing. Second, to tackle the more general problems faced by most people at some point in their  lives, such as the difficulties that can be encountered in selling and buying a home. Third, to do this without undermining the successful features of the current system,  which delivers decent housing to the majority of people. The aims and principles (p16) t address the above challenges are stated as ‘Our aim is to offer everyone the opportunity of a decent home and so promote social cohesion, well-being and self-dependence. This aim, and the reforms that we are pursuing, are under-pinned by eight key principles.’s key principles for housing policy †¢ Offering everyone opportunity, choice and a stake in their home, whether rented or owned. Ensuring an adequate supply of decent housing to meet needs. Giving responsibility to individuals to provide for their own homes where they can, providing help for those who cannot. Improving the quality and design of the housing stock, new housing and residential  environments, helping to achieve an urban renaissance and protecting the countryside. Delivering modern, efficient, secure, customer-focused public services and empowering individuals to influence them. Reducing barriers to work, particularly in relation to benefit and rent policy. Supporting vulnerable people and tackling all forms of social exclusion, including bad housing, homelessness, poverty, crime and poor health. Promoting sustainable development that supports thriving, balanced communities and a high quality of life in urban and rural areas. This paper tackles the broad issues of housing and provides a framework for government strategy going forward. The NDC, which focuses on the most deprived areas, has a wider brief within their region, as summarized by The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, ref http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/page.asp?id=617, ‘New Deal for Communities (NDC) is a key programme in the Governments strategy to tackle multiple deprivation in the most deprived neighborhoods in the country, giving some of our poorest communities the resources to tackle their problems in an intensive and co-coordinated way. The aim is to bridge the gap between these neighborhoods and the rest of England. All the NDC partnerships are tackling five key themes of: Poor job prospects High levels of crime Educational under-achievement Poor health Problems with housing and the physical environment. We want to see outcomes that will bring real benefit to people living in our most deprived neighborhoods. Approximately  £2bn has been committed to the 39 partnerships. The NDC partnerships are part of a holistic government approach to raising the livability of some of the England’s more deprived areas. The Neighborhood Renewal Unit (NRU) part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has responsibility for overseeing the Governments comprehensive neighborhood renewal strategy. A strategy that responds to local circumstances rather than directing everything from Whitehall. Under the framework of the NRU, the NDC are a key component within the long-term program that comprises: New Deal for Communities partnerships tackling the five key themes of: Poor job prospects High levels of crime Educational under-achievement Poor health Problems with housing and the physical environment. Neighborhood Management, working with local agencies to improve and link their services at a local neighborhood level. Neighborhood Wardens, providing a highly visible, uniformed, semi-official presence in residential and public areas, town centres and high-crime areas. They run a Skills and Knowledge programme, offering practical support to those at the front-line delivering neighborhood renewal. They also run programs focusing on the importance of business involvement in tackling disadvantage. The NRU encourages communities to play a central role in delivering neighborhood renewal through a  £96 million programme to develop a community participation infrastructure. Thumbnail of Kensington, Liverpool The report â€Å"Livability in NDC areas, Findings from Six Case Studies’ quotes from the Delivery Plans for NDC, as describes Kensington as an area where ‘the streets tend to be treeless and green leisure spaces very limited.. The harsh appearance of the urban environment is reinforced by the dereliction of underdeveloped waste land and the four busy roads that physically subdivide the NDC area into separate neighborhoods.’ The Independent Working Class Association website, http://www.iwca.info/cor/cor0011.htm has the following stark statistics on Kensington (April 2, 2004) Houses prices average  £45,000. 45 per cent of residents have no qualifications Unemployment rate is 8.3% Funding for Kensington http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/page.asp?id=618NDC Grant Approved Areas The following table shows that the funding for Kensington was the highest of all grants made in Round 1 Partnerships Selection of Areas for the NDC Project The Government Social Exclusion Unit studied and identified the huge gaps that separate the country’s most deprived neighborhoods and the rest. The Unit concluded in their report Neighbourhood Renewal, ‘there is deprivation everywhere, but there are four regions with particularly high concentrations: the North West, North East, London, and Yorkshire and Humberside. Nationally, 82% of the most deprived wards (as measured by the Indices of Deprivation) are in just 88 local authority districts. Success of the NDC in Kensington Technology In order to provide computers to Kensington residents, Kensington Regeneration, a charitable company was set up. In September 2000, Kensington Regeneration applied to Department of Education and Skills (DfES) for capital funding to provide up to 2,000 residents with an Internet capable recycled pc, printer and software. An ESF bid was developed and approved which supports the development of a variety of training interventions including first steps IT skills, CLAIT and ECDL along with bespoke events and courses identified through community consultation. There have been problems with management with led to the resignation of James Jones, the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool and the Chair of the Kensington NDC. On Dec 5 2003, The New Start magazine, http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/pond.html which had been campaigning for fair compensation for community representatives involved in regeration programs for 7 months, quoted the Right Reverend Jones as follows: ‘The minister fails to realize that community activity is work. It produces vital social capital that makes neighborhoods safer and healthier places. Without it, the state will spend even more money paying agencies to fight crime, poor health and low educational achievement. Unless the government addresses the issue of remunerating local people for community activity its policies of involving local people will prove empty rhetoric and leave out the very people they are meant to embrace.’ The situation was not resolved and the Guardian, The Guardian, reported on April 14th 2004 that the Right Reverent Jones was stepping down in their article ‘Divided and Spoilt’ ‘A critical report into a neighborhood renewal project has raised concerns over the future of the New Deal for Communities. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Rev James Jones, who is stepping down as chairman of Liverpools Kensington NDC project, last week warned the government not to bypass residents in favor of imposed solutions. He is worried that ministers talk only about community involvement rather than community-led actions.’ The report , ‘Promoting Liveability: The Experience of NDC Partnerships, one of many reference documents to be found at http://www.renewal.net includes the following items of success and upgrading due to the partnership in Kensington Neighborhood warden schemes – In Liverpool, wardens work with the neighborhood police team and other organizations tackling crime and anti-social behavior. Pairs of wardens patrol a particular patch, getting to know residents, gathering intelligence, talking to young people and providing reassurance for vulnerable residents. Neighborhood improvement Liverpools NDC is working with the community to plan major renovations. In the neighborhood where this process is most advanced, a group of residents received training on aspects of urban design and worked with an architect to draw up a blueprint for local improvements. These changes are currently being implemented, and include new street lighting, traffic calming, restoring boundary walls and creating pocket parks. Residents in other neighborhoods are now involved in similar work. Environmental services Vandalism, graffiti, fly tipping and general neglect of open spaces in Liverpools NDC area are a highly visible sign of decline. Two Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) projects, one based elsewhere in the city and now an environmental task force focused on the area, has worked to clean up the neighborhood. In addition, the city councils environmental services department is attempting to tackle the areas problem with rats. Urban parks and open spaces Liverpools NDC is funding renovations to two parks that are just outside its boundaries but are nonetheless important leisure spaces for NDC residents. One of them, Wavertree Park, formerly held the citys botanic gardens, and the NDCs work includes the restoration of its remaining Victorian features. Community safety measures In Liverpool, the city council is gradually installing alley gates on lanes between houses, to prevent break-ins through rear doors and windows. The NDC injected its own funding to speed up the process in its area, and has offered free front door security upgrades to protect houses from the front too. On one estate in the area where cars have been vandalized and drug dealers have used waste ground, the NDC has worked with the police to draw up plans to design out crime. The waste ground is to be cleaned up and incorporated into the gardens of surrounding houses, and the car parking will move to the front of the houses to maximize opportunities for natural surveillance. Neighborhood management In Liverpools NDC area, the local social landlord and the NDC have jointly funded a neighborhood coordinator to integrate the various schemes working to enhance Liveability, minimize the impact of restructuring on residents, and manage the expectations of the community. One important task has been to ensure that mainstream resources are targeted effectively and that service providers do not use the regeneration funding as an excuse to reduce their commitment to the area. The report identifies that there are barriers to the effective promotion of the liveability agenda. They were summarized as Uncertainty over the meaning of liveability, which has not yet become part of the vocabulary of neighborhood regeneration. The frequent absence of a coherent strategic vision for environmental regeneration, with somewhat piecemeal intervention taking its place. And at the level of delivery as well as strategy, there is often insufficient coordination with other agencies such as local authorities. The http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk, has the following two negative reports on the NDC in the Kensington area. The article ‘Flaws hit 118m Mersey Revamp’ was published Sept 14, 2004. A  £118m Merseyside scheme to revive deprived areas has been dogged by mistrust and tensions with councils, Commons watchdogs say. A report out today reveals flaws in the operation of the New Deal for Communities programme which is spending  £2bn nationwide over 10 years. The inquiry by the all-party public accounts committee (PAC) found many schemes are undermined by the confusion of up to 50 competing initiatives. And the committee says too often the neighborhood renewal schemes successfully combat crime and disorder on their own patch, but export the problem neighboring areas. The report ‘New Deal is Failing’ was printed Oct 21, 2003 A FLAGSHIP government scheme to breathe new life into two struggling areas of Merseyside has so far failed to improve peoples lives, according to a new report. The study found that the New Deal for Communities had not yet made significant progress in cutting crime, creating jobs and boosting educational standards. And it warned that residents in Britains most deprived neighborhoods faced a 10-year wait before they would notice genuine signs of success. Now the study, by academics at Sheffield Hallam University, has concluded: Most partnerships have not yet made significant progress in achieving many of these outcomes. Some claim success but these should be treated with considerable caution at this early stage. Closing gaps between these deprived neighborhoods and the districts and regions within which they are located will simply take a long time. Ten years appears a realistic time horizon. In Liverpool, only 24pc of people who had heard of the initiative believed it had improved their area’ Conclusion The NDC is an ambitious undertaking and has suffered some setbacks as well as notable successes. The partnership requires community participation from residents who have lived in deprived areas for generations. As the NDC partnership develops flaws in administration, management and communication should be addressed and monitored. The long term view that it will take 10 years to show a significant success is not unreasonable considering the magnitude of the problems being tackled. There appears to be a need to communicate the small successes effectively within the community. Bibliography The Housing Green Paper ‘Quality and Choice. A decent home for All The way forward for Housing’ Produced by the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions (April 2000) The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister website http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk http://www.iwca.info/cor/cor0011.htm Independent Working Class Association website http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/pond.html The New Start magazine

Shakespeares Measure for Measure Essays -- Shakespeare Measure Essay

Shakespeare's Measure for Measure Game-playing in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure Thieves for their robbery have authority When judges steal themselves Critics have often seen Vincentio, the Duke in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure, as performing a function similar to that of Prospero in The Tempest. The reasons for such an assumption is clear in the very first scene of the play, as both characters set the plot into motion by exercising their power, withdraw to observe events from behind the scenes, then return to restore order at the end. The Duke, seeing that the city of Vienna has degenerated and is desperately in need of reform, decides to remove himself from the post for a period so that his successor Angelo can rectify the problems, even though those problems were created and nurtured by the over-indulgence of the Duke himself. The Duke is practical, he is aware that a sudden strict application of the law might destroy or tarnish the legendary reputation that he has built up for himself. His purpose is made clear when he says to Friar Thomas; Sith 'twas my fault to give the people scope, 'Twould be my tyranny to strike and gall them For what I bid them; for we bid this be done, When evil deeds have their permissive pass And not the punishment. Therefore, indeed, my father, I have on Angelo imposed the office, Who may, in th'ambush of my name, strike home, And yet my nature never in the fight To do in slander. [Act I Scene iii] Thus Lord Angelo, who subsequently misuses the power that has been bestowed on him, is initially set up to be a scapegoat; someone who has to drive the nail in, a task the Duke evades, fearing the loss of his subjects' good will. From this opening, the plot can, ... ...uthority to outwit Angelo by defeating him in his own game and pardoning him. Just as Angelo has the power to punish, the Duke has the power to pardon, and this seems to be the only moral that Measure for Measure conveys. The problem of the corrupt society remains unresolved. In this context it can still be called a 'problem' play, because the play does not satisfy the problems outlined in the exposition. But if it is seen as a game with the society only as a backdrop then it seems understandable that Shakespeare did not attempt to settle the troubles that beset the society. Bibliography Boas, F. S. Shakespeare and his predecessors. 1968 Eco, Umberto. The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts. 1984 Lawrence, Professor W. W. Shakespeare's Problem Comedies. 1931 Shaw, George Bernard. preface to Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. 1922